Friday's assignment

Listen to that video and then answer the following activities:

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…b….. 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 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 __addict__, 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 favourite 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 __four__ months old. You know how some cats are really __independent__ 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 ___noise__ 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 __commpanion__.

C. My new scooter! It’s quite small, but __fun__, and just what I needed for getting around the __city__. 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 __carful__ 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 __colthing__ 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 __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 __murdderer__ 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?

My favourite thing is my balcony. 

5- Why is it important to you?

I live in the 9th level of an apartment. My balcony faces to a park. It has a very good view. I like to sit on a chair wacthing sunset at dusk. It is aslo big enough, so I make a part of it into a small garden. I plant flowers and vegtabales there, which brings me a lot of fun.

6- Vocabulary Box: Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson.

affectionate

 ingredient

alteration

sinister