Exercise 1
A. Read the information, then listen to the podcast and answer the questions.
FOCUS ON SPORT
CAN THE OLYMPICS CHANGE A CITY?
Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, Pyeongchang … The Olympics don’t only make cities famous. They also help the people who live there.
Sports journalist Liv Oldman tells us why.
1 Which ideas does Liv talk about?
1 The city has better transport.
2 People have new places to do sport.
3 The city gets more money.
4 People want to do more sport.
2 Which cities does she talk about?
B. Listen again and answer the questions.
1 What is the Water Cube? What can you do there?
2 When is Sochi good for a holiday? Why?
3 Why did children in Britain do more sport after 2012?
Answer & Audioscript
A
1 Liv talks about 2, 3, 4.
2 Beijing, Sochi and London
B
1 The Water Cube is a swimming centre. You can swim and spend the day there.
2 Sochi is good for a holiday all year round because you can do different sports at different times of the year.
3 Because they saw people on TV at the Olympics and thought that they could do the sports too.
Audioscript
INTERVIEWER Welcome to Focus on Sport. Today Liv Oldman is with us to talk about how the Olympics can change the host city. Hi, Liv.
LIV Hi, thanks for having me.
I No problem. So, do you think the Olympics can change a city even after the Games finish?
L Oh, yes. It can really change a city and it can also help the people who live there. We see this happen again and again.
I Can you give us some examples?
L Of course. A great example is the Beijing Olympics in 2008. They built a fantastic new swimming centre called the Water Cube, and now families from all over Beijing can use it. And not only for swimming – it’s a popular place to spend the day. So it’s really made life better in the city. That’s just one small example.
I A great example. But many people say the Olympics cost a lot of money, but can it also make money for a city?
L Yes, it can. The Winter Olympics were in Sochi, in the south of Russia, in 2014. Before, tourists always went to Sochi in the summer, because there are some nice beaches there and you can swim in the sea. But after 2014 people knew that you could also ski and do other winter sports there, so now it has tourists all year. And tourists make money for a city. You can ski and skate in the winter and go swimming and cycling in the summer.
I What about children? How can the Olympics change a city for them?
L The Olympics can really help children and young people. Ater the London Olympics in 2012, a lot of school children in Britain started a new sport. They saw all these sports on TV, sports like badminton and basketball, and they thought yeah, I can do that too. Before the Olympics many of these children preferred to play video games and watch TV. So it’s a big change.
I Thank you, Liv. So, next time someone tells you the Olympics cost too much and can’t improve the life of a city, tell them to think again. Next up on Focus on Sport, we talk to Olympic athlete Martin Fisher …
Exercise 2
A. Listen to Stella and then Mariana talking about exercise. Match the speakers with pictures a and b.
B. Listen again. Are the sentences true or false? Correct the false sentences.
1 Stella thinks yoga is good for everyone.
2 Her favourite yoga exercise is easy to do.
3 She practised doing this exercise for a long time.
4 Mariana thinks beginner yoga is easy.
5 She has to think carefully when she does yoga.
6 She doesn’t like the end of each yoga lesson.
Answer & Audioscript
A
Stella − picture a; Mariana − picture b
B
1 T
2 F (Her favourite yoga exercise is quite difficult to do.)
3 T
4 F (Mariana doesn’t think beginner yoga is easy.)
5 T
6 F (The end of each yoga lesson is her favourite part of the class.)
Audioscript
STELLA Yoga is a great way to be fit, strong and healthy and anyone can do it. My friends and I go to yoga classes every week. My favourite yoga position is quite difficult, but it looks really good. You put your arms on the floor, then you put your legs in the air and try to touch your head with your toes. It’s not easy, but I love it. But, please, don’t try it at home! I needed years of practice to do that!
MARIANA I only started yoga three weeks ago. I’m very lazy, so I wanted to do some exercise that’s easy. But, you know, it’s not so simple! You need to think about how you move different parts of your body: your stomach, arms and legs … And sometimes you don’t move at all – you just stand in one place for two or three minutes. But my favourite part is the end of the class. We all lie on the floor and relax for five minutes. Can I tell you something? Last class I was so tired that I went to sleep on the floor in the middle of the studio!
Exercise 3
A. Listen to Part 1. What does Martina tell Dan to do?
B. Listen to Part 2 and answer the questions.
1 What’s Dan’s problem?
a He’s got a headache.
b His back hurts.
c He needs to eat some food.
d He’s got a temperature.
2 What do you think Dan wants to do?
a go to the aerobics class with Leo
b go home with Martina
c go on the running machine again
Answer & Audioscript
A
Martina tells Dan to sit down and drink some water.
B
1 c 2 b
Audioscript
A
LEO Right, the running machine next!
MARTINA Hey, are you OK? … Are you all right?
DAN Um … , I think so.
M Are you sure? You don’t look well.
D Yes, I feel a bit tired. Actually, I feel awful …
M Oh dear. Come and sit down. I’ll get you some water. … Here’s some water.
B
MARTINA Here’s some water.
DAN Thanks.
M You poor thing. What’s the matter?
D I’m not sure. I don’t feel well.
M Have you got a headache?
D No, I haven’t.
M Does your back hurt?
D No, nothing like that.
M Your face looks red, but that’s probably from the exercise. … I don’t think you’ve got a temperature.
D No, I’m sure I haven’t. I don’t feel well, that’s all.
LEO Are you OK, Dan?
D Yes, fine.
L Is he OK?
M Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine. … Did you have lunch?
D No … I didn’t have time for lunch. I had too much work to do.
M What about breakfast?
D Just a coffee – I was late for work, remember?
M Oh, yes. So nothing to eat all day?
D I … well … um … no. It was a busy day.
M Poor you. Well, I’m not surprised you don’t feel well. You have to work so hard you don’t have time to eat!
L That’s right. Poor Dan. Are you OK?
D Yes, yes, I’m fine.
L Are you sure you’re OK?
D Yes, really!
L Great! There’s an aerobics class now. Let’s go.
M Come on. I’ll take you home.
Exercise 4
A. Andy talks to Gina about his free-time activity. Listen and answer the questions.
1 Which activity in 1a does Andy talk about?
2 Does he want to write an article about it?
B. Listen again. Match 1–6 with a–f.
1 A year ago, …
2 Two weeks after his first bike ride, …
3 A couple of months ago, …
4 Last weekend, …
5 Almost every day, …
6 You always …
a he bought a bike.
b a car hit him.
c he goes cycling.
d he rode in the hills for two days.
e have to be careful in traffic.
f a friend invited him for a bike ride.
Answer & Audioscript
A
1 cycling 2 No, he doesn’t.
B
1 f 2 a 3 b 4 d 5 c 6 e
Audioscript
GINA Did you see the email about writing an article for the company blog?
ANDY Yes, I did.
G I suppose it’s true. We don’t know each other very well. I mean, I’ve got no idea if you have a hobby or not. You seem fit so … I don’t know … maybe you do some kind of sport?
A Yeah, you’re right. About a year ago, a friend of mine asked me to go cycling with him. I laughed and said ‘I can’t do that – I don’t have a bike’. ‘No problem,’ he said. ‘I can lend you one.’ Well, I went and it was amazing. About two weeks later I bought my own bike.
G That’s great!
A Yeah, I go cycling all the time – almost every day at er work. I love it because it’s a way of keeping fit and being outdoors at the same time. I could never go to a gym!
G No, I hate gyms too.
A Cycling can be a bit dangerous in the city, and you always have to be careful in the traffic. A couple of months ago a car sort of hit me.
G Oh dear!
A I wasn’t hurt badly – I just hurt my arm and my foot a bit. But I try to get out of the city into the countryside. For example, last weekend I went for a two-day ride in the hills. There was almost no one on the road. It was amazing – I couldn’t believe it.
G Well, look, there’s something I didn’t know about. You could write an article about that.
A Me? Write an article? No, I couldn’t do that. I haven’t got time.
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