lunes, 9 de noviembre de 2015

Listening test: News report

Listen to six BBC news items and choose the option a, b or c which best summarizes each. 0 is an example. You may need to pause the player after each item to have time to choose the corresponding option.



0 Example
a) Taylor Swift is going to pay technology company Apple for using her music for a three-month trial period.
b) Technology company Apple has agreed to pay musicians for a trial period for songs that customers download.
c) Technology company Apple is going to pay artists for their music during a three-month trial period.

1
a) An American company is planning to sell car batteries charged with energy from the sun which will change the way the world uses energy.
b) An American company is making plans to sell batteries charged with energy from the sun which will be able to provide enough power for a whole house or company and change the way the world uses energy.
c) An American company is making plans to sell solar panels which will be able to power houses and cars and change the way the world uses electricity.

2
a) Smoking has been made illegal in Beijing. Similar laws have been passed previously.
b) Smoking has been made illegal in some places in Beijing. It's the first time this type of law has been tried.
c) Smoking has been made illegal in some places in Beijing. Similar laws have been passed previously.

3
a) A new report has shown that greenhouse gas emissions by China will end in 10 years' time.
b) A new report has forecast that China will produce the world's biggest emission of greenhouse gases in five years' time.
c) A new report predicts China is going to reduce its emission of greenhouse gas earlier than expected.

4
a) The Queen and senior members of the royal family are introducing some new laws to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
b) The Queen and senior members of the royal family are going to a ceremony to celebrate the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John, 800 years ago.
c) The Queen and senior members of the royal family are sealing a scroll originally made by King John, 800 years ago.

5
a) Fishermen in Indonesia are asking for more resources to help rescue drowning migrants.
b) Many migrants are heading for Indonesia but fishermen there say they have been told not to help them if they get into trouble.
c) Migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh are drowning and the Indonesian government want fishermen to save them.

6
a) Scientists have discovered that some animal mummies from ancient Egypt are just cloth with no remains of the animal inside.
b) Scientists have discovered there is more under the cloths of mummified animals than just the animal.
c) Scientists have discovered that religious people in ancient Egypt demanded to be given mummified animals as gifts.




0
The technology giant Apple has agreed to pay musicians for songs played on its new music streaming service after singer Taylor Swift threatened to boycott it over the issue. She condemned Apple's decision not to pay artists during a three-month free trial period it's offering its customers.

1
The US electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors has announced plans to sell battery technology capable of powering individual homes and businesses. The batteries use energy drawn from solar panels. Tesla's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, said they'll allow homeowners to go off the electric grid and will change the way the world uses energy.

2
A smoking ban has come into force at all indoor public places in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
It will be supervised by thousands of inspectors and fines will be imposed in venues that don't comply. Previous bans in the capital have not been successful.

3
A new study of China's greenhouse gas emissions suggest they could start to decline within the next 10 years. The research by the London School of Economics indicates that the fall could happen five years earlier than forecast. Despite being the world's leading carbon polluter, China is also the biggest investor in solar, wind and nuclear power.

4
Here in Britain, events are getting underway to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta – the document that introduced some of the key rights enjoyed in modern democracies. The Queen and senior members of the royal family will be attending a ceremony in the meadows at Runnymede, where the scroll was sealed by King John in 1215.

5
There are reports of more boats filled with migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh heading towards Indonesia. Jakarta's warned that it's running out of resources to care for the large numbers who have already arrived in recent days. Fishermen in the Indonesian port of Langsa have told the BBC that they've been warned by officials not to rescue migrants even if they're drowning.

6
British scientists studying animal mummies from ancient Egypt have discovered that many of them are little more than bundles of cloth. Mummified animals were used as religious offerings and researchers believe Egyptian mummy makers may have struggled to keep up with demand.

KEY:
0C 1B 2C 3C 4B 5B 6A