Section C

　　Recording 1

　　Dating from as far back as the 12th century, they are claimed to be the rarest historic buildings in western Europe. These buildings offer vital insight into Scandinavia’s Viking past. But now, with only 30 wooden churches remaining and their condition deteriorating, experts are working to preserve the structures for future generations.

　　Some of these spectacular churches are no more than small buildings, barely 4 meters wide and 6 meters tall. Others are much larger structures. They soar up to 40 meters into the cold air. Most consist of timber frames that rest on stone blocks. This means that they have no foundations. Although many of the churches appear from the outside to be complex structures, they normally feature only a single storey but numerous different roof levels.

　　Staff from the Norwegian government have carried out conservation work on 10 of the churches over the past two years. Most of these churches date from between the 12th and 14th centuries. Other churches were conserved in previous years. So far, specialists have worked to add preservative materials to the churches’ exteriors. They also replaced rotting roots and halted the sinking of the churches into the ground. In two cases, huge machines have been used to lift the buildings up to 30 centimeters into the air. This was accomplished so that the team could examine and repair the churches’ original medieval stone blocks. The team plans to return to around a dozen of the buildings to assess progress and consider further action.

　　The earliest free-standing wooden church was probably built in Norway in around 1080. However, the largest known wooden churches were built from the 1130s onwards. This period was one of inter-elite rivalry, in which nobles sought to increase their influence by funding the construction of churches and other buildings. The reason for constructing the buildings from wood is probably that ideally proportioned straight and slender timber was available in large quantities in Scandinavia’s vast pine forests. As wood was so plentiful, it was cheaper to use than the stone used in the buildings of other European cultures. The area’s ship building tradition, partly established by the Vikings, also meant that sophisticated carpentry was a major aspect of the local culture. The complex style of the medieval wooden church carvings and the skills used to make them almost certainly to derive from the ancient Viking tradition.

　　Q16. What does the speaker say about the Viking wooden churches?

　　Q17. What is special about most of the Viking wooden churches?

　　Q18. Why were the Viking churches constructed from wood?

　　Recording 2

　　In last week’s lecture, we discussed the characteristics of the newly born offspring of several mammals. You probably remember that human infants are less developed physically than other mammals of the same age. But in today’s lecture, we’ll look at three very interesting studies that hint at surprising abilities of human babies.

　　In the first study, three-year-olds watch two videos shown side by side. Each featuring a different researcher, one of whom they’d met once two years earlier. The children spend longer watching the video showing the researcher they hadn’t met. This is consistent with young children’s usual tendency to look longer at things that aren’t familiar. And really this is amazing. It suggests the children remember the researcher they’ve met just one time when they were only one-year-olds. Of course, as most of us forget memories from our first few years as we grow older, this early long-turn memories will likely be lost in subsequent years.

　　Our second study is about music, for this study researchers play music to babies through speakers located on either side of a human face. They waited until the babies got bored and inverted their gaze from the face. And then they change the mood in the music either from sad to happy or the other way around. This mood switch made no difference to the three-month-olds; but for the nine-month-olds, it was enough to renew their interest and they started looking again in the direction of the face. This suggests that babies of that age can tell the difference between a happy melody and a sad tune.

　　Our final study is from 1980, but it’s still relevant today. In fact, it’s one of the most famous pieces of research about infant emotion ever published. The study involved ordinary adults watching video clips of babies nine months or younger. In the video clips, the babies made various facial expressions in response to real life events including playful interactions and painful ones. The adult observers were able to reliably discern an assortment of emotions on the babies faces. These emotions included interest, joy, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, and fear.

　　Next week, we’ll be looking at this last study more closely. In fact, we will be viewing some of the video clips from that study. And together, see how well we do in discerning the babies’ emotions.

　　Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.

　　Q19: What are the three interesting studies about?

　　Q20: What does the second study find about nine-month-old babies?

　　Q21: What is the 1980 study about?

　　Recording 3

　　Today I’d like to talk about the dangers of being too collaborative. Being a good team player is a central skill in our modern workplace. The ability to work well with others and collaborate on projects is a sought-after ability in nearly every position. However, placing too much emphasis on being a good team player can negatively affect your career growth. Don’t be overly focused on gaining consensus. Don’t be too concerned with the opinions of others. This can hinder your ability to make decisions, speak up and gain recognition for your individual skills and strengths. Some people are too subordinate to others’ opinions, too focused on decision consensus, too silent about their own point of view, too agreeable to take things on when they don’t have time or energy. This leads to building a brand of underconfident, submissive, low-impact non-leaders and hampers their growth and career advancement.

　　Collaboration certainly makes your individual competencies and contributions more difficult for outsiders to identify. Collaborative projects mean you’re sharing the spotlight with others. Outsiders may then find it difficult to determine your contributions and strengths. This may end up costing you opportunities for promotions or pay raises. You certainly shouldn’t ditch teamwork, but how can you avoid the hazards of being an over-collaborator?

　　Working in a team can have huge benefits. Your team may have repeated successes and often gain recognition. You then have more opportunities to expand your professional network than if you worked alone. However, finding a balance between team efforts and individual projects that give you independent recognition is important for making a name for yourself and providing opportunities for advancement.

　　Be selective in who you work with. This will maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides of being a team player. Collaborate with people who have complementary expertise. Select projects where there’s potential for mutual benefit. Perhaps you’re bringing your unique knowledge and gaining access to someone else’s professional network, or maybe you’re able to learn a new skill by working with someone. Seek out your teammates purposefully rather than jumping on every new group project opportunity. When we’re too collaborative, we want everyone to agree with a decision before we proceed. This can create unnecessary delays as you hold meetings trying to achieve consensus. It’s fine to be collaborative when seeking input. But put a deadline on the input stage and arrive at a decision, even if it’s a decision that doesn’t have consensus.

　　22-25

　　Q22. What does the speaker say about being over collaborative?

　　Q23. What does the speaker say about people engaged in collaborative projects?

　　Q24. How do people benefit from working in a team?

　　Q25. Why is it undesirable to spend too much time trying to reach consensus?

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