- Loch Ness Centre in the village of Drumnadrochit, Scotland teamed up with another group to undertake the largest search for Nessie in 50 years
- Practise your English with our short listening exercises: play the audio linked below; answer the questions; and check the answers at the bottom of the page
Reports of an aquatic monster lurking in Loch Ness date back to ancient times. Photo: ReutersQuestions
1. What were the main goals of the recent expedition for the Loch Ness monster?
i. to inspire a new generation of Nessie hunters
ii. to prove the existence of dinosaurs
iii. to uncover the secrets of the lake’s natural environment
iv. to discover new fish species
A. i and iv
B. ii and iii
C. i and iii
D. ii and iv
2. What does the “beast of Scottish folklore” in the podcast refer to?
A. Saint Columba
B. Robert Wilson
C. Marmaduke Wetherell
D. the Loch Ness monster
3. The stone carvings in Loch Ness depict a mysterious beast with ________.
4. The earliest written record of the Loch Ness monster was in AD ________ in a biography of an Irish monk.
5. Which word can replace “upheaval” in the podcast?
A. disturbance
B. celebration
C. enhancement
D. transformation
6. Which word in the podcast means “looked like”?
A. ignored
B. differed
C. assembled
D. resembled
7. Who did the Daily Mail hire to locate Nessie in 1933?
A. an Irish monk
B. a South African game hunter
C. a Scottish game hunter
D. an English physician
8. What did the zoologists at London’s Natural History Museum suggest about the footprints found by Marmaduke Wetherell?
A. They were made by a plesiosaur.
B. They were made by the Loch Ness monster.
C. They belonged to a powerful herbivorous reptile.
D. none of the above
9. According to the podcast, which of the statements below is true about the “Surgeon’s Photograph”?
A. It was taken by a doctor from South Africa.
B. It was proven to be an authentic image of Nessie.
C. It contributed to the Loch Ness monster’s fame.
D. all of the above
10. According to The Loch Ness Centre, how many officially recorded Nessie sightings are there?
A. less than 100
B. more than 1,000
C. more than 11,000
D. information not given
11. What have scientists and enthusiasts suggested the Loch Ness monster could be?
i. a hippopotamus
ii. a mythical creature
iii. a large fish like a sturgeon
iv. a prehistoric marine reptile
A. i, ii and iii
B. ii, iii and iv
C. i, iii and iv
D. all of the above
12. Which animal’s DNA did the researchers find in Loch Ness waters in 2018?
A. a large fish
B. an unknown animal
C. numerous eels
D. a prehistoric marine reptile
13. Arrange the following events in chronological order from 1st to 4th.
(a) A local newspaper reported lots of unusual splashing and waves in the water.
(b) The Loch Ness Centre and the Loch Ness Exploration group undertook the largest search for Nessie in 50 years.
(c) The “Surgeon’s Photograph” was captured.
(d) The Daily Mail recruited a South African big game hunter to find Nessie.
Answers
1. C
2. D
3. flippers
4. 565
5. A
6. D
7. B
8. D
9. C
10. B
11. D
12. C
13. (a) 1st; (b) 4th; (c) 3rd; (d) 2nd
Script
Adapted from Kyodo
Voice 1: An expedition to find the legendary Loch Ness monster, or “Nessie” for short, hopes to uncover the secrets of the lake’s natural environment. It also aims to continue a legacy of exploration in the Scottish Highlands and inspire a new generation of Nessie hunters.
Voice 2: The Loch Ness Centre is in the village of Drumnadrochit, Scotland. It teamed up last month with the Loch Ness Exploration group to undertake the largest search for Nessie in 50 years. About 200 surface watch volunteers took part in the search. It also attracted more than 300 online volunteers who monitored for signs of Nessie via live stream. The two-day search ended with several reports of possible sightings – but still no proof that the famous beast of Scottish folklore is real.
Voice 1: Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands and is about 37km long. Reports of an aquatic monster lurking in Loch Ness date back to ancient times, with stone carvings in the area depicting a mysterious beast with flippers. The earliest written record of the creature was in AD 565 in a biography of Saint Columba, an Irish monk. According to the text, the monster attacked a swimmer and was about to strike again when Columba commanded it to retreat.
Voice 2: In May 1933, a local newspaper reported that a couple was driving along a newly constructed road when they saw a tremendous upheaval in the water. According to the report, the creature showed itself, rolling and plunging for a full minute, and its body resembled that of a whale with the water cascading off it like a simmering cauldron.
Voice 1: In December of that year, British newspaper The Daily Mail recruited a South African big game hunter, Marmaduke Wetherell, to locate the sea serpent. Wetherell found large footprints that he believed belonged to a very powerful, soft-footed animal about six metres long. But zoologists at London’s Natural History Museum determined that the tracks were made with an umbrella stand or ashtray that had a hippopotamus leg as a base.
Voice 2: In 1934, English physician Robert Wilson captured what came to be known as the “Surgeon’s Photograph”, which seemed to depict Nessie’s head and elongated neck emerging from the water. The photo, published in The Daily Mail, was later revealed to be part of a hoax, but it catapulted the Loch Ness Monster to international fame.
Voice 1: There are now more than 1,100 officially recorded Nessie sightings, according to The Loch Ness Centre. Over the years, scientists and amateur enthusiasts have tried to find evidence of a large fish, such as a sturgeon, living in the depths of the loch. Some have suggested the monster could be a prehistoric marine reptile like a plesiosaur.
Voice 2: In 2018, researchers conducted a DNA survey of Loch Ness to determine what organisms live in the waters. No signs of a plesiosaur or other such large animal were found, though the results indicated the presence of numerous eels.