Listening
- 00:00:40 - r1
- 00:02:37 - r2
report 1
(1)African leaders plan to turn the continent into a continent without borders. They will introduce a single passport policy, allowing free movement between countries.
The idea from the African Union has been modeled on the EU Schengen free movement deal. Europe has abolished many internal borders. This enables visa-free movement across the continent. Currently, 13 African countries have visa-free deals in place with each other. These allow citizens to visit another country without a visa. Some countries offer visas on arrival. In contrast, Americans are able to travel to 20 of the continent’s countries without a visa, or secure a visa on arrival. The African Union, which represents 54 states, wants to abolish the requirement of a visa for Africans visiting other African countries. (2) It also wants to establish a free-trade deal across the continent in the near future, as trade within the African continent costs more than any other region.
report 2
(3)Researchers in Iceland found a new way of tackling climate change by pumping carbon dioxide underground and turning it into stone.Other carbon capture and storage methods store carbon dioxide as a gas,but problems include a high cost and concern about leaks.This new method of burying carbon dioxide and turning it into stone is cheaper and more secure,The Guardian reports.To turn carbon dioxide into stone,researchers with the Carbfix project pumped the gas into volcanic rock and sped up the natural process in which the volcanic rock reacts with gas and forms carbon minerals. The gas turned into solid in just two years,much faster than the hundreds or thousands of years researchers had predicted.The research took place at Iceland’s Hellisheidi power plant. Already,the project in Iceland has been increased in scale to bury 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year.(4)One potential difficulty is that for each ton of carbon dioxide buried,the technique requires 25 tons of water. However, the lead researcher said sea water could be used.
a millers association has said.(5)The National Association of French Millers says bread consumption is on the decline, with French people eating nine grams less than in the previous year. The association is concerned about the effects this trend will have on their trade, and suggests three reasons why it is happening. Firstly, the association cited changing diets,(6)in particular the switch to those low in calories, as a factor in the reduction of bread consumption. This could explain why the difference in consumption between genders is so big. Nowadays, men eat an approximate average of 140 grams of bread daily,(6)whereas women eat 80 to 90 grams. The second reason, they say, is lifestyle changes in the country,(7)with people dedicating less time to breakfast when bread would traditionally be eaten with butter and jam. Finally,the rising cost of bread is considered to be a factor, with the price of a French stick loaf increasing by nearly 25%in the last 10 years.