1. Skills
  2. Listening
  3. A2 listening
  4. Understanding an explanation

Understanding an explanation

Understanding an explanation

Listen to a professor's explanation to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Matching_MjMzMzE=

Transcript

Professor: OK, before we continue, does anybody have a question? Oh, lots of questions, I see. OK, we'll go one at a time. Yes?

Student: Thank you. You talked about Fibonacci numbers in the lecture. Sorry, I don't understand. Can you explain?

Professor: Of course. What do you want to know?

Student: OK … I hope this isn't a silly question, but what does Fibonacci actually mean?

Professor: No question is ever silly – it's always good to ask. OK, it's the name of a person. Fibonacci was a European mathematician in the Middle Ages.

Student: Ah, OK. Thanks. So, we know he was a person, but what are the Fibonacci numbers? I don't get it.

Professor: The Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of numbers. They go 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and so on. Do you see the sequence? Do you see how it works?

Student: I'm not sure.

Professor: OK. This is how it works. The first number is 1, then 1 again, then 2. The third number is the first number plus the second number. The fourth number is the second number plus the third number: 1 plus 2 is 3. The fifth number is the third number, 2, plus the fourth number, 3. So the fifth number in a Fibonacci sequence is 5.

Student: Ah! I think I understand now. But what about their importance? You said these were very important.

Professor: Yes, let me explain. This sequence of numbers is important because we see it in many things. Fibonacci numbers are common in geometry, they are common in nature, for example in plants. We see the sequence everywhere.

Student: Could you give us some more examples?

Professor: OK ... well, we don't have time right now but I can bring more examples in for next class, OK?

Task 1

MultipleChoice_MjMzMzI=.xml

Task 2

ReorderingHorizontal_MjMzMzM=.xml

Discussion

What was the last lecture you went to about? Did the professor explain it clearly?

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Language level

A2 Pre-intermediate
Average: 4.5 (30 votes)

Hello Hevi.m

'one at a time' is another way of saying 'one by one' -- in other words, first one person asks, then another one, then another one, etc.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Hevi.m on Sun, 26/01/2020 - 10:43

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The last lecture I went to was about the global economy . I don't thinks that she had explain much clear the Fibonacci number made of sum of past two numbers and start from number 1 unlike other sequences which start by zero because (0+0 = 0) for this reason we have double 1 in the Fibonacci sequence 1 , ( 0+1) = 1 , ( 1+1) = 2 , ( 2 +1 ) = 3, .. 13, 21 ,34 , 55 , 89 and so But one of the most interesting thing in the Fibonacci sequence is the number (1.618 ) the Golden Ratio . it made when we divide any number of the sequence by its before number after the seventh number in the sequence .e.g. ( 21/13) = 1.6153 , (34/21)=1.619 , (55/34)= 1.617 .. I use fibonacci numbers every day in my business

Submitted by Dariusz on Sun, 19/01/2020 - 20:54

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I don't remember what was the last lucture I went to about. I think it cencerned history because I studied this subject several years ago.

Submitted by minh lộc on Wed, 08/01/2020 - 12:58

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the last lecture, i attended was about the accounting principles . It's so quite inextricable difficult but my professoe explain it very clearly and spefical so i can understand whole lesson and can do my homework.
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Submitted by Mohamad-Altaha on Mon, 23/12/2019 - 19:33

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the last lecture that I attended was on the oil and gases It was very clear and easy to understand.

Submitted by NurAzleen on Thu, 03/10/2019 - 20:13

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i have completed my task

Hello NurAzleen

I just wanted to explain why we have not published your other comments. Our comments section is for asking questions about or commenting on the content of the page. Sometimes we allow other comments, but if there are too many, this makes it more difficult for other users to use our site.

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by albukharifrm on Thu, 03/10/2019 - 15:44

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I have completed the task that consist of ten questions which is, An invitation to a party, Changing a meeting time, Changing plans, Facts and figures, Four conversations, Instructions for an assignment, Leaving a message, Missing a class, Transport announcements, Understanding an explanation
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Submitted by Caterina Siligardi on Sun, 08/09/2019 - 10:37

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It's incredible! When I was a student I never understood anything about mathematical concepts. Now ,while I'm studying English, I can understand a brief mathematical lecture! So, congratulations to this professor: her explanation was really brilliant. Thanks so much.

Submitted by César Árraga on Sun, 01/09/2019 - 02:22

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The last lecture I went It was called 'Conscious leadership, the business of being you'. This one was absolutely fascinating and the topics dealt with were Theories and styles of leadership, Emotional Intelligence, teamwork,etc. Some times I had some doubt but I asked speaker and he explained me elaborately even with some examples.