Listening Exercises B1 – Past Events

1.

My boss invited me to his birthday party on Saturday night.

2.

I thought I’d better take him a nice birthday present, so I bought him a really nice tie.

3.

When I got to the party, my boss’s wife met me at the door and invited me inside.

4.

Then I went in. All my friends from work were there.

5.

I heard my boss’s voice behind me as he came out of the kitchen.

6.

I turned around to say hello, and guess what? He was wearing exactly the same tie as the one I had bought him!

1.

Some friends and I were in the elevator going up to my apartment when suddenly the elevator stopped between floors and wouldn’t move.

2.

I went to the airport to pick up my boss. I was so nervous that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. When I got to my car, I realized I had left my briefcase on the floor in the arrival terminal. Gee, with my boss there and all … I felt so stupid.

3.

I was in bed in the hotel half asleep when suddenly I smelled smoke. Then I heard the fire alarm.

4.

I wanted to go sailing, but just as I arrived at the lake, a storm broke out and it started to rain. It wasn’t a very strong storm, but it was much too cold for sailing.

5.

I was driving down Pleasant Street yesterday. I was singing along with a song on the radio and probably wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have been. All of a sudden, a dog ran out in front of my car. I couldn’t believe my eyes!

6.

Last weekend, I went out on a date with this beautiful woman from my history class. We were at this really nice restaurant, and when the bill came, I realized that my wallet was missing. I guess it fell out when we took a taxi to the restaurant. I didn’t know what to do! The bill was really high!

1.

It was a pretty bad snowstorm and the roads weren’t in very good condition. I guess I was driving a little too fast and I went into a skid. I couldn’t control the car at all! I went off the side of the road and into the snow. Luckily the car wasn’t damaged and I wasn’t hurt, but I couldn’t get the car to move. I just had to stay in the car and wait. Finally, after about half an hour someone in a big truck came by and pulled me out.

2.

Yeah, it was pretty scary. We ran into a bad storm and the plane was really bumped around. The passengers were pretty scared, and of course all the kids were screaming and crying. It only lasted for 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes felt like an hour! I don’t know how the pilot got the airplane out of the storm, but he finally did. And the rest of the flight was perfect.

3.

All I wanted was to get the newspaper. You know how some hotels leave it in front of your door? Anyway, I stepped out of the room to get it, but the door shut behind me. I tried to open it, but it was locked. And my key was inside the room! I was wearing just my pajamas! Luckily for me, someone from housekeeping came by and she had a key.

4.

We were staying in this hotel in Thailand when there was a fire. I was so scared when I heard the fire alarm go off! I got out of the hotel as quickly as I could. The hotel was badly damaged, and some people lost their clothes and money. In the end, though, we were lucky. No guests or staff members were injured.

5.

I was out shopping with a friend and I saw some kids selling raffle tickets to raise money for a charity. It was for a really good cause, so I bought a ticket. I didn’t think much more about it. But in the end, I won first prize! It was a good prize, too – a weekend trip for two to Las Vegas!

6.

I was at a restaurant with my wife when this famous rock star sat down at the table next to us. I couldn’t believe it! I wanted to ask him for his autograph, but my wife said I should let the man have his dinner in peace. In the end, when my wife was in the rest room, I asked the waitress if she would ask the rock star to sign my menu. And believe it or not, he did!

a 2   b 4   c 1   d 5   e 3

Transcript

Last weekend, my friend and I ate dinner at this great new Italian restaurant downtown. The problem was, when the bill came, my friend didn’t have enough money to pay for her meal. She asked me if she could borrow some money. That’s when I realized that my wallet was missing! I guess I left it at home. So I called my mother on my cell phone and asked her to bring my wallet to the restaurant. While we were waiting for my mother, the waiter asked us to pay the bill. I didn’t want him to know we didn’t have enough money, so I ordered more food. Finally, my mother arrived with my wallet and we paid the bill. After all that food, the bill was really high!

1   Frightened

2   Embarrassed

3   Disappointed

4   Embarrassed

5   Disappointed

Transcript

1.

I had to work late last night. When I got in the elevator to go home, I pressed the button and the doors closed. But the elevator didn’t move! I pushed all the buttons, but nothing happened. I was trapped!

2.

I exercise at the gym every morning before work. One day, I was so tired that I forgot to change clothes before I went to the office. So I was still wearing my shorts and T-shirt from the gym! Everyone was laughing at me.

3.

I had been practicing to run the Boston Marathon for years. But on the night before the race, I fell while I was taking out the garbage and hurt my ankle. It was really painful, so I wasn’t able to run in the race.

4.

This beautiful woman asked me to have dinner with her last Friday. I was so excited! The problem was, I forgot the name of the restaurant. When I finally found the right place, I was about an hour late. I felt so stupid!

5.

I had really been looking forward to spending a quiet weekend in the country, but at the last minute, my boss asked me to work on an important project. I had to stay in the office and work the whole weekend.