Listening Exercises A1 – Movies

1.

A:        What kind of movies do you like, Sue?

B:        Let me see. Well, I really like science-fiction and action movies.

A:        Do you? How about horror movies?

B:        Oh, I can’t stand them. They’re usually really dumb!

2.

A:        Do you like movies, Bob?

B:        Sure.

A:        What kind?

B:        Well, I like horror movies the best. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy them.

A:        Hmm. Do you like Westerns, too?

B:        Not really.

3.

A:        What kind of movies do you like, Andrew?

B:        My favorite movies are action movies. I also like science fiction.

A:        Do you like comedies?

B:        Yeah, I like comedies, too.

4.

A:        What kind of movies do you like, Tina?

B:        Mmm. I love westerns. But they don’t make many good ones these days.

A:        That’s true. How about horror movies?

B:        I don’t like them very much.

A:        Me, neither.

1.

A:        It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen. It’s about this weird family that goes on a European vacation. But it’s a vacation where everything goes wrong. First, they lose all their luggage, then they end up in the wrong city by mistake. After that, someone thinks they are bank robbers and there’s this crazy car chase. If you want a good laugh, you should see it.

B:        Yeah, I’ve had a busy week. It sounds like the kind of movie I need to see.

2.

A:        Oh, it’s one of those movies that’s full of car chases and fights and people jumping out of airplanes and stuff. The special effects are pretty good, and it’s really exciting, especially when these two guys fight it out standing on the roof of a 50-story building. Of course, the bad guy falls off the roof in the end.

B:        Sounds good. I like those kinds of movies.

3.

A:        If you like Julia Roberts, you’ll love this movie. She’s a nurse who works in a big hospital. She meets this patient she’s looking after, and slowly, they fall in love, and finally get married.

B:        Hmm. Actually, I’m not a big fan of romances, so I don’t think it’s something I would like.

4.

A:        Hey, let me tell you about the movie. It’s about this guy who goes into the hospital for an operation, and by mistake, they give him the wrong kind of medicine. Every night, when it gets dark, he turns into a kind of half man, half animal and starts killing people.

B:        Yuck. I hate those kinds of movies. I don’t think I’ll bother seeing it. Thanks, anyway.

5.

A:        It’s kind of interesting. It’s about people who travel in a time machine. They can choose which century they want to visit. So, they decide to visit some famous times in history. They also see what the future is going to be like.

B:        Hey, that sounds interesting. I like movies like that.

1.

A:        What’s that new movie like? Is it a drama?

B:        Kind of. This volcano suddenly comes up out of the ocean in San Francisco, so this family is trying to get away from it. It’s a good story, though. Pretty scary and very realistic.

A:        Are the special effects any good?

B:        They’re great!

A:        Does it have any famous actors in it?

B:        Not really. They really should have had better actors. The two stars are pretty bad. But the music is great.

2.

A:        So tell me about that new movie you went to on Saturday. What’s it all about?

B:        It’s about these bank robbers in Kansas and how the police are trying to hunt them down. It’s pretty exciting from the moment the movie starts right ‘til the end.

A:        Are there a lot of special effects?

B:        Yeah, there are a lot of big explosions. They were terrific.

A:        Who’s in the movie?

B:        A couple of new actors that I’ve never seen before. They were both pretty good, especially the guy.

A:        Sounds like a great movie.

B:        Yeah. The only thing I didn’t like was the music. They have this very loud, funky music all the way through. It was pretty annoying.

3.

A:        What was the movie like?

B:        Well, it’s supposed to be an adventure story. Some explorers in Africa discover this new kind of animal. A really huge ape that they want to bring back to America.

A:        Sounds interesting.

B:        Yeah, the story was good, but the special effects were awful. The ape didn’t look very realistic at all. It looked like a toy or something. And the two main actors were pretty awful.

A:        So it’s not worth seeing?

B:        No. But buy the soundtrack. The music was excellent.

4.

A:        Is that movie you saw any good?

B:        Yeah, fantastic.

A:        It’s about a robbery, right?

B:        Yeah, it’s a great story about these art thieves in London who want to steal some famous paintings from a museum. It ends with a fantastic helicopter chase all over London. There are some unbelievable special effects.

A:        Really. I should see it. Who’s in it?

B:        A couple of British actors I never saw before. They’re fantastic. There are some nice songs in the movie, too.

A:        Great.

1 b   2 c   3 b   4 c   5 b

Transcript

1.   This movie has everything: mountains, deserts, good guys, bad guys, cowboys, and lots of horses. But save your money and wait for the video. It’s not that great.

2.   This wonderful movie came from the smash hit that was on Broadway for years. The songs are great and the dancing is incredible.

3.   Movies like this have changed in recent years. In the past, they were about monsters from space. Now they’re often about strange technology. This one is about a computer that is just like a human being!

4.   You all know how this story goes: Boy meets girl, they fall in love, they fight and break up, and guess what – they get back together again. Unless you really love this kind of story, stay home and watch TV instead.

5.   This movie had a slow start, but by the end, everyone was laughing so hard their sides hurt. The situations are funny and the acting is brilliant. If you’re feeling down, go see this movie and you’ll feel great!

1   The music

2   The story

3   The actors

4   The special effects

5   The story

Transcript

1.   I thought the story was really exciting. And the acting was great. The only thing I really couldn’t stand was the sound track. I hate modern music. It’s so repetitive!

2.   The actors were excellent. They were incredible singers and dancers. And the music was great, too. But the story was pretty weak. If it hadn’t been a musical, I wouldn’t have gone to see it.

3.   The acting was really awful, but the story line was great. So was the music! The special effects were fantastic.

4.   The story and the acting were terrific. I liked just about everything about the movie. Everything except the special effects – they were so old-fashioned that I almost laughed.

5.   I really liked the acting in this movie. I guess if it had a weak point, it was the story. Things moved pretty slowly and I got bored now and then.