Interview with a Dancer - Listening Comprehension

You will hear a man interviewing a famous ballet dancer. Write down the answers to the questions he asks. You will hear the listening twice for the gist. After you have finished, look below for the answers. 

Click on this ballet dancer listening quiz to begin. 

1. How long did she live in Hungary?
2. Where was she born?
3. Why wasn't she born in a hospital?
4. What kind of day was her birthday?
5. Was she born in 1930?
6. Did her parents leave Hungary with her?
7. What did her father do?
8. What did her mother do?
9. Why did her mother travel a lot?
10. When did she begin to dance?
11. Where did she study dance?
12. Where did she go after Budapest?
13. Why did she leave her first husband?
14. Which country was her second husband from?
15. How many husbands has she had?

Instructions:

You will hear a man interviewing a famous dancer. Write down the answers to the questions he asks. You will hear the listening twice. After you have finished, click on the arrow to see if you have answered correctly. (changed to answers below)

Transcript: 

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A Job Opportunity Listening Comprehension Quiz

By Kenneth Beare

Interviewer: Well, thank you very much for agreeing to come to this interview.
Dancer: Oh, it's my pleasure. 

Interviewer: Well, it's a pleasure for me as well. Right, well there are lots of questions I'd like to ask you, but first of all, can you tell me something about your early life? I believe you are from Eastern Europe, aren't you?
Dancer: Yes, that's right. I ... I was born in Hungary, and I lived there for all of my childhood. In fact, I lived in Hungary for twenty-two years. 

Interviewer: I believe there's a rather strange story that I've heard about your birth.
Dancer: Yes, in fact I was born on a boat because ... because my mother needed to go to the hospital, and we lived on a lake. And so she was on the boat going to the hospital, but she was too late. 

Interviewer: Oh, so when your mother went to hospital she went by boat.
Dancer: Yes. That's right. 

Interviewer: Oh, and you arrived?
Dancer: Yes, on a beautiful spring day in fact. It was the twenty-first of April that I arrived in. Well, around 1930 I can tell you, but I won't be more specific than that. 

Interviewer: And, uh, your family? Your parents?
Dancer: Yes, well my mother and father remained in Hungary. They didn't come away with me, and my father was a history professor at the university. He wasn't very famous. But, on the other hand, my mother was quite famous. She was a pianist.

Interviewer: Oh.
Dancer: She played lots of concerts in Hungary. She travelled around a lot. 

Interviewer: So music was ... because your mother was a pianist, music was very important for you.
Dancer: Yes, in fact. 

Interviewer: From very early.
Dancer: Yes, I danced when my mother played the piano. 

Interviewer: Yes.
Dancer: Right. 

Interviewer: And did you, when did you really realize that you wanted to dance? Was it at school?
Dancer: Well, I was very, very young. I did all of my school studies in Budapest. And I studied dancing there in Budapest with my family. And then I came to America. And I got married when I was very, very young. I had an American husband. And he died very young, and then I married another man who was from Canada. And then my third husband was French. 

Quiz Answers

1. She lived in Hungary for twenty-two years.
2. She was born on a boat on a lake in Hungary.
3. They lived on a lake and her mother was late to the hospital.
4. She was born on a spring day.
5. She was born around 1930, but the date is not exact.
6. Her parents did not leave Hungary with her.
7. Her father was a professor at university.
8. Her mother was a pianist.
9. Her mother travelled to play in concerts.
10. She began to dance very young when her mother played the piano.
11. She studied dance in Budapest.
12. She went to America after Budapest.
13. She left her husband because he died.
14. Her second husband was from Canada.
15. She has had three husbands.