MEETING II

(LISTENING)

Who, What, Where

A. OBJECTIVES

After studying this material, students are able to:

1. draw a conclusion about: a) people, things, and places;

b) people and things (subject and object) in passive
sentences
2. understand the questions and answers which may
appear in the passive and active voice.

B. MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

1. INTRODUCTION

In this meeting, we are going to discuss two topics

in short conversation, they are: 1) questions about
people, things, and locations, and 2) who and what in
passive sentences
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 a. Questions about people, things, and places (who,
what, where)

In short conversations, questions about people,

activities, and places are frequently asked.
Sometimes, the short conversations do not either
clearly or directly state the answers for this. However,
you are insisted to be familiar to the questions.

Here are some frequent questions on people,

places, and things asked on Short Conversations:

1. WHO is probably speaking?

2. WHAT will she probably do next?
3. WHERE does the dialogue probably take place?

Examples 1 (file name EN1-M2-EX1)

Now listen to these following short dialogues.

Complete the blanks as you are listening to the
conversation. Then, underline the key words and pick
your best answer!

Woman : “Charlie ……………. a professional

musician, but ….. lazy to practice.”

Man : “…………….!”

Narrator : “What ………. say ……… Charlie?”

a. He is a professional musician.
b. He does not want to become professional in music
because he wants to practice.
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 c. He is very talented, but he’ll never be professional
musician because he does not practice.
d. He practices each day, but he will never become a
professional musician.

Discussion:

Complete script:

Woman : “Charlie has the potential to be a

professional musician, but he is too lazy to
practice.”

Man : “What a shame!”

Narrator : “What does the woman say about

Charlie?”

 The response “What a shame” shows the 2nd

speaker may be a bit disappointed. Charlie is
actually talented, but he does not want to practice
to improve. Thus, the best answer for this short
conversation is C.

Example 2 (file name EN1-M2-EX2)

Listen to the conversation! Complete the blanks as you

are listening to the conversation. Then, underline the
key words and pick your best answer!

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 Woman : “Do …… make ………… with ……….
Avenue line?”

Man : “Yes, ma’am. Pay your ……… and

……….. a free transfer and call you
………. Maple Avenue.”

Narrator : “Where ………….. most probably

……………?”

a. in a taxi
b. in a bus
c. in a boat
d. in a plane

Discussion:

Complete script:

Woman : “Do you make connections with the

Maple Avenue line?”

Man : “Yes, ma’am. Pay your fare and I’ll give

you a free transfer and call you before we
get to Maple Avenue.”

Narrator : “Where did this conversation most

probably take place?”

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  There are some key words we can find in the
conversation. They are underlined above.
- ‘Maple Avenue’ indicates a name of a street.
- ‘Fare’ indicates transportation fee.
- ‘Connection’ means transfer or transit.
 The underlined words indicate that this
conversation involves a land transport. There are
‘bus’ and ‘taxi’. Then, the word ‘a transfer’ is
impossibly related to taxi. Therefore, the
conversation most probably occurs in a bus (B).

Example 3: File name EN1-M2-EX3

Listen to the conversation! Complete the blanks

as you are listening to the conversation. Then,
underline the key words and pick your best answer!

Man : “Can you ……… this ………. for me?”

Woman : “You ……………… the ………. I can ……

filled about ten minutes.”

Narrator : “……… the woman?”

a. a dentist
b. a pharmacist
c. a business manager
d. a teacher

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 Discussion:

Complete script:

Man : “Can you fill this prescription for me?”

Woman : “You can leave the prescription. I can

have it filled about ten minutes.”

Narrator : “Who is the woman?”

 The key word is ‘prescription’. This key word is

identical with pharmacist job. Thus, the answer is B.

Exercise 2.1. (who, what, where) (file name EN1-M2-

Exercise2.1)

Now listen to these following short

conversations. Complete the script, underline the key
words, and pick your best answer for every question
below!

1 Woman: …. your ….. is ….. a. Ask his dentist

you so …., ….. you about the right way
should ……..right to brush
away. b. Make appointment
with his dentist
Man: I ………………, but I
c. Cure the pain
guess
himself
………………..

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 Narrator: What ………. d. Choose a new
probably do ….. ? dentist

2 Woman: I’d like a. in a clothing store

……………, please. b. in a jewelry store
c. in a bank
Man: Do you ……….. rings
d. in a mine
in ….. or ….?

Narrator: …… does this

……… probably
………?

3 Woman: Let’s ……… the a. Construction

blueprints for the workers.
………. one b. Artists.
…………. c. Insurance agents.
d. Architects.
Man: Good …... We
………… that …….
is absolutely
……………………
begins.

Narrator: ……. are ……….

most ……… to be?

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 4 Woman: Can …. get ……… a. To see an
this ……… to …….. ophthalmologist.
our …….? b. To see a podiatrist.
c. To see a
Man: ………, I can’t. I
cardiologist
…………… I have to
e. To see a dentist
……………...

Narrator: Where is the

woman most likely
going?

5 Man: ………. are you a. A physician

……….. now? b. An astronomer
c. An engineer
Woman: I’m ………. to a
d. A philosopher
……… by Dr.
Barton. There’s
…….. to be a
………. later
…………. Dr.
Barton’s ………. on
……….. to expect
………… the
eclipse.

Narrator: ……. is Dr.

Barton …….. likely
to be?

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 b. Who and What in Passive

In short conversations, the speakers speak both

in active and passive forms. After the conversation,
you are usually asked to make a conclusion from their
statements. The conclusions are mostly in the
opposite forms. In short, when the speaker speaks in
active voice, the right answer is most probably in
passive voice, and vice versa. To be clear, let’s see
the following example:

2. Who and what in Passives

In short dialogues, the speakers may speak either

in active or passive voice. After the dialogue, you are
required to draw conclusion from their statements. And
the answers you need to pick are most frequently in the
opposite forms. In short, when the speaker speaks in
active voice, the right answer choice is most probably in
passive voice, and vice versa. Still, passive sentences
may be confusing you. Thus, you need to be careful who
does what.

To be clear, let’s listen to these short dialogues:

Example 1 (file name EN1-M2-EX4)

Listen to the conversation! Complete the blanks as you

are listening to the conversation. Then, underline the key
words and pick your best answer!

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 Woman : “Why ….. you so ….. in ….. home from
……?”

Man : “…… had me finished …. the month-end

…...”

Narrator : “What …. the man ……?”

a. He could finish the reports at home.

b. He was told to stay late and accomplish some work.
c. He must complete the reports before the end of next
month.
d. The boss was doing the reports.

Discussion:

Complete script:

Woman : “Why were you so late in getting home

from work?”

Man : “My boss had me finished all the month-

end reports.”

Narrator : “What does the man mean?”

 Look at the statement of 2nd speaker ‘had me finished

all ….’. This is a passive sentence. This statement
means that the man’s boss makes the man finish all

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 the reports. Therefore, the best answer for this is ‘the
man was directed to work late until the job is done’.
Choice B is the best option.

Example 2 (file name EN1-M2-EX5)

Man : “Ms. Jones ………… look too ………. as

she left ………...”

Woman : “………… angered by her rowdy

………..”

Narrator : “……. does the …….………?”

a. The students were angry that the teacher was around.

b. The angered students protested the teacher.
c. The teacher was angry with the students’ exam
results.
d. The boisterous students caused the teacher angry.

Discussion:

Complete script:

Man : “Ms. Jones did not look too happy as she

left her classroom.”

Woman : “She was angered by her rowdy

students.”

Narrator : “What does the man mean?”

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  Listen carefully again to the 2nd speaker. The woman
speaks in passive sentence “She was angered by her
rowdy students”. This means the students causes her
to be angry. Thus, the best answer is D.

Exercise 2.2. (who, what, where) (file name EN1-M2-

Exercise2)

Listen carefully to the following short conversations.

Complete the conversation in the blanks. Then, choose
your best answer and be careful with the passive
statement.

1 Man: a. if the vegetables there are

fresh.
Woman:
b. if vegetarian food can be
Narrator:
gained.
c. if the restaurant is located
on the corner.
d. if the man would like to go
to the restaurant.

2 Man: a. He would be accepted to

law school after the fall
semester.
Woman:
b. The law professor admitted
that he would be a student
in the fall semester.
Narrator

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 c. He admitted that he
wanted to go to law school
in the fall.
d. The law school admitted
him as a student.

3 Man: a. Mark’s plants to be out of

town.
b. Mark’s plants were taken
Woman:
care of in his absence.
c. She was careful while Mark
was not there.
Narrator:
d. Mark carefully planS about
his out-of-town trip.

4 Woman: a. The destruction of the

storm could be seen in the
light.
Man:
b. The light in the trees were
damaged in the storm.
c. The storm destroys the
Narrator:
trees.
d. The falling trees destroyed
a store.

5 Man: a. On a skiing trip, her leg

was hurt.
b. Her skips were broken in
Woman:
the mountains.
c. She was broke because of
skiing.
Narrator:

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 d. She went skiing even
though she got an
accident.

6 Woman: a. It was hard for people to

ride the horses for too long.
b. The horses took long and
Man:
hard road.
c. It was too hard to find the
hidden houses.
Narrator:
d. The riders worked the
horses too much.

7 Woman: a. He thought the woman had

ordered their coffee.
b. He wasn’t certain whether
Man:
the woman wanted coffee
or not.
c. He didn’t want the coffee
Narrator:
that the woman ordered.
d. He did not realize that the
coffee had already been
ordered.

8 Man: a. The airport wasn’t able to

hold lots of cars.
b. There were a lot of cars to
Woman:
the left of the parking lot.
c. The car was left on the
parking lot at the airport.
Narrator:

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 d. Her friends parked their
cars at the airport.

9 Man: a. Mac was appointed by his

classmates to represent
them.
Woman:
b. The students pointed at
Mac’s representative.
c. Mac was present there
Narrator:
when the other students
made the appointment.
d. The representative of class
suggested Mac to the other
students.

10 Woman: a. After the earthquake, the

insurance company came
out to inspect the
Man:
destruction.
b. The inhabitants paid their
premiums after the
Narrator:
earthquake happened.
c. The insurance company
paid for the damage
caused by the earthquake.
d. The insurance company
insisted the building to be
repaired, so earthquake
safety standard is met.

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C. EXERCISES

Review Exercises (File name EN1-M2-Review Exercise)

This is a review exercise. Listen carefully to the conversations.

Complete the conversation in the blanks. Then, choose your
best answer. You need to be careful with the passive
statement.

1 Woman: a. at the airport

b. at the post office
c. in a stationary store
Man:
d. in a department store

Narrator:

2 Man: a. The teacher handed the

papers to the students.
b. The students receive the
Woman:
papers from the office.
c. The term papers were

Narrator: being turned in.

d. The teacher lent the
students a hand.

3 Man: a. Mark wrote a check to pay

the oil.
b. The attendant inspected
Woman:
the oil in Mark’s car.

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 c. Mark tested to see if he had
enough oil in his car.
Narrator:
d. Mark checked with the
attendant of the service
station.

4 Woman: a. a clerk in a fast-food

restaurant
b. a delivery man
Man:
c. an airline steward
d. a famous chef

Narrator:

5 Woman: a. Additional copies are

needed soon.
b. Printers are required for the
Man:
additional copies.
c. If this is necessary, they

Narrator: can make extra copies.

d. They need new print for
additional copies.

6 Man: a. The students were required

to read two books by the
professor.
Woman:
b. The professor bought two
books.

Narrator: c. The students had to

purchase two books.

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 d. The students sold two
books to the professor.

7 Woman: a. Jim was told to come back.

b. The doctor will not return
until next week.
Man:
c. Jim asked the doctor to
come to the office.

Narrator: d. The doctor returned to the

office.

8 Man: a. Send a note to the lab

b. Go to work in the lab
c. Sample the work from the
Woman:
lab
d. Have the samples delivered

Narrator:

9 Man: a. The senior class president

replaced Sue and Mary.
b. Sue took her place as class
Woman:
president.
c. Mary became the new

Narrator: class president.

d. In place of Mary, Sue
became senior class
president.

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 10 Man: a. The program featured a
psychoanalyst.
b. The panel discussed the
Woman:
television program.
c. The panel was analyzed on

Narrator: the television program.

d. A committee evaluate
recent political events.

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D. REFERENCES

Phillips, Deborah. 2001. Longman Complete Course for the

TOEFL Test (Preparation for the Computer and Paper
Test). New York: Longman.

_____________. 2003. Longman Complete Course for the

TOEFL Test (the Paper Test). New York: Longman.

Pyle, Michael A., Page Mary Ellen Munos. 1995. TOEFL

Preparation Guide (5th Ed). Foster City: IDG Books
Worldwide.

Rogers, Bruce. 1999. TOEFL PRACTICE TESTS (2ND Ed).

Princeton: Peterson’s Guide.

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