A request from your boss Task 1 Match the beginnings and endings of the phrases

Sachi: I see. What’s up?
Francesco: Do you _____ the tickets … for the play?
Sachi: No, I don’t. I’m going to buy them _____ afternoon.
Francesco: Oh good, good. Listen, _____ buy tickets for this Friday.
Sachi: Oh? Why not?
Francesco: I can’t go to the _____ on Friday. Something’s come up. I have a _____ this Friday.
Sachi: Another concert? But you said …
Francesco: I know, I know. I’m sorry. I _____.
Sachi: Francesco!
Francesco: How _____ next week? Are you free then? I can definitely go _____ Friday.
Sachi: Francesco. You did _____ two weeks ago, remember? I had cinema _____ for the new
Marvel movie and you changed the plans then _____. For band practice.
Francesco: I know, and I …
Sachi: We also missed my favourite _____ group. Because your band was playing at some child’s birthday _____.
Francesco: It was my nephew’s _____ …
Sachi: Ha!
Francesco: OK, why don’t we go out for _____ before my concert? Then, next _____ we can go to the play.
Sachi: Oh …
Francesco: Come on, Sachi. Just this one _____ time.
Sachi: OK, but promise _____ next Friday. OK?
Francesco: I promise. I _____!
Facts and figures
Task 1
Write a number (1–4) to put the topics in order.
_____History of the construction of the canal _____Length of the Panama Canal
_____How many ships cross the Panama Canal _____Who controls the Panama Canal
Task 2
Complete the sentences with correct numbers.
99 1881 8 to 10 2000 2 40,000 82 25,000 1914 15,000
1. The Panama Canal connects ……………………………… oceans.
2. It is ……………………………… kilometres long.
3. It is ……………………………… kilometres to travel around South America.
4. It takes ……………………………… hours to cross the canal.
5. The canal was started in ……………………………… .
6. It was finished in ……………………………… .
7. Almost ……………………………… people died while they were building the canal.
8. The control of the canal returned to Panama in ……………………………… .
9. Every year, about ……………………………… ships come through the canal.
10. Now the canal is bigger, and ……………………………… per cent of ships can pass through it.
Transcript
… and the _____ part of this talk is on the Panama Canal. It’s amazing _____ this one small section of a small country can _____important to the world. Let’s learn a little _____about the canal itself, before _____ look at how it connects to everything _____.
The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway in the _____ American country of Panama that _____ the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. It is _____ 82 kilometres long. If you go around South America _____then you need to travel another _____kilometres. So the canal saves a lot of travel t_____. It takes around 8 to 10 hours to cross the _____.
The French _____ building the canal in 1881, but they couldn’t _____ it. The project was _____ again in 1904 by the United States _____ the canal was finally finished in 1914. _____ people died while they were _____ the canal, some say up to _____. For the rest of the 20th century, the _____ States controlled the canal, but gave _____ back to Panama in 2000.
Every year, _____ 40,000 ships come through the canal. _____ are mostly commercial _____. They transport _____ for trade between Asia and America, or _____. In 2016 the government of _____ made the canal bigger, so that _____ 99 per cent of ships can pass _____ it.
Let’s now turn to the _____ of the Panama Canal in the global _____ …