[originaltext]W: Hello, I’m Linda. Welcome to today’s program. I’m joined today

W: Hello, I’m Linda. Welcome to today’s program. I’m joined today by Finn. Hello Finn.
M: Hi Linda. You know, I’m happy you called me to present this program with you because I was there by my desk feeling a bit bored.
W: Okay. Then let’s make this a program all about boredom, shall we? And I’ll start by stimulating your imagination. How about challenging you to a question you might not know the answer to?
M: Okay, well, you can try. Go on then.
W: Well, I know you like the theatre.
M: I do. But it has to be an exciting play or I get bored.
W: Okay. I wonder how you’d feel watching the longest continuous play recorded?
M: That’s quite an offer. What do you mean?
W: According to The Guinness Book of Records, the longest continuous dramatic performance was held in New Jersey, in the US, in 2010. But do you know how long the cast was on stage for? Was it for about: a) 8 hours b) 17 hours c) 23 hours?
M: Wow! They’re all pretty long. I’ll say b) 17 hours, Linda.
W: It was even longer. The play lasted 23 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds.
M: Goodness!
W: Now, let’s talk more about boredom. I think this is a feeling we have to learn how to cope with.
M: Yes, we have to learn to deal with this situation successfully. People often feel they want to change their life, to change their job.
W: So you mean you’re bored with your job?
M: Yes. You know, even I sometimes dream of something a bit more exciting like being a professional diver or maybe even a pilot of a really fast plane.
W: Well, guess what: even pilots get bored, you know?
M: Not when they are flying anyway.
W: Wrong. When they’re up in the air!
M: No way! Really? I don’t believe you!
W: Well, Missy Cummings, an American fighter pilot, complains that pilots get bored because these fighter jets are very automated when it comes to just holding altitude and heading. So she turns everything in autopilot and starts listening to Oprah Winfrey TV shows.
M: Ah, so she listened to a show when flying?
W: Yes, indeed. But some experts think there’s something good about feeling bored.
M: Really?
W: Tiffany Watt-Smith from Centre for the History of Emotions at the Queen Mary University of London says that boredom is a very useful emotion. It’s an emotion which spurs people on to change something about their environment. If you’re bored, that gives rise to creativity.
M: So boredom spurs people on to change something.
W: So what are you going to do, Finn?How will you change your life?
M: Change my life? Okay. I’m going to book myself a fantastic holiday!
W: Yeah, it sounds very exciting. Thanks Finn. That’s it for this program. I hope you didn’t find it boring.
M: Not at all. I loved it!
This is the end of Conversation One. Questions 1 to 5 are based on Conversation One.
1. Why is the man happy to join the program?
2. How long is the longest play on stage?
3. Why would pilots feel bored when flying?
4. Why is boredom good?
5. What is Finn going to do to combat boredom?