PT3 LISTENING EXERCISE (STARS)

Practice 1:
Brain drain, which is the _________________ of having highly skilled and educated people
leaving their country to work abroad, has become one of the _________________ countries
concern. Brain drain is also referred to as human capital flight. More and more
_________________ world science and technology educated people are heading for more
_________________ countries seeking higher wages and better working conditions. This has of
course serious consequences on the sending _________________.
While many people believe that _________________ is a personal choice that must be
understood and respected, others look at the phenomenon from a different perspective. What
_________________ those educated people leave their countries should be seriously
_________________ and a distinction between push and pull factors must be made. The push
factors include low wages and lack of satisfactory _________________ and living conditions.
Social unrest, _________________ conflicts and wars may also be determining causes. The pull
factors, however, include intellectual freedom and substantial funds for research.
Practice 2:
The existence of _________________ may be explained by the need of groups of people to view
themselves as more normal or more superior than other groups. _________________,
stereotypes may be used to justify ill-founded prejudices or ignorance and _________________
people of stereotyped groups from entering or succeeding in various activities or fields. The
stereotyping group are, generally, _________________ to reconsider their attitudes and
behaviour towards stereotyped group. Stereotypes may affect _________________ negatively.
This includes forming inaccurate and distorted images and _________________ of people.
Stereotypes may also be used for scapegoating or for making _________________ erroneous
judgments about people. Some stereotyping people may feel comfortable when they prevent
themselves from _________________ identification with the stereotyped group, which leads to
xenophobic or racist _________________. Finally another serious consequence of stereotypes is
the feeling of inferiority that the stereotyped people may have and which may
_________________ their performance.
Practice 3:
The modern _________________ was originally invented in Naples, Italy but the word pizza is
Greek in origin, derived from the Greek word pktos _________________ solid or clotted. The
ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. The first major innovation
that led to flat _________________ pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. It was common for
the _________________ of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread,
and so the pizza began. While it is difficult to say for sure who invented the pizza, it is
however believed that modern pizza was first _________________ by baker Raffaele Esposito of
Naples. In fact, a popular urban legend holds that the archetypal pizza, Pizza Margherita, was
_________________ in 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the
Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honour of the visiting Queen
Margherita. Of the _________________ different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred
a pie swathed in the colours of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (_________________), and
white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza _________________ then named after the
Queen as Pizza Margherita.
Practice 4:
Mr. Bean is a series of fourteen 25-minute _________________ written by and starring Rowan
Atkinson. This British situation comedy television program is based on a character originally
_________________ by Atkinson while he was studying for his master's degree at Oxford
_________________. The series features funny situations occurring in the life of Mr. Bean. The

PT3 LISTENING EXERCISE (STARS)

latter was _________________ by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body". Mr. Bean tries to
solve various problems presented by everyday tasks and _________________ causes disruption
in the process. Bean rarely speaks, and the _________________ physical humour of the series is
derived from his interactions with other people and his _________________ solutions to
situations.

Practice 5:
There were _________________ causes for the first downturn in 1929 but the real causes are still
unclear. Historians emphasize structural factors like major bank _________________ and the
stock market crash. In contrast, some economists point to monetary _________________ such as
actions by the US Federal Reserve that contracted the money supply, as well as Britain's
_________________ to return to the Gold Standard at preWorld War I parities.
The Great Depression had devastating effects in virtually every _________________, rich and
poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade
plunged by more than _________________ percent. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25 percent
and in some _________________ rose as high as 33 percent. Cities all _________________ the world
were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted
in many countries. _________________ and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by
approximately 60 percent.

Practice 6:
Was Atlantis real? The mythical _________________ of Atlantis has often been depicted in
creative works such as films, books and paintings, but the origin of the _________________ come
from Timaeus, a Socratic dialogue, written in about 360 B.C. by Plato. The Timaeus
_________________ with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure
of the universe and _________________ civilizations. In the introduction, Socrates muses about
the perfect society, _________________ in Plato's Republic (c. 380 BC), and wonders if he and his
guests might recollect a _________________ which exemplifies such a society. Critias mentions
an allegedly historical tale that would make the _________________ example, and follows by
describing Atlantis as is recorded in the Critias. In his account, ancient Athens seems to
represent the "perfect _________________ " and Atlantis its opponent, representing the very
antithesis of the "perfect" traits _________________ in the Republic.

Practice 7:
Smoking is one of the most _________________ forms of recreational drug use. It is a habit which
consists of breathing in a smoke from a burned _________________. This substance contains the
active alkaloid nicotine which is absorbed into the bloodstream. It may cause various diseases
and dysfunctions. Tobacco smoking is the most popular form of smoking. It is _________________
by over one billion people globally, of whom the majority are in the developing world. Less
common drugs for smoking include _________________ and opium. Some of the substances are
classified as hard narcotics, like _________________, but the use of these substances is very
limited as they are usually not _________________ available.
Practice 8:
Whales breathe via blowholes; baleen _________________ have two and toothed whales have
one. These are located on the top of the head, allowing the animal to remain almost
_________________ submerged whilst breathing. Breathing involves expelling _________________
water from the blowhole, forming an upward spout, followed by inhaling air into the lungs.

PT3 LISTENING EXERCISE (STARS)

Spout shapes differ among _________________ and can help with identification. The largest
whales are blue _________________. In fact, the blue whale is the largest animal known to have
ever existed at _________________ m (98 ft) and 180 tonnes. These huge animals eat about 4
tons of tiny krill each day, obtained by filter feeding through baleen, a comb-like
_________________ that filters the baleen whales' food from the _________________.

Practice 9:
Nelson Rolihlahla _________________ (also known as Madiba), a South African anti-apartheid
revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa _________________ 1994 to
1999, was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first _________________ in a
fully representative, multiracial election. Mandela was born to the Thembu royal family. He
attended Fort Hare University and the _________________ of Witwatersrand where he studied
law. After the Afrikaner _________________ of the National Party came to power in 1948 and
began implementing the policy of apartheid, a _________________ of racial segregation, he rose
to prominence in the African National Congress's 1952 Defiance Campaign. Working as a
_________________, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC
leadership, was _________________ in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961 but was found not
_________________. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, he was arrested in 1962,
convicted of _________________ and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to
_________________ imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.
Practice 10:
Historically, Sonora Smart Dodd was the _________________ behind the celebration of male
parenting. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who
raised his _________________ children there. After _________________ a sermon about Jarvis'
Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honouring
them. Although she initially suggested _________________ 5, her father's birthday, the pastors
did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, _________________ the celebration was
deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first _________________ was in Spokane, Washington at
the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) on June 19, 1910. In recognition of what fathers
do for _________________ families, on this day people _________________ have a party celebrating
male parenting or simply make a phone call or send a greeting card. Besides, schools help
children prepare _________________ gifts for their fathers many days before the
_________________.