Listening exercise:
NYT: From Ladles of Molten Metal
by Adam Huggins, photo journalist
Watch and listen to the narrated slide show
You may need to register on the New York Times site (it's free)
 http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20071126_MANHOLES_FEATURE/index.html
local audio capture file
related report (text)

Vocabulary:
New York City
manhole covers
city street
Ever wondered? = Have you ever wondered?
to notice
to visit
to walk the streets
to look down
And there it was.
NYC
sewer
in block letters
Adam Huggins
photo journalist
India
to have been living somewhere
for the last x years
to see how s.t. is made
Howrah, Haora
outside of
Calcutta, Kolkata
numerous
foundry
to find one's way to
main gate
Shakti Industries
to step inside
sewer grates
castings
to characterize s.t.
dusty yard
various tasks
to carry
materials like
coke
pig iron
upstairs
furnace feeding room
base
a long line of
shirtless
barefoot
to receive
molten liquid
to be poured out
temperature
to churn out
molten metal
ridiulously
within minutes of Ving
to be completely soaked in sweat
to wear as little as possible
shift ­È¯Z
production manager
to show s.o. around
to take the temperature of
Celsius 		Fahrenheit
sparks
to explode
pots
at one point
to leap up
to ignite
wrap
lungi/longi
entirely normal
to put out the flames
nearby
mold
to huff
to yell
to haul
spout
unless
for direction
to get out of one another's way
otherwise
silently
intense focus
strong
amazing to watch
in action
process
to go on
for several hours
the last run
dusk
small parts
heavy lifting
to be left to s.o.
once
to solidify
to cool
rough edges
to polish down
the last step
to stack
to bolt together
for shipping
forklift
to load
container ³fÂd
flatbed truck
batches
transported
port
cargo ship
to be bound for
eventually
to make it to
complete with
tag

Listening comprehension questions:
1. What got the reporter interested in preparing this feature report?
2. a. What is the difference between "hard news" and a "feature story"? b. What are "hard news" and "feature story" called in Chinese?
3. What is the reason, the reporter concludes, that the workers wear as little as possible when working?
4. According to the reporter's observations, what kinds of work do women typically do at foundries in India?
5. Find a Web page that converts Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures back and forth. Copy the URL.
6. What has happened to Shakti Industries since the publication of this story on the New York Times Website? See this article. Do you think the posting of the New York Times article might have had anything to do with the situation?
7. There are many things that form a part of our world and our lives that we may passively notice but take for granted and hardly think about. Name a few such very ordinary everyday things that you hadn't really thought much about before, but now wonder who designed it, made it, installed it, maintains it.

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