General Listening Quiz

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

Father: Hi Michael. Happy Birthday! How old are you today?

Son: Seven.

Father: Alright. Well, let’s sing Happy Birthday:

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Michael,
Happy Birthday to you.

Father: Alright. So what should we do first?

Son: How about cake and ice cream?

Father: Okay. Well, uh. let’s light the candles. Okay, and make a wish! Don’t tell me.

Son: Don’t tell you?

Father: Yeah, don’t tell me. Okay, and go ahead and blow out the candles. Okay, let’s cut the cake, and then we can have cake and ice cream. And what do you want to do after the cake and ice cream?

Son: Play freeze tag.

Father: Now, how do you freeze play tag?

Son: Um . . . one person is it, and the person who is it tries to tag everyone [Alright. And then . . . ] before I tag someone and then, another person tags me.

Father: Oh, wow. And who’s coming over later today for your birthday?

Son: Well, everyone. Uh, all my cousins, all my aunts and grandmas, grandpas.

Father: Alright. Well, Happy Birthday, Michael.

• make a wish (idiom): wish for something
  – Please make a wish before we eat the cake.
• freeze (verb): become cold to the point of changing water to ice 
  – It was so cold out last night that I thought I was going to freeze to death.
• tag (verb): touch a player, usually as part of a game 
  – I tried to get away during the game at the park, but she tagged me on the back, so I was it.