Exercise 1

A. Listen to four people answering the question Are you a risk-taker? Write ✓, ✗, or ✓/✗ in the box. Which of the topics in the box does the risk they talk about relate to?

a job      a sport      a relationship      money

1   Holly      _____________

2   Natalie  _____________

3   Tom       _____________

4   Jeanie    _____________

B. Listen again and write H (Holly), N (Natalie), T (Tom), or J (Jeanie).

Who…?

___ thinks his / her attitude about risk hasn’t changed at all throughout his / her life

___ thinks that the risk varies depending on the price

___ had to make a life-changing decision

___ is surprised about how positive he / she felt after doing a risky activity

___ thinks most people take this kind of risk these days

___ decided not to go right into working in an office

___ wonders whether things might have been different if he / she hadn’t taken the risk

___ thinks the risk was worth taking because he / she learned some useful things for the future

Answers

A

1 ✗, a sport

2 ✓, money

3 ✓ / ✗, a job

4 ✗, a relationship

B

1 H   2 N   3 J   4 H   5 N   6 T   7 J   8 T

Audioscripts

I = interviewer, H = Holly, N = Natalie, T = Tom, J = Jeanie

1   Holly

I     Are you a risk-taker?

 Generally, definitely not, and I think that started early in life when I was little. I hated getting hurt, so I thought, If I don’t take any risks, I won’t get hurt, and so I think even to this day I’m not really a risk-taker.

I     Can you give me an example of a risk you have taken?

 Well, as I said, I don’t usually take risks, for example, I hate flying. I only fly if there’s no alternative, and I drive safely, carefully, because I don’t want to put myself or my family in any danger. But once, someone persuaded me to try scuba-diving. I was very worried in the beginning, until I knew what I was doing. My mom was absolutely horrified that I was going to try it, so maybe it’s a personality thing. In my family, my children are the same way, but anyway, in the end I was pretty happy I tried scuba-diving; it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done! That’s so interesting, isn’t it? So even for me, I can see that sometimes taking a risk has a positive outcome.

2   Natalie

I     Are you a risk-taker?

 I’d say that, on the whole, that I am, yes.

I     Can you give me an example of a risk you’ve taken?

 Well, something I do a lot is buy things on eBay. And there, you’re buying something you, you’ve never seen. You’re relying on what the seller says about it, but you’re going to calculate the risk based on their description, and how much you’re paying, so if it only costs $10.00, it’s not a great risk, however, if it’s an expensive item, you might lose some money. But I guess that’s something that most people take a risk on now.

3   Tom

  Are you a risk-taker?

T   I am in some ways – I mean, I’ve done some things that were physically dangerous – but when it comes to things like money, then I think I’m much more conservative.

  Can you give me an example of a risk you’ve taken?

T   Well, when I finished college, my mom and dad just wanted me to apply for a normal kind of job, like, working for a company, but I decided that I wanted a little more fun while I was that age, so I decided to spend some time working as a restaurant manager, and I worked at lots of different food and drinks festivals all over the world. I knew it would affect my résumé because employers are always asking you questions about why you chose to do that, how was that useful to you, and just saying it seemed like a fun idea isn’t a very good answer. After two or three years, I realized that it was going to be pretty hard for me to keep on doing the job past the age of about 30. But now I’m glad I did it, and actually maybe it gave me what they call soft skills, like being flexible and dealing with people, which are really useful in my job now – I work in sales in a computer software company – so yeah, I think the risk was worth it in the end.

4   Jeanie

 Are you a risk-taker?

 Um, not really, no, I don’t think I am. Though once I took a really big risk.

 What was it?

 When I graduated from college, I went right into a really well-paid job, um, and after about two years, I was doing really well and enjoying it a lot. And then, through some friends, I met this guy, Marco, and we fell in love immediately. I know people think love at first sight doesn’t really happen, but it did. Anyway, um, he was – is – a scientist, a marine biologist, um, and, um, after we’d been going out for maybe two months or so, he was offered a job working in Australia, and he said, “Come with me.” I did think about it for a little bit, but not much, and I left my well-paid job to follow a man I’d known less than three months to the other side of the world. My parents were horrified. I was horrified myself, actually. But I married him, and we are still together. So it was definitely worth it, but on the other hand, um, I haven’t really had a career as such, and if I hadn’t gone with him then, maybe I would have had a different kind of life. Who knows?

Exercise 2

A. Listen to Sophie Rees, who works in the ski industry, answering six questions about extreme sports. Match her answers 1-6 to questions A-F.

___ Are you ever afraid that you might get injured or killed?

___ Do you think extreme sports are more popular with men than with women?

___ What other extreme sports have you done?

___ What’s the first extreme sport you did? When was it?

___ Why do you enjoy extreme sports?

___ Why do you think extreme sports are becoming more popular?

B. Listen again. How does she answer each question?

Answers

A

1   D What’s the first extreme sport you did? When was it?

2   C What other extreme sports have you done?

3   E Why do you enjoy extreme sports?

4   A Are you ever afraid that you might get injured or killed?

5   F Why do you think extreme sports are becoming more popular?

6   B Do you think extreme sports are more popular with men than with women?

B

1   Skiing; when I was six

2   Mountain biking, rock climbing, ice-walking, white-water rafting

3   I love taking risks; I love the adrenaline rush.

4   I don’t really think about getting injured or killed.

5   Because they’re becoming more accessible, and there’s much more exposure than before on TV and on social media. It’s the adrenaline rush that people really enjoy.

6   I think it’s becoming a bit more equal between men and women, but men still dominate.

Audioscripts

Skiing was the first extreme sport that I did. I started when I was six and I haven’t really stopped since. I take after my dad – we’re both sports-crazy. He got me into skiing so he could take me on winter vacations.

***

I’ve done a lot of extreme sports in the mountains, such as mountain biking, and rock climbing, and ice-walking across glaciers. I’ve also done white-water rafting recently. It’s very hard work, but really worth the energy.

***

I think it’s because I love taking risks; I love the adrenaline rush.

***

I don’t really think about getting injured or killed. I’ve never had a bad accident, but I’ve had some scary moments, where I knew if I made a mistake, I could get seriously hurt. But I’ve never really thought there was a chance I could die.

***

I think more and more people are taking part in extreme sports because they’re becoming more accessible, and there’s much more exposure than before on TV and on social media. Like I said before, it’s the adrenaline rush that people really enjoy – you can’t always get that in your everyday life.

***

A few years ago, I would have said men were much more associated with extreme sports. However, I think it’s becoming a bit more equal between men and women. Extreme sportswomen are really appreciated because they’re going against the gender stereotype, but men do still seem to dominate, maybe because they were more involved when the sports were first recognized.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This