Old Cell Phones –

Instructions:

Listen to the video carefully and answer the following questions. Choose the best answer for each question. Click “Submit Answers” when you’re done to see your results.

Old Cell Phones – Listening Comprehension Exercise

Old Cell Phones – Listening Comprehension Exercise

Instructions:

Listen carefully and choose the best answer for each question.

1. What is mentioned as one advantage of flip phones when they fall?
  • They call emergency services
  • They don't usually break the screen
  • They automatically turn off
  • They bounce higher than other phones
2. How do the speakers describe the first phone shown?
  • Modern and powerful
  • Basic and old
  • Stylish and elegant
  • High-tech
3. What do some of the participants say about the phone with no screen?
  • It looks like a toy
  • It must be very expensive
  • It is perfect for selfies
  • It looks futuristic
4. What feature does one of the flip phones have when it turns on?
  • A touchscreen
  • A moving fish background
  • A fingerprint sensor
  • Voice recognition
5. What did the participants discover about texting on these phones?
  • It is faster than on a smartphone
  • You have to press numbers multiple times to get letters
  • There is no way to text at all
  • It automatically predicts every word
6. What symbol is used as the space bar when texting?
  • * (asterisk)
  • # (hashtag)
  • 0 (zero)
  • The power button
7. How do they describe taking selfies on the Razr?
  • Easy and fun, but not Instagram-worthy
  • Impossible
  • Much better than modern smartphones
  • High-quality professional photos
8. What pop culture reference is made about one of the phones?
  • It was seen often in Gossip Girl
  • It was used in The Matrix
  • It appeared in Star Wars
  • It was made by Disney
9. What do participants say about the old phones' startup sounds?
  • They are annoying
  • They have nice jingles
  • They are silent
  • They play pop songs
10. What advantage of the Sidekick is mentioned?
  • It is waterproof
  • It made cheating in class easier
  • It had a built-in calculator
  • It had unlimited storage
11. Which phone is said to have started the "selfie revolution"?
  • The Sidekick
  • The Razr
  • The first iPhone
  • The Blackberry
12. What do the participants conclude at the end?
  • They want to go back to flip phones
  • They prefer to stick with their smartphones
  • They decide to stop texting
  • They want to buy pagers

Your Results

Old Cell Phones – Vocabulary Quiz

Old Cell Phones – Vocabulary Quiz (B2 Level)

Instructions:

Choose the best answer for each question, then click "Check Answer" to see if you're correct. You can check each question individually before submitting the entire quiz.

1. The phrase "Oh, man, it's like a calculator!" means...
  • It looks old and simple, not like a modern phone
  • It works exactly like a calculator
  • It can only do math
  • It's very expensive
2. The expression "You don't have to worry about it breaking the screen" means...
  • It's strong and doesn't break easily
  • It has no screen
  • It breaks all the time
  • It's not used anymore
3. The slang "hella basic" means...
  • Very simple or not advanced
  • Very difficult to use
  • Really fancy
  • Brand new
4. The phrase "I could be in the 19-whenever" means...
  • It feels like being in the past
  • It's a future-style phone
  • It's from a science-fiction movie
  • It reminds me of school
5. The expression "whip out the antenna" means...
  • Pull out or extend something quickly
  • Build a new antenna
  • Throw something away
  • Hold it carefully
6. The phrase "It's still alive" means...
  • It still works, even though it's old
  • It's making noise
  • It's a new model
  • It has a battery problem
7. The expression "I always wanted one of these in elementary school" means...
  • It was a popular item when I was a kid
  • I still want one today
  • I used to hate them
  • I saw them in movies only
8. The slang "selfie skills" means...
  • The ability to take good photos of yourself
  • The ability to text quickly
  • Knowing how to fix phones
  • Learning to pose for ads
9. The phrase "I don't know if I took the picture" means...
  • I'm not sure if it worked
  • The photo looks great
  • The phone is broken
  • The camera is professional
10. The slang "this is hip" means...
  • This is trendy or cool
  • This is too old
  • This is uncomfortable
  • This is expensive
11. The idiom "cheat your way through class" means...
  • To secretly use your phone to get answers
  • To study very hard
  • To help your classmates
  • To skip the test
12. The expression "the silver lining in the bronze age of cell phones" means...
  • Something good or positive in an old or less advanced time
  • A shiny color on the phone
  • An expensive model
  • A negative part of technology

Your Results

– Oh, man, it’s like a calculator.
(techno music)
– I know that if a flip phone falls, you don’t have to worry
about it breaking the screen.
– I know that they flip and they’re old.
– Kind of basic as far as cell phones go.
(techno music)
– What is this?
– This isn’t real, this isn’t real, it’s a toy.
– It doesn’t even have a screen.
– Dang, this is hella basic.
– Where’s the on button?
(cell phone dialing)
– I’m guessing this is some sort of a pager kind of thing.
– Wait, is it only for calling?
That’s so sad, and it’s ugly too, this is really ugly.
– When I hold this, I think I could be in the 19-whenever.
(techno music)
– So this one’s got a screen, two screens.
– This one is taking forever to turn on.
– Maybe if I whip out the antenna, it’ll go faster.
(cell phone music)
– Oh, it has music.
– It’s got a nice moving fish background.
– You can have pictures, but you can’t take them.
– So no selfies for you.
(cell phone dialing)
– Hello?
It actually works.
– It’s still alive.
– Wow, it is pretty durable.
– Don’t do that to my phone.
(techno music)
– Here it is, the Razr.
– I always wanted one of these in elementary school.
– It’s pink, it’s cute, it’s flat.
– Okay, this one is pretty, it looks more elegant.
– And it is much slimmer than the other ones.
– Oh, look, the–
(cell phone music)
– Tetris.
– Looks like we got sent a Greek text on this.
– I’m sending a text to myself.
– So you’ve got to press the numbers multiple times
to get to the letter that you want.
– Where’s your space bar?
– Oh, no space bar.
– Oh, I figured it out, the space is the hashtag.
– Hi one. It’s one.
– So I wanted to write, hey, how are you,
but it turns out hem-mm how are you.
– So it definitely takes a lot longer to text on this thing.
– Oh, it has phone camera, that’s cute.
– Selfie skills.
(camera clicking)
– I don’t know if I took the picture.
(camera clicking)
– This phone was built for selfies.
– This is not a picture I would post on Instagram though.
(techno music)
– What is this?
– Oh, my god, this is ugly.
– Oh, shoot, I remember these.
– You’d see them all the time in, like, Gossip Girl.
– No, yeah, I don’t know what this is, this is huge.
– [voiceover] What?
– This is hip, this is what was cool with the kids.
– Does this thing not just fall right off?
– Hold up, boom.
– [voiceover] Okay, now it’s powered on.
It’s got a nice jingle.
– I like how the old phones have nice jingles.
– Instant messaging and then text messaging.
I guess back in the day that was different?
– I feel like it’s easier to cheat your way through class.
– Yeah, I’d probably use this, like, during school.
It’s pretty straightforward.
You just have it under the table
and then you can just do whatever with it.
– This is the coolest.
(techno music)
– They were pretty cool.
– That texting, it took forever.
– The Razr is what began the selfie revolution.
– I low-key kind of got excited when I saw the Sidekick.
I guess that’s like the silver lining
in the bronze age of cell phones.
– I think I’m going to stick to my smartphone.
– I’m going to keep my iPhone.
I need my iPhone, I love my iPhone.
– The best part about flip phones
is that when you’re hanging up on somebody,
you can just be like, click, bye, you’re gone.