Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – Characters

3 2

6 5

4 1

A parrot in Denver, USA, became a hero when it helped to save the life of a two-year-old girl. Megan Howard – the parrot’s owner – was looking after two-year-old Hannah. It was morning and Hannah was eating her breakfast on her own, because Megan had gone to the bathroom. While Megan was in the bathroom, the parrot, Willie, started to make a very strange noise. Megan realised something bad had happened. Willie started screaming the words “Mama! Baby!” again and again. Megan said she had never heard the parrot scream like that before. She came out of the bathroom to see what was happening. And when she looked at Hannah, she saw that her face had gone blue. Some of Hannah’s breakfast had got stuck in her throat. She couldn’t breathe because the food was still there. Luckily for Hannah, Megan had learned what to do in this situation. She immediately ran over to her and performed the Heimlich manoeuvre. Hannah started to breathe again normally. And once Willie saw that Hannah was OK, he stopped screaming. Willie the parrot was given a prize by the Red Cross for his actions. He was named ‘animal hero of the year’ and they gave him a box of cereal with his picture on it. Hannah’s mum thanked both Megan and Willie and said she thought they had both saved Hannah.

1

Story 1: the picture with the cow, bottom left;

Story 2: the picture with the two boys and the kettle, middle right;

Story 3: the picture with the girl with lots of books, top left

2

Claire:

1 T   2 T  

3 F Claire helped her sister back home.

4 F She told her mother that she’d saved her sister.

Jeremy:

1 F He wanted to play a joke on him.

2 F He didn’t want to drink it.

3 F He pretended to drink some of it.

4 T

Tanya:

1 T   2 T

3 F He asked her to describe the stories.

4 F She guessed the stories by looking at the covers.

CLAIRE   My little sister and I have always had our fights. I think the funniest time was when I made her ride a cow. We lived in a house with a field of cows on one side and I told my sister that they were horses. I went into the field and stood behind the cows making horse noises. When the cows were right next to our garden fence, I said she could ride one of the horses … just like a cowboy! I still can’t believe she listened to me! She just jumped off the fence onto a cow’s back!

The cow was very surprised. It ran away with my sister holding on to its back. I couldn’t stop laughing. In the end, my sister fell off. Her clothes were really dirty and she was crying. Then I felt bad and helped her back home. When we got back, I told my mum my sister had tried to ride a cow and I had saved her. She believed me … I still feel guilty.

JEREMY   I often used to play with my younger brother, but we did fight a lot, too. I remember one time when I was really mean to him. That day my parents had burnt some leaves in the garden and the fire was still a bit hot. So I had an idea for a joke to play on my brother. We had an old kettle in the garden. It was really dirty. I told my brother I was going to make ‘grass soup’. So I took some grass and put it in the dirty old kettle with some water. I put it on the fire for a minute. Then I poured some into a cup and gave it to my brother. It was a horrible brown-orange colour with green bits of grass in it. He didn’t look very sure about drinking it, so I put the cup near my mouth and told him I had drunk some and it was delicious. I hadn’t even tasted it, of course. I gave him the cup and he drank all of it. Later that evening, my brother said he wasn’t feeling very well. My parents wanted to know why … so, really, I had to tell them about my ‘soup’.

TANYA   My sister’s a year and a half older than me and we always got on well. When we were little, we were very similar and did everything together. But then she started to read a lot, and she was very strong for her age. I didn’t mind, but I didn’t like the attention she got from my parents. One day some of my parents’ friends came to visit us.

My dad told them he was very proud of my sister because she could read so well. I got really angry, so I went to the bookcase in the hall and chose five of the biggest, thickest books I could see. Then I went back to my parents and their friends and said I had just finished reading the books. My dad asked me to describe the stories. I had no idea, so I just looked at the front of the books and guessed. So I talked about a happy king with lots of rings – that was Lord of the Rings – and also lots of stories about people with names beginning with N. That was volume 12 of an encyclopedia. I could hear my  sister laughing in the other room the whole time …

1

It’s making a strange noise. It’s a Nissan. Because they don’t agree whether Nissan is Japanese or not.

2

1 B   2 B   3 B   4 M

Part 1

MARK   So, any plans for the rest of the week?

LEO   No, not really. Oh, tomorrow I’ve got to take the car to the garage. It’s making a strange noise – must be the engine.

M   Oh, what a pain! What kind of car have you got?

L   It’s a Nissan. It’s strange. Normally these Japanese cars are very reliable.

M   That’s true – Japanese cars are normally reliable.

L   Yeah.

M   But I’m afraid Nissan is actually Korean.

L   Er … I don’t think so … I’m pretty sure it’s Japanese.

M   I’m sorry, but it’s definitely Korean. I remember reading an article about the factories in South Korea.

L   Well, maybe Nissan have factories in Korea, but that doesn’t mean it’s a Korean company. I think they just make some of them in Korea.

M   Maybe you’re thinking of Toyota? That’s a Japanese company.

L   That’s right. Toyota is the biggest Japanese car company.

M   Exactly.

L   Yes, but the second biggest is Nissan, then Honda, probably. Or maybe Suzuki.

M   Oh, I’m sorry but firstly, Nissan isn’t a Japanese company – like I said. And then, Mazda is a much bigger company than Suzuki or Honda.

L   I’m not sure about that. I think they’re all a very similar size. And Nissan is Japanese.

M   No, I really think …

L   Oh, never mind. It’s not important.

M   Maybe you’re thinking of Mitsubishi? They’re a big Japanese company.

L   No, I have a Nissan. That’s what I’m talking about.

M   In Korea, there’s Kia, and I’m sure Nissan.

L   Mark …

M   Or … maybe I was thinking of Hyundai.

L   Mark!

M   Oh sorry.

He says he can check on his phone.

Part 2

RACHEL   So, when you do start the new job?

ANNIE   Next month. I’m a bit nervous, actually …

R   Oh, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just remember …

MARK   Maybe you were right. I don’t know now … but no, I’m sure it’s not Japanese.

LEO   Really, it doesn’t matter.

 M   I know – I can check on my phone!

L   Hi.

M   Or Chinese? Maybe it’s Chinese.

A   What’s he talking about?

M   Do they make cars in China? I think they do.

R   Mark … be quiet.

1

1 her sister

2 in the summer house, at the end of the garden

3 an old lady

2

3 Olga saw an old lady.

5 Olga’s mother spoke to the neighbour.

2 Olga was playing with her sister.

4 Olga told her mother.

6 Olga found out the old lady was dead.

1 Olga’s family went to live in the country.

When I was a child, we went to live in an old house in the country with a big garden. And at the end of the garden there was a summer house, it was a little house with just one room and windows, and my sister and I often played in this summer house. When I was about five – my sister was eight – we were playing one day in the summer house, and suddenly I looked up and I saw an old lady in black. She was wearing a hat and she was reading a book. I said to my sister, ‘Who’s that old lady?’ and my sister said, ‘What old lady?’ She couldn’t see her. So we ran back to the house and I told my mother that I’d seen this old lady, but, of course, she didn’t believe me.

Then, a few months later, my mother was talking to the neighbours. And they told her about the person who had lived in the house before us. They told her that a rather strange old lady had lived there. She had always worn black clothes and a hat – and she had died in the summer house.

DAISY   So, where have you been in India so far, Brad?

BRAD   I flew into Delhi and took the train down across to Jaipur. I’m going to Goa next. Have you been there, Lewis?

LEWIS   Yeah, Goa’s cool. We’re going to Kerala. How’s your trip been so far, Brad?

B   Apart from the mosquitoes and the spiders, pretty good. I had a great time in Delhi. I stayed with this Indian guy, Raj, who I’d met through the website Couchsurfng.org. He was really sociable and took me to some really amazing places.

D   Yeah, we’ve met some great Indian people. Really friendly and generous.

B   Yeah, but not everyone. I had a pretty bad time in Jaipur.

D   What happened?

B   I met these two brothers, Jay and Vikram, in a tea house. Jay was really funny and confident. He knew a lot about California. Viki was older and a bit more sensible. They offered to show me around and they seemed reliable so I agreed. We went sightseeing and they told me about their lives. Viki said that they could take me to see some tigers the next day if I wanted.

L   Sounds cool.

B   Well, then they started telling me about their business. They sold jewellery. They took me to their factory and showed me around. Then they tried to sell me some. I didn’t want to, but in the end I said I would buy a small piece. They said it would be ready the next day and then took me back to my hostel. The next day I felt a bit anxious, but went to their factory to collect the jewellery. They had made my piece and had made 30 other necklaces too. They said that this was what I had asked for the day before. They told me that I would have to pay 100 dollars for the jewellery. I had only taken 10 dollars with me when I left that morning. Jay said that he would take me to a cash machine to get the money.

I hadn’t taken my credit card with me, but I didn’t tell him that. We drove to a bank and we all got out. I didn’t know where I was, but I decided to run away. I started running and Jay followed me. But I was faster and after a few minutes I was safe. I waited behind a dustbin in a small street for a while and then went onto the main road and found a taxi. The driver could see how anxious I was and drove me back to the hostel. I told him what had happened and he was quite angry with them. He was really generous and didn’t charge me anything. The next day I took the first train out of Jaipur!

L   Sounds awful. But hey, that’s a pretty cool story you’ve got.

D   Yeah.

B   Yeah, I know. I’m sure you’ve got some stories. And we’ve got another three hours on this train!

L   No worries, mate. So, we were in Varanasi …