Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – Fitness

A

1 T   2 T   3 T

B

1 groups   2 farm   3 lab   4 seaweed   5 knife   6 information

Audioscript

I = Interviewer     W = Woman

I:   Sue, what are the latest food trends?

W:   We have lots of interesting developments and even possible solutions for world problems related to food.

I:   Great. So can you kind of …

W:   Well, the key question is always what to eat, and here we may see some changes, things that you might not understand as food groups.

I:   Can you give an example?

W:   An example is insects.

I:   As a food group?

W:   Well, in Latin America, Asia and Africa, people have eaten insects for thousands of years, but it’s only now that we in the West are seeing what a good food source they are. Insects are rich in protein, low in fat, and easy to farm.

I:   So spiders and ants may be on the menu?

W:   We might see them on menus in the West. Now, technology will also play a part in the future of food. Scientists have already found ways to create meat in the lab.

I:   Right, but it tastes awful, doesn’t it?

W:   It tastes awful now, but maybe it won’t in the future. And as well as making meat in a lab, we’re also looking at ways to make proteins out of things like mud and wood and also seaweed.

I:   It seems incredible that mud might be something we can eat.

W:   Well, it’s the same for seaweed, which again is easy to farm because it’s everywhere. Um. Other developments on your kitchen table include an intelligent knife.

I:   What’s that?

W:   An intelligent knife will tell you all about the food it’s cutting. So, say you cut a slice of meat, the knife will tell you how much protein and fat is in the meat, where it’s from, how old it is.

I:   That’s amazing.

W:   Really giving people more information about their food.

A

Conversation 1

1   The woman feels terrible. She gets headaches and feels sick. She can’t sleep at night because he head hurts.

2   The doctor says she should stop drinking so much tea and coffee, only one small cup a day. She gives her some painkillers and says she should take two three times a day.

Conversation 2

1   The man is worried about his foot. It hurts when he walks. It’s very painful.

2   The doctor thinks it’s broken and that he should go to the hospital for an X-ray.

B

2 problem   3 pills   4 look   5 hurt   6 worry

C

1 sick   2 sleep   3 worried   4 hurts   5 painful

Audioscript

D = Doctor     W = Woman     M = Man

Conversation 1

D:   Hello. I’m Dr. Andrews. Now, what’s the matter?

W:   Well, doctor, I feel terrible. I get these headaches, and I feel sick.

D:   Oh. How long have you had this problem?

W:   A few weeks now. And I can’t sleep at night because my head hurts.

D:   You can’t sleep?

W:   That’s right.

D:   And are you very worried or under pressure at the moment?

W:   No, I don’t think so.

D:   Do you have a healthy diet?

W:   Hmm. Quite healthy.

D:   Do you drink tea or coffee?

W:   Yes, I do.

D:   How much?

W:   Tea? Probably about eight cups, or ten.

D:   A day?

W:   Yes.

D:   I see. And has that changed in the last few weeks?

W:   Not really.

D:   OK. Well, the first thing is I think you should stop drinking so much tea and coffee. Try to drink just one small cup a day. I’ll give you some painkillers for the headaches. Take two of these three times a day. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but if …

Conversation 2

D:   Good morning. How can I help?

M:   Well, I’m worried about my foot.

D:   Your foot?

M:   Yes. It hurts when I walk.

D:   I see. Did you do anything to it? Did you have an accident?

M:   Um. Well, sort of.

D:   What happened?

M:   I kicked a wall.

D:   I see. When did you do that?

M:   About a week ago.

D:   OK. Did you go to the hospital?

M:   No.

D:   Can I have a look?

M:   Yes, of course.

D:   Where does it hurt? Here?

M:   Argh. Yes, there.

D:   Can you move it?

M:   Yes, a little, but it’s very painful.

D:   Hmm. I think it might be broken. It’s nothing to worry about, but I think you should go to the hospital for an X-ray. I’ll write you a note and if …

A

1

Marcin:  eats/drinks too much junk food and coffee, does no exercise, overweight;

Paulina:  sleeps only six hours, stressed, little energy;

Alvaro:  backache, no exercise, watches too much TV, out of shape

2

Marcin:  heart problems, more weight problems;

Paulina:  get too thin and weak, suffer from major stress;

Alvaro:  heart, weight, eye problems, worse backache

B

Alvaro

Audioscript

To get healthy, you need a combination of things. You need the right diet. You need to exercise. You need to sleep seven or eight hours. Then there are other things related to lifestyle: how many friends you have, how happy your relationships are. These are really important, and they affect your general health. In this person’s case, there are some changes he can make. For example, he needs to do some exercise. I understand that his back gives him problems, which is quite common in someone of his age. But he could really help himself by doing more activity. He could try going for walks or riding a bicycle. Also, six hours of TV every day is too much. He should spend some of that time exercising or seeing his friends. He must lose weight, so maybe he could eat less meat, perhaps once a day instead of twice. Now, some of these changes are related to the people around him. For example, if it’s his wife who does the cooking, she’ll need to …

A

1 c   2 a   3 b

B

1 F   2 T   3 F   4 T   5 F   6 F

Audioscript

P = Presenter   W1 = Woman 1   W2 = Woman 2   W3 = Woman 3   M = Man

Part 1

H:   We’re in Boise, and this is table tennis for the over-fifties. The people who play here play three times a week, so you don’t need to tell them about how exercise makes you feel better.

W1:   It gives you a great feeling. You feel fabulous. Any type of exercise is good for you, especially when you’re my age. It just makes you feel good.

H:   Scientists have now worked out that you can live longer if you have a healthy lifestyle. They did some research. They followed 20,000 people for more than ten years, and they looked at the different lifestyles they had. The results are interesting. They showed that people who don’t smoke, who do regular exercise and who eat five servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day actually live longer. These people actually live about fourteen years longer than the people who didn’t have such healthy lifestyles. They lived longer, and they didn’t have so many health problems. Doctors say that even making a small change to your lifestyle can make a big difference to your health. Also, don’t worry if you have bad habits now. It’s never too late to start. So, does everyone agree that it’s a good idea to give up smoking, eat healthily and do exercise in order to live longer? We asked people on the street to tell us what they think.

Part 2

W2:   I don’t know. I don’t think it’s that important. I mean, I don’t eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day. I don’t like them, so I’m not going to do that.

W3:   If I go out with my friends in the evening, then I’m going to smoke. Having a cigarette is social. It’s part of the fun.

M:   Absolutely. I think it’s a great idea. Do exercise, eat well, stop smoking. And live a long and happy life. Everyone should do it.

H:   The message is clear: scientists are telling us that, if we want to live a long and healthy life, we need to look at how we live. So, I’m going to play a game of table tennis.