At the Restaurant – A1 English Listening Exercise

1 Correct Answer: B) The restaurant is closing.

• Explanation: The manager says, “Gino’s Restaurant will close…”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (The restaurant is opening) is a trap. The manager mentions “open”, but that is for tomorrow (“We will open again tomorrow”). Option C (The food is ready) is not mentioned.

2 Correct Answer: A) 15

• Explanation: The manager states clearly that the restaurant will close in “15 minutes” and spells out “one-five” to make it clear.
• Why the trap is wrong: Option B (50) is a phonetic trap to check if students confuse fifteen and fifty. Option C (10) is a trap using the number from the opening time tomorrow (10:00 AM).

3 Correct Answer: C) 10:00 AM

• Explanation: The manager says, “We will open again tomorrow at 10:00 AM.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option B (10:00 PM) is a trap. The number 10 is correct, but it is in the morning (AM), not at night (PM). Option A (8:00 AM) is a normal opening time but is not mentioned in the audio.

Manager: Attention, please. Gino’s Restaurant will close in 15 minutes. That is one-five minutes. Please finish your food and drinks. We will open again tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Thank you, and have a good night!

1 Correct Answer: B) Mario’s Pizza

• Explanation: The voicemail clearly says, “Thank you for calling Mario’s Pizza.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (Maria’s Pizza) is a phonetic trap. It sounds very similar to Mario’s, to check if students can catch the ending vowel sound /oʊ/ vs /ə/. Option C is not mentioned.

2 Correct Answer: A) 9:00 AM

• Explanation: The voicemail says the restaurant is open “from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM.” So, it opens at 9:00 AM.
• Why the trap is wrong: Option B (9:00 PM) is a trap. The number 9 is correct, but PM is the closing time, not the opening time. Option C is not mentioned.

3 Correct Answer: C) Monday

• Explanation: The machine explicitly states, “We are closed on Mondays.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (Sunday) and Option B (Tuesday) are traps. These days are mentioned in the audio (“open from Tuesday to Sunday”), but they are the days the restaurant is open, not closed.

Voicemail: Hello. Thank you for calling Mario’s Pizza. We are closed right now. We are open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. We are closed on Mondays. Please call again tomorrow. Thank you!

1 Correct Answer: B) Happy Burger

• Explanation: Kevin clearly states, “…my favorite restaurant is Happy Burger.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (KFC) is the main trap. Kevin mentions KFC, but he says “My sister likes KFC”, not him. Option C (McDonald’s) is a plausible fast-food restaurant but is not mentioned at all.

2 Correct Answer: A) On Fridays

• Explanation: Kevin says, “I go there on Fridays.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option B (On Sundays) is a trap. Sunday is mentioned, but Kevin explicitly says “Not on Sundays, because it is closed.” Option C (On Mondays) is not mentioned.

3 Correct Answer: C) The beef burger

• Explanation: Kevin says, “I always buy the beef burger.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (The chicken) is a trap. He mentions the chicken but says “I don’t buy the chicken.” Option B (A salad) is a plausible food item but is not mentioned in the audio.

Kevin: Hello. My name is Kevin. My sister likes KFC, but my favorite restaurant is Happy Burger. I go there on Fridays. Not on Sundays, because it is closed. I don’t buy the chicken. I always buy the beef burger. It is very fast and cheap. I really love it.

1 Correct Answer: B) Star Burger

• Explanation: The announcer says the name is “Star Burger” and spells it clearly: “S-T-A-R”.
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (Start Burger) is a phonetic trap. It sounds very similar to “Star”, but the spelling does not have a “T” at the end. Option C (Sun Burger) is not mentioned.

2 Correct Answer: C) A chicken burger

• Explanation: The announcer says, “Try our new chicken burger.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (A beef burger) is a trap. It is a very common type of burger, so students might guess it, but the audio specifically says “chicken”. Option B is not mentioned.

3 Correct Answer: A) $4

• Explanation: The announcer says the burger is “only 4 dollars” and repeats it: “Yes, 4 dollars!”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option B ($14) is a phonetic trap to see if students confuse the pronunciation of “four” and “fourteen”. Option C ($5) is not mentioned.

Announcer: Are you hungry? Come to Star Burger today! Try our new chicken burger. It is very big and delicious. And it is only 4 dollars. Yes, 4 dollars! Come to Star Burger. That is S-T-A-R. See you today!

1 Correct Answer: B) The table

• Explanation: Maria clearly says, “Your table is ready now.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (The food) and Option C (The menu) are traps. They are common restaurant words, but the message is about the table, not the food or menu.

2 Correct Answer: C) 6 people

• Explanation: Maria states, “It is a big table for 6 people.”
• Why the trap is wrong: Option A (16 people) is a phonetic trap to check if students confuse “six” and “sixteen”. Option B (10 people) is a trap using the number of minutes mentioned later in the audio.

3 Correct Answer: A) 10 minutes

• Explanation: Maria says, “We will keep your table for 10 minutes” and spells out “one-zero” to make it clear.
• Why the trap is wrong: Option B (6 minutes) is a trap using the number of people. Option C (20 minutes) is a plausible waiting time but is not mentioned in the audio.

Receptionist: Hello, Mr. Smith. This is Maria from Star Restaurant. Your table is ready now. It is a big table for 6 people. Please come back to the restaurant. We will keep your table for 10 minutes. That is one-zero minutes. See you soon!