Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Where was it made?

A

Answers may vary. Possible answer: Oscar and Hana talk about her trip and the gift she brought.

B

1   She flew in from California, not from Korea.

2   Oscar says a messy desk is a sign of a brilliant mind.

3   Hana asks Oscar to clear a space on his desk so he can put the gift from Korea there.

4   Oscar will display it as a work of art.

A B

Hana:   Hi, Oscar!

Oscar:   Hi, Hana. How was your trip!

Hana:   It was fine, thanks. I just got into New York today.

Oscar:   You must be jet-lagged.

Hana:   No, not really. I flew in from California, not from home. I stopped in LA for a few days to see some friends.

Oscar:   Oh! I didn’t realize that. That’s great.

Hana:   So, this is where you’re sitting. What a view!

Oscar:   Yeah, this is where I always sit when I’m in New York. Pardon the mess.

Hana:   No worries. My desk is never neat.

Oscar:   You know what they say: A messy desk is a sign of a brilliant mind!

Hana:   There you go!

Oscar:   But I still wish I were more organized.

Hana:   Yeah, me too. Do you think you could clear a space for something new? I brought you a small gift. All the way from Korea, not from L.A.!

Oscar:   Wow! Thanks! You shouldn’t have! Beautiful! I love the color. But, um, what is it exactly?

Hana:   Oh! It’s a traditional Korean chopstick rest.

Oscar:   It’s a traditional Korean chopstick rest? It’s really beautiful, and I love the way it feels. What’s it made of?

Hana:   It’s a kind of ceramic.

Oscar:   Cool! It looks too nice to use!

Hana:   Well, it’s better to use it than to put your chopsticks on the table! But if you really don’t want to use it, then you can just display it as a work of art.

Oscar:   Cool! That’s what I’ll do with it then.

C

Hana:   I brought you a small gift. All the way from Korea, not from L.A.!

Oscar:   Wow! Thanks! You shouldn’t have! Beautiful. I love the color. But, um, what is it exactly?

Hana:   Oh! It’s a traditional Korean chopstick rest.

Oscar:   It’s a traditional Korean chopstick rest? It’s really beautiful, and I love the way it feels. What is it made of?

Hana:   It’s a kind of ceramic.

Oscar:   Cool!

A

Answers may vary. Possible answer: Oscar and Hana talk about the music they like.

B

1   Hana is listening to some traditional Korean flute music.

2   It helps her calm down and focus, especially after a long flight.

3   Hana likes Oscar’s music because it has a lot of energy and makes her want to dance.

4   Oscar will send Hana some more of his friend’s music later.

A B

Oscar:   Hi, Hana.

Hana:   Oh, hey, Oscar.

Oscar:   Mind if I sit here?

Hana:   No, not at all.

Oscar:   What are you listening to?

Hana:   Just some traditional music from back home. Want to listen?

Oscar:   Sure.

Hana:   Here, take my headphones. Tell me what you think.

Oscar:   Wow! That’s great! What instrument is that? Is it a flute?

Hana:   Yeah, it’s a traditional Korean flute. It’s called a danso.

Oscar:   Cool. The melody is so relaxing.

Hana:   Yeah, it really helps me to calm down and focus, especially after a long flight.

Oscar:   Nice. It’s really different from the music I’ve been listening to.

Hana:   What have you been listening to?

Oscar:   Recently, I’ve gotten really into cumbia music. Have you heard of it?

Hana:   It’s a kind of traditional music from Colombia, right?

Oscar:   Exactly. My best friend Carlos, who’s in a local band, got me into it. It has such a lively beat. I love the lyrics, too—they’re so catchy.

Hana:   Great! Do you have any of your friend’s music with you?

Oscar:   Sure! Do you want to listen?

Hana:   Of course!

Oscar:   OK, then check this out.

Hana:   Wow! I really like it! It’s got so much energy it makes me want to dance.

Oscar:   Yeah, this song just came out. It’s already one of my favorites.

Hana:   Do you have any of his other stuff?

Oscar:   Sure. I can send it to you later if you want.

Hana:   That would be great. Thanks!

C

Hana:   What have you been listening to?

Oscar:   Recently, I’ve gotten really into cumbia music. Have you heard of it?

Hana:   It’s a kind of traditional music from Colombia, right?

Oscar:   Exactly. My best friend Carlos, who’s in a local band, got me into it. It has such a lively beat. I love the lyrics, too—they’re so catchy.

Hana:   Great!

A

Answers may vary. Possible answer: The talk is about the fact that the global cuisine you get in your own country may not be the same as the authentic dish from the original country.

B

1 c   2 d   3 b   4 a

C

b, c

Traditional Food—Not!

Let’s start with a show of hands. How many here had traditional, local food last night—something your grandparents would have eaten? Okay, about half. And how many had something international last night? Lots of you. I have to admit, like many of you, I’m a foodie. I love food, and I particularly love trying different types of global cuisine. In most cities, including this one, you can get dishes from all different parts of the world. There’s no problem if you have a strong desire for Indian, Ethiopian, Russian, Greek, or Italian foods. The only problem is choosing from among the many restaurants and markets that offer those foods.

I’ve always thought that the global dishes I’ve become a fan of were authentic, traditional dishes. But after having Chinese food in China, Indian food in India, and Thai food in Thailand, I realized that you can’t assume that you’re getting the real thing outside the original countries, even if it is delicious!

One reason that food gets lost in translation when introduced to a new culture is that the locals may not be used to, or ready for, certain foreign tastes. For example, spicy foods are gaining in popularity internationally, but for cultures where spicy food has not been part of the traditional diet, people are less likely to be able to tolerate—much less enjoy—authentically hot dishes, like Indian vindaloo curries or spicy Peruvian chicken. Instead, chefs adapt them, maybe toning them down. Similarly, in Korea, a really popular dish is ja jang myun, which was shifted from its original Chinese recipe to appeal to Korean tastes. Instead of a salty, brown yellow bean sauce enjoyed in China, the Korean version has a darker, sweeter sauce that’s made from roasted soybeans and thickened with corn starch.

There’s another reason that traditional dishes are not always so traditional, and that has to do with ingredients. As you can imagine, it used to be much more difficult to get the authentic ingredients used in traditional dishes in different countries. For example, not so long ago, you couldn’t get real Thai ingredients outside of Thailand. Even now, though the world has gotten so much smaller and you can get lots of packaged or canned ingredients from all over, fresh ingredients that are grown or raised in one country may not taste the same as those in another.

A third reason that traditional dishes aren’t always traditional is that foods or dishes that move from one country to another evolve; in other words, the dish changes over time. Take pizza, for example. Italian immigrants brought pizza to the United States and other countries and, at first, it was probably like the kind you would get in Italy. But as pizza became increasingly popular around the world, it changed. So you can get a deep dish pizza in Chicago, but never in Naples, where pizza was invented.

The bottom line is this: the fish tacos you get in your local Mexican restaurant probably won’t taste quite like the ones you’d have in Mexico, but you can enjoy them all the same!

A

Answers may vary. Possible answer: The article is about why it should not be so controversial for men and boys to wear skirts if they want to.

B

1   The dress codes where they worked and went to school prohibited them from wearing shorts.

2   The realized that there was a loophole in their dress codes that would allow them to wear skirts instead of long pants.

3   Some people were impressed but others were not.

4   The writer doesn’t think that it’s clear yet whether more men and boys will wear skirts in the future.

THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE COMFORT

One particularly hot summer in Europe, some male bus drivers in France and schoolboys in England were faced with a similar problem. They wanted to stay cool, but the dress codes where they worked and studied prohibited them from wearing shorts. After thinking about the problem for a while, they came up with a solution. They realized that there was a loophole in their dress codes, and they started wearing skirts instead of long pants.

Although some people thought that their idea was funny and clever, not everyone was impressed. For other people, it was unusual, even shocking, for men and boys to wear skirts in public places. But why should this create such a controversy? There are actually plenty of reasons why men and boys should feel free to wear skirts.

To begin with, men have been wearing skirt-like garments in Western countries for thousands of years. In Ancient Greece and Rome, for example, male soldiers used to wear a piece of cloth that looked like a skirt. And of course, kilts have always been acceptable for men to wear in Scotland. It is also common for people in many other parts of the world to still wear clothing that resembles skirts. In Thailand, for instance, men sometimes wrap a long, skirt-like piece of material around their legs while working, relaxing, and traveling. Moreover, skirts are a lot more comfortable than many other types of clothing, especially in hot weather and tropical locations. Many of them are made from light materials that help their wearers to stay cool. In addition, skirts can be very attractive and fashionable. They come in a wide variety of colors and designs that help people look good and stand out.

Over the last few decades, some famous Western fashion designers and celebrities have been seen promoting and wearing skirts for men. In 1984, the legendary French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier made history by showing off men in skirts at a fashion show in Paris. Nowadays, skirts for men are available from many different clothing companies and online shopping websites. As for celebrities, American actor Vin Diesel and British soccer sensation David Beckham have been photographed wearing skirts in public places.

Does this mean that we should expect to see more men and boys wearing skirts in public places in the future? That remains to be determined. The actions of the British schoolboys and French bus drivers did not launch a new global fashion trend. However, they did raise awareness of the issue and got more people thinking positively about the possibility of men wearing skirts. So, men in skirts might not become the norm in the coming years, but the idea does slowly seem to be gaining acceptance. At the very least, men and boys now have another option when the weather gets too hot for them to wear long pants.

A

Answers may vary. Possible answer: This presentation is about a tradition called a quinceañera.

B

1   The quinceañera comes from Latin American culture.

2   The quinceañera celebrates a girl’s fifteenth birthday.

3   The quinceañera includes wearing a fancy dress and a crown, giving a doll to a younger girl, and wearing high heels to dance.

Many cultures have a tradition that celebrates the time when a child becomes an adult. The one that I’m really interested in is called a quinceañera. This word comes from the word quince, which means fifteen in Spanish.

In some Latin American countries, when a girl turns fifteen, she has a quinceañera to celebrate. It lasts just a day, but the preparations begin months in advance because the event is often huge and very expensive.

On the day of the quinceañera, the birthday girl wears a very fancy dress and a crown on her head like a princess. Before her party, she goes to church with her parents to show that her faith is important to her. After that, she arrives to greet all her friends and family members at her party. This can take place in a home, at a banquet hall, or in a hotel.

One of the special customs at the party is called “the last doll.” The girl who is turning fifteen receives a doll as a gift—her last toy—and then she gives it to a younger girl at the party. There are other special customs at the party, too. For example, the birthday girl often receives a pair of shoes with high heels and dances with her father.

I love the quinceañera tradition because it gives people a chance to show their support for girls as they grow up, make decisions about the future, and prepare for new responsibilities.

It’s also special because, like many traditions, it brings friends and families together.