LISTENING SKILLS, note taking


Guidelines for Note-Taking
 1. Concentrate on the lecture, listening task or on the reading material.
 2. Take notes selectively. Do NOT try to write down every word.
 3. Translate ideas into your own words.
 4. Organize notes into some sort of logical form.
 5. Be brief. Write down only the major points and important information.
 6. Write legibly. Notes are useless if you cannot read them later!
 7. Don't be concerned with spelling and grammar.
 8. Eliminate small connecting words such as: is, are, was, were, a, an, the, would, this, of.
Eliminate pronouns such as: they, these, his, that, them. However, be careful NOT to elimate these
three words: and, in, on.
 9. Use symbols to abbreviate, such as:
+, & for and, plus
= for equals
- for minus
# for number
x for times
> for greater than, more, larger
< for less than, smaller, fewer than
w/ for with
w/o for without
w/in for within
----> for leads to, produces, results in
<---- for comes from
/ for per
For example:
"The diameter of the Earth is four times greater than the diameter of the Moon."
Becomes:
"Earth = 4x > diameter of Moon."
10. Substitute numerals with symbols, for instance:
Substitute "one" with 1
Substitute "third" with 3rd
11. Abbreviate:
Drop the last several letters of a word. For example, substitute "appropriate" with "approp."
Drop some of the internal vowels of a word. For example, substitute "large" with "lrg."


TASK 1: Listen and fill in missing words:


An Unusual Australian Pastime


Stick ............................. may not sound like a great hobby. But when the stick is
................................................. boomerang, it can provide interesting
entertainment!

Boomerang throwing is and Australian pastime commonly ..........................................
with the Aborigines (the original people of Australia). They discovered that flat, curved sticks
sometimes travelled in fascinating ways when thrown – and could even return to the thrower.

The ................................... of a returning boomerang is amazing and mysterious. The
boomerang spins forward and then rises and begins a curved path back to the thrower. It seems to
stop and ............................. in the air before it glides down. Most boomerangs have a
bend near the middle that forms two wings shaped like airplane wings. Each wing has a flat bottom
and a curved top.

For Australians, the making and throwing of returning boomerang is now a
........................................... hobby – and there are national and international
throwing competitions.

To throw a boomerang properly requires a lot of practice. A skilful thrower can make a returning
boomerang travel about 45 metres before it begins its return. However, if used carelessly or
............................................., a boomerang could cause injury or damage.

Several games can be played with a boomerang. One of these is to see who can make the boomerang
land closest to its launching point. Another game is to count how many consecutive
................................................ can be made. (When a returning boomerang is thrown
correctly, the thrower can catch it without moving from the starting point.)

Even though boomerangs are traditionally thought of as Australian, they can now be bought in many
countries around the world. If you ever have a chance, why not try this truly Australian
........................................?


TASK 2: Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)?:


1.      Stick throwing is considered to be an interesting pastime.

2.      Boomerang was discovered by the first inhabitants of Australia.

3.      Even today it is hard to say why boomerang returns to its thrower.

4.      Throwing a boomerang is a hobby worldwide.

5.      To learn how to throw a boomerang properly, you need a good trainer.

6.      Boomerang can by employed in a number of games.


TASK 3: Sum up the content of the article in a few notes pointing out the most important
information