General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on car accidents and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Man: Honey. Do you know what time Katie will be home?

Woman: Uh, she should be here any minute. She took the car to pick up something from the store.

Man: Okay, I was just a little worried that . . . Man, what was that? Oh, no. The car! She drove over the mailbox and hit a tree in the front yard. Ah, the car!

Woman: Well, just don’t stand there blabbing all day. Let’s go out and see if Katie’s okay.

Man: Ah, my car.

Woman: Honey, are you okay?

Daughter: Oh, mom. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this is happening.

Man: Oh, my car!

Woman: Forget your car!

Man: Driving with the cell phone. I know.

Daughter: It wasn’t that at all. Don’t jump to conclusions.

Man: Oh, yeah.

Daughter: Dad . . . um, mom. It’s not like that at all. I mean, as I was pulling into the driveway, something rolled from under the seat and got stuck under the brake pedal . . . the gas pedal . . . I, I don’t know, and I couldn’t stop the car. And then I accidentally hit the gas when I wanted to brake, and I hit the mailbox.

Woman: Uh, I think I know what the problem was. Honey, did you put those golf balls away like I told you? [Huh?] The ones YOU put under the driver’s seat . . . the ones I told you would get in the way.

Man: Man, I thought I got those.

Daughter: Plus, Mom, the windshield wipers on the car didn’t work, so I couldn’t see very well in the rain.

Woman: Didn’t you get those fixed?

Man: Uh, I’ve been meaning to get those repaired.

Daughter: And mom. I was going to use the car this weekend to go camping with my friends, but now my plans are ruined. My friends are going to hate me. What am I going to do?

Woman: Hon, yeah, what IS your daughter going to do? It appears it’s mainly your fault for the accident and that she’s in such a jam.

Man: My fault? Hey, why don’t you just invite your friends over for pizza? I’ll buy.

Daughter: Mom, we’ve been planning this weekend for months. I need a car.

Woman: Hon.

Man: What? I mean, man, what a predicament! That’s tough.

Woman: I think what your dad is trying to say is that you can take his new Jeep.

Daughter: Yeah, awesome.

Man: What?

Daughter: Yes!

Man: Wait, not my new Jeep. I don’t even have 500 miles on it.

Daughter: Four-wheeling through the mud, over big rocks and in deep ruts in the road . . . if there is a road.

Man: Ah.

Woman: You love your daughter, don’t you?

Man: Ask me after she returns from the trip.

Daughter: Ah, Dad. I’m gonna [going to] call my friends to let them know the good news. Thanks, Dad, I knew I could count on you.

Man: Yeah, but make sure wrecking the car doesn’t become a routine activity.

Daughter: Dad!

• blab (verb): talk too much about unimportant things, some of which might be private matters 
  – She blabbed to her friends all about the accident and how it was all my fault. How embarrassing.
• jump to conclusions (idiom): form an opinion without all the facts and evidence 
  – Hey, don’t jump to conclusions. The accident might not have been her fault.
• pull into (phrasal verb): move into a spot like a parking space or driveway 
  – When you arrive, just pull your car into the garage.
• ruin (verb): spoil or destroy something completely
  – You’re going to ruin your car if you drive it like that.
• be in a jam (idiom): be in a difficult situation
  – I’m in a real jam because I have a date tonight, but my car broke down this afternoon? What am I going to do?
• tough (adjective): difficult or unfortunate
  – Not having a car right now must be really tough. How are you going to get to work without one?
• awesome (adjective): very good, impressive
  – That’s awesome that your parents are letting you use their car for the weekend.
• count on (phrasal verb): depend on
  – I can always count on my kids to drive safely. Otherwise, I wouldn’t let them use my car.
• wreck (verb): completely destroy or ruin
  – My father wrecked the family car last night, but fortunately, he wasn’t hurt.