Question

5s

Prepared By : Mohamed Malik

Available for free download@ www.ibatefl.com

Table of Contents
1 - Acupuncture ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Acupuncture – Audio Transcript ............................................................................................................................. 4
Acupuncture - Answer keys ................................................................................................................................ 5
2 – Incredible India ................................................................................................................................... 6
Incredible India – Audio Transcript ..................................................................................................................... 7
Incredible India – Answer Keys ........................................................................................................................... 8
3 – Water sports ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Watersports – Audio Transcripts ......................................................................................................................... 10
Watersports - Answer Keys ................................................................................................................................. 11
Pearl Divers ............................................................................................................................................ 12
Pearl Divers – Audio transcript ............................................................................................................................ 13
Pearl Divers – Answer Keys ................................................................................................................................. 14
5 – Environmental Protest Groups .......................................................................................................... 15
Environmental Protest Groups – Audio Transcript ................................................................................................ 16
Environmental Protest Groups – Answer Keys ..................................................................................................... 17
6 – Weather ........................................................................................................................................... 18
Weather Audio Transcript ................................................................................................................................... 19
Weather Answer Keys ........................................................................................................................................ 20

1 - Acupuncture
Listen to the following talk about Acupuncture and complete the notes below. Use one or two words in each
gap. You will hear the talk twice.

Acupuncture
Authors Experience

In recent years in the West…………………………… treatments has been rising in popularity [1]

……………………………… in childhood made her fears of needles disappear. [1]

The person providing the alternative treatment …………………… the author was extremely tired
and exhausted. [1]

What is acupuncture?

Based on the idea that energy flows in 12 lines.

…………………………….. of vigor to essential organs in the body causes illness. [1]

Acupuncturists inserts very fine needles alongside the meridians. This causes stimulation of
energy and repairs the patient’s wellbeing.

At first medics were …………………………………... of its medical value. In the last few years it
has become a more established alternative. [1]

What can acupuncture be used to treat?

Many illnesses are treated by using Acupuncture in the Far East.

Uses as a preventative medicine as it raises the immune systems endurance

to………………………………... [1]

Who uses it?

Cherie Blair, Martina Hingis is known to have used acupuncture. Queen of England seems
interested as well.

Certain football teams use acupuncture to monitor their …………………………… physical form.
[1]
What are the risks?

Make sure you visit a ………………………………….and ……………………………………

practitioner in acupuncture.
[1]

[Total: 8]
Acupuncture – Audio Transcript

The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine." William Osler,
M.D "If all the medicine in the world were thrown into the sea, it would be bad for the fish and good for humanity"
O.W. Holmes, (Professor of Medicine Harvard University) Alternative medicine has become much more popular in the
West in recent years. It seems that people are becoming increasingly worried about the side effects of drugs, and are
turning to treatments such as homeopathy, osteopathy, yoga, reflexology and acupuncture to complement, or sometimes
even replace, Western medicine.

An event in my life three or four years ago made me examine my own attitudes towards alternative medicine. After
suffering from insomnia for a few months, I was feeling mentally and physically exhausted. A trip to my GP, and
attempts at self-medication with nightly doses of Guinness and whisky, failed to bring any relief from my condition.
My friend Tony, who was studying acupuncture at a college near London at the time, suggested that I visit an
acupuncturist. Since I have a healthy fear of needles from waiting in line for vaccinations in gloomy school corridors, I
was reluctant to take his advice, but by this time I was so tired that I was prepared to try almost anything. I made an
appointment with the only acupuncturist in my area, and after another nearly sleepless night, turned up at his room in
the local alternative health centre the following morning. After taking my pulse, looking at my tongue, and asking a few
questions about my diet and lifestyle, the acupuncturist correctly deduced that I was worn-out (I found this extremely
impressive since he hadn’t asked me why I had come to see him.) He then inserted a needle in my right foot between
my first and second toe, and, despite my anxiety, I fell asleep immediately. At the time I considered the whole experience
to be close to a miracle.

What is acupuncture? - Acupuncture is based on the idea that energy flows through the human body along 12 lines or
meridians. These meridians end up at organs in the body, and illness is the result of a blockage of the energy flow to
these organs. To remove the blockage, an acupuncturist inserts very fine needles into the body at points along the
meridians. This stimulates the flow of energy, and restores the patient’s health. What is the history of
acupuncture?Traditional Chinese medicine has been practised for around 3000 years in the Far East, but is relatively
recent in the West, and acupuncture only really became well-known in the West in the 1970s as people began to travel
more frequently between the two areas of the world. A significant event in the history of acupuncture came in 1971,
when a journalist from the New York Times had his appendix removed in China, when on a trip to the country with
Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State for the USA. Surgeons used acupuncture to deaden the pain of the operation,
which greatly impressed Kissinger. Although at first doctors in the West were often sceptical of the medical value of
acupuncture, in the last few years it has become more established as an alternative to Western medical treatments, since
clinical tests have shown that acupuncture is effective for a number of conditions.
What can acupuncture be used to treat? - In the Far East acupuncture is used to treat a wide range of complaints, and is
also used as a preventative medicine, since it is thought to increase the body’s resistance to infection. In the West, the
treatment is often used to relieve headaches, dental pain, back pain, and arthritis, and to treat depression, asthma, stress,
high blood pressure and anxiety.
Who uses acupuncture? - Since acupuncture is known to be effective against pain, it is not surprising that many
sportspeople have experimented with acupuncture when fighting injury. Martina Hingis, the famous tennis player, had
a wrist injury cured through treatment, and English Premier Division football club Bolton Wanderers employ an
acupuncturist to keep their squad good physical condition. While in Korea for the World Cup in 2002, soojichim, a
Korean form of acupuncture, was very popular with the German football team. Cherie Blair, a well-known human rights
lawyer, and the wife of the British Prime Minister, was recently spotted wearing an acupuncture needle in her ear,
suggesting that she uses the treatment to cope with stress. The Queen of England is also interested in acupuncture,
although she doesn’t use the treatment herself – she and many of her family rely on another alternative medical
treatment, homeopathy, to keep them healthy.
What are the risks? - Finally, if you do decide to visit an acupuncturist, it is important that you check that they are
qualified and registered to practise acupuncture. In the past some people have experienced allergic reactions, broken
needles and even punctured lungs while being treated, although this is very uncommon.
Acupuncture - Answer keys

Alternative
Vaccination(s) (do not accept vaccines)
Deduced
Blockage
Skeptical
Infection(s)
Squads (do not accept “Squad” as in singular)
Qualified AND Registered (In any order - Both Needed)
2 – Incredible India
You will hear a talk about India. Listen to talk and complete the notes below. Write one or two words only in
each gap. You will hear the recording twice.

Incredible India

Pyjama’s, Yoga and Bollywood all come from India.

India’s independence was …………………………... by Jawaharlal Nehru on the 15th August.

Its culture has been influenced by other cultures around the world. [1]

India is well known for its ……………………… dishes and has gained worldwide admiration. [1]

The practice of Yoga is known to …………………... diseases, change your mood. It can also bring
down your weight and work the muscles. [1]

Various forms of new Yoga are now being …………………... to current wishes. [1]

Majority of Indian films contain ……………………… and …………………… in the movie as the couple
persuade their kin to tie the knot. [1]

Words browed from Indian ……………………… are used by societies all over the world. [1]

A Guru was originally a religious leader.

These days the word is used to describe an …………………, who is very knowledgeable in a certain
area. For example, fashion. [1]

Pyjama is considered as the most comfortable clothe in the world which is worn by men.

Men wear Pyjama and Kurta, whereas women wear Shalwar and Kameez.

The reason is they are extremely comfortable. In the near future they might be more…………………….
than jeans. [1]

[Total: 8]
Incredible India – Audio Transcript

A1

Question: Where do pyjamas, yoga, curry, gurus and Bollywood films come from?

Answer: India, of course!

A2

August the 15th is the birthday of modern, independent India. Fifty-seven years ago Jawaharlal Nehru claimed independence for
this huge country and its massive population. To celebrate, let’s look at some ways Indian culture has influenced and inspired other
cultures around the world.

First, Indian food, especially its richly spiced dishes which are called ‘curry’ outside India, has become a worldwide favourite. Most
countries have their own version of the Indian curry. In Japan it is very sweet and in Thailand an Indian-style chicken curry is served
alongside Thai curries. In the more cosmopolitan cities around the world, you can buy samosas (fried snacks with a filling) and naan
bread alongside local snacks.

If you have eaten too many samosas and are worried about your health, try Yoga. This is an ancient Hindu philosophy and system
of exercises originating in India. Yoga is now recognised all over the world as an intelligent form of exercise. Regular practice can
heal minor illnesses, change your state of mind, help you lose weight or work your muscles. More and more different types of yoga
are being developed and the original poses have been adapted to suit modern needs. Yoga has become so fashionable around the
world that a lot of companies are using pictures of people doing yoga dressed in white to sell their products!

One of the most famous things about modern Indian culture is the Indian film industry, known as Bollywood. The usual story is
about a boy and a girl who love each other but their families don’t approve. There is a lot of dancing and singing in the film as the
boy and girl try to convince their families to let them marry. The increasing interest in Bollywood films inspired Andrew Lloyd
Webber to produce the musical Bombay Dreams, which had a very successful two years in London - everyone loved the music and
the costumes! The show is now being shown on Broadway – the first Indian-themed musical to be shown there.

There are plenty of words used by people all over the world which have come from Indian languages. From Hindi we have shampoo,
a word used with various spellings in quite a few languages, including German and Portuguese. This is a body or hair wash, but was
originally a body scrub with herbs and warm water. A guru was originally a Hindu religious teacher, but these days the word is
usually used to describe anyone who knows a lot about a certain subject and is considered an expert. A good example of this is
‘fashion guru’; a fashion expert whose ideas are important to designers. From the Tamil language we have the word rice in English,
which comes from the word ‘arisi’, and mango which comes from the word ‘mangaai’.

Finally, pyjamas, the most comfortable clothes in the world, originated in India. Most of us usually wear them around the house or
while sleeping. But the original pyjama suit is to be worn anywhere, and is still worn in India. Pyjamas are only the loose trousers,
and these are worn with a very long shirt called a kurta. This is usually white or a pastel colour. Men usually wear pyjamas and
kurtas, but women in India have shalwar (trousers) and a kameez, which is like a dress worn over the shalwar. Both of these suits
are so comfortable and adaptable that in about 20 years’ time they should be more popular than jeans!
Incredible India – Answer Keys

Claimed

Spicy

Heal / Cure

Developed

Singing & Dancing - (any order) - both required for one mark.

Language(s)

Expert

Popular
3 – Water sports
You will hear a talk about the origins of water sports. Listen to the talk and complete the notes below. Write one or
two words only in each gap. You will hear the talk twice.

Water sports
People all over the world use oceans, lakes and rivers in search of fun

Surfing

Captain James Cook found …………………………. and normal citizens riding waves standing on wooden
boards. [1]

…………………….. is the main reason why it attracts many people. [1]

Windsurfing and Kiteboarding

Windsurfing was invented by Jim Drake and Surfer Hoyle which is a …………………. or a combination
of surfing and sailing. [1]

………………………. include many styles and varieties. It can include ‘freestyle’ and ‘bump and jump’.
[1]
Kite surfers pull-off …………………………. manoeuvres in the air. [1]
Scuba Diving

Pictures which date back 3000 years have showed that people have used………….……………. devices to
breath underwater. [1]

Divers have been lost and trapped. In cave diving ……………………………… are extremely common. [1]

Divers should take ……………………. which can open a whole new world and stay away from stress.
[1]
[Total: 8]

Watersports – Audio Transcripts

All over the world people head for oceans, lakes, pools and rivers in search of fun, freedom and excitement. On the water, in the
water or under the water, there are a huge range of sports and activities available to lovers of H2O. Let’s take a look at some of
the more colourful and adventurous water sports.

Surfing

When Captain James Cook landed in the Polynesian islands of Hawaii in 1778, he was surprised to find the native men and women,
both royalty and ordinary citizens, riding waves standing on wooden boards. Despite being centuries old, surfing only really took
off in the rest of the world from the 1950s, starting with the southwest coast of the USA. Nowadays surfing is enjoyed by surfers
wherever there are waves, in Bali, Australia, Japan, France and even Britain.

Contemporary surfers use lightweight fibreglass boards to catch waves of varying shapes and sizes as they roll in towards the
beach. One of the main attractions of the sport is its simplicity – all a surfer really needs is a surfboard, a wetsuit and a way of
getting to the beach.

Although there has been a fiercely competitive professional tour since the 1970s, surfing traditionally appeals to young people
with a relaxed outlook on life. A whole lifestyle has built up around the sport, and movies like Big Wednesday, Point Break and
Blue Crush have popularised surf culture. Surfing also has its own language – an excited surfer is ‘stoked’, a surfer who falls off
their board ‘wipes out’, and something a surfer really likes is ‘awesome’. The heroes of the surfing community are the soul surfers
– surfers who live only to travel and surf.

Windsurfing and kiteboarding

Both close cousins of surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding use the wind to propel modified surfboards at high speeds across the
surface of the water.

Windsurfing is a hybrid of sailing and surfing invented by sailor Jim Drake, and surfer Hoyle Schweiter in South California in the
late 1960s. Windsurfing has become a hugely popular outdoor activity, and made its first appearance at the Olympics in LA in
1984. There are many different styles of windsurfing which include ‘freestyle’, where windsurfers do tricks, ‘bump-and-jump’ in
which surfers use waves to take to the air, and ‘slalom’.

Kitesurfing is an even more recent development; it has only been around since the 1980s, and is only recently becoming an
established watersport. As the name of the sport suggests, kitesurfers are towed along by large kites, allowing them to pull-off
incredible tricks in the air. The names of the tricks give an idea of how exciting the sport is; the ‘heart-attack’, ‘boneless’ and ‘slim
chance’ are among the most exhilarating to watch.

SCUBA diving

Just as mankind has always had a desire to fly, the human race has wanted to swim under the water since prehistoric times.
Pictures of primitive devices to enable people to breathe underwater have been found dating from 3000 years ago, but our dream
of moving freely beneath the ocean waves for long periods of time was only realised about 60 years ago, when French diving
legend Jacques Cousteau developed the first practical Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA). Since then the
sport of SCUBA diving has gone from strength to strength.

Lovers of SCUBA diving rave about the feeling of weightlessness, the peace and quiet under the water, the ability to move in three
dimensions and the sense of adventure they get while on a dive. SCUBA divers often travel to some of the most beautiful and
remote places in the world in the search for rare underwater flora and fauna. Palau, The Red Sea, The Maldives and Hawaii have
many of the most popular diving sites, but recreational divers often have to make do with less exotic local destinations, like the
North Sea in Britain.

SCUBA diving is not without its dangers, however. The mixture of nitrogen and oxygen divers breathe underwater, combined with
the pressure under the water can be deadly if a diver rises too quickly to the surface, causing a condition called ‘the bends’. Divers
can also get lost or trapped when diving on wrecks, and fatalities are particularly common in cave diving, where divers add to the
dangers of diving by swimming through underground caves filled with water. Diving can also be harmful to the underwater
environment – in the past irresponsible divers have caused a great deal of damage to coral reefs. However with proper precautions
diving can open up a whole new world, far from the stresses of daily life.

So what are you waiting for? Get your wetsuit on, strap your board to the roof rack, throw your SCUBA gear in the boot and head
for the beach. I’ll see you there.

Watersports - Answer Keys

Royals - Do not Accept singular form

Simplicity
Hybrid
Windsurfing
Incredible
Primitive
Fatalities / Deaths
Precautions – Do not Accept singular form

5 - Pearl Divers
You will hear a talk about the pearl divers in Japan. Listen to the talk and complete the notes below. Write one or two
words or a number in each gap. You will hear the talk twice.

Pearl Divers
Pearls have been used and admired for a very longtime.

When sand gets trapped inside an oysters shell an ……………………………… occurs. This causes a ball of calcium
to form
[1]
They fight the dangers of sea creatures. The intense danger of ……………………………………..as they might
blackout when coming to the surface. [1]

During his visit to many places Liang had the ……………………………………………..to meet a crowd of divers in Toba
on Japans Pacific coast. [1]

According to Liang most pearl divers in Toba are women.

This is due to how the body fat is distributed across their body. It seems women can control the
……………………………………………..inside the body and they can hold their breath underwater for longer than
men.
[1]
Ms. Sakai, says she had the most ……………………………………..machineries to help them in the past. They didn’t
have snorkels, gas tanks and didn’t even had goggles. [1]

Today they show tourist what life used to be like. Resent estimates put about …………………….pearl divers with
a typical age of ………………………………..still in the Toba district. [1]

The reason for the decline is cultured farm pearl farms in Japan. Pearls are now made
made…………………………………………as a grain of sand is pushed into the shell so that I pearl can formed. [1]

Liang says it is hard point out a difference between natural and artificial pearls.

Since the method has…………………………………he is glad that no one will be risking their lives. [1]

[Total: 8]

Pearl Divers – Audio transcript

Presenter: Good evening, listeners. I wish you could see the string of pearls I have here in my hands – these
beautiful small white beads are worn in necklaces, earrings and brooches throughout the world. In
the studio today, I have with me travel writer Liang Chen who has just written a book all about
pearls – their history and how they are used today. Good evening Liang and welcome. Tell me, have
pearls been used for a long time?
Liang: Good evening. Pearls have indeed been used and admired for a very long time. There is actually a
written account of pearl diving in an ancient text from the first century – 2000 years ago!
Presenter: What exactly are pearls made of? I think we all know that pearls are found inside oyster shells.
Liang: Yes, pearls are created by oysters when a piece of sand gets stuck inside their shell and causes an
irritation. This causes a ball of calcium to form, layer upon layer. Until the 20th century the only way
these could be obtained was by gathering huge numbers of pearl oysters from the sea floor. The
shells were then brought to the surface, split open with a knife and searched for that precious small
white stone – the pearl. It will give you an idea of how rare they are when I tell you that they would
have to search through a tonne of shellfish in order to find just 3 or 4 good-quality pearls.
Presenter: This explains why they have always been extremely precious and valuable.
Liang: That’s right. The pearl divers worked without any specialist equipment, just taking one deep breath
before diving down into the deep water. They were often forced to go to depths of over 100 feet, or
30 metres, on one breath. Imagine the dangers they faced: dangerous sea creatures such as sharks
and sea snakes; the intense cold; and then the risk of drowning, as they could black out when
coming to the surface after being at such depths. We can only be amazed at their courage, skill and
endurance. Because of the pearls’ high value, people were prepared to risk their lives finding them.
Presenter: They must have been so brave. Are there any particular places in the world where you can find pearl
oysters?
Liang: Pearls have been found all over the world, in the Persian Gulf, off the coasts of Sri Lanka and India,
the Philippines and Japan. Even today there are pearl divers at work. During my travels, I was
privileged to meet a group of pearl divers in Toba on Japan’s Pacific coast. In this region, the divers
are all women – known as ‘ama’.
Presenter: That seems strange. I wonder why they are all women...
Liang: Apparently, women are considered more adept at this activity than men, partly because of the way
women have their fat distributed on their bodies, which can help them maintain their body
temperatures, and partly because they are able to hold their breath for longer than men.
I spoke to one ‘ama’, Ms Sakai. She boasted that at 58, she is able to dive as well as ever, as I saw for
myself. She explained to me how the older women are able to hold their breath for longer than the
younger women. In the past, when she was young, the women had only the most primitive
technology to help them. They would hold on tight to a large rock so they could descend fast
without wasting energy, while also carrying a large basket for the oysters they found. There were no
snorkels or gas tanks. They didn’t even wear goggles.
Presenter: Does she still earn her living through pearl diving?
Liang: Well, times have changed. Today Ms Sakai and her friends just dive for tourists, to show them what
life used to be like. It is estimated that today there are about 70 ‘ama’ still diving in the Toba district,
with an average age of 72 years. In the mid 20th century, they numbered around 7,000 and were of
all ages!
One of the main reasons for this decline is the development of cultured farm pearl farms in Japan.
Here, the oysters artificially produce pearls as a grain of sand is pushed into the shell to encourage
the formation of a pearl. No one has to risk their lives any longer to satisfy our desire for these
beautiful objects.
Presenter: This necklace, which I am still holding, is made from cultured pearls. It’s worth only a few hundred
dollars, compared with the thousands it would be worth if it had been made of natural pearls. But
I’m not sure that I could tell the difference!
Liang: It is hard to tell the difference – and it certainly wouldn’t be worth anyone risking their life for. I for
one am glad that this practice has died out.
Presenter: Thank you, Liang.

Pearl Divers – Answer Keys

Irritation
Drowning
Privilege
Temperature
Primitive
70 AND 72 (years) - BOTH REQUIRED
Artificially
Died out


5 – Environmental Protest Groups
You will hear a talk about environment protest groups. Listen to the talk and complete the notes below. Write one
or two words only each gap. You will hear the talk twice.

Environmental Protest Groups

The world is facing many environmental issues.

There are no evil villains who are responsible for these ………………… and there are no super
heroes to save us. [1]

Main purpose of Protest Groups is to …………………………. of the issues. [1]

Grave ……………….…. are caused by the pumping of toxic waste into the sea [1]

After roughly 8 years of ……………………….an 8.5-billion-pound project was announced by the

government to clean up the aquatic environment [1]

A famous film director was refused by the SAS due to the ……………………. destruction his movie
caused to the islands of Phi Phi. [1]

Reclaim The Streets began in London in 1991.

RTS began by protesting against road building across …………………………. zones in the British
countryside. [1]

………………………. which have been held by the RTS have been flawed by violence between
police and activists. [1]

In the present times the Internet is helping people to prompt their ……………………. [1]

[Total: 8]

Environmental Protest Groups – Audio Transcript

Facts about the state of the global environment read like quotes on a poster for an epic Hollywood movie –
expanding deserts in Africa, huge forest fires in Indonesia, serious shortages of fish in Europe, thousands of
deaths from air pollution in Brazil, disappearing forests in the Amazon, melting ice-caps and increasing
radiation levels in the polar regions. But just as there is no evil Lex Luther or Ernst Blofeld responsible for
these disasters, there is no Superman or James Bond to save the world. The human race has caused these
problems and we are going to have to work together to solve them.

However, many people feel that the governments of countries around the world are not taking environmental
issues seriously enough. To allow the voices of concerned people to be heard, a large number of protest
groups have been set up by ordinary people to raise awareness of the issues, and to put pressure on
politicians to act before it is too late. A few of the organisations have become household names, particularly
Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. Two smaller groups, Surfers Against Sewage and Reclaim The Streets,
are less well known, but take themselves just as seriously.

Surfers Against Sewage was founded in 1990 by water sports enthusiasts, who were becoming more and
more concerned about the health risks they faced when using beaches in Cornwall in the UK. Human and
toxic waste pumped into the sea was causing serious illnesses, and beach goers felt that they were “playing
Russian Roulette with their health” every time they went into the water.

SAS alerted people to the problem by going to public events with their surfboards, where they handed out
leaflets wearing wetsuits and gasmasks. They soon attracted the attention of the media and other concerned
water users from around Britain and were able to put pressure on the government to ban dumping untreated
waste in the sea, rivers and lakes. The group was so successful that in 1998, only 8 years after they started
campaigning, the government agreed to spend 8.5 billion pounds on cleaning up Britain‟s aquatic
environment.

Surfers Against Sewage has acquired a cool image over the years. In 1999 the director of The Beach, a
Hollywood blockbuster starring Leonardo Di Caprio, wanted to use the SAS logo on actors‟ backpacks. SAS
refused permission however, because they were concerned about the environmental damage that making
the film had caused to the tiny tropical island of Phi Phi in Thailand.

Reclaim The Streets was started in London in 1991 to campaign “FOR walking, cycling and cheap, or free,
public transport, and AGAINST cars, roads and the system that pushes them.” RTS began by protesting
against road building through unspoilt areas of the British countryside, and now have expanded their activities
to draw attention to environmental, political, economic and social injustice around the world.

RTS campaigns by stopping traffic and turning roads and motorways into huge street parties. Members of
the group dig up tarmac and plant trees, make beaches and paddling pools for children to play in, decorate
the street with colourful banners, and give out free food and drink. A huge sound system is set up, bands,
jugglers and clowns perform, and hundreds or even thousands of people dance and party. The carnival is
usually broken up by the police after a few hours, and in the past some of the demonstrations have been
marred by violence between police and protesters.

RTS doesn‟t have any clear aims, and says that it is a „disorganisation‟ rather than an organisation, since
there is no one in charge, but the methods that the group uses have caught on, and are now used worldwide.
As the RTS website says, “The Reclaim The Streets idea has grown up and left home, street parties and
suchlike often happen without anyone in RTS London hearing about them until afterwards.”

Both SAS and RTS have extensive websites providing information about their activities, and providing links
to like- minded groups around the world. It seems that nowadays the Internet is helping more and more
people express their dissatisfaction with the status quo, and work together to find solutions to the problems
that the modern world faces.
Environmental Protest Groups – Answer Keys

a) Disasters
b) Raise awareness
c) Illnesses
d) Campaigning
e) Environmental
f) Unspoilt
g) Demonstrations
h) Dissatisfaction

6 – Weather
You will hear a talk about weather. Listen to the talk and complete the notes below. Write one or two words only
each gap. You will hear the talk twice.

Weather
Research indicates that ………………………………. could make it harder for people to focus.
[1]
It is also suggested that weather have a profound effect on character. Alike
…………………………… are found from people living in the same area. [1]

Weather is controlled by …………………..……… in the UK. [1]

………………………... which were observed in Africa in the 1980s are a result of industrial units in
North America and Europe, according to researchers. [1]

………………………… and ……………………… were used to forecast weather in the past. [1]

…………………… is the main technique in which weather is forecasted today. [1]

Weather also depends the determinations to limit the prevention of …………………………… [1]

Extreme sports enthusiasts frequently …………………………………… the weather conditions to

their advantage. [1]

[Total: 8]

Weather Audio Transcript

It's hardly surprising that weather is a favourite topic for so many people around the world – it affects where we choose
to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics. A sunny day can relieve the deepest
depression, while extreme weather can destroy homes and threaten lives.

Palm trees bent double in hurricane force winds, cars stranded in snow drifts, people navigating small boats down
flooded city streets – images we are all familiar with from news reports of severe weather spells. But many of the effects
of the weather are less newsworthy.

‘I’m feeling a bit under the weather’ is a common complaint in Britain, especially on Monday mornings, and it seems that
weather really can be responsible for moods. Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it hard to
concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reflexes, and high humidity with hot, dry winds makes many people irritable and
snappy.

Some suggest that the weather also leaves its mark on character, giving people from the same region similar
temperaments, although it seems that economic, political and social factors are likely to have a much stronger effect
than the weather.

If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly, you could be forgiven for thinking
that the weather is random. In fact the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe. In the
UK the weather depends on depressions, often called ‘lows’, and anticyclones, also known as ‘highs’. These systems
start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east. Highs bring sunny
weather, while lows bring rain and wind.

The weather systems in tropical climates are very different from those in mid and high latitudes. Tropical storms develop
from depressions, and often build into cyclones, violent storms featuring hurricanes and torrential rain.

In modern times, human activity seems to be altering weather patterns. Gases produced by heavy industry change the
temperature of the Earth’s surface, and affect cloud formation. Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North
America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s.

The human race has always tried to guess the weather, especially in areas of the world where there are frequent
changes. Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns.

Two other popular traditional ways of forecasting the weather used pine cones and seaweed. When the air has a high
level of humidity there is a higher chance of rain, when the humidity is low, there is more chance of fine weather. Pine
cones and seaweed react to changes in humidity - pines cones open, and seaweed feels dry when the humidity is low,
while high humidity has the opposite effect.

While folk wisdom can still provide a guide to help forecast weather, today’s methods of prediction increasingly rely on
technology. Satellites, balloons, ships, aircraft and weather centres with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to
computers. The data is then processed, and the weather predicted. However, even this system cannot predict weather
for longer than about week.

A recent study by an Australian psychologist suggests that certain people may have a special gift for predicting the
weather. However it is possible that these people would use their talent in another way, since the same group had
considerable success in forecasting changes in another chaotic system – the stock market.

It appears that a study of weather patterns may also enable scientists to predict the outbreak of disease. An Ebola
epidemic in Uganda in the year 2000 came after the same rare weather conditions that had been present before an
outbreak 6 years earlier. Efforts to limit the spread of airborne diseases such as foot and mouth are also strongly
dependent on favourable wind conditions.

Although people in Britain often moan about the weather, we should spare a thought for the inhabitants of parts of the
world where extreme weather regularly wreaks havoc on the environment and population. Sandstorms, tornadoes,
blizzards and flashfloods regularly kill thousands of people and leave many others homeless.

While most of us try to avoid extreme weather, some adventurous souls actively seek out places where extreme weather
conditions exist. Sports such as surfing, kite boarding, ice-climbing and whitewater rafting are becoming increasingly
popular with people seeking relief from the monotony of daily routine. Extreme sports are about exhilaration, skill and
danger, and often harness the weather to provide adrenaline addicts with their kicks. Even more extraordinary are storm-
chasers – weather enthusiasts who risk their lives following tornadoes and thunderstorms at high speed to witness the
damage they cause at close hand.
Weather Answer Keys

a) Changeable weather
b) Temperaments
c) Depressions
d) Droughts
e) Pine Cones AND Seaweed - Both Required
f) Technology
g) Airborne Diseases
h) Harness