Pre-Listening Exercises

What kinds of questions do people ask when they meet other people for the first time?
For example, they might ask about their jobs before they ask their names (example,
“So, where do you work? How do you like your job?“)

Idioms
“a balancing act” = a difficult situation where you try to do several different things at the
same time
“Working and studying at the same time is a real balancing act.”

“high-and-mighty” = self-important and proud

“Sarah always acts high-and-mighty, and she thinks she is better than everyone else
because she is a well-known movie star.”

Listening Exercises
Listen to the phone message and answer the questions.
1. What is the name of the actress?
Sarah Roberts
Sarah Rogers
Sarah Reynolds

2. Where is she from?

She is from Miami
She comes from Los Angeles.
She was born in New York.

3. Where did she work part-time while she was going to school?
at a supermarket
at a restaurant
at a movie theater

4. How old is the actress?

20
24
22

5. What is the woman's hobby?

shopping
cooking
reading
 Vocabulary Practice
Do the vocabulary quizzes using the words from the conversation for more practice:

• Sentence and Vocabulary Matching Quiz

Match the items on the right to the items on the left by dragging them over. Your score
is calculated by adding up the scores for all the questions that have been answered so
far (correct and wrong tries), and changing the result into a percentage.

1. Good morning, everyone. Let's __________ our discussion a. gotta

on topic by reviewing the homework from last night. b. honey
2. What are your _______ plans after you graduate from c. originally
college? d. start off
3. She's __________ turn in the assignment by 3:00 p.m., or e. basic
the teacher won't accept it.
4. I ________ wanted to study in the United States, but I later
decided to go to England.
5. Hey, ______. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?

• Multiple-Choice Quiz
1. My parents _______ their life together in Japan over 20 years ago.
a. started off
b. starting off
c. starts off

2. I'm _______ from California, but I grew up in Canada.

a. beginner
b. originally
c. hometown

3. Our house was very ______: two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small
kitchen. Nothing fancy.
a. basic
b. huge
c. elegant

• Gap-fill Exercise

Fill in all the missing words below.

News Reporter: Hello. This is (1) …………….. Goodfellow from Channel 4 news.
Today, we are interviewing Sarah Roberts, the (2) …………….. of the new movie,
Zombies on Mars Part 4. Sarah, uh, thanks for joining us.
Sarah: You're welcome, Jimmy.
News Reporter: It's, uh, James.
 Sarah: Whatever . . .
News Reporter: Well, let's (3) …………….. off the interview with a few basic questions.
First of all, where are you from?
Sarah: Well, I'm originally from Miami, but we (4) ……………..to New York when I was
three years old. [Oh.] I lived there until I was 17, and then I moved to Los Angeles to be
an (5) ……………...
News Reporter: Okay, and where did you go to (6) ……………..?
Sarah: I (7) …………….. Fernando's School of Acting, and all of my teachers LOVED
my acting.
[ The conversation continues . . . ]

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

• start off (verb): begin
– Ashley started off her acting career in New York City.
• basic (adjective): simple
– We lived in a very basic house when I was little.
• originally (adverb): at first, in the beginning
– My mother is originally from Mexico, but she grew up in the United States.
• gotta go (informal expression): have to go
– Hey, I (I’ve) gotta go to work now. See you later.
– My brother’s gotta study more if he wants to pass the class.
• honey (adjective): sweetheart, dear, love
– Hi, honey! Will you make me lunch, please?

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

News Reporter: Hello. This is James Goodfellow from Channel 4 news. Today, we are
interviewing Sarah Roberts, the star of the new movie, Zombies on Mars Part 4. Sarah,
uh, thanks for joining us.
Sarah: You’re welcome, Jimmy.
News Reporter: It’s, uh, James.
Sarah: Whatever . . .
News Reporter: Well, let’s start off the interview with a few basic questions. First of
all, where are you from?
Sarah: Well, I’m originally from Miami, but we moved to New York when I was three
years old. [Oh.] I lived there until I was 17, and then I moved to Los Angeles to be an
actress.
News Reporter: Okay, and where did you go to college?
Sarah: I attended Fernando’s School of Acting, and all of my teachers LOVED my
acting.
News Reporter: And, did you have a part-time job while you were in school?
 Sarah: Yeah. I worked at a movie theater, and everyone LOVED the way I made the
popcorn.
News Reporter: Really. Okay, and how old are you now?
Sarah: Well, I’m only 20, but everyone I know says I look at LEAST 22.
News Reporter: Oh, right. Okay. And, what are your hobbies outside of acting?
Sarah: Oh, I love shopping for clothes and makeup and, and . . . . Did I say I love
shopping for clothes?
News Reporter: Well, you DID say clothes . . .
Sarah: Oh, yeah. Well, do you want to take some pictures of me . . . you know, for your
homepage or your blog and you can even use them on your Facebook fan page.
News Reporter: Uh, I think we’ll be okay.
Sarah: Okay, well, um . . . Oh, oh look, all of my fans. Hey, gotta go, honey. Hi
everyone.

Post-Listening Exercises
Write a short introduction about yourself and share this with a classmate.

Online Investigations
After you write a personal introduction of yourself, share it with family and friends using
one of these ways:

• on a social media site like Facebook

• on a blog
• on a personal Web site
• on a school Web page
• in a text message
• in a short video