listenings curso 2012-13

Hi my dear students!

Aquí os dejo listenings ya vistos para que podais practicar todo lo que querais! See you soon!

Nicknames for New York city

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/audio/Audio/278893.html

A nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing.

Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
 

A few years ago, some marketing and advertising experts were asked to name the best nickname for an American city. The winner was the nation’s largest city, New York. The top nickname was the Big Apple.
 

You might wonder how New York got this nickname. In the early 1970s, the city had many problems. The number of visitors was falling. So a campaign was launched to give the city a new image. The head of the New York Conventions and Visitors Bureau decided to call the city The Big Apple.
 

There are several explanations for where this name came from. Language expert Barry Popik studied the question and wrote about it on his website. He says John Fitz Gerald, a writer for a New York newspaper, used the name the Big Apple to mean New York in the 1920s. Mr. Fitz Gerald wrote about horse races. He heard the name used by men who worked at a racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mister Fitz Gerald wrote: “The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.”

In horse racing, the expression meant “the big time,” the place where large amounts of money could be won.

The Big Apple became the name of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in 1934. It also was the name of a popular dance and a hit song in the 1930s.

But it is not the only nickname for America’s largest city. Barry Popik’s website lists almost 100 nicknames that describe New York. The best known are the Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named It Twice. And the City That Never Sleeps. You can hear about the city in the song, “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra.

More information about the Empire State building. 

The Empire State Building is in New York City. It has 102 floors. There is an observatory on the 86^th floor. An observatory is a place where people can go to see a great view of the city. People from all around the world visit the observatory. It is one of New York City’s most popular tourist attractions.

A company owns the Empire State Building. This company wants to sell one billion dollars in shares. A “share” is a part of a business that people own. The public will be able to buy some of these shares.

The Malkin family owns a lot of shares. The family spent almost $500 million dollars on the Empire State Building. They wanted to fix it and make it modern. The family plans to buy more shares. They will spend millions of more dollars on the building.

Some people are not happy. They think the Malkin family will have too much control over the Empire State Building. They want a judge to stop the Malkin family from buying more shares.

Listening about llamas, do you remember???

http://www.voanews.com/MediaAssets2/learningenglish/2007_10/audio/mp3/se-ag-llamassheep-10-08-07.mp3

Aqui os dejo la transcripción con algunos espacios en blanco para que los relleneis.

When Americans think of where coyotes live, they probably think of states in the Southwest like Arizona. But over time, these wild dogs have spread all the way to the East Coast.

Some farmers have  to protect their sheep from coyotes. These guards are llamas. Llamas are South American animals usually raised in the United States for their fiber or for show or as . But farmers and ranchers noticed that llamas get along well with sheep. They also noticed that over , coyotes were killing fewer sheep. So they chose llamas for guard duty.

Llamas do not need any . Farmers usually place only one with a group of sheep. Llamas are  animals. Two llamas together will not pay attention to the sheep. A lone llama has no choice.

In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, farmer Leo Tammi has several hundred sheep. His dogs help him control and protect the  of sheep. But the dogs are not always available. So he uses llamas.

Whenever anything enters the , they know about it. He says their natural interest, and willingness to face almost anything that comes , is enough to scare away a  animal like a coyote.

Their size also helps. Llamas can weigh as much as one hundred thirty-six kilograms. And they look something like a small horse -- a funny looking  with a lot of fine, soft fur. Llamas are not vicious animals. However, if they are not around people at a very young age, they will not like to be touched. In many ways a llama is just as  as a sheep. But llamas have a secret . They spit.

When they get angry, they spit out the contents of their stomachs. The result looks and smells .

Llamas really know how to make a statement. In fact, you can find examples of llama sounds on the Internet -- just remember that llama is spelled with two Ls, L-L-A-M-A. If they sense a threat, they make an  sound. This is what a male sounds like:

(SOUND)

And this is a female alarm call.


Llamas are New World camelids along with alpacas, vicunas and guanacos. Camelids are a  of animals that also include the camels and dromedaries of Africa and Asia.

Por último os dejo el de McDonals, sé que hicimos muchos más pero no puedo poner todos por aquí.

http://www.voanews.com/MediaAssets2/learningenglish/2008_01/audio/mp3/se-econ-mcdonalds-10jan08.mp3

McDonald's, the fast-food company, is heating up competition with the Starbucks Coffee Company. McDonald's plans to put  bars in its fourteen thousand restaurants in the United States. Fewer than a thousand now offer specialty coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.

Just like Starbucks, each coffee bar would have its own barista, the person who makes and serves the . Company documents reported by the Wall Street Journal said the plan would add one billion dollars a year in sales.

McDonald's has enjoyed several years of strong growth. The company had almost twenty-two billion dollars in sales in two thousand six.

Still, the move to compete against Starbucks carries some risk. Some experts say it could slow down  at McDonald's restaurants. And some people who are happy with McDonald's the way it is now may not like the changes.

As early as two thousand one the company tested McCafes in the United States to sell specialty coffee at McDonald's restaurants. But the drinks were not available at the drive-through windows that provide two-thirds of its business. McDonald's thinks its new plan has a greater chance of success. Starbucks, on the other , has faced slower growth and increasing competition. Its stock has lost about half its value since last January.

Starbucks has about ten thousand stores in the United States. Its high-priced coffee drinks have names like Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha and Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino. Lately Starbucks has added more foods, including breakfast foods, and put drive-through  in some stores.

This week, the company replaced its chief executive officer, bringing back former C.E.O. Howard Schultz. He remains chairman of the board. He joined Starbucks in nineteen eighty-two, when it had just four stores. He is credited with building the Seattle company into an international success .

But a year ago he warned that its fast growth had led to what he called the watering down of the Starbucks experience. Some neighborhoods have a Starbucks on every block or two. Now, Starbucks will speed up its international growth while slowing its expansion in the United States.

Millions of people have a taste for Starbucks. But last , McDonald's Premium coffee got some good press. Testers from Consumer Reports thought it tasted better than Starbucks, and it cost less.