Listening comprehension exercises

Exercise 25. Listen to the text “Visible smoke conditions”.

Exercise 26. Complete the sentences.

1. As the burning progresses the smoke … .

a) may become darker; b) may become lighter; c) has the same colour.

2. … smoke is usually the result of burning rubber, tar, roofing, oil.

a) black; b) white; c) yellow.

3. Smoke is … a reliable indicator in determining what is burning.

a) always; b) never; c) sometimes.

4. … smoke indicates nitrous fumes.

a) grey; b) brown; c) blue.

5. It is sometimes easy to classify what is burning by distinctive odours … .

a) during all stages of fire; b) during early stages of fire; c) during late stages of fire.

Exercise 27. Answer the questions.

1. What will smoke conditions vary according to?

2. Why is a fire which is localized frequently mistaken for a large fire?

3. How can the materials which smoke contains be determined?

4. What does a grey-yellow smoke indicate?

5. What will the colour of smoke be when the fire is just starting?

Exercise 28. Write if these statements are true or false.

1. A free-burning fire must be treated in the same way as the one which is in the smoldering stage.

2. Smoke differs with the nature of the substances of materials being burned.

3. As the burning progresses the density of smoke decreases.

4. Smoke becomes darker because of the presence of large quantities of carbon particles.

5. As the smoke grows denser the ability of firefighters to recognize odours increases.

Exercise 29. Retell the text in writing.

Additional excercises

Exercise 30. Read, translate and retell the text.

Risk sports

Risk sports are one of the fastest-growing leisure activities. Ordinary people all over the world are willing to risk their lives for the ultimate experience – an “adrenaline rush”. They try anything from organized bungee jumps to illegally jumping off buildings. These people never feel so alive as when they are risking their lives.

Some people say that people who do risk sports are reacting against a society which they feel has become dull and constricting. Some psychologists believe that people today feel lack of adventure. In an attempt to guarantee safety, our culture had eliminated risk. People used to be able to seek adventure by hunting wild animals, or taking part in expeditions. Now they turn to risk sports as an escape.

Risk sports have a positive side as well. They help people to overcome fears that affect them in their real lives. This makes risk sports particularly valuable. People learn that being frightened doesn’t mean they can’t be in control!

Of all the risk or adrenaline sports, bungee jumping is proving the most popular. Worldwide, one-and-a-half million people have tried it. You hurtle towards the ground from 200 meters up and, at the last moment, when you are about to hit the water or land and death seems certain, a rubber band yanks you back to life. You can decide whether to jump from a crane, a bridge or a balloon. Attached to a length of elastic rope, jumpers experience a free fall of nearly 100 mph, before they’re slowed by a quickly increasing pull on their ankles.

Many people think that risk sports should be banned, because they are extremely dangerous. But people who do risk sports think that dander is exciting, they like doing something different and challenging their bodies, they enjoy the sense of achievement. They are sure that all you need is courage and reliable equipment.

Exercise 31. Write a plan to the text.

Exercise 32. Put different types of questions to the text.

Exercise 33. Choose the correct option.

1. Using illegal substances to enhance your performance is usually (harm, harmful) for your body. 2. New measures have been introduced to (facility, facilitate) the post-competition testing of athletes before they leave the venue. 3. New laboratory tests that help (identify, identification) the substances used quickly and definitely are developed all the time. 4. Athletes must understand that these tests are (important, importance) for the fairness of the competition, rather than (a necessary, an unnecessary) intrusion into their lives. 5. Some believe that the fact that the fate of an Olympic title may now only be (decided, decisive) in the testing lab rather than in the stadium has had a negative impact on the (prestigious, prestige) of the games. 6. People who (agree, disagree) with the introduction of post-competition testing put entertainment before the health of athletes and before fair play.

Exercise 34. Choose the right verb.

1. Millions of people (watch, view) the Olympic Games on TV. 2. Athletes from all around the world are going to (compete, oppose) for the championship. 3. The winner is the team which (won, scored) more goals than their opponents. 4. I know a good sports center where we can (do, play) tennis for free. 5. Jayne (does, exercises) yoga every Thursday evening. 6. In field hockey, payers use a stick to (hit, score) the ball into the goal. 7. Ellen McArthur has (sailed, driven) around the world in her boat. 8. Golf (plays, is played) on a golf course.

Exercise 35. Sort out the following kinds of sport into three columns: dangerous, interesting, boring according to your opinion.

Football, ice-hockey, baseball, fishing, golf, volleyball, boxing, basketball, table-tennis, lawn-tennis, motor racing, skating, skiing, tobogganing, swimming, draughts, athletics, chess, hunting, mountaineering, wrestling, gymnastics, weight-lifting, fencing, track-and-field, rugby, badminton, cricket, horse-racing, running, walking-racing, billiards, aerobics, diving, cycling, sailing, bull-fighting, squash, soccer, bungee jumping, sumo wrestling, rowing.

Exercise 36. Speak on the following questions.

1. What is your attitude to sport?

2. How can sport help people in their lives?

3. What do you think about professional sport?

4. Do you think taking drugs by athletes may be approved of and justified by their fantastic results and victories?

5. Compare the popularity of different kinds of sport in Ukraine, Great Britain and the USA.

Exercise 37. Write reply to informational inquiry.