Unit 08

Unit 8 Page 74 READING Exercise 3 THE CHECKLIST MANIFESTO BY ATUL GAWANDE 1 A doctor in a large hospital walked into an operating theatre where an operation was being performed. Everything seemed to be going well, but the doctor picked up on one disturbing fact – no one was wearing a face mask. He was a little shocked – wearing a face mask is basic hospital procedure. But he didn't say anything. The operation was a success, but a few days later the patient came down with a fever. It turned out that she had a serious infection, probably because the doctors and nurses hadn't followed a simple rule. If they'd worn their masks, the patient wouldn't have been infected. 2 Someone who'd be interested in that story is Atul Gawande, who wrote a book called The Checklist Manifesto: How to get things right. Gawande is a doctor himself, and in his book he suggests that if surgeons run through a simple checklist before every operation, then lives will be saved. And he's got the numbers to prove it. In 2001, at an important American hospital, there was an experiment that required doctors to use a five-point checklist before they carried out specific procedures. The checklist was just a list of routine things doctors should normally do without thinking – for example, wearing rubber gloves, washing hands before and after every patient, and so on. By making sure that the checklist was followed, there were almost no infections over the 27 months of the experiment, and they reckon that around eight lives were saved. When the checklist was tried out again in hospitals in Michigan, in the US, infections went down by 66 percent. 3 In his book, Gawande looks at other professions, too, to support his argument that checklists reduce accidents and improve success rates. He points out that people like engineers and pilots use checklists all the time, and he comes up with some good examples. Just imagine that an aeroplane crashed because the pilot had failed to follow basic procedures. Suppose a skyscraper fell down because the engineers hadn't remembered to do some important calculations. There would be an immediate inquiry to look into these events. So Gawande's question is: if pilots and engineers use checklists, why don't doctors use them? 4 But when Gawande talked to doctors at eight hospitals about a checklist that he had developed, he found that a lot of them weren't very enthusiastic. Twenty percent of the doctors that Gawande talked to said that the list was too difficult to use and that it wouldn't help to save lives. But, when they were shown the statement, 'If I had surgery, I'd want the surgeon to use this list, 93 percent of the same doctors agreed with it! So it's hard to work out why they don't want to use it themselves. 5 The Checklist Manifesto is a really interesting and well-written book. It reminds us to do basic things to avoid problems. It's relevant for all of us, not just for doctors. We should all use checklists now and again, otherwise we'll make mistakes.

Page 77 LISTENING Exercise 8 & 9 It's not every day you get to meet someone who is 100 and that's one of the many reasons today's guest is so special. So please let's have a huge round of applause for Tom's great-grandfather – Mr Hardeman. Thank you. Now, when Tom asked me if I could come and talk to you as part of your age awareness week, I thought 'What on earth do you young people want to listen to an old man like me for?' But then he explained to me about all the work you're doing making your bucket lists. Now if I was younger, I would have known what a bucket list was. But I didn't, so he had to explain and show me his list – ten things to do before you're 25, and he asked me what would be on my bucket list. Now, as I'm already very old, the idea of a bucket list for me might seem a bit strange. It's probably a bit late for me to start planning to climb Mount Everest or parachute out of a plane – although actually I did do that when I was in the Royal Airforce. But it did make me think, if I was seventeen again, what would be on my list? I must admit I was finding it a bit difficult, so I had another quick look at Tom's list to help me. Well, it was full of some very ambitious plans – visit every continent, write a novel, meet a famous person – all sorts of exciting things and if you all have lists like Tom's, I wish you good luck trying to tick all those things off. But the more I thought about it, the more something was troubling me about Tom's list. There was a lot of ambition on it. I was worried that if he doesn't manage to do all those things, he might feel disappointed. I also worried that these weren't really Tom's ambitions, but someone else's expectations. And finally, I was also worried that if Tom spends all his time trying to do these things, then maybe he will miss out on enjoying his normal everyday life as it happens around him. Now maybe I'm taking the idea of a bucket list too seriously and it's just meant to be a bit of fun. So if I had made a list, what would be on it? Well, things I've already done; things like enjoying watching my wonderful family grow up around me, being there for a friend when they really needed me, trying not to make too much trouble in the world – that sort of thing. And now I can add one more thing – talking to a whole class of students at age 100. Thank you. Page 77 GRAMMAR Exercise 12 1 If I was what younger, I would have known what a bucket list was. 2 If I had made a list, what would be on it? Page 77 PRONUNCIATION Exercise 1 & 2 Oh no! I forgot my mum's birthday! I would've remembered if I didn't have all these exams! Really, Cora ... you could've written it in your diary. I could've done many things, Nellie. But that's not the point. You should've asked your dad to remind you! What are you going to do? Page 77 PRONUNCIATION Exercise 3 Oh no! I forgot my mum's birthday! I would've remembered if I didn't have all these exams! Really, Cora ... you could've written it in your diary. I could've done many things, Nellie. But that's not the point. You should've asked your dad to remind you! What are you going to do?

Page 78 READING Exercise 2 Elisa's LIST BLOG As you know, every week I post a top ten list here that someone has sent me. Well, this week, no one has sent me anything, so I'm offering you a top ten list of my favourite top ten lists! And here they are. 1 Ten of the world's strangest sports Everything from extreme ironing to cheese rolling and toe wrestling. You won't see any of these sports at the Olympics. 2 Ten crazy hotels Suppose you fancied a night in a volcano ... Or how about a sandcastle or inside a giant wooden dog? There's plenty of inspiration for your next holiday here. 3 Top things you never knew your brain could do Did you know you can learn while you're asleep? And that you can predict the future? Or know what's happening behind you without looking? Well, you can. And there's a lot more your brain can do, too. 4 Ten amazing ways that animals communicate Elephants use their heads and tails to communicate. Honey bees dance and mushrooms have their own internet. The facts will fascinate you, as long as you're interested in nature. 5 Amazing things people have found on the beach Thousands of rubber ducks, an enormous tree, eight-foot-tall Lego men ... You just never know what might turn up when you take a walk along the shoreline! 6 Ten criminals who needed to phone 999 to escape A burglar who got stuck in a chimney. A petrol station robber who got his arm stuck in a window. A car thief who got stuck in a car. Read all about them here – unless you've got something better to do. 7 Everyday inventions from Victorian times Cement, chocolate, flushing toilets, the sewing machine, the underground, the radio and the X-ray – all invented by the Victorians, but we couldn't live without them today. 8 Ten superhero powers you could actually learn Fancy being a superhero? Well, here are the powers you could learn to help you on your way, provided you've got the time. Powers include super strength, speed and agility. And mind control! 9 Before they were famous They weren't always mega-famous: before turning her hand to acting, Meghan Markle was a calligrapher (that means she wrote things in nice handwriting), Beyonce swept hair from the floor of a salon and Brad Pitt wore a chicken costume to advertise a restaurant. Well, we've all got to start somewhere. 10 Ten amazing facts about the world around us The amount of water in our world never changes. It just gets recycled. That means that cup of water you drank this morning might have been drunk by a dinosaur 350 million years before. And that's just the least interesting fact! Fascinating! So, that's me done for this week. You can find these lists in my archive. Lastly – please send me a list, people, otherwise I won't have anything for next week.

Page 80 Culture Exercise 2 Seven Wonders of THE NATURAL WORED The seven wonders of the natural world will inspire amazement from anyone who sees them. They are a constant reminder of the fragile beauty of our planet. THE GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA, US Around 17 million years ago, the Colorado River started to carve out its course through the Arizonian wilderness and the Grand Canyon was born. The Canyon is more than 450 km long, around 28 km at its widest point and around 1.5 km at its deepest. It is one of America's most visited natural wonders. PARICUTIN, MICHOACAN, MEXICO There are many impressive volcanoes all over the world. But what makes Paricutin so special is that it was born, grew up and went extinct all in about 20 years, giving scientists a unique opportunity to study the life cycle of a volcano. Paricutin quickly grew to a height of 423 m. Then, in 1952, after 19 years of eruptions, it went quiet. AURORA BOREALIS, AURORA AUSTRALIS Visitors to the Earth's Polar Regions may well get to witness a spectacular display of colourful lights in the night sky. The Northern lights (Aurora Borealis) and Southern lights (Aurora Australis) are the result of particles from outer space entering into the Earth's atmosphere. The closer you are to the poles, the more vibrant the displays will be. VICTORIA FALLS, AFRICA They're not the tallest or widest waterfalls in the world, but if you are measuring the amount of water that falls over them each second, they are certainly the biggest. These waterfalls, found on the Zambezi River as it enters Zimbabwe from Zambia, were named by the British explorer David Livingstone, after Queen Victoria. These days the local name Mosi-oa-Tunya (the smoke that thunders) is preferred by many. RIO DE JANEIRO HARBOUR, BRAZIL When Portuguese sailors first sailed into Guanabara Bay on January 1st 1502, and landed on the shore, they gave it the name Rio de Janeiro (river of January) as they believed they were at the mouth of a large river. In fact, they were in a bay that stretched for almost 30 km. THE GREAT BARRIER REEE AUSTRALIA More than 3,000 reefs and nearly 1,000 islands make up the Great Barrier Reef and at around 2,250 km in length, it's the only natural object on Earth that is visible from outer space. These days the reef receives special protection from the Australian government to ensure its survival. MOUNT EVEREST, THE HMALAYAS Mount Everest is one of the most well-known natural features of our planet. Standing at over 8,500 metres, it is the highest mountain in the world. Since it was first conquered by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hilary in 1953, thousands have climbed to the summit.

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