LISTEN with understanding
→ After listening to the recording, sum up what you heard in a few sentences. You can use the questions to help you summarize. Read the transcript if needed.

Power Goes Out at Home

Sum up what was said by answering the following questions. The final summary should be in sentence form.

  1. What happened while the narrator was doing homework?

  2. What did the narrator tell the younger brother to do?

  3. What gave them hope during the outage?

IDIOM USE

Light at the end of the tunnel – We use this idiom when a difficult situation is almost over or will improve soon.

Ways we use it:

  1. School: nearing the end of exams.

  2. Work: finishing a big project.

  3. Daily life: problems that will pass.

Examples:

  • “After months of work, I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

  • “She knew graduation was the light at the end of the tunnel.”

  • “The storm cleared, and there was a light at the end of the tunnel.”

PHRASAL VERB USE

Calm down – We use this phrasal verb when helping someone become less upset or stressed.

Ways we use it:

  1. Comforting children.

  2. Handling emergencies.

  3. Cooling anger or fear.

Examples in different tenses:

  • Present: “Please calm down and listen.”

  • Past: “He finally calmed down after the argument.”

  • Continuous: “She is calming down after the test.”

  • Future: “They will calm down once they hear the news.”

TRANSCRIPT

“Late one evening, while I was finishing homework, the lights suddenly flickered and went out. The entire house was dark and silent, and my younger brother panicked. I told him to calm down and handed him a flashlight. We lit a few candles and waited together. It felt stressful at first, but I reminded myself there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. The power would come back on eventually. After an hour, the electricity returned, and everyone cheered. The short outage reminded us to stay patient, prepared, and positive, even in uncomfortable situations.”