lunes, 9 de mayo de 2016

Listening test: Tiny Texts

Listening to six news items taken from the site Tiny Texts and choose the corresponding heading A-H to each of them. There are two headings you do not need to use.



A - Imaginative guy
B - I-pads for pets
C - Not the first scientific project in this area
D - Not unanimity on this
E - Online success
F - Silly ways to die
G - Stop wasting
H - Useful for almost everything


Imaginative guy
Online resumes are becoming more and more popular. Philippe Dubost has attracted the attention of the media by posting one that looks exactly like an Amazon product page. Beside his photo, there’s the message ‘only one left in stock- order soon.’ If you add him to your cart, you get his contact information. The product details include his height, languages and best marathon. Potential employers are informed
that ‘this product is for shipping anywhere in the world.’ He also has plenty of five-star reviews. Philippe clearly has a good sense of humour, as you will see if you click on ‘add to wedding registry. ‘Not happening’ means he has no intention of getting married. This guy is clever, creative and surely deserves a great job.

Not unanimity on this
CNN has chosen Scotland as this year’s best tourist destination. The dramatic scenery from the film ‘Skyfall’ has made people wish to see it for themselves. Lonely Planet, on the other hand, suggests Rio, Brazil as the value option. They recommend going there before prices rise for the 2014 world cup and 2016 Olympic games. The Rough Guide Hotlist number one is Stockholm, in Sweden where the official ABBA museum is set to open shortly. Other suggestions include Dubrovnik, Porto Rico and surprisingly, the English seaside town of Margate. So what’s your must-see destination for this year?

Not the first scientific project in this area
Scientists in Brazil have come up with a plan to save endangered species by cloning them. The agricultural research agency Embrapa has already cloned cows and horses. Now the researchers are working with Brasilia Zoological Garden to begin cloning jaguars, maned wolves and other animals. They have gathered hundreds of genetic samples from dead animals in the Brazilian outback. If the project is successful, the animals will be kept in captivity and only released into the wild if there is a risk of total extinction. The first mammal to be cloned was Dolly, the sheep who was born in Scotland in 1996. Rare animals have been cloned before but so far, nobody has successfully copied a big cat like a jaguar.

Stop wasting
How many mobile phones have you had in your life and what do you do with the old, broken ones?  Most people throw them away.  In fact, digital waste is a growing problem for society. Dutch designer Dave Hakken has come up with an amazing idea to reduce such waste.  The Phoneblocks concept is a mobile phone made up of little blocks that can be replaced when they stop working.  This means that you can keep your phone forever and just replace the broken parts.  You can also build the ideal phone for your personal needs. The designer is trying to spread the word about his idea.  His goal is to find 50,000 supporters so that the mobile phone industry will take notice.

Useful for almost everything
I-phones can do all sorts of things like telling you what the weather is like in Kuala Lumpur, making movies, and monitoring your heart rate.  Now you can even use your i-phone to open a bottle of beer.  You will, however, need to purchase a special case with a built-in bottle-opener.  ‘Opena’ was launched by an Australian company with the help of Kickstart, a funding program for creative projects.  Tens of thousands of them have since been shipped all over the world and fans include actor Ashton Kutcher and TV chef Jamie Oliver.  After purchasing, make sure you learn some cool moves from the website video to impress friends at your next barbecue.

Online success
The internet is rife with cat videos.  Now another feline has become an internet sensation.  This time, the amazing pet can do a typical magic trick – to guess which cup contains a bell, even after they are mixed up at top speed.  We have seen cats that play the piano, surprised cats, fat cats, talking cats and even cats with i-pads.  Dogs, however, are catching up.  They can do tricks too, like walking on two legs and playing dead.  The latest star is a clever dog that taught a puppy how to go safely down the stairs.  There’s no doubt that both cats and dogs are clever and cute, and maybe sometimes we prefer them to people.



Key

1A 2D 3C 4G 5H 6E