General Listening Quiz

Moving from place to place can take a lot of preparation: packing your items, choosing a moving company if you aren’t going to do it yourself, renting a storage unit for extra items, and renting or buying a new place to live. Think and talk about a time when you or your family moved to a different place. What was it like?

1. 1. Hiring a moving company is always worth the cost.
   2. People should move themselves instead of hiring professionals to save money.
   3. Moving companies are often more careful with your belongings than you are.
   4. Moving companies should be responsible for everything, including packing and unpacking.
   5. It is safer to hire a local moving company than a large national company.
   6. Moving companies often charge unfair hidden fees.
   7. People should always read reviews before choosing a moving company.
   8. DIY moves build better life skills than hiring a moving company.
   9. Moving companies are unnecessary if you only have a few items.
   10. Insurance from a moving company is usually not worth the extra cost.

“had better get moving” = to need to leave or depart
“Hey. We‘d better get moving, or we will miss the movie. It starts in 15 minutes.”

“move away” = to leave your home to live somewhere else
“Our daughter decided to move away (from home) and attend a college in a different city.”

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words that appear in the recording:

• unload (verb): remove something from a truck
  – Three men unloaded all of our things in two hours.
• hire (verb): give work or a job to someone
  – I want to hire a company to clean our carpets before we move.
• load (verb): put something on a truck
  – The movers are going to load the boxes onto the truck first.
• tow (verb): pull something behind another vehicle
  – We had to tow our car to the mechanic because it broke down yesterday.
• vehicle (noun): car or truck
  – You should never leave children alone in vehicles while you are shopping.
• rough (adjective): difficult
  – Moving a family to a new city can be rough on children.
• bet (verb): think that something is probably true
  – I bet that they’ll never move away from this area because their parents live here.

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

• Mixed-Up Sentence  |  Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

What are the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a company to move your belongings to a new residence? What have been your experiences in moving? What adjective best describes your experience:

• frustrating
• relaxing
• confusing
• disappointing
• exciting
• boring
• discouraging
• shocking

Find a moving company on the internet and answer these questions:

• What packing and unpacking options does the company provide?
• Will the company tow your vehicle, and if so, how much will it cost?
• Does the company provide additional services such as setting up your own entertainment center or cleaning your place?
• What insurance do they provide if something is damaged during the move?
• Will they take apart and put together furniture such as a bed or desk at your new location?