Sentence completion questions are simply gap-fill questions. You must read sentences that summarise important information from either all of the audio clip or from one part of it. You have to fill in a gap in each sentence using information from the recording. The gap is usually at the end of the sentence, but not always.
The questions might be worded differently from what’s heard on the recording — they will use synonyms (increased efforts/tried harder; ban/forbid), and paraphrasing. But always write down the exact words you hear.
This type of question focuses on your ability to identify the important information in a recording. You may also need to understand relationships between ideas/facts/events, such as causes and effects.
The recording is about North Korea and it’s from VOA Learning English
Listen to the recording and complete the following seven sentences using no more than TWO words and or a number.
- Some N. Koreans who distributed information have been (1) ______
- Smuggling foreign-made entertainment into Cuba is very (2) ______
- Some Cubans have queries answered by American (3) ______
- Help from a neighboring country and (4) ______ TV transformed Burma
- N. Korea’s GDP has risen despite (5) ______
- N. Koreans make (6) ______ of their income from the unofficial economy
- Besides not allowing unapproved information reach phones, the government has installed (7) ______ equipment in them
Answers, transcript and clues below the image
- executed
- profitable
- volunteers
- satellite
- international sanctions
- 75%
- surveillance
Activists Say Censorship in North Korea Will Not Last
North Korea has increased efforts in recent years to prevent outside information from entering the country. But international activists say technology and outside forces will one day lead to the end of state censorship. North Korea is one of the most disconnected nations in the world. The country has a ban on foreign media. Most people do not have access to the Internet. The Transitional Justice Working Group reports that the government has even executed citizens for sharing media from South Korea. The group researches human rights abuses in North Korea.
North Korea is following a similar method to other authoritarian governments, observers in Cuba and Myanmar say. Cuban and Burmese leaders of organizations that have fought censorship in their own countries recently met in Seoul to share their experiences with Koreans doing similar work.
Cuba In Cuba, as in North Korea, there is a growing demand for foreign movies and television programs. This has made the business of illegally bringing in outside information increasingly profitable. Rafael Duval is with Cubanet, an independent news organization that fights government restrictions in Cuba.
Cubanet uses devices such as USB drives and DVDs to spread a weekly collection of foreign videos and other materials. The collection is called “El Paquete” – “the package” in English. Cubanet delivers the materials through the black market – a system through which things are bought and sold illegally. Duval says it is the job of some Cuban officials to prevent foreign media from entering the country. But many of them accept illegal payments in exchange for not reporting the sharing of media. And many officials often use foreign media themselves, he adds.
Another project helps Cubans who have email accounts find out information from the Internet. About 25 percent of Cubans have access to email. The project, called Apretaste, connects Cubans with volunteers in places like the U.S. state of Florida. Cubans can email questions to the volunteers. The volunteers then send them the Internet search results. The organization responds to more than 100,000 requests for information each month.
Myanmar is another country where the free exchange of information has increased. Before the country’s democratic reforms in 2011, the military government closely controlled the Internet. But its loose border with Thailand, along with a rise in satellite television receivers in the country, brought change. This change made it easy for exiled opposition groups to get around the government’s restrictions on media.
North Korea’s growing black market The North Korean economy has grown in recent years, even with international sanctions placed on the country because of its continued missile tests. In the past year, the country’s gross domestic product rose 3.9 percent. The Bank of Korea in Seoul says the increase was driven in part by the exports of coal and other minerals.
But there is also a private market in the country that is driving economic growth. The communist government lets it operate, but does not officially approve of it. A recent study says that most North Koreans now earn about 75 percent of their money from the black market. The study was done by the Beyond Parallel project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The illegal export of North Korean fish, shoes, cigarettes and cooking oil has given has given people new buying power. This power makes it possible for them to bring in outside information and technology.
Nat Kretchun is deputy director of the Open Technology Fund. The project is supported by Radio Free Asia, or RFA. RFA and VOA are each part of the U.S. government-supported Broadcasting Board of Governors. Kretchun says technology like televisions and DVD players are now “ubiquitous” — or seemingly everywhere — in North Korea.
The number of legal North Korean mobile phone users has also grown in recent years. Many North Korean cell phones were able to spread unapproved media and information. But recent changes to the phones’ operating systems added censorship and surveillance technology. Kretchun says the technology blocks unapproved media files from being used on North Korean phones. However, activists are developing technology of their own in response to government actions.
Kim Seung-chul is a North Korean who fled to South Korea. He created North Korea Reform Radio, which sends anti-government messages to the North. Kim feels the South Korean government should offer more support to groups working to get into North Korea’s closed information environment. “The South Korean government, conservatives, veterans and famous people have a lot of money, but they do not use the money for this. They get angry about North Korea’s situation, but they do not act,” Kim said.
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