IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall

Level: Intermediate +

Comments: Extract from an interview with EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall

Challenge: Can you understand when Carolyn accelerates her speech?

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Read through all the instructions before starting.

There are 3 exercises in total, which can be found on pages 3, to 6.

The answers can be found on pages 7 and 8.

Click on the below link and watch an extract from a Euronews interview with EasyJet CEO

Carolyn McCall. For the most part, Carolyn speaks clearly and at a steady pace but there

are moments when she accelerates her speech. The challenge is to understand these

accelerated parts.

Video link: EasyJet's CEO Carolyn McCall: "We never compromise on safety or security"

Its recommendable to use headphones or external speakers to obtain a better-quality

sound.

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1. First Listen

Dont try to understand everything. Just try to get a general idea of whats being said.

Listen out for the answers to these three questions:

1. What was the approximate cost of an EasyJet flight twenty years ago? And how

does that price compare with todays price?

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

2. What does EasyJet support the British government in?

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

3. What type of flights does EasyJet focus on?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Check your answers on page 7.

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2. Second listen

Listen carefully this time. Identify the below sentences as you listen and fill in the blanks

(one word per blank space).

Rewind and repeat each sentence as many times as necessary.

Part 1 (0.05-0.44)

It started with EasyJet making travel very, very easy for people and, of course, very, very

_______________ .

And you could fly anywhere, you know, for about twenty-nine pounds. And, you know, if you

_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ twenty years ago, it cost you

_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ to get

anywhere.

So that was a fundamental change because of deregulation in Europe. That was about

deregulation and _______________ .

Twenty years on, actually, our leading fares are still twenty-nine ninety-nine, whereas I think

the ad twenty years ago was about a _______________ ________ _______________ _______________

________ _______________ _______________ ________ ________ _______________ , whereas a pair of

jeans today is seventy-five quid. So the value is still incredibly important.

Part 2 (0.44-1.14)

We never compromise on safety or security and of course, what has happened in Sharm is

absolutely tragic. And we feel, you know, terrible - _______________ _______________

_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ about what has happened,

_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ . But we take that were

forensic about that - because we have to understand what has happened.

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You know, we support the British government in its efforts to tighten security measures in

airports wherever that is necessary, and that will be a global thing, but its not a blanket thing.

Part 3 (1.15-1.46)

(We are) very, very focused on what we do. We do see that legacy carriers One of the

opportunities for us is that legacy carriers have so many _______________ _______________

_______________ . You know, whether its restructuring, whether its unions, whether its the

_______________ _______________ _______________ and the _______________ _______________ , long

haul, short haul, you know.

We dont have that. We have very, very clear objectives, very clear goals, and we do short

haul, Europe, and _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________

_______________ . Were very focused. That gives us a lot of ability to compete and continue

to compete with them.

Check your answers on page 7 and 8.

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Additional Exercise
This exercise is fantastic for helping you speak more like a native English speaker as well as
understanding native English speakers better.

1. Listen again while reading the answers and compare them to the audio.
2. Pause after each sentence then say the sentence out loud imitating the way the
speaker says it.
o Focus on the flow and intonation of the sentence (not the speed).
o Memorise the sentence and say it without reading it.

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ANSWERS

First Listen

1. What was the approximate cost of an EasyJet flight twenty years ago?
How does that price compare with todays price?

o About 29 twenty years ago

o The leading fares are still 29.99 today

2. What does EasyJet support the British government in?

o EasyJet supports the British government in its efforts to tighten security

measures

3. What type of flights does EasyJet focus on?

o short-haul flights in Europe

Second Listen

[The words in bold are explained on page 9.]

Part 1 (0.05-0.44)

It started with EasyJet making travel very, very easy for people and, of course, very, very

affordable.

And you could fly anywhere, you know, for about twenty-nine pounds. And, you know, if you

think about air travel twenty years ago, it cost you two hundred and fifty quid to get

anywhere.

So that was a fundamental change because of deregulation in Europe. That was about

deregulation and competition.

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Twenty years on, actually, our leading fares are still twenty-nine ninety-nine, whereas I think

the ad twenty years ago was about a pair of jeans being the same price as a flight, whereas

a pair of jeans today is seventy-five quid. So the value is still incredibly important.

Part 2 (0.44-1.14)

We never compromise on safety or security and of course, what has happened in Sharm

is absolutely tragic. And we feel, you know, terrible - all airlines will feel absolutely terrible

about what has happened, as does everybody else. But we take that were forensic about

that - because we have to understand what has happened.

You know, we support the British government in its efforts to tighten security measures in

airports wherever that is necessary, and that will be a global thing, but its not a blanket thing.

Part 3 (1.15-1.46)

(We are) very, very focused on what we do. We do see that legacy carriers One of the

opportunities for us is that legacy carriers have so many different plates spinning. You know,

whether its restructuring, whether its unions, whether its the big head offices and the

infrastructure costs, long haul, short haul, you know.

We dont have that. We have very, very clear objectives, very clear goals, and we do short

haul, Europe, and we look after our passengers. Were very focused. That gives us a lot of

ability to compete and continue to compete with them.

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Key Vocabulary

affordable asequible

quid libra / libras forma coloquial de pound/pounds

competition competencia

leading fares tarifas ms competitivas

ad anuncio - forma abreviada de advert / advertisement

to compromise (on) ceder; hacer concesiones

safety seguridad

se aplica a medidas de seguridad para prevenir lesiones

producto de cualquier actividad que involucre un riesgo.

security seguridad

se aplica a medidas de proteccin contra actos delictivos

(medidas de proteccin y vigilancia)

to tighten measures Reforzar las medidas

focused on centrado en

legacy carriers aerolneas tradicionales

Lee este artculo de Wikipedia

a union un sindicato

long haul viaje largo

short haul viaje corto

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