Encounters with Nature – B2 English Listening Exercise

9 wildlife photographer 10 dry summer 11 rubbish bin 12 black bear

13 pizza boxes 14 pet cat 15 pine tree

16 car horn 17 wooden ladder 18 strong locks

Mark: Hi everyone, my name is Mark and I want to share a recent, rather exciting experience I had with some local wildlife. I moved to a small town in the mountains about a year ago. A lot of people assume I relocated here to work as a ski instructor, as the area is famous for it, but actually, I work as a wildlife photographer, so being close to nature is essential for my job.

Usually, the animals stay high up in the mountains where there is plenty of natural food. We had a very severe winter last year, which was tough on the animals, but it was really the unusually dry summer that caused a shortage of berries, forcing the wildlife to come down into the residential areas looking for sustenance.

It all started early one Tuesday morning. I was fast asleep when I was woken up by a tremendous crash outside my bedroom window. My initial thought was that a delivery van had driven into my garden wall by mistake, or perhaps some foxes were causing trouble, but looking outside, I realised it was actually my rubbish bin that had been tipped over onto the driveway.

I carefully peeked through the curtains to see what was going on. Because it’s a common occurrence around here, I fully expected to see a couple of raccoons making a mess. However, to my absolute astonishment, standing right there in the moonlight was a huge black bear.

It was systematically going through my refuse. You might imagine it was searching for the leftover roast chicken I had thrown out the day before. Instead, it seemed completely obsessed with chewing on some greasy pizza boxes from a takeaway I’d had over the weekend!

While I was watching this incredible sight, I suddenly heard a sharp hissing sound. For a second, I thought it might be a squirrel, which we have loads of, but then I spotted a pet cat that belongs to my neighbours, completely frozen in terror on the grass.

The bear honestly didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in the feline and just continued eating. The cat, however, absolutely panicked. It could have easily jumped over the brick wall to safety, but instead, it bolted and scrambled all the way up a pine tree near the edge of my garden.

I knew I couldn’t just leave the situation as it was, so I needed to scare the bear away. Shouting or using a bright torch can sometimes make them aggressive, which I wanted to avoid. However, I remembered a ranger telling me that sounding a car horn is generally the safest and most effective deterrent. So, I grabbed my keys and pressed the alarm button.

It worked like a charm! The bear dropped what it was eating and slowly lumbered off back towards the forest. The cat, though, was still trembling high up in the branches. I tried tempting it down with a bowl of tuna, but it wouldn’t budge. Ultimately, I had to go to the garage and get my wooden ladder to climb up and bring the poor creature back down to solid ground.

It was certainly an unforgettable morning! We’ve all had to be a lot more careful since that incident. A few locals suggested keeping all our waste inside until collection day, but the town council recently stepped in and issued everyone with special bins equipped with strong locks. It seems to have done the trick, and the bears are staying in the woods where they belong.

9 wooden bridge 10 farm dogs 11 metal fence 12 sea birds

13 heavy fog 14 stone arch 15 yellow flowers

16 wild goats 17 peaceful 18 warm jacket

Sarah: Hi everyone. My name is Sarah, and today I’m going to tell you about a rather dramatic hike I went on recently to a ruined coastal castle. I’d read about this place online and decided I just had to see it for myself.

To get to the castle, we had to leave our car at a farm a few miles away. I’d assumed we’d just walk down a paved road or a dirt track to start the journey. Instead, we had to cross a small stream via a wooden bridge before even reaching the open fields. It was quite a picturesque start!

Once over the water, we entered a massive, green pasture. It was absolutely covered in sheep. Entering the field, I expected the sheep to run away from us in a panic. However, they completely ignored us, probably because they were being carefully watched by a pair of farm dogs resting nearby. They clearly had the situation under control.

After crossing the pasture, we reached the coastline, and this is where it got challenging. The footpath to the castle was perched right on the edge of a steep cliff. Initially, I was terrified of falling. But my anxiety vanished when I realised a sturdy metal fence ran all the way along the drop. That certainly made the precarious walk much easier to handle.

As we navigated the cliff path, my friend kept looking down at the waves, hoping to see some seals down below. Instead, our attention was captured by hundreds of sea birds nesting in the rocky crevices. The noise they made was absolutely deafening, but it was amazing to be so close to nature.

We also had the weather to contend with. The local forecast had promised heavy rain for the afternoon, which thankfully held off. But a heavy fog rolled in from the ocean shortly after we set off, making the atmosphere quite eerie and making it hard to see the castle until we were right up close to it.

When the ruins finally emerged from the mist, it was breathtaking. I’d been looking out for a massive wooden door, like you see in historical movies. Actually, the main entrance was just a crumbling stone arch covered in thick ivy. We walked right through it into the main courtyard.

Nature had really reclaimed the entire site. Given the harsh coastal environment, I expected to see nothing but dark, gloomy weeds everywhere. Surprisingly, bright yellow flowers were growing straight out of the cracks in the ancient walls. It added such a lovely splash of colour to the grey stone.

While we were exploring the inner courtyard, we suddenly heard a strange scattering noise above us. I assumed it was just other tourists walking on the upper levels. But it turned out to be a small family of wild goats effortlessly climbing on the rubble! They stared at us for a moment before jumping away.

You’d think such a ruined, isolated place, especially with the mist, would feel creepy or intimidating. In reality, once we sat down inside the protective walls to eat our sandwiches, the overall feeling was incredibly peaceful. It was a great spot to just sit and reflect.

If you decide to do this trek yourself, you don’t necessarily need expensive hiking boots because the ground isn’t actually too rough or muddy. However, bringing a warm jacket is absolutely essential because the wind off the sea is freezing, even in the summer! It’s definitely a trip I’d recommend if you love nature and history.