Listen to Series in English
Advanced Practice
On this page you will find many listening exercises designed for advanced level English speakers. The listenings are clips from TV series with questions to help you check your understanding.
The best way to use this material:
1) Read the questions associated with the listening exercise.
2) listen to the audio.
3) Write down your answers on a piece of paper.
4) Check your answers using the answer key provided underneath the questions.
5) Play the listening again and follow along with the tapescript provided.
Advanced Listening Exercises
Advanced Listening One
Friends, Tickets
Read the questions and then press play.
Difficult Words:
Broads: Women
Bitter: Amargo.
Hooked me up: Gave me
1. What does Joey ask his friends in the beginning of the scene?
2. What does Chandler say he is doing tomorrow night?
3. Joey has tickets to what?
4. Does Ross want to go?
5. Why can't Joey go?
Answers
1. Joey asks his friends what they are doing tomorrow night.
2. Chandler says he is going to fall asleep in front of the TV tomorrow night.
3. Joey has tickets to a play.
4. Ross doesn't want to go.
5. Joey can't go to the play because he has to work early the next day.
Tapescript
Joey: You guys, what are you doing tomorrow night?
Chandler: Well let me see, I believe I'm, yes falling asleep in front of the TV
Joey: My agent hooked me up with six tickets to a great play.
Chandler: I could fall asleep in a play.
Phoebe: What is it?
Joey: It's a one-woman play called why don't you like me, a bitter woman's journey through life
Monica: Sounds interesting.
Ross: Yeah that does sound interesting I mean listen to a woman complain for two hours
I don't think it gets better zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Phoebe: I know I know we can drive we can vote we can work what more do these broads want?
Joey: Well, you guys are gonna have a great time I promise.
Ross: What how come you don't have to go?
Joey: Oh I wish I could but I just found out that I have to be at work really early the next day so I can't go but you know take the extra ticket and invite whoever you want.
Chandler: Oh let's see, who do I hate?
Original Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Ba76ISyGY&t=76s
Original Material
Friends, Season 9 Episode 20
Watch Friends on www.netlfix.com
Advanced Listening Two
Friends - Unagi
Read the questions and then press play.
Difficult Words:
Takes it out of you: makes you tired.
Crotch: Area between the legs
Eel: enguia
1. What class did Rachel and Phoebe do?
2. What did Ross study?
3. What does Rachel think 'unagi' is?
Answers
1. A self defense class.
2. Ross studied Karate.
3. Rachel thinks it is sushi.
Tapescript
Phoebe: Hey.
Ross: Hey, what have you guys been up to?
Phoebe: Oh, we went to a self defence class today.
Ross: Wow.
Rachel: Yeah, kicking a guy in the crotch all morning really takes it out of you.
Joey: Takes it out of you.
Phoebe: Now we can kick anybody’s ass.
Rachel: Yeah.
Ross: After one class? I don’t think so.
Rachel: What? You want to see me self defend myself? Go over there and pretend you are a sexual predator, go on I dare you.
Ross: Of course, you could defend yourself from an attack you know is coming. That’s not enough. Look I studied Karate for a long time. And there’s a concept you should really be familiar with, it’s what the Japanese call ‘unagi’.
Rachel: Isn’t that a kind of sushi?
Ross: No, it’s a concept.
Phoebe: Yeah it is, it is. It’s fresh water eel.
Ross: Alright, maybe it means that too.
Rachel: Oh, I would kill for a salmon skill roll right now.
Ross: You know what fine get attacked I don’t even care.
Advanced Listening Three
Black Mirror - Airport
Read the questions and then press play.
Difficult Words:
1. What happened to her flight?
2. Why is she flying?
3. There is a standby seat available on another flight, but she can’t get it, why not?
Answers
1. Her flight was cancelled.
2. Because she is going to her best friend's wedding.
3. Because you need to having a rating of 4.2 or over to get the seat and her rating is 4.183
Tapescript
Clerk: Hi there, how are you doing?
Passenger: I am wonderful.
Clerk: I am so sorry that flight is cancelled.
Passenger: No, no.
Clerk: Customer incident at the other end.
Passenger: So, when is the next flight?
Clerk: Yeah, they’re all kind of full.
Passenger: I booked this weeks ago, it’s my best friend’s wedding.
Clerk: I’m sorry.
Passenger: I have to get there, I have to.
Clerk: OK, let’s see what we can do.
Passenger: Thank you.
Clerk: I see there’s one stand by seat on another plane leaving tonight. Oh, that’s reserved for members of our prime flight program, you’ve got to be a 4.2 or over to qualify.
Passenger: Oh, I’m a 4.2.
Clerk: I’m afraid you’re actually a 4.183
Passenger: Well, that’s not my fault. Some woman didn’t get out in the cab. Can’t you just?
Clerk: I’m sorry it won’t let me book it without the correct ranking.
Passenger: But it’s so close.
Advanced Listening Four
Friends - My Sandwich
Read the questions and then press play.
Difficult Words:
Gravy - molho de carne
Mental - louco
Moist maker - criador de suculência
Soaked - encharcado
1. How has Ross been behaving?
2. Who makes the sandwich?
3. What's the secret to the sandwich?
4. Who ate the sandwich?
5. Did he eat the whole sandwich?
Answers
1. Ross has been behaving angrily, writing threatening letters and refusing to meet deadlines
2. Ross's sister.
3. The secret is a gravy soaked slice of bread in the middle.
4. Donald ate the sandwich.
5. No, he didn't.
Tapescript
Donald: May I have a word with you?
Ross: Of course, Donald.
D: We’ve been getting reports of some very angry behaviour on your part.
R: What?
D: Threatening letters, refusal to meet deadlines. Apparently, people now call you “mental”.
R: Yeah.
D: We want you to speak to a psychiatrist.
R: Oh, no. You don’t understand. This is so silly. This is all just because of a sandwich.
D: A sandwich?
R: You see my sister makes these amazing turkey sandwiches. Her secret is she puts an extra slice of gravy soaked bread in the middle, I call it the moist maker. Anyway, I put my sandwich in the fridge over here.
D: Oh, you know what?
R: What?
D: I’m sorry, I believe I ate that.
R: You ate my sandwich?
D: It was a simple mistake. It could happen to anyone.
R: Oh, really? Did you confuse it with your own turkey sandwich with a moist maker?
D: No.
R: Do you perhaps remember seeing a note on top of it?
D: There may have been a joke or a limerick of some kind.
R: That said it was my sandwich.
D: Now, now, calm down. Come look in my office some of it may still be in the trash.
R: What?
D: Well, It was quite large, I had to throw most of it away.
R: You, you, you, you threw my sandwich away. My sandwich, My sandwich!
Original Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4eB2qW0MlA
Watch Friends on www.netflix.com
Advanced Listening Five
Friends - Doing a Chandler
Read the questions and then press play.
Difficult Words:
It pays to know: vale a pena conheçer
Promoted: promovido
They do you: eles fazem imitações de você
Scone: bolinho
1. How was Phoebe's first day at work?
2. Who doesn't like Chandler?
3. Why did they stop liking Chandler?
4. What do the people in the office do?
Answers
1. It was excellent.
2. Everyone.
3. Because Chandler got promoted and became the boss.
4. They do impersonations of Chandler.
Tapescript
Joey: Hey, how was the first day?
Phoebe: Oh, excellent. Everyone was so so nice.
Chandler: See it pays to know the man who wears my shoes. Me.
P: No, I didn’t tell anybody that I knew you.
C: Why not?
P: Oh, because you know, they don’t like you.
C: What?
P: I though you knew that.
C: nuhum. Who doesn’t like me?
P: Everyone. except for umm, no everyone.
C: What are you talking about?
P: Don’t feel bad. You know, they used to like you a lot. But then you got promoted, and you know, you’re all like Mr. Boss Man, you know, Mr. Bing, Mr. Bing, Boss man Bing.
C: I can’t believe it.
P: Yeah, yeah, they even do you.
C: They do me?
P: You know like, umm ok umm could that report be any later?
C: I don’t sound like that.
J: Oh, yeah you do.
Ross: The hills are alive with the sound of music.
J: My scone, my scone.
C: OK, I don’t sound like that, that is so not true. That is so not, that is so not, that, oh shut up.