Unit 6 / Listening 6B
- Now listen again and read
Headquarters of Beautiful Babes - Edinburgh , Scotland
Tom: Hello. We're from The Move. We're here to see James Foley about an interview for our magazine.
Receptionist: I'm sorry, I don't seem to have you on my agenda. Are you sure the appointment was for today?
Tom: Yes, I'm quite sure. Isn't that right Gina?
Gina: Yes. Our secretary arranged the appointment two weeks ago.
Receptionist: Hmm. Would you like to sit down for a moment?
Tom: Yes, thank you.
Receptionist (into telephone): Miss Buchanan, can you come out here for a moment? There are two reporters from The Move who claim to have a meeting with Mr. Foley. Could you speak to them?
Great. Thank you.
Receptionist: Melanie Buchanan will be right out to see you.
Gina: Thank you.
Melanie Buchanan: Hello, hello! It is always nice to see reporters from The Move. We love your magazine here at Beautiful Babes.
Gina: We just love Beautiful Babes, don't we, Tom?
Tom: Oh yes, absolutely.
Melanie: Actually, Mr. Foley had to leave on a business trip early this morning but I would be delighted to answer some of your questions. You aren't still working on the Judy Faringdon case, are you?
Tom: How did you know about that?
Melanie: Word gets around, Mr. Hunter.
Tom: I see. Well, yes, as a matter of fact, we are. Some things seem rather puzzling to us.
Melanie: Judy was a puzzling woman. I knew her at the very beginning of my career, fifteen years ago. I was a young woman of eighteen and Judy was a beautiful rising star in the modelling world. Unfortunately, though, she had a drink problem, and although I don't want to say it, she also got heavily into drugs. Cocaine, especially. You know at that time, it was considered a sophisticated thing to do and if you weren't careful - which Judy certainly wasn't - it could turn into a habit which was not just dangerous but expensive. Sometimes she could spend thousands of dollars in an evening.
Gina: How terrible!
Melanie: Yes. Tragic, in fact. It wasn't the sort of lifestyle a model can keep up for long. Judy's looks began to fade and she began to gain weight. She just stopped caring about how she looked. I tried to reason with her but she never listened. I felt sorry for her, of course, but quite frankly... Well, she should have known better.
Gina: I suppose so.
Melanie: When she got married I lost touch with her. I heard that she was looking for treatment to help overcome her addiction. Also that she'd had a little girl. A couple of years ago though, I began to receive strange letters from her.
Tom: Really?
Melanie: They were mad. Absolutely. Full of jealousy about how my career had exploded and how she was just a housewife stuck in a suburb. She claimed that my looks were superficial and that I'd never done anything to deserve my fame as a model. She said I was vain and one day, I would see, she would be famous again while I would be in the street. It was really quite sad to see that she'd sunk to writing such rubbish. I never answered, of course. It came as a shock to hear she was dead, but in many ways it was hardly a surprise.
Tom: A tragedy, nonetheless.
Melanie: Of course. But I really don't think there's anything mysterious about it. Someone consumed by jealousy and frustration. She takes to drink, she gets depressed. After a while she sees only one option open. And I'm afraid Judy took it.
Gina: Miss Buchanan, we were speaking to Judy's husband not long ago. He said Judy came to Scotland to take part in a film. Can you tell us anything about that?
Melanie: I'm afraid not. As you know, Mr Foley's business interests are broad and varied. My own work is restricted to the modelling agency. If you want to find out about film productions, you'll have to ask Mr Foley himself.
Tom: And he is unavailable...
Melanie: Yes. I'm very sorry, there's nothing more I can tell you.
Gina: That's all right. Thank you very much. You've been ... ahem ... most helpful.
Melanie: Goodbye.