Listen to that video and then answer the following activities:

Listen to the speakers describing their favourite things and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

1. Preparation: matching

Do this exercise before you listen. Match the verb with the correct noun and write a – g next to the numbers 1 – 7.

1……e.. take                                                                                       a. a designer

2……g.. listen to                                                                                b. your scooter

3……d.. watch                                                                                   c. a business

4…f….. stroke (= move your hand gently over something)         d. films

5……b.. park                                                                                      e. photos

6……a.. make it as (= be successful as)                                         f. the cat

7…….c. set up (= start)                                                                    g. music

2. Check your understanding: matching

Match the speakers with their favourite things. Write a – e next to the numbers 1 – 5.

1…a….. Speaker                   A a. a tablet

2……e.. Speaker                   B b. a sewing machine

3…c….. Speaker                   C c. a scooter

4…b….. Speaker                   D d. a set of knives

5……d.. Speaker                   E e. a cat

3. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Write the word to fill the gaps.

A. My favourite thing has to be my new tablet. It’s really light and quite _______small______, so I take it with me everywhere. I’m always writing to friends and it’s big enough to do college work on it too. It takes really good ___photos__________, and I play games and listen to ____music_________ on it as well, of course. I often download ____films_________ onto it, and watch them in ______bed_______. My mum says I’m ___________addicted__, because I’m always on it. I even read things on it at breakfast time. I’m not allowed to at __dinner___________ time, though. I have to be _____polite________ and talk to people then. “Welcome back to real life,” my mum says.

B. My favourite thing? Does my ________cat_____ count as a thing? She’s not really a thing, but anyway. She’s a really _____beautiful________ little cat. I’ve had her since she was ___four__________ months old. You know how some cats are really ______independant______ and hardly talk to you? I know cats don’t really talk, but you know what I mean. Well, she’s not like that at all. She’s really _affctionate___________ and comes up to me as soon as I get home, purring away like mad. She makes a lot of ____noise_________ for a tiny thing. She loves being stroked and comes and curls up next to me when I’m on the ___________sofa__. She’s great ____companion______.

C. My new scooter! It’s quite small, but ____fun_________, and just what I needed for getting around the ____city_________. I used to have quite a long walk to the ___metro__________, then a longish walk at the other end to get to __________collage___. But now I can just whiz there on my _______scooter______. And there’s no problem parking, there’s always _____space________ for it. You have to be _________careful____ with the cars and ___lorries__________ – they don’t always see you – and when it rains the surface of the road is _______terribal______, it gets really slippery. But in general it’s perfect for me, and I can fit a ___friend__________ on the back too – I’ve got an extra ____helmet______ for a friend. It’s great. Riding along makes me feel so free.

D. This might sound a bit old-fashioned, but my sewing ______machine_______ is my favourite thing. I’m studying ___fashion__________ and love making things, as well as designing them. I also love ____clothing__ myself and often buy second-hand clothes – everyone loves the “vintage” __________look___ at the moment – and then I adapt them to my _______size______. It’s much easier using a machine to do that than doing it by __________hands___. I do alterations for my mum and my sister too. If I don’t make it as a ___designer_________, I suppose I can always set up my own alterations and customising _______business______. Customising clothes, by taking things off and adding things on, is actually very ________creative____, so I wouldn’t mind that.

E. My set of Japanese knives. That sounds a bit sinister, doesn’t it, but I’m not a ____murder______ or anything. They’re chef’s knives and the best ones come from __Japan___________. Cooking is my new hobby. I got into it when I started watching Masterchef on TV. Then I went to an evening ____class________ for

beginners, and I haven’t looked back since. I try and have a ___dinner_________ for between four and eight_______friends______ every two or three ______weeks_______. That gives me something to work towards and I

always do new _______dishes______ so they can try them out and give me feedback. It’s quite an______expensive_______ hobby if you use good _______ingredients____, but now my friends help towards the_______cost______. They still get a good ______meal______ for a very low price.

4- What’s your favourite thing?

5- Why is it important to you?

6- Vocabulary Box: Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson.