Listening Tests 3 for A4 (Answer Key will be given to you in the classroom A4)

Fill in each blank with a correct word or number:

I. In Russia

1 It’s important (1)_____________ to give an even number of (2)_________________ as a present because Russians only give an even numbers of flowers when people die.

2 (3)______________ in Red Square, Moscow, is (4)________________ and you can get a large fine which you have to pay immediately.

3 Russians think it’s very bad manners to put your (5)______________ on the back of your chair in a restaurant or a (6)_________________.

4 When it snows, Russians always take off their outdoor shoes when they go indoors. They offer (7)________________ shoes to wear indoors, but you give a very good (8)____________ if you take your own indoor shoes with you.



II. In Japan

1 The Japanese consider talking (9)______________ or showing anger a very (10)_____________ way to behave. In their culture it’s important to be calm and to control (11)_______________.

2 If you pour your own (12)______________, they may think you are an alcoholic.

3 (13)________________ normally stand closer to each other than Japanese people do. Japanese people feel (14)________________ if a foreigner stands close to them.

4 A Japanese communal bath is not for washing but for (15)__________________, so you should wash (16)________________ getting into a bath in Japan. Despite of his age, he works very hard. Despite of his age, he works very hard.


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Listening Tests 2 for A4 (Answer Key will be given to you in the classroom A4)

Listen and fill in each blank with a suitable word or number

Interview Joseé Manuel, you’re from (1)_________________ but you live and work in Spain?

Jose Manuel Yes, that’s (2)________. I’m the Operations Director in Unilever’s Food Division, and I live and (3)______ in Barcelona.

Interview Do you need to speak good English, working for a big (4)_____________________ company like Unilever?

Jose Manuel Yes, English is the company (5)_________________ so I use it every day for emails and phone calls, and all international meetings are in English.

Interview How often do you go to international meetings?

Jose Manuel I go to our (6)______________ office in the (7)___________________ twice a year, and I (8)_____________ have meetings in other countries in (9)__________ too. But most of my meetings are in Spain, with (10)_______________ people, so I don’t have to speak English then!


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Listening Tests 1 for A4 (Answer Key will be given to you in the classroom A4)

I. Fill in each blank with a correct word or number:

* In the evenings I (1)_______ watch TV – I don’t have time. I (2)_________ and have dinner with my husband. (3)___________ I get home from work late, my children are often asleep when I (4)_________, but we’re always with them at (5)___________. We do a lot of things (6)_________ – we go for walks and we go (7)_________ and swimming. In the evening we sometimes (8)___________ friends and have parties.

* When I get home from work, I always go for a walk with my (9)________ and I go to the gym (10)__________ times in the week and once at weekends. I (11)__________ have dinner late in the evening – around (12)__________ o’clock, and I hardly ever go to bed before (13)__________. On Saturdays I go (14)___________ for food and take my dog for a (15)___________ walk. I read a lot at weekends, and sometimes play my (16)__________ computer game.



II. Fill in each blank with a correct word or number:

* What kind of (1)__________ do I enjoy? Well, I really enjoy travelling to (2)_________ places. I like lots of (3)___________ when I’m on holiday. I love walking and trekking – my next holiday is trekking in the jungle in (4)__________. I don’t enjoy doing (5)____________ when I’m on holiday. For example, I don’t like lying on a (6)___________. OK, (7)_____________, when I’m very tired, I can relax on a (8)_____________ for (9)___________ days but then I’m (10)__________ for something active again!


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ENGLISH LANGUAGE

(MS. Ancarta) - English Language, primary language of the majority of people in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, other former colonies of Britain, and territories of the United States. It is also an official or semiofficial language of many countries with a colonial past, such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa.

Even in countries where English is not a primary or official language, it is taught as a foreign language and used as the language of technology and diplomacy. English is spoken in more parts of the world than any other language and by more people than any other language except Chinese.

English is classified as an Indo-European language. It is part of the Germanic subfamily and is grouped with its most closely related language, Frisian, as part of the Anglo-Frisian group. Other related languages include Dutch, Flemish, and the Low German dialects, and, more distantly, Modern High German.

The English language spread as Britain expanded its colonial empire from the 1600s on and established legal, military, and educational systems in many countries along English lines. British expansion ended after World War II (1939-1945), when many of its colonies sought independence.

Since World War II American English has dominated as a world language, largely because of U.S. economic and political influence and the advance of technology, especially computing and the Internet. At the turn of the 21st century, English prevailed as the most widely used language internationally.
At the same time as English became a world language, the number of English speakers learning a second language dropped substantially.

Even more disturbingly, English was blamed for the “death” of some minority languages, such as Gaelic and various Australian aboriginal languages (see Aboriginal Australians). Various measures are needed to protect these smaller languages from disappearing.

The English language seems set to dominate world communications for some time to come. Although dominance brings with it a degree of standardization, it is not the case that English is losing its variety, either within countries or across the globe.

Current research suggests that, rather than dwindling, differences in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation continue to allow people to express multiple identities. The fear of some linguists that mass communications would lead to the death of English dialects appears to be unfounded.
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HISTORY OF SOCCER

(MS. Ancarta) - Evidence from many ancient societies—Chinese, Greek, Maya, and Egyptian—reveals that kicking games were a part of those cultures. The modern game of soccer began in the 19th century in England, when a variety of football games developed, all of which involved both handling and kicking the ball. The first laws of the modern game were supposedly drafted in 1862 by J. C. Thring of the Uppingham School.

At a meeting of the London Football Association (FA) in 1863, the game was split into rugby football (the parent sport of American football), which permitted handling and carrying the ball, and association football, or soccer, which banned the use of the hands.

At first soccer was played mostly in private schools and universities, but before long people of the working classes picked up the sport. The FA Cup, a tournament first organized in 1871, sparked the rapid spread of soccer in England. (The tournament, which is still played, climaxes with the annual Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London.) An 1872 game in Glasgow, Scotland, between an English all-star team and its Scottish counterpart marked the beginning of international play. In 1885 the FA recognized the legitimacy of professional players and regular league play started in England in 1888.

Soccer's global spread began in the late 1800s, when British traders, sailors, and soldiers carried the sport all over the world. Germans, Italians, and Austrians were eager converts in Europe, while Argentines, Uruguayans, and Brazilians took quickly to the sport in South America. FIFA was formed in 1904. By 1930 professional leagues were operating in many countries, and that year FIFA organized the first World Cup in Uruguay.

One nation that long resisted soccer was the United States. Soccer was played in the United States, mostly among immigrants, but it was not until the 1970s that a national professional league gained some popularity. The North American Soccer League (NASL), founded in 1968, earned a devoted following thanks in part to the import of players such as Brazilian star Pelé, and by 1980 the league had 24 teams. But the league was not financially sound, and in 1984 it went out of business. However, the NASL left a legacy of growing American involvement in the sport at the youth level. By the 1990s soccer was the fastest-growing college and high school sport in the United States.

The growing number of players in the United States attracted sponsorship for the sport, and faith in its future was recognized by FIFA when it granted the USSF the right to organize the 1994 World Cup. The event proved to be a great success, attracting nearly 3.6 million attendees over the course of its 52 games. This strong show of support led to the formation of Major League Soccer, which brought top-level soccer back to the United States two years later.

A new U.S. women’s professional league, the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), started up in 2001. The league, which was formed after the great success of the Women’s World Cup in 1999, showcased many of the top female players from around the world. The eight-team league lasted three seasons before financial problems forced it to shut down after the 2003 season.

In 2002 two countries shared World Cup hosting duties for the first time, as Japan and South Korea teamed up for the first World Cup to be held in Asia. Germany was selected to host the 2006 World Cup. China was named host of the 2003 Women’s World Cup, but the competition was moved to the United States after severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged as a serious health problem in China.
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