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Testing Listening Skills
The activities in this unit are intended to help teachers prepare for tests such as ‘Listening Comprehension’. It may
be administered in different ways, depending on pupils’ reaction to the material they hear. The aim of testing
listening is:
 to test understanding of interactional English that is likely to spoken rather than written;
 to test the ability to complete a task by following instructions in English;
 to test the ability to sift what is relevant from a piece of spoken English and to convert that relevant information
into appropriate written form.
At lower levels students will be expected to understand gist, main points, and certain details, even if the text is too
difficult to be understood completely.
Listening text types may include :
 announcements and advertisements;
 conversations and interviews;
 telephone recorded messages and telephone dialogues;
 commentaries, speeches, debates, stories;
 quiz -programs, songs and drama
Guidelines for preparing Listening Tests
I. Selecting Texts.
1)Avoid choosing texts that were originally intended to be read silently.
2)If you want a continuous piece of text, try to use an authentic text which was designed to be read aloud, e.g. a
station or airport announcement, a recorded telephone messages, or a radio or television news item.
3)English language radio and TV programs are also good sources for material such as interviews, discussions,
commercials and weather forecasts.
4)If you have to record your own material, try to make it as natural as possible. For example, if you want to record an
interview , do not give the speakers a complete script to read from; just give them broad instructions about what they
are to talk about. They will then have to think about what they are going to say as the interview progress, and will
therefore make natural repetitions, hesitations, self-corrections etc.
5)Where necessary, insert a picture, map or diagram in the test paper to help students understand the text.
II.
1)
2)
3)
4)
Preparing Test Items
Avoid testing memory rather than comprehension.
Avoid giving the students complicated tasks which test intelligence rather than comprehension.
The language of listening items should be easier than the language of the text.
It should not be possible to answer reading items (tasks) correctly without the spoken text. Make sure students
are only able to answer a question if they listen to the text. It is very common for listening tests to contain items
which the student can answer using background knowledge.
5) Ensure that the answer to one item does not depend on the answer to a previous item (if it does, a student who
missed the earlier question will be double penalised).
6) If the students are asked to list items from the text, they should be told how many items to list.
7) Make sure that any illustrations, diagrams, charts or maps are very clear.
III. Organization.
Tell the students:
 what type of text they are going to listen to;
 how many times they’ll hear the text;
 what they will be expected to do;
 whether they are allowed to make notes as they listen
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Examples of Item Types
Right / Wrong , True / False Exercises
Compare Exercises
Guess-cards, Guess-pictures Exercises
Multiple -choice
Gap-filling
Re-order sentences Exercises
Text -completion or Picture-completion Exercises
Error correction
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 Text-correction
 Listing and classifying
1. Right/Wrong (decide whether a statement is true/false or not given)
In the early stages of learning English , our students will probably have some
difficulty in
actually hearing the difference between different sounds. It is generally more appropriate to listen to fairy short
statements and conversations of only 5-8 sentences.
Exercise 1. «A Flash-Card Test». ( A flash card is a card with two-coloured sides: green and red).
A text is presented either by the teacher or on tape. Each pupil is given a set of pictures. The pupils listen
attentively to the text describing pictures, and show green card if they agree , if not-the red card. The task is formed
by the principle ‘true/untrue’
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Students hear
1) Picture 1. Look at Nelly and her cat. They are friends. Nelly
is feeding her cat. The cat is drinking some milk at the
moment.
2) Picture 2. These boys are classmates. They are playing
football. They are good at sports.
3) Picture 3. Let me introduce Boris. He is laughing because
he is looking at a funny cartoon. He is good at drawing
pictures.
4) Picture 4. In the picture we can see two boys Alec and Mike.
What are they doing? They are watching TV at the moment.
Are they watching a horror film? No, they are watching a
ballet.
5) Picture 5. This is Lucy. She enjoys reading books. She is
reading a book at the moment. The book is interesting.
6) Picture 6. Nick and his dog like walking in the park.
Usually Nick takes his dog for a walk in the morning. This
morning the weather is very cold and it is snowing heavily.
7) Picture 7. Look at Pete and Andrew. They are sportsmen.
They are playing basketball at the moment. They enjoy
playing different games.
8) Picture 8. Do you know Rimma? Here she is! She is fond of
gardening. She is watering her flowers. She likes beautiful
flowers.
9) Picture 9. Jane and Lena are sisters. They can read, write
and draw. They are painting. They are going to become
famous painters.
10) Picture 10. What is Victor doing? He is writing a letter at
the moment .Who is he writing to? He writing to his girlfriend.
Students look
1) at picture 1
Students show
1) green card
2) at picture 2
2) red card
3) at picture 3
3) red card
4) at picture 4
4) green card
5) at picture 5
5) green card
6) at picture 6
6) red card
7) at picture 7
7) green card
8) at picture 8
8) green card
9) at picture 9
9) red card
10) at picture 10
10) red card
Exercise2.. «True-False» . A group of students listen to the text and then do the exercise based on true-false
statements.
How to Choose a Good Worker
Mr Briggs and his wife lived in a house with a beautiful garden around it. They loved their garden very much. One
day Mr Briggs said to his wife, «It is spring now. There is much work in the garden, but I have no time to work. I
must get a man to help me».
«That’s right,» answered his wife. «You must get a good worker for our garden. The man who worked in our garden
last spring liked to sit under the apple-trees. Do you remember that man?»
«Oh, yes, I remember that man very well, but now I know better how to choose my workers.»
Next day when Mr Briggs and his wife were in their garden, two men came up to them. They were garden workers.
Mr Briggs talked to them and said to one of them, «I think you will be a good worker. You may come tomorrow and
begin your work.»
The two men went away. «Why do you choose that man?» asked his wife. «I like the other man better. He has such a
nice face». «My dear,» answered Mr Briggs, «I like his face too, but if we want to get a good worker for our garden,
we must not look at his face but at his trousers. The knees of the trousers of the man with a nice face are clean. The
knees of the trousers of the other man are all dirty, so I know that he has worked much in the garden.
Write if these statements are true (T) or false (F):
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Statements
The Briggs lived in a big house with a beautiful garden around it.
They needed a garden worker to work in the garden.
Three men came to them.
Mrs Briggs liked the man with a nice face and clean trousers.
Mr Briggs chose the man whose knees of the trousers were dirty.
2. Compare exercises.
Exercise 1. Compare the given information with the text, picture......
Answer
1) T
2) T
3) F
4) T
5) T
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a) A picture is fixed on the board. The students are invited to listen to the description of the picture. Students look at
the picture as they listen to the description. They verify the statements by saying «that’s right!» or « that’s
wrong!» and correct.
b) Each student is given a text. Then they are invited to listen to the text or conversation. After that the students
read the text and compare it with what they have heard. The task is to write a brief essay on the text using only
correct sentences.
Exercise 1A. Listen to the text describing the picture and say in what ways the text and the picture differ
Students hear
1) This is a small room with one window.
2) There is a table near the window.
3) The computer is on the table.
4) There are a lot of English books on the table.
5) The chair is behind the table.
6) The Teddy Bear is in front of the computer.
7) There are two beds in the room.
8) The cat is sleeping on the bed.
9) The wardrobe is on the left.
10) The ball is in the wardrobe.
Students say
1) Yes, that’s right. This is a small room.
2) Yes, that’s right. There is a table near the
window.
3) Yes, that’s right. The computer is on the table.
4) No, that’s wrong. There are no books on the
table.
5) No, that’s wrong. The chair is in front of the
table.
6) Yes, that’s right. The Teddy Bear is in front of
the computer.
7) No, there is one bed in the room.
8) No, there is no cat on the bed.
9) Yes, the wardrobe is on the left.
10) No, that’s wrong. The ball is between the table
and the wardrobe.
Exercise 1B. Listen to the text «Caught in a Tree» (after Mayne Reed), then read the same text but with some
obvious mistakes (according to the first text). The task is to write a brief exposition using only correct sentences
(according to the first text)
Caught in a Tree. Text 1( the students listen)
«One day I was in the forest. All day I hunted and got nothing. In the evening I came to the Mississippi . I said to
myself, «It is late , I must go home,» but then I thought , «My wife is hungry and she has no money. I must stay here
till morning. Perhaps in the morning I can kill something».
I saw a big tree and stopped under it. I was very tired. I lay down and in two minutes I was asleep. At 4 o’clock in
the morning a terrible noise woke me. I looked up and high up in the tree I saw a big nest with two young eagles in it.
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I remembered the English gentleman in New Orleans who wanted a pair of young eagles for the London Zoo. He
could pay good money. I said to myself, «I shall get into that tree and get these young eagles».
In two minutes I was up the tree, but it was very difficult to get to the nest. When at last I got there and could look
into the nest, I saw the two young eagles and also some food for them- meat and fish. The old birds were not there.
When I tried to take the young eagles out of the nest, I suddenly felt a terrible pain in the back of my head . I looked
round and saw the mother eagle. And she was ready to make a second attack. You must know how strong these
eagles are!
«It will be better to get down,» I thought and I got down on to a lower branch. Here I sat and rested; I think perhaps I
fell asleep. And then suddenly from below me I heard a terrible noise: I looked and saw water all around me. There
were many big trees between me and the river and now they all fell down one after another into the water. But my
tree stood in the water and shook. I understood what it was: a flood on the Mississippi.
What could I do? I cannot swim, so I could only sit where I was. I sat on my branch all the night and waited for help.
In the morning I saw a boat on the river. I cried, «Help, Help!» But the people in the boat didn’t hear me. They were
too far away.
I remembered that there was some meat and fish in the eagle’s nest. And so I went up to the nest again. Of course the
birds attacked me but this time I was prepared. I had to fight with them, but I got some fish and ate it. Now I was not
hungry. But soon I wanted to drink. That was terrible. There was water so near and I could not get it. I thought and
thought. Suddenly I saw what I could do. I took off my shirt and tied a string to it. Then I let my shirt fall into the
water below. When I got it out, It was full of water and I could drink.
I lived six long days on that tree. Every day I got up to the nest and found some food there. So I was not hungry and
there was always water under the tree.
When there is a great flood on the Mississippi , the water lies for months after the flood. But I could not stay on the
tree all my life and I began to make a plan in order to get away. I was not afraid of the eagles now. We were good
friends. They saw I did nothing bad to the young birds. Often the eagles sat near me on the same branch. I knew that
eagles have very strong wings. Perhaps they could carry me over the water to dry land. And I could help them a little,
if I moved my arms and legs in the water.
So I decided to catch the two old eagles. It was difficult but I did it after some time. Then I took my string and tied
their four legs together. After this I tied myself to the same string. Then I jumped into the water.
My plan was good: the eagles carried me through the branches down, down, down and soon I was in the water. Now
the birds began to beat the water with their wings. I moved my arms and legs in the water and helped them as much
as I could. They went to the other side of the river. Very soon I was on dry land.
«And what did you do with the eagles?» I asked Zeb. «Did you let them go?»
«Of course not,» said Zeb. «I sold them to the Englishman and got good money for them».
Caught in a Tree. Text 2 (the students read)
Zeb Stump was a great hunter . One day he was in the forest and hunted. He killed a big bear and was very glad. In
the evening he came to the Mississippi . He was very tired and wanted to sleep in the tree. Suddenly he saw two
young eagles fall from the nest. He wanted to catch the eagles but they attacked Zeb. Zeb remembered one
Englishmen who wanted to buy two young eagles for the school. So Zeb tried to get the young eagles. He got to the
nest and saw another pair of eagles, but they attacked Zeb too. Zeb decided to have a rest.
Suddenly he heard a terrible noise below him. Some wild animals were walking in the forest. The trees fell one after
another. Zeb couldn’t get down from the tree because there was water all around the tree and there were some big
animals under the tree which wanted to eat Zeb. Zeb understood that it was a flood on the Mississippi.
In the morning he saw a boat on the river , but the people in the boat didn’t help Zeb. They didn’t want to help Zeb
and they couldn’t swim well. In the evening Zeb was very hungry and he ate one of the eagles.
He didn’t want to stay on the tree all his life and began to make a plan in order to get away. He knew that eagles
have very strong wings and they could carry him over the water to dry land. So he caught the two old eagles and tied
their four legs together . After that he tied himself to the same string . Then he jumped into the water. Everything was
done as it had been planned. The eagles helped Zeb and soon he was on dry land. Then he let the eagles go home.
Exercise 2.. Students listen to two texts which have slight differences between them. Students identify differences in
two spoken texts
Listen to two texts and say what is missed in the second text.
The Seven Sisters (a Greek Myth) Text 1.
Many years ago there lived a beautiful Moon-goddess, called Diana. She liked to hunt and every night she went
through the wood on her white horse . Her dog ran after her and her seven girl-friends in beautiful white dresses
followed her. They were the seven daughters of King Atlas, and they ran like the wind.
One night a giant whose name was Orion hunted in the wood. When he saw the seven sisters running there, he
wanted to catch one of them and ran after the girls. When the sisters saw that a giant followed them, they were
frightened and ran very quickly. They ran through the wood and over the mountains and saw that the giant was still
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very near. They called Diana and asked her to help them. Diana changed them into birds and suddenly Orion saw
seven beautiful birds which rose into the sky. They flew higher and higher and at last became seven bright stars in
the sky. The Greek people called them the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. The myth says that Orion could not forget
the beautiful white birds and looked for them all his life. People say that only at the end of his life Orion found
them in the sky.
At night when there are no clouds in the sky, you can see the Pleiades. They are a small group of stars very near one
another. The seven sisters are always running away from Orion and he will never catch them.
The Seven Sisters (a Greek Myth) Text 2.
Many years ago there lived a beautiful Moon-goddess, called Diana. She liked to hunt. Her dog ran after her and her
girl-friends followed her.
One night a giant hunted in the wood. When he saw the girls running there, he wanted to catch one of them and ran
after the girls. When the sisters saw that a giant followed them, they ran very quickly. They ran through the wood
and over the mountains and saw that the giant was still very near. They called Diana and asked her to help them.
Diana changed them into birds. They flew higher and higher and at last became bright stars in the sky. The Greek
people called them the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. The myth says that the giant could not forget the beautiful
white birds and looked for them all his life. People say that only at the end of his life the giant found them in the
sky.
At night when there are no clouds in the sky, you can see the Pleiades. They are a small group of stars very near one
another.
3. «Guess-cards» and «Guess-pictures» exercises.
Exercise 1.« A Guess Picture Test» . A set of pictures is fixed on the board. They represent a topical situation. The
pupils listen to the text and look at these pictures, then they identify the picture.
Who is it? ( Topic «Appearance»)
Students hear
1) This is a boy. His name is Mike. He’s got short fair hair. His nose is
long. He’s got glasses.
2) This is a girl. Her name is Lena. She’s got long dark hair. She’s got
freckles.
3) This is a girl. Her name is Mary. She’s got curly fair hair. She’s got
glasses.
..................................................................................................................
Answer( picture №......)
1) picture 7
2) picture 10
3) picture 8
Exercise 2. The students are invited to listen to the short stories about places of interests in St.Petersburg. The task
is to guess this place.
Students hear
1) This palace was the royal residence up to 1917. Now it is the part of
the famous museum, the collection of which numbers over 3 mln
exhibits. What do you know about this Palace? What interesting
exhibits can you see there?
2) This monument is situated on Decembrists’ Square (Senate Square).
The monument depicts the Russian tsar who was the founder of
St.Petersburg. What monument is this? How did Alexander Pushkin
call it?
3) This cathedral is the highest point after the TV tower. It is also one
of the oldest constructions in our city. On the top of the cathedral
one can see the golden angel with a cross. What do you know about
this cathedral? Who is the architect?
.............................................................................................................
Answer
1) The Winter Palace
2) The Bronze Horseman
( a monument to PeterI)
3) St.Peter and Paul’s
Cathedral (D.Trezzini)
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4. Multiple Choice exercises ( sentence -based or text- based)
Exercise 1. You’ll hear a brief statement. Each sentence will be spoken once/twice . Choose the
answer close in meaning to what you’ve heard.
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Students hear:
1. The question is too important to forget.
Students read and choose:
a) We must ask the question.
b) We must remember the question.
c) The question is not important.
2. Mrs Brown’s job is cutting and dressing
women’s hair.
a) She is a dressmaker.
b) She is a painter.
c) She is a hairdresser.
3. The hot discussion between two men was very
exciting.
a) Two men hold a very exciting discussion.
b) They didn’t take an interest in the discussion.
c) Two men didn’t take part in this exciting
discussion.
4. If you ring me up we can decide where to
meet.
a) If you come up to me, we can decide where to
meet.
b) If you write me a note, we can decide where to
meet.
c) If you make a telephone call, we can decide
where to meet.
5. Ann apologised to her teacher when she came
to school late.
6. At school we learn how to get along with
others.
7. Our class team became a winner in the
English song contest.
8. Mother asked Nelly to describe her classmate.
a) Ann became angry when she came to school
late.
b) Ann didn’t feel well when she came to school
c) Ann excused for coming to school late.
a) At school we learn how to be friendly with
others.
b) At school we learn how to get good marks .
c) At school we learn how to organise musical
groups.
a) Our class team took part in the English song
competition.
b) Our class team won the first prize in the
English song competition.
c) Our class team participate in the song contest.
a) Mother asked Nelly to invite her new
classmate to her birthday party.
b) Mother asked Nelly to say what her new
classmate liked.
c) Mother asked Nelly to say what her new
classmate was like.
Answer: 1)-b; 2)-c; 3)-a; 4)-c; 5)-c; 6)-a; 7)-b; 8)-c
Exercise 2. Listen to the sentences and choose the best reply.
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Students hear
1) What do you do?
Students read
a) I’m Russian. b)I’m watching TV.
c) I’m a student. d) Mary Stuart.
2) When’s your birthday?
a) I like my birthday.
c) No, thank you.
3) Let’s have an ice-cream!
a)
b)
c)
d)
4) What are you doing this
evening?
a) I’m going to be a doctor.
b) I’m reading an interesting book at the
moment.
c) I’m going to the concert show.
d) He lives in this street.
5) What time is it?
a) 14 years old. b) $12 c) 10.15
d) yesterday
b) August 27
d) Every week
I’m afraid I can’t play tennis.
I don’t know her.
Let’s go there later.
Great idea!
Answer
1)-c
2)-b
3)-d
4)-c
5)-c
5. Gap-filling exercises
Students listen to the text «How We Kept Mother’s Day» (after S.B.Leacock), then read the same text with gaps. The
task is to fill in the gaps (they may use also synonyms).
How We Kept Mother’s Day (The students hear)
I think celebrating «Mother’s Day» once a year is a very good idea.
So we decided to have a special celebration of Mother’s Day. We thought it a fine idea. We knew how much Mother
did for us and so we decided that we should do everything we could to make Mother happy.
We decided to decorate the house with flowers. We asked Mother to arrange the decoration because she always does
it on holidays. My sisters got new hats for such an important day. We wanted to buy a new hat for Mother too, but
she said that she liked her old hat better and didn’t want a new one.
Well, after breakfast we decided to take Mother for a beautiful drive away into the country. Mother is never able to
go to the country because she is busy in the house nearly all the time.
But then we changed the plan a little. Father decided to take Mother fishing.
When everything was ready for the trip we asked Mother to prepare some sandwiches. Well, when the car came to
the door, we saw that there was not enough room in it for us all. Father said that he could stay at home and work in
the garden. Then the two girls, Anne and Mary, said that they could stay at home, but as they had new hats, it would
be a pity if no one looked at them.
In the end it was decided that Mother could stay at home and make dinner. Mother doesn’t like fishing.
So we all drove away, and Mother stood and watched us from the verandah as long as she could see us.
Well, we had a very nice day in the country. Father caught a lot of big fish and the girls met some friends and they
talked about hats. It was quite late when we got back.
At last everything was ready and we sat down to a wonderful dinner. Mother got up and down many times during
dinner; she brought things from the kitchen and carried the dishes away. When the dinner was over all of us wanted
to help Mother to wash the dishes. But Mother said that she could do it herself, and so we let her because we
wanted to make her happy.
It was quite late when it was all over, and when we all kissed Mother before going to bed, she said it had been the
most wonderful day in her life.
How We Kept Mother’s Day. (The students read)
Celebrating «Mother’s Day» once a year is......(1). So we decided to have a special celebration of Mother’s Day. We
decided to decorate the house with......(2). We asked Mother to arrange the decoration because she always did it on
holidays. We wanted to buy......(3) for Mother, but she said that she liked her old one.
After breakfast we decided to go.....(4) . We asked Mother to prepare......(5).
When the car came to the door, we saw that there was not enough room in it for us all. So we decided that.......(6)
could stay at home and.......(7).
We had a nice day in the country. Father caught.......(8) and the girls met.....(9).
We came back late. Then we sat down to a wonderful dinner. Mother brought.....(10) and carried.......(11) away.
When the dinner was over we wanted to help Mother......(12) . But Mother said that she could do it herself and we let
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her......(13). It was quite late when it was all over, and Mother said it had been the most wonderful......(14) in her
life.
6. Re-order sentences exercises (text based)
Exercise1. The students listen to the text. Then they read the sentences from the text and are asked to number the
facts in the order in which they come in the text.
The Fly Who Wanted to Have a Tail
One day the Fly looked at the animals and birds round her and saw that they all had tails. «It’s a good thing to have a
tail», thought the Fly. And she flew to the Man. «Please, Man, give me a tail», she said to the Man. «All animals and
birds have tails , only I haven’t. I also want to be beautiful.»
«The trouble with you, Fly, is that you are a fool. They all have tails because tails help them live. Look,» the Man
pointed to the Monkey hanging by its tail from a tree. «You see, for him a tail is like one more hand. As for you, I
don’t think you must have a tail ».
The Fly got very angry. «I want you to give me a tail», she said angrily.
«You strange little thing», laughed the Man. «All right, if you see an animal or a bird with a tail only to make it
beautiful, you will have a tail too».
The Fly was happy and she flew out of the window. The Fly flew right to the river. There she saw a Fish. «Give me
your beautiful tail, will you?» she said to the Fish. «I’m sure you have it only to be beautiful».
«You are a fool to say that. I can’t give you my tail, it helps me swim», answered the Fish and swim away.
Then the Fly flew to the woods. She saw a bird sitting high in a tree. «Will you give me your tail, please?» said the
Fly to the Bird. «It doesn’t help you, it only makes you beautiful».
«Oh, no, you are wrong. It helps me work and make a nest for myself or get something to eat for my children.» «You
watch me,» the Bird said , «this is the way I work». The Fly watched the Bird for a minute and saw that it was right.
She flew away and soon met a Fox. The Fox had a red beautiful tail. «Give me your tail, will you?» the Fly began
her old song again. «How can you talk like that?» cried the Fox and the Fly saw that the Fox was afraid. «If I give
you my tail, I can die» said the Fox. «When men and dogs come to the woods I must run away. I brush the ground
with my long tail and the dogs do not know where I have gone. So you see how much my tail helps me».
And the Fly flew straight to the Man. «Well , no one wants to give me a tail. They say they must have a tail because
they cannot swim, run or work without it», said the Fly , «but I want to have a tail too! Give me a tail!» said the Fly
angrily.
«Haven’t the animals and birds taught you a good lesson?» asked the Man. But the Fly did not listen to him. She
repeated and repeated angrily «Give me a tail!».
«Well», said the Man. «Go to the Cow, you haven’t been to the Cow, have you?»
The Fly at once flew out of the window and hurried to the Cow. She sat on the Cow’s back and wanted to ask her the
question about the tail. But «Swish-sh» went the Cow’s long tail and that was the end of the Fly who wanted to have
a tail.
1) The Fly met a Fish, a Fox and a Bird.
2) She asked them if they wore their tails to look beautiful.
3) One day the Fly looked at the animals and birds round her and saw that they all had tails
4) The Fly asked the Man to give her the tail.
5) The Man sent the Fly to the Cow and the Cow killed the Fly with its long tail.
6) The Fly saw that the tail helps animals and birds to do different things.
7) The Fly became very angry and it flew straight to the Man.
8) The Fly flew and flew round him asking to give her the tail
9) The Fly flew to the Man and asked him for help.
10) The Man sent the Fly to animals and birds to see if their tails helped them or not.
Answer: 3, 9, 4, 10, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 5
Exercise 2. Students listen to a brief dialogue. Then they are given strips of paper with single lines of the dialogue
written on them. The students put the lines in order.
Students hear:
Simon: Hello Wendy!
Wendy: Hello Simon, Hello William (a dog)!
William ( a dog) : Woof!
Wendy: Did you have a good holiday?
Simon: Yes, I did. It was fantastic!
Wendy: Where did you go?
Simon: We went to France.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Students read:
Simon: Hello Wendy!
Simon: Yes, I did. It was fantastic!
Wendy: Where did you go?
Wendy: Hello Simon, Hello William (a dog)!
William ( a dog) : Woof!
Simon: We went to France.
Simon: It was fantastic. It was very hot.
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Wendy: Really? What was the weather like?
Simon: It was fantastic. It was very hot.
Wendy: Oh, you were lucky. What was the food
like?
Simon: Oh, it was very good.
Wendy: What did you do there?
Simon: I played tennis every day and went cycling.
Wendy: Great! Did you go by plane?
Simon: No, we didn’t. We went by train, but it was
very comfortable.
Wendy: When did you get back?
Simon: Yesterday.
.
8) Wendy: Did you have a good holiday?
9) Wendy: Really? What was the weather like?
10) Wendy: Oh, you were lucky. What was the
food like?
11) Simon: I played tennis every day and went
cycling.
12) Simon: Yesterday
13) Simon: Oh, it was very good.
14) Wendy: What did you do there?
15) Wendy: When did you get back?
16) Simon: No, we didn’t. We went by train, but it
was very comfortable
17) Wendy: Great! Did you go by plane?
Answer: 1,4,5,8,2,3,6,9,7,10,13,14,11,17,16,15,12
7. Picture Completion or Text Completion exercises.
Exercise1 . Completing pictures, maps, plans.
Completing pictures according to certain instructions is often preferable since students are involved in drawing rather
than in writing. A drawing task can be used with beginners.
Task 1. Students hear:
Draw a square in the middle of your paper. Make each side about 5 centimeters long. (pause)
Now draw another square, exactly the same size, on the right on the first square. The second
square will touch the side of the first square. (pause) Next find the line between the two
squares. Make it about 2 centimeters higher. (pause) Now connect the top of this new line
with the upper-left corner of the first square. (pause) And now connect the top of the middle
line with the upper-right corner of the second square. (pause) You’ve drawn a house. Now
draw a window in the first square. (pause) Finally, draw a door in the second square.
The drawing should look like this:
Task 2. What a Room!
The students hear the following instructions:
You’re moving into a new flat. Some men are helping you to move all the furniture into your room.. Listen carefully
to these instructions and then draw the furniture in the room. The drawings in the box will help you.
window
This is your room
door
1) First put the bed on the right -side of the
window on the right from the door.
2) And put the desk in front of the window ,
but be careful! Don’t knock the table legs
against the door.
3) Next take the two chairs and put one in
front of the table because I want to look
out of the window while I’m working.
4) The second chair put by my bed.
5) You can put the sofa by the opposite wall
of the window and the TV set on the small
table in the corner on the left-side from
the window. Now I can watch TV and sit
on the sofa.......................................
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Bed
Chairs
Rug
Sofa
Small Table
o
0
Desk
o
Lamp
TV set
Wastepaper
Basket
Task 3. Look at the map. Listen what the tour guide says and complete the key.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our sightseeing tour. We’re in front of the 2 nd Gymnasium which
is situated in Kazanskaya Street( the former Plekhanov Street)(1).Now we’re turning right into Grivtcov Street and
go straight to the Moika Embankment. At the corner of Bolshaya Morskaya and Grivtcov Streets you can see a
very beautiful building of a famous Astoria Hotel, built by Lidval in the 20 th century. Then we turn to left and see
one of the largest squares in St.Petersburg. It is St. Isaac’s Square. This square is famous for St.Isaac’s Cathedral
which is extremely valuable and interesting for its architecture. It was built in the 19 th century by A.Montferrandt. It
is the 4th largest cathedral in the world. Now we are driving along Palace Prospect. On our right now you can see
one of the most beautiful squares -Decembrists’ Square (Senate Square) In the centre of the square we see the
majestic statue of Peter the Great who was the founder of St.Petersburg. Alexander Pushkin, a famous Russian poet
called it «Bronze Horseman». Now we are turning right and go along Admiralty Embankment. On the left we see
the river Neva, the main river of the city and on the right- Admiralty, built by architect Zakharov in 1823. The spire
is capped with a gold frigate which is the emblem of St.Petersburg. On the left you can see the Palace Bridge and
straight ahead is The State Hermitage Museum. By the scope and significance of its collections it can be placed on a
par with the National Gallery in London, Louvre in Paris, Prado Museum in Madrid. Now we’re turning right into
Nevsky Prospect. On the left you can see the central square of St.Petersburg- Palace Square, which is a scene of
festive processions, parades, public celebrations, and mass meetings.
Now we’re going along Nevsky Prospect , the central street of the city. On the left we see the Former General Staff
Building with Triumphal Arch. On the right we see a beautiful building in baroque style- the former palace of
Russian count Stroganov built in the 18 th century. The Kazan Cathedral is the next building which attracts our
attention. It was built by architect Voronikhin in 1811. We have turned right and now we’re in Kazanskaya Street
(the former Plekhanov Street). At the corner with Grivtcov Street we’ll have a stop and you can visit the 2 nd
Gymnasium, one of the oldest educational establishments in the city. It was founded in 1805.
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Answer: 1) the 2nd St.Petersburg Gymnasium
2) Kazan cathedral
3) The former Stroganov Palace
4) The Former general Staff Building with the Triumphal Arch
5) Palace Square
6) The State Hermitage Museum
7) Admiralty
8) the Bronze Horseman
9) Decembrists’ Square
10) St.Isaac’s Cathedral
11) St.Isaac’s Square
12) Astoria Hotel
Exercise 2. Complete the unfinished text.
Students listen to one side of a conversation and work out what the other speaker is saying.
A Telephone Conversation
Students hear(part A)
1) A: Hi, Dad. This is Kate.
3) A: Fine. Listen. I’m sorry to call so late.
5) A: Oh, good. Listen! I just wanted to call you
to thank you for the birthday present.
7) A: Yes, it fits just fine.
Answer(part B)
2) B: Hello, Kate. It’s good to hear from you.
How are you?
4) B: No problem. I’m always up until about
midnight.
6) B: You’re welcome. I knew you wanted a
sweater, but I couldn’t remember your size.
Does it fit?
8) ....................................
8) Error Correction. ( picture-correction or text-correction)
Task : Mark errors on a picture, diagram or plan. The idea is to describe something the students can see with
obvious mistakes.
Exercise 1. Look at the picture, listen to the story and mark errors on the picture/text
This is a nice comfortable room. It’s five o’clock on a wet and windy afternoon. Jimmy, the dog is curled up asleep
on the armchair. Another dog is sleeping under the desk. The table is in front of the window. There are some books
on it. Somebody has put pretty flowers in a vase to brighten the room. The TV set is standing in the corner of the
room. Two girls are sitting on the sofa and watching an interesting film.............................
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9) Listing or Classifying.
Task: Give headlines, plan.....
Exercise 1. Listen to these three words:
Group 1: carrots
Croup 2: milk
Group 3: meat
Now listen to the cassette and put the words into Group 1,2, or 3.
Coffee, steak, cabbage, chops, cola, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea, hamburgers, fruit juice, chicken, sausages, tuna,
onion, potatoes, melon.......
Answer: 1) carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, potatoes, melon....
2) milk, cola, tea, fruit juice, ......
3) meat, steak, chops, hamburgers, chicken, sausages, tuna,.....
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