The walkable city

Hello, 

Here you are a listening activity. Do it as a mock exam. Do no make use of subtitles. 

Activity: You will hear a city planner, Jeff Speck, talking about American cities. The title of his talk is The walkable city.   For questions 1-11, complete the sentences with a word or phrase. 

IMPORTANT: this task is based on the first 7 minutes of the talk. Please pause and restart the talk after the first 7 minutes. Restart it just twice. 

Jeff wants to talk to the audience about how American cities can be more economically resilient, healthier and ____________(1) . 

According to Jeff, automobile use has become a ___________(2) , gas-belching, time-wasting prosthetic device. 

Arguments from economists, epidemiologists and environmentalists have a greater ______________(3)  than design arguments. 

American working families now spend on transportation up to one fifth of their income, which is more than what they spend on _____________ (4) . 

In the 1970s, Portland set an urban ____________ (5)  boundary, which limited their sprawl. 

In Portland, 60 million dollars were spent on ____________(6) , while other cities invested in roads and highways. 

Portlanders drive at least _____________ (7)  less than the country’s average driver. 

Spending more on ______________ (8)  is the bottom-line difference between Portland and the rest of America. 

According to Jeff, the best economic strategy is not trying to be appealing to _______________(9) , but rather being a place people like to be in. 

Enlisting in American military forces is something that ________________(10)  and ______________(11)  of young men and women, respectively, can’t do because they weigh too much.

Answer key:  

1) environmentally sustainable – 2) life-threatening – 3) impact – 4) housing –  5) growth – 6) bike facilities – 7) 20 per cent – 8) recreation – 9) corporations – 10) Twenty-five percent – 11) forty percent