English Listening B2 Episode 11 - Track 08
Fill in the Blanks Exercise
TRACK 8
Martha Monday of next week.
Joe Exciting.
Martha Sure is – this time next week I’ll be (1)
.
Joe So, I mean, what is it you’ll be doing? From what I understand … well, you’re going down there to (2)
. Is that it?
Martha Well, I suppose that’s (3)
!
Joe Yeah, but, you know, what will you be doing on a daily basis?
Martha Well, I’m not entirely sure, but I think I’ll be doing similar things every day. It’s more or less a question of observing the penguins – counting them, taking photos, checking tags on some of them – (4)
.
Joe OK – so, just kind of standing around in the cold?
Martha Yes, well, that’s the downside of the job. That and the (5)
.
Joe What? From polar bears?
Martha Erm … at the South Pole? No, (6)
.
Joe You mean those sweet little birds attack you?
Martha Oh yes, they’re full of attitude – (7)
.
Joe And will they be waiting for you when you get there?
Martha Well, of course – (8)
.
Joe Very funny. So, there they are – Mr and Mrs Penguin about to play happy families and …?
Martha Yeah, so, by the time I arrive the penguins will already (9)
and then, by the middle of November, each pair of penguins will have laid two eggs.
Joe You just watch them sit on their eggs? That must be … (10)
.
Martha I’m sure they’ll do something (11)
.
Joe And then?
Martha Well, by the end of December, most of the chicks will have arrived and then after about three weeks (12)
.
Joe Unless you get attacked by those nasty, aggressive parents.
Martha We have (13)
.
Joe Sounds scary. OK, this is all very interesting, but, I mean, why? Why’s it useful to know what these penguins do? It sounds like they kind of do the same old thing (14)
.
Martha Nothing wrong with predictable – we scientists like that – but sometimes there can be changes, like maybe there are fewer chicks or maybe the parents aren’t able to feed the chicks and not as many survive. This can tell us a lot about what’s happening (15)
.
Joe Like what exactly?
Martha Ah, I’m a scientist – (16)
.
Joe That’s no fun.
Martha But, in a general sense, if there are changes in the number of penguins or changes in their behaviour, this can tell us that there has been a change (17)
. It’s part of the evidence – the bigger picture, if you like. The work I’ll be doing is just a small part in a big project that’s been going on for some time. But because Antarctica is such an unspoilt environment the changes that take place there can tell us a lot about what’s happening (18)
.
Joe And you get to hang out with those cute little penguins.
Martha Yeah, well … (19)
.
Joe Sounds pretty cool to me.
