Listening Introduction~Question 5.

お久しぶりです。昨年11月末に大学の語劇祭という外国語学部のイベントで上演した英語劇”Listening”の脚本を公開したいと思います。この作品はあまりに実験的すぎたので、今年の語劇祭ではしっかりとしたものを書こうと思っています…

・
・
・

Listening

A Play by

Mattsū

Characters

Sarah…College student, a twenty-year-old girl.

Mom…Sarah’s mother, 40s or 50s.

Male Narrator…He plays Neighbor, Youtuber, and Counsellor, Sarah’s boyfriend.

Female Narrator…She plays Neighbor, News Caster, Aunt Mary, TikToker, and Eight-year-old Sarah.

Middle-Aged Narrator…He plays Entrepreneur, Daddy, and Twitterer.

SET
Sarah’s house and other places

Production Note
Whenever Narrators play any characters except for Daddy and Aunt Mary, you can think they speak outside of Sarah’s house or online.

Introduction

(The empty space. There are two characters on the stage. Male Narrator is standing on the left side, Female Narrator is on the opposite in the very front. Middle-Aged Narrator is in the center in the very back.)

Middle-Aged Narrator: Listening test.

Male Narrator: In the Listening test, you will be asked to demonstrate how well you understand spoken English. The entire Listening test will last approximately 30 minutes. There are 30 dialogues, and questions are given for each dialogue. You must consider your answers by yourself. You cannot find your answers in your test book.

(Pause)

Middle-Aged Narrator: Directions.

Female Narrator: You will hear some conversations between two or more people. You will be asked to answer a question about what the speakers say in each conversation or talk. Select the best response to each question and mark your answer on your answer sheet in your mind. The conversations and talks will not be printed in your test book and will be spoken only one time.

(Pause)

Question 1.

Middle-Aged Narrator: Question No.1 refers to the following conversation.

Female Narrator: (as a neighbor, speaking to Male Narrator outside Sarah’s house) Hey. Have you heard about Sarah, our neighbor? I heard from her mother that she returned back to her hometown.

Male Narrator: (As a neighbor) Oh, really? I’d never known about it though I knew she is a college student and an intelligent girl.

Female Narrator: Exactly. Her mother always boasts about her whenever I meet her. She seems to think, you know, her daughter is the only hope for her…

Male Narrator: Right. I can understand her feelings because Sarah is a good girl, she’s bright while she has a good talent in other fields.

Middle-Aged Narrator: No.1. What does the man think about the reason why the mother boasts about her daughter?

(Pause. Mom enters. She’s strolling in her house)

Question 2.

Female Narrator: Question No.2 refers to the following conversation.

(Sarah’s home. She enters)

Sarah: Mom. I’m home!

Mom: Oh! Sarah!

(She hugs Sarah)　

How have you been?

Sarah: Not too bad. How have you been, too?

Mom: Oh. I’m good. I’m always good!

(She pulls her smartphone out of her pocket.)

Hey, listen. I’ve bought a new smartphone! I enjoy watching YouTube, chatting with Facebook friends, posting wonderful pictures of sweets on Instagram and even dancing on TikTok!

Sarah: (she seems to have little interest.) Uh, that’s great.

Female Narrator: No.2. What did Sarah’s mother purchase?

(Pause)

Question 3.

Male Narrator: Question No.3 refers to the following conversation.

(The same scene as Question 2. Mom is watching something on her smartphone.)

Sarah: Hey, Mom. What are you watching now?

Mom: Ah, I’m watching YouTube. I strongly feel I don’t have to buy a TV set. I can get any information I want.

Sarah: So, you are absorbed in the app, right?

Mom: Right. By the way, how often do you use YouTube? I think you like it, too.

Sarah: Hmmm… About every day.

Mom: (Laughing) HAHA! Then, we are totally hooked!

(Showing her smartphone to Sarah)

Hey! Look at this video!

Male Narrator: No.3. What does the mother think about the TV set?

(Pause)

Question 4.

Middle-Aged Narrator: Question 4 refers to the following talk.

Middle-Aged Narrator: (On the video. As an entrepreneur) This is the day I’ve been looking forward to for two and a half years. Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything and our company has been – well, first of all, one’s very fortunate if you get to work on just one of these in your career. Our company has been very fortunate. It’s been able to introduce a few of these into the world. So, before we get into it, let me talk about a category of things. The most advanced phones are called smartphones, so they say.

Middle-Aged Narrator: No.4. What does he call a revolutionary product in his speech?

(Pause)

Question 5.

Female Narrator: Question No.5 refers to the following conversation.

(After watching the video referred to No.4)

Sarah: I know you’re interested in videos posted on YouTube.

Mom: I believe you feel some sort of sympathy for me. After getting my phone, my life has totally changed! Social Media offers a wonderful view around the world, pretty kittens, and especially a lot of useful information as well as good friends online. You can feel happy if you get a “Like” …

Sarah: (Interrupting) OK. OK. I know, I know. I can totally understand Social network services are a great service that provides us a kind of paradise, you know.

Mom: Absolutely. But I’ve also found devils there.

Female Narrator: No.5. What did the woman find on Social network services?

(Pause)