Social Media Influencers Draw New Attention to Unassisted Home Birth

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording say influencers can do by presenting free birth online?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Make the practice more visible to unfamiliar audiences
   2. Provide audiences with emergency medical support
   3. Demonstrate that the practice is safe for everyone
   4. Replace midwives with online communities
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Make the practice more visible to unfamiliar audiences

   Online presentation increases the practice’s visibility among unfamiliar audiences.

   By presenting the experience online, influencers can make the practice more visible to audiences who may be unfamiliar with it.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What qualities can social platforms give shared experiences?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Technical and statistically representative
   2. Personal and immediate
   3. Anonymous and medically verified
   4. Regulated and professionally supervised
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Personal and immediate

   The recording emphasizes that platform formats can make experiences feel personal and immediate.

   Social platforms allow people to share intimate experiences directly, often in a format that feels personal and immediate.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is absent during a home birth without a midwife?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Any possibility of personal expression
   2. Professional support
   3. All communication with online audiences
   4. Every form of parental decision-making
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Professional support

   The recording specifically identifies the absence of professional support during such births.

   In a home birth without a midwife, that professional support is absent.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What may followers mistake for evidence of reliability?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A lack of audience engagement
   2. Confidence, popularity, or repeated exposure
   3. Formal medical guidance from professionals
   4. Evidence that urgent care was available
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Confidence, popularity, or repeated exposure

   Confidence, popularity, and repeated exposure can create an impression of reliability.

   Followers may interpret confidence, popularity, or repeated exposure as evidence that a practice is reliable, even when those impressions do not amount to medical proof.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the phrase “severe risks” point to, according to the recording?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A merely theoretical disagreement about home settings
   2. Potentially serious consequences without qualified assistance
   3. The emotional difficulty of sharing intimate experiences
   4. The popularity of independent online narratives
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Potentially serious consequences without qualified assistance

   It refers to serious consequences when qualified assistance may be urgently needed.

   The phrase “severe risks” therefore points to more than an abstract medical concern: it describes the potentially serious consequences of being without qualified assistance when urgent care may be needed.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can greater visibility encourage, besides making the practice seem ordinary?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Curiosity and community
   2. Regulation and certification
   3. Emergency treatment and monitoring
   4. Statistical reliability and consensus
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Curiosity and community

   The conclusion identifies curiosity and community as possible effects of increased visibility.

   Greater visibility may encourage curiosity and community; it can also make a high-risk practice appear more ordinary than it is.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What distinction does the recording ask audiences to make?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Between private choices and public platforms
   2. Between individual testimony and medical-safety information
   3. Between popularity and emotional confidence
   4. Between curiosity and community
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Between individual testimony and medical-safety information

   Audiences should separate an individual’s account from evidence concerning medical safety.

   People can discuss their choices openly, but audiences also need to distinguish an individual testimony from information about medical safety.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.