General Listening Quiz

Have you ever needed roadside assistance? What kinds of situations do you think of when you hear the words “emergency call”? What emergency or survival supplies (including 72-hour kits) might be useful in such situations? Write down three ideas and discuss them with a partner.

“get back on one’s feet” = recover physically, emotionally, or financially
“He lost everything in the accident, but he’s slowly getting back on his feet.”

“hit the ceiling” = get very angry
“My dad hit the ceiling when he found out I wrecked the car.”

A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

• Mixed-Up Sentence  | Multiple-Choice Questions  |   Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

How would you have reacted if you had been another passenger in the car? What would you have done to help in this situation? Role play the following situation with a partner. One of you play the part of the 911 operator and the other the caller. Add additional information as needed:

Caller:

You are walking home when you see a house on fire. A woman runs from the house screaming that her 1-year old son is still inside. Several people have suffered minor burns while escaping from the fire. Add additional information as needed.

911 Operator:

You receive an emergency call from someone reporting a fire. Ask questions about the location of the fire, its cause if known, number of injuries, etc.

Use the Internet to search for two different companies that provide roadside assistance in your area:

1. What are the names of these companies?
2. What services do they provide (e.g., towing, jumping a battery, changing a tire, etc.)?
3. How much do these services cost?