LISTENING UNIT 14

You will hear five people talking about an accident they had.

Speaker 1:

It was just unfortunate, really. It could happen to anyone. We were all sitting down to have our
meal. My younger brothers were messing around as usual, but none of us minded because we
were all hungry and happy to be finally having dinner after a hard day at school and college.
Anyway, I was halfway through my meal when I heard a crack and felt a sharp pain in my
mouth. I’d accidentally bitten into something hard- a chicken bone, it must have been- and
broken my tooth. Still, I made a call to the emergency dentist and he fixed it straightaway.

Speaker 2:

You bet I was angry. It was entirely the driver’s fault. I won't be able to ride again until my arm
is better. The thing is, I'm a very safe cyclist, and I always pay attention to what's happening on
the road. You can't rely on luck to get around safely, it's a real skill. I was riding along when this
car drove past me and turn left right in front of me. I braked but couldn't stop completely, hit the
side of the car, and landed on the pavement. The driver apologized, at least so we didn't have an
embarrassing argument on the street.

Speaker 3:

I have to admit I'm not the most practical of people and often when I try to fix things, I end up
making them worse. But that doesn't stop me having a go. My desk was broken, and all it needed
was a nail to put it together again. So I got the hammer and started to work on it. Don't get me
wrong. I was concentrating. I always do. So I'm not sure how I managed to hit my thumb so
hard. Oh boy, it really hurt-I shouted pretty loudly, I can tell you. Not fun. I guess I need more
practice.

Speaker 4:
It was really annoying. My cooking skills are generally good, so I shouldn't be cutting myself
like this. I guess I had a lot on my mind. My younger brother and sister were running around the
kitchen. They'd been playing in the garden so they were excited and I was trying to listen to
something on a podcast. Not the perfect conditions to be cooking in - especially when you're
using an extremely sharp knife to chop onions! There was quite a lot of blood. It made a real
mess. Mum wanted to call an ambulance but it wasn't necessary.

Speaker 5:

I’m a pretty skillful skier and I'm aware of the risks, so I seldom take any foolish chances when
I'm on the slopes. I do like to push myself, though, to get better and go on to that next stage. I
guess that's what happened. I thought I was ready to try this hard slope and so did my instructor,
but it proved too fast for me. I lost control and had quite a bad fall just as I was reaching the end.
Luckily, they have great facilities there and they fixed my leg up- but it's going to be about six
months before I can ski again.