1. INA CAL (A&B) EOI SEVILLA. FEBRUARY 2012
LISTENING COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE
AFTER THE TONE, by Nadia Kingsley
The name of this audio story, After the Tone, refers to a particular
situation when we are making a phone call. Do you know which one it is?
It’s the conventional answering machine recording when you are about to leave a message:
“Please leave a message after the tone”.
! Remember to read questions and underline key words beforehand
CALL #1
1. What is Emma calling Shawn for?
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CALL #2
1. Emma calls once again. What’s her purpose this second time?
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CALL #3
1. What are her arguments now?
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2. Where does she say she also wrote down her number?
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3. How does she speculate he might have not seen it or lost it?
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4. What does she say at the end of this call?
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2. (CALLS 4 & 5 might be particularly hard for students to understand, explain situation/context beforehand)
CALL #4
At the beginning of this call, Emma makes a funny comment to sort
of justify herself or excuse from calling again. She says: “Hi Shawn,
it’s Emma, you must be thinking, ‘what the hell! Have I entered “The Krypton
Factor” by mistake?!’ Ha ha!”
(EXPLAIN THIS TO STUDENTS) The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by
Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to
20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns. Contestants from across the United
Kingdom and Ireland competed in a series of rounds that tested their physical stamina and
mental attributes. (Source: Wikipedia)
1. What does she decide to do now, which she mentions at the
end of the call?
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CALL #5
Emma calls this time to explain her previous message, which she
acknowledges it might have sound crazy, when she mentioned The
Krypton Factor. She says the program is quite old and that she was very
young when she saw it and it was actually once or twice she did, only. She
realizes she may be talking too much nonsense, to what she says: I’m
babbling! Emma also suggests that instead of entering The Krypton
Factor, he should in The Crystal Maze (another, more amusing, TV
program). At the end of the message she thanks him for bearing with her
“crazy ways”.
1. What is your opinion about the situation at this point?
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3. CALL #6
1. What day and time is it and why is she whispering?
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2. What plan does she come up with? What has she prepared for
the occasion?
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3. She says “I know you need your beauty sleep” and that she’ll
call him later. Can you explain that?
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CALL #7
1. How does Emma start her message now? (Explain the meaning/use of
“Waky, waky, rise and shine” to students)
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2. Why does she say she feels disappointed? (choose a, b or c)
a. Because Shawn hasn’t called her
b. Because he is still asleep
c. Because it’s raining and that spoiled their plan for the picnic.
3. What “Romantic” things had she prepared for the picnic?
(circle the ones she mentions)
Chicken, a nice tablecloth, trays and a bottle of bubbly wine she had been saving for
her 21st birthday, sandwiches, a cake, champagne, a salad.
4. What does she randomly say about “age”?
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5. What does she suggest at the end of the message?
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4. CALL# 8
1. How is Emma’s attitude different now?
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2. What are her reproaches?
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3. Does she, one more time, ask him to call her back now?
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CALL # 9
1. How does Emma feel now? This is actually the first time Emma
rejects Shawn, gets angry and says a few things against him…What
are those things she says?
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2. Does she ask him to call back? What are her last words?
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CALL #10
1. Who’s calling who now?
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2. What’s the purpose of her call? What’s “speed dialing”? Why
do you think she says “maybe you need some space” and “I
love you”? What else does she say?
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5. CALL #11
1. Who’s calling who now? What are her “excuses” for not
having called before?
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2. How’s Emma’s attitude different from the previous calls she
made? She ends her message by saying: _____________.
WRITING
Could you summarize this whole story in
approximately 80 words?
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 Well done, thanks! (Please print and turn it in for correction).

6. ANSWERS
The name of this story, After the Tone, refers to a particular situation
when we are making a phone call. Do you know which one it is?
It’s the conventional answering machine recording when you are about to leave a
message: “Please leave a message after the tone”. (already given to students).
CALL #1
2. What is Emma calling Shawn for?
To Thank him for such a great evening the night before
CALL #2
2. Emma calls once again. What’s her purpose this second time?
She wants to make sure that Shawn got her first message. She also
mentions how sometimes technology is to blame for relationships failing
before they even start. She also says she doesn’t mind calling again and
that she would love to hear from him.
CALL #3
1. What are her arguments now? Emma calls a moment later wondering
whether Shawn has her phone number or not. She justifies her worry by
saying it’s very easy to lose a piece of paper where a number is written.
2. Where does she say she also wrote down her number? On his
back, while he was asleep.
3. How does she speculate he might have not seen it or lost it?
Because (she thinks) he probably does not look at his back in the mirror or
else it might have been erased from his back with steam in the bathroom or
his own bathrobe.
4. What does she say at the end of this call? Because (she thinks) he
probably does not look at his back in the mirror or else it might have been
erased from his back with steam in the bathroom or his own bathrobe.

7. (CALLS 4 & 5 are particularly hard for students to understand, explain context beforehand)
CALL #4
At the beginning of this call, Emma makes a funny comment to sort
of justify herself or excuse from calling again. She says: “Hi Shawn,
it’s Emma, you must be thinking, ‘what the hell! Have I entered “The Krypton
Factor” by mistake?!’ Ha ha!”
(EXPLAIN THIS TO STUDENTS) The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by
Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to
20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns. Contestants from across the United
Kingdom and Ireland competed in a series of rounds that tested their physical stamina and
mental attributes. (Source: Wikipedia)
2. What does she decide to do now, which she mentions at the
end of the call?
She leaves her phone number and says she’ll stop calling. Again she states it would be
lovely to hear from him.
CALL #5
Emma calls this time to explain her previous message, which she
acknowledges it might have sound crazy, when she mentioned The
Krypton Factor. She says the program is quite old and that she was very
young when she saw it and it was actually once or twice she did, only. She
realizes she may be talking too much nonsense, to what she says: I’m
babbling! Emma also suggests that instead of entering The Krypton
Factor, he should in The Crystal Maze (another, more amusing, TV
program). At the end of the message she thanks him for bearing with her
“crazy ways”.
2. What is your opinion about the situation at this point?
(Answers may vary, personal observation)
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8. CALL #6
4. What day and time is it and why is she whispering? It’s Sunday
morning. She’s whispering because she assumes he’s still asleep.
5. What plan does she come up with? What has she prepared for
the occasion? She’s planned a picnic. She has some chicken breast and is thinking
of making some sandwiches.
6. She says “I know you need your beauty sleep” and that she’ll
call him later. Can you explain that? Either going to sleep before
midnight, waking up after 8 or getting the number of sleeping hours a person needs,
popularly thought to be more restful and therefore contributing to not only mental, but
physical beauty.
CALL #7
6. How does Emma start her message now? (Explain the meaning/use of
“Waky, waky, rise and shine” to students)
7. Why does she say she feels disappointed? (choose a, b or c)
d. Because Shawn hasn’t called her
e. Because he is still asleep
f. Because it’s raining and that spoiled their plan for the picnic.
8. What “Romantic” things had she prepared for the picnic?
(circle the ones she mentions)
Chicken, a nice tablecloth, trays and a bottle of bubbly wine she had been
saving for her 21st birthday, sandwiches, a cake, champagne, a salad.
9. What does she randomly say about “age”? She’s 25 and he’s 26,
perfect age for both to be together in a relationship.
10. What does she suggest at the end of the message? She
asks him to think of any other plans for the day and call her back, since the rain spoiled
“their” first plan.
CALL# 8
4. How is Emma’s attitude different now? She´s sad, disappointed with his
silence.
5. What are her reproaches? She says phone calls aren’t cheap and she’s doing
everything for the relationship.

9. 6. Does she, one more time, ask him to call her back now? She says
she will not call back again and that he can do it if he wants to.
CALL # 9
3. How does Emma feel now? This is actually the first time Emma
rejects Shawn, gets angry and says a few things against him…What
are those things she says? She’s angry and frustrated with Shawn’s silence.
She calls him selfish, he only thinks of himself and she regrets being with him. She
cannot believe how she liked him at the beginning.
4. Does she ask him to call back? What are her last words? No, she
actually says if he calls her she won’t answer.
CALL #10
3. Who’s calling who now? Emma’s mother is calling Emma.
4. What’s the purpose of her call? What’s “speed dialing”? Why
do you think she says “maybe you need some space” and “I
love you”? What else does she say? She wants to know if her daughter is
OK. She has received some calls from her daughter to someone called Shawn, in which
she sounds angry and sad. She guesses Emma accidentally pressed speed dialing or
redial (when you press a button on the phone which redials the previous call you made)
and thinks it’s funny (I should laugh) and sad at the same time for the content of those
calls. The mother is sympathetic with her daughter’s situation and possible feelings and
emotions, for that reason she tries to help her by offering some time to talk to her
when she is ready for it (maybe you need some space), and obviously reminds her that,
as her mother she is, she loves Emma very much.
CALL #11
3. Who’s calling who now? What are her “excuses” for not
having called before? Emma calls Shawn AGAIN, two weeks later. She tells
him she’s been busy with work and parties this whole time.
4. How’s Emma’s attitude different from the previous calls she
made? She ends her message by saying: LEAVE A MESSAGE! This time
Emma’s attitude is completely different (or at least she tries to be). She seems more
realistic and less demanding, and of course more indifferent if Shawn decides to call
her back or not.
Good job, you guys! I’m sure you did great, and if you didn’t, you probably should have listened to it over and over again…as you
know, it’s the only way to brush up your listening skills. Cheers, Inma 