C 2 · law & crime

C2 Listening Working on the Parole Board

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Paul Worsley, former judge, discusses the dilemma a parole board faces when it comes to deciding whether a person convicted of murder can be released into the community.

In this listening activity, you will listen to an interview from Talkradio Europe. Fill in the blanks with the word(s) you hear.

As the aim of the activity is to make it as similar as possible to “the real thing”, you’ll have a minute to read the questions, 14 minutes to hear the audio twice (put it back to zero position), and another minute to check your answers. Before you do the listening Working on the Parole Board, you may want to do the pre-listening quick quiz as a warm-up.

Created by blogdeserena

Pre-listening Working on the Parole board

This is a pre-listening quiz for the listening activity Working on the Parole Board.

Read and choose the best option.

Activity by Serena

To become or be besotted means...

Meaning to have an advantage.

To ... the benefit of something.

Collocation

X want to ... a decent life.

charge ... murder

What does the idiom  a leopard cannot change its spots mean?

Uproar is synonym to ...

to come to ... with what you have done.

Choose the word that collocates with ...

sex ...

Created by blogdeserena

C1 C2 Working on the parole board

You are going to hear an interview from Talkradio Europe .

Listen and fill in the gaps with the word(s) you hear.

Activity by Serena

  1. Deciding if a convict is eligible for leaving prison is similar to gazing into a _________.

2. At the parole board, when deciding eligibility, you see a person who has been ____ for 20 years.

3. On the day of the hearing,  you must reach a decision based on reports and ____ before releasing a person into the community.

4. One of the greatest worries of the parole board is concerned with sex  offenders who are _____

5.The  cab driver was later ___ __ other offences.

6.Apart from the psychiatrist and a judge, the parole board also includes a member of the public who has  __________ dealing with people.

7. Before obtaining total freedom, convicts sleep at an open prison where they are ___ .

Speak for a minute

Do punishments act as an effective deterrent for crime?

Judge Worsley, mentions that deciding if a person brought to the parole board is eligible or not is like gazing into a crystal ball. In your own words, try to explain what he meant by this.

Judge Worsly, mentioned that “some criminals never change their spots”, how far do you agree with this statement. Reason your answer.

What’s your stance on the common belief that the longer an offender remains incarcerated, the better?

What crimes according to you, should be given a life sentence?

What crimes, according to you receive an unfair and harsh punishment.

[simplestopwatch]

2 thoughts on “C2 Listening Working on the Parole Board


  1. Hi SB, thanks for your feedback. I initially set the time limit TO ONE MINUTE to help students practice working under time pressure, as this is common in official exams. However, I’ve now removed it so teachers can decide what works best for their students.

    You were right about the typo in question #6—I’ve corrected it and replaced the question with a more challenging one to better suit the level.

    By the way, if you and your students find these materials useful, feel free to subscribe or leave a like. It helps support the work that goes into creating these resources. 😊


  2. Hello, 2 comments: 1, the time limit on the first multiple choice exercise is not long enough. My students don’t even have time to read the questions. It should be 3-4 minutes. And 2, in the fill in the blank section, the answer to #6 is “difficult call” not “difficult core”.

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