Holiday Experiences – A2 English Listening Exercise
Listening 1
Listen to a conversation between a manager and an employee on her first day back at work. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What was the weather like at the beginning of the vacation?
(A) It was very sunny.
(B) It rained a lot.
(C) It was cold and snowy.
2 What did the employee actually do for the first few days?
(A) She went swimming in the ocean.
(B) She went shopping and visited museums.
(C) She stayed in her hotel room.
3 How many days of sunshine did the employee have?
(A) Two days.
(B) Three days.
(C) Five days.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) It rained a lot.
- Explanation: The employee clearly states, “it rained heavily for the first three days.” Option A is the trap: the manager “thought” it was sunny, and the employee “planned” for sunny weather, but it wasn’t. Option C is a plausible bad weather condition but is never mentioned.
2 (B) She went shopping and visited museums.
- Explanation: Because of the rain, she says, “we went shopping and visited some indoor museums instead.” Option A is the trap: she “planned to go swimming”, but she couldn’t. Option C is plausible for rainy days but is not mentioned in the audio.
3 (A) Two days.
- Explanation: The employee says, “the sun finally came out on the last two days.” Option B is the trap: “three days” is the amount of time it rained, not the time it was sunny. Option C is not mentioned.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Manager: Welcome back, Sarah! How was your vacation in Hawaii?
Employee: Thanks, Mr. Davis! It was nice to have a break, but we had a little problem with the weather.
Manager: Oh really? I thought Hawaii is always sunny and hot.
Employee: I thought so, too! I planned to go swimming in the ocean every single day. But actually, it rained heavily for the first three days.
Manager: That’s terrible! So what did you do?
Employee: Well, we couldn’t go to the beach, so we went shopping and visited some indoor museums instead. Fortunately, the sun finally came out on the last two days.
Manager: Glad to hear that. Alright, let’s look at the new project now.
Listening 2
Listen to a student talking about his holiday. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What did the family do at the castle?
(A) They explored the dark tunnels.
(B) They walked around the walls.
(C) They bought some souvenirs.
2 Why didn’t they go inside the tunnels?
(A) The tickets were too expensive.
(B) The tunnels were too dark.
(C) The line was too long.
3 Where did the family have their food?
(A) At the castle café.
(B) At a small bakery.
(C) At a restaurant in the city.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (B) They walked around the walls.
- Explanation: The speaker says, “So, we walked around the castle walls instead…”
- Why the traps are wrong: Option (A) is the “Twist” trap. The brother wanted to go into the tunnels, but they didn’t do it. Option (C) is plausible for a holiday but was never mentioned in the audio.
2 Correct Answer: (C) The line was too long.
- Explanation: The speaker clearly states, “…the ticket line was too long, and we didn’t have enough time.”
- Why the traps are wrong: Option (A) is a trap because the word “expensive” is used later to describe the café, not the tunnels. Option (B) uses the word “dark” (which was used to describe the tunnels), but it wasn’t the reason they didn’t go in.
3 Correct Answer: (B) At a small bakery.
- Explanation: The speaker says, “Luckily, we found a small bakery in the town…”
- Why the traps are wrong: Option (A) is a trap because he mentions the castle café, but explicitly says they “didn’t eat” there. Option (C) is not mentioned.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Student: Hello everyone. Today I’ll tell you about my trip to a historical site. Last summer, my family visited a very famous old castle. At first, my little brother wanted to go inside the dark tunnels under the castle.
But, when we got there, the ticket line was too long, and we didn’t have enough time. So, we walked around the castle walls instead and took a lot of photos. It was very windy but fun! Later, we were really hungry. We didn’t eat at the castle café because the food was too expensive. Luckily, we found a small bakery in the town and had some amazing sandwiches. It was a great day.
Listening 3
Listen to two colleagues talking about a holiday destination. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What activity did Sarah do at Green Mountain?
(A) She went skiing.
(B) She went hiking.
(C) She went swimming.
2 Why didn’t Sarah do her planned activity?
(A) Because she was too tired.
(B) Because there was not enough snow.
(C) Because the forest was closed.
3 What did Sarah think about the hotel?
(A) She loved the hot spring.
(B) She thought the food was delicious.
(C) She liked the big rooms.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Correct Answer: (B) She went hiking.
- Explanation: Sarah says, “So, we went hiking in the forest instead.”
- Why the traps are wrong: Option (A) is the “Twist” trap. Mark asks if she went skiing, and she wanted to, but didn’t do it. Option (C) is a plausible holiday activity but is never mentioned in the audio.
2 Correct Answer: (B) Because there was not enough snow.
- Explanation: Sarah clearly states the reason she couldn’t ski: “…unfortunately, there wasn’t enough snow.”
- Why the traps are wrong: Option (A) is a trap because “tired” is a common reason to cancel plans, but it’s not the reason here. Option (C) mentions “the forest” (a word from the audio), but the forest wasn’t closed—she actually went hiking there.
3 Correct Answer: (A) She loved the hot spring.
- Explanation: Sarah says they had a “fantastic hot spring” and she “relaxed there every evening.”
- Why the traps are wrong: Option (B) is a direct trap. She mentions the food, but she says it was “terrible” (bad), not delicious. Option (C) is not mentioned in the conversation at all.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Mark: Hi Sarah! I’m taking a week off next month. I want to go somewhere quiet to relax.
Sarah: Oh, you should go to Green Mountain! I went there last winter. It was wonderful.
Mark: Really? Did you go skiing?
Sarah: Well, I wanted to ski, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough snow. So, we went hiking in the forest instead. The views were beautiful!
Mark: That sounds nice. Was the hotel good?
Sarah: Yes! The food was terrible, but they had a fantastic hot spring. I relaxed there every evening. You will definitely love it.
Listening 4
Listen to a conversation between two students in the school press club. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 What did the boy write about the water in his first draft?
(A) It was clear.
(B) It was beautiful.
(C) It was nice.
2 What word do they finally choose to describe the water?
(A) Beautiful.
(B) Clear.
(C) Nice.
3 What word will they use to describe the mountains?
(A) Tall.
(B) Big.
(C) Green.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) It was nice.
- Explanation: The boy reads his first draft, saying: “The water was nice…” Option A and B are the words they discuss using later, but “nice” is the word in the original draft.
2 (B) Clear.
- Explanation: The boy says, “but actually, I prefer the word ‘clear’… So let’s write, ‘The water was clear’.” Option A is the trap: the girl suggests “beautiful”, but they decide not to use it. Option C is the trap: “nice” is the boring word they want to change.
3 (A) Tall.
- Explanation: The girl suggests, “instead of ‘big’ mountains, let’s use ‘tall’.” and the boy agrees. Option B is the trap: “big” is the word in the old draft that they are replacing. Option C is a trap: “Green” is the name of the lake, not the description of the mountains.
AUDIO SCRIPT
Girl: Let’s look at the draft for our school magazine about the class trip.
Boy: Okay. Here is what I wrote: “Last weekend, our class visited Green Lake. The water was nice, and we saw some big mountains.”
Girl: Hmm, “nice” and “big” are a bit boring for an article. We should change them. How about “beautiful” for the water?
Boy: Well, I thought about using “beautiful”, but actually, I prefer the word “clear”. Because we could see the fish easily! So let’s write, “The water was clear”.
Girl: That’s a great idea! And instead of “big” mountains, let’s use “tall”. It sounds much better.
Boy: Perfect! I will type the new words now.
Listening 5
Listen to a telephone conversation between an employee and a Human Resources manager. Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) for each question.
1 When did Anna originally plan to be at work?
(A) On Sunday.
(B) On Monday.
(C) On Tuesday.
2 Why couldn’t Anna fly back on Sunday night?
(A) She lost her passport.
(B) She arrived at the airport late.
(C) There was a bad storm.
3 What did Anna do last night?
(A) She slept at the airport.
(B) She stayed in a hotel.
(C) She slept at her house.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) On Monday.
- Explanation: Anna says, “I planned… so I could be at work on Monday.” Option A is the trap: Sunday night is when she planned to take her flight, not when she planned to be at work. Option C is the trap: Tuesday is when she will actually go back to work after the delay.
2 (C) There was a bad storm.
- Explanation: Anna explicitly states, “But unfortunately, there was a terrible storm.” Option B is a trap: the word “airport” is mentioned later in the audio, but she wasn’t late; the flights were delayed. Option A is a plausible travel problem but is never mentioned.
3 (A) She slept at the airport.
- Explanation: Because her flight was delayed, Anna says, “I had to sleep at the airport!” Option B is a plausible thing to do when a flight is delayed, but she didn’t do it. Option C is a trap: it’s where she wanted to be, but she couldn’t fly home.
AUDIO SCRIPT
HR: Hello, Human Resources. This is Mr. Smith.
Employee: Hi, Mr. Smith. It’s Anna. I’m calling about my work schedule today.
HR: Hi, Anna. You were on holiday in Thailand, right? We expected you back in the office this morning.
Employee: Yes. I planned to take the flight back on Sunday night so I could be at work on Monday. But unfortunately, there was a terrible storm.
HR: Oh no. So what happened?
Employee: All flights were delayed. I had to sleep at the airport! I finally caught a flight this morning, so I can only come to work tomorrow.
HR: I understand. Take a rest today, Anna. See you on Tuesday.