Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Preparation
Transcript
… and the next part of this talk is on the Panama Canal. It's amazing how this one small section of a small country can be so important to the world. Let's learn a little bit about the canal itself, before we look at how it connects to everything else.
The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway in the Central American country of Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. It is only 82 kilometres long. If you go around South America by ship then you need to travel another 15,000 kilometres. So the canal saves a lot of travel time. It takes around 8 to 10 hours to cross the canal.
The French started building the canal in 1881, but they couldn't finish it. The project was started again in 1904 by the United States and the canal was finally finished in 1914. Many people died while they were building the canal, some say up to 25,000. For the rest of the 20th century, the United States controlled the canal, but gave control back to Panama in 2000.
Every year, around 40,000 ships come through the canal. These are mostly commercial ships. They transport goods for trade between Asia and America, or Europe. In 2016 the government of Panama made the canal bigger, so that now 99 per cent of ships can pass through it.
Let's now turn to the role of the Panama Canal in the global economy …
Yes I Do, usually I need listen this lecturer about facts and figures much times but I'll start to understand. See you later
So, I am not sure that I am really good in numbers. I know them but I can't fastly use
No, all the times I forget .
yes i do
No, I'm not good with numbers in despite of my technical job. I even don't know why I shod be good in it.
The audio is very hard for me. First time I don't catch anything, but several times I catch some words
Hello tokpassimariusesdras,
It's great that you listened many times. This will really help you. I'd encourage you to keep trying and to listen to different audios at this level. You might also enjoy our Audio series in General English.
Good luck!
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
I think the audio and exercises have been getting more difficult lately because the content has become longer. For example, the fill-in-the-blank questions with numbers require me to listen to the audio multiple times to complete them.
Hi Sliang,
Within any level (e.g. A2), there will be some easier listenings and some more difficult ones, so don't worry too much. Some tasks may also be more difficult than other ones. It is fine to listen multiple times - actually, you may find that you notice more and more details the second, third (etc.) time you listen, which may benefit your listening skills. Good luck with it!
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, Jonathan. I appreciate your advice and will keep it in mind as I continue to work on my listening skills.