Practice Listening English Exercises for A1 – Vacations

Didn’t like it:   awful, pretty boring, very disappointing, nothing special, terrible

Liked it a little:   all right, not bad, so-so

Liked it a lot:   really great, fantastic, terrific, wonderful

1 b   2 a   3 b   4 b   5 b   6 a   7 b   8 a

Transcript

1

A:   Did you have a good vacation?

B:   Not bad. I decided not to go away. I just stayed home and watched TV.

A:   You call that a vacation?

2

A:   How was your vacation?

B:   So-so

A:   Where did you go?

B:   I went to Hawaii.

A:   And?

B:   Well, I went for the sunshine, but it rained every day! So I couldn’t get a tan.

A:   Hey. That’s tough!

3

A:   How was your vacation?

B:   Very disappointing.

A:   Oh, what did you do?

B:   Nothing. I stayed home and helped my father fix his car.

A:   Oh, no!

4

A:   Did you do anything interesting on your vacation?

B:   Mmm. Well, I went out of town for a few days. I visited my brother and his family.

A:   Did you have a nice time?

B:   It was terrible. The kids were fighting all the time.

5

A:   When did you get back from your trip?

B:   Last week.

A:   So did you go to the beach? 

B:   Not this time. I rented a house in the country. It was really quiet and peaceful. And really boring! And the birds woke me up at six o’clock every morning.

6

A:   What did you do on your vacation? Did you stay home?

B:   No, I went skiing.

A:   Really. Did you have a good time?

B:   It’s was great – until I broke my leg!

7

A:   How was your vacation?

B:   Vacation? Oh, that!

A:   Did you go to the beach?

B:   No, I had to stay home and study for my exam.

A:   Sounds awful.

B:   It was. And I failed the exam!

8

A:   Did you go to California for your vacation?

B:   No, I went to Nevada.

A:   To Las Vegas?

B:   Yeah, Las Vega.

A:   That’s great. How was it?

B:   It was all right until I spent all my money!

1 no   2 yes   3 no   4 no

5 yes   6 no   7 yes   8 yes

1 b   2 d   3 f   4 c   5 h   6 e   7 a   8 g

Transcript

1

A:   Did you have a nice vacation?

B:   It was nothing special. The weather was terrible.

A:   That’s too bad.

2

A:   Did you enjoy your trip to Vancouver?

B:   Yeah, it was fantastic. The people are so nice.

3

A:   How was your ski trip?

B:   Awful.

A:   Why?

B:   There was no snow!

4

A:   So how was your trip to France?

B:   Very disappointing. It was so crowded everywhere. We couldn’t even get a hotel room.

A:   That’s too bad. You should never go in July.

B:   Now you tell me!

5

A:   When did you get back from the beach?

B:   Last weekend. I had a terrific time. I swam every day and I learned how to windsurf.

A:   Great!

6

A:   Did you have a nice vacation?

B:   It was terrible. The food was awful. And the hotel wasn’t clean at all.

A:   Oh, that’s too bad.

7

A:   So how was your trip to Thailand?

B:   I had a wonderful time. The shopping was fantastic. And the people were great.

A:   Sounds like you had fun.

B:   I did.

8

A:   Did you have a great vacation?

B:   Really great! But it was too short.

A:   Really. How long was it?

B:   Only a month.

A:   A month! You’re lucky!

A 6   B 4   C 3   D 1   E 2   F 5

1 False   2 True   3 False

4 False   5 False   6 True

Transcript

1

A:   Is this you?

B:   Yes, it is.

A:   Wow! It looks really fun, but hard. How do you stay on them?

B:   In the beginning, you don’t. You fall off all the time. But you learn pretty quickly. I had a wonderful time.

2

A:   What are you doing here?

B:   My friends and I went camping. It was really great. But it got very cold at night. This is how we kept warm.

3

A:   What did you do?

B:   Oh, I went sightseeing and visited all the museums.

A:   Oh, that sounds interesting.

B:   Actually, it was pretty boring. I hate museums.

4

A:   Oh, this must have been a wonderful vacation.

B:   Yes, it was fantastic. The weather was perfect. And the water was so clear.

A:   Wow. Look at you. You’re all red.

B:   Yes, I got a terrible sunburn.

5

A:   What are you doing here?

B:   Oh, I took a cooking course in Italy.

A:   Terrific. So what can you make now?

B:   Spaghetti and meatballs!

6

A:   Did you travel the whole way in this?

B:   Yes, we did. It was really very comfortable to travel in. We slept in it, too.

A:   How was your vacation, Julia?

B:   It was great! I rented a house with some friends at the beach.

A:   That sounds like fun!

B:   It was. I walked on the beach every morning, and I learned to windsurf.

A:   Nice. Did you stay at the beach the whole time?

B:   No, we visited a cute town nearby. We shopped for souvenirs and ate ice cream.

A:   Sounds wonderful.

B:   It was. In fact, I’ve decided I want to live near the beach!