Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – How was your weekend?

1 c   2 b   3 b

A

Alba:   Hi, Sarah. How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Sarah:   Yes, I did! It was exciting, actually.

Alba:   Yeah? Why? What did you do?

Sarah:   On Saturday, I went sightseeing with Mario.   We took a bus tour around the city. We saw so many cool things!

Alba:   Fun!

Sarah:   It was. The city has so many interesting neighborhoods.

Alba:   I know. I took a bus tour the last time I visited. I loved it! What did you do after?

Sarah:   We went souvenir shopping and we went out for a late dinner.

Alba:   Where did you go?

Sarah:   To a wonderful Chinese restaurant. I was a little embarrassed, though!

Alba:   Why were you embarrassed?

Sarah:   The restaurant gave us chopsticks but I don’t know how to use them. I kept dropping my food! Finally the waiter brought me a fork.

Alba:   Chopsticks can be tricky to use. Anyway, it sounds like it was a great day.

Sarah:   It was.

Alba:   What’d you do on Sunday?

Sarah:   On Sunday, I had brunch with some friends and went to an art museum. I’m tired today.

Alba:   I’ll bet. Try to do something relaxing tonight.

Sarah:   Well, I don’t know if you’d call it relaxing, but I’m going for a run after work.

Alba:   Oh, OK.

Sarah:   And then I’m going to work out at my hotel gym and go for a swim.

Alba:   Sarah, all of your relaxing is making me tired.

B

Alba:   How was your weekend?

Sarah:   It was exciting. On Saturday, I went sightseeing and then I went souvenir shopping.

Alba:   Oh, fun!

Sarah:   And on Sunday, I had brunch with some friends. I’m tired today.

Alba:   I’ll bet. Try to do something relaxing tonight.

1 nice   2 play   3 always   4 vacation

A

Sarah:   What about you, Alba? What did you do this weekend?

Alba:   Well, I certainly wasn’t as busy as you were!

Sarah:   Probably not.

Alba:   It was a nice weekend, though. I went for a walk in the park. Everything was so green and there were so many beautiful flowers everywhere.

Sarah:   Oh, that reminds me. You have a garden, right? Have you been to the Botanical Gardens? They have flowers from all over the world.

Alba:   No, I haven’t. I was planning to go, but I’ve been so busy this week.

Sarah:   That’s too bad. So, what else did you do?

Alba:   I went to the theater. I saw a play—A Streetcar Named Desire. Have you seen it?

Sarah:   No, I haven’t but I’ve heard so much about it. How was it?

Alba:   It was amazing! I want to see it again. You should go.

Sarah:   Wow! Maybe I can see it next time I’m in town.

Alba:   I always go to the theater when I’m here. I love it! Oh, before I forget—I heard your husband is opening a café! That’s so great!

Sarah:   Thanks! We’ve both been so busy. This work trip has been like a vacation for me. Oh. I’ve got to go.

Alba:   Me, too. It was fun catching up though.

Sarah:   Absolutely! Talk later!

B

Sarah:   What did you do this weekend?

Alba:   I went for a walk in the park. It was nice to do something outdoors.

Sarah:   Oh, that reminds me. Have you been to the Botanical Gardens?

Alba:   No, I haven’t. I was planning to go, but I’ve been so busy this week.

Sarah:   Well, maybe next time. So, what else did you do?

Alba:   I went to the theater. Have you been?

Sarah:   No, I haven’t but I’d like to go.

A

c

B

1 interesting place   2 calm   3 photos   4 quietly

C

1 a   2 b   3 a   4 b   5 b   6 c

Last weekend, something really strange happened. The weather was great, so my friend Tony and I decided to go for a hike in the mountains. But we got lost—can you believe it?

We’ve been to the area lots of times, and as kids, we could always find our way around by using a map. But somehow, we forgot the map and I guess we walked off the trail. Anyway, after a couple of hours, we found this little town that we’d never seen before. It looked like a really interesting place and we were curious, so we stopped to look around.

Now, Tony is a very calm guy, and he doesn’t get upset very often. But when we got to the center of town, he seemed a little upset. I could tell that something was wrong and it made me feel nervous. (I’m not a calm guy at all!) I asked him, “Are you OK?” and he said, “Yeah, I guess so. I just feel like I’ve been here before. It’s strange.” I laughed a little, but I could see he was serious. That made me feel even more nervous!

We were hungry, so we looked for a restaurant. After a few minutes, we were only able to find one—the only restaurant in the whole town! It was dark and quiet, and the walls were decorated with lots of old photos. The owner told us they were from hundreds of years ago. Tony sat quietly looking around the room until he saw something on the wall, right behind me. He seemed very surprised and a little scared so I turned to see what he was looking at. It was a picture of a man who looked exactly like him, except that he was wearing old-fashioned clothes. Now, this is what made me really scared. I couldn’t believe it. Tony has a scar on his left cheek. The man in the photo had the same scar.

Tony couldn’t stand at first so he just sat there looking stunned. Then, he stood up and ran out of the restaurant, fast. I, of course, followed him. I didn’t want to be left behind in that creepy place! I couldn’t catch up with him at first—I was getting angry about it, too. But finally, I found him at the beginning of the trail. He said, “Jack, let’s go home. I don’t want to spend another minute here!”

Tony didn’t say a word all the way home. His face was white and he was shaking. He told me later that he wasn’t able to speak because he was so upset. He felt as if it was his own ghost in the picture. I was kind of glad we left the restaurant before I could see mine! Even then, I wasn’t able to sleep that night because I was so frightened.

A

c

B

1 c   2 a   3 c

Extreme Sports and the Brain

Why do some people jump out of airplanes? Or ski off cliffs? Are they bored? Or do they just love danger?

I recently interviewed Marta Hu—a BASE jumper who also happens to be a psychologist who studies the brain—to learn more about these risk-takers.

Dave Chin:   Hi Marta, it’s great to talk with you. Can you tell us what BASE jumping is?

Marta Hu:   BASE jumping is a sport where people jump off of high places with only a special suit to help them fly. BASE stands for building, antenna, span (or bridge), and Earth. Each of these words represents a high object from which BASE jumpers start their flight.

DC:   What can you tell us about people who do extreme sports, such as BASE jumping?

MH:   Well, Dave, some people who do extreme sports can find everyday life boring and need to do something unusual to feel an adrenaline rush. When people do extreme sports, their brains create something called dopamine, which makes them feel happy.

DC:   So, they need to do something that extreme just to feel some excitement?

MH:   Well, they know that what they do is dangerous, so they don’t take risks. BASE jumpers, for example, learn everything they can about their equipment and the area where they will be jumping. They are actually very smart, careful people who like to be in control.

DC:   How could jumping off a cliff give someone control? I would feel totally out of control!

MH:   Well, they need to be in control of their equipment, but mainly they are controlling their fear. People have to focus and think very carefully about what they are doing. They describe feeling very relaxed and peaceful.

DC:   How does BASE jumping make you feel?

MH:   When I jump, I see the world in a way that I can’t on the ground. I push past my fear and I focus. The jump only lasts 35 or 40 seconds, but time slows down, so it feels much longer. In that moment, I feel 100% free.

A

Possible answer: Her weekend. / What she did on the weekend.

B

Possible answers:

1   It was busy / exciting.

2   went to the beach with friends and went to an outdoor concert

3   The beach: water was so clear, lots of colorful fish, weather was beautiful; The concert: first outdoor concert, able to get seats close to the stage, had a good view of the band, band played a lot of great songs, lead singer was amazing.

Hi, it’s Ana. I had a busy weekend! On Saturday, I went to the beach with my friends. The water was so clear and there were lots of colorful fish. And the weather that day was beautiful. We had such a great time.

On Sunday, I went to a concert. I’ve been to a lot of different concerts, but this was my first outdoor concert. We were able to get seats pretty close to the stage, so we had a good view of the band. They played a lot of great songs and the lead singer was amazing.

Overall, I had a really exciting weekend!

1   My sister bought me a dog for my birthday. I was so surprised!

2   James went to the beach last weekend. It was very relaxing.

3   Ana doesn’t like her chemistry class. She thinks it’s boring.

4   Nora worked hard all day and had a lot of meetings. She’s really tired.

5   We couldn’t stop talking about the movie. The ending was shocking.

6   Jane’s boss started talking about how well she was doing during a meeting. Jane was embarrassed by all the attention.

7   My friends went surfing last weekend. They saw dolphins in the water. They were so excited!

8   I read a book about Robert Kennedy last week. It was very interesting.

1 A:   Have you eaten breakfast yet?

   B:   Yes, I have.

2 A:   What did you do last Friday?

   B:   Not much. I did homework and some chores around the house.

3 A:   Have you tried the new Japanese restaurant by our office?

   B:   No, I haven’t. Have you?

4 A:   How many countries have you been to?

   B:   Let’s see. I’ve been to China, Japan, Russia, Egypt, France, England, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.

5 A:   Where were you yesterday?

   B:   I was out sick. Did I miss anything?

6 A:   Did you hang out with Ingrid at the party last night?

   B:   No, not really. I saw her there, but we didn’t talk.

7 A:   Have you met Brianna?

   B:   Yes, we’ve met, but I haven’t met her husband yet. Have you?

1   They were able to get tickets.

2   Lina couldn’t remember her customer’s name.

3   Julie wasn’t able to sleep last night.

4   I couldn’t find a parking spot.

5   Ethan was able to finish the project yesterday.

6   Michael couldn’t open the box.

7   Leslie was able to go to the party last night.

8   We weren’t able to find the restaurant.