Practice English Listening B1 Exercises – Listening to new stories

A

X 2

3 1

B

1   Australia; Saturday; bull ran onto soccer field and started chasing a soccer player

2   Missouri; last Thursday; tornado carried 19-year-old boy over 1,300 feet and dropped him in an abandoned field

3   Ontario; early Tuesday morning; A thief rescued two police officers after they lost control of their vehicle and drove into a river while chasing the thief.

Transcripts

1

Man:   A teenagers’ soccer game in Australia took an unexpected turn on Saturday when an escaped bull decided to join the game. The players were running toward the goal when the bull charged the field. It began chasing the 14-year-old boy who had the ball. Luckily, the boy was fast, and managed to get out of the way. Apparently bored with the soccer game, the bull left the field as suddenly as it had entered it, leaving players and viewers shocked at what they had just witnessed.

2

Woman:   A 19-year-old by the name of Matt is lucky to be alive and well. Matt was watching TV at his grandmother’s home in Missouri last Thursday when a terrible storm started. While he was talking to his grandmother, the storm intensified into a tornado, ripping the walls off the house and sucking him in. The tornado took Matt over 1,300 feet before dropping him in an abandoned field. After flying through the air at 150 miles per hour, it’s safe to say that Matt had the ride of his life!

3

Man:   Early Tuesday morning in Ontario, two police officers were chasing a car thief when they suddenly lost control of their vehicle and drove into a river. Surprisingly, the thief went back to the scene of the accident and helped rescue the officers from the river. The local police department dropped all charges against the thief for saving the officers’ lives.

Milo once had his carry-on bag stolen, with his wallet, his credit card, and his phone. He was overseas, waiting for a bus to take him to the airport.

Transcripts

Milo:   I had something similar happen last year.

Carol:   Really?

Mio:   Yeah. It was when I was overseas. I was on my way to the airport, so I was standing on the side of the road with my bags, trying to figure out the bus schedule. Anyway, this group of guys came by and asked if they could help me. Their English wasn’t very clear, and I couldn’t really understand what they were saying. Finally, they left, and when I looked down, I realized my carry-on bag had disappeared. It had my wallet in it with all my money, my credit card, and my phone. Luckily, I had put my airline ticket and my passport in my backpack.

Carol:   How awful! So what did you do?

Milo:   I went inside a restaurant and asked to use their phone. First, I called the police and reported the theft. Then I called my credit card company. I was able to get some cash, and by the time I got home, I had a new credit card waiting for me.