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Exercise:  Man  eats  iron  nails  –  level  2  

01-­‐05-­‐2014  15:00  
 
1.  Listen  to  the  audio  for  level  2  and  say  what  is  true  (T)  and  what  is  false  (F).  
The man loves to bite his nails.
He is from China.
The nails are more than ten centimetres big.
The man learned to eat nails when he was a teenager.
The Chinese man does not eat only nails.
Doctors say that he is going to have big problems.

2.  Match  the  words  on  the  left  with  the  definitions  on  the  right.  Do  you  know  
how  to  pronounce  these  words?  If  not,  ask  your  teacher  or  look  it  up  in  the  
dictionary.  
 
1) hammer   A) material  from  which  cups  
2) nail   and  plates  are  made  
3) collect   B) to  have  a  lot  of  things  of  
4) several   one  kind  
5) wash  down   C) a  tool  for  driving  in  nails  
6) ceramics   D) flat  square  piece  for  
7) tile   covering  walls  and  floors  
8) swallow   E) a  few  
  F) to  follow  food  with  a  drink  
  G) to  make  food  go  down  
  your  throat  
  H) thin  and  sharp  piece  of  
  metal  used  for  building  
  things  
 
3.  Listen  to  the  audio  and  complete  the  text.  You  can  play  the  listening  a  few  
times.  Try  to  improve  your  listening  and  pronunciation  skills.  

A  man  from  China  has  an  _____________  hobby.  He  loves  nails.  However,  he  
doesn’t  ____________  them.  He  eats  them.  
Yes,  that  is  no  joke.  He  can  swallow  a  few  nails  ____________.  The  nails  are  three  
to  five  centimetres  long,  and  the  man  washes  them  down  with  water.  The  
___________________  shocks  everyone  around  him.  The  man  learned  it  from  other  
people  32  years  ago.  He  was  _____________  years  old.  
The  man  can  eat  glass,  ceramics  and  tiles,  as  well.  It  all  sounds  crazy,  but  he  is  
_____________.  
4.  Try  to  retell  the  story  to  your  friends.  What  do  you  think  about  the  man?  Do  
you  know  anybody  who  does  something  this  unusual?  
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ANSWERS  
Exercise:  Man  eats  iron  nails  –  level  2  
01-­‐05-­‐2014  15:00  
 
1.  Listen  to  the  audio  for  level  2  and  say  what  is  true  (T)  and  what  is  false  (F).  
The man loves to bite his nails. F
He is from China. T
The nails are more than ten centimetres big. F
The man learned to eat nails when he was a teenager. T
The Chinese man does not eat only nails. T
Doctors say that he is going to have big problems. F

2.  Match  the  words  on  the  left  with  the  definitions  on  the  right.  Do  you  know  
how  to  pronounce  these  words?  If  not,  ask  your  teacher  or  look  it  up  in  the  
dictionary.  
 
1) hammer     C  
2) nail       H  
3) collect     B  
4) several     E  
5) wash  down   F  
6) ceramics     A  
7) tile       D  
8) swallow     G  
 
3.  Listen  to  the  audio  and  complete  the  text.  You  can  play  the  listening  a  few  
times.  Try  to  improve  your  listening  and  pronunciation  skills.  

A  man  from  China  has  an  interesting  hobby.  He  loves  nails.  However,  he  
doesn’t  collect  them.  He  eats  them.  
Yes,  that  is  no  joke.  He  can  swallow  a  few  nails  at  once.  The  nails  are  three  to  
five  centimetres  long,  and  the  man  washes  them  down  with  water.  The  
Chinese  man  shocks  everyone  around  him.  The  man  learned  it  from  other  
people  32  years  ago.  He  was  17  or  18  years  old.  
The  man  can  eat  glass,  ceramics  and  tiles,  as  well.  It  all  sounds  crazy,  but  he  is  
healthy.  
4.  Try  to  retell  the  story  to  your  friends.  What  do  you  think  about  the  man?  Do  
you  know  anybody  who  does  something  this  unusual?