Listening Comprehension for Students of English: Giraffes
This listening comprehension is aimed at intermediate students, however, all students of English are invited to participate. We hope you will like the two recordings.
All you have to do is fill in the blanks 
. Some of the blanks may have more than one word missing 
.
Giraffes read by Marianne from Massachusetts, USA
Giraffes read by Nametaken from Lancashire, England
.
Typically, these fascinating animals roam the .......... in small groups of about ..........
.......... sometimes battle one another by .......... their long necks and heads. Such .......... aren't usually dangerous and end when one animal .......... and walks away.
Giraffes use their height to good advantage and .......... on leaves and .......... that few other animals can reach (*..........). Even the giraffe's ..........is long! The .......... helps them pluck tasty morsels from branches. Giraffes eat most of the time and, like cows, .......... food and chew it as ........... A giraffe eats .......... of leaves each week and must travel miles to find enough food.
The giraffe's height also helps it to keep a .......... for predators across the wide expanse of the African ...........
The giraffe's .......... can be a disadvantage as well—it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an .......... that makes them .......... to predators like Africa's big cats. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the .......... they eat.
Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young .......... rude welcome into the world by falling more than .......... to the ground at birth. These infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth.
Giraffes have beautiful ........... While no .......... have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar.
*This blank isn't read by Marianne .
Corrections will be provided in your own posts later in the week, so keep your eyes peeled .
4 Answers
Thanks a lot for the exercise, Jen and Marianne!
Giraffes are the world's tallest mammals, thanks to their towering legs
and long necks. A giraffe's legs alone are taller than many humans—about six feet These long legs allow giraffes to run as fast as 35 miles an hour over short distances and cruise comfortably at 10 miles an hour over longer distances.
Typically, these fascinating animals roam the open grasslands in small groups of about half a dozen.
Bulls sometimes battle one another by butting their long necks and heads. Such contextscontests aren't usually dangerous and end when one animal submits and walks away.
Giraffes use their height to good advantage and browse on leaves and buds in tree tops that few other animals can reach (acacias are a favourite). Even the giraffe's tongue is long! The 21 inches inch tongue helps them pluck tasty morsels from branches. Giraffes eat most of the time and, like cows, regurgitate food and chew it as cud. A giraffe eats hundreds of pounds of leaves each week and must travel miles to find enough food.
The giraffe's height also helps it to keep a sharp lookout for predators across the wide expanse of the African savanna.
The giraffe's stature can also be a disadvantage —it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an awkward position that makes them vulnerable to predators like Africa's big cats. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the luscious plants they eat.
Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young endure a rather rude welcome into the world by falling more than five feet to the ground at birth. These infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth.
Giraffes have beautiful spotted coats. While no two individuals have in fact (why did you change this? It should be "have exactly the same... the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar.
Giraffes are the world's tallest mammals, thanks to their towering legs and long necks. A giraffe's legs alone are taller than many humans—about 6 feet These long legs allow giraffes to run as fast as 35 miles an hour over short distances and cruise comfortably? at 10 miles an hour over longer distances.
Typically, these fascinating animals roam the open grass lands grasslands (one word) in small groups of about have half a dozen.
Bulls? sometimes battle one another by butting their long necks and heads. Such contests aren't usually dangerous and end when one animal admits submits(I'm not sure about this one) and walks away.
Giraffes use their height to good advantage and browse on leaves and buds in treetops that few other animals can reach (*??acacias are a favorite). Even the giraffe's tongue is long! The 21inches inch tongue helps them pluck tasty morsels from branches. Giraffes eat most of the time and, like cows, regurgitate food and chew it as cud. A giraffe eats hundreds of pounds of leaves each week and must travel miles to find enough food.
The giraffe's height also helps it to keep a sharp lookout for predators across the wide expanse of the African **Savanna savanna (no capital letter) **.
The giraffe's stature?? can be a disadvantage as well—it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an awkward that makes them vulnerable to predators like Africa's big cats. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the luscious plants that they eat.
Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young endure a rather rude welcome into the world by falling more than 5 feet to the ground at birth. These infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth.
Giraffes have beautiful spotted coats While no two individuals have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar.
Wow! that was actually harder than Spanish! and probably has a dozen of mistakes :( I did my best, thanks so much, Jen and Mariana for the exercise
Giraffes are the world's tallest mammals, thanks to their ..towering legs........ and long necks. A giraffe's legs alone are taller than many humans—about six feet.These long legs allow giraffes to run as fast as ....35...... miles an hour over short distances and ....cruise comfortably..... at 10 miles an hour over longer distances.
Typically, these fascinating animals roam the ..open grasslands........ in small groups of about ..half a dozen........
....bulls...... sometimes battle one another by ..butting ........ their long necks and heads. Such contests aren't usually dangerous and end when one animal ....submits...... and walks away.
Giraffes use their height to good advantage and ..browse........ on leaves and ...buds in tree tops....... that few other animals can reach (*..acacias are a favourite ........). Even the giraffe's ..tongue ........is long! The ..21inch tongue........ helps them pluck tasty morsels from branches. Giraffes eat most of the time and, like cows, ...regurgitate ...... food and chew it as ..cud......... A giraffe eats .....hundreds of pounds..... of leaves each week and must travel miles to find enough food.
The giraffe's height also helps it to keep a ..sharp lookout........ for predators across the wide expanse of the African ...savanasavanna (two 'n's)........
The giraffe's ...stature....... can be a disadvantage as well—it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an ...awkward position....... that makes them ..vulnerable........ to predators like Africa's big cats. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the ....luscious plants...... they eat.
Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young ..endure a rather........ rude welcome into the world by falling more than ...5 feet ....... to the ground at birth. These infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth.
Giraffes have beautiful .spotted coats.......... While no ...two individuals....... have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar.
This exercise has been published in our Learning recources. (Learn English)
