Listen to the speakers describing their favourite things and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.
1. Preparation: matching
Do this exercise before you listen. Match the verb with the correct noun and write a – g next to the numbers 1 – 7.
1…e….. take a. a designer
2…g….. listen to b. your scooter
3…d….. watch c. a business
4……f.. stroke (= move your hand gently over something) d. films
5…b….. park e. photos
6……a.. make it as (= be successful as) f. the cat
7……c.. set up (= start) g. music
2. Check your understanding: matching
Match the speakers with their favourite things. Write a – e next to the numbers 1 – 5.
1…a….. Speaker A a. a tablet
2…e….. Speaker B b. a sewing machine
3…c….. Speaker C c. a scooter
4…b….. Speaker D d. a set of knives
5…d….. Speaker E e. a cat
3. Check your understanding: gap fill
Do this exercise while you listen. Write the word to fill the gaps.
A. My favourite thing has to be my new tablet. It’s really light and quite ___small__________, so I take it with me everywhere. I’m always writing message to friends and it’s big enough to do college work on it too. It takes really good ______photos_______, and I play games and listen to ____music_________ on it as well, of course. I often download _____films________ onto it, and watch them in _____bed________. My mum says I’m __addicted___________, because I’m always on it. I even read things on it at breakfast time. I’m not allowed to at ____dinner_________ time, though. I have to be ____polite_______ and talk to people then. “Welcome back to real life,” my mum says.
B. My favorite thing? Does my ______cat_______ count as a thing? She’s not really a thing, but anyway. She’s a really _______beautiful______ little cat. I’ve had her since she was ____4_________ months old. You know how some cats are really _______in-depend______ and hardly talk to you? I know cats don’t really talk, but you know what I mean. Well, she’s not like that at all. She’s really _____affectionate________ and comes up to me as soon as I get home, purring away like mad. She makes a lot of ___noises__________ for a tiny thing. She loves being stroked and comes and curls up next to me when I’m on the ___sofa__________. She’s great ___companion__________.
C. My new scooter! It’s quite small, but ____fun_________, and just what I needed for getting around the ___set__________. I used to have quite a long walk to the ____metro________, then a longish walk at the other end to get to ____college_________. But now I can just whiz there on my ___scooter__________. And there’s no problem parking, there’s always ___space_________ for it. You have to be _____careful________ with the cars and ___lorries__________ – they don’t always see you – and when it rains the surface of the road is _terrible____________, it gets really slippery. But in general it’s perfect for me, and I can fit a _____friend________ on the back too – I’ve got an extra _____helmet________ for a friend. It’s great. Riding along makes me feel so free.
D. This might sound a bit old-fashioned, but my sewing __machine__________ is my favourite thing. I’m studying ___fashion__________ and love making things, as well as designing them. I also love ___clothes__________ myself and often buy second-hand clothes – everyone loves the “vintage” ____look_________ at the moment – and then I adapt them to my ____size_________. It’s much easier using a machine to do that than doing it by ____my hands_________. I do alterations for my mum and my sister too. If I don’t make it as a ___designer_________, I suppose I can always set up my own alterations and customising ___business__________. Customising clothes, by taking things off and adding things on, is actually very ____creative_________, so I wouldn’t mind that.
E. My set of Japanese knives. That sounds a bit sinister, doesn’t it, but I’m not a ____murderer_______ or anything. They’re chef’s knives and the best ones come from ___Japan__________. Cooking is my new hobby. I got into it when I started watching Masterchef on TV. Then I went to an evening _____class________ for
beginners, and I haven’t looked back since. I try and have a ___dinner__________ for between four and eight__friends__________ every two or three ____weeks________. That gives me something to work towards and I
always do new __dishes___________ so they can try them out and give me feedback. It’s quite an___expensive__________ hobby if you use good ____ingredients_______, but now my friends help towards the____cost_________. They still get a good ___meal_________ for a very low price.
4- What’s your favourite thing?
Photo shoot
5- Why is it important to you?
I was an editor before I came to Canada. I have to take many pictures every day for my job.
6- Vocabulary Box: Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson and use it in a sentence of your own.
