General Listening Quiz

"Fishing Trip"

Level:	Topic:	Speakers:	Length:
difficult	fishing	man - woman	02:03

Pre-Listening Exercise

Is fishing a common recreational activity where you live? Why or why not? What special techniques or equipment do you need to catch fish and lots of them?

Idioms

"fish story" = a big lie
"He didn't graduate from Harvard University. That's just a big fish story."

"fish out of water" = to be out of place in an uncomfortable situation
"My brother doesn't dance at all, so he felt like a fish out of water at last night's party."

Listening Exercise

A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.

At first, the man feels that he ____.

is a natural fisherman

doesn't have the right equipment

needs more fishing practice

Man: I mean, I'm not bragging or anything, but I have a real sense for fishing. I mean, I was born to fish, you know, my dad used to say.

Last month, the man didn't catch any fish because ____.

the weather wasn't very good

he was too busy at work to go

he always went the wrong time of day

Man: Well, Well, I'm not making excuses or anything, but the weather was bad a couple of times, and, and . . . and a fish dragged my pole into the water while I wasn't looking another time [ No way! Serious? ] , and . . . and I wasn't wearing my fishing hat another day.

While the man is fishing, the woman is ______.

texting her friends

reading a book

watching him fish

Man: Well, do you think you can do any better, or are you just going to sit there and continue reading that book?

The man had been fishing for _____ without success.

20 minutes

an hour

a couple of hours

Woman: What's different about it? We've been here about an hour, and you still haven't caught anything.

When the woman catches a fish, the man _____.

starts taking pictures of the fish

says she was just lucky

encourages her to catch more

Woman: Come on. You gotta help me catch it! Man: That's beginner's luck.

Post-Listening Exercise

Describe a time when you went fishing. Where did you go? What did you catch? What kind of bait did you use? Did you keep the fish or did you release them?

Online Investigation

Imagine that you want to go on a fishing vacation in the United States. Use the Internet to find information on these questions:

What is the name of place you want to go?
What is included in the fishing vacation (e.g., accommodations, fishing gear, transportation, etc.)
How long is the fishing trip?
What amount of experience do you need on this fishing trip (e.g., for beginners, intermediate, or advanced)?
How much does does the trip cost?

See Listening Script

Back to Difficult Quizzes