Listening Exercises

Listen to the conversation again by pressing the Play Audio button and read along with the conversation. Review the Key Vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Dad: Hey. Uh, what are you doing home this weekend? I thought classes didn't end until next week. Daughter: Hi Dad. I love you. Dad: Ah, the three magic words: I NEED HELP! I've heard those before. Daughter: Uh, Well, we'd better sit down. Dad: Uh, this doesn't sound good. Daughter: Well, first of all . . . hey, is that painting on the wall new? Dad: No, no, no, no, no. Let's get back to the conversation now. Daughter: Okay, first of all, I am failing all of my classes, I lost my job, I wrecked my car, I mean, your car last week. It's at the bottom of the lake . . . I think, and the laptop I borrowed from you . . . well, it was in the backseat of the car. That's all of the good news. Dad: Uh, wait . . . Daughter: Dad. You're not saying anything . . . Dad: Okay. Now, what's the bad news? Daughter: Well, I just found out that my old boyfriend was a member of a gang; he says that he and 20 of his friends are gonna come over here to talk to you about what you posted on their Facebook page. Dad: I don't even know how to use Facebook! Daughter: Well, you do now. I have to go. I'd rather not be here in about 20 minutes. Love you. Bye. Dad: Ugh!!

Key Vocabulary [Top]

• had better (modal of advice): similar to "should," but somewhat stronger. There could be negative consequences if the advice or suggestion is not followed.
  - You'd better see a doctor before your condition takes a turn for the worse.

• fail (verb): not pass
  - You will fail the test if you don't sit down and study.

• wreck (verb; also noun): crash or destroy
  - You're going to wreck your parents' car if you keep driving like this.

• post (verb): put up something in writing on a wall or online
  - I posted a funny message on her Facebook page this morning.

Vocabulary Activities [Top]

Now, do these exercises to review the vocabulary. Then, return back to the Post-Listening Exercise to use the vocabulary in real conversations. [Why do these?]

• Mixed-Up Sentence
• Multiple-Choice and Short-Answer Questions
• Sentence and Vocabulary Matching