Listen to the Podcast

Which phrases do you hear the women use when they agree?

Sure thing.
That sounds good.
Great.

Listen to the podcast again.

What are Nita and Yeung teaming up to do?

find jobs
lose weight and get fit
share child care

Which foods did Nita bring for lunch?

chicken soup - pita bread - hummus - an apple - raw veggies

Which foods did Yeung bring?

chili - a whole wheat bun - an apple - some yogurt

Fill in the blanks:

1 As soon as they finish work they are going to the indoor track to walk.

2 They're going to walk for half an hour.

3 They want to become more fit and lose some weight.

4 Every year she starts a new diet enthusiastically.

5 By the end of February she has given up.

6 Instead of losing weight, Yeung has been packing on the pounds.

7 They plan to use a strategy of sensible eating and regular exercise.

8 Nita feels very optimistc about getting in shape this year.

Put the conversation in order.

Great, we'll walk for about half an hour today okay? What did you bring for lunch?

Did you bring your running shoes?

Sure thing, I'm all set. As soon as we finish work today we can to to the indoor track at the community centre. It'll only take about 5 minutes to get there.

Great, we'll walk for about half an hour today okay? What did you bring for lunch?

I've got some chicken soup, a small serving of hummus to eat with pita bread and some raw veggies. How about you?

I've got some vegetarian chili , a small whole wheat bun, some yogurt and an apple for a snack.

Oh, and I brought an apple too. I feel healthier already.

A Resolution

Listen to the podcast.

Which parts of the body do you hear about in the podcast?

hearts - hands - legs - ears - fingers - toes
arms - feet - eyes - cheeks - chin - ears
elbows - shoulders - tongues - teeth - lips - head

Listen to the podcast again.

Complete the sentences:

1 Joe shook his friend Terry's ..........

head
arm
hand

2 Joe said he wanted to get more ........

work
money
exercise

3 At the summit Canada got.................

a real red eye
a real black eye
a real blue eye

4 Terry said that he thinks the government has its head........

in the sand
in the water
in the fire

5 The expression which means that people were talking about something is.........

lips were flapping
teeth were chattering
tongues were wagging

6 Some people accused the government of .........

playing footsie
foot dragging
shaking hands

7 It seemed as though messages were falling on ............

plugged ears
big ears
deaf ears

8 Some say the agreement in Copenhagen is ........

toothless
heartless
thoughtless

Match the expressions with the meanings below:

1 to turn a blind eye - to ignore something that you can see
2 to get a black eye - to get a bad reputation
3 to open your eyes to something - to become aware
4 to fall on deaf ears - to ignore something you have heard
5 to be toothless - to be weak or powerless
6 to drag your feet - to do something slowly or unwillingly
7 to have your head in the sand - to be hiding from reality
8 to point your finger at someone - to blame someone for doing something
9 to have a hand in doing something - to participate in doing something
10 tongues were wagging - people were talking

Plum Pudding

Listen to the Podcast

Which of the following things is Anna doing?

making plum pudding
remembering her grandmother
getting ready to celebrate Christmas

Listen to the Podcast again.

True or False

False Anna is going to make chocolate pudding.
True Plum pudding is a dense cake.
True Her grandmother always made plum pudding at Christmas.
False She would pour water over the pudding and light it.
False She served the pudding with raspberry sauce.
False Anna's grandmother was from Ireland.
False Anna's grandmother is 94.
True She put currants and raisins and prunes and dates in the pudding.
False She steamed the puddings on the barbecue.
False Anna knew that she had done everything right because the puddings looked good.
True She could smell the same fragrance that she remembered in her Grandmother's kitchen.

Ready to Go

What do you usually wear in the winter?
What should you wear to go outside in freezing weather?
Can cold weather be dangerous?
Do you know what frostbite is?
What does it look like?
What should you do if you get frostbite?



Listen to the Podcast.

Who is the podcast about?

Min and her sister
Min and her son
Min and her father

What are they doing?

getting ready for a party
getting ready for bed
getting ready to go outside


Listen to the Podcast again.

Which items of clothing do you hear?

a shirt
mittens
jeans
a vest
snow pants
a sweater
gloves
a neck warmer
a jacket
socks
a hood
a hat

Fill in the blanks with a verb in the Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous.

rattle / have / wake / call / took / see / disappear / howl / wait

1 The wind __________________________ all night long.

2 It _____________________ the doors and windows too.

3 It _____________________ her up during the night.

4 She was glad she ___________________ her car to get snow tires put on.

5 Will _______________________ impatiently for the snow to arrive.

6 Min _________________ a little help with her prediction.

7 The forecast ____________________ for heavy snow and freezing weather.

8 She _______________ frostbite on the cheek of one of Will's friends.

9 By the time they were ready to go Will ________________!

The Rocket

Listen to the podcast.

What is 'The Rocket'?

a hockey team
a hockey stick
a hockey player

Listen to the podcast again.

Match the teams with the places they are from.

Canucks - Vancouver
Senators - Ottawa
Oilers - Edmonton
Maple Leafs - Toronto
Nordiques - Quebec
Canadiens - Montreal

Edmonton / Toronto / Montreal / Quebec / Ottawa / Vancouver

True or False

False Roch Carriere wrote the story called The Hockey Skates.
True He grew up in a small village in Quebec.
True The two most important events were the church services and hockey games.
True All of the players wanted to be like Maurice Richard.
True Fans called Maurice Richard 'The Rocket'.
False He began playing for Montreal in 1902.
True He retired in 1960.
False He was a great goalie.
True He scored 544 goals.
False The number on Richard's sweater was number 6.
True The Montreal Canadien sweaters are red, white and blue.
True Roche's mother ordered him a new hockey sweater from the Eaton's catalogue.
False He received a Vancouver Canucks sweater.
True He didn't want to wear his new sweater.
False His new hockey sweater brought him a lot of good luck.
True He lost his temper because he got a penalty from the referee.
False He broke his leg on the ice.
True He prayed for some moths to eat his new hockey sweater.

The Flat

Make a list of the things you would need to have to change a flat tire.

a jack
a tire iron
a pair of gloves

Listen to the podcast.

How many times do you hear the word flat? 5 times

Listen to the podcast again.

Choose the correct answer.

1 Jenny and her brother were driving......

home from London
home from Montreal
home from Toronto

2 They had been to ..............

a concert
a conference
a play

3 They pulled over to the side of the road because...............

they saw an accident
they heard a loud thudding noise
the car started to bounce around

4 Jenny.................................

had changed a few tires before
had never changed a tire before
could change a tire but didn't want to get her hands dirty

5 The flat tire was..............................

at the front on the passenger side
at the back on the passenger side
at the back on the driver's side

6 Charlie put a jack under the car.................

to raise the car up
to keep the car from moving
to keep the car from rolling forward

7 Changing a tire is............

as difficult as brain surgery
pretty easy
only easy for very strong people

8 The spare tire .......................

has to be replaced because it's a temporary tire
doesn't have to be replaced
can be driven until it wears out or goes flat

Put the events in order

Jenny and Charlie were driving home.
They heard a loud noise.
They pulled over into a parking lot.
Charlie found the flat tire on the driver's side at the back.
They got the spare tire and some tools out of the trunk.
Charlie changed the tire.
They got back into their car and continued on their way.
Charlie told Jenny to replace the spare tire the following day.


Discussion:

If someone is playing music that sounds flat, how does it sound? I doesn't sound good because it is off key.
If a person has a spare tire around his middle, what is it? It's too much fat around the waist.
What is a flat to someone from Britain? It's a place to live like an apartment.
What is flat pop like? If pop or soda is flat, then it is not fizzy any more. It has lost it's carbonation. There aren't any bubbles.

Too Shabby

Listen to the podcast.

Which of the following things does Nicole have when she checks her winter clothes?

a pair of leather gloves
a pair of knitted socks
a pair of insulated ski gloves
a pair of sheepskin mittens
a silk scarf
a woolen scarf
a fur hat
a couple of hats
winter boots
high heels
a long wool coat
a shabby old coat
a down ski jacket

Listen to the podcast again.

Which of the following are the names of some of the stores that they went into?

Lucille's Boutique
Modern Girl
The Cove
Eatons
The Bay
Stella's Boutique
The Closet
The Cupboard
Smart Style
Suttons
Simpsons


Answer the questions.

Where does she keep her box of winter things? on the top shelf of her closet
What colour are her ski gloves? black
What does she say about her boots? They are in good shape.
How many buttons were missing from her coat? two
What was wrong with the sleeves of her old coat? They were too short.
How did her old coat feel? It felt too tight.
Where was the coat sale? at the mall
Who did she call to go shopping? her friend Ying
Why didn't she buy the long, black coat that she liked? It was too expensive.
Why didn't she buy the black and white plaid coat? It was too loose across the shoulders.
Why didn't she get the green one? It didn't have any pockets.
Why didn't she buy the red one? It was too trendy.
What colour was the coat that she bought? It was burgundy.
What size did she buy? Size 8
How much was the price reduced by? 40%