General Listening Quiz

"Camping Gear"

Level:	Topic:	Speakers:	Length:
easy	camping	man - woman	01:17

Pre-Listening Exercise

What camping gear would you take to the mountains to make it a pleasurable experience (e.g., tent, cooking stove, etc.)? What problems could occur and what precautions would you take to prevent them?

Idioms

"no spring chicken" = no longer young
"I don't think he'll be able to hike to the summit because he's no spring chicken."

"play it safe" = be careful and not take chances
"My knee still hurts, so I'm going to play it safe and not go jogging today."

Listening Exercise

A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.

What are they planning on doing in the morning?

fishing

mountain biking

hiking

Paul: "Sara, I've been looking forward to our yearly campout for three weeks. [Me too] It's going to be a wonderful day for hiking tomorrow. The great outdoors. Camping under the stars . This is the life."

According to the weather report, when is it going to start raining?

in the afternoon

in the morning

at night

Sara: "Yeah, but Paul, I'm a little bit worried about the weather though. The weatherman said it was going to rain later tonight."

What did Paul forget to bring?

umbrellas

rain boots

rain coats

Sara: "Paul. Paul. Did you remember to bring our raincoats just in case, like I told you?" [light rain] Paul: "Uh . . . no. I left them on the front porch."

Sarah left the playing cards _____ the picnic table.

next to

under

Sara: "Uhh. I left them next to the picnic table. [Hmmm] Hey, you don't want me to go out in this rain and get them, do you?"

What do the finally decide to do?

stay at a hotel

sleep at the campground

return home

Sara: Well, we could head down the mountain and stay at that hotel we passed on the way up, or go home. Paul: Hmm, why don't we just make the best of it here and hope the weather clears. Sara: That's a good idea.

Vocabulary Practice

Do the vocabulary activities using the words from the conversation for more practice:

Post-Listening Exercise

Talk about popular recreational activities in your country. Include the following ideas in your discussion:

seasonal activities for spring, summer, fall, and winter
recreational sports that are popular among different age groups including children, teens, adults, and senior citizens
different activities popular with men or women

Online Investigation

Use the Internet and decide on what camping gear, clothing, and other outdoor supplies you need in each of these situations. Also, find at least two Web sites that sell these supplies:

a trip across the Sahara Desert
an adventure in a boat down the Amazon River
a week-long stay in Antarctica
a bicycle tour across the United States

See Listening Script

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