Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Junko: Hello, Junko Mori speaking. How can I help you?

Andrea: Hi, Junko, it's Andrea here from Red Band. I'm calling about our latest order.

Junko: Everything arrived OK, right? We got the delivery confirmation at our end.

Andrea: Yes, everything's fine with the order. I'm calling about the invoice and the payment terms. I need a favour.

Junko: A favour? What do you need?

Andrea: This is a little, er ... difficult, but I need an extension on the payment terms. I know they're usually 30 days, but we're having some cash flow problems. You'd really be helping us out if you could extend it to 60 days.

Junko: I'm not sure if I can do that, Andrea. We've got regulations at our end, and also have to manage our own cash flow.

Andrea: I promise this won't become the norm, Junko. Actually, I also want to place another new order. The same size order as last time. It's for an important customer and they pay on delivery.

Junko: I see. So your cash flow problem will be solved after this new order is delivered.

Andrea: Exactly.

Junko: That sounds good. Hold on, Andrea. Let me see what I can do. Yes, I think we can make an exception this time.

Andrea: That's great, Junko. I appreciate your help.

Junko: And we appreciate your business, Andrea. It works both ways.

Andrea: Thanks again, Junko. Can you send me a quick email confirmation of the payment terms extension?

Junko: Sure, no problem. We're happy to help you.

Andrea: Great. And I'll email you the new order.

Junko: Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for it. Talk to you soon.

Andrea: You too. Goodbye.

Teacher: So you've got a few minutes to discuss with your partner.

Student 1: So, as far as I know, the main similarity between Mars and Earth is that they can both support human life.

Student 2: Yeah, but do we know that's actually true? I mean, Mars is much colder than Earth, isn't it? It says here it's about minus 55 degrees most of the time, whereas on Earth only places like Antarctica get that cold.

Student 1: True. Well then, I suppose you could say both planets are a similar distance from the Sun?

Student 2: No way! Mars is much further away! It says here it's about 228 million kilometres, while Earth is about 150 million.

Student 1: Yes, but in space that's not that far. Jupiter is, like, almost 780 million kilometres. That's why we use astronomical units when we talk about distances in space. Earth is 1 astronomical unit from the Sun and Mars is 1.3. The difference doesn't sound so big when you look at it that way.

Student 2: I see what you mean. Jupiter is 5.2 astronomical units so I guess you're right. What other similarities are there between the two planets?

Student 1: Let's see … not the colour, obviously!

Student 2: Yeah! Earth is called the blue planet and Mars is called the red planet for pretty obvious reasons!

Student 1: Their sizes are pretty different. Mars is about half the size of Earth.

Student 2: What about this? It looks like the days on both planets are almost the same length. Earth's day is 24 hours but Mars's is about half an hour longer.

Student 1: You're right. OK, any other things they both share?

Student 2: I suppose you could say they have water in common.

Student 1: Could you? How?

Student 2: Well, Earth is 70 per cent water and Mars probably had huge oceans in the past. It's just that most of the water there now is probably frozen.

Student 1: Ah, I see. I don't think we can say the air is the same, though. Most of Earth's air is nitrogen and oxygen, but Mars …?

Student 2: Mars doesn't really have air, not compared with Earth. It's got about one per cent as much air as Earth.

Student 1: Right, and it's mostly carbon dioxide.

Student 2: Gravity is another difference. I didn't know this, but Mars has higher gravity than the Moon. But it's much less than on Earth, of course.

Student 1: Oh, yes. It says Mars has about 38 per cent of Earth's gravity.

Teacher: OK, let's see what you've found …

---

Để nghe hiểu tốt bài hội thoại về Mars và Earth, học sinh cần chuẩn bị 3 nhóm chính:

• Từ vựng chủ đề không gian

• Cụm từ dùng khi thảo luận / tranh luận

• Ngữ pháp so sánh và suy đoán

Tôi viết theo dạng bài học trước khi nghe (pre-listening) để học sinh lớp 7 dễ tiếp cận.

---

1. Từ vựng quan trọng (Key Vocabulary)

Chủ đề hành tinh – không gian

Từ	Nghĩa
planet	hành tinh
Mars	Sao Hỏa
Earth	Trái Đất
Jupiter	Sao Mộc
Sun	Mặt Trời
space	không gian
distance	khoảng cách
astronomical unit	đơn vị thiên văn
gravity	trọng lực
atmosphere / air	khí quyển
carbon dioxide	khí CO₂
nitrogen	nitơ
oxygen	oxy
frozen	bị đóng băng
ocean	đại dương

---

Từ vựng mô tả khoa học

Từ	Nghĩa
similarity	điểm giống nhau
difference	sự khác biệt
temperature	nhiệt độ
size	kích thước
length	độ dài
percent	phần trăm
support life	hỗ trợ sự sống

---

2. Cụm từ thường dùng trong thảo luận (Useful Phrases)

Đưa ra ý kiến

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
as far as I know	theo như tôi biết
I suppose	tôi cho rằng
I guess you're right	tôi nghĩ bạn đúng
I see what you mean	tôi hiểu ý bạn

---

Phản biện / không đồng ý

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
No way!	Không thể!
Are you sure?	Bạn chắc không?
But...	Nhưng...
I don't think...	Tôi không nghĩ...

---

Khi tìm thông tin

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
It says here...	Ở đây nói rằng
It looks like...	Có vẻ như
Let's see...	Để xem nào
What about...?	Còn ... thì sao?

---

3. Ngữ pháp quan trọng

1️⃣ So sánh hơn (Comparative)

Rất nhiều trong bài.

Structure

A + be + comparative + than + B

Ví dụ trong bài:

• Mars is much colder than Earth.

• Mars is much further away than Earth.

---

2️⃣ So sánh bằng

as + adjective + as

Ví dụ:

• The days are almost the same length.

---

3️⃣ Nói số liệu

Học sinh cần quen cách đọc số lớn:

Số	Cách đọc
150 million	one hundred and fifty million
228 million	two hundred and twenty-eight million
38 percent	thirty-eight percent

---

4️⃣ Modal để suy đoán

Trong bài có:

could / probably

Ví dụ:

• Mars probably had huge oceans.

• You could say they have water in common.

---

4. Cấu trúc câu quan trọng

1. Nói điểm giống nhau

The main similarity between A and B is that...

Ví dụ:

The main similarity between Mars and Earth is that they can support life.

---

2. Nói điểm khác nhau

A is different from B because...

Ví dụ:

Mars is different from Earth because it is colder.

---

3. Nói số liệu

A is about ... percent of B

Ví dụ:

Mars has 38% of Earth's gravity.

---

5. Bài tập luyện nghe trước

Giáo viên có thể cho học sinh đoán:

Question

1️⃣ Which planet is colder?
2️⃣ Which planet is bigger?
3️⃣ Which planet has more air?

---

6. 10 từ quan trọng nhất phải biết

Nếu chỉ học 10 từ để nghe được bài này, nên học:

• similarity

• distance

• temperature

• gravity

• frozen

• atmosphere

• planet

• percent

• further away

• support life

Listen to a team meeting about diversity to practise and improve your listening skills.

---

Nina: As you know, our team has grown a lot in the past year and we feel we need to address the diversity in the team.

Brenda: How do you mean, 'address the diversity'?

Nina: Well, we all know that diversity in teams is a good thing, but it can also be a challenge for some people to respect and value people's differences. We've got a really diverse team here – people of different nationalities, backgrounds, religions, ages … and sometimes I don't feel we make the most of this.

Stefano: Yes, and even if it isn't specifically challenging, many people are simply unaware of the isolation that some team members may feel because they are different.

Brenda: So, what does this mean? What are we going to do?

Nina: Well, we need to create a workplace charter. You know, one that promotes equality, diversity and inclusion.

Brenda: That sounds like a good idea. But will people just see it as something the management team has created? Maybe they won't even pay attention to it.

Nina: I know. That's why we're going to involve everyone in creating it.

Stefano: That's a good idea. We could run some workshops and get ideas from the employees about how we can create a more inclusive workplace.

Nina: Exactly. I was thinking that before that we could run some team-building sessions so they can experience the value of diversity for themselves.

Brenda: Yes, I like that. Many people see diversity as something negative, often because there are different opinions or ways of doing things.

Nina: Yes, I know, but if there's no diversity, then the risk is that we all work in the same way, think the same and see the world the same. This makes it hard to be creative and to innovate.

Stefano: I completely agree, Nina. OK. So, what do you want us to do?

Nina: Stefano, can you look for a successful trainer who specialises in running workshops and team-building sessions on diversity and inclusion?

Stefano: Sure. I'll be happy to.

Nina: And Brenda, can you find a fun venue? Somewhere that is quite diverse itself. Something that's not the usual seminar-style environment?

Brenda: Sure. That'll be fun.

Nina: And I'm going to do some further research into how other organisations are benefiting from their diversity. I can share this with the whole team.

---

Để nghe tốt bài hội thoại này (về diversity trong workplace), người học cần chú ý 3 nhóm quan trọng:

1️⃣ Từ vựng chủ đề công việc – diversity
2️⃣ Cụm từ người bản ngữ hay dùng trong họp nhóm
3️⃣ Cấu trúc câu thường gặp trong discussion

Tôi viết theo dạng guide học trước khi nghe.

---

1. Từ vựng quan trọng nhất (Key Vocabulary)

Chủ đề Diversity & Workplace

Từ	Nghĩa
diversity	sự đa dạng
equality	bình đẳng
inclusion	sự hòa nhập
background	xuất thân / nền tảng
nationality	quốc tịch
religion	tôn giáo
isolation	sự cô lập
workplace	nơi làm việc
charter	bản tuyên bố / quy tắc
employee	nhân viên
organisation	tổ chức

---

Từ vựng công việc

Từ	Nghĩa
workshop	buổi đào tạo / workshop
team-building	hoạt động gắn kết đội
trainer	người đào tạo
venue	địa điểm tổ chức
research	nghiên cứu
benefit	lợi ích
innovate	đổi mới
creative	sáng tạo

---

2. Cụm từ người bản ngữ hay dùng (Native Phrases)

Trong bài có nhiều business phrases rất phổ biến.

Khi mở cuộc họp

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
As you know	Như bạn đã biết
We feel we need to...	Chúng tôi cảm thấy cần phải...
How do you mean?	Ý bạn là gì?

---

Khi giải thích vấn đề

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
make the most of	tận dụng tối đa
unaware of	không nhận ra
may feel	có thể cảm thấy

Ví dụ:

people are unaware of the isolation

---

Khi đề xuất ý tưởng

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
That sounds like a good idea	Nghe có vẻ là ý hay
That's why we are going to...	Đó là lý do chúng ta sẽ...
We could run some workshops	Chúng ta có thể tổ chức workshop

---

Khi đồng ý

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
I like that	Tôi thích ý đó
Exactly	Chính xác
I completely agree	Tôi hoàn toàn đồng ý

---

3. Cụm động từ quan trọng (Phrasal Verbs)

Trong bài có vài phrasal verbs phổ biến.

Cụm	Nghĩa
grow a lot	phát triển nhiều
address a problem	giải quyết vấn đề
involve everyone	cho mọi người tham gia
run workshops	tổ chức workshop
look for	tìm kiếm
benefit from	hưởng lợi từ

---

4. Cấu trúc ngữ pháp quan trọng

1️⃣ Modal verbs (could / can)

Dùng khi đề xuất ý tưởng

Ví dụ:

We could run some workshops

Can you look for a trainer?

---

2️⃣ Conditional thinking

Ví dụ trong bài:

if there's no diversity

Cấu trúc:

If + clause, result

Ví dụ:

If there is no diversity, creativity decreases.

---

3️⃣ Risk structure

The risk is that...

Ví dụ:

The risk is that we all think the same.

---

5. 10 từ quan trọng nhất cần biết

Nếu chỉ học 10 từ để nghe được bài này, nên học:

• diversity

• equality

• inclusion

• workplace

• isolation

• team-building

• workshop

• creative

• innovate

• benefit

---

6. 5 cụm người bản ngữ dùng rất nhiều

Nếu nhớ 5 cụm sau, nghe bài này dễ hơn rất nhiều:

1️⃣ As you know
2️⃣ How do you mean?
3️⃣ That sounds like a good idea
4️⃣ We could...
5️⃣ I completely agree

---

7. Mẹo nghe bài này

Khi nghe, hãy chú ý 3 loại thông tin chính:

1️⃣ Problem

diversity challenge

2️⃣ Ideas

• workplace charter

• workshops

• team-building

3️⃣ Actions

• Stefano → find trainer

• Brenda → find venue

• Nina → research

 

Listen to a weather forecast and answer the questions to practise and improve your listening skills.

---

Hello and good morning! Well, we're off to a good start in the south this week, as most of the rain from the weekend has disappeared – just a few patches of cloud and maybe some showers here on the east coast. They'll all clear up by lunchtime, though. Over the next day or so, London and the area around Kent can expect a couple of isolated showers, but mostly dry through until Thursday.

It's not such good news for the north-west this week, I'm afraid: more wet weather, and not a lot of sunshine. Some of today's showers will be heavy – and even thundery in Manchester and across the Pennines. Leeds will escape the thunderstorms, with drizzle and light rain only throughout the rest of the day and tonight.

Elsewhere it becomes dry today, but with some foggy patches towards Wales. In England, tomorrow morning will see a dry, bright start in most places, with high temperatures throughout the week. We might see one or two thunderstorms appearing as the week goes on, with temperatures everywhere at 29 to 30 degrees. 

By the weekend, unfortunately, the dry weather will make way for mostly cloudy skies and rain. The rain will move from Scotland, down towards the north and reach the south coast by Saturday afternoon. Temperatures, at least, will stay mostly warm at around 21 degrees for the weekend. It might feel like a nice change from the high twenties and early thirties we'll see in the week. That's all from me until tomorrow. Enjoy the mini-heatwave while you can!

---

1. Nhận ra cấu trúc bản tin thời tiết

Tin thời tiết thường có cấu trúc rất rõ:

1️⃣ Tình hình hiện tại

we're off to a good start in the south this week

2️⃣ Từng khu vực

north-west, east coast, Manchester, Leeds

3️⃣ Dự báo vài ngày tới

over the next day or so
through until Thursday

4️⃣ Cuối tuần

by the weekend

👉 Khi nghe, chỉ cần bắt được khung này, bạn đã hiểu ~60% nội dung.

---

2. Nghe từ vựng thời tiết phổ biến

Những từ sau xuất hiện rất nhiều trong bản tin:

Từ	Nghĩa
rain	mưa
showers	mưa rào
drizzle	mưa phùn
thunderstorms	mưa giông
cloud	mây
foggy patches	từng vùng sương mù
dry	khô ráo
clear up	trời quang
temperatures	nhiệt độ

Ví dụ trong bài:

• isolated showers → mưa rào rải rác

• heavy showers → mưa to

• thundery → có giông

---

3. Nghe cụm từ dự báo thời gian

Bản tin thời tiết dùng nhiều cụm thời gian:

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
over the next day or so	trong 1 ngày tới
through until Thursday	kéo dài đến thứ năm
as the week goes on	khi tuần tiếp tục
by the weekend	đến cuối tuần

👉 Nếu bạn bắt được các cụm này, bạn sẽ hiểu khi nào thời tiết thay đổi.

---

4. Kỹ năng nghe theo vùng địa lý

Người bản ngữ thường nói:

• the south

• the north-west

• east coast

• Wales

• Manchester

• Leeds

Bạn không cần biết chính xác ở đâu.
Chỉ cần hiểu:

• north → phía bắc

• south → phía nam

• east → phía đông

• west → phía tây

---

5. Kỹ năng nghe ý chính (gist listening)

Không cần nghe từng từ.

Ví dụ đoạn đầu:

most of the rain from the weekend has disappeared

Chỉ cần hiểu:

👉 mưa cuối tuần đã hết

Không cần dịch từng chữ.

---

✅ Mục tiêu nghe tốt bản tin này:

Bạn chỉ cần hiểu được:

• Khu vực nào mưa

• Khu vực nào nắng

• Khi nào thời tiết thay đổi

• Nhiệt độ khoảng bao nhiêu

Thế là đủ.