Listening 5
Now listen to part of a conversation between a student and a university housing official.
W: Hi. Can I help you?
M: Uh, yeah, I wanted to talk to somebody about my housing bill.
W: Sure, maybe I can help you. What seems to be the problem?
M: Well, see, uh … I got this bill in the mail the other day saying that I still owe $2,300 for my dorm room this semester. But, um. I’m sure that I already paid it all.
W: Hmm. that’s strange. Left take a look at your record in the system. What’s your student ID number?
M: Uh. 3-7-4-2-9-3-7.
W: OK, Jeff Terrence, right? Well, my computer is showing that we received a payment of $3,700 on January 6th but your total due for a angle is $6,000 per semester, so your bill seems to be correct actually. Would you like to pay the remainder now?
M: No . .. uh. look, this can’t be right. Did you say single, as in a single room?
W: That’s right. Our records show that you’re in Smith Tower room 215, a single doom room.
M: Uh, well, I am in room 215, just not in Smith Tower.
I changed rooms at the end of the fall, but I’m still in Burns Hall, and I have a roommate now.
W: Hmm … um. well then … uh. left see. I think you’re going to have to fill out an H-7 form requesting a refund of the $2,300 you still owe.
M: What? That doesn’t make sense. I shouldn’t owe any money. But I mean, if you want IQ give me a refund .. . that’s cool!
W: You won’t get an actual refund, that’s just how we handle it on paper. Now wait a second, I just remembered that something like this happened last summer. What you can do, actually, is get your RA—the, um. Resident Assistant for your floor-to write a letter to the Associate Director of Student Housing, James Frederickson. Ask your RA to verify that you are in Bums Hall, room 215, and that you have a roommate. Then we’ll update your record in our system and …”
M: Uh, hold on, I think I’d better get a pen to write this down OK. so who’s this guy again, the one I need to write to?
W: James Frederickson. He’s the Associate Director of this office. As I was saying, once your RA sends the letter and we update your record, you’ll get a confirmation in the mail. Then you’ll have to stop by Security to get a new sticker for your ID card. That sticker will prove that you’re living where you are, should there be any problems next semester with your housing bill.
M: Sounds good … I just have one more question.
W: Sure.
M: Well, over at Registration, they said I have a hokJ on my account since they think that I, like, owe money. How long do vou think this will take?
W: Left see … if your RA gets the letter in today, we could probably have it deared up in a day or two.
M: Thanks. I’m on it.
Listening 6
Now listen to part of a talk in an art history class.
Mi: So, folks, this evening. I want to move on from our previous discussion of Romanesque architecture to the new forms that emerged beginning in the. uh, 1 r century, which came to be known as Gothic architecture. As you’ll likely recall, Romanesque architecture mainly consisted of a return, after about a 600-year break, to using Roman forms and, um . . adapting them for the creation of a new generation of monumental structures. We talked about the development of arches, barrel vaults, and, um, in particular the rebirth of monumental sculpture, specifically as seen in the great portals that were built in the 11 “and 12th centuries. Now then, at the end of the 12th century, we also began to see the emergence of a new architectural style, Gothic. So, I hope all of you read the assigned chapter so, uh. maybe someone could tell us about a few of the key features of Gothic architecture?
W: WeR, I seem to remember, uh, that the Gothic style emphasizes verticality—rising high, and light, and, um, that they used, uh, let me just grab my notes here, uh, huge glass windows, skeletal structures, pointed arches, high vaults, and pointed spires . I think there were a few other features.
M2: Yeah, I remember the gargoyles you know, those monster statues—and they also had the flying buttresses, right?
Mi: That’s right. I’m glad you brought up the pointed arch and the flying buttress, two very important innovations. As you may recall in the reading, the pointed arch allowed for tall windows, often made of intricate stained glass designs… uh, you can see some of the most colorful and interesting examples at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. I think there’s a picture of it in your book, actually. Right, then … the pointed arch, unlike the low, round Romanesque arch, allowed for tall windows and thus, more light to enter than was possible in the order Romanesque churches and cathedrals. With the taller arches and colored stained-glass windows, brighter, uh, more magnificent spaces could be created. The Gothic cathedrals are quite bold in their aspirations to soar to greater heights, into the heavens. Uh, so, next we have the flying buttress—the second feature of Gothic style that I want to talk about today, um, one that was important to the full development of the Gothic cathedrals. Does anyone have an idea of why that might be?
Mr Uh, maybe they allowed the sculptors to position figures, like the gargoyles, and others high above, but so that people on the ground could still see them.
W: No, I don’t think that’s quite it. The book mentioned something about a buttress being a means of support, but I think that has to do with supporting walls, not sculptures.
Mi: That’s true. Earlier churches, even castles and Roman public buildings, used buttresses to support thick wads. So, the flying buttress evolved from an existing form, and it allowed cathedrals to be built taller, by providing support for higher vaulted ceilings. Its function was to transmit the thrust, the outward force and weight, of a roof or a vault across an intervening space, to a buttress on the outside the building. By using flying buttresses, an architect could place windows or other openings in load- bearing walls, the walls that support the weight of the roof, which would allow more light to enter the building. Also, cathedrals could now soar to even greater heights, dizzying heights. For instance, if you look at the Ulm Cathedral in Germany, it rises to 530 feet including the spire; another feature of Gothic style that I believe was mentioned in your book. Now, 530 feet—that’s pretty tall, we’re talking taller than the first modern skyscrapers, and built without the use of a steel skeleton or modern machinery!
M2: So it was just made of stone?
Mi: For the most part, structures built in the Gothic style… originally, that is. there are modem copies —Gothic Revival we call it—for the most part. Gothic structures of the Middle Ages were built entirely of carved stone blocks cemented together. Wood frames were used during construction and for some of the final decorative work, but rarely for structural purposes. And, that, that brings me to the third feature I want to talk about—vaults. Remember the Romanesque vaults?
W: Yeah, I think they .. . they had the rounded low vaults, and then the longer barrel vault. . . and they had the broad, stout columns.
Mi: Exactly! With the pointed arch and the flying buttress, among other changes that we’ll get to, builders could create higher vaulted ceilings that were more open, more airy. Unlike the round Romanesque arch, the pointed arch distributed weight downward more effectively, thus allowing for narrower columns and more open vaulted areas . . . again, letting in more light and air throughout the building.