Track 6

Progress test Units 6-10, A and B

And here are the news headlines at 12 o'clock. A new report has shown that the rate of depletion of the ozone layer is more serious than previously thought. The study by the British Science Organisation has shown that the ozone layer above the Arctic is being depleted by as much as 2% a year, not by 1.5% as previously thought.

The vacancy at the Ministry of Agriculture has been filled by Patricia Hastings. Ms Hastings is 45 and has been Undersecretary at the Ministry for the last two years.

There has been a serious oil spill off the coast of Galicia in northern Spain. The oil tanker Esteemed has capsized and burst its tanks. The spillage appears to be drifting out into the Atlantic Ocean, so a major natural disaster may be averted, unlike in 2002 when the oil tanker Prestige sank and affected hundreds of kilometers of coastline. The environmental agency Greenpeace has said that unless measures are taken to tow the ship further out to sea, the consequences could be disastrous, as changing tides could bring the oil slick to the shore.

In sports, Axel Ferguson, the manager at Brighton, has said that he was outraged by the referee's decision to cancel yesterday's quarter-final tie with Southampton. The association of referees has yet to comment on Ferguson's statement.

And finally, the latest fad for Christmas - the Bouncer. It's a bouncy ball which children as young as three years of age can use. It has proved a big hit and there are currently long waiting lists in department stores. Anxious parents can rest easy, however; new stocks of the ball will be arriving from Japan early next week, just in time for Christmas.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2007 Pearson Longman ELT

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2007 Pearson Longman ELT

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