Listening Practice

Listen to that video and then answer the following activities:

Listen to the speakers describing their favourite things and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

1. Preparation: matching

Do this exercise before you listen. Match the verb with the correct noun and write a – g next to the numbers 1 – 7.

1…e….. take                                                                                a. a designer

2…g….. listen to                                                                         b. your scooter

3…d….. watch                                                                             c. a business

4…f….. stroke (= move your hand gently over something)       d. films

5…b….. park                                                                                e. photos

6…a….. make it as (= be successful as)                                f. the cat

7…c….. set up (= start)                                                              g. music

2. Check your understanding: matching

Match the speakers with their favourite things. Write a – e next to the numbers 1 – 5.

1…a….. Speaker                   A a. a tablet

2…e….. Speaker                   B b. a sewing machine

3…c….. Speaker                   C c. a scooter

4…b….. Speaker                   D d. a set of knives

5…d….. Speaker                   E e. a cat

3. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Write the word to fill the gaps.

A. My favourite thing has to be my new tablet. It’s really light and quite __small___________, so I take it with me everywhere. I’m always writing to friends and it’s big enough to do college work on it too. It takes really good __Photos___________, and I play games and listen to __Music___________ on it as well, of course. I often download __films___________ onto it, and watch them in __bed___________. My mum says I’m __addicted___________, because I’m always on it. I even read things on it at breakfast time. I’m not allowed to at _dinner____________ time, though. I have to be _polite__________ and talk to people then. “Welcome back to real life,” my mum says.

B. My favourite thing? Does my __cat___________ count as a thing? She’s not really a thing, but anyway. She’s a really __beautiful___________ little cat. I’ve had her since she was _formal___________ months old. You know how some cats are really __independent___________ and hardly talk to you? I know cats don’t really talk, but you know what I mean. Well, she’s not like that at all. She’s really ___affectionate ____________ and comes up to me as soon as I get home, purring away like mad. She makes a lot of __noise___________ for a tiny thing. She loves being stroked and comes and curls up next to me when I’m on the __sofa___________. She’s great __companion___________.

C. My new scooter! It’s quite small, but _fun____________, and just what I needed for getting around the __city___________. I used to have quite a long walk to the __metro___________, then a longish walk at the other end to get to __college___________. But now I can just whiz there on my __scooter___________. And there’s no problem parking, there’s always __space ___________ for it. You have to be _careful____________ with the cars and _truck____________ – they don’t always see you – and when it rains the surface of the road is _terrivle____________, it gets really slippery. But in general it’s perfect for me, and I can fit a __friend___________ on the back too – I’ve got an extra __helmet___________ for a friend. It’s great. Riding along makes me feel so free.

D. This might sound a bit old-fashioned, but my sewing _machine____________ is my favourite thing. I’m studying __fashion___________ and love making things, as well as designing them. I also love _clothsing____________ myself and often buy second-hand clothes – everyone loves the “vintage” __looked___________ at the moment – and then I adapt them to my __size___________. It’s much easier using a machine to do that than doing it by ___hands__________. I do alterations for my mum and my sister too. If I don’t make it as a _designer____________, I suppose I can always set up my own alterations and customising _business____________. Customising clothes, by taking things off and adding things on, is actually very __creative ___________, so I wouldn’t mind that.

E. My set of Japanese knives. That sounds a bit sinister, doesn’t it, but I’m not a __majar ___________ or anything. They’re chef’s knives and the best ones come from ___Japan__________. Cooking is my new hobby. I got into it when I started watching Masterchef on TV. Then I went to an evening _class____________ for

beginners, and I haven’t looked back since. I try and have a _dinner____________ for between four and eight__friends___________ every two or three __weeks___________. That gives me something to work towards and I

always do new __dishes___________ so they can try them out and give me feedback. It’s quite an_expensive____________ hobby if you use good __ingredients___________, but now my friends help towards the___cost__________. They still get a good __meal___________ for a very low price.