Listening practice - Part 3&4 (Happiness)

Listening & reading practice - Happiness

https://engexam.info/fce-listening-practice-tests/fce-listening-practice-test-9/3/

Poll

How happy are you today?

• 1 - Very unhappy

• 2 - Unhappy

• 3 - Neither happy nor unhappy

• 4 - Happy

• 5 - Very happy

Open Ended

Do you think it is possible to measure happiness? Why or why not?

You will watch a video about how they are trying to measure happiness around the world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfVrYX6dhDw&ab_channel=NationalGeographic

Open Ended

What are some things that can make people happy?

You will hear five people talking about happiness. Choose what each person says happiness means to them. 

https://engexam.info/fce-listening-practice-tests/fce-listening-practice-test-9/3/

Multiple Choice

Speaker 1

• Having a happy personality allows you to cope effectively with problems.

• Happiness is all about the experience of overcoming problems.

• Happiness is a short escape from everyday routine.

• Happiness is being thankful for what you have.

• Happiness comes from achieving your goals.

Speaker 1

What is happiness? From an early age, happiness for me is sitting in a boat in the middle of a like on a summer’s day and doing some serious fishing… all alone just me and my thoughts. No stress, get away from it all for an hour or so, but maybe not completely aimless – not just lying on a beach somewhere, but having some task to do. Then, when it’s all over, it’s back to normal life and problems and hassle, and having to fight to get what you want. But that brief moment of happiness helps me to reflect and make sense of my life.

Multiple Choice

Speaker 2

• Having a happy personality allows you to cope effectively with problems.

• Happiness is all about the experience of overcoming problems.

• Happiness is a short escape from everyday routine.

• Happiness is being thankful for what you have.

• Happiness comes from achieving your goals.

Speaker 2

I think to be happy, you do obviously need some financial security – not rich… I didn’t say that, ‘cos there’s an important difference. Also I’d say you need humour in your life… that’s kind of obvious too. Having lots of free time to do what you want? Not sure, there. I’d say quite the reverse, actually. For me, you really appreciate your moments of leisure when you’ve done lots of hard work. If it’s all play and no work in your life, then you don’t enjoy it. So for me, it’s all to do with… setting yourself a list of things to get through and then you’ve completed them. Now you can be happy.

Multiple Choice

Speaker 3

• Having a happy personality allows you to cope effectively with problems.

• Happiness is all about the experience of overcoming problems.

• Happiness is a short escape from everyday routine.

• Happiness is being thankful for what you have.

• Happiness comes from achieving your goals.

Speaker 3

I sometimes wonder if being happy is something to do with age. Very young children are happy most of the time; very old people are happy when they think of fond memories, and also they’re happy when they see their grandchildren happy. So happiness is not just specific to one age group. That’s certainly the case with my family. But in my experience happy people get through life more easily – if you take things seriously all the time, that’s when you get stressed or have health issues, maybe. And sometimes life can be a real pain, let’s be honest.

Multiple Choice

Speaker 4

• Having a happy personality allows you to cope effectively with problems.

• Happiness is all about the experience of overcoming problems.

• Happiness is a short escape from everyday routine.

• Happiness is being thankful for what you have.

• Happiness comes from achieving your goals.

Speaker 4

Happiness comes in many shapes and forms. Personally I’m happy when I’m active, doing my sports and feeling all healthy. But maybe that’s a rather self-centred view. I also get moments when I’m just, say, sitting on a train, and suddenly I think of my children’s smiling faces, and realise how lucky I am, how happy they make me – and my husband too, of course. My life could’ve turned out much worse, as it has for many people. Will I still be happy when they’ve all grown up and gone away? I’m sure when that time comes, I’ll find a new form of happiness.

Multiple Choice

Speaker 5

• Having a happy personality allows you to cope effectively with problems.

• Happiness is all about the experience of overcoming problems.

• Happiness is a short escape from everyday routine.

• Happiness is being thankful for what you have.

• Happiness comes from achieving your goals.

Speaker 5

It’s sometimes said that you make your own happiness, and I’ve got some sympathy for that view. But in my experience, it’s something more than that. It might sound strange, but I honestly think it’s all about your life not being too easy. If everything in your life is handed to you on a plate by rich parents then I actually don’t think you’re as happy as someone who’s had to struggle a bit in their life. When you can share your struggles with others and laugh about how you got through them, that’s when you’re truly happy. That’s certainly how it’s worked out for me.

Read a short article about Bahrain and answer 6 questions on Quizziz!

https://www.timeoutbahrain.com/news/437230-bahrain-now-the-third-happiest-arab-country#:~:text=Bahrain%20is%20now%20the%20third,the%20Sustainable%20Development%20Solutions%20Network.

Multiple Choice

The World Happiness Report was produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

• Yes

• No

• Not given (not mentioned in the text)

Multiple Choice

Researchers made this report by asking people to rate their country on a scale 1-10 in 6 different categories.

• Yes

• No

• Not given (not mentioned in the text)

Multiple Choice

A lot of people criticize the World Happiness Report saying it is not possible to rank countries based on happiness.

• Yes

• No

• Not given (not mentioned in the text)

Multiple Choice

According to the report, Finland is the happiest country in the Arab world.

• Yes

• No

• Not given (not mentioned in the text)

Multiple Choice

Saudi Arabia was named as the 27th happiest country in the world.

• Yes

• No

• Not given (not mentioned in the text)

Multiple Choice

Manama is considered one of world's most dangerous cities, according to recent reports.

• Yes

• No

• Not given (not mentioned in the text)

This is the end of the listening and reading practice for today.

Next lesson: LISTENING PORTFOLIO TASK!