Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – Never smile at a crocodile

A

1 c   2 b   3 b

B

1  a   is wrong because crocodiles attack very quickly so you don’t have time to swim.

    b   is wrong because as soon as a crocodile sees you, it will attack.

2  a   is wrong because bears can climb better than we can.

    c   is wrong because bears can run faster than we can.

3  a   is wrong because bulls can run incredibly fast.

    c   is wrong because noise or a sudden movement will attract the bull and make it come towards you.

I = Interviewer, M = Michael

I     OK, Michael, can you tell us what to do in these three situations? First, what about the crocodile attack?

M   Well, once a crocodile has seen you it will attack you, so doing nothing is not really an option. And a crocodile attacks so quickly that people never have time to swim to safety. The crocodile will try to get you in its mouth and take you under water. Your only hope is to try to hit it in the eye or on the nose. If you did this and you were very lucky, the crocodile would open its mouth and give you time to escape. But I have to say that it’s very difficult, although not impossible, to survive a crocodile attack.

I     What about the bear attack?

M   When a bear attacks someone, their natural reaction is always to try to run away or to climb up a tree. But these are both bad ideas. Bears can run much faster than we can and they’re also much better and faster at climbing trees. The best thing to do in this situation would be to pretend to be dead. A bear usually stops attacking when it thinks that its enemy is dead and so, if you were lucky, it would lose interest in you and go away.

I     And finally, the bull attack?

M   Well, if you were in the middle of a field, forget about running. Bulls can run incredibly fast. And don’t shout or wave your arms because bulls react to movement, and this will just make the bull come in your direction. The best thing to do is to try not to move, and just stay where you are, and then at the last moment to throw something, a hat or your shirt, away from you. If you were lucky, the bull would change direction to follow the hat or shirt and you’d be able to escape. By the way, it doesn’t matter what colour the shirt is. It isn’t true that bulls like red. They don’t see colour, they only see movement.