General Listening Quiz

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

Woman: Hey. What’s this on Facebook? It says . . . Are you getting married?

Man: Yeah. Didn’t you know that?

Woman: No. Why didn’t you tell me about it? (It) says you’re getting married next week.

Man: Yeah, and I’m bringing her over to mom’s house tomorrow. You’ll love Jasmine.

Woman: Jasmine?

Man: Yeah. Here’s her picture on Facebook.

Woman: Oh. Wow.

Man: What? What do you mean?

Woman: Um, Dad is not gonna [going to] be impressed.

Man: Why?

Woman: Well, she’s got, like, a lot of tattoos and a nose ring, and uh, I’m sorry. The family is going to be really surprised.

Man: Ah, she’s so, well, she’s so sensitive and caring.

Woman: Um, well . . . . [ What? ] Have . . . have you taken any marriage prep classes?

Man: Ah, who needs that anyway? I know all about women.

Woman: Yeah. Right, like . . . .  Well, what have you had? Like ten girlfriends in the last six months?

Man: Well, that’s different! That’s . . .

Woman: Uh, listen. Obviously, you need to improve your communication skills, and the best thing at this point . . . . if you’re really set on marrying Jamie  is . . .

Man: Jasmine . . .

Woman: Okay, I’m sorry, Jasmine, anyway, um, you really should take a marriage prep class.

Man: What? What are you talking about? I know all about love and romance.

Woman: Uh. Right . . . .

Man: What? What do you mean?

Woman: Look. Okay. It’s more than that. What do you know about, say, personal finance? [ Well, you know I . . . ] I mean, how are you going to manage your money together? Are you gonna [going to] have a joint bank account? Whose salary is gonna [going to] pay the bills?

Man: Ah, no problem. Ah, No problem. We have that figured out. My paycheck is going to be automatically transferred to her overseas bank account.

Woman: Oh. [ What? ] Uh, where exactly is this account? What’s the name of the bank?

Man: Oh, I don’t know. Jasmine’s going to take care of that.

Woman: Oh, boy. Right. Well, okay. What about children? Are you guys gonna [going to] have any kids?

Man: Well, I want a large family, so eight kids would be just about right.

Woman: Wow! [What?] What does Jasmine say about that?

Man: Ah, well, she doesn’t want any kids, but I’ll change her mind once we get married. ( Right. ) No problem.

Woman: Okay, what about housework? How are you gonna [going to] handle that?

Man: Well, Jasmine won’t mind doing it. [(Did) she said that? ] Well, not exactly. We’ve been just so busy planning out our honeymoon, that we just haven’t worked out, you know, these small details.

Woman: Great! You know what? By the time you learn her last name, I think things are gonna [going to] be over between the two of you.

Man: No, you just wait and see.

• sensitive (adjective): understanding the feelings of others 
  – My spouse is very sensitive to our children’s needs, and I love her for that.
• caring (adjective): kind 
  – If you have a caring attitude towards others, they will feel of your love for them.
• prep (adjective): short for preparation 
  – Taking a marriage prep class can help you develop better communication skills with your family.
• obviously (adverb): in a way that is easy to see and understand 
  – James obviously didn’t listen to his wife’s feelings because she is still very angry with him.
• improve (verb): make better 
  – How did you improve your relationship with your kids over the years?
• at this point: at this time 
  – Amanda and Brandon don’t want to get married at this point, but they are talking about this in the future.
• be set on something (verb): be determined to do something 
  – Why is Jessica set on marrying Andrew so quickly? They’ve only known each other for three weeks.
• joint (adjective): having something together 
  – My parents have a joint savings account.
• work out (verb): find a solution or come to an agreement on something 
  – Fortunately, they are getting counseling, and their marriage is working out
  – With time and patience, things work out in the end.