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Listening task 1: How often?

A Listen. People are talking about their free-time activities. How often do they do them? Write always, often, sometimes, hardly ever, or never.

1   He _________ plays sports in the afternoon.

2   She _________ goes to the movies on weekends.

3   He _________ watches TV at night.

4   She _________ goes to a club.

5   He _________ goes out for lunch.

6   She _________ visits relatives on Sunday.

Answer & Audioscripts

1 hardly ever   2 sometimes   3 always

4 never   5 often   6 always

Audioscripts in B below

B Listen again. Circle the reasons.

 The man

    a. doesn’t like to exercise.

    b. works in the afternoon.

 The woman

    a. thinks movies are more exciting at the theater.

    b. doesn’t have a DVD player.

 The student

    a. likes many kinds of programs.

    b. doesn’t have to study very much.

 The woman thinks clubs

    a. are too expensive.

    b. aren’t enjoyable.

 The man likes

    a. to cook for friends.

    b. to go out for lunch with friends.

 The woman likes to visit

    a. her grandparents.

    b. her cousins.

Answer & Audioscripts

1 b   2 a   3 a   4 b   5 b   6 a

Audioscripts

1

Woman:   Do you ever play spores in the afternoon?

Man:   Me? Oh, hardly ever. I work from one to six during the week, so I can’t play sports in the afternoon. Once a month, l have the afternoon off – then I go swimming.

2

Man:   How often do you go to the movies on weekends?

Woman:   On weekends? Well, sometimes I go to the movies on weekends, and sometimes I go during the week, especially if there’s a movie I really want to see. I like to watch movies on the big screen. They’re just not as exciting at home on DVD.

3

Woman:   How often do you watch TV at night?

Man:   At night? Well, I guess I always watch TV. I watch every night. I know I should study, but there are so many programs I like. So, I have to say I watch TV a lot. More than I should!

4

Man:   How often do you go to a club?

Woman:   Me? Never! I went to a club once with some friends, but it wasn’t my thing. I haven’t gone back. I didn’t enjoy it at all. I hate dancing in front of people. As a matter of fact, I never plan to go back again.

5

Woman:   Do you ever go out for lunch?

Man:   Do you mean out to a restaurant? Yeah, I do. Often, actually.

Woman:   How many times a week would you say?

Man:   Oh … 1navbe three or four tin1cs. I like to eat lunch with my friends. Sometimes we go out to a fast food place; sometimes we go to the student union. Yeah, I’d say about three or four times a week.

6

Man:   Do you ever visit relatives on Sunday?

Woman:   Yes, my cousins and I visit my grandparents every Sunday. My grandmother likes to make a big dinner for us, and we talk about the week. I love my grandmother’s cooking, so I always visit my grandparents on Sunday.

Listening task 2: What’s popular?

A Listen. People in the U.S. spend their free time in the evening in different ways.
Number the activities from 1 to 9.

Free-time activities

Percent

 

__

reading

____

 

__

staying home with family

____

 

__

getting together with friends

____

 

__

resting or relaxing

____

 

__

eating out

____

 

__

playing a sport or exercising

____

 

1

watching TV or DVDs

26%

 

__

going to the movies or a play

____

 

__

other

____

 

Source: The Gallup Organization

Answer & Audioscripts

1 watching TV or DVDs

2 staying home with family

3 resting or relaxing

4 reading

5 getting together with friends

6 going to the movies or a play

7 eating out

8 playing a sport or exercising

9 other

Audioscripts in B below

B Listen again. What percent of the people do each activity? Write the percents in the chart.

Answer & Audioscripts

1 26%   4 9%   7 5%

2 25%   5 8%   8 3%

3 9%   6 5%   9 10%

Audioscripts

1

Husband:   What do you want to do tonight?

Wife:   Well, I’m not sure. I guess I was just planning to watch TV like we usually do.

Husband:   Well, a lot of other people are doing the same thing.

Wife:   What do you mean?

Husband:   According to this survey in the newspaper, a lot of people in the U.S. choose to watch TV or DVDs in the evening.

Wife:   Really?

Husband:   Yeah. Twenty-six percent of the people say that’s their favorite way to spend their free time in the evening.

2

Wife:   What else does the survey say? What’s the second most popular activity?

Husband:   Let’s see here. Ah, it says the second most popular activity is staying home with family. Yeah. Twenty-five percent of the people in this survey think so.

3

Wife:   This is interesting. I mean, I like finding out what other people do in the evening. So, what’s the third activity?

Husband:   Number three on the list is … just resting or relaxing.

Wife:   Hmm. That’s what I really like doing after a long day at work.

Husband:   Well, you’re not alone. Nine percent of the people chose that one.

4

Wife:   OK. Keep going. What do other people do in their free time?

Husband:   Let’s see here. [rustling of newspaper] Aha! Here’s my favorite way to spend an evening.

Wife:   Wait – don’t tell me … reading!

Husband:   Yes! Reading is number four. And another nine percent of the people said they spend their evenings reading.

5

Wife:   Hey, all those activities are things people: do at home. Doesn’t anybody go out in the evening?

Husband:   Yes, they do. In fact, the next most popular choice was getting together with friends.

Wife:   How many people chose that?

Husband:   Eight percent.

Wife:   Eight percent, huh? You know, we should get together with our friends more often.

6

Husband:   You want to know where else people go in the evening?

Wife:   Sure. Where else do they go?

Husband:   Next on the list is going out to the movies or a play.

Wife:   Oh, yeah? Do a lot of people do that?

Husband:   Five percent of them do.

7

Wife:   Hey, I’m getting hungry. What should we have for dinner tonight?

Husband:   Funny you should say that. The next thing on the survey is eating out. Five percent of the people in the U.S. chose that one.

8

Wife:   That seems like a lot of different activities. I can’t imagine what else people do with their free time.

Husband:   Well, some people say they spend the evening playing a sport or exercising.

Wife:   That’s a great idea. Let’s get out there and join them!

Husband:   Whoa, wait a minute. It’s not that popular of an activity. Only three percent say they do that.

9

Wife:   OK, so what do all the rest of the people like to do?

Husband:   That’s a good question. It doesn’t really say. Ten percent of the people chose “other.” It could be anything, really…. So, honey, what do you want to do tonight? You name it!

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