2009-11 BBC News Items - Listening - Exercises

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Listening Activities from 2009-11 News on the BBC Learning Site Words In The News
by michelle – British spellings

Please, follow these instructions:

1. Click on the blue LISTEN and fill in the gaps. Listen twice. Use phonetics if in trouble, and then take your time to work out the spelling.

2. Then scroll down a bit and you will find the transcript. On the right, under Downloads (a bit further up the page) you will find the pdf with the transcript and comments on the vocabulary.

3. Jot down your results (e.g. 3/5, see table on p.2) and please, send me a copy, so I can assess individual and collective levels.

New research on the power of smiling: Listen!

1. and 2. They looked at people's reactions to different …………………………………. They found that responses ………………………………………….. considerably.
3. Through this they say they have found three types of smile to……………………………….…………
4. Then there is the 'Big ……………………………………………………., a fixed grin that looks practised and fake.
5. The best smile, they say, is ………………………………………………………………………………… naturally across the whole face

Earthquake science Listen!

1. But Doctor Walter Mooney, who's studied dozens of earthquakes around the globe, said there were also other factors behind the relatively low …………………………………………...………………..
2. Secondly, this earthquake had a slow and gradual …………………………….…………………………
3. and 4. Doctor Mooney contrasted that with the ………………………………………………….. quake, which …………………………………………………………….. the hard rock beneath the capital Port Au Prince within seconds
5. And the geophysicists said that even if Chile took precautions, it would remain highly …………………………………………………. to earthquakes

Scientists identify cause of baldness: Listen!

1. For some men, ……………………………………………. is beautiful.
2. For many though ………………………………………………… is no laughing matter
3. An academic medical centre has found that hair follicles actually …………………………… but don't disappear
4. It really ……………………….………………………….. that because the stem cells are present
5. Treating these ……………………….………………………. stem cells means that, rather than just maintaining hair, we could soon regenerate hair

Spanish demonstration against bullfighting: Listen!

1. when I hear of these crimes, and people say this …………………………………..…………………….
2. The centuries-old spectacle, whose ritual includes implanting …………………..……………… sticks into the bull before a matador kills it with a sword
3. Many Spaniards …………………………………………………………. accusations of cruelty
4. This Madrid resident insists those who want to watch bullfighting should ……………………………………………………………..………… to continue doing so
5. In Spain's Canary Islands, the sport is already …………………………………..………………………..

Firth finishes first at Golden Globes: Listen!

1. The Social Network tells the story of how Facebook started, including the legal ………….…………. behind the scenes.
2. I'm talking about taking the entire social experience of college and …………………………………….
3. He plays George VI in the film about the British monarch's battle with ………………………..……….
4. sometimes all you need is a little bit of gentle reassurance to keep you …………...…………………..
5. but slowly breaks down under the pressure of ……………………………………………………… from another ballerina

US Republicans want to undo reforms: Listen!

1. When the …………………………………………………… Congress meets, it will be the first time the Republicans have been in charge of the House of Representatives since 2006
2. and 3. They want to change America's economic policy with a programme of what they call …………………………………, pruning Government spending while ………………………………………………………… economic growth by cutting regulations.
4. and 5. They also want to …………………………… President Obama's major legislative achievement: making ……………………………. universal health care insurance compulsory

Russia blames Polish crew for plane crash: Listen!

1. and 2. On April ……………………………………………… last year, a Polish government ……………………………………. crashed in bad weather near the Russian city of Smolensk
3. They'd been on their way to take part in a ceremony commemorating a World War II ………………………………………………….. of Polish officers.
4. Russian investigators …………………………………………………………..……… for the crash on the Polish crew
5. including the Polish air force chief who was in the ……………………………………………. at the time of the crash

Civilian casualties in Sri Lanka: Listen!

1. The ……………………………… spokesman here, Gordon Weiss, told the BBC that more than 100 children died
2. The issue of civilian casualties is highly sensitive here and the ………………………………………………………….. Daily News on Monday makes no mention of the incident at all
3. …said on Sunday that the bodies of …………………………………………………….. people had been registered at his hospital and that many other corpses were lying outside
4. the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is to co-sponsor informal discussions with ministers and ……………………………………………………………….. on the island's humanitarian situation
5. It says it's about to defeat the rebels permanently and that a ……………………………………………………….. would not help civilians

 

Your results in Listening Activities from News on the BBC Learning Site “Words In The News”

Copy and paste and send to teacher, please! J

New research on the power of smiling …………………. Earthquake science …………………. Scientists identify cause of baldness  …………………. Spanish demonstration against bullfighting  …………… Firth finishes first at Golden Globes  …………………. US Republicans want to undo reforms  …………………. Russia blames Polish crew for plane crash  …………… Civilian casualties in Sri Lanka ………………