LISTENING ADVANCED 8

Every week the British newspaper, The Guardian, chooses people who have been in the news recently, and publishes a short interview with them called Q&A. The actor Benedict Cumberbatch was born in London in 1976. He has starred in many successful TV series and films , including Sherlock, War Horse, Star Trek, and The Hobbit. 1 What's one of your happiest memories? Sitting with the sun on my face and a beer in my hand, the morning after I had been in a car-jacking in South Africa. 2 What was your most embarrassing moment? When I was six, I got stung by a wasp in a Greek market. A woman pulled down my pants and rubbed an onion on my bottom. 3 What don't you like about your personality? I'm impatient, but also indecisive. 4 What is your greatest fear? Forgetting people's names. 5 What don't you like about your appearance? The size and shape of my head. People say I look like Sid from Ice Age. 6 What costume wouJd you wear to a fancy dress party? I rather enjoyed wearing bandages round my face as the Invisible Man at the last one I went to. People got to know me without recognizing me. 7 Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I say "Er m... " too much . 8 What one thing would improve the quality of your life? Better time management. 9 If you could edit your past, what do you think you would change? I might not have called Trevor Nunn, the famous director, 'Adrian' at my first audition for him. The actress Elisabeth Moss was born in California in 1982. She has been in several very successful US TV dramas, including The West Wing and Mad Men for which she won an Emmy award. 1 What's one of your happiest memories? Going out into the backyard of my home in LA and pretending to build a vegetable garden with sticks and rocks. I must have been five. 2 Which living person do you most admire? This is kind of cheesy, but my mum. 3 Which living person do you most despise, and why? I won't say his name. 4 What is your greatest fear? Not getting enough sleep. 5 What is your favourite smell? Jasmine. I grew up in Los Angeles, in the hills, and there was always jasmine growing. 6 Who would you most like to say sorry to? To a really good girlfriend with whom I lost touch when I was little. I would love to see her again. 7 If you could go back in time, where would you go? To a 1930s jazz club in New York City. I love the art deco period - the jewellery, the clothes, the music. 8 How do you relax? I am big fan of getting a box set and watching the entire show in two or three weeks. I'm watching The Sopranos at the moment, because I missed it when it first came out. 9 What has been your most frightening experience? When I was little, I was on a lake in the US and got caught underneath a rowing boat. That was pretty scary. NOW TRY TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOURSELF.