Hobbies & Free time – A1 English Listening Exercise
Listening 1
Listen to the conversation between a teacher and a student. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 How do you spell the student’s name?
(A) K-E-V-E-N
(B) K-A-V-I-N
(C) K-E-V-I-N
2 What does Kevin like doing?
(A) Singing.
(B) Drawing.
(C) Reading.
3 What room is the Art Club in?
(A) Room 15
(B) Room 50
(C) Room 5
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) K-E-V-I-N
- Explanation: The student clearly spells his name as “K-E-V-I-N”. Option (A) is a phonetic trap using the letter ‘E’ instead of ‘I’. Option (B) uses the letter ‘A’ instead of ‘E’, which tests the common confusion between English vowels.
2 (B) Drawing.
- Explanation: Kevin explicitly says, “I like drawing pictures.” Option (A) “Singing” is the trap; the teacher asks about it, but Kevin rejects it by saying, “No, I don’t.” Option (C) “Reading” is not mentioned in the conversation.
3 (A) Room 15
- Explanation: The teacher says the club is in “Room 15,” and Kevin repeats “Room 15” to confirm. Option (B) “Room 50” (fifty) is the classic phonetic trap for “fifteen”. Option (C) “Room 5” sounds similar but is incorrect.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Teacher: Hello. Welcome to the school clubs. What is your name?
Student: My name is Kevin. K-E-V-I-N.
Teacher: Thank you, Kevin. Do you like singing?
Student: No, I don’t. I am not good at singing.
Teacher: Okay. What do you like doing in your free time?
Student: I like drawing pictures. I draw every day.
Teacher: Great! You can join the Art Club. It is in Room 15.
Student: Room 15. Thank you, teacher!
Listening 2
Listen to a new student introducing himself to the class. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 How do you spell the student’s name?
(A) L-U-K-A-S
(B) L-U-C-A-S
(C) L-U-C-E-S
2 How old is Lucas?
(A) 7
(B) 11
(C) 21
3 What does Lucas love doing in his free time?
(A) Playing video games.
(B) Reading books.
(C) Swimming.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) L-U-C-A-S
- Explanation: Lucas clearly spells his name letter by letter as “L-U-C-A-S”. Option (A) is a phonetic trap because the letter ‘K’ and ‘C’ can make the same sound. Option (C) uses an ‘E’ instead of an ‘A’.
2 (B) 11
- Explanation: Lucas says he is “eleven” and repeats “one-one” to make it clear. Option (A) “7” (seven) is a phonetic trap because “seven” and “eleven” sound a little similar at the end. Option (C) is not mentioned.
3 (C) Swimming.
- Explanation: Lucas explicitly says, “I love swimming.” Option (A) “Playing video games” is the trap; he mentions it, but he says, “I don’t play video games.” Option (B) is a common hobby but is never mentioned in the audio.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Lucas: “Hello, everyone. My name is Lucas. That is L-U-C-A-S. I am eleven years old. Yes, one-one. I am very happy to meet you all. In my free time, I don’t play video games. I love swimming. I swim every weekend. Thank you!”
Listening 3
Listen to two colleagues talking before a meeting. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What sport did Sarah play on the weekend?
(A) Golf
(B) Tennis
(C) Badminton
2 How do you spell the sister’s name?
(A) E-M-M-A
(B) A-M-M-A
(C) E-N-N-A
3 What time did Sarah play?
(A) 10:00 PM
(B) 2:00 PM
(C) 10:00 AM
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) Tennis
- Explanation: Sarah says clearly, “I played tennis.” Option (A) “Golf” is the trap; Mark asks if she played golf, but she explicitly says, “No, I didn’t play golf.” Option (C) “Badminton” is a popular sport but is never mentioned in the audio.
2 (A) E-M-M-A
- Explanation: Sarah spells her sister’s name as “E-M-M-A”. Option (B) uses the letter ‘A’ instead of ‘E’ at the beginning, which tests the difference between English vowel sounds. Option (C) uses the letter ‘N’ instead of ‘M’.
3 (C) 10:00 AM
- Explanation: Sarah says they played at “ten o’clock in the morning”, which means 10:00 AM. Option (A) “10:00 PM” is a trap because it is the correct number but the wrong time of day (PM means evening/night). Option (B) is not mentioned.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Mark: Good morning, Sarah. How was your weekend?
Sarah: It was good, Mark. I had a lot of free time.
Mark: Did you play golf on Saturday?
Sarah: No, I didn’t play golf. I played tennis.
Mark: Oh, you played tennis! Who did you play with?
Sarah: I played with my sister, Emma. That is E-M-M-A.
Mark: Nice. What time did you play?
Sarah: We played at ten o’clock in the morning.
Mark: Great. Now, let’s start the meeting.
Listening 4
Listen to the conversation between a librarian and a student. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 How do you spell the student’s name?
(A) T-O-P-Y
(B) T-O-B-E
(C) T-O-B-Y
2 How many books does Toby read in a month?
(A) 13
(B) 30
(C) 3
3 What kind of books does Toby like?
(A) Comic books.
(B) Animal books.
(C) History books.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) T-O-B-Y
- Explanation: The student clearly spells his name as “T-O-B-Y”. Option (A) is a phonetic trap because the letters ‘P’ and ‘B’ can sound similar. Option (B) uses an ‘E’ instead of a ‘Y’.
2 (A) 13
- Explanation: Toby says he reads “thirteen books” and repeats “One-three” to be very clear. Option (B) “30” (thirty) is a classic trap for the “-teen” and “-ty” sound difference. Option (C) “3” (three) sounds similar but is incorrect.
3 (B) Animal books.
- Explanation: Toby says, “I like reading animal books.” Option (A) “Comic books” is the trap; the librarian asks about them, but Toby says, “No, I don’t.” Option (C) is a type of book but is never mentioned.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Librarian: Hello. I am doing a survey for the library. Can I have your name, please?
Student: Sure. My name is Toby. That is T-O-B-Y.
Librarian: T-O-B-Y. Thank you. How many books do you read in a month?
Student: I read thirteen books. One-three.
Librarian: Thirteen. Wow, that is a lot! Do you like reading comic books?
Student: No, I don’t. I like reading animal books.
Librarian: Animal books. Great! Thank you for your time, Toby.
Listening 5
Listen to the conversation between an interviewer and a candidate. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 How do you spell the candidate’s last name?
(A) K-L-A-R-K
(B) C-L-E-R-K
(C) C-L-A-R-K
2 What does Anna do in her free time?
(A) She plays sports.
(B) She cooks dinner.
(C) She watches TV.
3 What kind of music does Anna love?
(A) Pop music.
(B) Jazz music.
(C) Rock music.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) C-L-A-R-K
- Explanation: The candidate clearly spells her last name as “C-L-A-R-K”. Option (A) is a phonetic trap because the letter ‘K’ and ‘C’ can make the same sound. Option (B) uses an ‘E’ instead of an ‘A’, which is a common spelling mistake.
2 (B) She cooks dinner.
- Explanation: Anna says, “I like cooking. I cook dinner every evening…” Option (A) “She plays sports” is the trap; the interviewer asks about sports, but Anna says, “No, I don’t play sports.” Option (C) “She watches TV” is a plausible free-time activity, but it is never mentioned.
3 (B) Jazz music.
- Explanation: Anna explicitly says, “I love listening to jazz music,” and she spells it out “J-A-Z-Z”. Options (A) and (C) are popular types of music but are not mentioned in the audio.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Interviewer: Good morning. Welcome to the interview. What is your name?
Candidate: Good morning. My name is Anna Clark. That is C-L-A-R-K.
Interviewer: C-L-A-R-K. Nice to meet you, Anna. To start, what do you do in your free time? Do you play sports?
Candidate: No, I don’t play sports. I like cooking. I cook dinner every evening at six o’clock.
Interviewer: Six o’clock. That is nice. Do you like music?
Candidate: Yes, I love listening to jazz music. J-A-Z-Z.
Interviewer: Great! Let’s start the interview.