UNIT 1

Carlos Acosta is one of the greatest livingballet dancers. He was the first black principal dancer at Covent Garden inLondon. He is famous around the world and in his home country of Cuba he is anational hero.

Carlos now travels the world but always seesCuba as his home. All his family are still there. In Cuba he isn’t a foreigner.He says that in Cuba a child learns to dance first and then to speak. He talksabout the heat and the sea, about dance and music and happiness.

“Cuba is always going to be my home. In myheart, that’s the only country, you know, and because that’s where all myrelatives are, my memories, you know, and this is the only place I’m nevergoing to be a foreigner. You learn how to dance first; then you learn how tospeak, you know, in Cuba. It’s something that’s been passed on throughgeneration to generation. And it’s also, you know, the heat, and the tropic(tropics), and the sea and … it’s … it’s almost, that’s what it’s asking for,dance and music and happiness.”

Carlos was born in Havana, the youngest of 11children in a poor family. He often missed school. He was a championbreakdancer in the streets but didn’t want to be a professional dancer.

When he was nine, his father sent him to aballet school. Carlos hated it. He told his father he wanted to do somethingelse.

“So I … I did tell him many times that Ididn’t want to be … and that I wanted to … to do something else – football, youknow – but he didn’t want to hear it. So, I went and … But thank God he didn’twant to hear it because thanks to that I’m here now.”

At ballet school, Carlos wasn’t always a goodstudent and didn’t want to be a dancer. But when he was 13, Carlos saw theCuban National Ballet and he loved it so much that he changed his mind aboutballet. He decided to work hard and three years later, at 16, he traveled toEurope for the first time. That year he won four major dance competitions andbecame famous all over the world.

Now he is an international star and he dancesin many countries, but he still goes home to Cuba several times a year to visithis family.

UNIT 2

V = Voice-over; W1 = Woman 1, etc.; M1 = Man 1, etc.

V: All over the world, festivals bring peopletogether. But why do people go? For the music? The

food? The fun and games? We went to Bestivalin the Isle of Wight, England to find out. But the first question is – where dowe sleep?

M1: I ... I’ve got a beach hut up here to stayin, and I’ve got the key.

V: One man said it was like sleeping in theback garden.

M2: It’s like opening your back door, goingdown to the end of your garden, getting in your shed

with your baby and wife, and then calling it aholiday.

V: You can stay in a hut, but most people heresleep in tents. There are a lot of different people

here – families, young people, older people.We asked: Why do so many different people come to festivals?

W1: Well, I suppose it gives everybody achance just to be themselves, and just to be free and be

away from their normal jobs.

W2: People will respect each other and have... um … sort of some of those old -fashioned

traditional values, but actually values thateveryone really likes.

M3: The thing I always think about festivalsis they’re just playgrounds for grownups.

V: And, of course, there’s one reasoneveryone’s here: the music. This really is a festival for all

the community, young and old mixing together.In the tea tent these women are having a great time. Why do they go tofestivals?

W3: The community getting together, the youngmixing with the older people. We make cakes; we

do pop festivals; we’ll go anywhere, doanything.

V: So, if there’s one

answer to the question, why are you here? One thing that everyone talks about

is this: being together

UNIT 3

F = Francesco; M1 = Mamas; M2 = Maria

F: Kalimera. Kalimera. Er, can you show mearound Crete?

M1: Yes.

F: This is the biggest Greek island of all, soI’ve got a local guide for the next two days. M1: Francesco, do you want to seea Cretan wedding?

F: Oh, great! Traditional Cretan weddings canbe incredible. Preparations often last days. Mamas

is taking me to meet the bride, Maria Skula.

F: Kalimera, Francesco.

M2: Welcome! Come in.

F: Congratulations!

M2: Thank you.

F: Are you a little nervous?

M2: A little.

F: All the women are helping prepare for thewedding feast. They’re making decorations in dough

for a special wedding bread. How many guestsfor your wedding?

M2: Er, 1,500 about (about 1,500).

F: Mamma mia, it’s a lot! Mamma mia. The wholeof Maria’s village has turned out to see her get

married. The bride arrives with her father.She’s gorgeous. This is the nervous bridegroom, Jorgos. In a few minutes he andMaria will be man and wife.

M2: I do!

F: And now we go to party. It’s certainly thelargest wedding reception I’ve ever been to. At

Cretan weddings,

guests give money as gifts. And now the food is served. The meat of 150 sheep

... and a whole lot more. Maria and Jorgos’ first dance as man and wife

includes all the close family. I’m destroyed! Ah, really.

UNIT 5

N = Nicki; W = Woman; M = Man; J = Juan; F =Juan’s father

N: And finally, the country that I’m in:Argentina. The 20-lane Avenue 9th July is the widest street on the planet andif you need to know where you are in the city, it’s an easy reference point asit cuts through the metropolis from north to south. La Boca, the port where thefirst Spaniards landed, is one of the poorest regions in the city. The peopleof La Boca share one of Argentina’s greatest passions: football. From its slumshave come some of the greatest players and its most famous team. La Boca iswhere Diego Maradona, one of football’s leading legends, began his career. Sowhy is football so important to Argentinians?

W: Because we are a very passionate country.We are Latins.

M: In every way, we have passion, for football,for music. We are also famous for the tango. People started dancing the tangoin the 1800s.

N: It’s a dance full of passion and emotion.

N: I’ve been riding on and off since I waseight or nine and I love horses and I’ve never played polo before andapparently Argentina is the place to learn. Morning, Juan. Morning, Gada. Firstlesson: getting on the horse.

J: Come on, Nicki. You can do it!

N: I can do it. I’ve got to do one, haven’t I?Here we go!

J: Ola, Nicki!

N: Yes! That was one! One out of a hundred!The British originally came to Argentina for meat. Today, Arg entina is stillfamous for its beef. It’s considered the best beef in the world. Bigmeat-eaters over here, aren’t you?

J: Yeah. I think the, the average(consumption) of meat per person in Argentina per year is like 80 kilos in oneyear.

N: That’s a lot!

J: The average. So, that’s … it’s a lot.

N: You can’t be a vegetarian, can you, withall this fantastic meat?

F: If you want, we have very good vegetableshere!

N: Very social, isn’t it?

F: As you say, with family and friends, goodtable, good wine, you share wonderful moments. Never less than two, threehours.

N : That’s it from

Argentina and Holiday 10 Best. Join us next time. Goodbye!