Comprehension Listening

The next story have the purpose of practicing listening comprehension, which  concerns with decoding of a speech, that involves continual mental processing, concentrated attention, and memory. In other words it represents a perceptive and mental mnemonic activity.  You can read it before listening in order of having an idea of what it is about.

The missing cat

The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. “My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly,” said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis. She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come home for dinner more than a month ago. The next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.

When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.

A bell went off. “Is Clyde your child or your pet?” the officer suspiciously asked. “Well, he’s my cat, of course,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS,” said the irritated policeman. “Well, who can I report this to?” she asked. “You can’t. You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyers,” replied the officer.

Mrs. Brown figured that a billboard would work a lot better than an 8”x11” piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the interstate highway. The billboard had a phone number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a picture of Clyde (from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put it on the billboard for all to see.

“But how can people see it when they whiz by on the interstate?” she asked. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am, they only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters that no one moves.” They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took most of the money out of her savings account and rented the billboard for a month.

The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.

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EXERCISE, Let's see if listening you can get the missing words, link the next page:

http://www.rong-chang.com/qa2/stories/story011.htm

JUST GIVE A CLICK IN THE LISTENING AND FILL IN THE BLANKS OF THE STORY ABOVE.

The owner of a missing cat is asking________help. “My baby has been missing for over_________month now, and I want him back so__________,” said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown___________by herself in a trailer park near Clovis.____________said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come_____________for dinner more than a month ago. The_____________morning he didn’t appear for breakfast either. After__________missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police. ________________ the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she__________him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had____________his teeth but was missing half of his____________ear, and was seven years old and completely____________. She then told the officer that Clyde was____________a foot high.
A bell went off. “Is­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________your child or your pet?” the officer suspiciously___________. “Well, he’s my cat, of course,” Mrs. Brown____________. “Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not____________CATS,” said the irritated policeman. “Well, who can___________report this to?” she asked. “You can’t. You__________to ask around your neighborhood or put up___________,” replied the officer.
Mrs. Brown figured that a_____________would work a lot better than an 8”x11”____________of ______________off the interstate highway. The billboard had a_____________number on it. She called that number, and______________told her they could blow up a picture____________Clyde (from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put______________on the billboard for all to see.
“But______________can people see it when they whiz by______________the interstate?” she asked. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am,______________only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30___________.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is_______________full of commuters that no one moves.” They____________her it would cost only $3,000 a month._____________she took most of the money out of_______________savings account and rented the billboard for a___________. The month has passed, but Clyde has not____________. Because she has almost no money in savings,_____________. Brown called the local newspaper to see if____________could help her rent the billboard for just____________more month. She is waiting but, so far,____________one has stepped forward.