Practice Listening English Exercises for A2 – Scary but lovely to watch

1 T   2 T   3 F   4 T   5 F   6 T

Audioscript

Crocodiles

      For centuries, people lived with and respected the all-powerful crocodile. Those snapping jaws and lethal teeth frightened all attackers away, whether human or animal. People were also fascinated by their characteristic calls, their beauty and their intelligence. Unfortunately, it was their beautiful skin which put them under threat. When explorers realised how valuable crocodile skin was, everything changed. Hunters risked their lives – and sometimes lost them – in order to satisfy the world’s demand for crocodile skin.

      Worse was to come. The crocodiles’ homes began to disappear as new towns and industries were developed on the land near swamps and rivers. Luckily for the crocodiles, people realised that a world without them would just not be the same, and now they have been officially declared an endangered species. In some parts of the world, there are now parks where crocodiles may live safely, with laws to protect them.

      “It is illegal to kill crocodiles,” says conservationist Charles Swaby, who has spent the last thirty years protecting the Jamaican crocodiles. The problem is that when farm animals are killed by crocodiles, farmers ignore the law and kill them. This is what Charles is fighting against. “Crocodiles are much more scared of us than we are of them. They are scary but lovely to watch,” he adds. If Charles, and others like him, can convince the world to share this opinion, crocodiles will be with us forever.

Wolves

      The big bad wolf eats the poor little pig or chases Little Red Riding Hood. The brave young hunter comes along and – BANG! – the wolf is dead. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world there are no more wolves living in the wild. And all because the wolf has traditionally been seen as an evil enemy. In fact, this misunderstood animal has many virtues.

      Wolves are superb hunters. They prefer hunting wild animals to domestic ones. They do not over-populate, but keep their numbers at the level they can feed. As for killing people, conservationists insist that this is simply not true. “Wolves avoid people. We have to teach the world that wolves only attack human beings in fairy tales.”

      There are plans to bring wolves back to the wild areas of Scotland, but local people have doubts about the idea. “We want wolves back. They lived for thousands of years in Scotland – it is their land – but we fear for our animals,” one farmer says. The government has announced that it will pay for any farm animals killed by wolves. People in favour of bringing the wolf back say this: “Let our children have the chance to hear a wolf howl at the moon on a still, Scottish night, and let us be proud that we made it possible.”

Audioscript

Presenter:   Good evening, listeners. On this week’s edition of “The Animal Kingdom”, Ms Ellen Gordon, a conservationist, will tell us about endangered animals. Welcome, Ms Gordon.

Ms Gordon:   Thank you – well I’d like to talk about the animals that I have studied recently. For example the sea turtle is in great danger because hunters are skilling it for food. Its numbers are also decreasing due to the destruction of its habitat. A particular type of seal like the harp seal, is also endangered due to the fact that hunters are killing it for its skin. In the Antarctic, the Emperor Penguin is being threatened due to increased fishing and pollution of the seas.

Presenter:   Can you tell us what is being done to protect these animals?

Ms Gordon:   Yes, well … Efforts to ban the killing of the sea turtle have been made. And many countries are now banning the hunting of seals. In the Antarctic, there are programmes that make sure that the waters are not being polluted. But there’s still a lot that needs to be done.

Presenter:   Well, I’m afraid we’re out of time. Thank you for joining us today Ms Gordon.

Ms Gordon:   Thank you, it’s been a pleasure.

1 China   2 grass   3 fur   4 kill   5 parks

6 Central   7 fruit   8 tusks   9 hunting

10 plants   11 horns

Audioscript

Zookeeper:   Now, boys and girls. The first animal on our tour today is the Giant Panda. Most Pandas live in Southwestern China (but we’re lucky to have two in our zoo).

Boy A:   What do panda’s eat?

Zookeeper:   Well, Panda’s like to eat flowers and grass, but their favourite meal is bamboo.

Girl A:   Are Panda’s an endangered species?

Zookeeper:   Yes, unfortunately, they are. The destruction of their habitat and the fact that the variety of bamboo is decreasing, have caused these animals to become endangered. Also, they are hunted by man for their fur.

Girl B:   Is anything being done to save them?

Zookeeper:   Yes. Laws have been passed that make it illegal to kill them. And special wild life parks have been set up to protect them.

Boy B:   Oh, look at that huge elephant!

Zookeeper:   Ah, yes! The wonderful elephant. These large animals live in Central Africa. They eat grass, but they also eat twigs and some fruit.

Girl A:   Are they hunted by man?

Zookeeper:   Sadly, yes. For their tusks which are made of ivory.

Boy C:   What’s being done to protect them?

Zookeeper:   Well, the hunting and trading of ivory has been banned.

Girl C:   What’s that over there?

Zookeeper:   That’s a Black Rhinocerous.

Boy D:   Where do they live?

Zookeeper:   They live in Africa.

Girl D:   Do they eat meat?

Zookeeper:   No. They only eat grass and plants.

Boy D:   Are they endangered too?

Zookeeper:   Yes. They are hunted for their horns, but efforts have been made to protect them.

Girl D:   Like what?

Zookeeper:   Well, the areas where rhinos live are guarded by armed men and the selling of rhino horns has been banned all over the world.