Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – Topic: Weather and Climate

1

1 c   2 a, b   3 d, e   4 mainly e

2

1 False   2 True   3 False   4 False   5 False

6 True   7 False

3

1 b   2 d   3 c   4 e   5 a

The impact of oceans on climate

Water covers almost 70% of the Earth. But it doesn’t just stay in the same place.

Like the air above it, the water in the oceans moves around the planet. It moves because the Earth is spinning and this has a big effect on our climate.

The spinning of the Earth causes large circles of currents in the oceans. These circular currents are called ‘ocean gyres’. North of the equator, they move clockwise. South of the equator, they move in the opposite direction. These gyres move water and heat. That’s why they are important to our climate.

Ocean currents move lots of energy and heat away from the equator. This changes our climate. For example, warmer water from the equator moves thousands of miles north. The result is warmer weather there.

South of the equator, ocean gyres are also important. They move cooler water north along the west coast of Chile in South America.

This water has lots of food in it, so it’s a perfect place for fish to live. In fact, 20% of the fish we catch for food comes from this small part of the ocean.

Without these ocean gyres, our world would be a very different place.

1

1 more upset / worse   2 tired   3 energy

4 to work   5 angry / angrier

2

1 c   2 a   3 d   4 b

3

1 Fourteen   2 Thirteen   3 light   4 more

1 2

Sergio:   So we need to think of some questions for this survey about the weather, Murat. Should we make a list of them?

Murat:   I think we should decide what we want to find out. Professor Hadland told us we should look at all the different things we could survey, group them and then try to choose the most important ones.

Sergio:   Right. Effects of weather on mood.

Murat:   Well, we’re looking at weather in northern Europe where it is often cold and wet. Generally, in northern Europe people see sunshine as positive, which I find strange. In my country, it’s hot all the time, so we like cool days. But anyway… I read some research about weather and moods in Sweden. I really enjoyed reading it, but it had so many different answers it wasn’t clear that weather changes people’s mood.

Sergio:   Oh… great…

Murat:   But they did find some specific results. They noticed that good, dry, sunny weather didn’t make people happier. But bad weather made people more upset, if they were already unhappy.

Sergio:   And…?

Murat:   And, therefore, unhappy people felt even worse when it was wet and windy.

Sergio:   Oh, OK. So for the ‘good weather’ category – no link. But for the ‘bad weather’ part – it causes unhappy people to feel worse.

Murat:   Yes. And the amount of sunlight seems to be linked to feeling tried. When it is sunny, people have more energy and are less tired. So they like doing more things outside.

Sergio:   OK, I’ve added that.

Murat:   Also, I read something about humid weather. Another experiment showed that really humid weather changes how people work. When it is humid, they might plan to study at a different time. Or maybe they might stop studying and take a break when they begin having difficulties. As a result, it is more difficult to work and it’s hard to pay attention. And there was something about heat and anger. Really hot weather can make people angrier, I think.

Sergio:   Are you sure? Should I add it?

Murat:   Well, write it down anyway.

Sergio:   OK, which area do you think we should look at then?

Murat:   I think the humid one is important. Especially for students.

Sergio:   But the one on bad weather making people feel worse could be interesting, too; it sounds like there are more useful facts with that topic.

Murat:   Yes, true. I’m not sure about the really hot weather and being angry; I can’t remember if that’s true. So let’s that out. That leaves three possible topics – humid weather stops us working, sunny weather makes us less tired or bad weather makes people feel worse.

Sergio:   Hmm, the one about humid weather looks at how people study. It isn’t really about how people feel, so it isn’t useful for us. I’d go with bad weather or sunny weather.

Murat:   I see what you mean. We could choose either of those. I’m not sure about the bad weather one. It’s a bit depressing, isn’t it? Which do you prefer?

Sergio:   I don’t really care.

Murat:   Well, if you don’t care, let’s do the one about sunshine and having energy. It’s more positive.

3

Murat:   … and so I put all the results into a spreadsheet on my laptop. Here are all the answers from the surveys I did, 12 of them. Oh and the three surveys that you did.

Sergio:   OK … let’s see what they say.

Murat:   We asked how people felt when they woke up on a sunny day.

Sergio:   And?

Murat:   Fourteen out of fifteen people said they feel better in sunny weather than when it is very wet or rainy. They prefer sunshine.

Sergio:   OK.

Murat:   And 13 of them said it made them feel they could get a lot done that day. Also, 12 out of 15 people said that they did more when the weather was good.

Sergio:   What about when they feel most tired?

Murat:   Well, everyone said that they felt tired if the weather was cloudy and dark. And 14 said they had the most energy when there was lots of light.

Sergio:   So, good weather means that people have more energy.

Murat:   Yeah, that is what our survey seems to show. Of course, it might be different in another country. Maybe it depends on the place you live.

1

1 problems   2 Cut   3 Damages   4 rain   5 45

6 disappear

2

1 a   2 b   3 a   4 a   5 b

Reporter:   Global warming is an important issue around the world. Recently it has created problems in the Western Ghats rainforests of India. Forests are important for slowing down global warming because of the work that trees do for us. Trees are global cleaners. They take in carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas that heats the atmosphere. So, we keep making global warming worse every time we cut down trees. Then global warming continues to damage the forest. More trees disappear because the changes in temperature stop the normal growth of the forest. Nowadays, rainforests get less rain and this is changing the way they work.

Governments around the world are beginning to work on the problem. Although governments say they will stop people damaging the forests, scientists don’t think the work is happening quickly enough. The scientists say the forests are changing. The animals, and the plants that animals need, are changing. In fact, scientists believe 45% of the forest areas are going to change completely in the next 80 years.

This is where the purple frog becomes important. A report tells us that the frog is in danger of disappearing forever. The frog can run very fast, makes a noise like a small chicken and is one of the most unusual animals in the world. Of course, for some people, the end of one type of frog is not important. But it is for Sathyabhama Das Biju, a researcher from Delhi University who discovered it in 2003. For him the problems of the purple frog show what global warming is doing to the Indian rainforests. He explains that this interesting animal won’t be around how longer if we don’t look after the forests.

Biju is going to present information about the forests next week. He hopes to get people interested in saving this frog and other animals that live in rainforests. During the next week, many people are meeting to talk about the climate and saving the rainforests. According to Biju, we need to plan now or we will probably lose some species completely. If we don’t think carefully about the climate of the forests, the purple frog possibly won’t be around for much longer. On to the weather report now …