Listening comprehension exercise
Old-time radio drama - Western
Gunsmoke: The Liar from Blackhawk (I)

To download and listen to the MP3 sound file, click here. (first half)
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Vocabulary:
brought to you by
L & M filters
to stand out from
Dodge City
territory on West
to handle
killers
spoilers
U.S. marshal
smell of
to star
William Conrad
violence
to move West
young America
chancy
watchful
lonely
Chester
Miss Kitty
congratulations
to borrow s.t. from/off
fella (= fellow)
mighty (= very) proud
beer
bar
to set (sit) down
to draw a beer
coming up
stranger
around here
I don't never...
don't it?
to swim in it
I swear
I'd like to
ain't
to act
to get out of the way
your move
go ahead
good enough for me

fool
wait till you hear
Hank Shin
Proudfoot
fight or get out
no, Sir
this is my fight
fair in all fights
to insult a lady
gunplay
over it
get out of here
Dakota territory
reputation
up there
to go against
gunman
by golly
Blackhawk
to take s.o.
saloon
up there
the word don't get to Dodge very fast
ought to
to apologize
to impress
citizens
I don't care how big a man you are...
to start trouble
to cut s.o.'s string
to talk mighty (= very) loose
kinda (= kind of = somewhat, in a way)
to thrive on talk
I'd a (= have) thought he'd...
to step in
I plumb (= completely) forgot
Santa Fe
Abilene
to start on a killing spree
to telegraph

miracle tip
to draw easy
filter
effective filtration
quality
tobacco
low-nicotine
mild
to stand out from all the rest
to sweep the country

growth of
depot
Delmonico's
to beckon
"Wild" Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok
I've seen his kind before
devil with a gun
to shoot a hole in
likely to do it yourself
to take to carrying guns
to start behaving yourselves
I declare
to live around hogs
to wallow
I wouldn't take that
you bet they haven't
pretty well buffaloed
to got (= have) no quarrel with s.o.
to make up one's mind
to make up one's mind
to spook one
so far
off-center (= mentally unbalanced)
way off (a lot, very much)
any day now


Listening comprehension questions:
1. What does Miss Kitty do (use the Internet), and why is there awkwardness regarding how Chester refers to her ('this lady')?
2. What does Chester mean by 'your move, Stranger'?
3. According to Davy's explanation, why does Hank Shin expect others to know him?
4. Why did Matt Dillon say, 'Maybe I ought to apologize' to Hank Shin?
5. What do you think '...or I'll cut your string' means based on the context of this story?
6. In what states are Dodge City, Santa Fe and Abilene?
7. What do you notice about the cigarette commercial that would sound strange to a listener in 2010?
8. How long was Matt Dillon in Abilene?
9. What do you think 'Delmonico's' is, based on context?
10. Find a historical reference explaining Matt Dillon's concern regarding "Wild" Bill Hickok.
11. How has Hank Shin been acting?
12. What does Kitty worry about concerning Hank Shin and 'his kind'?
13. What does Matt Dillon mean when he says, 'something you wanted?' to Hank Shin?
14. How does Kitty insult Hank Shin?
15. What do 'to buffalo' and 'to spook' mean?
16. What does Kitty mean by her speculation that Hank Shin is 'way off center'?

To:
Gunsmoke: The Liar from Blackhawk (II)

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