Encounters with Nature – B2 English Listening Exercise

9 seals 10 light aircraft 11 steep cliffs 12 ocean waves

13 diving 14 strong wind 15 red deer

16 camera lens 17 visitor centre 18 blog post

Mark: Hi everyone, I’m Mark, and I’m a wildlife enthusiast. I’m here to tell you about an incredible coastal trip I took last month.

I love photographing animals in their natural habitats. I initially booked this trip hoping to photograph dolphins, which are quite common in the area. However, a local guide told me it was the perfect season for seals, so I changed my focus entirely and decided to target them instead.

To get the best views, I needed to get up in the air. I considered renting a helicopter, as it’s great for hovering in one spot, but eventually, I opted for a light aircraft because it allowed us to cover a lot more distance along the shoreline in a short amount of time.

My pilot, Sarah, was fantastic. As we took off, the first landmark I expected to see was the famous old lighthouse at the edge of the bay. But due to our specific flight path, the steep cliffs came into view first. They looked absolutely majestic from that angle, dropping sharply into the water.

Once we were over the sea, the view was breathtaking. From the vantage point of the plane, I didn’t focus much on the fishing boats scattered around. Instead, I marvelled at the striking spectacle of flocks of seabirds gliding effortlessly just above the ocean waves. It was like a synchronized dance.

I watched the birds closely through my binoculars. I thought I might catch them feeding their young on the rocks, but what amazed me most was their synchronized diving into the water to catch fish. The speed and precision were just unbelievable.

We were a bit worried about the weather before setting off. The morning forecast had predicted heavy rain, but fortunately, the dark clouds held off. However, we did experience a strong wind that made the flight quite bumpy for a while, making it a bit tricky to keep my camera steady.

Later, we flew over a protected area near the beach. Looking down at the nature reserve, Sarah told me to look out for wild horses that sometimes roam there. I couldn’t spot any, but I did catch a glimpse of some red deer sheltering near the edge of the trees. It was a lovely surprise.

I was snapping photos constantly throughout the journey. At one point, the images started looking terribly blurry. I thought my battery had died or the sensor was broken, which caused a real panic. It turned out to be a massive smudge on my camera lens, which was a quick fix with a microfiber cloth!

After landing safely, we didn’t go straight to the coastal cafe for a well-earned lunch as I usually do after a shoot. Instead, we headed straight to the visitor centre to report some of our wildlife sightings to the local rangers, as they keep records of local animal populations.

I’ve got so many great photos now, and I really want to show them off. Some friends have suggested I put together a local exhibition, but I think a detailed blog post is a better way to share the experience with a wider audience right now. I’m working on writing that up this week!

9 fresh air 10 mountain lodge 11 bird watching 12 late afternoon

13 wooden fence 14 breaking branches 15 brown bear

16 picnic basket 17 deep breath 18 deep respect

David: Hi everyone, my name is David, and I’m here to talk about my recent trip to the United States, which turned out to be far more adventurous than I ever anticipated. My wife initially suggested a beach holiday for our summer break, expecting we’d go somewhere tropical to relax by the ocean. However, I was craving some fresh air after months of working in a stuffy city office, so we compromised and settled on Aspen, Colorado, a place renowned for its incredible outdoor scenery.

When it came to booking our accommodation, we looked at a luxury hotel right in the town centre, thinking it would be convenient for restaurants. Instead, we opted for a secluded mountain lodge because it promised a much more authentic wilderness experience, away from the crowds. It was located halfway up a mountain, surrounded by nothing but nature.

During our first few days, we wanted to be as active as possible. I thought about trying mountain biking, which is absolutely huge in that part of the world and looks like a lot of fun. Actually, we ended up doing some bird watching as my wife had recently bought some new binoculars and was eager to test them out. We saw some incredible species in the local forests.

On the third day of our trip, after a long morning hike, I decided to use the lodge’s outdoor pool. I’d originally planned to go for an evening dip under the stars, which I thought would be romantic. But it looked like the weather was turning quite chilly, so I went in the late afternoon while the sun was still quite warm and shining directly on the water.

The pool area was absolutely stunning. I expected it to be surrounded by thick pine trees, completely hiding the view and making it feel enclosed. However, there was just a low wooden fence separating the water from the wild forest beyond, which offered an incredible, uninterrupted panorama of the valley below. I had the whole place to myself, or so I thought.

I was doing some lengths, enjoying the peace and quiet, when I heard a strange sound. I thought it might be the heavy footsteps of another guest coming down from the lodge to swim. Instead, it was the unmistakable sound of breaking branches coming from the edge of the woods, just a few metres away from where I was swimming.

I stopped swimming immediately, treading water, and looked over. I had always imagined that if I ever saw a bear in the wild, it would be a massive, terrifying grizzly. But actually, a rather curious-looking brown bear had wandered right up to the edge of the pool deck. It was smaller than I expected, but still incredibly intimidating to see up close.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I thought it might try to drink from the pool, or worse, that it would look at me. But it completely ignored my presence in the water and was entirely focused on a picnic basket that another guest had carelessly left behind on a sun lounger. It began sniffing it quite enthusiastically.

My immediate instinct was to splash water or shout loudly to scare it away, which is what people always seem to do in the movies. However, remembering the local wildlife advice we’d been given at check-in, I just took a deep breath and stayed absolutely motionless in the water, not making a single sound.

After thoroughly investigating the basket and evidently finding nothing tasty inside, the bear simply turned around and ambled back into the trees as casually as it had arrived. You’d think I’d be completely traumatised by the whole event and never want to go outside again. In truth, I was left with a deep respect for these magnificent animals and their natural habitat. It was a privilege to share their space, even for a few minutes.