Special Report

Listening audio
Listening level
Advanced

Special Report

 

1. General Comprehension. Fill in the blanks with the basic facts about the Foundation.
(1) Founders of the Foundation:
and his son
(2) Time of its establishment:
ago
(3) Title of the Foundation:
(4) Money put in the Foundation initially:
of their vast wealth
(5) Money given away every year now: more than $

2. True or False Questions.
(1)
A symphony orchestra in the Midwest, an inner-city building project, a solution to Africa's chronic food shortages are all supported by the Ford Foundation.
(2)
The world headquarters of the Ford Foundation is located on the Forty-second Street in New York.
(3)
Robert McNamara is former Secretary of Defense, World Bank President, and Ford Board member.
(4)
At the headquarters, a staff of more than three hundred people studies data from all over the country and writes recommendations.
(5)
In the large board room, the directors read recommendations for individual requests and eventually decide who will get what part of the one hundred and twenty-one million dollars that is given away every year.

3. Focusing on Details. Fill in the blanks to complete following statements.
(1) Today the Foundation's endowment is about $
.
(2) Henry and Edsel Ford started their small project in
.
(3) They originally contributed $
to the Foundation.
(4) The initial aim of the Foundation was to
.
(5) The
died before the
. (father/son)
(6) A great deal of the
of the
was left after the
of the two men and, for
reasons, a large part of it had to be
quickly. So the Michigan charity became the
foundation in the world almost
.

4. Choose the best answer (a, b, c, or d) to complete each of the following statements.
(1) The Third World development programs continue _______________.

a. to attract a lot of attention b. to be criticized by many people c. to be praised by many governments d. to take up a great deal of the time of the Foundation
(2) Solution of some programs leads only to ______________. a. new ones b. new approaches c. more fundings taking their place d. more requests for money
(3) Robert McNamara defends Ford involvement in the Third World development programs because _____________. a. he thinks that the Foundation should invest as much money as possible in these programs b. he insists that Africa is a perfect illustration of the goals of the Foundation c. he wishes to provide a solution to some of the problems in the Third World countries d. he believes that the Foundation is able to offer valuable recommendations for the government's foreign aid.
(4) Despite the investment of the Foundation, ____________ per capita in the countries of sub-Saharian Africa has been negative, on average, for a decade. a. both the state revenue and the GNP growth b. the food production and the tax income c. both the GNP growth and the food production d. the state revenue and the food production
(5) _______________ formal requests for money will reach Ford Foundation this year. a. About nine thousand b. About ten thousand c. A thousand d. Several million
(6) About twelve hundred lucky projects will receive anywhere _______________. a. from a hundred to several thousand dollars b. from several hundred to a thousand dollars c. from a thousand to several million dollars d. from several thousand to a million dollars
Listening answers

Special Report

 

1. General Comprehension. Fill in the blanks with the basic facts about the Foundation.
(1) Founders of the Foundation:
and his son
(2) Time of its establishment:
ago
(3) Title of the Foundation:
(4) Money put in the Foundation initially:
of their vast wealth
(5) Money given away every year now: more than $

2. True or False Questions.
(1)
A symphony orchestra in the Midwest, an inner-city building project, a solution to Africa's chronic food shortages are all supported by the Ford Foundation.
(2)
The world headquarters of the Ford Foundation is located on the Forty-second Street in New York.
(3)
Robert McNamara is former Secretary of Defense, World Bank President, and Ford Board member.
(4)
At the headquarters, a staff of more than three hundred people studies data from all over the country and writes recommendations.
(5)
In the large board room, the directors read recommendations for individual requests and eventually decide who will get what part of the one hundred and twenty-one million dollars that is given away every year.

3. Focusing on Details. Fill in the blanks to complete following statements.
(1) Today the Foundation's endowment is about $
.
(2) Henry and Edsel Ford started their small project in
.
(3) They originally contributed $
to the Foundation.
(4) The initial aim of the Foundation was to
.
(5) The
died before the
. (father/son)
(6) A great deal of the
of the
was left after the
of the two men and, for
reasons, a large part of it had to be
quickly. So the Michigan charity became the
foundation in the world almost
.

4. Choose the best answer (a, b, c, or d) to complete each of the following statements.
(1) The Third World development programs continue _______________.

a. to attract a lot of attention b. to be criticized by many people c. to be praised by many governments d. to take up a great deal of the time of the Foundation
(2) Solution of some programs leads only to ______________. a. new ones b. new approaches c. more fundings taking their place d. more requests for money
(3) Robert McNamara defends Ford involvement in the Third World development programs because _____________. a. he thinks that the Foundation should invest as much money as possible in these programs b. he insists that Africa is a perfect illustration of the goals of the Foundation c. he wishes to provide a solution to some of the problems in the Third World countries d. he believes that the Foundation is able to offer valuable recommendations for the government's foreign aid.
(4) Despite the investment of the Foundation, ____________ per capita in the countries of sub-Saharian Africa has been negative, on average, for a decade. a. both the state revenue and the GNP growth b. the food production and the tax income c. both the GNP growth and the food production d. the state revenue and the food production
(5) _______________ formal requests for money will reach Ford Foundation this year. a. About nine thousand b. About ten thousand c. A thousand d. Several million
(6) About twelve hundred lucky projects will receive anywhere _______________. a. from a hundred to several thousand dollars b. from several hundred to a thousand dollars c. from a thousand to several million dollars d. from several thousand to a million dollars