General Listening Quiz

How do social media Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram help people keep in touch with family and friends (for example, “People can send short birthday messages. It doesn’t cost money.“)? In this listening activity, a man introduces himself to a woman by phone that he met on a social networking site.

“keep in touch” = stay in contact or communications with someone
“Using popular social media Web sites is one way to keep in touch with family and friends.”

“reach someone” = be able to contact or talk with someone
“If you want to talk, you can reach me by phone, by email, through FaceBook.”

A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

Gap-fill Exercise | Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

Option 1:

Which social networking sites do you visit and use? How often do you use them? Who do you contact or talk with on these sites? What are both the positive and negative points with such sites?

Option 2:

Let’s talk about the man in the telephone message. What is the man like? Answer these other questions, and then write answers about your own life:

1. How old is he? (How old are you?)
2. When did he graduate from high school?
3. What foods does he like to eat?
4. What doesn’t he eat much?
5. What does he do in his free time?

How is his life similar or different from yours or the people you know?

Write a message to an old or new friend on a social media Web site. Introduce yourself and your family. Talk about your family, hobbies, daily life, school, and work. Be careful not to share personal information. Use this example to help you get started:

Hi. My name is ____________. I live in _______. There are ____ people in my family. I read books and play _____ in my free time. I go to high school. I have a part-time job in a restaurant.