1. Listen. Who is the ‘believer’? Who is the ‘sceptic’?
a The man is the …………………… .
b The woman is the …………………… .
2. Listen again and match the beginnings of the sentences in the first column (a-g) with the ends of the sentences in the second column (1-7).
a The man thinks that
b Dr Hyman became a sceptic when
c The man believes that if
d The woman thinks that the man
e When the woman calls the man ‘Mr Clever’, she is
f The woman thinks that
g The man likes
1 … without mystery life is very boring.
2 … is too cynical.
3 … he deliberately read someone’s palm badly and they said it was accurate.
4 … the woman.
5 … we hear things often enough, we start to believe them.
6 … there is a rational explanation for everything.
7 … making fun of him in a friendly way.
3. Listen again and complete this summary of the conversation.
Two people are eating (a) ………………… in a (b) ………………… . They seem to have a friendly relationship. They start talking about the (c) ………………… and the man surprises the woman by (d) ………………… that he doesn’t believe in any paranormal phenomena. His cynicism (e) ………………… when he heard an American professor talking about an (f) ………………… from his youth. Against the protests of the woman, the man suggests that he (g) ………………… write a zodiac description of her without (h) ………………… anything about astrology. He believes that there is always a (i) ………………… explanation for everything, but that people start to (j) ………………… things if they see or hear them often enough. The woman thinks that it is a pity that the man is so (k) ………………… since it makes his life less (I) ………………… . The man admits that there is only one mystery he doesn’t have the (m) ………………… to.
4. What does the man say about:
a … crystal balls?
…………………………………………..
b … tea leaves?
…………………………………………..
c … ‘Your stars’ in the newspaper?
…………………………………………..
d … people who have lived ‘past lives’?
…………………………………………..
e … people who see flying saucers?
…………………………………………..
f … people’s responses to suggestion?
…………………………………………..
Answers
1
a sceptic b believer
2
a 6 b 3 c 5 d 2 e 7 f 1 g 4
3
a pizza b restaurant c paranormal d saying
e began I started f incident g could h knowing
i rational j believe k cynical / sceptical
l fun m answer
4
a It’s all made up.
b It’s all made up.
c It’s all junk.
d There’s an explanation.
e They’re not lying, but they’re trying to make sense of a chaotic, confusing world.
f We’re all susceptible to suggestion.
Audioscripts
WOMAN: Do you believe in the paranormal, you know, fortune-telling, astrology, past lives, etc.?
MAN: I used to, but that was before I listened to Ray Hyman talking about it.
WOMAN: Who’s he?
MAN: He’s an American professor at some university in the USA. I read an interview with him on the Internet.
WOMAN: So you don’t believe in that stuff now?
MAN: Not really, no. I mean this Hyman guy started reading palms when he was a teenager and people really liked it. They believed what he had to tell them. But then one day, just for fun, he read this woman’s palm upside down, backwards. And the thing was, the woman was more convinced than ever that he was telling her really fantastic things about her life and her future. I mean it wouldn’t have mattered whether he’d used palms, cards, crystal balls or tea leaves. All he had to do was make it up.
WOMAN: Oh come on, you’re not saying all that is complete rubbish?
MAN: Why not? Look, do you believe the stuff in the papers about your stars, you know whether you’re a Taurus or a Scorpio or Aquarius or Pisces?
WOMAN: Well yes, I read my star all the time.
MAN: But why? It’s all junk. Look, I could write you your horoscope now. Let’s see. ‘You are a person who longs to be happy but sometimes you’re sad. You like to shine in conversation but sometimes it’s difficult for you.’ How am I doing so far?
WOMAN: Fine. That describes me perfectly.
MAN: OK, then let’s go on. ‘You sometimes don’t get the love you think you need, but next week you should concentrate all your efforts on someone near to you.’
WOMAN: Well, I have been worrying about my mother. I haven’t been …
MAN: See? It’s easy.
WOMAN: I think you’re just a big cynic. I mean, what about people who have lived past lives, you know they can remember things from hundreds of years ago even though no one knows anything about those times.
MAN: Well there’s an explanation.
WOMAN: OK mister Clever, what is it?
MAN: I don’t know. But there’s always an explanation. There isn’t any mystery out there.
WOMAN: And people who bend spoons? And people who see flying saucers? Are they all lying?
MAN: Not exactly. They’re not lying, no. They’re often trying to make sense of a chaotic confusing world. And we’re all susceptible to suggestion.
WOMAN: How do you figure that one out?
MAN: Well suppose you saw a headline saying ‘baby is a space alien’. You wouldn’t believe it, would you?
WOMAN: No. Well I don’t think so.
MAN: But suppose you kept seeing it in different papers, heard it on shows, heard it from the mouths of people you trusted. You’d believe it then, perhaps?
WOMAN: I might.
MAN: Well there you are.
WOMAN: You know what I think?
MAN: No what?
WOMAN: You must be pretty unhappy.
MAN: Why?
WOMAN: Well if there isn’t any mystery in life, where’s the fun?
MAN: But there is a mystery!
WOMAN: Oh yes. What?
MAN: I don’t know what you would say if I asked you a question.
WOMAN: What question?
MAN: If I asked you whether you were going to eat all that pizza yourself or give me some, what would your answer be?
WOMAN: Well now, that depends.
MAN: On what?
WOMAN: On whether you are prepared to admit that not everything is as easy to explain as you say.
MAN: Well, I am rather hungry…
Related Posts
- Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Possibilities
- Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Discoveries
- Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Dilemmas
- Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – City living
- Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Around the globe
- Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Chance