Listening practice
1 Read the words and the definitions. Make sure you understand them before listening.
anaphylaxis: serious allergic reaction
adrenaline: a naturally produced hormone
auto-injector: a device which delivers a single dose of medicine
anaphylactic shock: a serious allergic reaction
gluten: a protein found in wheat and other grains
2 Read the first lines of the listening. What do you think it will be about?
Kate: Hello and welcome back to Health Today. I’m joined by Doctor James Towers, who’s a specialist in food allergies. Welcome,
Doctor.
Dr: Thank you, Kate.
Kate: Is it true that food allergies are on the rise?
3 Tick (✓) the sentences with idioms.
1 She’s feeling under the weather just now.
2 They went to the doctor because Jack had a severe allergy.
3 The doctor advised him to rest and build up his strength.
4 I gave him his medicine and he’s sleeping like a log now.
5 Susie’s been a bit down in the dumps recently because of
her allergies. Why don’t we ask her out?
4 Remember while you’re listening, if you hear something
that doesn’t make sense literally, it could be an idiom.
5 03 Listen and circle true (T) or false (F). Give reasons
to justify your answers.
1 The number of people with food allergies is increasing. T / F
2 There is one main reason why the number of food allergies
is on the rise. T / F
3 Some scientists believe that our current diet is a cause of
more food allergies. T / F
4 Food allergies always show very severe symptoms. T / F
5 Citrus fruits and nuts are common foods that cause food
allergies. T / F
PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2015
Unit 3
6 03 Listen again and answer the questions in your
own words.
1 By how much have hospital admissions for food allergies
increased?
2 What is the most obvious reason for this rise in admissions?
3 What are some of the less serious symptoms of an allergy?
4 What happened to Will Smith when he ate seafood in Hitch?
5 What is coeliac disease?
7 03 Listen again. Choose the best answers.
1 Some scientists believe that our current level of hygiene …
a suggests that the immune system is much stronger.
b means that the immune system doesn’t always develop
correctly.
c causes the immune system to produce allergies.
2 Anaphylaxis is when someone …
a has a severe allergy and stops breathing.
b suffers a severe allergic reaction to seafood and swells up.
c suffers a strong allergic reaction and has breathing
problems.
3 To avoid problems, people with a serious food allergy …
a hardly ever consume the food they are allergic to.
b carry a card that shows what they are allergic to.
c keep a special device with them in case of a reaction.
4 Foods that can cause an allergy include …
a peanuts, seafood and wheat.
b nuts, milk and flour.
c seafood, nuts and soy milk.
5 It is difficult to avoid eating wheat because …
a it is found in tempting foods such as cakes and biscuits.
b it is found in a large number of foodstuffs.
c there are very few alternatives.