Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – Social Studies: on-the-street interviews about community involvement

A

___ knowing your neighbors

_✓_ attending a church, mosque, or synagogue

___ attending local events

_✓_ reading or listening to the news

___ volunteering

___ getting together with friends and family

B

Answers may vary slightly.

Kevin

1 about 10   2 once   3 yes   4 sometimes

5 no   6 all the time   7 once a week

Lorraine

1 7   2 3-4 times   3 yes   4 yes   5 yes

6 once a year   7 couple of times a week

Jay

1 1   2 once   3 no   4 no   5 no

6 occasionally   7 almost every night

A = Interviewer, B = Kevin, C = Lorraine, D = Jay

A:   Hi. We’re doing some research on social involvement. We want to find out how involved people are with their local communities. We’d like to ask you a few questions. Do you have a minute?

B:   Yes, OK. If it’s short.

A:   It won’t take long. First, how many of your neighbors’ first names do you know?

B:   My neighbors? Oh, lots. Let me see … I’d say about ten. Maybe more. I’ve been in my home for a long time, so I know them all.

A:   OK. How often do you attend parades or festivals?

B:   Not often. I did when the kids were younger, but now they’re not interested. Let’s say, once a year. Maybe even less.

A:   Do you volunteer?

B:   Yeah. We do a lot of fund-raising for the local hospital, for arts programs for kids and so on. My wife is very involved in that. We do concerts at Christmas, that kind of thing.

A:   Do you sign petitions?

B:   Sometimes, yes. But not often. I prefer to have more information before I sign things.

A:   Do you go to neighborhood meetings?

B:   No, I’m afraid I don’t. I know I should, but, you know, it’s always easier to do something else.

A:   How often do you visit with friends and family?

B:   Family, all the time. My sister lives across the street, so we see her almost every day. I see my dad a couple of times a week. He lives pretty close.

A:   What about friends?

B:   We get together with friends about once a week. We usually go out for dinner.

A:   Hi, we’re doing a survey on social involvement – how involved people are with their local communities. Would you mind answering a few questions?

C:   Not at all.

A:   OK. Let’s see … First of all, how many of your neighbors’ first names do you know?

C:   First names? Let me see. There’s Don and Nancy, and Jack and Barbara, and Lourdes, Sammy, Gerry, and what’s her name … across the street. That’s about it. How many is that? Seven? Eight?

A:   Seven

C:   There’s others that I see pretty often, but I don’t know their names.

A:   OK. That’s fine. How often do you attend parades or festivals?

C:   You mean in a year?

A:   Yeah, let’s say in one year.

C:   Well, we usually go to the Cinco de Mayo festival, and the Fourth of July parade, then there’s usually a music festival in the park in the summer. I’d say we go to three or four every year.

A:   OK. Do you volunteer?

C:   Yes. I volunteer at my kid’s school. I’m in the PTA. I edit their newspaper and we help them out with maintenance work on weekends. That’s about all we have time for.

A:   Do you sign petition?

C:   Depends what they’re for! But, yes, if I agree with the issue, I’ll sign a petition, yes.

A:   What about neighborhood meetings?

C:   Actually it’s funny you should ask that because I just went to one last night! I went to a meeting about improvements to the park down the street.

A:   How often do you visit with your family?

C:   Well, my parents and my brothers all live far away, so we only get to see them once a year.

A:   How often do you get together with friends?

C:   I don’t know, probably a couple of times a week, Maybe a bit more than that.

A:   We’d just like to ask you a few questions.

D:   OK.

A:   How many of your neighbors’ first names do you know?

D:   Not many, because I just moved to this apartment. There’s a guy next door, I think his name is Tom. That’s all. I actually never see my neighbors.

A:   How often do you attend parades or festivals?

D:   Rarely. There’s a street festival in my neighborhood in … every summer. I usually go to that because I can’t avoid it. But, I don’t usually go to things like that, no.

A:   Do you volunteer?

D:   No. I give blood at work, sometimes. Or, you know, I might donate money or something, if there’s a disaster. But I don’t volunteer anywhere. I really don’t have time.

A:   Do you sign petitions?

D:   No. I won’t sign petitions because I don’t know what they’re about. I vote. That’s how I make my voice heard.

A:   Do you go to neighborhood meetings?

D:   Oh, no.

A:   How often do you visit with friends and family?

D:   Well, I see my mom once a month or so, and my brother, he lives nearby, so I see him on special occasions: Thanksgiving and Christmas, things like that.

A:   What about friends? How often do you see them?

D:   Oh, I’d say almost every night. I go out with friends or with people from work.