A. Now listen to an interview with the director of a singing school and a student who did a course there. And mark the sentences T (true) or F (false).
1 Singing is good for your health.
2 To sing well you need to learn to breathe correctly.
3 People who sing are fatter than people who don’t.
4 Not everybody can learn to sing.
5 You need to know how to read music to be able to sing well.
6 If you make a surprised face, you can sing high notes better.
7 It takes a long time to learn to sing better.
B. Listen again. Choose the right answer.
1 When you are learning to sing you need to ______ correctly.
a stand b dress c eat
2 Singing well is 95% ______.
a repeating b listening c breathing
3 Gemma’s course lasted ______.
a one day b one week c one month
4 Gemma has always ______.
a been good at singing
b been in a choir
c liked singing
5 In the morning the students learnt to ______.
a breathe and sing
b listen and breathe
c listen and sing
6 At the end of the afternoon they could sing ______.
a perfectly
b much better
c a bit better
Answers
A
1 T 2 T 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 T 7 F
B
1 a 2 b 3 a 4 c 5 b 6 b
Audioscripts
I = interviewer, M = Martin, G = Gemma
I Good evening and welcome. In today’s programme we’re going to talk about singing. In the studio we have Martin, the director of a singing school in London, and Gemma, a student at Martin’s school. Good morning to both of you.
M/G Good morning.
I First, Martin, can you tell us, why is it a good idea for people to learn to sing?
M First, because singing makes you feel good. And secondly, because singing is very good for your health.
I Really? In what way?
M Well, when you learn to sing you need to learn to breathe correctly. That’s very important. And you also learn to stand and sit correctly. As a result, people who sing are often fitter and healthier than people who don’t.
I Are your courses only for professional singers?
M No, not at all. They’re for everybody. You don’t need to have any experience of singing. And you don’t need to be able to read music.
I So how do your students learn to sing?
M They learn by listening and repeating. Singing well is really 95% listening.
I OK Gemma. Tell us about the course. How long did it last?
G Only one day. From ten in the morning to six in the evening.
M Could you already sing well before you started?
G No, not well. But I have always likes singing. But I can’t read music and I never thought I sang very well.
I So what happened on the course?
G Well, first we did a lot of listening and breathing exercises, and we learnt some other interesting techniques.
I What sort of things?
G Well, for example we learnt that it is easier to sing high notes if you sing with a surprised look on your face!
I Oh really? Could you show us?
G Well, I’ll try.
I For those of you at home, I can promise you that Gemma looked very surprised. Were you happy with your progress?
G Absolutely. At the end of the day we were singing in almost perfect harmony. It was amazing. In just one day we really were much better.
I Could you two give us a little demonstration?
M/G Oh, OK …