Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – About countries

1

Matt – Australia, Sandy – Scotland, Wilson – Jamaica, Tessa – Canada

2

a Wilson   b Tessa   c Sandy   d Matt

e Wilson   f Matt   g Sandy   h Wilson

3

a Good day   b 33%

c surfing, swimming

d England, Wales, Scotland

e Gaelic   f Edinburgh   g Mountains, lakes

h Winter sports   i  Kingston

j  Music, weather

MATT:   Good day! I’m Matt. I’m from Melbourne but my family originally comes from Greece. A lot of people in Australia come from other countries. D’you know, one Australian family in three – that’s 33% – speak another language, apart from English I mean. That is surprising, isn’t it? In Australia, we love open air activities of all kinds. We like to go to the sea, for surfing and swimming. Did you know that a lot of Australians, about eighty percent I think, live along the coasts?

SANDY:   Hello! I’m Sandy, from Glasgow. Sometimes people say to me: “You’re English, aren’t you?” But I’m not English, I’m Scottish. Many people get confused but it’s very simple: England, Wales and Scotland are all part of Great Britain. So we are all British, but we are not all English! We all speak English but some people in Scotland also speak Gaelic – and Scottish English is a bit different from English English! In international sport we usually take part as Scotland – not as part of Great Britain. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh but I think Glasgow is bigger and more fun!

TESSA:   Hi! I’m Tessa, from Montreal, in Quebec. Quebec is in the east of Canada. Most Canadians speak the two official languages, French and English. Canada is a huge country. The second largest country in the world, actually. In Canada you can find everything. Do you like big cities? We have really exciting ones, like Montreal and Toronto. Do you like mountains? We have lots too. Winter sports are very popular. It is very cold in winter but I like summer better. It’s warm and we go and swim in the lakes.

WILSON:   Hi, I’m Wilson, from Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. Jamaica is the biggest English-speaking island in the Caribbean. Many visitors come to Jamaica because we have fabulous beaches and great mountains. Jamaicans love music. And they love dancing. Do you know reggae music? Well, reggae is from Jamaica. When you come here, you can dance at any time of the day or night. It’s a really cool place to visit!

a east   b Canadians   c huge

d everything   e cities   f lots   g Winter

TESSA:   Hi! I’m Tessa, from Montreal, in Quebec. Quebec is in the east of Canada. Most Canadians speak the two official languages, French and English. Canada is a huge country. The second largest country in the world, actually. In Canada you can find everything. Do you like big cities? We have really exciting ones, like Montreal and Toronto. Do you like mountains? We have lots too. Winter sports are very popular. It is very cold in winter but I like summer better. It’s warm and we go and swim in the lakes.

Where it is:   in the Pacific Ocean

Capital:   Wellington

Languages:   English, Maori

Most popular sports:   rugby, water sports, cricket

Interesting information:   some active volcanoes

The name of the country is New Zealand.

I’m from a country that’s in the Pacific Ocean. It has two islands, North Island and South Island. the capital city is called Wellington. The two official languages are English and Maori. M-A-O-R-I – the Maori are the indigenous people, in other words, the people who were there first, before the British arrived. The most popular sports in my country are rugby, water sports and cricket. It’s a beautiful country, with lots of high mountains and volcanoes – some of them still active. Now can you guess where I’m from?