General Listening Quiz

In this story, a young man describes his mishaps (accidents) which occurred while he was at summer camp. Make a list of possible problems which might have happened to him before you start the listening.

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:

• starving (adjective): very hungry from lack of food
  – The boys were starving after getting lost in the woods for hours.
• tidy up (phrasal): clean up or organize
  – I need to tidy up my room before I can invite guests over.
• inspect (verb): to check or look at something carefully
  – The camp leader decided to inspect each group’s cabin carefully to make sure they were not leaving food inside.
• swat (verb): to hit something like an insect
  – I spent the whole afternoon swatting flies instead of concentrating on my reading.
• archery (noun): the sport of shooting arrows with a bow
  – Carol took up archery when she was in elementary school.
• settle for (phrasal verb): accept something even though it is not what you want
  – We didn’t have any more steak for dinner, so I had to settle for rice and beans.
• razz (verb): make fun of or tease
  – Some of the kids razzed their friend for kissing a girl.
• aimlessly (adverb): without clear direction
  – The young man got lost after dark, but he sat down and waited for help instead of walking aimlessly without any idea where he was.
• beat (adjective): very tired
  – The men were beat after hiking 10 hours in the snow.
• crash (verb): go to sleep, sometimes unexpectedly away from home
  – I decided to crash in my friend’s tent because mine was damaged by the wind.

Now retell the story from several points of view in their own words (e.g., the young man, the parents, one of the counselors at camp, etc.). What physical and psychological benefits can come from attending a summer camp? How can parents benefit from sending their children to these summer events?

Imagine that you want to visit these places, and while you are there, you want to camp for a week. Use the internet to find information to answer these questions.

Places:

• The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
• Yosemite National Park, California, USA
• The Isle of Arran, Scotland
• Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
• Sahara Desert, Morocco
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
• Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand
• The Alps, France
• Patagonia, Argentina
• Tasmania, Australia

Questions:

1. What camping options are there at the location?
2. What camping gear do you need?
3. How much does it cost?
4. Do you need a permit to camp?
5. What natural dangers are there to campers?