Summer Corner
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
1
Listening
1. Look at this song about the summer. Fill the gaps with the words in the box. Use a
dictionary to help with any unknown words. Then listen and check your answers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWC59FJqGc
sick holler quote Sunday vacation late dollar vote lick date money Nations
Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochrane)
I’m gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a (1) ………………
About a workin’ all summer just to try to earn a (2) ………………
Every time I call my baby, and try to get a (3) ………………
My boss says, “No dice son, you gotta work (4) ……………… “
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
Well my mom and pop told me, “Son you gotta make some (5) ……………… ,
If you want to use the car to go ridin’ next (6) ……………… “
Well I didn’t go to work, told the boss I was (7) ………………
“Well you can’t use the car ‘cause you didn’t work a (8) ……………… “
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
I’m gonna take two weeks, gonna have a fine (9) ………………
I’m gonna take my problem to the United (10) ………………
Well I called my congressman and he said (11) ……………… :
“I’d like to help you son but you’re too young to (12) ……………… “
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
This version is by Eddie Cochrane, an American singer. Now listen to a British version by The
Who. Which version is easier to understand? Can you find any other versions?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iem5TUVxpQI
2. Listen to somebody talking about the 4th July celebrations in the USA. Answer the
questions.
a) Who was king in Britain when America became independent?
b) How do the 4th July celebrations usually end?
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Summer Corner
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
1
3. Listen again. Fill the gaps in the sentences as you listen.
1 The people who sailed from Britain to North America had to pay __________ in Britain.
2 __________ American colonies wanted to be independent.
3 British soldiers killed some people in Boston in __________ .
4 The famous “Boston __________ Party” happened in 1773.
5 On 4th July __________ the United States government decided to become independent.
6 The war continued until __________ .
7 The first July 4th celebration was in __________ in 1777.
8 The US flag has got __________ red stripes.
9 __________ became the fiftieth state in the USA.
10 Another name for the 4th of July is “ __________ Day”.
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Summer Corner
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
1
ANSWER KEY
Listening
1.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
holler
dollar
date
late
money
Sunday
sick
lick
vacation
Nations
quote
vote
2.
a) King George the Third
b) With fireworks
3.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
taxes
Thirteen
1770
Tea
1776
1781
Philadelphia
seven
Hawaii
Independence
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Summer Corner
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
1
Tapescript
Factfile
Seasons & Celebrations
(Oxford Bookworms Library)
Soon after the summer solstice there is an important date in the USA – the Fourth of July. During
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many people sailed from Britain to North America
and started a new life there. New homes like this in other countries were called colonies. The
British king was still king of the people in the colonies, and so they had to send taxes to Britain
every year. But the thirteen American colonies wanted to be free from Britain: they wanted their
government to be in America. They did not want to send money to Britain, and many people
became very angry about this.
In 1770 British soldiers shot some of these people in Boston, and in 1773 there was the famous
Boston Tea Party. A tea ship came to Boston and there was a fight about the taxes on the tea.
Three hundred and forty big boxes of tea went into the water! Now King George the Third and
his government were angry too.
On 4 July 1776, the United States government in Philadelphia agreed to the Declaration of
Independence. This said the United States was a free, or independent country, and that George
the Third was not its king any more. Now it was war. The British and the Americans fought each
other until 1781, when the Americans won. In 1783 the United States of America was born.
The first Fourth of July celebration was in Philadelphia in 1777, during the war. There were guns,
parades, fireworks, music, and a lot of noise. Now, every year on the Fourth of July, Americans
celebrate Independence Day.
There are special church services at this time, but most of the celebrations are outside because it
is summer. Many families have a barbecue, eat, and play games in their gardens or in a park.
In many towns, there are parades through the streets with loud music and lots of bright colours.
The red, white and blue American flag flies everywhere. It has fifty white stars and thirteen
stripes (seven red, six white). The fifty stars are for the fifty states in the United States, and the
thirteen stripes are for the first thirteen states – the colonies. The flag has changed many times
but today’s flag goes back to the Fourth of July 1960, when Hawaii became the fiftieth state.
Independence Day usually ends with lots of fireworks. It is like one big party.
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