Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. prestigious
    • ex. The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world.
  2. empathy
    • ex. She showed empathy by listening to her friend’s worries.
  3. hostile
    • ex. The new employee has a hostile attitude. So, his teammates are not happy.
  4. literature
    • ex. He likes reading famous literature, like William Shakespeare's works.
  5. annual
    • ex. I like attending my company’s annual party every spring.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Meryl Streep, an American actor, received Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Arts Award on October 20. The award was given in a ceremony led by the Spanish royal family. In her speech, Streep talked about how actors’ empathy for their characters can be a very important lesson for people in real life as well. “In our world, in our increasingly hostile world, I hope we remember another rule every actor is taught, that is: it is all about listening,” Streep said.

Also, well-known author Haruki Murakami won the literature award. The sports award was given to Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge. Kipchoge said in his speech that running for him was much more than physical exercise. “We must make our world a running world because a running world is a happy world. And a happy world is a peaceful world,” he said.

The annual awards are one of the most important in Spain. It covers art, literature, science, and more. The winners received 50,000 euros (about ¥8,118,000) and a sculpture by Spanish Catalan artist Joan Miró. The Crown Princess Leonor, after whom the prize foundation is named, handed the awards.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Awards

  • What prestigious award do you have in your country? What is it for? Discuss.
  • What kind of award would you like to receive? Why? Discuss.
  • What prize do you think should be given to award winners? Why? Discuss.

People Who Received the Award

  • The Princess of Asturias has an award for literature. In your opinion, is it necessary to give awards to book authors? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • The sports award was given to Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge. Why do you think there are sports awards? Discuss.
  • Meryl Streep said in her speech, “In our world, in our increasingly hostile world, I hope we remember… it is all about listening.” What do you think her speech means? Discuss.