Listening: Cyber Theft 1

John is the owner of a small consulting business.

Last night, some important documents were stolen from John's office.

They were locked up in the safe, and the only way to open the safe was with an 8-digits access code. 

Whoever got into the safe must have had that code.

So now, he is trying to figure out who could get them.

Only two people in the company were authorized to have the code. 

To improve security, John changes the code every month.

He had the code of course, and so did his assistant, Sylvia. 

As far as he knew, nobody else had it, or had ever asked to use it to get something from the safe.

There was no reason for Sylvia to take the documents, so he couldn’t imagine that it was her. 

That wouldn't make sense, and she was completely trustworthy.

Besides, she was on a business trip, and wouldn't be back for several more days.

So somebody else must have had the code and stolen the documents

If so, who was it and how did they get the code?.

One possibility is that the code was written down somewhere, maybe in a notebook.

Sylvia was famous for writing things down.

She had a notoriously bad memory, so she kept a lot of notes.

Maybe she wasn't careful, and someone looked through her notes and discovered the code.

But Sylvia wasn’t that careless or irresponsible.

She would never have written the code down on a piece of paper.

So that couldn't be the answer.

Level 6 Unit 3 Part 1 Listening: Cyber Theft 2

Another possibility is that somebody hacked into her computer.

She had probably stored the code somewhere on her computer, and the theft was able to get it from there.

But who could he have been? 

Suddenly, he realized that there was a new IT guy in the office. 

He maintained the company’s computer network and provided technical support for the staffs.

Perhaps he was the guilty one. 

If anyone could have done it, he certainly had the skills. 

He was a security expert, and he had helped Sylvia  installed something on her computer last week.

Then, John realized that nobody had done a proper background check on the guy. 

One of the other engineers in the company had recommended him, and he seemed nice. 

They had been in a hurry to hire someone for the position, so they didn’t check his background very carefully. 

Suddenly, he had a bad feeling. 

Immediately, he used his smartphone to check the company’s bank accounts. 

To his horror, he found that a large amount of money was missing from one of his accounts. 

There had been a large withdraw earlier that morning, more than 75 thousand dollars. 

He then discovered that the money had been wired to an account in another country. 

So, not only did the IT guy get the access code for the safe, but he also got the login information for the bank. 

This was a disaster. 

John immediately called the police and reported the incident. 

He also called the bank to see if they could stop the transaction. 

Unfortunately, they said it was too late; the transaction had gone through. 

Just then, John got an email with the subject line: 'from the IT guy'. 

It showed a smiley face and said, 'Thank you for being so stupid.' 

Don’t waste your time trying to find me. 

I’ve left the country and will never return. 

Be thankful that I didn’t take everything in the account. 

This should be a good lesson for you. 

It was signed: 'your IT guy'.

Dialogue: 

Well, what did you think of my presentation.

Do you want me to be frank? 

I know you worked very hard on it.

Yes, give it to me straight. 

I have my own opinion too, but I'd appreciate your comments and suggestions.

You said you have your own opinion about it.

So how do you think it went?

I thought it went okay at first, but I could feel that there were some bad transitions.

I think I spent too much time on some slides and didn’t express them well.

I agree on most points. 

But to me, it was flat. 

Five minutes into it, I had a hard time paying attention.

Flat? Do you mean my voice?

Yes, that’s part of it. 

There is very little passion, almost like you were reading it. 

I’m sure you can do better.

Do you have any suggestions?

First, let me say that I liked the slides themselves. 

The designs were nice and easy to read. 

But the one thing you didn’t do was engage with the audience. 

You focused on the slides and didn’t address the audience.

Oh, I was trying to, but I guess I was too nervous. 

I didn’t want to forget anything.

You have a great smile. 

You need to show that smile and your expressions when you present. 

Make eye contact.

When you present, I notice you always do that.

And you pause between ideas. 

But it seems so easy for you.

For me, I look at the faces in the audience. 

I watch their expressions. 

I really try to communicate with them. 

Once I do that, it comes naturally, because it becomes real communication.

You seem to enjoy it.

Well, I’m always nervous too before I get started. 

But once I connect with the audience, I’m okay.

So connecting with the audience is the key. 

Focus on them and not me, right?

Yes, well put. 

In fact, if you do that, you will have to adjust your presentation. 

It has to flow like in a real conversation. 

We have to respond to each other. 

And the pauses are so that the presentation can breathe.

Hmm, it seems so obvious, but I’ve never thought of it like that. 

That’s a great advice. 

I wish we had talked before my presentation.

If we had, you may not have been open like you are now. 

Anyway, I’m sure your next presentations will improve. 

It takes practice like anything. 

Don’t be too hard on yourself. 

No, I won’t. 

But next time I will do better and I hope you are there.

OK, well, let’s get back to work.

Reading: Depletion of Fossil Fuels

A number of scientists are emphasizing the tremendous challenges that will soon be faced when the depletion of fossil fuel supplies coincides with an alarming increase in the global population. They highlight agriculture which is heavily dependent not only on gasoline to fuel machinery, but also on the petrochemicals necessary to manufacture synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Without these petrochemicals, crop yields would be only a fraction of what they are today. To assume that an abundant source of renewable energy will address this challenge is to ignore the vital non-fuel uses of petrochemicals.

Then there is the challenge posed to the current levels of mobility. As a fuel, gasoline is unrivalled in its portability. Electricity requires bulky batteries and hydrogen is notoriously difficult to store. Biofuels might seem like an alternative, but the energy consumed when converting corn into bioethanol, for instance, greatly exceeds the output when the fuel is utilized. In any case, once we reach a crisis in the food supply, it will not make sense to divert food crops to other uses.

Although there seems to be a widespread belief that the era of oil dependency is coming to an end due to some technological remedy, this may be mistaken. Relying on such an assumption can lead to complacency and a failure to take precautions. Experts may not be able to come up with the kind of solution that can lead to a pain-free transition. Scientists warn that relying on alternative resources might only support half of the global population. The absence of a realistic alternative to fossil fuels will mean that the first priority will be to curb the demand for food.

Reading: Meaning of Catch 22

One of the most interesting books of the 20th century was the novel, Catch 22. In the novel, the term 'a catch 22 situation' was introduced. The term has nothing to do with catching anything. It has a much deeper meaning, and it describes a kind of logical conundrum that’s worth exploring.

First, it’s important to put the phrase into context. In the novel, a group of American bomber pilots is on an island in the Mediterranean. They face death almost every day when they fly their bombing missions. Many have already lost their lives. The remaining pilots know that it is only a matter of the time before they will be the next victims.

One of the characters in the novel is a doctor. It is his job to see that the pilots are fit to fly. In particular, there is rule that says he has to ground anyone who is crazy. To ground them means to remove them from active duty so that they don’t fly.

Some of the men believed in the principles they were fighting for. They were willing to give their lives for their country. But to others, this was crazy. They thought the whole thing was insane. One of them, Yossarian, wanted out. He was friends with the doctor, and he wanted the doctor to ground him.

When Yossarian asked the doctor to ground him, the doctor replied: “you’re wasting your time, you’re not crazy”.

Yossarian told him to ask one of the other pilots, Clevinger, to tell him how crazy he was.

“There is no point. He’s crazy.” The doctor replied.” Crazy people can’t decide whether you are crazy or not.”

“Clevinger isn’t crazy! he’s one of the sanest pilots here.”

“So he’s obviously out of his head,” said the Doc. “He’s got to be insane to keep on flying combat missions after all the close calls he’s had.”“well, if he’s crazy, why don’t you ground him?”

“I can’t unless he asks to be grounded. That’s part of the rule.”

“So all he has to do is ask?”

“no, then I can’t ground him.”

“So there is a catch,” said Yossarian, trying to get things straight.

“Sure, there’s a catch,” said the Doc, with a slight smile. “Catch 22. If he asks, then he can’t be crazy. Only those who are crazy are grounded.”

“there’s some catch,” obs erved Yossarian.

“it’s the best there is, ” the Doc replied.