AUTHENTIC LISTENING 3

China is the biggest source of tourists

Whatever measure you choose, Chinese tourists now top the 1. _____________________________.
Last year just shy of 100 million Chinese made foreign trips. And collectively they spent well over
$100bn overseas 2. _____________________________ any other nationality.
Little more than a generation ago few Chinese 3. _____________________________. But the
restrictions have gone, most are now free to travel, although some minorities like Tibetans still
complain of 4. _____________________________ getting passports.
And as China's economy has expanded, so have people's horizons. China's new middle classes want
to see the world. The most popular destinations are in Asia and Europe, Thailand for beaches, France
for history and culture.
Britain, which requires a separate visa to the rest of Europe, has 5.
_____________________________. It received just 200,000 Chinese visitors two years ago, and is
now trying to simplify the process so it doesn't miss out on China's new spenders.

Man survives 16 months at sea

Fish, birds, turtles - anything he could get hold of, he would kill with his 6.
_____________________________. Jose told his rescuers he even drank turtle blood to stay alive
during the 16 months he says he was adrift at sea. When his boat finally washed up at Ebon Atoll on
Thursday, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, he was 7. _____________________________ and
barely able to walk. Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student who's doing research in the
Marshall Islands, said Jose's 8. _____________________________ bore the signs of the harrowing
7,500-mile detour:
Ola Fjeldstad, anthropology student:
We first found his boat, which was probably a 24-footer, engine broken, grown over with shells and
other sea animals. And it had a live baby bird, a dead turtle, some turtle shells, 9.
_____________________________ and it was in pretty bad condition.
And there's tragedy in this tale. There were two people on the boat when it set off from Mexico to El
Salvador in September 2012, but Jose said his companion had died several months earlier. Little is
known about the circumstances, as so far he's had to draw pictures to communicate with people on
the 10. _____________________________ because they can't understand Spanish. Locals have been
nursing the long-haired, 11. _____________________________ back to health and Ola Fjeldstad
says Jose's doing much better:
Ola Fjeldstad, anthropology student:
He's gained a lot of strength. He's been eating a lot of food, fish, rice, fruit and drinking coffee. He's
in a lot better shape now. He's able to walk around by himself. He's 12.
_____________________________!
There are good reasons to be cheerful; had he missed the Marshall Islands, it could have been
another 1,000 or so miles before Jose would have had any hope of hitting land again.

Facebook allows gender choices

Up until now, Facebook's 1.2 billion or so users have had only two choices to 13.
_____________________________: male or female, but now social networkers, initially just in the
US, have a wider range of options.
The company said it worked with gay and 14. _____________________________ to select around
50 terms, including "transsexual", "bi-gender" and "androgynous". Users can also choose whether to
be referred to as "he", "she" or "they."
One of Facebook's software engineers who worked on the project is going through a male to female
sex change. Brielle Harrison said while it won't mean much to a lot of people, "for the few it does
impact, it will mean the world".
It reflects the growing influence of the transgender rights movement in the US, which is demanding
15. _____________________________ to the gay community.
Facebook's move has been welcomed by activists who said they "applaud Facebook for making it
possible for people to be 16. _____________________________ online."

Rubbish in Rio
There's something rotten in Rio - and the smell is coming from the 17.
_____________________________ of rubbish piled up on sidewalks all over the city. Rio's street
sweepers chose the 18. _____________________________ to demand better salaries. Their wages
start at roughly $400 a month.
There could hardly be a better time for them to prove their importance. The streets were left a mess
after hundreds of 19. _____________________________ and now, rubbish piles up in both poor and
uptown neighbourhoods - and in tourist areas like Ipanema or Copacabana beach.
The president of Rio's rubbish collecting company has even appealed to the population to store
rubbish at home whenever possible. He says 30% of the 20. _____________________________
have gone on strike. Some of those who have been working have been threatened by the strike
movement so now police has been deployed alongside rubbish collectors to keep them safe as they
go about their business.
The strike has 21. _____________________________ in Rio. On social media, many support the
sweepers' demands for better salaries. Others say they are opportunists and the situation is a 22.
_____________________________ to the city.
But Brazil's culture of littering the streets doesn't help. A video that went viral online shows that
even authorities have a problem with that. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, is seen throwing what seemed
to be the rest of an apple on the sidewalk - and now promised to 23.
_____________________________ a fine for his wrongdoing. His government recently created a
programme to keep Rio's residents from littering the streets.

Twitter 'blocked' in Turkey

Late at night here in Istanbul, the city's internet users suddenly faced the same problem: none of us
could get onto Twitter.
The 24. _____________________________ of the website is dramatic, but not surprising. Hours
before the site went down, Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan mocked Twitter at a 25.
_____________________________. He promised to "wipe out" the site in this country. "The
international community can say this or that, I don't care at all," he warned.
The Turkish government, many of whose officials are 26. _____________________________,
complained that the website failed to implement court rulings ordering the removal of various links.
Those links are thought to be alleged recordings of the prime minister's private phone conversations.
The recordings have been 27. _____________________________on Twitter - many internet users
believe that conversations reveal 28. _____________________________.
 AUTHENTIC LISTENING 3
China is the biggest source of tourists

Whatever measure you choose, Chinese tourists now top the global rankings. Last year just shy of
100 million Chinese made foreign trips. And collectively they spent well over $100bn overseas
outstripping any other nationality.
Little more than a generation ago few Chinese ventured abroad. But the restrictions have gone, most
are now free to travel, although some minorities like Tibetans still complain of hurdles getting
passports.
And as China's economy has expanded, so have people's horizons. China's new middle classes want
to see the world. The most popular destinations are in Asia and Europe, Thailand for beaches, France
for history and culture.
Britain, which requires a separate visa to the rest of Europe, has lagged behind. It received just
200,000 Chinese visitors two years ago, and is now trying to simplify the process so it doesn't miss
out on China's new spenders.

Man survives 16 months at sea

Fish, birds, turtles - anything he could get hold of, he would kill with his bare hands. Jose told his
rescuers he even drank turtle blood to stay alive during the 16 months he says he was adrift at sea.
When his boat finally washed up at Ebon Atoll on Thursday, halfway between Hawaii and Australia,
he was emaciated and barely able to walk. Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student who's
doing research in the Marshall Islands, said Jose's fiberglass boat bore the signs of the harrowing
7,500-mile detour:
Ola Fjeldstad, anthropology student:
We first found his boat, which was probably a 24-footer, engine broken, grown over with shells and
other sea animals. And it had a live baby bird, a dead turtle, some turtle shells, fish leftovers and it
was in pretty bad condition.
And there's tragedy in this tale. There were two people on the boat when it set off from Mexico to El
Salvador in September 2012, but Jose said his companion had died several months earlier. Little is
known about the circumstances, as so far he's had to draw pictures to communicate with people on
the remote Pacific island because they can't understand Spanish. Locals have been nursing the long-
haired, bearded stranger back to health and Ola Fjeldstad says Jose's doing much better:
Ola Fjeldstad, anthropology student:
He's gained a lot of strength. He's been eating a lot of food, fish, rice, fruit and drinking coffee. He's
in a lot better shape now. He's able to walk around by himself. He's cracking jokes!
There are good reasons to be cheerful; had he missed the Marshall Islands, it could have been
another 1,000 or so miles before Jose would have had any hope of hitting land again.

Facebook allows gender choices

Up until now, Facebook's 1.2 billion or so users have had only two choices to define themselves:
male or female, but now social networkers, initially just in the US, have a wider range of options.
The company said it worked with gay and transgender advocacy groups to select around 50 terms,
including "transsexual", "bi-gender" and "androgynous". Users can also choose whether to be
referred to as "he", "she" or "they."
One of Facebook's software engineers who worked on the project is going through a male to female
sex change. Brielle Harrison said while it won't mean much to a lot of people,
"for the few it does impact, it will mean the world".
It reflects the growing influence of the transgender rights movement in the US, which is demanding
similar civil rights to the gay community.
Facebook's move has been welcomed by activists who said they "applaud Facebook for making it
possible for people to be their authentic selves online."

Rubbish in Rio

There's something rotten in Rio - and the smell is coming from the huge stacks of rubbish piled up
on sidewalks all over the city. Rio's street sweepers chose the carnival holiday to demand better
salaries. Their wages start at roughly $400 a month.
There could hardly be a better time for them to prove their importance. The streets were left a mess
after hundreds of carnival parades and now, rubbish piles up in both poor and uptown
neighbourhoods - and in tourist areas like Ipanema or Copacabana beach.
The president of Rio's rubbish collecting company has even appealed to the population to store
rubbish at home whenever possible. He says 30% of the city's sweepers have gone on strike. Some of
those who have been working have been threatened by the strike movement so now police has been
deployed alongside rubbish collectors to keep them safe as they go about their business.
The strike has divided opinions in Rio. On social media, many support the sweepers' demands for
better salaries. Others say they are opportunists and the situation is a big embarrassment to the
city.
But Brazil's culture of littering the streets doesn't help. A video that went viral online shows that
even authorities have a problem with that. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, is seen throwing what seemed
to be the rest of an apple on the sidewalk - and now promised to impose himself a fine for his
wrongdoing. His government recently created a programme to keep Rio's residents from littering the
streets.

Twitter 'blocked' in Turkey

Late at night here in Istanbul, the city's internet users suddenly faced the same problem: none of us
could get onto Twitter.
The apparent blocking of the website is dramatic, but not surprising. Hours before the site went
down, Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan mocked Twitter at a public rally. He
promised to "wipe out" the site in this country. "The international community can say this or that, I
don't care at all," he warned.
The Turkish government, many of whose officials are regular Twitter users, complained that the
website failed to implement court rulings ordering the removal of various links. Those links are
thought to be alleged recordings of the prime minister's private phone conversations. The recordings
have been widely circulated on Twitter - many internet users believe that conversations reveal
evidence of corruption.