Listening: Valentine's Day

Watch the following video and complete the sentences below:

1. On Valentine’s Day people exchange _____________cards and presents_______________ of love and St Valentine
2. According to legend, Valentine was a priest who went against the orders of Roman emperor Claudius II by _________________ marriages between ______________and their loved ones
3. These actions led to his _______________
4. Before that, St Valentine cured his ________________ daughter from ________________and fell in love with her
5. His last communication with her was a letter _________________‘Your Valentine’
6. Some believe that the choice of February 14th was an effort by the Christians to curb the celebration of a _________________________ festival.
7. The association of romantic love with Valentine’s Day did not actually emerge until the _______________________ when a poem by Englishman Geoffrey Chaucer linked February 14 with the start of the ____________________ of birds
8. In the 1800 a woman named Esther Howland became inspired by the fancy, _______________ cards being made in England. She became known as the mother of the American Valentine.
9. During the next century the celebration of Valentine’s Day expanded to include gift giving of items like flowers, chocolate, and ______________. These ____________________ are exchanged  not only between romantic partners but also between loved ones and friends
10. With billions of dollars spent on cards and gifts __________________, Valentine’s day has been criticized in recent years for being too commercial. Regardless, it is a _________________and popular culture and continues to be the subject of literature, movies, television episodes, and more.

Click here to check your answers