Listening

Exercise 1:
Exercise 2:
Exercise 3:
Exercise 4. Listen and fill in each blank with a word or a number you hear.
My usual day
My mane is Dan Jones and I’m a (1)………………… year student at Southgate
University. My days are really (2)…………… because my hobby is tennis and I play in
national matches, so I have to (3)……………. a lot.

My day (4)………………… at 6 a.m. I get up and go straight to the gym before (5)
………………. I always go there by bicycle because the fresh air wakes me up. After an
(6)………………. or so I come back to the university and then I have a huge breakfast at
about eight (7)………………... Oh, I always have shower of course before breakfast or
nobody would (8)…………… next to me! From 9:30 until 1:00, I go to lectures. My (9)
………………… is geography.
Then all the students have (10)………………. together in the canteen at 1 o’clock. I
usually study in my room after lunch – that is, except for one (11)………………… a
week when we play matches, sometimes against another university. They’re always on
(12)……………… afternoons.
In the evenings I like spending (13)……………… with my friends – we sometimes go to
the cinema or to a disco. When I (14)…………. university next year, I want to travel (15)
………………. the world.

Exercise 5. Listen and fill in each blank with a word or a number you hear.
My first day at work
On my first day as a taxi (1)…………….. , my first passenger was a woman who
wanted to go to the (2)…………….. She was in a hurry because she needed to be at the
airport at 10:30 to check in. she had lots of (3)……………. with her. Anyway, she got in
the car and put the bags in the boot and we set off. I drove fast and we were (4)
……………… because there was no traffic jams.
We got to the airport at exactly ten (5)………….. Her flight was to New York
where her (6)…………… lived and it left at 12:20. She got out of the car and (7)
………….. to look for her purse. Then she looked across at the airport. She suddenly
looked very annoyed. She took her (8)…………….. out of her bag and showed it to me. I
realized the mistake. She didn’t tell me which airport to go to, so this was the
International Airport. Her flight (9)…………….. from the City Airport – about an hour
away. She refused to (10)………………… me anything so it wasn’t a very good start for
me.

Exercise 6. Listen and fill in each blank with a word or a number you hear.

Diet and Weight Loss

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.  I’m Shirley Griffith. And
I’m Bob Doughty.
Today, we will talk about diet and weight loss. Exercise is…(1)…. if you want to get in
good shape. But experts say exercise alone is not enough if your goal is to lose weight.
It is that time of year again. Warm …(2)…. has returned to earth’s northern hemisphere.
Summer is a time when people of all ages feel like getting their swimwear and going to
the …(3)…. swimming pool or seashore.
But first, there is that troublesome little thing called winter weight gain. Many of us gain
weight because of …(4)…. during the winter.
Some people go to extremes to lose that extra weight before going to the …(5)….. In the
weight loss industry, there is never a lack of ideas about how to lose weight. Consider the
"Sleeping Beauty diet," where you sleep your way to weight loss. You cannot eat if you
are sleeping, or so the theory goes.
Then there is the tapeworm diet. The tapeworm is said to help people lose weight by
eating the …(6)…. that is stored in their stomach. But first you have to be willing to
swallow the little creature. This may be more …(7)…. than many people want.
Strange, new diets, treatments and exercise programs arrive on the market every day.
Each one promises to help people lose weight and get a beach beautiful body. The weight
loss …(8)…. takes in billions of dollars each year, and it is growing.
One research company says the weight loss business will be worth more than five
hundred eighty billion dollars worldwide by the year …(9)….. MarketsandMarkets also
says the food and drink market represents the largest part of that growth. It is expected to
reach more than three hundred fifty five billion dollars by twenty fourteen.
There is a seemingly endless supply of ideas about how to lose weight. There are low-
carbohydrate diets and low-fat diets, diets that limit …(10)…. and ones that let you eat as
much as you want. And, there are thousands of different kinds of diet pills and programs.
So where does one begin? Which one is best?
Experts say there is no …(11)…. diet plan that works best for everyone. Many experts
agree on one thing: that to lose weight, you must use or burn off more calories than you
take in. When you eat more calories than your body needs, it stores that extra …(12)….
as fat.
Exercise 7. Listen and fill in each blank with a word or a number you hear.

Rock Climbing
I'm Doug Johnson. And I'm Bob Doughty with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special
English.
Some people say the higher you climb, the harder you fall. But those people probably
would not be rock climbers. The sport, science and art of rock climbing is our …(1)….
this week.
An estimated nine million people rock climb in the United States. Millions more take part
in the activity around the …(2)….. Some do it just for personal satisfaction. Others
compete. Rock climbing can be …(3)….. But there are many methods and protective
devices that can increase a climber's safety.
Climbing takes strength, control and good …(4)….. Climbers have to pull themselves
straight up the face of very high rocks or walls. So they have to be strong enough to carry
their own weight. And climbers sometimes have to hold on to rocks by only their …(5)….
or toes.
There are several kinds of rock climbing. …(6)…. rock climbing is done outside.
Climbers wear ropes and attach devices to the rocks as they climb many hundreds of
meters up. They also connect their ropes to the devices. If a climber slips, a rope can stop
him from falling.
Sport climbing is similar. However, in those cases the …(7)…. devices are permanently
placed in the rock. There is also indoor climbing. Rock walls made of wood or concrete
have places for the climber's hands and feet.
…(8)…. climbing is exactly as it sounds. People climb glaciers or frozen waterfalls
instead of rocks. They use special equipment for the ice.
And then there is bouldering – climbing rocks between three and …(9)…. meters high. It
is a quicker and more intense kind of climbing. Many climbers like bouldering because
they can use less equipment. Climbers often need only special shoes and chalk. All
climbers use chalk to keep their …(10)…. dry.