Travel & Holidays – A1 English Listening Exercise
Listening 1
Listen to the conversation and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).
1 How many days off does Tom want?
(A) Two days
(B) Three days
(C) Four days
2 Who is Tom going on holiday with?
(A) His friends
(B) His brother
(C) His family
3 How does Tom spell the name of the place?
(A) M-A-L-T-A
(B) M-A-R-T-A
(C) M-A-L-T-Y
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (B) Three days
- Explanation: The manager asks “Two days?” (The Trap), but Tom says “No, three days.” Students must listen for the word “No” to avoid choosing A. Option C is not mentioned.
2 Correct Answer: (C) His family
- Explanation: Tom explicitly says, “I want to go on holiday with my family.” Options A and B are plausible people to travel with, but they are not mentioned in the audio.
3 Correct Answer: (A) M-A-L-T-A
- Explanation: Tom spells the destination clearly: M-A-L-T-A. Option B is a trap for distinguishing between the ‘L’ and ‘R’ sounds, while Option C is a trap for the final vowel sound. (Note: The manager also asks if he is going to “London”, which is a listening trap for the destination itself, but the question specifically tests spelling).
AUDIO SCRIPT
Manager: Hello, Tom. How can I help you?
Employee: Hi, Mr. Smith. Can I have some days off next week?
Manager: Next week? How many days? Two days?
Employee: No, three days. I want to go on holiday with my family.
Manager: Three days. Okay. Where are you going? To London?
Employee: No, not London. We are going to Malta.
Manager: Malta? How do you spell that?
Employee: It is M-A-L-T-A.
Manager: Ah, Malta. Very nice. Have a good trip!
Listening 2
Listen to the conversation and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).
1 Which city did Lisa go to?
(A) Rome
(B) Venice
(C) Milan
2 How does she spell the name of the city?
(A) V-E-N-I-S-E
(B) V-A-N-I-C-E
(C) V-E-N-I-C-E
3 What did Lisa eat on her holiday?
(A) Pizza
(B) Pasta
(C) Salad
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (B) Venice
- Explanation: Mark asks if she went to “Rome” (The Trap), but Lisa says “No, not Rome. I went to Venice.” Students need to hear the negative “No” to find the right answer. Option C is not mentioned.
2 Correct Answer: (C) V-E-N-I-C-E
- Explanation: Lisa spells the name of the city clearly: V-E-N-I-C-E. Option A is a trap using the “S” sound, and Option B uses the wrong first vowel.
3 Correct Answer: (B) Pasta
- Explanation: Mark asks if she ate “pizza” (The Trap). Lisa answers, “No, I didn’t eat pizza. I ate pasta.” This tests the student’s ability to catch the corrected information.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Man: Welcome back, Lisa! How was your holiday in Italy?
Woman: Thank you, Mark. It was wonderful!
Man: Did you go to Rome?
Woman: No, not Rome. I went to Venice.
Man: Venice? How do you spell that?
Woman: It is V-E-N-I-C-E. It is very beautiful.
Man: That’s great. Did you eat a lot of pizza?
Woman: No, I didn’t eat pizza. I ate pasta. It was delicious!
Listening 3
Listen to the student’s presentation and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).
1 Where did Toby go last summer?
(A) To the beach
(B) To the park
(C) To the zoo
2 What was his favorite animal?
(A) The monkey
(B) The tiger
(C) The bear
3 How many photos of his favorite animal did he take?
(A) Five
(B) Fifteen
(C) Fifty
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (C) To the zoo
- Explanation: Toby clearly says, “I went to the zoo.” Option (A) is the trap because he mentions “the beach” but uses a negative sentence: “I didn’t go to the beach.” Option (B) is not mentioned.
2 Correct Answer: (C) The bear
- Explanation: Toby says, “But my favorite animal was the bear.” Options (A) and (B) are traps because he mentions seeing monkeys and tigers, but they are not his favorite animal.
3 Correct Answer: (A) Five
- Explanation: Toby says he took five photos. He also adds, “Not fifteen, just five” to correct a common listening mistake. This makes option (B) the trap for the “-teen” vs single digit sound. Option (C) is a common distractor for the number 5.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Boy: Hello everyone. My name is Toby. Last summer, I didn’t go to the beach. I went to the zoo with my family. I saw many animals. I saw monkeys and tigers. But my favorite animal was the bear. Yes, the big brown bear. I took five photos of it. Not fifteen, just five. The trip was very fun. Thank you for listening.
Listening 4
Listen to the voicemail message and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).
1 Who is John on holiday with?
(A) His friends
(B) His manager
(C) His family
2 When will John be back at work?
(A) Thursday
(B) Friday
(C) Monday
3 How do you spell the manager’s name?
(A) S-A-R-A-H
(B) S-A-R-R-A
(C) S-A-R-A-Y
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (C) His family
- Explanation: John clearly says, “I am on a holiday with my family.” Option (B) is a trap because the word “manager” is mentioned later in the audio, but he is not on holiday with her. Option (A) is not mentioned.
2 Correct Answer: (C) Monday
- Explanation: John says, “I will be back at work on Monday.” Options (A) and (B) are traps because he mentions Thursday and Friday, but those are the days he will not be in the office.
3 Correct Answer: (A) S-A-R-A-H
- Explanation: John spells his manager’s name letter by letter: S-A-R-A-H. Options (B) and (C) are spelling traps using similar-sounding letters.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Man (Voicemail): Hello. You have reached the voicemail of John. I cannot answer the phone because I am on a holiday with my family. I will not be in the office on Thursday or Friday. I will be back at work on Monday. If you need help, please call my manager, Sarah. That is S-A-R-A-H. Thank you for calling.
Listening 5
Listen to the conversation and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).
1 Where will the class go for the school camp?
(A) To the beach
(B) To the park
(C) To the mountain
2 How many students want to go to the mountain?
(A) 4 students
(B) 14 students
(C) 40 students
3 How does the teacher spell the name of the mountain?
(A) P-Y-N-E
(B) P-I-N-E
(C) P-I-N-N
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (C) To the mountain
- Explanation: The teacher says, “So, we will go to the mountain.” Option (A) is the trap because the boy wants to go to the beach, but only four students vote for it, so it is rejected. Option (B) is not mentioned.
2 Correct Answer: (B) 14 students
- Explanation: The teacher counts the votes and says, “Fourteen students.” He also clarifies, “Not forty, fourteen!” to help correct the common listening mistake. Option (A) is the trap for the number of students who want the beach. Option (C) is the pronunciation trap (“-teen” vs “-ty”).
3 Correct Answer: (B) P-I-N-E
- Explanation: The teacher spells the name of the mountain clearly: P-I-N-E. Option (A) uses “Y” instead of “I”, which is a common alphabet confusion for beginners. Option (C) uses double “N” and is incorrect.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Teacher: Good morning, class. It is time for our school camp. We can go to the beach or the mountain.
Boy: I love the beach! Let’s go to the beach.
Girl: No, the beach is too hot. I want to go to the mountain.
Teacher: Okay, let’s vote. Who wants the beach? … Only four students. Who wants the mountain? … Fourteen students. Not forty, fourteen! So, we will go to the mountain.
Girl: Yay! What is the name of the mountain?
Teacher: It is Pine Mountain. That is P-I-N-E.