10th June 2021
Listening Practice
A compilation of video clips and comprehension questions to encourage you to listen to native English speakers.
Video clips and links
Contents:
Sai Gon Red
Ordering in a cafe
Cat
Computers
Top Gear (Robin / German border / )
Austria (plus comprehension)
New York
Working life in Germany
Listening general (Queen, IELTS)
Native speakers in central London
British accent: filming
Snow
Travel Vocabulary / phone numbers
Sai Gon Red
What phrases can you hear ?
Does the man like the beer ? What is the proof (what does he say) ?
Comprehension (0.00 – 1.58)
1 What time does the man say it is ?
2 What kind of beer does he think it’s going to be ?
3 What kind of ‘head’ does the beer have ?
4 What colour is the beer ?
5 Before he drinks, he uses an expression: which one ?
Listening skills: ordering in a cafe:
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening-skills-practice/ordering-food-cafe
For his main course, Andi chooses For dessert, Andi chooses and to drink ?
Cat
B (girl) Start at 0:50 – 1:41
“My favourite thing? Does my cat count as a thing? She’s not really a thing, but anyway. She’s a really beautiful little cat. I’ve had her since she was four months old. You know how some cats are really independent and hardly talk to you? I know cats don’t really talk, but you know what I mean. Well, she’s not like that at all. She’s really affectionate and comes up to me as soon as I get home, purring away like mad. She makes a lot of noise for a tiny thing. She loves being stroked and comes and curls up next to me when I’m on the sofa. She’s great company.”
Questions:
1 What is her favourite thing ? Her cat
2 How old was the cat when the girl got her. Four months old
3 Is the cat friendly ? Yes, ‘she’s really affectionate.’
4 What does the cat like ? Being stroked
5 How is the cat described as being ? Good company
Computer terms
Do you use a computer at work ? Is it essential or just useful ?
What words do you associate with computers ?
Top Gear
Real dialogue:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRGuMKVqNzA (0.16 – 0.42)
Listen for: “oh,dear”, (oi troi oi, mild) “that’s marvellous” (very good) “he’s not pleased”
New vocabulary:
flawed– something bad, a mistake inspection– to look at something closely
what staggers me– what surprises me fronts a band– lead singer
a trifle– not important, a very small time stabaliser– stop something falling over
Can Jeremy improve the design ? (0.55 – 2.48)
What does he do ? Where does he go ? How successful were the improvements ?
2) Listening practice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0K8AXUEH8E(0 – 0.52)
How much petrol do the chaps (men) have ? How many points for getting to the border ?
What is the phrasal verb for using all the petrol ? What is the punishment for this ?
What does Richard say about this ? Which country has the closest border ?
Listening: Vienna, Austria
New Vocabulary:
Adjectives– spectacular, dotted with, grand, magnificent, chic, huge, stunning, iconic,
legendary
Expressions– as a result, make sure, must see, strongly recommend, book in advance
Nouns– promenade (walking streets) landmarks (famous buildings), fee, lookalike
Adverbs– truly (really), extremely
How many rooms does the Hofsburg Palace have ?
How old is St (Saint) Stephan’s Cathedral ? How many stairs does it have ?
When was the Ferris Wheel built ? Which is the tallest structure in the city ?
New York City guide
Listen for short periods (10 – 15 seconds). Answer questions about the dialogue. Can watch again with captions. Make a note of any new phrases or interesting words.
Answer the following questions:
How many people live in NYC ? 8 million
What do New Yorkers think their home is ? Centre of the world
What two adjectives describe NYC ? Loud and fast
What is the collocation with ‘energy’ ? Pulsates
Visitors can find the city … ? overwhelming
Manhattan is the … heart and soul of the Big Apple
What is in Lower Manhattan ? Financial district
Where is Central Park ? Upper East and West sides
Working life in Germany:
(01.26 – 02.07)
How long do they work in Germany ? How many breaks does the man have ?
What do you think about his situation ? How does it compare with VN ?
Listening
1 The Queen
When was their first meeting? During the G20 conference in London 2009.
Who came with President Obama ? Wife and two daughters.
When did they last meet ? Almost two years ago.
IELTS student (0:46 – )
Does she work ? No, she’s a student Where ? Manchester / Studies ? Business
Introducing a friend
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening-skills-practice/introducing-friend
personal information
BBC News – durian
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/witn/ep-150708
New words
pungent
an acquired taste
is shaping up to be
bumper crop
Native speakers in central London
Filming(0.13 – 1.17)
Listen out (phrasal verb) for these words / phrases:
therefore / out and about / footage (what has been filmed)
basically / you see / obviously / annoyed
Listen out for changes in intonation (stressing words in a sentence)
What did he film ? Why couldn’t he use the footage ? What did he leave at home ?
(0.20 – 1.30)
What is the date ? Listen for the adverb ‘finally’ Why doesn’t Mum like the snow ?
Travel vocabulary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shGha68qLvY
Listen for: ‘go through’ ‘depends’ ‘take off’
You are flying from Sai Gon to Hue. Where do you go in the airport ?
What two things will you do at check in ?
What documents do you need ? How can you check in ? Two ways …
What seat does the man want and why ? What happens at security ?
Write down the phone numbers that you hear
Thay Paul's Notes 
Wonderful pictures and videos. I remember those days when I was struggling with listening and comprehension. LOL. So long ago… At one point, I thought I would never master those weird sounds. Hahaha, how far we have come…
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