Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Discoveries

1

medical invention: electronic skin

food invention: synthetic meat

2

1   He ate it online.

2   It is much more efficient to grow meat in a laboratory, and about 30% of the Earth’s surface is used for growing crops to feed animals for meat.

3   She suggests he becomes a vegetarian.

4   It has no flavour, because there is no fat or blood in it.

5   Because he drives to work every day rather than catch the bus.

TOBY   Well, I’m not sure I want electronics just stuck on my skin.

ROSIE   I bet it’s no different from putting on a plaster when you cut yourself.

T   But plasters don’t have electronics in them.

R   It wouldn’t worry me. There are other things to worry about.

T   Like what?

R   Well, what was it I was reading about the other day? Yeah, there’s this laboratory where they’re growing meat. Synthetic meat – I find that kind of scary.

T   Oh, that. Yeah, there was that scientist who made his own hamburger and ate it online.

R   Yuck!

T   Now, I think that’s a great idea. Grow your own meat – very cool.

R   But it’s not natural.

T   Yes, it is. It’s just not grown on a cow, that’s all.

R   But all these tiny pieces of meat that they have to push together just to make one burger

T   Nothing wrong with that.

R   And the end result is something which costs €250,000. I mean, these scientists, who are sort of like Dr Frankenstein, how can they justify that?

T   Well, but they’re bound to find cheaper ways to grow the meat. And what you may not realise is that it’s much better for the environment.

R   I don’t see how it can be.

T   I was reading about it … And, to produce just 15 grams of meat – that’s one-five – cows need about 100 grams of vegetables. I mean, that’s a really, really inefficient use of energy.

R   I’m sure it takes a lot of energy to make meat grow in the laboratory.

T   Not as much. And what I didn’t know was that about 30% of the Earth’s surface is covered with crops that we grow just to feed animals for meat.

R   Yeah, I know that …

T   So, if we can grow meat, we could use some of that land to grow crops for people.

R   Well, yeah, I agree with you – that is a good idea. But what amazes me is that you can’t see the obvious answer – become a vegetarian.

T   Vegetarian? Why would I do that? I like meat.

R   Well, I don’t think you’d like meat that a scientist has made in a laboratory. There’s no fat or blood in it, which means no flavour.

T   They’re working on that.

R   Just like they’re working on making it cheaper to produce.

T   But what’s really incredible is that you can get rid of all those gases.

R   Gases? What do you mean?

T   Cows. They produce carbon dioxide, methane, which are all harmful gases. Very bad for global warming.

R   Once again, very true. But tell me one thing.

T   What?

R   When did you last catch the bus to work?

T   Well, it was … I don’t know … a couple of months ago.

R   More like a year ago. You drive every day! Well, Toby, what I find strange is that if you’re worried about global warming … Well, I think there are better ways of helping out than eating meat that a scientist has put together in a laboratory.

T   Yeah, but the bus service is really inconvenient.

R   Sure it is.

T   Well, you can stick what you like on your skin. I’m going to enjoy my synthetic burger!

1

3, 4

2

1   He was backpacking round the world.

2   People called him a living legend, as big as the Rolling Stones, he’d sold about 1.5 million records in South Africa.

3   He seems to be a very shy, modest kind of person.

4   The director ran out of money while he was doing the film.

5   The documentary has won loads of prizes from all around the world; now the whole world knows about Rodriguez.

A   … So this Swedish director was backpacking round the world trying to find a good story to tell and one of the people he talked to was one of the reporters who found Rodriguez.

B   That’s a coincidence.

A   I know, and out of all the stories he heard from all over the world, he came to the conclusion that Rodriguez’s story was the one to tell.

B   So then what happened?

A   Well, first of all he wanted to make sure that Rodriguez really was that popular in South Africa because of course most people doubted that he could be a superstar in one country when no one else had heard of him. But he was. People called him a legend, as big as the Rolling Stones. They estimated that he’d sold about 1.5 million records in South Africa, so of course everyone knew him. And then the director realised that this really was a story worth telling.

B   Incredible. But they’d never heard about him.

A   That’s right, they’d never heard about him. So anyway, the director flew over to meet Rodriguez and he assumed, you know, that he would be dying to tell his story.

B   He probably wondered why they’d come to see him.

A   Yes, he had no idea who they were, but he agreed to the interviews, although he didn’t actually say much. In the film, he seems to be a very shy, modest kind of person. Like, he still lives in the same wooden house that he’s lived in for the last 40 years, and he keeps to a very simple lifestyle.

B   Amazing.

A   But it gets even better. The director ran out of money while he was doing the film and he was aware that he might not be able to finish it. So what he did was he shot the last part of the film on his smart phone and put it together on his kitchen table.

B   Wow. And he managed to do that?

A   Oh yeah. He finished it and it’s made a lot of money and won loads of prizes from all around the world for best documentary. So now the whole world knows about Rodriguez.

B   That’s amazing.

A   Yeah.

B   I’ve got to see that film.

1   Tom

2   nervous

3   Not at first, then she recognises the block of flats.

Part 1

BECKY   What’s all this about? What’s the big secret?

TOM   We’ve got to be somewhere, that’s all.

B   But where?

T   Ah … it’s a surprise.

B   Hmm, I’m not sure I like surprises.

T   It’ll be fine.

B   I’ve no idea where we are. I’ve never seen this street before.

T   Just wait and see.

B   Where on earth are we going?

T   Wait and see.

B   Hang on … I know where we are.

T   Do you?

B   Yeah. Is there another flat available around here?

T   Follow me.

2

1   Tom has taken Becky to the flat they wanted, and he has paid a deposit on it.

2   Becky is surprised and pleased.

3

1   The people who took the flat changed their minds.

2   He paid a deposit.

3   Becky thinks he should have asked her first.

4   The space, the view, the well-designed kitchen.

5   Tom drove a different route to the flat.

6   The lease for the flat and the marriage licence.

Part 2

BECKY   But Tom … this is the same flat.

TOM   Welcome to our new home!

B   Really?!

T   Step right this way.

T   What do you think?

B   But didn’t you say yesterday that we’d missed out?

T   And we did.

B   So what happened?

T   The estate agent called me back – the other people changed their mind.

B   Really? So it’s ours if we want it?

T   Um … actually … it is ours.

B   What?

T   I paid a deposit this afternoon.

B   But, Tom, I thought we were going to talk about it first.

T   Oh. Right. I sort of thought we had.

B   Well, I suppose – in a way.

T   And you were so disappointed when we missed out.

B   Yes. Yes, I was.

T   And I didn’t want to miss out this time.

B   But you could have said something.

T   Sorry. I wanted it to be a surprise.

B   Well, next time make sure you ask me …

T   Well?

B   It’s a lovely surprise.

T   You’re not too annoyed?

B   No. In fact, not at all.

T   You did say it was the perfect flat.

B   And it is. I love this space … And the view … And the kitchen is so well designed …

T   Did you guess?

B   In the car?

T   Yeah.

B   Well, I thought you were taking me to see a flat.

T   But not this one?

B   No, of course not.

T   I thought about it a bit yesterday, you know, the different route …

B   I do love it. I can’t wait to move in.

T   We have to sign the lease first.

B   Yes, of course.

T   And … oh … but there’s another document that we have to sign beforehand.

B   Oh. What’s that?

T   Our marriage licence – that’s all!

1

1 photo 2   2 photo 3   3 photo 1   4 photo 4

2

1 1 really bad headaches

   2 a friend had a bad cough

   3 bad pains in the knees

   4 a friend wanted to give up smoking

2 1 asked questions for an hour, gave little white tablets

   2 took something that belonged to the patient, turned dials on a box

   3 put needles all round the patient’s knee

   4 sat the patient in a comfortable chair, then hypnotised (counted to 20 and fell into a deep sleep)

3 1 positive   2 negative   3 positive   4 positive

4 1 we don’t know   2 we don’t know   3 it worked   4 it worked

SPEAKER 1   I had really bad headaches, so I decided to go to a homeopathic doctor. You know, they give you these little white tablets which have a tiny amount of something which is actually poisonous. And I remember on my first visit, he spent an hour asking me questions to find out as much as he could about me, before he looked at what was wrong with me. He said the idea was to treat ‘the whole person’, not just the disease. I thought this was really good – my normal doctor is always in a hurry and you’re lucky if he gives you more than ten minutes.

SPEAKER 2   A friend of mine had a very bad cough which wouldn’t go away, so he tried a treatment called ‘radionics’. The person treating you takes something that belongs to you, like a piece of clothing or something, and then turns some dials on this box. It looks a bit like a radio actually. And then they decide what’s wrong with you. What a load of rubbish! I don’t know how people can believe things like that.

SPEAKER 3   I had really bad pains in my knee. I tried all kinds of drugs and I even went to hospital, but nothing worked. I could walk, but I couldn’t run or do sport. Then a friend recommended acupuncture. It’s where they put needles into particular points or places on your body. I was a bit doubtful at first, but I tried it and the doctor put needles all round my knees. Since then I haven’t had any problems at all – I can even go skiing again. I’ve no idea how it works, but it certainly worked for me.

SPEAKER 4   A friend of mine tried several times to give up smoking, but she always started again. Then someone recommended a doctor who used hypnosis. She told me about it, it was really interesting. She sat in a comfortable chair and he hypnotised her – he just counted to 20 and she fell into a deep sleep and when she woke up she didn’t want to smoke any more. Obviously she doesn’t remember what he said when she was under hypnosis, but I guess he must have told her that she didn’t need to smoke. That was three months ago and she still doesn’t want to smoke.

1

1 b   2 c   3 a

2

1 b   2 a   3 b   4 b   5 c

DOCTOR   Good morning.

PATIENT   Good morning, doctor. Excuse me.

D   Take a seat. What seems to be the trouble?

P   Well, it’s a number of things, actually. Firstly, I think it’s probably just a cold, but I wanted to check with you really. Basically, I’ve got a really bad cough. And I sneeze a lot.

D   Oh dear. So, how long have you had this cough?

P   I’d say … I guess it’s four days now. It’s been worse for the last two days.

D   Right.

P   But I’ve had a few sore throats now in the last few weeks.

D   And have you had a high temperature at all?

P   No.

D   Any aches or pains in your body?

P   No.

D   Well, it’s probably just a cold then. Get plenty of rest, and make sure you drink lots of liquid. You’ll probably get over it in a few days without having to take anything.

P   OK.

D   Are you taking any painkillers?

P   Yes, aspirin.

D   Well that’s fine. That’ll help the sore throat.

P   What I don’t understand is why I keep getting ill. This is probably the third time I’ve come down with a cold in the last month. It seems strange.

D   Well, it can happen. There are different cold viruses and just when your body finishes fighting one, you can catch another one. It’s normal at this time of year, so it’s nothing to worry about.

P   OK.

D   But if the cough doesn’t go away this time, let’s say after a week, then come back and we’ll give you a check to make sure you don’t have a chest infection. But for now it’s nothing to worry about.

P   OK. Err, the other thing is that I had a bit of an accident yesterday while I was cycling.

D   Yes?

P   I was cycling down a hill in the forest and I don’t know what happened, but I fell off. And I hurt my arm and my side, here. I’ve got a few bruises and it aches a bit. I just wanted to check that everything was OK.

D   Right, well, er … let me just ask first – did you hit your head at all when you fell?

P   A little bit, yes.

D   And did you lose consciousness?

P   No, no, nothing like that. I was wearing a helmet, so I just felt a bit dizzy. But I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out or anything.

D   Well, in any case I think you really should have gone straight to hospital to get yourself checked out if you bumped your head. Especially if you felt dizzy afterwards.

P   Oh, right.

D   Can I just see where you say you’ve got these bruises?

P   Yeah, sure.

D   OK … Right … Let me just feel here … Does it hurt if I do this?

P   No, not really.

D   OK, well yes, I think you’ve just got a few bruises here. Your shoulder will probably ache for a while and I think it’s best if you keep off the bike for a few weeks at least.

P   Oh, really? I’m supposed to be taking part in a race next week.

D   Well, I wouldn’t recommend that. Some gentle exercise is fine, but nothing like a race. You need to let your body get over the fall. Let me just see here … ooh, that’s a very nasty cut.

P   Yeah, it hurts a bit there.

D   I’m going to give you a cream to treat that with. It will help it to heal and it will stop you getting any kind of infection there.

P   Right.

D   OK. Here you are. Put it on three times a day.

P   Can I just ask one more thing?

D   OK, but it will have to be very quick because I have to get on to the next patient.

P   Sure. I’m going to holiday in a couple of months’ time to Cambodia. I wanted to know about injections, that kind of thing.

D   Right, well they can give you the information you need about that at reception. You’ll need to make an appointment with one of our nurses here to get that done.

P   Right.

D   But speak to reception about it. They’ll tell you everything you need to know.

P   OK, thanks very much.

D   Have a nice day.