Listen&Learn: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock
A humorous story about a man’s adventures in space.

Pre-listening vocabulary

  • science fiction: a genre of stories about futuristic ideas like aliens and time travel
  • protagonist: the main character of a story
  • escape: to leave a dangerous situation
  • reveal: to give someone information that they didn’t know before
  • satirical: using humour to criticize something
  • adventure: an exciting and sometimes dangerous experience

Listening activity

Gapfill exercise

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction novel by English Douglas Adams. The book is based on a radio series that Adams created in 1978. The protagonist, Arthur Dent, learns from his friend Ford Prefect that the world is about to end. Ford helps Arthur escape, and the two begin to through the galaxy. Along the way, Arthur learns that Earth was really a built to reveal the truth about “life, the universe, and everything”. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a very satirical story. Many of the humorous events in the book represent problems in . Adams published four more novels about Arthur Dent’s adventures before his death in 2001.

Comprehension questions

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a novel based on a

Correct! Wrong!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a novel based on a radio series.

2. Arthur goes to space because

Correct! Wrong!

Arthur goes to space because he learns that the world is about to end.

3. Arthur learns that Earth was actually

Correct! Wrong!

Arthur learns that Earth was actually a computer.

Discussion/essay questions

  1. Can you think of some other books, movies, or TV shows that use humour to criticize society?

Transcript

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction novel by English author Douglas Adams. The book is based on a radio series that Adams created in 1978. The protagonist, Arthur Dent, learns from his alien friend Ford Prefect that the world is about to end. Ford helps Arthur escape, and the two begin to travel through the galaxy. Along the way, Arthur learns that Earth was really a computer built to reveal the truth about “life, the universe, and everything”. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a very satirical story. Many of the humorous events in the book represent problems in society. Adams published four more novels about Arthur Dent’s adventures before his death in 2001. 

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub
© EnglishClub.com

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