Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Topic: Globalization

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1 T   2 F; The game is already very popular.

3 F; The teams played two pre-season matches.

4 F; Jeremy Lin is Chinese American.   5 T

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1   These US basketball stars are opening NBA-sponsored facilities … one way for the American league to promote itself … it gives people a chance to experience the NBA … close up.

2   The Chinese market is worth nearly $150,000,000 in merchandising and broadcast deals, 5% of the NBA’s income.

3   An honour to play in the first game … ever in Shenzhen … we’ve had an incredible few days here … We had a terrific time here in Shenzhen … a fabulous city … It’s a great city.

NBA making a play for China

Commentator:   They’re on a charm offensive in China. These US basketball stars are opening NBA-sponsored facilities in the southern city of Shenzhen. It’s one way for the American league to promote itself as it tries to tap into the vast potential financial rewards on offer.

American interviewee:   China is a huge market for the NBA, and I think it is very important to bring games here because when we bring games here it gives people a chance to experience the NBA sort of … up close and personal, as we say.

Commentator:   The Chinese market is worth nearly $150,000,000 in merchandising and broadcast deals, 5% of the NBA’s income. Two pre-season matches between the Charlotte Hornets and the LA Clippers here and in Shanghai have caused a ripple amongst fans.

Fan 1:   I’ve never seen a match live in person. So when I heard they’d be coming to China, I came here because you don’t often get a chance like this.

Commentator:   Many eyes are on Jeremy Lin, the first Chinese American to play in the sport’s top league and a superstar in China and beyond. The Hornets edge this game but in the end, it appears to be as much about building commercial links as preparing for the new season.

Basketball player 1:   An honour to play in the first game er … ever in Shenzhen er … we’ve had an incredible few days here.

Basketball player 2:   We had a terrific time here in Shenzhen, it was er … just a fabulous city.

Basketball player 1:   It’s great city, and erm … the passion of, er … Chinese NBA fans is very, very evident.

Commentator:   Basketball’s popularity in China seems to be going from strength to strength, and if the fans have their way, the next step could be a regular season NBA game in Asia, rather than just a friendly.

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Topics 1, 2 and 7

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1 how globalization allows us to taste food from different cultures around the world

2 David Green   3 fruit

4 vegetables   5 healthily   6 Bananas   7 Kiwis

8 South Africa   9 8,500   10 9,600   11 11,100   12 local

13 transported it across the country

14 increases production costs   15 48,000 kilometres

16 supply chain 17 footprint

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1 T   2 F; David doesn’t really think about where his food comes from.

3 F; The global food industry allows people all over the world to eat a huge variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.

4 F; You can only really be sure how far something has travelled if you purchase it directly from a farm or if you grow it yourself.

5 F; Even something that looks like it’s local can have a big impact on the environment.

Host:   Today on The world close up – The 48,000-kilometre fruit salad. With globalization, the world has become a smaller place. On last week’s programme, we talked about how people around the world are watching foreign TV programmes, wearing clothes from other countries and working at companies with several international offices. Oh this week’s programme, let’s look at how globalization allows us to taste food from different cultures around the world, without leaving the country. We don’t just mean speciality products, like Turkish sweets and Japanese desserts. Think about the regular food products customers are buying every day. Where do they come from? How do they get to your supermarket? And what is the true environmental cost of your usual shopping list? Our reporter Darren Hayes has gone to a Freshmart in central London to investigate this issue and to see just what countries customers are putting in their baskets.

Reporter:   Hello, I’m here at the Freshmart in central London. There are a lot of healthy consumers here, and David Green is one of them. David, can we take a look in your basket? What are you buying today?

David:   Mostly fruit and vegetables. I’ve got a bunch of grapes, some bananas, some kiwis, a small packet of blueberries, tomatoes and a lettuce. I’m making a fruit salad for lunch as I’m trying to eat healthily.

Reporter:   I notice on the label that the bananas are from Colombia.

David:   Yeah … so?

Reporter:   Do you mind if I check the grapes? Hmm … they’re from South Africa. The kiwi comes from … New Zealand and the blueberries are from Argentina. David, did you realize that all of this fruit is imported from overseas?

David:   Well, I guess as it’s winter we can’t grow these fruits in our country. They have to be imported. If they weren’t, then how would we get fresh fruit in winter?

Reporter:   Good point. The global food industry – and the speed of shipping fresh foods by aeroplane – allows people all over the world to eat a huge variety of fresh fruit and vegetables all year round.

David:   It’s just more convenient, isn’t it? Most of the fruit and vegetables I like, like peppers, oranges, and bananas, grow in hotter climates. A lot of the fruit and veg that grow here in the UK is so boring.

Reporter:   It is possible to grow fruit and vegetables from hot countries here, but they have to grow in greenhouses, which increases production costs. If you look at these tomatoes, which were grown on a local farm, they’re almost twice the cost of the tomatoes you have here from Morocco, over 3,500 kilometres away.

David:   I’d never pay that for a few tomatoes! Local food can be so expensive. It’s not worth it.

Reporter:   I know, but cheap food comes at a price. Let’s look at the figures. The bananas from Colombia must have travelled more than 8,500 kilometres to reach Freshmart, the grapes from South Africa must have come more than 9,600 kilometres, and the Argentinian blueberries nearly 11,100 kilometres. The kiwi from New Zealand? That must have flown about 18,800 kilometres. So, that’s about … 48,000 kilometres of air travel in one bowl! That’s an incredibly long food supply chain. It’s also a huge carbon footprint, which means a huge amount of pollution was produced to get this food to the shelves.

When food travels, a lot of carbon dioxide pollution is produced, and most people now believe that carbon dioxide in the air is causing climate change – causing the Earth to get generally warmer.

David:   I’ve never really thought about it that much. What about this lettuce? It’s local.

Reporter:   Even something that looks like it’s local can have a big impact on the environment. It’s far cheaper for supermarkets to have several large factories than a lot of small ones all over the country, so food grown around the country is transported to large factories to be packaged and sold. This lettuce may be local, but the farm it came from could have transported it across the country and then put it into this plastic packaging. It’s sometimes then transported back to the place it was grown in the first place.

David:   So, before arriving at Freshmart, this local lettuce might have travelled …

Reporter:   … maybe up to 500 kilometres? You can only really be sure how far something has travelled if you purchase it directly from a farm or if you grow it yourself.

David:   Wow. I can’t believe it. Maybe I should pay the extra money for local food …

Reporter:   Thanks for your time, David. A 48,000-kilometre fruit salad that comes from four different countries isn’t very expensive for the consumer. But the big question is, what’s the true environmental cost of such a well-travelled salad? That’s all for today. Thanks for listing to The world close up.

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a 1   b 3   c 2   d 4

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Overseas: 25%; Overseas and domestic: 50%; Domestic: 25%

For my presentation today, I’d like to talk about globalization and the film industry.

What is the first place that comes to mind when you think of films?

When people think about films, they most often think about Hollywood in the United States. Hollywood is in Los Angeles in California. Hollywood was originally an agricultural town founded in the 1850s. It was not until the early 1900s that filmmakers moved to Hollywood. Since then, Hollywood has become more and more famous for its big-budget films.

However, film production is not just an American business, as production companies making films for their domestic markets exist all over the world. For example, one of the more famous film industries is Bollywood in India. There are other ‘Ollywoods’ that make films for their countries, such as Nollywood in Nigeria, Zollywood in Zimbabwe and Ghollywood in Ghana. Pakistan has two: Lollywood is based in Lahore and Kariwood is based in Karachi.

But even Hollywood itself has become more multinational. More than 50% of American films had parts that were filmed overseas. More than 25% were completely filmed outside of the United States, making the film industry more and more global.

Next time you watch a film with New York City as the location, you may not be seeing New York at all. Many films that are set in New York are actually not filmed in New York; instead, they are often filmed in Toronto, Canada. The number is so high that Canada is sometimes called ‘Hollywood North’. The film industry added nearly two million dollars to that country’s economy between April 2014 and March 2015. So, why are so many American films made in Canada? I can give one simple reason: money. Film directors get a big discount on labour. It is cheaper to pay for labour costs in Canadian dollars than it is to pay for them in the United States. Canada also gives the United States tax credits, making it a great deal for both countries.

Look at these statistics. Producers still have to pay for labour costs, which in the past was as much as 35% of the budget. But nowadays producers can get a 16% tax credit, which makes the costs much lower than in the United States. British Columbia offers an extra 18% if producers choose their province for filming. And there’s more! Companies can get a 15-to-20% tax break if they create their digital effects in Canada. In order to get this tax credit, one of the two highest-paid actors in the film must be Canadian. Because of this, profits increase for both countries!

Are you familiar with the Hollywood film Titanic? For that film, a large production set was actually built in Mexico! Since films made in Mexico are considered exports, they are free from some taxes, making Mexico an appealing location for film-makers. And of course, it brings jobs and money to Mexico. Consequently, it is a win-win for both sides!

Another popular area for filming is the Middle East: for example, Hollywood has made films in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The reason for the popularity of these countries is similar: tax incentives. In addition to great locations with sun, deserts, water and cities, the United Arab Emirates offers a 30% rebate on production costs, and even helps Hollywood organize permits, visas, customs clearance and script approval. Jordan helps producers avoid taxes, such as the VAT or ‘Value Added Tax’ that is added to goods and services that are bought. Therefore, more and more films are being filmed there.

In conclusion, the Hollywood film industry has become more and more globalized. Not only does it bring its films to viewers around the world, it is also bringing jobs and money into countries outside the United States.