1. Two extracts.
Listen to the first extract and choose the best description of the situation.
Now listen to the second extract and choose the best description of the situation.
2. The first extract.
Now listen to more of the first extract. Put the topics in the order they are discussed.
3. Listen in detail.
Listen to the conversation again. Which speaker expresses the following ideas, Alice or Bob?
4. Meaning in context.
Choose the best definition, in the context of this conversation, for the underlined words and expressions in these extracts from the transcript.
Alice: So have you seen either of these films, Another Earth or Melancholia?
Bob: Yes, in fact I saw one shortly after the other, so I was tuned in to the theme, as it were.
Alice: Yeah, me too. There seemed to be a glut at the time of films about planets being discovered.
Bob: A hysteria.
Alice: Well, not quite that much, but yes, it was a popular topic for a time.
Bob: Why do you think that is?
Alice: Don't know. Sign of the times, I guess.
Bob: Rats from a sinking ship. Wishful thinking.
Alice: Yeah, partly that, but also I guess the idea of getting out into space is becoming more and more real – I mean, much more of a reality.
...
Alice: Another Earth?
Bob: No, the other one.
Alice: Right.
Bob: Yeah, it was kind of heavy – I mean, really heavy. It's a real downer, but it made it kind of gripping. It's like ... it's like it's the ultimate tragedy, the tragedy to end all tragedies. So yeah, it's very dramatic and I thought the acting was excellent. Kirsten Dunst was so lost and tragic—
...
Alice: But both of them were seriously dark.
Bob: The actors?
Alice: No, the films. Give me something a little more upbeat any time. I'm not so much into doom and gloom.
Bob: Yeah, I know what you mean, but still, I enjoyed them. But then, I can watch just about anything. I mean, it has to be really bad for me to even notice.
Alice: So you've never walked out of a movie?
Bob: Uh, not that I can remember. Oh, hold on, I did once.
5. The second extract.
Listen to more of the second extract, the podcast programme. Put the topics in the order they are mentioned.
6. The second extract.
Listen to the second extract again and mark the statements true or false, according to what the speaker says.
8. Language focus.
Read the next part of the podcast transcript again. When you are ready, click the "Start" button and some words will disappear from the text. Can you complete the text again? Type words in the box and they will appear in the correct place in the paragraph.
Now listen and read the completed extract.