Air France Wreckage Found

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• wreckage: the parts that remain after an accident
• depth: measurement of how deep something is below the surface of the water
• en route: on the way
• manslaughter: the killing of a person without a plan to do so

Click the link below to listen and complete the article below.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/air-france.mp3

Wreckage from the Air France plane that went down on June 1, 2009 has finally been located after three previously unsuccessful searches. Special were being used to dive to depths of up to 4000 metres. Investigators say bodies have been found with the wreckage and will be brought to the surface and in the upcoming weeks. Only 50 bodies were found during the original searches almost two years ago. 228 people were killed when the plane crashed into the ocean en route to Paris from . The cause of the crash has not been determined and the have not been found. Investigators say the plane was flying into a storm and may have been having problems measuring air speed. Air France and Airbus are facing manslaughter charges related to the .

Discussion Question: 

Millions of dollars are spent on search operations after airplane accidents. The main goal is usually to locate the voice and data recorders. Do you think this is money well spent? Why or why not?

“Titanic” Director Takes Deep Sea Voyage

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• voyage: an adventure trip
• emerge: to come into view
• dove: past tense of “dive” in American English (“dived” British English)
• sub: short for “submarine”; a vehicle that travels under the water
• remote: far away from action or populated areas
• technical glitch: a small mechanical problem
• premier: the first showing of a film

Filmmaker James Cameron emerged safely from a dive to the deepest known point of the world’s oceans. Cameron dove 11 kilometres down in the western Pacific in a one-man sub called Deepsea . He spent four hours exploring the ocean floor, which he called the most “remote, isolated place on the planet.” Though Cameron was hoping to samples from the dive, the robotic arm on board suffered a technical glitch. He was able to the dive, and plans to release a documentary. The entire trip took about seven hours, and Cameron resurfaced just hours before the premier of “Titanic” in . 

Click the link below to listen and complete the article below.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/EnglishClub.com-News-Cameron-Dive.mp3 

 Discussion Question:

What is interesting about the timing of this deep sea voyage? Do you think it was partly a publicity stunt?

Two US Presidents Died on Independence Day

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• independence: freedom from another government’s control
  
• significant: important; notable
• draft: to write
• rival: enemy
• renew: to try again; to refresh something from the past
• outlive: to live longer than
• written in the stars: destined to happen

Click the link below to listen to the audio.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/EnglishClub.com-IF-Declaration.mp3

Two US Presidents Died on Independence Day

On July 4th Americans around the world celebrate Independence Day. July 4th is a significant day in history for two other reasons. The second US president, John Adams, and the president, Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4th. In fact, Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4th, 1826. This was the fiftieth of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Adams and Jefferson had worked together to draft the Declaration. In later years, the two became political rivals. It wasn’t until they were both retired that they renewed their friendship and their respect for each other. Adams who was 90 outlived Jefferson, 82, by hours.

 

 Discussion Questions: Do you think the timing of these deaths was a coincidence or do you think it was written in the stars? 

 

 

Three Dogs Survived the Titanic

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• ill-fated: doomed; unlucky
• evacuate: to leave due to danger
• capacity: the ability to safely hold a certain amount of people
• undetected: not noticed
• kennel: a confined place where animals are held
• disembark: to get off a ship or plane

Click the link below to listen and complete the article below.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/EnglishClub.com-IF-Titanic-Dogs.mp3

It is a well-known fact that there weren’t enough for the passengers on the ill-fated Titanic. But did you know that three dogs were among the ? Two Pomeranians and one Pekingese dog evacuated safely onto the lifeboats. Some people would call this a crime, since over 1500 humans didn’t make it onto a lifeboat. The reality is that many of the lifeboats were not filled to capacity. Lifeboat 1 carried 12 people though it had a capacity for 40. In addition, these dogs were so that they didn’t take up any space and probably went undetected. About nine other dogs with the ship. These dogs were in the ship’s kennel. The captain’s dog normally with him, but his daughter had taken the animal off the ship before it set sail. There is also a rumour that a cat and her kittens disembarked at Southampton before the Titanic continued its journey towards New York.

Discussion Question: 

Many stories have been told about the Titanic passengers. One is about a woman who refused to evacuate without her Great Dane. According to rumour, her body was found with her dog. Do you think this actually happened? Do you know someone who would sacrifice his or her own life for a pet?

Body Doubles Do More Than Stunts

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• stunt: a daring act that takes courage and skill
  
• hire: to offer to pay someone for their services
• decoy: a person or thing that tricks people into going or looking a different way
• resemblance: likeness
• impersonate: to pretend to be someone
• keep something at bay: to prevent future trouble from happening

Click the link below to listen and complete the article below.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/EnglishClub.com-IF-Body-Double.mp3

Body doubles are often used for special shots in films or television shows. They perform stunts, such as running through a burning building or jumping from an airplane. This is not the only reason a body double might get hired. Body doubles who are in very good are often hired to do nude scenes. They may also be used as stand-ins for magazine photo shoots. Oprah Winfrey has a body double for this purpose. According to some reports, China’s super rich can hire a body double to appear in court and for a crime. Body doubles can also act as decoys. Some body doubles even receive plastic surgery. High profile body doubles need to have a strong resemblance to the person they are impersonating. According to gossip magazines, Tom Cruise hired a body double for his daughter Suri. Do you believe this rumour?

 Discussion Questions: 

Some people think that rich criminals still suffer by hiring a body double to do the time for their crime. The criminals have to remain in hiding, and they have to pay out a lot of money to the body double’s family. What do you think about this practice?

World Bank Wants to Refocus Aid

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• refocus: to change the direction or emphasis
• resolve: to end the problem
• justice: fairness
• global action plan: a set of steps that an international group agrees to take part in to achieve a goal
• poverty: the state of being poor; not having enough food, money, and supplies for life

Click the link below to listen and complete the article below.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/World-Bank-1.mp3

The World has released a new report suggesting that aid money be refocused on prevention rather than health, education, and military support. Much more money is spent on resolving conflict in war torn countries than preventing the conflict in the first place. The author of the report stated that financial aid should focus on police, justice systems, and institutions. Approximately people are threatened by political and criminal violence. Most of these people live in areas that have a long history of civil war. The report also concluded that conflict-affected countries have not achieved any of the eight goals set out in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The UN backed global action plan was adopted at the 2010 Summit to reduce poverty among women and over the next five years.

Discussion Question:

 Do you agree that financial aid should be spent on policing before education and health? Why or why not?

“News Of The World” Shuts Down

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• tabloid: a type of newspaper with half-sized pages; sensational news
• phone-hacking: accessing private information from personal telephones
• scandal: an illegal action that causes public rage
• allegedly: believed to be true, but not proven in court
• boycott: to refuse to buy or use something as a means of getting attention or making a point

Click the audio below to listen and complete the article below.

http://edition.englishclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/News-of-the-World.mp3

Britain’s Sunday tabloid, News of the World, ran its last on Sunday, July 10th. Rupert Murdoch’s paper sold 2.6 million a week, and had been in print for 168 years. The closure is related to a phone-hacking scandal, dating back to 2006. News of the World staff and journalists have been accused of using private investigators to hack into private boxes. Victims of the alleged scandal included politicians, members of the royal family, , and the military. News of the World journalists allegedly hired a PI to hack the voicemail of murder victim Milly Dowler. voicemail messages gave the school girl’s family false hope that she was alive. Prior to the closure, several advertisers said they would boycott the Sunday paper. A reader boycott was also in the works.

 Discussion Question:

 Are tabloid newspapers popular in your country? Why are people so interested in celebrity gossip?

IELTS Listening: TED x IELTS: Why Is ‘X’ the Unknown?

  Click the link below and listen to the audio.  Answer the questions below below the link.

http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2012/None/TerryMoore_2012.mp3

Questions 1-5 (Summary completion) Write no more than one word for each answer.

The Arabic language is extremely 1. _________________________. Because each part of a sentence is very precise and informative, constructing a sentence in Arabic is bit like writing an 2. _________________________. This partly explains many so-called Western sciences such as mathematics and 3. _________________________ actually have their origins in the Middle East. For example, the English word ‘algebra’ has Arabic roots. Many kinds of Middle-Eastern wisdom arrived in Europe via 4. _________________________, where they were first translated. However, certain Arabic sounds can’t be pronounced by Europeans without a great deal of practice. They also can’t easily be written using existing European 5. _________________________.

Questions 6-10 (Matching)

Match the following statements with the letter or symbol they refer to.

6. It was familiar to Spanish mathematicians. _____

7. It was eventually replaced by another letter. _____

8. It was known throughout Europe. _____

9. It has been in use for nearly six centuries. _____

10. It is unpronounceable in Spanish. _____

• A. The mathematical symbol X
• B. The Arabic letter SHeen
• C. The Greek letter Kai
• D. The Latin letter X

Listening sample task – Short-answer questions

Click the link below to listen to the audio:

http://www.ielts.org/files/Listening%20Sample%20Task%20Type%203.mp3


Answer the questions below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

What TWO factors can make social contact in a foreign country difficult?

• 11 ...............................
• 12 ...............................

Which types of community group does the speaker give examples of?

• theatre
• 13 ..................................
• 14 ..................................

In which TWO places can information about community activities be found?

• 15 ..................................
• 16 ..................................

IELTS Listening: try these techniques

Here are 4 techniques that you could experiment with when practicing IELTS listening tests from the Cambridge books:

1. Work on specific sections rather than doing full tests. For example, you could focus on section 1 this week, then do lots of examples of section 2 next week.
2. Do a full test, but allow yourself to listen two or three times. See how many extra answers you get the second or third time you listen to the recording.
3. Do a full test, but give yourself as much time as you want during the breaks (by stopping the recording). This takes away the problem of not having time to read the questions properly, and allows you to focus more on your listening skills.
4. Change the listening test into a reading test. Instead of listening to the recording, use the transcript at the back of the book. Did you get a higher score than usual? If you did, your listening skills need more work. If you didn't, maybe your problem is related to vocabulary.

IELTS Listening: New Year's Resolutions

Here's a video for you to watch:

Here's a recording in case you can't see the video:

http://ielts-simon.com/files/how-to-achieve-your-new-years-resolution-in-59-seconds.mp3

Fill the gaps in the following summary.

The speaker ______ the lives of 5000 people as they attempted to achieve their New Year's resolutions. 10% of the people were successful, and they all followed five simple ______. First, they broke their goal into a ______ of smaller steps. Second, they told friends and family what they were trying to achieve. Third, they regularly ______ themselves about the benefits of obtaining their goal. Fourth, they gave themselves a small ______ each time they obtained one of their small steps. Finally, they ______ ______ their progress, so they knew exactly where they were.

IELTS Listening: gap-fill -How to save money and stop spending

Listen to the recording and fill the gaps in the summary below.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/spending-advice-1.mp3

How to save money and stop spending

It's impossible to stop spending completely, but you can stop ______ spending, or ______ it. You really need to set up a ______; just take a look at how much money you bring home in your ______, and write down everything you spend on a piece of paper. The aim is to get a ______ on how much money you are bringing in and where it is going. Whether you use plastic or ______, record what you bought, where you bought it, and how much you ______. At the end of the month it's a real ______. You'll see a whole lot of ______ you can do.

IELTS Listening: fill the gaps

Click the link below and listen to the recording.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/the-wright-brothers-with-james-dyson-and-suzi-perry--how-we-invented-the-world.mp3

Listen to the first speaker and fill the gaps in the following text.

The plane has been developed by lots of people ______ the years, but the Wright brothers certainly made it work and made it ______. Planes existed before, people had made aeroplanes fly before, but I always have a huge ______ for the inventor who really makes it work; Henry Ford I have the same admiration for because he made a car ______, and made it ______, and made it work. So the Wright brothers for me are probably the most - should be the most - ______ people when it comes to aeroplanes.

Watch the video below.

IELTS Listening: population in Australia

Listen to the recording and answer the questions below.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/australian-population-edited.mp3

1. Which three things are affected by population growth?

A) environment, housing and architecture
B) jobs, housing and infrastructure
C) jobs, transport and culture

2. What happens every 3 minutes in Australia?

A) one person dies
B) one person is born
C) one person leaves the country

3. What proportion of Australians were born abroad?

4. From which two countries do most immigrants come?

IELTS Listening: multiple choice

Listen to the following short talk about cave paintings.


http://ielts-simon.com/files/lascaux.mp3

1. In which continent are the cave paintings that the speaker is describing?

A) Africa
B) Europe
C) Asia

2. How were the painted caves discovered?

A) By children
B) By artists
C) By tourists

3. How can visitors experience the cave paintings nowadays?

A) They can’t see any paintings because the caves are closed
B) They can go on a tour of the original cave
C) They can visit a reproduction of the original cave

IELTS Listening: 'handedness' exercise

Listen to the following recording about right and left-handedness.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/handedness.mp3

What is the probability of right-handed parents having a left-handed child?

A) more than 10%.
B) about 2%.
C) about 17%.

What comparison is made between males and females?

A) 50% of left-handed people are male.
B) Males are less likely to be left-handed.
C) Males are twice as likely to be left-handed.

A child's handedness can be determined for certain

A) when the child reaches two years of age.
B) when the child is six months old.
C) according to which hand the child reaches with in the first year of life.

IELTS Listening: multiple choice

Click the link the link below to listen to the audio:

http://ielts-simon.com/files/listening-1.mp3

1. A year from now, the unemployment rate will be

A) fairly good
B) not as high in California
C) very high for the country as a whole

2. One problem is that

A) employees cannot work for more than 33 hours per week
B) employers will extend working hours instead of hiring new staff
C) there are too many part-time workers

3. If the economy begins to improve

A) more people will be discouraged from looking for work
B) people will think that there are more job opportunities
C) there will be an expansion of the workforce

IELTS Listening: multiple choice exercise

Click the link below.  Answer the questions while listening.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/study-skills-1.mp3

What are the TWO main reasons why students have trouble remembering information for tests?

A) stress
B) nerves
C) lack of time in the test
D) lack of planning
E) lack of preparation

Which TWO relaxation techniques are NOT recommended by the speaker?

A) breathing deeply
B) counting backwards
C) closing your eyes
D) visualising a relaxing image
E) counting slowly

Which TWO habits can parents help their children with?

A) eating properly and getting enough sleep
B) organising their study schedules
C) buying the right study guide
D) breaking the exam down
E) cramming

IELTS Listening: 'biometrics' gap-fill

Click the link below to listen to the audio:

http://ielts-simon.com/files/what-are-biometrics_.mp3

Fill in the gaps.

1. In today’s society we rely on _____ and _____ to access information.

2. We have to trust that a passport or driver’s license has not been _____ with.

3. Fingerprint, facial, iris and _____ patterns are sources of biometric data.

4. We’re identifying people at _____ with facial recognition software.

5. As the technology _____, our identities will be better _____.

Click the link below to watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98N6vxiVgo4#at=67

IELTS Listening: English as a global language

Watch and listen to the video below and fill the gaps.

Fill the gaps in the sentences below.

1. How many people are trying to learn English ______? Two billion of them.
2. Learning English can give people the ______ for a better life, a job, to be able to pay for school, or ______ better food on the table.
3. With English you can become part of a ______ conversation, a global conversation about global problems.
4. English is becoming the language of ______ ______.
5. English represents hope for a better future, where the world has a ______ language to solve its ______ problems.

IELTS Listening: 'money' topic

Listen to the audio on the link below.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/money-inequality.mp3

Fill the gaps in the following summary of the first 4 minutes of the video:

1. Does the amount of ______ you have affect the kind of person you are?
2. In a recent study, drivers of luxury cars were three to four times more ______ to break the law than drivers of less expensive, low ______ cars.
3. The academic paper that resulted ______ ______ everywhere.
4. It is very clear that this study of social class touched a ______.
5. The results were ______ across thirty studies which were run on thousands of people all over the United States.

Watch the video below.

GAP FILL SUMMARY

Listen to the recording about road safety and fill the gaps in the summary.

http://ielts-simon.com/files/road-safety-in-europe.mp3

Summary:

Traffic in Europe is increasingly ______. The aim of the 'European Road Safety Day' is to reduce the ______ ______ from road accidents throughout the European Union.

The number of lives saved every year since 2001 has ______ ______ markedly in line with ______. However, there are still nearly ______ people killed on Europe's roads each year.

The big problems to address are speed, alcohol or drugs, and not wearing a ______. These are the ______ ______ of accidents.

Watch the video below.