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 am good with numbers.
Excellent session for listening practice, I had impressive mark only two mistakes in second session.
No, I'm not good with numbers.
Yes, I sometime repeat listening his understand.
Yes. I almost always use my brain to calculate things , for example how much something costs, how long something is . so I can say I'm good with numbers.
Nice exercise. I like it
I think I am quite good. I don't need to see the phone numbers if I always call that and I calculate some figures in my mind not calculator. I prefer calculating like that.
I used to run away from working with numbers. but when I started my career as digital marketing specialist, realized that working with numbers is a must and I should become comfortable with them.
How do I use and understand numbers as a natural reflex? I usually translate it into my native language, so I understand it very slowly.
I like numbers and I don't find it difficult to use them in English. But I need to pay more attention to what is being said 'cause I didn't notice when he said the quantity of ships that cross the Canal. :(