Sectin1
Cnversatin1 (Cmmunity Planning in the Clnies)
Narratr
Listen t part f a cnversatin between a student and her United States Histry prfessr.
Prfessr
S, Amanda, yu’ve asked a lt f questins abut trade during the clnial perid f the United States. Has ur discussin clarified things fr yu?
Student
Well, yeah, but nw, I think writing abut trade fr my paper isn’t ging t wrk.
Prfessr
h, s yur questins abut shipping rutes were fr yur research paper?
Student
Yeah. But nw, I see that I prbably need t cme up with a new paper tpic. Actually, there was ne ther idea I had. I have been thinking abut ding smething abut cmmunity planning in the early British settlements in Eastern Nrth America.
Prfessr
h. K. I am curius. Why are yu interested in ding smething n cmmunity planning in clnial times?
Student
Well, I am much mre int architecture. It’s my majr and I mean, planning ut a twn r city ges alng with that. I mean, nt that I dn’t like histry…I am interested in histry…really interested…But I think, yu knw, fr a career, architecture is mre fr me.
Prfessr
That’s great. I’ve gtten sme very thught-prvking papers frm students whse interests g beynd histry.
Student
K. But fr the paper yu wanted us t try t include a cmparisn, right?
Prfessr
Yes. Actually, that was really the purpse f the assignment. The way the United States develped r perhaps I shuld say the clnies, since the land that wuld becme the Eastern United States…uh…there were British clnies there fur hundred years ag. But anyway…uh… develpment in the clnies differed greatly depending n gegraphy. I am lking fr papers that have ideas abut smething that happened ne way in the Nrthern clnies happened a different way in the Suthern clnies.
Student
Is that true in terms f urban planning?
Prfessr
Very true. Twns in the Nrthern clnies were centralized and cmpact. They prvided a meeting pint fr exchanging gds, fr participatry gvernment, and fr practicing religin. Huses wuld be built alng the rads that led int twn. And just utside the develped area, there wuld usually be an pen area f sme srt fr grazing animals and als grup activities. Actually, the mdel fr planning a twn in the Nrthern clnies was nt unlike the mdel fr the develpment f twns in medieval Eurpe. After all, the clnists had just cme frm Eurpe and the medieval perid was just ended.
Student
Medieval Eurpe. But what abut the Suth? If I remember crrectly… In the Suth, at least initially, they didn’t build twns s much as they built trading psts.
Prfessr
That’s right. Mst f the settlers in the Nrth wanted t start a whle new life. But mst f the peple wh came frm Eurpe t the Suth just wanted t make sme mney and then g back. It is nt surprising that sme f mst cmmn buildings were strage facilities and prt facilities.
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Lecture1-Music (Ancient Greek Music & Plat)
Narratr
Listen t part f a lecture in a music class.
Prfessr
Tday we are ging t d smething a little different. In the past few classes, we’ve listened t traditinal music frm arund the wrld and we’ve talked abut the characteristics f these music, what makes these styles distinctive, what kinds f instruments are used. And yu’ve talked abut what sunds familiar t yu and what sunds strange. And many f yu fund sme f what we’ve listened t very strange indeed.
Well, tday I want t start talking abut western music and I am ging t start in ancient Greece. But, nw here’s the part that’s different. We’re nt ging t talk very much abut the actual music. Instead, we are ging t talk abut what the Greeks believed abut music.
Nw, there are sme very gd reasns t apprach the material in this way. First, well, we dn’t have very much ancient Greek music studied. nly abut 45 pieces survived…uh…these are mstly recrds f pems and sngs. And we are nt sure hw well we can reprduce the meldies r rhythms, because they were apparently imprvised in many cases. S we really dn’t knw all that much abut what the music sunded like.
What we d knw abut - and this really is the mst imprtant reasn I am appraching tday’s lecture the way I am - is the Greek philsphy abut music and its cntinuing influence n western attitudes tward music.
Nw, if we’re ging t understand the philsphy, we have t first understand that music fr the Greeks was abut much mre than entertainment. Yes, there was music at festivals and we have sculptures and paintings shwing peple listening t music fr many f the same reasns that we d. But this isn’t the whle stry.
The imprtant thing abut music was that it was gverned by rules, mathematical rules. And fr thse f yu wh are als studying music thery, yu’ll see that it is in fact highly mathematical.
Um…and fr the Greeks, the same mathematical principles that gvern music als gvern the universe as well as the human character, the essence f persnality. Peple’s characters were believed t be very sensitive t music. If yu started playing arund with the rules, yu knw, messing up the mathematical rder, yu culd d serius harm. That’s why music was cnsidered s pwerful. If yu knew the rules, it culd d great gd. But if yu brke them, yu culd d great harm t the character f the listener.
S, we have this Greek idea that music is directly related t human character and behavir.
The philspher, Plat, talks abut this in the cntext f educatin. Fr Plat, music is an imprtant element in educatin, but nly the right kind f music. That means the kind f music that builds the kind f character a gd citizen r a future leader wuld need. Yes. Fr Plat, there is a kind f music that instills the qualities f leadership, just as there is a kind f music that makes a persn sft and weak.
Nw, Plat has very specific, very cnventinal kinds f music in mind. He is nt fnd f innvatin. There were musicians in Plat’s day wh were experimenting with different meldies and rhythms. A definite n-n fr Plat. He thinks that breaking with traditin leads t all srts f scial prblems, serius prblems, even the breakdwn f the fabric f sciety. I am thinking back nw t when I first started listening t rck ‘n’ rll and I remember my father saying it was a bad influence n us. I think he wuld have gtten alng well with Plat.
Anyway, I dn’t need t tell yu what I think abut Plat’s ideas abut innvatin, d I? Thugh I have t say it’s interesting that the same arguments against new music and art are still being made. Perhaps like the Greeks, we recgnize, and maybe even fear the pwer f music.
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Lecture2-Gelgy (Mvement f Tectnic Plates)
Narratr
Listen t part f a lecture in a gelgy class.
Prfessr
As we’ve discussed, Earth’s crust is made up f large plates that rest n a mantle f mlten rck. These plates…uh…nw these tectnic plates supprt the cntinents and ceans. ver time, the tectnic plates mve and shift, which mves the cntinents and the cean flrs t. nce it was understd hw these plates mve, it was pssible t determine past mvements f Earth’s cntinents and hw these slw mvements have reshaped Earth’s features at different times.
K. Well, (as)studying the mvements f the plates can tell us abut the lcatin f the cntinents in the past, it can cnceivably tell us abut their lcatin in the future t, right? S, in recent years, sme gelgists have used plate tectnic thery t make what they call gepredictins. Gepredictins are guesses abut what Earth’s surface might lk like millins f years frm nw.
S, we knw hw certain cntinents are currently mving. Fr example, the cntinents f Africa has been creeping nrth tward Eurpe. And Australia has been making its way nrth t, tward Asia.
Des anyne knw what’s happening t the Americas? I…I think we’ve talked abut that befre. Lisa?
Student
They are mving westward, away frm Eurpe and Africa. Right?
Prfessr
Right. And what makes us think that?
Student
The Atlantic ceanflr is spreading and getting wider, s there is mre cean between the Americas and Eurpe and Africa.
Prfessr
K. And why is it spreading?
Student
Well, the seaflr is spilt. There is a ridge, a muntain range that runs nrth and suth there. And the rck material flws up frm Earth’s interir here, at the split, which frces the tw sides f the cean flr t spread apart, t make rm fr the new rck material.
Prfessr
Gd. And that means, ver the shrt term…uh… and by shrt term I mean 50 millin years, that’s a blink f the eye in gelgical time. Um…ver the shrt term, we can predict that the Americas will cntinue t mve westward, farther away frm Eurpe, while Africa and Australia will cntinue t mve nrthward.
But what abut ver the lng term? Say 250 millin years r mre. Well, ver that length f time, frecasts becme mre uncertain. But lts f gelgists predict that eventually all the cntinents, including Antarctica, will merge and becme ne giant land mass, a super cntinent, ne researchers callingPangaea Ultima, which mre r less means the last super cntinent. The abve text is a transcript f this lecture prepared by lady&bird.
Nw, hw that might happen is pen t sme debate. Sme gelgists believe that the Americas will cntinue t mve westward and eventually merge with East Asia. This hypthesis is based n the directin the Americas are mving in nw. But thers hypthesize that a new super cntinent will frm in a different way. They think that a new subductin zne will might ccur at the western edge f the Atlantic cean.
Paul, can yu remind us what a subductin zne is?
Student
Yeah. Um…basically, a subductin zne is where tw tectnic plates cllide. S if an cean flr tectnic plate meets the edge f a cntinent and they push against each ther, the heavier ne sinks dwn and ges under the ther ne. S the…um…the ceanic plate is made f denser and heavier rck, s it begins t sink dwn under the cntinental plate and int the mantle.
Prfessr
Right. S the cean flr wuld kind f slide under the edge f the cntinent. And nce the cean plate begins t sink, it wuld be affected by anther frce – slab pull. Slab pull happens at the subductin zne.
S t cntinue ur example… As the cean flr plate begins t sink dwn int the mantle, it wuld drag r pull the entire plate alng with it. S mre and mre f this plate, the cean flr, wuld g dwn under the cntinent int the mantle. K?
S, as I said, currently the Atlantic cean flr is spreading, getting wider, but sme researchers speculate that eventually a subductin zne will ccur where the ceanic plate meets the cntinental plate f the Americas. If that happens, slab pull culd draw the ceanic crust under the cntinent, actually causing the Americas t mve eastward tward Eurpe and the cean flr t get smaller. That is, the Atlantic cean wuld start t clse up, narrwing the distance between the eastern edge f the Americas and Eurpe and Africa. S they frm a single super cntinent. ?
Sectin2
Cnversatin2 (Credits fr Internship)
Narratr
Listen t a cnversatin between a student and an emplyee at the university center fr ff-campus study.
Student
Hi. I am Tm Arnld. I am suppsed t pick up a packet frm the reginal center fr marine research. I am ding an internship there this summer.
Emplyee
Yes. I have it right here. The mail carrier drpped it ff a few minutes ag.
Student
Thanks. Um…I wanted t ask abut getting credits fr the internship. I dn’t knw if…
Emplyee
I might be able t help yu with that. Is there a prblem?
Student
I just wanted t make sure the details have been crrected. The system shuld shw that I am registered t earn fur credits. But as f Friday, nthing was shwing up yet. I was tld it wuld be fixed this mrning.
Emplyee
Well, I can check n the cmputer fr yu. Tm Arnld, right?
Student
Yes.
Emplyee
Well, it is shwing credits…but nly three.
Student
Really?! S nw what? These all have t be finalized last week.
Emplyee
Well, yes. The curse enrllment perid ended last week. But since ur ffice was suppsed t get this straightened ut fr yu befre then… Let me see what I can d.
Uh…did the university give apprval fr yu t earn fur credits fr this internship? Because the ther students at the center fr marine research are nly getting three.
Student
Um…I am pretty sure thse ther students are ding the internship at the center’s aquarium, taking classes in marine bilgy and then teaching visitrs abut the varius displays. I am ding a special research internship with the center. We’ll be cllecting data n changes t the seaflr ut in the pen cean.
Emplyee
h. That sunds quite advanced.
Student
Well, the internship requires me t have scuba diving certificatin and t be a senir ceangraphy student. I want t d advanced study in ceangraphy when I graduate. S I really want t get a sense f what real research is like.
Emplyee
I see. Nw let’s try and see if we can… h. K. I see the prblem. There are tw kinds f internships listed here—regular and research. Yurs is listed as regular s it is nly shwing three credits.
Student
Can yu switch it?
Emplyee
Nt yet. But it lists Prfessr Lenard as…
Student
She is in charge f all the internships.
Emplyee
She just needs t send an email s I have an fficial recrd. Then I can switch it. And that shuld slve everything.
Student
Great! And I knw Prfessr Lenard is in her ffice this afternn, s I can g there later. It will be such a relief t get all these paperwrk cmpleted.
Lecture3-Marine Bilgy (Cral Reefs & CT starfish)
Narratr
Listen t part f a lecture in a Marine Bilgy class.
Prfessr
We’ve been talking abut the decline f cral reefs in trpical areas all ver the wrld…um… hw natural and man-made stresses are causing them t degrade, and in sme cases, t die.
S nw let’s fcus n a specific example f a natural predatr that can cause a lt f damage t cral reefs—the Crwn f Thrns, r CT starfish. The Ct starfish is fund n cral reefs in the trpical Pacific cean and it eats cral. Nw, in small numbers, the starfish dn’t affect cral reefs dramatically. But peridically, starfish ppulatin expldes. And when that happens, the reefs can becme badly damaged r even destryed, smething we are trying very hard t prevent. Fr example, during the 1960s, there was an utbreak f CT starfish in the Great Barrier Reef, ff the east cast f Australia. Luckily, the CT starfish ppulatin gradually declined n its wn and the reefs recvered.
But we were left wndering – what cause the ppulatin t increase s suddenly? Well, ver the years, we’ve cme up with a few hyptheses. All still htly debated.
ne hypthesis is that it’s a natural phenmenn, that the starfish naturally underg ppulatin fluctuatins fllwing particularly gd spawning years.
There are als several hyptheses that suggest sme srt f human activities are partly respnsible, like fishing. There are fish and snails that eat starfish, particularly the giant tritn snail, which is the main predatr f the starfish. These fish and snails have themselves experienced a decline in ppulatin because f verfishing by humans. S with a decline in starfish predatrs, the starfish ppulatin can increase.
Anther hypthesized human-related cause is fertilizer runff. Peple use fertilizer fr their crps and plants and a lt f it eventually makes its way frm land int the seas. It’s fertilizer, s it has a lt f nutrients. These nutrients have an effect n the starfish, because they cause an increase in the grwth f phytplanktn. Phytplanktn are micrscpic plants that grw in the cean. Larval CT starfish eat phytplanktn in their first mnth f life, s mre fertilizer in the cean means mre phytplanktn, which means mre starfish, bad fr the reefs.
Nw, the final hypthesis has t d with strm events. If sme reefs are destryed by strms, starfish ppulatins that inhabited thse reefs wuld have t cndense and cncentrate n the reefs that are left. S this can cause a kind f mass feeding frenzy.
S we have ideas, but n real answer. And because we aren’t sure f the causes fr starfish ppulatin increases, it’s difficult t prevent them. I mean, sme prgress has been made. Fr example, new survey techniques have enabled us t detect ppulatin increases when the starfish are quite yung, s we can be ready fr them. But meaningful prgress requires much better evidence abut the cause.
n the bright side, in all the research being dne n causes, we have discvered smething related t hw starfish ppulatins might affect cral reef diversity. We think that when reefs are damaged, after a few years, the fastest-grwing crals reppulate the areas. And these fast-grwing species can grw ver the slwer-grwing species f cral, denying them light and preventing them frm recvery. Hwever, the faster-grwing species are the preferred fd f the CT starfish. S when an utbreak f CT starfish ccurs, they thin ut the fast-grwing cral and may give the slwer nes a chance t reestablish. S withut the utbreak, the diversity f cral wuld be reduced.
Lecture4-Anthrplgy (the Btai Peple & Hrses)
Narratr
Listen t part f a lecture in an anthrplgy class.
Prfessr
S nw that we’ve discussed hw peple in ancient scieties tamed animals like cws and chickens fr fd and ther uses. I’d like t talk abut an ancient culture that dmesticated hrses. It’s the Btai peple.
The Btai culture thrived ver 5,000 years ag in central Asia, in what is nw nrthern Kazakhstan. Pretty much all f what we knw abut the Btai cmes frm three archaelgical sites. And we learned that the Btai were able t build large perennial villages, smetimes with hundreds f hmes. We als fund hrse bnes at these sites and these can be traced back t the time f the Btai settlements. The climate that the Btai culture lived in…it was harsh. And the Btai peple…they didn’t really seem t have much in the way f agriculture ging n. S their whle ecnmy was really based n hrses. And because hrses can withstand the tugh climate, they can survive ice strms and they dn’t need heated barns, the Btai peple culd settle in ne place and rely n the hrses fr fd, clthing and transprtatin.
Student
S the Btai were the first t dmesticate hrses?
Prfessr
Well, we are pretty sure that hrses were first dmesticated a bit earlier, t the nrthwest, in the area that is nw Ukraine and western Russia. It’s quite pssible that sme f thse peple later migrated east t Kazakhstan.
Student
But what exactly tells us that these Btai peple, that the hrses in their area were really dmesticated?
Prfessr
As with mst ancient histry, there is nt much that we can be certain abut. But we knw there was a significant ppulatin f wild hrses in that area. S there were plenty f pprtunities fr the Btai peple t find hrses t dmesticate. We als knw that hrse milk was an imprtant surce f fd fr the Btai peple. What? Milking a wild hrse? Well, nw, that wuld be impssible…t milk a wild hrse. And then… there’s the…
h. Yes? Eric.
Student
S yu said last week that fr sme animals, like fr dgs, there were physical changes taking place ver the curse f generatins f dgs because f dmesticatin. S can we tell frm thse hrse bnes if it was srt f the same fr hrses?
Prfessr
Actually, it wasn’t. We knw that hrses have nt changed a lt physically as a result f dmesticatin. S thse ancient hrse bnes dn’t tell us much abut dmesticatin. But…we’ve fund that…um…we’ve fund what maybe pens r crrals in the Btai settlements. And nt t lng ag, a new apprach was used t find ut if the Btai peple were keeping hrses. Sil samples frm these pens r crrals shw ten times the cncentratin f phsphrus.
Student
Um…phsphrus?
Prfessr
Yes. Phsphrus is a very significant indicatr that hrses, large numbers f hrses were being kept in the settlements. Yu see, hrse manure, hrse waste is rich in phsphrus and als nitrgen cmpared t nrmal sil. But nitrgen is an unstable element. It can be washed ut when it rains r it can be released t the atmsphere, whereas phsphrus cmbines with calcium and irn, and can be preserved in the sil fr thusands f years.
The sil frm the Btai settlement sites was fund t have high cncentratins f phsphrus and lw nitrgen cncentratins, which is imprtant since it suggests that what we’ve gt is really ld, nt smething added t the sil mre recently.
Student
Wait. S if hrses have been there recently, there’d still be lts f nitrgen in the sil.
Prfessr
That’s right. Yes. Karen.
Student
I just read an article. It said that ne way t determine if there was an ancient fireplace at an archaelgical site was t check the sil fr phsphrus. S culdn’t the phsphrus at the Btai sites just be frm the frequent use f fireplaces?
Prfessr
Yu are abslutely right. Hwever, when a fireplace leaves behind a lt f phsphrus in the sil, we’d als find an unusually high cncentratin f ptassium. But the sil at the Btai settlements, it was fund with relatively little ptassium, which makes it far mre likely that the phsphrus came frm hrses. K?
Nw, later n, peple f the same regin, nrthern Kazakhstan, started raising sheep and cattle. And that led t a mre nmadic culture. Since sheep and cattle can’t survive harsh climates, they needed t be taken suth every winter. Mving arund meant wrking harder but the trade-ff was far richer, fattier milk year rund and warm clthing frm the sheep.