Week 3 Listening Exercise

This week you can choose either one of the following clips. Only do one clip, and you can choose between them. The first clip is the easier passage: the second clip is for people who want an extra challenge.

Regular Question:

This is a presentation at TED. Listen to the presentation and then answer the questions. 

Click here to watch the presentation.

1 How long will it be before neurological diseases become an epidemic?

2 How many people will have Parkinson's disease in the United States by 2050?

3 What causes Alzheimer's disease?

4 Are governments or private organizations doing the most to research treatments for neurological diseases?

5 What is one thing you can do to help avoid Parkinson's disease? What is one thing you can do to lessen the chances of Alzheimer's disease?

Bonus Question: What does it mean to "drop the ball"?

Challenge Question: This is an interview with three people: the host, Astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson, co-host Chuck Nice, and journalist and infectious disease expert Laurie Garrett. Chuck reads a question, and then Laurie talks about her experiences with the black plague. Listen to it here.

 (Listen from 6:47 - 9:09)

1 When and where did Laurie experience a black plague epidemic?

2 What did the officials in the city do? How many doctors were there in the city?

3 What did the national minister of health claim he had cured his cancer?

4 What did the hosts think was the biggest problem in how people reacted to the plague?

5 How should an epidemic of the black plague be treated?

Good luck, and the answers are due on Monday in class.