Discover the 2012 London Olympics

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Clifford Cain
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Discover the 2012 London Olympics Podcast contents Part 1 Introduction 0.00 0.55 Part 2 The Stadium 1.06 2.43 Part 3 Legacy and the Environment 2.51 4.05 Part 4 Café Interview 4.15 5.

1 Discover the 2012 London Olympics Podcast contents Part 1 Introduction Part 2 The Stadium Part 3 Legacy and the Environment Part 4 Café Interview Part 5 Outro Worksheet contents Section 1 True/false listening Section 2 Events and their effects vocabulary Section 3 Event and their effects vocabulary definitions Section 4 Extra vocabulary finder Section 5 Language analysis Section 6 Extra vocabulary booster from the podcast Section 7 Animal idioms vocabulary bonus Section 8 Worksheet vocabulary gap fill Section 9 Your turn Section 10 Photos of the Olympic site Worksheet answers Transcript 1 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

2 Section 1 True/false listening Listen and decide if these statements are true or false 1) The Beijing Olympics were impressive. T/F 2) London has hosted 3 Olympic games. T/F 3) The stadium cost more money to build than the organisers had planned. T/F 4) The athletics stadium will be made smaller after the Olympics. T/F 5) Athletes will have to take public transport to reach the Olympic site. T/F 6) The area has become an attraction for tourists. T/F 7) The café worker believes the Olympics are good for the area. T/F 8) The area is changing quickly. T/F 2 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

3 Section 2 Events and their effects vocabulary Listen again and select the correct answer Part ) Beijing showed the world how to put an event. 2) an event of /, glamour and grandeur. Part ) London won the bid to the 2012 Olympics. 4) It s been seven years of hard work and 5) The of any Olympics is the athletics stadium. 6) It s where the and closing ceremony are held. 7) and the events like the 100 metres. 8) They have constructed an 80,000 stadium. 9) On time and budget. 3 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

4 Part ) The buzzword for this Olympics has been. 11) The of this part of East London has been central. 12) What was once a deprived area is now. 13) The biggest lesson the organisers have learned from past Olympic Games is being left with elephants. 14) The carbon of the games has also been critically important for the organisers. 15) A public transport system will bring all the spectators to the games. 4 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

5 Section 3 Events and their affects vocabulary definitions Put the vocabulary from section 2 into the correct gap 1) A event is the main one that will attract the most attention and interest (noun). 2) is something that attracts peoples attention because it is fashionable or impressive (noun). 3) If you something you provide the facilities or space for it (verb). 4) The time or date something has to be done is a (noun). 5) is the process of improving an area (noun). 6) A area or business is one that is growing, developing and becoming successful (adjective). 7) Your is the amount of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases you emit (noun). 5 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

6 8) The most important part or feature of something is the (noun). 9) If something is then it cost less than you had expected and planned for (adjective). 10) is the wider and longer-lasting impact something has after it has finished or ended (noun). 11) Something that cost a lot of money but has no use is called a (noun). 12) If we something it means we produce something for the benefit of others (phrasal verb). 13) If something is it is really modern and uses the most recent methods or technology (adjective). 14) The ceremony is an event at the beginning of an Olympics or other important event (noun). 15) The total amount that can be contained by something is the (noun). 6 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

7 Section 4 Extra vocabulary finder Read the descriptions and try and remember the vocabulary item or phrase used in the podcast. Part ) The Beijing Olympics was described as being better than any other Olympics. Can you remember the adjective used to say this? Part ) In the podcast Tom asks you to remember the Bird s Nest stadium in Beijing, what verb phrase does he use to say this? 3) The new sculpture will allow visitors to see the Olympic site and London from a high position in the air. Can you remember the idiom used? 4) Tom gives his opinion about the sculpture saying that to begin with he didn t like it but he is starting to change his mind. What verb phrase did he use? 7 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

8 Part ) Legacy is a very important and frequently used word when people talk about these Olympics games. What is the noun to describe these kinds of words? Part ) The area has changed a lot in recent years with buildings being improved, new businesses moving in and the area becoming wealthier. This process is a noun. 7) Adam, the café worker, uses an informal phrase to say that something is a difficult subject which has caused some problems with certain parts of the community. 8) Adam, the café worker, uses a phrase to say the good things and the bad things. Can you remember what it is? 8 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

9 Section 5 Language analysis Choose the two correct collocations and delete the wrong one an event/a show/an interview a party/ a lesson/an event player/ singer/ news story holiday/community/business facilities/personality/ technology Section 6 Extra vocabulary booster from the podcast - to prepare or get ready for something i.e. I m gearing up for my end of course exams. to postpone or not give one s opinion or verdict. a short term or temporary retail space i.e. A pop up fashion boutique appeared for 3 weeks during the festival and then disappeared. at a fast rate to suddenly start raining 9 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

10 Section 7 Animal idioms vocabulary bonus In the podcast there are 2 idioms with animals in them: a bird s eye view and a white elephant. Here are five more animal idioms Match the animal to the idiomatic phrase 1) A dark is someone who isn t the favourite to win a competition but they surprise everyone and win (noun). 2) The share of something is the majority or largest amount (noun). 3) A cash is a product or business that generates an unusually large amount of profit (noun). 4) If you have a of a time it means you have a really good time (noun). 5) The under is the competitor least likely to win (noun). 10 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

11 Section 8 Worksheet vocabulary gap fill Using the any of the vocabulary from this worksheet, fill the gaps with the correct word or phrase. 1) The government have built a space research facility in the desert. 2) The of our bicentennial celebrations is a huge concert in the main square. 3) The of my work involves travelling around the UK but occasionally I get to travel abroad. 4) You can really see this area has gone through a period of. There never used to be this many trendy cafes and bars and the house prices are much higher. 5) You would have to say Manchester United are favourites to win the league this year but I think Tottenham Hotspur are. They ve got a pretty good team this year. 6) I don t think I ll be able to meet the University for applications which means I ll probably have to wait until next year to apply. 11 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

12 Section 9 Your turn Choose one of the following options and record yourself talking about them using the vocabulary from this worksheet. You could consider some of these questions to help you. 1) An event that happened in your town, city or country What event did your town, city or country host? What was the centrepiece of the event? Was there an opening or closing ceremony? What was the atmosphere like whilst your town, city or country was gearing up for the start of the event? In hindsight what are the pluses and minuses to putting on an event like this? 2) An area of your town, city or country that has changed a lot over the years. If you cast your mind back how was the area before all the changes? Is it now thriving or has it become less desirable? Did the area change rapidly or was it a slow process? What were/are the main signs of gentrification or de-gentrification? What are the pluses and minuses to all these changes? 12 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

13 Section 10 Photos from the Olympic Site 13 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

14 Discover the 2012 London Olympics Answers Section 1 True or False 1) T 2) F London will be the third London Olympics 3) F It has cost less than expected 4) T 5) F They are going to walk 6) T 7) F There are positive things and negative things 8) T Section 2 - Events and their affects vocabulary 1) Beijing showed the world how to put an event. 2) an event of, glamour and grandeur. 3) London won the bid to the 2012 Olympics. 4) It s been seven years of hard work and 5) The of any Olympics is the athletics stadium. 6) It s where the and closing ceremony are held. 7).... and the events like the 100 metres. 8) They have constructed an 80,000 stadium. 9) On time and budget. 14 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

15 10) The buzzword for this Olympics has been. 11) The of this part of East London has been central. 12) What was once a deprived area is now 13) The biggest lesson the organisers have learned from past Olympic games is being left with elephants. 14) The carbon of the games has also been critically important for the organisers. 15) A public transport system will bring all the spectators to the games. Section 3 Events and their affects vocabulary definitions 1) A marquee event is the main one that will attract the most attention and interest (noun). 2) Glitz is something that attracts peoples attention because it is fashionable or impressive (noun). 3) If you host something you provide the facilities or space for it (verb). 4) The time or date something has to be done is a deadline (noun). 5) Regeneration is the process of improving an area (noun). 6) A thriving area or business is one that is growing, developing and becoming successful (adjective). 7) Your carbon footprint is the amount of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases you emit (noun). 8) The most important part or feature of something is the centrepiece (noun). 9) If something is under budget then it cost less than you had expected and planned for (adjective). 15 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

16 10) Legacy is the wider and longer-lasting impact something has after it has finished or ended (noun). 11) Something that cost a lot of money but has no use is called a white elepahnt (noun). 12) If we put on something it means we produce something for the benefit of others (phrasal verb). 13) If something is state of the art it is really modern and uses the most recent methods or technology (adjective). 14) The opening ceremony is an event at the beginning of an Olympics or other important event (noun). 15) The total amount that can be contained by something is the capacity (noun). Section 4 Extra vocabulary finder 1) second to none (adj) 2) to cast one s mind back (verb) 3) bird s eye view (noun) 4) to grow on somebody (verb) 5) buzzword (noun) 6) gentrification (noun) 7) a sticky issue (noun) 8) pluses and minuses (noun) 16 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

17 Section 7 Animal idioms vocabulary bonus 1) A dark horse is someone who isn t the favourite to win a competition but they surprise everyone and win (noun). 2) The lion s share of something is the majority or largest amount (noun). 3) A cash cow is a product or business that generates an unusually large amount of profit (noun). 4) If you have a whale of a time it means you have a really good time (noun). 5) The underdog is the competitor least likely to win (noun). Section 8 Worksheet vocabulary gap fill 1) The government have built a state of the art space research facility in the desert. 2) The centrepiece of our bicentennial celebrations is a huge concert in the main square. 3) The lion s share of my work involves travelling around the UK but occasionally I get to travel abroad. 4) You can really see this area has gone through a period of gentrification. There never used to be this many trendy cafes and bars and the house prices are much higher. 5) You would have to say Manchester United are favourites to win the league this year but I think Tottenham Hotspur are dark horses. They ve got a pretty good team this year. 6) I don t think I ll be able to meet the University deadline for applications which means I ll probably have to wait until next year to apply. 17 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

18 Transcript Part In 2008 Beijing showed the world how to put on an event of glitz, glamour and grandeur. It was second to none in terms of its size and its magnificence. And so in 2012 the world s focus turns to London and asks how are you going to match that? Well, I m here at the Olympic Park to find out. Welcome to the 2012 London Olympic Games. Part The centrepiece of any Olympics is the athletics stadium. It s where the opening and closing ceremonies are held and all the marquee events like the 100 metre finals. You only have to cast your mind back to Beijing 2008 to remember the iconic Birds Nest. Here in Stratford, East London they have constructed an 80,000 capacity stadium on time and under budget and today despite the rain and clouds it looks wonderful. If I look to my right I can see one of the most controversial constructions on the Olympic site. It s a huge spiralling sculpture designed by Turner prize winning artist Anish Kapoor. Standing at 115 metres tall and known as the ArcelorMittal Orbit, it provides visitors with a bird s eye view of the Olympic park, the stadium and London. To be honest it s a real love or hate sculpture and although it s growing on me, I m going to reserve my judgement. 18 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

19 Part The buzzword for this Olympics had been legacy. This is the idea that the Olympics should be much more than just a few weeks in the summer of The regeneration of this part of East London has been central in the whole identity of these games. What was once a deprived area is now thriving. The biggest lesson the organisers have learned from past Olympic Games is being left with white elephants. For this reason the athletics stadium is to be reduced in size and taken over by West Ham football club. And indeed the basketball stadium will be recycled at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The carbon footprint of the games has also been critically important for the organisers. A state of the art transport system will bring all the spectators to the games: no cars, no fumes, less pollution. The 17,500 athletes and officials are staying in the Olympic village nearby and are able to walk to the site. After the games this will be turned into a new residential area of London with the postcode E20. Well, I ve seen new East London now I m off to see the other side of the story in old East London. Part I m now walking along the street just minutes from the Olympic Stadium to see how this part of East London used to be like. There are lots of old factories and warehouses have been converted into artists studios, pop up shops and TV studios. I guess with the 19 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

20 Olympic Games has come gentrification. I m going to pop into the Counter café, just the other side of the canal from the Olympic Stadium to see what change has meant for them. Tom Tell me how this area has changed. Adam Erm, it s brought a lot more tourism than was here before which is good for the café obviously. Erm, there s been a lot of change architecturally there s been, a lot of buildings have been removed in readiness for bridges and things like that. T Yeah, we can hear a lot of work across the canal over there. Do you feel like the, er, the local people are benefitting or will benefit from the Olympic stadium? A It depends, it s a little bit of a sticky issue with some people because I have some friends who had to leave their house because they were going to build a bridge erm which they didn t build and then re let all the rooms and everyone had already been forced to move out. Erm, also a lot of the area s been changed to bring the area up to what they are calling the standard of the surrounding areas erm but that means removing some of the character I feel. So it s a, there s pluses and minuses to it in my opinion. T Did you get tickets for the Olympics? A No, I did not. T Did you apply? A I did not. T Ah well, ok fantastic, you can watch it on TV. 20 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

21 Part I think the heavens are about to open so I think it s time to leave the Olympic site. I hope you have enjoyed exploring this rapidly changing and exciting part of London. Please make sure to check out the accompanying worksheet with all of today s vocabulary and a full transcript. I m Tom Rees, see you next time. 21 P a g e d i s c o v e r L o n d o n O l y m p i c s

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