General Listening Quiz

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

Sarah: Ooo, this is so exciting. So, where are we gonna get married? I know, I know, I know. Um, up in the mountains. You know, that beautiful waterfall? [Uh] Why don’t we get married by the waterfall?

Ronald: I don’t know.

Sarah: Oh, come on. It would be great. It’s so beautiful, and it’s peaceful, and it’s really romantic. Come on.

Ronald: I don’t know. You know I’m allergic to 32 types of wildflowers . . .

Sarah: You’ll be okay. Take an allergy pill.

Ronald: . . . and I might break out in a terrible rash.

Sarah: You’ll be okay. Come on. Well, let’s . . . . There’s some . . . I’m sure we can come up with something nice. Come on. Let’s think about it.

Ronald: Wh . . wh . . . wh . . . We could get married in my parent’s backyard. [ What? ] Yeah. We just need to move the dogs for a few hours.

Sarah: No! Don’t even think about that. Their backyard is really tra . . . tra (trashy). It’s . . . it’s in bad shape. And their house is only like, right next to the freeway. It’s only like half a block from the freeway. It’s so noisy. Come on. There’s this really nice reception hall only a couple miles away. We can do that. You don’t even have to worry about your allergies. Come on.

Ronald: Ah, that sounds expensive!

Sarah: No, it’s not that expensive . . . just a little bit. And then, and then, look. We can have a catering service come, and they serve shrimp and lobster tails [Ohh!], and when my friend got married, they had the best desserts. Come on, and then, you know, for our breakfast, our wedding breakfast, we could go to that Japanese restaurant . . . I can’t remember. What’s it called?

Ronald: You mean, [Oh, yeah, yeah!] Samurai Sushi?

Sarah: Yeah, Samurai Sushi! Their food is so good. [Ah!] Come on, come on.

Ronald: That sounds so expensive.

Sarah: Ohk but it’s okay. It’s worth it. Come on, Ron! Come on!

Ronald: How about my mother’s tuna fish sandwiches instead?

Sarah: Ronald. We can spend a little bit more money than you keep in that old stupid jar on your desk. Come on. Come on.

Ronald: Well, I was trying to save money for the honeymoon.

Sarah: Well, yeah. [ Yeah. ] Well, okay. Well, I’ve been thinking about that, too. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.

Ronald: Well, me too. Now look, look at this website. We could go to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sarah: That would be so cool! They have the best snowboarding and skiing, and their snow. It is the best snow. This time of year would be perfect. They have some really, really nice hotels. Oh, Ron, we’re gonna love that. That would be wonderful. I love skiing.

Ronald: I . . I . . . I was thinking about visiting some of the local art and natural history museums instead. [ What? ] Snow skiing just isn’t my thing.

Sarah: Oh, Ron. Come on.

Ronald: You . . . you know. I don’t do well in the cold.

Sarah: Brother!

Ronald: Oh, yeah! [ What? ] That’s a good idea. Let me call my brother. [ No way!] He lives there, and he probably could stay at his house.

Sarah: For our honeymoon!?!?! No!

Ronald: Oh, yeah! [ No! ] Wait, wait! Where are you going? Come back. Did I say anything wrong?

• peaceful (adjective): quiet, calm 
  – The family played very peaceful music during the wedding ceremony and reception.
• allergic (adjective): having a medical condition that makes you sick after you touch, eat, or breathe something 
  – The bride is very allergic to milk products, so they didn’t serve ice cream during the reception. 
  – Some of the guests might be allergic to peanuts, so let’s not serve any during the reception.
• break out (verb): to suddenly begin to have a rash on your skin 
  – Emily’s son broke out in a very bad rash after he was stung by a bee in the backyard.
• come up with (verb): think of, create, or present an idea 
  – My friends were going to have a wedding reception outside, but because the weather was going to be bad, they came up with the idea of having a friend’s house nearby.
• trashy (adjective): in poor condition, dirty 
  – Unfortunately, they lived for a short time in a real trashy apartment until they could afford something better.
• catering service (noun): a company that prepares and serves food for parties, weddings, and other activities 
  – My parents hired a catering service to prepare the food for the wedding.