If you want to develop your listening skills, try these tasks as you listen to the text. The answers are at the bottom of this page, after the Vocabulary. Thanks to Natasha Groves for preparing the tasks.

If you want to listen and read, just scroll down to the text.

1. Listening for main ideas

First, just listen to the text, taking notes if you wish. What information can you catch during this first listening?

2. Now listen again and answer the following questions:

1. What happens next Sunday, 6 April?
2. Which clocks need to be changed manually?
3. Why do we have daylight saving in New Zealand?
4. Why do we change the clocks back in autumn?
5. What does the saying ‘spring forward, fall back’ mean?
6. What do Fire and Emergency NZ recommend that people do when daylight saving changes?

Text

Next Sunday, 6 April, daylight saving ends. That means the clocks go back one hour, from 3am to 2am. Most people change their clocks before they go to bed on Saturday night. Some clocks, such as those on ovens and microwaves, usually need to be changed manually, whereas those on phones and computers usually change automatically. People with analogue watches (that is, not digital or smartwatches) also need to change the time themselves.

The aim of putting the clocks forward in summer is to give people more time in daylight to enjoy outdoor activities in the evening, such as sport, gardening, and social activities such as barbecues. Now, though, the sun sets around 7.15 and rises at around 7.30, so it is dark earlier in the evening and also when most people are getting up to go to school or work. This means it is a good time to change the clocks back, so it is lighter in the morning. The end of daylight saving also means winter is coming.

Some people find it hard to remember which way the clocks go at the beginning and end of daylight saving. An easy way to remember is the saying “Spring forward, Fall back”. Fall is the American word for autumn, so that means in autumn we turn the clocks back.

When daylight saving changes, Fire and Emergency NZ also recommends checking the batteries on your smoke alarms. It’s important to check them every six months, so daylight saving is a good reminder to do this. You should push the ‘test’ button on the smoke alarm and replace the batteries if needed. You should also check the alarm’s expiry date (as most last a maximum of 10 years) and use a vacuum cleaner to remove dust from the cover.

Vocabulary

manually – by hand, using your hands

analogue – a clock or watch that has hands, not changing numbers (see image)

barbecue – a meal, often shared with friends, with food cooked outside on a barbecue

expiry date – the date after which something should not be used (or for food, should not be eaten)

Answers

a. What happens next Sunday, 6 April?

Daylight saving ends; the clocks go back one hour

b. Which clocks need to be changed manually?

Those on ovens, microwaves, and analogue watches

c. Why do we have daylight saving in New Zealand?

To give people more time in daylight during the summer to enjoy outdoor activities in the evening, such as sport, gardening, and social activities such as barbecues

d. Why do we change the clocks back in autumn?

So it is lighter in the morning when people get up to go to school or work; because winter is coming

e. What does the saying ‘spring forward, fall back’ mean?

Clocks go forward in spring and back in fall (=autumn)

f. What do Fire and Emergency NZ recommend that people do when daylight saving changes?

Check the batteries on your smoke alarms, which people should do every six months.