Special Report

Listening audio
Listening level
Advanced

Special Report

 

1. Choose the best answer (a, b, c, or d) to complete each of the following statements.
(1) This special report is mainly about __________.

a. the origin of the Bladder Festival b. the emigration of some blacks to the Soviet Union during the Depression c. the Alaska Performing Arts for Peace and the significance of its tour to the Soviet Union d. the history of the US-Soviet relations, especially the people-to-people exchange between the two countries
(2) The Alaska Performing Arts for Peace consists of artists from __________. a. throughout Alaska b. Anchorage c. Alaska and two other states d. The northern part of Alaska
(3) The Bladder Festival lasts about __________. a. a month b. two weeks c. ten days d. seven days
(4) The Alaska Performing Arts for Peace will travel through a succession of __________ in the Soviet Union. a. cities and towns b. cities, towns and villages c. factories and farms d. towns and villages
(5) The tour of the Alaska Performing Arts for Peace will last about ___________. a. a month b. two months c. two weeks d. three weeks

2. True or False Questions.
(1)
The Bladder Festival usually ends with the return of the seal bladders to the ocean.
(2)
According to Shirley Staten, one of the symbolism in the Bladder Festival is togetherness of people or peace.
(3)
The tour of the Alaska Performing Arts for Peace is significant because it reunifies the Upic Eskimos along the Bering Sea on both continents for the first time in history.
(4)
Apart from some forty Eskimos, the group also includes a chorus, cloggers, fiddlers and black gospel singers.
(5)
According to the organizer, it has taken two years to materialize this tour.

3. Identification. Match each item in Column I with one item in Column II by recognizing the person's occupation.

Column I               Column II
(1) Joanna Urick       a. one of the five gospel singers
(2) John Pingyer       b. organizer of this tour
(3) Aura Gologrogin     c. NPR's reporter
(4) Shirley Staten     d. a Upic Eskimo who reads his lines at the rehearsal
(5) Digby Belger       e. a 70-year-old woman who went to the Soviet Union in 1940

Answer: (1) —
; (2) —
; (3) —
; (4) —
; (5) —
.

4. Fill in the blanks to complete the following statements.
(1) The leaders of the two countries met in
without
at the time of this people-to-people exchange.
(2) The Alaskan artists gathered to rehearse their show in a
on a
outside of
.
(3) Before the Cold War the Upic Eskimos in the two countries made a contact that they could
between the two countries.
(4) The contact between the Upic Eskimos in the two countries has been
since the end of the Second World War.
(5) Aura Gologrogin was looking forward to
the people whom she knew when she went over to
and stayed there for a while.
(6) Shirley Staten believes that each culture has
and the
of each culture can be
and
by different cultures.
(7) In the gospel singers' eyes, the highlight of the tour will be the time when they could
with a small group of Russians, descendants of
.
(8) The organizer of the tour believes it is a good time to go because there is a greater
for the two peoples to
when there is more
between the two countries.

Listening answers

Special Report

 

1. Choose the best answer (a, b, c, or d) to complete each of the following statements.
(1) This special report is mainly about __________.

a. the origin of the Bladder Festival b. the emigration of some blacks to the Soviet Union during the Depression c. the Alaska Performing Arts for Peace and the significance of its tour to the Soviet Union d. the history of the US-Soviet relations, especially the people-to-people exchange between the two countries
(2) The Alaska Performing Arts for Peace consists of artists from __________. a. throughout Alaska b. Anchorage c. Alaska and two other states d. The northern part of Alaska
(3) The Bladder Festival lasts about __________. a. a month b. two weeks c. ten days d. seven days
(4) The Alaska Performing Arts for Peace will travel through a succession of __________ in the Soviet Union. a. cities and towns b. cities, towns and villages c. factories and farms d. towns and villages
(5) The tour of the Alaska Performing Arts for Peace will last about ___________. a. a month b. two months c. two weeks d. three weeks

2. True or False Questions.
(1)
The Bladder Festival usually ends with the return of the seal bladders to the ocean.
(2)
According to Shirley Staten, one of the symbolism in the Bladder Festival is togetherness of people or peace.
(3)
The tour of the Alaska Performing Arts for Peace is significant because it reunifies the Upic Eskimos along the Bering Sea on both continents for the first time in history.
(4)
Apart from some forty Eskimos, the group also includes a chorus, cloggers, fiddlers and black gospel singers.
(5)
According to the organizer, it has taken two years to materialize this tour.

3. Identification. Match each item in Column I with one item in Column II by recognizing the person's occupation.

Column I               Column II
(1) Joanna Urick       a. one of the five gospel singers
(2) John Pingyer       b. organizer of this tour
(3) Aura Gologrogin     c. NPR's reporter
(4) Shirley Staten     d. a Upic Eskimo who reads his lines at the rehearsal
(5) Digby Belger       e. a 70-year-old woman who went to the Soviet Union in 1940

Answer: (1) —
; (2) —
; (3) —
; (4) —
; (5) —
.

4. Fill in the blanks to complete the following statements.
(1) The leaders of the two countries met in
without
at the time of this people-to-people exchange.
(2) The Alaskan artists gathered to rehearse their show in a
on a
outside of
.
(3) Before the Cold War the Upic Eskimos in the two countries made a contact that they could
between the two countries.
(4) The contact between the Upic Eskimos in the two countries has been
since the end of the Second World War.
(5) Aura Gologrogin was looking forward to
the people whom she knew when she went over to
and stayed there for a while.
(6) Shirley Staten believes that each culture has
and the
of each culture can be
and
by different cultures.
(7) In the gospel singers' eyes, the highlight of the tour will be the time when they could
with a small group of Russians, descendants of
.
(8) The organizer of the tour believes it is a good time to go because there is a greater
for the two peoples to
when there is more
between the two countries.