√ Geography.
√ Chemistry.
√ History.
1 Campus Life.
W: Hello, I’m of students who needs to take the first aid certification
course in order to go on the winter-break meteorological expedition.
M: OK, which course date did you want to sign up for? There are
two courses offered every month, except for November, when
we have three. The courses are all two weeks long.
W: What are the times?
M: Well, next month there are two courses. There’s a morning and
an evening course. The morning course is from 8:00 a.m. to
noon, and the evening course from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
W: Huh, well you see I go to class during the day and work at night...
There’s no weekend course?
M: I’m afraid not. The expedition starts in January, right?
W: That’s right, we leave January 3rd.
M: Well, you could take the course in December after your finals
are over.
W: Huh, yeah I guess I’ll have to. How much is this course?
M: It’s 300 dollars, which includes all aspects of first aid, including
CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
W: Who’s the course instructor?
M: Jeff Fulbright. He’s a retired paramedic with over 35 years of
experience. This is a nationally recognized qualification.
W: What is CPR exactly?
M: It stands for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Basically, it’s what
you perform on a patient who isn’t breathing or whose heart
isn’t beating. It’s like giving a car a jumpstart.
W: What do you mean?
M: Well, you know when you jumpstart a car, the battery is out of
juice. So, you connect it to another car’s battery using jumper
cables and use the energy from the working car to revive the
dead battery. After that, the battery should replenish itself and
be OK.
W: Right.
M: Same principle. With CPR, the heart has stopped beating, so
you kind of pump the heart back to life by applying pressure to
the chest in rhythmic intervals. You’re like the battery giving
juice to the battery without juice. Hopefully, by doing CPR, you
will get the heart to start beating on its own again.
W: That sounds like a handy skill.
M: Sure is. The course will also give you some useful procedures for
your expedition, like how to treat hypothermia and frostbite.
W: That’s good, though hopefully I’ll never need it.
M: Hopefully, you’ll never need any of the training, but it’s better
to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
W: Well, can I sign up for the morning course in December, then?
M: Sure, you can fill out this form and pay the 300 dollars in cash,
by check, or debit card. Or, if you want to, you can register online
at the website listed at the bottom of the form.
W: I see. Is there a registration deadline or anything?
M: The cut-off date for registration is one week prior to the start date,
but it’s best to register as far in advance as possible. It’s rare, but
sometimes the courses do fill up.
W: Well, OK, thanks for all your help!
M: No problem. Have a nice day.
2 Geography
M: Who can tell me which African country has the strongest economy?
Of all the countries on the African continent, which one has the
largest and most developed economy?
W1: Kenya?
M: No, I’m sorry. Try again.
W2: I would guess South Africa. It’s probably got the most modern
infrastructure of all the African countries.
M: And you would be right. Now, let me tell you a little bit about
the place. First of all, South Africa is located at the southern tip
of the African continent and is home to about 45 million people.
One interesting tidbit is that it is one of the few countries in Africa
that has never had a coup d’etat. A coup d’etat, of course, is when
a group, such as the military, takes over the government. So, the
South African government has never been overthrown. Today, it
is one of the most stable democracies in that part of the world.
Now, that’s not to say that there haven’t been problems in South
Africa. I bet you can guess what I’m referring to.
W2: Apartheid?
M: Very good. Who can explain apartheid?
W1: Literally it means “apartness” or “separateness.” I think it comes
from Dutch, because the Dutch were the first European settlers
there. Anyway, as I read somewhere, apartheid was the systematic
segregation of the races. You know, like for example, non-whites
had to use different toilets from white people.
M: Yes, under apartheid, the government maintained a policy of
separating the white minority and the black majority. Keep in
mind that we’re talking about minority rule here. Early on, black
people were barred from being members of parliament. It was
a whites-only government. Now, apartheid was established in
948 by the Nationalist Party. Effectively, black people in South
Africa lived in a different world from that of the whites. They
were required, by law, to live in certain areas called reserves and
were denied the right to vote. There was a long struggle for
democracy over the next fifty-odd years, and it was not just the
black majority who wanted to bring an end to apartheid. There
were other ethnic groups who suffered under apartheid as
well. Just to give you an idea of the demographics, there are
four major ethnic groups in South Africa. Under apartheid, they
were classified legally as black, white, Indian, and “colored.”
Don’t confuse the term colored with the old derogatory term
for black people in the United States. In South Africa, it meant
people of mixed race. The term is still used today, but since many
don’t like it, and since it has a different historical meaning in the
US, I will use the term “mixed race” to avoid confusion. OK?
Now, as I was saying, the demographics break down like this:
75% are black, 13.6% are white, 8.6% are mixed race, and
then 2.6% are Indian. Now, like I said, the people of mixed race
and of Indian descent supported the effort to bring down
apartheid, and I should add that a few of the white people did
as well. So, after a long and difficult struggle, apartheid was
dismantled by F.W. De Klerk in 1990. Yes, do you have a question?
W2: Does everyone speak English in South Africa?
M: No, not necessarily. Most people do, I think, but there are actually
eleven official languages. English is one, and I’m sure you’ve all
heard of Afrikaans? That’s the language of the Dutch settlers.
It sort of evolved into a new language over the centuries of Dutch
settlement. The most commonly spoken language that’s native
to the area, I believe, would be Zulu. Then there are others, but
I won’t get into them right now... They should be in your book.
Anyway, back to the different ethnic groups for a moment. You
should be aware that South Africa has the largest population of
people of European descent in Africa, and the largest Indian
population outside of Asia. Not only that, it also has the largest
mixed race community in Africa. Now, as I was saying earlier, South
Africa has the largest economy of all the countries on the African
continent. It has a labor force of more than 13 million people.
If we look at a breakdown of those 13-million-or-so workers,
we can see that 35% of workers are employed in services, 30%
work in agriculture, 20% in industry, and 9% work in mining.
The remaining 6% are employed in other fields. OK, so that’s
some general information about South Africa’s demographics
and economy. Now let’s talk about their education system.
3 Chemistry
W: I know you are all very familiar with the periodic table, but do
you know the history of it? That’s what we are going to talk
about today. OK, so as you know, the function of the periodic
table is to organize chemical elements on the basis of their
chemical properties. Over time, as we’ve learned more about
the different elements, we’ve had to change the table. So, the
table we know today has evolved over the years in conjunction
with the science of chemistry. Originally, the elements were
ordered according to their atomic mass in relation to the mass
of a hydrogen atom, which is set at one atomic mass unit. Um,
let me put that another way. The mass of a hydrogen atom is
set at one. OK? And then using that as the standard weight, all
other atomic masses are measured in relation to it. That was how
things were done at first... how the table was ordered. Over time,
certain recurring patterns were noticed with regards to the atomic
mass of elements. For example, in 1817, Johann Dobereiner noticed
that some elements could be grouped together in threes, and
the grouping had to do with the relationship between the
atomic masses. You see, he observed that for some groups of
three elements, if you ordered them according to their atomic
masses, you would find that the element in the middle would
have an atomic mass that was halfway between that of the other
two. In other words, the mass of the middle element was an
average of the other two. Let’s refer to the periodic table in the
book. Look at the elements lithium, which is LI number 3, sodium,
which is NA number 11, and potassium, which is K number 19.
If you add up the atomic masses of all three, which we don’t
have listed here on this table, then divide by three, your answer
is the same as the atomic mass of sodium. That’s the Law of Triads.
Another pattern was observed in 1863 by John Newlands. He
devised the Law of Octaves. As you might guess from the name,
it involves sets of eight. This law states that elements behave
similarly to elements whose mass differs from them by a multiple
of eight. In other words, every eighth element, when grouped
according to atomic mass, has similar properties.
Dmitri Mendeleev is considered the “father” of the modern
periodic table. What he did was he wrote out the names, atomic
masses, and other properties of each known element on separate
cards. Then, he ordered them according to their atomic mass.
He noticed, like his predecessors, that certain properties repeated
periodically. Not all of the elements fit the pattern neatly, though,
so Mendeleev had to move some elements into new positions,
despite their atomic mass. Although some nice patterns had been
observed, the table was not yet perfect. So Mendeleev didn’t
actually make the table we see in our book today, but he did
put us on the path toward this table.
The problems Mendeleev had with his groupings were solved
almost fifty years later when Henry Gwyn-Jeffries Mosely developed
a system of assigning an atomic number to each element. Notice
I said “atomic number” not “atomic mass.” Try not to confuse
those two. An element’s atomic number is based on the number
of protons within the nucleus of the atom of the element. So,
the atomic number of an element is equal to the number of
protons in the atomic nucleus. This proved to be a far more
functional way to order the elements than by ordering them by
atomic mass or by groupings. By ordering the elements according
to their atomic number rather than their atomic mass, the
problems with Mendeleev’s table disappeared, and hence, a far
more comprehensive periodic table was born.
So now, as you can see in your book, the table is organized into
rows and columns. Each row is referred to as a period, and
each column is referred to as a group. In some groups, all of the
members of the group display similar properties. In general, we
can say that elements share more similar properties with other
elements in the same group than with other elements elsewhere
in the table. However, there are a few periods --- or rows --- in
which the elements share significant similarities. Does that
make sense? What I mean is that any given element is a member
of two things: a period, which is identified by the row it falls in,
and a group, which is identified by which column it falls in. Got
that? And in some of the periods the member elements have
similar properties. Then the columns are the groups, and within
the groups many of the elements share physical characteristics
and chemical behavior.
4 History.
M: We’ve talked about Roman mythology, which was adopted
from Greek mythology when the Romans took over Greece. So,
the Romans basically worshiped the same deities as the Greeks,
but changed their names, right? There were various deities like
Jupiter, who was known as Zeus to the Greeks, and the Roman
god Mars, who was Ares in Greek mythology. I won’t name
them all right now. But basically, you should remember that the
gods were typically associated with natural occurrences and
other phenomena --- kind of as a way to explain things that people
saw around them. One example is this --- in order to explain the
movement of the sun across the sky, Romans believed, as did
the Greeks, that a god rode a chariot across the sky, carrying
the sun from east to west each day. This god the Romans
named Sol, which is where we get the word sun.
Anyway, that was the state religion of the Roman Empire (before
Christianity was established, that is). As the Empire expanded,
the Romans came into contact with foreign people with different
beliefs. Remember, the Roman Empire was huge. At its peak, it
included all of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, and
much of northern Europe as well. So, the Romans encountered
a lot of different cultures. Now, the state generally tolerated the
people’s beliefs in the other regions, so long as they didn’t interfere
with the power of the state.
Before we begin talking about the Roman cults, I want you to
understand that the term cult, as we are using it here, does not
have the same negative connotation that it has today. We are
simply talking about worship. The foreign cults of Rome were
groups that did not worship the deities that were the norm in
Rome. The foreign cults worshiped different deities. Over time,
some of these gods and goddesses were incorporated into the
Roman religion, while others were suppressed. So, what began as
tolerance for other religious beliefs led to the gradual incorporation
of some aspects of those other belief systems.
Some of the more well known deities of the foreign cults included
Isis and Mithras. Isis was the Egyptian goddess of fertility and
motherhood. Mithras was the Persian sun god who emphasized
strength and courage in the battle of good and evil. These are two
examples of deities who were accepted into Roman mythology.
Some time around the fourth century, things changed in the
Roman Empire. The cults related to all the various gods pretty
much disappeared in Rome. Christianity became the new state
religion. It had been gaining in popularity up to that time, but it
was still in competition with the earlier cults. Christianity became
the official religion of Rome under the emperor Theodosius. At
this time, all other forms of worship were banned, and as such,
the other cults either disappeared or were practiced in secrecy.
It is interesting to note, however, that quite a few elements of
worship from these earlier faiths were incorporated into Christianity.
Perhaps this was done in order to appeal to a wider range of
people. For example, the standard day of worship for Jews --- I
mean those Jews who became known as Christians --- their day
of worship was the Sabbath, the last day of the week. But this
day of worship for Christians shifted from the seventh day of
the week to the first day, Sunday, which is named for Sol, the
god we were talking about earlier, who, by the way, was the most
important deity in the Roman pantheon. Another example of a
borrowed tradition is the use of evergreen boughs and trees to
decorate the home in winter. This was a long-standing tradition
among many cultures to celebrate the winter solstice and the
return of the sun’s strength. Today’s tradition of a decorated
Christmas tree is a direct descendant of those earlier practices.
And while we’re on the topic of Christmas, there is the interesting
choice of December 25th as the celebration of Jesus’s birth. This
was also the traditional day on which the earlier Roman cults
celebrated the birthday of Mithras.
To recap, then, the rulers of the ancient Roman Empire allowed
foreign religions, including Christianity, to exist as long as they
did not interfere with their power. During the first few centuries
A.D., Christianity became more and more popular in the empire,
and in the fourth century, it became Rome’s official religion by
decree of then-emperor Theodosius. In order to gain acceptance
from a wide base of the Roman population, Christianity adopted
many aspects of other predominant religions of the time.
5 Campus Life
M: Come in.
W: Excuse me, Professor Altmann? Am I disturbing you? I have a
question about the exam.
M: No, come in, come in. What is it with you students? Always
worried about disturbing me. Why is that?
W: Well, I don’t know. Aren’t professors really busy preparing classes
and doing research?
M: Yes, yes, that’s true, but you see --- forgive me, what was your
name?
W: Emily.
M: Ah yes, Emily. You see Emily, these office hours are not my time
to be making class preparations or doing my research. This is
my time that is available for the students. This is why I am here
now. Your tuition fees are paying for my house and car and the
hot dog I ate for lunch. In return, I teach you about human
behavior, if I can, and I hold office hours for you to converse
with me. You see, it’s an --- economic exchange.
W: Really? So we can just come in anytime to chat?
M: Well, yes. During the office hours, basically, yes, but it’s always
nice to be a bit prepared of course.
W: What do you mean?
M: Well, as you know, there are many students, and only eight
office hours per week, so we want to use this time wisely and
efficiently.
W: Oh, like I should prepare a specific question.
M: Yes, that’s always nice of course. Having a specific reason is a
great start and can accelerate the process. Some students, you
know, they want to get a good reference, so they come by all the
time just to chat so that I know them well. Although I certainly
want to get to know the students in my classes, that’s too much,
you know.
W: So, mainly these office hours are just if we’re having problems
in the course.
M: No, no, also if you would like some, aah, further clarification of
some concept as well, but if you do come in for a problem, don’t
just come in and say, “Oh no! Oh help! I will never pass, it is
hopeless, please help me professor.” Then, I have to spend an
hour asking questions to ascertain the specific problem, and
sometimes, students want me to figure out an adequate paper
topic for them and get them started on their research. That is
OK, but you need to come with some ideas, something to start
with.
W: OK, that all makes sense. Wow, thanks for taking the time to
explain this to me. I should have been taking advantage of the
office hours system a lot more over the past two years. They
really should explain this to us when we start at the university.
M: Ah, yes, this would make perfect sense, but do they do it? No.
It needs doing, though. Then, I have to do it. You don’t have to
tell me.
W: I wonder if there is some way to suggest it. Like is there someone
in charge of freshman orientation who could be told about this
problem?
M: That sounds like an excellent question for your academic advisor.
W: Oh, you’re right. I’ll have to ask her the next time I go see her.
M: Anyway, Emily, how can I help you today?
6 Business
W: TM. We are all used to seeing the symbol of a tiny T and a tiny M
in the top right-hand corner of the name or logo of a company,
but what does that TM really mean? Today, I’m going to explain
just what a trademark is and what function it serves. Trademarks
are an important part of brands and branding. I will start by
defining trademarks, and then I will move on to explain different
kinds of trademarks. OK. Generally speaking, a trademark can
be defined as any word, name, phrase, design, logo, or picture
implemented by a company to identify its goods and differentiate
themselves and their products from the competition. That was
a long definition, so let me repeat it for you. A trademark can
be defined as any word, name, phrase, design, logo, or picture
implemented by a company to identify its goods and differentiate
themselves and their products from the competition. Trademarks
are registered. That means companies notify a particular office
in the country where they operate about the trademark. We
could say that a trademark is a kind of ID badge, so to speak.
Can anyone think of any examples of well-known trademarks?
M1: Well, how about Coke?
W: Good example. That particular name can only be used by the
Coca-Cola Company precisely because it is a trademark. When a
company owns a trademark, it can enforce its use and protect its
rights by preventing unauthorized use of the product’s name or
design. So, for example, no other company can call their drink
“Coke” and no one can copy the Coca-Cola logo without
permission. So, here we have the basics of trademarks. However,
their use is not without problems, which brings me to genericized
trademarks. Does anyone know what I mean by that?
M2: I guess it must have something to do with generic products.
Like, for example, Q-tips. The real name of the product is a cotton
swab, but most people call them Q-tips.
W: You hit it on the nose. That’s exactly what a genericized trademark
is. Sometimes a trademark becomes synonymous with the generic
name of the products or services to which it relates. It then
replaces it in everyday speech and makes it difficult for the
company to exert its proprietorship. Trademark owners need to
be careful not to lose control of how their trademark is used.
Like you said, Q-tip is a good example. Another one is the
Bikini. I’m sure no one here today identifies “bikini” with any one
particular company. To most people, a bikini is any two-piece
swimsuit for women. Can you think of any other examples?
M1: Is aspirin a genericized trademark?
W: Yes. Very good. Some other well known examples are kleenex
and popsicles. Anyone surprised? I see that a few of you are.
Next time you’re in the store, you might recognize a few more.
OK, so when a trademark becomes genericized, it’s a problem.
But what can a company really do? The best thing to do is to
try to prevent it from happening. One way to prevent it is to
avoid using the trademark as a verb or noun. A good example
would be Rollerblade. Rollerblade can be used as a noun or as
a verb. Someone might say, “I bought some new Rollerblades,”
referring to any new inline skates, or they might suggest going
rollerblading. A good way for a company to prevent this from
happening is to discourage generalization of that company’s
name in their marketing. That reminds me of another example. Do
you remember the old Band-Aid commercial? “I am stuck on Band-Aid,
cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me!”? That’s another example, isn’t it?
Band-Aid. What that company did was change their jingle to “I
am stuck on Band-Aid brand, cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.”
That reinforced the idea that Band-Aid is a brand and not a
product name. Another example is Xerox. Because that was the
first brand of photocopiers, people started saying that they
were “xeroxing” a document. Xerox then started an extensive
marketing campaign to push the word “photocopying.”
M2: But, wouldn’t it sort of be in the company’s interest for generalization
to happen?
W: Well, it certainly is a good sign for the company if their brand
is genericized. That means it’s popular, right? And it’s true that
many companies overlook the day-to-day use of their brand
name to describe a product. However, there is a risk of losing
control of your trademark. You see, it is possible to lose the
rights and protection of the trademark if the name becomes
too common. For example, Sony had registered the “Walkman”
as a trademark, but the word became so commonly identified
with the product, that they lost their rights to the brand name.