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

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

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

i have completed my task

Hello NurAzleen

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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

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.

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.

The last lecture I attended was about the brand of car that I work with . It was a technical training . The explanation was not clear because the trainer could not speak English well , he was chicness.

I'm Italian and I know who was Fibonacci. He was a famous mathematician in the Middle Age. The his sequence originates from a problem proposed by the emperor Federico II. Fibonacci solved the problem faster the others.

It was a machine learning course in computer science. I was not satisfied because the professor was not dominant. I think some simple topics such as the Fibonacci numbers can be well explained, but a difficult subject requires a very specialist, clever and experienced teacher.