The document is a worksheet for a podcast about Buy Nothing Day, which encourages people to not purchase anything for one day as a way to promote conscious consumerism. The worksheet contains comprehension questions about the podcast, which discuss the history and goals of Buy Nothing Day. Organizers want people to reflect on how much they spend and why they buy things. They hope drawing attention to overconsumption can inspire more sustainable lifestyles.

1. downloaded from podcastsinenglish.com
worksheet level 2
Try not to look at the transcript while doing these exercises! Always read the
instructions and all the information in the tasks before listening. Listen as many
times as you like.
Shop less live more
1 Before listening: think about how much you like shopping. Which of these
statements are true for you?
a I love shopping, I go shopping a lot and sometimes buy things I don’t
need.
b Shopping’s ok, I enjoy it sometimes and it can be fun.
c I hate shopping, I only buy something when I really need it.
d Something else, what? ______________________________________
2 Listen for general meaning: Richard and Jackie talk about Buy Nothing Day.
Which of the following (more than one) do the organisers of the Day want
people to do?
a Not buy any Christmas presents
b Not buy anything at all for one year
c Not buy anything for one day
d Think about why we buy so much stuff
e Think about the environment
f Think about ourselves more
3 Listen for detail: listen to the first 2m (until 60 countries who do something
for the day) and match the beginning of a sentence with an ending.
a In the past we is the Friday after Thanksgiving
b At Christmas time people is big in Japan
c Shopping bought things that we needed
d The big shopping day in North America is a waste of time and money
e The big shopping day in Europe and Asia started in 1992
f Buy Nothing Day is the last Saturday in November
g Buy Nothing Day buy more things than normal
© www.podcastsinenglish.com

2. podcastsinenglish.com
Now listen to the next 30 seconds (until In Japan, for example) and
complete the gaps with a word.
h …get people thinking about how much we spend and how __________
this is
i __________ does all this stuff come from?
j __________ are we buying it?
k Aren’t there __________ ways of spending our time?
Now listen to the rest of the podcast and decide if the following sentences
are True or False.
l Zenta Claus has reindeers
m Zenta Claus looks like Santa Claus
n Only 20% of the population live in money-rich countries…
o …and they use over 96% of the Earth’s natural resources
p Jackie thinks it’s easy not to buy anything for a day
q Richard wants to try and not buy anything for a day
r Richard suggests he doesn’t have to buy Jackie a Christmas present
4 After listening: Jackie mentions the webquest so don’t forget to do that, as
well as the vocabulary worksheet, and the extra vocabulary worksheet
Shopping from the ‘extras’ page.
© www.podcastsinenglish.com

3. downloaded from podcastsinenglish.com
answers level 2
1 Don’t forget these tasks are important to do before you listen.
2 c, d and e
3 a In the past we bought things that we needed
b At Christmas time people buy more things than normal
c Shopping is a waste of time and money
d The big shopping day in North America is the Friday after
Thanksgiving
e The big shopping day in Europe and Asia is the last Saturday in
November
f Buy Nothing Day started in 1992
g Buy Nothing Day is big in Japan
h …get people thinking about how much we spend and how stupid this
is
i Where does all this stuff come from?
j Why are we buying it?
k Aren’t there better ways of spending our time?
l Zenta Claus has reindeers F
m Zenta Claus looks like Santa Claus T
n Only 20% of the population live in money-rich countries… T
o …and they use over 96% of the Earth’s natural resources F
p Jackie thinks it’s easy not to buy anything for a day F
q Richard wants to try and not buy anything for a day T
r Richard suggests he doesn’t have to buy Jackie a Christmas present
T
4 Also don’t forget to write in and tell us our views. Are the organisers of Buy
Nothing Day crazy / stupid / caring / brave / something else, what? Is this
all a waste of time or do they have a point? Do you agree that if you shop
less you can live more?
© www.podcastsinenglish.com