General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Man: Hey. How are you doing these days?

Woman: Well, I’m okay, but Brandon isn’t doing so well.

Man: What do you mean?

Woman: Well . . . . . I don’t . . . I don’t know. It’s kind of a strange situation. He was dating this girl . . . you know Alex? He was dating her and then he ended up breaking up with her because she was using drugs, and . . .

Man: Oh, wow. Well, that was a good thing, right?

Woman: Well, yeah, that was, but now she is really angry with him, and he’s having all kinds of problems with her, like last week, she punched him in the face and in the groin at school. Right in front of everybody.

Man: Oh, man! So, what did he do about it?

Woman: Well, um . . . she told him that if he said anything to a teacher, to the principal or anyone, she would get her friends to beat him up after school.

Man: Man. This sounds really bad. I mean, you often think of men becoming aggressive toward women, but I guess it could go the other way.

Woman: Yeah, yeah. You don’t really think of this, but it happens, so um . . .

Man: So, what are you gonna [going to] do about it?

Woman: Well, first, Brandon said that, um, he was just gonna [going to] let it go, but you know, he didn’t want to cause any more problems . . .

Man: Yeah, yeah. I can see that.

Woman: Then he decided that if she was going to that him and get away with it, she’d just do it to the next guy, so he went to the principal and the school police officer and reported everything, and now they’re going to press assault charges against her.

Man: So, isn’t he worried about what her friends are going [Yeah] to do to him?

Yeah, but he thinks that the other people in her group were just going along with her. [ Yeah. ] You know, I don’t know. We’ll see. They’re probably frightened of what she might do to them. You know, she’ll probably get suspended and have to go to court, but I don’t know. He’s kind of worried about some backlash.

Man: I mean, people have to realize you can’t inflict violence on others, you know, in any type of relationship [Yeah] or friendship.

Woman: Yeah, that’s right. Anyway, I guess . . . I gotta go, but I’ll keep you updated on what happens.

Man: Alright, thanks.

• groin (noun): the top of your inner thigh where your legs come together, often a man’s private area 
  – I got kicked in the groin accidentally during the soccer game, and I couldn’t move for a few minutes.
• aggressive (adjective): showing feelings of anger and being ready to fight 
  – Richards sometimes gets really upset at little things and becomes somewhat aggressive.
• let go of something (verb): stop holding on to a feeling or idea 
  – Amber apologized to her boyfriend about forgetting his birthday, but he won’t let it go. He’s been angry for two weeks.
• press charges (verb): take legal action against someone 
  – Brandon’s ex-girlfriend smashed his car window, and now he is going to press charges against her.
• frightened (adjective): afraid or scared 
  – Maria felt very frightened when her boyfriend demanded that she not hang out with her friends after school.
• backlash (noun): a strong reaction to something 
  – Michael knew his old girlfriend would be angry at him when they broke up, but when she stole his cell phone and posted terrible messages on Facebook, he said he never expected such a negative backlash like that.
• inflict (verb): cause someone to feel something harmful or painful 
  – Why do you want to inflict such terrible emotional pain on your old girlfriend? You were using drugs, and she couldn’t stand your abuse, so I don’t blame her for leaving you.
• keep someone updated (verb): give or provide the latest information on something 
  – I’m worried that Sarah’s boyfriend is selling drugs, and Sarah is feeling pressure to do it, too. I’m going to talk to her tonight. I’ll keep you updated if I find out anything.