General Listening Quiz

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

Man: Well, I couldn’t have picked out a better spot to fish. What do you think?

Woman: Uh . . .

Man: I mean, the water is so clear here. Listen to the birds and the sounds of nature.

Woman: Well . . . .

Man: I mean, I’m not bragging or anything, but I have a real sense for fishing. I mean, I was born to fish, you know, my dad used to say.

Woman: Really?

Man: Yeah.

Woman: When was the last time you caught a fish? Didn’t you tell me that you went fishing six or seven times last month and didn’t catch anything?

Man: Well, Well, I’m not making excuses or anything, but the weather was bad a couple of times, and, and, and . . . and a fish dragged my pole into the water while I wasn’t looking another time [ No way! Serious? ] , and I wasn’t wearing my fishing hat another day.

Woman: You have to have a fishing hat to catch fish?

Man: But, today is different. Listen.

Woman: What’s different about it? We’ve been here about an hour, and you still haven’t caught anything.

Man: Well, do you think you can do any better, or are you just gonna [going to] sit there and continue reading that book?

Woman: Okay, let me show you. Let me sh . . . No . . . Give me . . .  show you . . . Give me that pole. I’ll show you. I’m just to cast the bait out right over . . . . there . . . perfect.

Man: Ah, right. You’ll probably catch a tree branch or get your line snagged in a tree.

Woman: Yeah, you’re going to see. Just wait.

Man: Some big shoe or something like that.

Woman: Hah . . . You just wait. You have to be patient. [ Yeah. ] Yeah . . . Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh . . . Oh! I got a bite. Oh, man, man, man. Look at that! That fish is huge.

Man: Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah, wait, wait, wait, wait. Can’t . . . . that . . no, no, no. 

Woman: Yes, it is, it is. Help me! Come on. Help me! Come on. Help me. I’m trying to reel it in. Help me!

Man: I, I, I  . . . I gotta go back to the car.

Woman: No, no. Look! Look at the thing jump! Go get the net! Get the net!

Man: Well, nah . . .

Woman: Come on. You gotta help me catch it!

Man: That’s beginner’s luck.

Woman: No. Come on. Woah! I got it. Look at that. What are you gonna [going to] say now? Huh? Huh? What are you gonna [going to] say?

Man: Nothing!

Woman: So look who’s teaching who. I’m gonna [going to] remember this day FOREVER.

Man: Forget it.

• brag (verb): to talk about yourself or others in a way that shows too much pride 
  – My brother always brags about his soccer skills, but he really isn’t that good of a player.
• drag (verb): to pull something heavy or difficult to move 
  – A huge fish tried to drag me into the water 
  – I took us a few minutes to drag the boat out of the water.
• pole (noun): a long slender piece of bamboo, fiberglass, or other material that is used to catch fish 
  – My fishing pole broke when I tried to bring in the giant catfish.
• cast (verb): to throw something like food into the water by hand or with a fishing pole 
  – My son couldn’t cast his fishing line very far, so I helped him most of the time yesterday.
• bait (noun): food or other material used to attract fish or animals 
  – What kind of bait did you use to catch that fish?
• snag (verb): to catch or get caught on something 
  – I tore my shirt when it got snagged on a tree branch.
• huge (adjective): very large 
  – My brother owns a huge fishing boat that he uses to catch tuna and swordfish off the coast.