General Listening Quiz

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

Man: Uh, where am I? Tsk, hum . . .

Woman: Excuse me. Do you need any help?

Man: Nah, I . . . I’m just looking . . . well . . . [Okay . . .] Uh, well, actually . . . yeah. Um . . . I want to go to the science museum, but I’ve been lost for the past few hours, and I can’t make heads or tails of these ticket machines.

Woman: Ah, well, just press this button. [Oh, yeah] And from here, it’s a dollar fifty.

Man: Okay.

Woman: Then, get on the train at platform number 4.

Man: Alright. Oh, and how often do the trains come around this time of day?

Woman: Usually, they come about every six minutes.

Man: Okay. And where do I get off the train?

Woman: Get off at State Street Station, three stops from here.

Man: Okay. I got it. Thanks for your help.

Woman: No problem. Good luck.

• nah: informal for no 
  – Nah. I don’t want to go, but thanks for asking.
• not make heads or tails of (idiom): not be able to understand something at all 
  – I can’t make heads or tails of this train map.
• platform (noun): the place next to the railroad tracks where you wait for a train
  – Please meet me on the platform 15 minutes before the train is scheduled to leave.
• get something (verb): understand something
  – Most of the time, she doesn’t get what the teacher says.
• no problem: used after someone thanks you for your help, similar to “You’re welcome”
  – A: Thanks for helping me buy a train ticket.
  – B: No problem.