General Listening Quiz

“Alcoholics Anonymous”

Level:	Topic:	Speakers:	Length:
difficult	drinking	man and woman	2:23

Pre-Listening Exercise

What are the causes and effects of alcoholism on families and society as a whole?

Idioms

“go cold turkey” = suddenly stop doing something that is usually a bad habit.
“Phil tried to go cold turkey on his drinking addiction, but he couldn’t stay away from stuff.”

“drink like a fish” = drink alcohol excessively
“She tends to drink like a fish when she gets together with her friends.”

“drown one’s sorrows” = drink to stop your unhappiness
“Trying to drown your sorrows in a bottle of whiskey won’t solve your financial problems.”

Listening Exercise

A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.

Because of Dave's alcoholism, he _____.

is in danger of losing his job

might lose his girlfriend

gets his friends drunk

Dave's Sister: Dave, Dave. No seriously. Listen, Dave. You're my brother. I love you, but you've had two DUIs, you lost your last job because you showed up drunk, your girlfriend's going to dump you because you're drinking too much.

Lisa thinks that Dave's friends ____.

are driving while drunk

are buying him alcohol illegally

are getting him to attend parties

Dave's Sister: Dave. I love you, and I'm trying to help you. I really care about you. And these friends that you hang out with . . . they're not friends. A friend is a person who is honest and frank with you, not these so-called buddies you've got that encourage you to go and buy booze for any old party.

According to Dave's sister, a good friend is a person who ___.

gives you money

openly shares their opinions

spends time with you

A friend is a person who is honest and frank with you.

One of things that Dave can accomplish by attending Alcoholics Anonymous is to ____.

meet people in similar situations

get professional advice

undergo free drug testing

Dave's Sister: You know what? AA. Alcoholics Anonymous. You can go there and you can meet with other people, and they can help you be sober.

At the end of the conversation, Dave decides to ___.

continue his drinking habits

ignore his sister's advice

seek professional help

Dave's Sister: Dave, No. I can't . . . it'll kill me if there's another DUI, an accident, something, I'm really worried, Dave. Dave: I'm done, I'm done. I don't want to talk about this anymore.

Vocabulary Practice

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

Mixed-Up Sentence | Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

Post-Listening Exercise

How would you describe Dave’s perception of his own drinking habits in the conversation? What kinds of negative effects might continue to happen if he doesn’t alter his current course of behavior? Have you ever known anyone like Dave? How did things turn out for this individual?

Online Investigation

If people struggle with alcohol addiction in your community, what resources are available to provide emotional support and effective treatment to this problem? What are the legal penalties for driving with intoxicated? Use the Internet to identify resources that can assist family and friends in fighting this addiction.

See Listening Script

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