(Text 8)

W: What’s wrong with you?

M: I get the blues. I always feel sad and worthless.

W: Well, we all get the blues now and again. However, if the blues last for a long time and lead to difficulty in thinking and make your daily life disorder, it can be a mental problem. How long have you been like this?

M: For quite a long time.

W: You may have a mental problem. It can be caused by the overuse of drugs. Those who have a family history of mental illness usually have a greater risk of this problem. Sometimes the worrying changes in life can also lead to it.

M: I see. I’m experiencing a high level of stress in my new job. What should I do?

W: You should do some physical exercises regularly. How are your meals? Do you eat well?

M: Yes, I think so.

W: Good. Then find positive activities to take part in. I know it’s difficult for you though.

(Text 9)

W: Do you do a lot of your shopping online?

M: Yes. I tend to do more of my shopping online, including my food shopping, because it saves time and money. I’ve never really had a problem with it. Even when I want to return something, it’s always really good.

W: There are a lot of Internet shopping sites. What kind of site do you use the most?

M: Well, it’s hard to say. I’ve bought books and DVDs and things like that from Amazon. I just order them online, and they get sent to my door. I use Trade Me quite a lot too, where you can buy things, used or new, from other users. So, I’ve bought computer software, a computer and a camera, and I’ve been satisfied every single time. Also, I use some other Internet shopping sites to buy rare and difficult-to-find records. They offer records that often record shops do not have.

W: Have you bought anything online recently?

M: Yes. This month, I bought all of my family’s Christmas presents online. I bought my mother a coat, and my father a golf bag. My sister needs a sofa. I just ordered it online.

W: Really? I’ve never bought anything that large. I don’t think it is an easy job to deliver a sofa. Hasn’t it arrived yet?

M: No, but I’m looking forward to seeing how they will deliver it.

(Text 10)

W: Good morning, boys and girls. Today I’d like to continue our discussion of early American agriculture, turning from raising crops to raising farm animals. The animals on a typical farm in Massachusetts in the early 1800s would not look quite the same as the ones in the 1980s. In those times settlers brought cattle and sheep with them to America from various parts of Europe. Because the settlers were busy building houses, clearing land and planting crops, they had little time to care for their animals and most of the younger ones were not strong enough to survive under hard conditions. As the animals grew, they provided the settlers with meat, milk and wool. That was all most 19th-century farm families needed. And a little of the product could be traded for things they couldn’t produce. Now the survival of farm animals has improved much. Feeding is more selective and specialized: some for meat, others for their milk and wool.

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