Unit 4: Apologies and Excuses

Expanding Tactics for Listening, 3rd Edition » Unit 4: Apologies and Excuses

Word List

accident
ankle
ceremony
copy (of a CD)
cousin
coworkers
dents
directions
dozen
freeway
graduation
neighbors
niece
occasion
roommate
scratch
tripped
unusual
worry
all right
book bag
break down
Don't worry about it.
emergency room
food poisoning
insurance information
It's no problem.
It won't happen again.
job interview
make it up to (someone)
mean to (do something)
on time
tow truck
turned out to be (something)

Vocabulary Worksheet

‣ Look at the words and the definitions below. Make a sentence using each word.

WORD	DEFINITION	MY SENTENCE
worry	to be concerned about something	_____
scratch	a depression cut into a surface	_____
dozen	12 of something	_____
occasion	an important event	_____
tripped	fell over something	_____
on time	at the expected time	_____
break down	to stop working; usually refers to a car	_____
directions	an explanation of how to get to someplace	_____
accident	something that happens suddenly or by chance, often with bad results	_____
unusual	not normal or ordinary	_____
graduation	a ceremony for people who have completed a high school, college or university degree	_____
neighbors	people who live very near each other	_____

Answer Key

Are these expressions used for apologies or responses? Check (x) the correct answer.

	Apology	Response
1. I'm sorry.	⁽¹⁾	⁽²⁾
2. That's okay.	⁽³⁾_____	⁽⁴⁾_____
3. I didn't mean to.	⁽⁵⁾_____	⁽⁶⁾_____
4. It won't happen again.	⁽⁷⁾_____	⁽⁸⁾_____
5. Don't worry about it.	⁽⁹⁾_____	⁽¹⁰⁾_____
6. How can I make it up to you?	⁽¹¹⁾_____	⁽¹²⁾_____
7. It's no problem.	⁽¹³⁾_____	⁽¹⁴⁾_____
8. That's all right.	⁽¹⁵⁾_____	⁽¹⁶⁾_____

Listening 1

Listening 1 ‣ People are apologizing. What are they apologizing for? Listen and circle the correct answer.

- a. He hit her car.
- b. He scratched her bicycle.
- a. He forgot their date.
- b. He forgot her birthday.
- a. She left his CD at school.
- b. She lost his CD.
- a. He was late for their date.
- b. He forgot their date.
- a. She hit his car.
- b. She tripped him.
- a. She was late for their date.
- b. She forgot their date.

Listening 2

‣ Task 1

People are apologizing and making excuses. What are their excuses? Listen and check (x) the correct picture.

- a.
- b.
- a.
- b.
- a.
- b.
- a.
- b.

‣ Task 2

Listen again. Does each listener believe the excuse? Check (x) the correct answer.

	Yes	No
1.	⁽¹⁾	⁽²⁾
2.	⁽³⁾_____	⁽⁴⁾_____
3.	⁽⁵⁾_____	⁽⁶⁾_____
4.	⁽⁷⁾_____	⁽⁸⁾_____

Listening 3

‣ Task 1

People are explaining why they missed certain events. What event did each person miss? Circle the correct answer.

- a. his cousin's party
- b. his cousin's wedding
- c. his sister's wedding
- a. her class
- b. work
- c. a phone call
- a. his sister's soccer game
- b. his soccer game
- c. work
- a. her first day of work
- b. her job interview
- c. a lunch date
- a. his niece's birthday
- b. his sister's party
- c. his niece's graduation
- a. her history test
- b. a movie
- c. a birthday party

‣ Task 2

Listen again. Why did the people miss their events? Match the first half of each sentence on the left with the second half of the sentence on the right.

He missed it because he
She missed it because she _____
He missed it because he _____
She missed it because she _____
He missed it because he _____
She missed it because she _____

a. had to work.
b. got sick.
c. broke her ankle.
d. had to study.
e. ran out of gas.
f. couldn't find it.

✺ Pronunciation

Intonation of yes/no and Wh- questions

Pronunciation Help

Use rising intonation for yes/no questions. Use falling intonation for Wh- questions.

‣ Task 1

Listen and repeat.

1. Is everything^→ okay^↗?
2. Where were you^→ last night_↘?
3. Did you forget^→ our appointment^↗?
4. Why are you^→ so late_↘?

‣ Task 2

Read the questions to a partner. Be sure to use the correct intonation.

✺ Dictation

‣ Task 1

Listen to the conversation. Write the missing words.

A: ⁽¹⁾_____ ⁽²⁾_____ ⁽³⁾_____ this afternoon? You were supposed to meet me for lunch.
B: I'm so sorry. I was at a doctor's appointment. I thought I would be out of there by noon, but the appointment took a long time.
A: Oh, ⁽⁴⁾_____ ⁽⁵⁾_____ ⁽⁶⁾_____?
B: I'm fine. It was just a check-up. Did you get the movie tickets for tonight?
A: No, I didn't. I'm sorry. I couldn't get online at home.
B: ⁽⁷⁾_____ ⁽⁸⁾_____ ⁽⁹⁾_____ with your Internet connection?
A: I think so. Sometimes I can't get a connection.

‣ Task 2

Practice the conversation with a partner. Be sure to use the correct intonation.

✺ Conversation

Work in pairs. Imagine that you missed an appointment with your partner. Apologize and give an excuse.

Answer Key

Favorite Books

Basic Tactics for Listening, 3rd Edition

Tactics for Listening Third Edition is an activity-rich listening course with proven success in building skills in listening and conversation. Now with Tactics for Testing, it provides plenty of practice in testing and exam techniques. The result is confident listeners - and exam success.

Developing Tactics for Listening, 3rd Edition

Table of Contents