📚 Bài tập Luyện Nghe Tiếng Anh trong 5 phút #3 | Study with me ❤

I’m Mary

Exercise 1: Jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge

Listen to the conversation and fill in the missing information in the notes below.

A: Hi, Allen. Look at this picture. Do you know this bridge?

B: Let me see. Oh, it's the Golden Gate Bridge.

A: Do you know how many people have killed themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge?

B: I don't know.

A: Here is the report on that. It said people began jumping off San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge
almost as soon as it was completed in 1937. Between 1937 and 1990, 850 people have jumped from the
bridge to their deaths.

B: 850? That's quite a lot. In an average year, 17 people will take the plunge.

A: Yes. This figure is based largely on the number of people actually seen jumping off the bridge and the
number of bodies recovered. In some cases, a number is added to the official tally if a suicide note or
other evidence is found but only after thorough investigation. There have been a number of faked jumps
by people attempting to escape the law.

B: Why is the bridge a popular spot for those serious about their suicidal intentions?

A: Because the Golden Gate Bridge is easily accessible and the long drop ensures a low chance of
survival. Impact with the water after the 91-meter drop is like hitting a concrete wall at 140 kilometers
an hour.

B: I see. Are there any suicidal people that have failed?

A: Only 17 suicide attempts in the bridge's history have failed.

B: I see.

Exercise 2: Where do ants go in winter?

Listen to the conversation and fill in the missing information in the notes below.

A: Hi, Tom, come here. See what I found.

B: What's up?

A: There are thousands of ants here.

B: Yes, I think they are busy taking food home for winter.

A: It's amazing. Do you know where they go in winter?

B: Yes, I've just read an article in the newspaper. When winter comes ants move deep into their nests
where food has been collected. They store it in their special chamber all summer.

A: How far underground is their storehouse?

B: Only the top few inches of topsoil freeze. Beneath this layer of frozen soil, life goes on in the colony.

A: How big is their nest?

B: The size of their nest varies from just one chamber of a few inches in diameter to vast networks. It
can extend 40 feet underground and house a population of up to 10 million ants.

A: Ten million, that's quite a lot.

B: Yes, you know in North America, an ant community can consist of 12 or more maine nests connected
by tunnels. The entire colony can cover an area the size of a tennis court.

A: So when spring comes, the ants have to work their way out of the nests and begin the task of
gathering food for the next winter.

B: Yes, you are right. They have to do just that. It's fascinating, isn't it?

Exercise 3: How crossword puzzles are created?

Shirley and Chris are on the train. Listen to their conversation and fill in the missing information in the
notes below.

Shirley: Chris, do you have the time?

Chris: Yes, it's 4:15 now.

Shirley: How long does it take us to get to Edinburgh?

Chris: I think there is still an hour to go. We will get there at 5:20.

Shirley: I see. What shall we do to kill the time?

Chris: Shall we play a crossword puzzle?

Shirley: OK. That's a good idea. Oh, Chris…

Chris: Yes?

Shirley: Do you know who invented the crossword puzzle and how crossword puzzles are created?

Chris: Well, the crossword puzzle was introduced in the Sunday supplement of the New York World
newspaper in 1913. It was designed by Arthur Wynne. Mr. Wynne was inspired by Magic Square, a
children's word game in which words are arranged vertically and horizontally. Wynne added empty
squares and some clues.

Shirley: So that the player can deduce the words according to the clues?
Chris: Yes, by the early 1920s, crossword puzzles were standard features of almost every American
newspaper.

Shirley: Yes, according to a report, many crossword puzzle books have been published since then.

Chris: In 1924, four crossword puzzle books were on the bestseller lists. Booksellers also experienced
phenomenal sales of another type of book: dictionaries. Today, crossword puzzle makers each have
their own techniques to challenge the skills of their players.

Shirley: Right, I know Eugene Waleska is a creator of the New York Times crossword puzzle. He begins
with a theme and lists as many words as he can think of that loosely fit the theme.

Chris: Yes, birds, for example, might prompt pigeon-toed, goose-step, and turkey-trot. Then Waleska
starts to fill in the grid with the long words first, avoiding words ending in J or beginning with X. He
works first in the lower right corner of the grid, since it is harder to find a word that ends with a certain
letter. Waleska says that when he started in this business, it took him several days to fit the words into a
15x15 square grid. Now it takes less than an hour.

Shirley: Let's play it and see how well we do.