Today, two listening comprehension activities based on a real news story from a couple of weeks ago. As unbelievable as it may seem, this is a true story!!! Watch this video from Sky News and do the exercises below:

A different kind of family business

1. Fill in this text
A family in Dorset is showing how to make money out of 1.………………………..

Leo De Watts’ mother and sister collect hillside air and then put it into jars to sell them for 2…………………….. each. Clients in 3………………… have already bought more than 100 jars, because pollution levels in this country are among the highest in the world. Leo says part of the idea behind the venture was to raise awareness that millions of people around the world don’t have access to clean air.

The De Watts collect and sell air from a variety of UK locations: Yorkshire, Dorset and Somerset, and Leo’s sister Francesca explains they’re all different. She says: “Some of the air may pick up different notes of 4 …………………. , or near the sea it would pick up some 5…………………… in it as well.” Melanie De Watts, Leo’s mother, is adamant that it is not a 7…………… and all the air is collected to order. She told Sky News: “It’s got no pollutants in it at all. It’s fresh, it’s good for you and it’s freely available. It’s a …………….. product. We’ve never shipped a jar that was just filled in 8……………………..or at 9………………………home.”

The product is being advertised and sold as a high-end product, ” 6……………….. air”.

2. Answer these questions:

a. What is the problem the journalist points out?
b. Why wouldn’t the man buy the product?
c. How many people die of pollution in China each year?
d. How many jars would a single individual require in a single day?