TESTS Oral Comprehension
Scripts
UNIT 4
PART 1 1
10
Presenter: Hi, everyone, we’ve got a special guest for Valentine’s Day – expert florist Judy Dean! She’s going to tell us all
about roses!
Judy: Valentine’s Day is coming up, and if you’re in love, you’ll probably be giving your loved one red roses. But have
you ever wondered why roses are considered a symbol of love and romance – especially red roses?
You may be surprised to learn that even in the ancient world, roses were popular and already connected to love.
According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, fell head over heels in love with
a mortal named Adonis, who loved to hunt. Aphrodite warned Adonis not to go near any fierce animals, but in
the end, he was killed by a wild pig that he was hunting. As Aphrodite rushed towards him, her foot was torn by
a white rose, creating the first red roses with her blood. These became the symbol of eternal love.
During the time of the Roman Empire, the Roman nobility were so obsessed with roses that at one point, they
even forced farmers to grow roses instead of food, which caused great hunger and suffering. In about 40 BC,
Cleopatra covered her floors with rose petals in order to attract Roman emperor Mark Antony – and he really did
go mad over her!
Roses were well known in the East as well. There’s a Hindu legend that says that the gods Brahma and Vishnu
argued about what flower was the most beautiful. Brahma had never seen a rose before, and he argued for the
lotus, but when Vishnu showed him roses from his garden, he realised that Vishnu was right. Brahma rewarded
Vishnu by creating a bride for him, Lakshmi, out of rose petals, and the two loved each other intensely. They were
truly meant for each other.
PART 2 1
11
Judy: In the West, roses continued to be popular, although sometimes they symbolised war rather than love. During the
15th century, two factions fought to control England, and since the white rose was the family symbol of one faction
and the red rose was the symbol of the other, the 30-year-long conflict was known as the War of the Roses.
However, in the 16th century, Shakespeare wrote about the rose over 70 times, always in connection with love and
not war.
In the late 18th century, cultivated roses were introduced to Europe from China, and they began to take over the
market. This was because they had the amazing ability to blossom again and again from early summer to late
autumn. Chinese roses also included an especially beautiful shade of red. Since then, almost all the roses we see
come from hybrids between Chinese roses and European roses.
So the world had always been obsessed with roses – but that was nothing compared to what happened in England
during the 19th-century Victorian era. In Victorian society, there were strict social rules, and open displays of
emotion were considered unacceptable. So instead, people sent each other flowers! The flowers were chosen and
arranged according to a secret language called floriography. Each type of flower and each colour had a distinct
meaning, and even the same flowers could mean different things depending on how they were arranged. Most of
the messages were positive, but not all. Take roses, for example – giving someone red roses meant you felt deep,
passionate love, but yellow roses indicated envy.
So now you know – people have been using roses as a symbol of love for thousands of years. If you decide to buy
them this Valentine’s Day, you’ll be following a time-honoured tradition!
Presenter: Thanks, Judy. That was fascinating!
