Food & Ingredients – A1 English Listening Exercise
Listening 1
Listen to the conversation between two friends at a restaurant and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What food is the man eating?
(A) Salad
(B) Pizza
(C) Soup
2 How does the man spell the word for the taste of his food?
(A) S-P-I-S-Y
(B) S-P-I-C-Y
(C) S-P-I-C-E
3 What drink does the man want?
(A) Water
(B) Milk
(C) Juice
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) Soup
- Explanation: The man explicitly says at the beginning, “This soup is very hot.” Options (A) Salad and (B) Pizza are not mentioned in the audio.
2 (B) S-P-I-C-Y
- Explanation: The man spells the word clearly to explain what he means by “hot”: “S-P-I-C-Y”. Option (A) is a common spelling mistake. Option (C) is the spelling for “spice” (the noun), which has a different sound.
3 (A) Water
- Explanation: The man says, “I just need water. Can you get me a glass of water?” Option (B) Milk is The Trap: the woman offers him milk, but he rejects it by saying “No milk, please.” Option (C) Juice is a plausible drink but is not mentioned in the dialogue.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Man: Ouch! This soup is very hot.
Woman: Hot? Do you want to wait for a minute?
Man: No, not the temperature. It is very spicy! S-P-I-C-Y.
Woman: Oh, I see. Do you want some milk?
Man: No milk, please. I just need water. Can you get me a glass of water?
Woman: Okay. One glass of water. Wait a minute.
Listening 2
Listen to the conversation between a host and a guest at a party, and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What food makes the guest sick?
(A) Chocolate
(B) Peanuts
(C) Cake
2 How does the guest spell the food he cannot eat?
(A) P-E-A-N-U-T-S
(B) P-E-E-N-U-T-S
(C) P-E-N-U-T-S
3 What will the guest eat?
(A) A cookie
(B) Some fruit
(C) Some cake
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) Peanuts
- Explanation: The guest clearly states, “I cannot eat peanuts. They make me sick.” Option (A) Chocolate is The Trap: chocolate is mentioned as an ingredient in the cookie, but it is not what makes the guest sick. Option (C) Cake is what the guest actually wants to eat.
2 (A) P-E-A-N-U-T-S
- Explanation: To be sure about the ingredient, the guest spells the word clearly: “P-E-A-N-U-T-S”. Options (B) and (C) are common spelling mistakes for this word.
3 (C) Some cake
- Explanation: At the end of the conversation, the host asks, “Do you want some cake?” and the guest replies, “Yes, please. I love cake!” Option (A) A cookie is The Trap: the host offers a cookie first, but the guest rejects it because it has peanuts. Option (B) Some fruit is not mentioned in the audio.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Host: Welcome to the party! Please have a cookie.
Guest: Thank you. What is in the cookie?
Host: It has chocolate and peanuts.
Guest: Peanuts? P-E-A-N-U-T-S?
Host: Yes, peanuts.
Guest: Oh, no thank you. I cannot eat peanuts. They make me sick.
Host: I am sorry! Do you want some cake? It does not have peanuts.
Guest: Yes, please. I love cake!
Listening 3
Listen to the conversation at a restaurant and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What food does the restaurant NOT have today?
(A) Pork
(B) Fish
(C) Beef
2 How does the waiter spell the meat they have?
(A) P-O-R-K
(B) P-A-R-K
(C) P-O-R-C
3 What will the diner eat with the meat?
(A) Rice
(B) Bread
(C) A salad
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) Fish
- Explanation: The waiter clearly says, “We do not have fish today.” Option (A) Pork is The Trap: pork is mentioned in the audio, but it is the food they do have. Option (C) Beef is a plausible meat but is not mentioned.
2 (A) P-O-R-K
- Explanation: The waiter suggests a new meat and spells it very clearly: “P-O-R-K”. Options (B) and (C) are distractors with incorrect spelling but similar pronunciation.
3 (C) A salad
- Explanation: The diner changes her mind and says, “I want a salad.” Option (A) Rice is The Trap: the diner asks for rice first, and the waiter asks “Do you want rice with the pork?”, but she rejects it by saying “No rice, thank you.” Option (B) Bread is not mentioned in the dialogue.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Waiter: Good evening. Are you ready to order?
Diner: Yes. I want the fish and some rice, please.
Waiter: I am very sorry. We do not have fish today.
Diner: No fish? Oh. What do you have?
Waiter: We have pork. P-O-R-K. It is very good.
Diner: Okay, I will have the pork.
Waiter: Do you want rice with the pork?
Diner: No rice, thank you. I want a salad.
Waiter: Great. One pork and one salad.
Listening 4
Listen to the conversation between a customer and a waiter, and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What drink did the customer spill?
(A) Apple juice
(B) Orange juice
(C) Water
2 How does the customer spell the thing he needs?
(A) T-O-W-A-L
(B) T-A-W-E-L
(C) T-O-W-E-L
3 What drink does the waiter offer to the customer?
(A) Water
(B) Orange juice
(C) Coffee
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) Orange juice
- Explanation: The customer clearly says, “I spilled my orange juice.” The waiter also repeats “Orange juice?” to confirm. Option (C) Water is The Trap: water is mentioned later in the audio, but it is not the drink that was spilled. Option (A) Apple juice is not mentioned.
2 (C) T-O-W-E-L
- Explanation: The customer asks for a towel and spells it out very clearly: “T-O-W-E-L”. Options (A) and (B) are incorrect spellings with similar sounds.
3 (A) Water
- Explanation: The waiter asks, “Do you want some water?” Option (B) Orange juice is The Trap: orange juice is the drink the customer spilled, but the waiter does not offer a new glass of it. Option (C) Coffee is a plausible restaurant drink but is not mentioned in the dialogue.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Customer: Oh no! I am so sorry.
Waiter: What is wrong, sir?
Customer: I spilled my orange juice.
Waiter: Orange juice? It is okay. Please do not worry.
Customer: Can I have a towel, please? T-O-W-E-L.
Waiter: Yes, a towel. Do you want some water?
Customer: No water, thank you. Just the towel.
Waiter: Okay. I will be right back.
Listening 5
Listen to a phone conversation between a husband and a wife, and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 Where is the man right now?
(A) At home
(B) At the supermarket
(C) At a restaurant
2 What does the man already have?
(A) Eggs and milk
(B) Eggs and sugar
(C) Milk and bread
3 How does the woman spell the ingredient she needs?
(A) S-H-U-G-A-R
(B) S-U-G-E-R
(C) S-U-G-A-R
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) At the supermarket
- Explanation: The woman asks, “Are you at the supermarket?” and the man answers, “Yes, I am.” Option (A) At home is The Trap: the woman is at home cooking, but the man is not. Option (C) At a restaurant is not mentioned in the audio.
2 (A) Eggs and milk
- Explanation: The man explicitly says, “I have the eggs and the milk.” Option (B) Eggs and sugar is The Trap: he has the eggs, but he says “No, I don’t” when asked about sugar. Option (C) Bread is a plausible supermarket item but is not mentioned.
3 (C) S-U-G-A-R
- Explanation: The woman asks the man to buy sugar and spells it very clearly: “S-U-G-A-R”. Options (A) and (B) are incorrect spellings with similar pronunciation.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Woman: Hello, David! Are you at the supermarket?
Man: Yes, I am. I have the eggs and the milk.
Woman: Great. But wait! Do you have sugar?
Man: Sugar? Let me check. No, I don’t.
Woman: Oh no! I am making a cake. We need sugar. S-U-G-A-R. Can you buy some sugar, please?
Man: Okay, don’t worry. I will buy some sugar now.