Practice English Listening Test for B2 with answer and audioscript – Test #13

1 C   2 C   3 C   4 B   5 B   6 A   7 A   8 C

Audioscript

1

This new terminal has many outstanding features, but in a sense is not that different from an old-style factory. Not on account of its dimensions – it’s actually built on a larger scale than anything designed for manufacturing that I’ve ever seen – but in the way every square metre of it plays a part in ensuring that the paying customers move smoothly from stage to stage until finally they become the product: security-checked individuals carrying hand luggage ready to board an aircraft. Very few object to this process, and there would seem to be no logical reason to change it.

2

Woman:   So would you say your relationship with the manager in your last company was rather difficult?

Man:   Yes, though in spite of that I would have stayed if the management had shown they valued me, but with all the hard work I was doing I didn’t feel I was receiving what I deserved.

Woman:   In what way?

Man:   Well, even with bonuses my income simply wasn’t enough to live on, especially in the capital.

Woman:   Are you sure you want to stay here?

Man:   Oh yes, I’d miss big-city life too much if I moved away.

3

I go there most summers, when the sun is shining and the restaurants are full of visitors enjoying the wonderful local dishes they serve. Eating out is certainly something I’ve always looked forward to when planning a trip there, but even so the real highlights are still the ancient city walls and the magnificent medieval castle. I love being there during the carnival, although with so many tourists in town the atmosphere has changed, and the local people are perhaps a little less willing to talk to strangers than they used to be, unfortunately.

4

Man:   Compared to other places we’ve stayed at, the food wasn’t too bad, was it?

Woman:   Well, I’ve had better at the café round the corner from home, which isn’t saying much. And at least the café’s easy to get to. You don’t have to climb a steep hill and then go up a flight of stairs to reception.

Man:   But the view from our room out across the bay was marvellous, wasn’t it?

Woman:   It was hardly worth all that walking. Though I suppose as a place to stay we got our money’s worth.

Man:   And it was a budget hotel, after all.

5

As soon as I saw it on the website it knew it was exactly what I wanted, even though it wasn’t what you’d call a bargain. So I clicked on ‘buy it now’ and was about to pay by debit card when I noticed that having it sent from abroad added a lot to the total, which hadn’t been clear in the item description. But I went ahead anyway and I’m glad I did, because when I unwrapped it five days later I could see that if it hadn’t been so carefully packed in such a large box it would probably have got broken.

6

From spring until early autumn I really enjoy being one of the first people up and about in the morning, though in the darker months it can get me down. I suppose it’s the same for everyone including passengers, but chatting with them always cheers me up, and I hope I have the same effect on them. Of course, in a big city like this there are terrible traffic jams in the morning and you can see car drivers looking at their watches and getting really stressed out. But they can’t use bus lanes, which make life a lot easier for people like me during rush hours.

7

Everybody, I suppose, has mixed feelings about their school days. Some have extremely negative memories, especially of certain teachers, though fortunately I’m not one of them. In fact, if they remember me at all, they probably recall me as a boy who could’ve achieved far more if he’d made more of an effort, and I’m now mature enough to recognise that they were right. I sometimes wonder how the others in my class are doing these days, though unfortunately I long ago lost touch with them.

8

Man:   I’ve just been to that little art gallery on Market Street.

Woman:   I didn’t know there was one there.

Man:   Neither did I until yesterday, even though I’ve walked past the building every day for years. Simon mentioned there was an exhibition of Italian art on and gave me the address, so I went along.

Woman:   And how was it?

Man:   Well, it’s such a small place I was expecting it to be packed, but in fact it wasn’t. There were some interesting paintings and sculptures, too, though it was a rather limited collection. Still, they say their next exhibition will be more extensive, and if it is I might go there again.

9 gym   10 cousin   11 technique   12 balance   13 relaxed

14 stretching   15 kick   16 feet   17 ankle   18 red

Audioscript

Hello, my name is Amanda Murillo and I’m here today to tell you about my favourite sport – Taekwondo. Ever since I was a small child I’ve enjoyed doing exercise, either indoor or outdoor. Keeping ft is important to me and on Saturday mornings I always used to spend a couple of hours at the gym, but I was finding that a bit dull. I’d thought of doing tennis or swimming, but there wasn’t a tennis court nearby, and the nearest decent sized pool was too far away to go every week. I’d heard of Taekwondo, though when I mentioned it to my elder brother he seemed to think I was too small to be any good at it. But my cousin Monica, who’s done other martial arts, disagreed, and said ‘Why not give it a try?’. So I persuaded my best friend Anna to go along to a Taekwondo club with me and we both found we enjoyed it. There were certainly some tall, athletic-looking men and women training there, but the instructor pointed out that it was technique that really mattered, not being big and strong. And as he was only about my height, I believed him. In fact, during my first few sessions I discovered that I had one or two advantages over some of the others. For instance, I’ve always been quite good at dancing so I tend not to lose my balance easily, and that gave me a certain amount of confidence when I was starting out.

I also noticed that quite a few of the boys and young men, even those who’d been training for quite a long time, seemed far less relaxed than me. They gave the impression of being physically tense, which is not good when doing martial arts. I always find that I get rid of any tension at the beginning of each session, when we do a gentle warm-up followed by some intensive activities such as 50-metre races, and then spend a few minutes doing stretching work with a partner. Anyway, the benefits of all that exercise soon became apparent when we started doing patterns, each of which is a series of pre-arranged movements that have to be practised again and again. I was able to turn at the waist and kick to a height that I’d never imagined possible. I could also punch surprisingly well, probably because I wasn’t all tensed up. Of course, most Taekwondo students want to practise doing their kicks and punches with an actual opponent, but before you can do that you have to get the right safety gear. Thick gloves are essential, as is similar protection for your feet. Students in other Taekwondo organisations also protect their head with a light helmet, and wear soft pads on their arms and legs, but we don’t feel it’s necessary.

Most of the injuries I’ve had have been minor things like cuts and bruises to my legs and arms, the only exception being a broken ankle two years ago when I fell badly. I also feared I’d broken my wrist on that occasion, though fortunately an x-ray showed I hadn’t. So compared to many sports, Taekwondo’s a relatively safe activity and I hope to keep doing it for many years. Eventually, like nearly all my fellow students, I want to get a black belt but that takes several years. The one before that is red, and that’s the one I’m aiming for right now, though I’ll have to do a lot more training to reach the standard required. My current one is blue, which came after green and before that yellow. It seems a long time now since I wore that beginner’s white belt! Well, thanks for listening.

19 E   20 B   21 A   22 G   23 D

Audioscript

Speaker 1

Compared to the tiny keyboard on some models, this one is easy to operate because it’s a decent size. That, though, is not true of the monitor, and I often find myself having to reduce the size of text to the point where it’s hard to make out if I want the whole document visible at the same time. On the other hand, its dimensions mean it fts easily into a travel bag, and weight isn’t a problem either. One final point: for a relatively cheap model, it doesn’t look bad at all.

Speaker 2

I took it with me to Australia and in most respects I found it ideal. It was handy for getting information on the places I was visiting, for storing and viewing photos, and of course for emailing, instant messaging and video conferencing. The only time it let me down was when a pop-up message suddenly appeared telling me it needing charging again after just a few hours. Out there in the desert I was a long way from the nearest electricity supply. Something similar happened again a few days later, but other than that it performed well throughout my time abroad.

Speaker 3

In many ways it’s a great little machine, with pluses that include its appearance, its small but well-designed keyboard, its weight – at just under a kilo – and also the size of the screen, which is 30 centimetres. The device is more than adequate for visual applications, but the same can’t be said for musical or speech functions, most likely on account of the tiny speakers. Apart from that I’m very happy with it, and I’d recommend it to anyone who needs to stay online and in touch while travelling.

Speaker 4

I soon got used to the virtual keyboard, and in fact I now prefer it to the traditional kind. I’ve also adapted to the smaller screen size on this one, and found a way of ensuring the sound quality is always high. My only complaint is that there’s no simple way of plugging in things like printers, though of course wherever possible I avoid making hard copies for the sake of the environment. I also like the fact that it uses very little energy, which means it can go for long periods of time without recharging.

Speaker 5

Someone like me with quite big hands is constantly at risk of hitting more than one letter or symbol at a time, which makes writing long messages or documents rather tricky. Reading them, though, is fine, and there’s no problem running lots of applications because it’s such a powerful little device. Another advantage is that music sounds excellent when played through the speakers, unlike on other small laptops, or on tablets. Above all, the fact that it can last for ten hours without charging means you can take it just about anywhere without worrying whether it’s suddenly going to shut down.

24 C   25 B   26 B   27 A   28 C   29 C   30 B

Audioscript

Interviewer:   Tell me, Ahmet, what made you decide to start working nights in a supermarket?

Ahmet:   I’d been applying for shop work for a while, and although I had a few replies the salaries they were offering weren’t that good. Then a friend pointed out I’d get an extra twenty per cent for night shifts, so I took his advice and got myself a job working from nine until six in the morning, which was the same length of time as for the day shift.

Interviewer:   How easy did you find it when you first began?

Ahmet:   Actually, I’d expected it to be easier, because I’ve always stayed up late at night – sometimes right through till morning – but it’s not the same if you have to stay awake all the time whether you feel like it or not. On the other hand, it’s nice early in the morning knowing you have a good long sleep ahead of you rather than wishing you could’ve stayed in bed longer. And as for the evenings, well, most people I know don’t do much then anyway, so I’ve never felt I’m missing much.

Interviewer:   But what about your social life? When do you see friends?

Ahmet:   They all have long working days and don’t tend to go out much during the week, so we wouldn’t be meeting up anyway. And I don’t have a partner at present, though if I had obviously it would mean seeing each other less often. I know that’s a problem for some of my colleagues, though others say if you have Friday and Saturday off, you can stay awake all night and go from club to club until morning – not that I’ve tried that. Actually, the hours do have some advantages.

Interviewer:   Such as?

Ahmet:   Well, I myself cycle to and from work but my workmates tell me there aren’t that many people on the buses or Underground, and that it’s much easier to get to see a doctor or dentist early in the day when most other people are busy. Fortunately I never need to do that, probably because I am pretty healthy. I also keep myself pretty ft, which is easier and a lot more pleasant when you have the gym or the pool virtually to yourself because everyone else is working or studying.

Interviewer:   Can working nights be bad for your health?

Ahmet:   Well, the statistics do show that night-shift employees tend to suffer more from colds and flu, but as I’m in such good health generally I’m unlikely to go down with either of those. They also indicate a higher risk for staff of having a fall, or – perhaps in my case – having things falling on top of you, at around one or two in the morning. So I do take more care after midnight. I’ve also heard that people who aren’t exposed to enough daylight can get irritated more easily, but it’s summer so it’s light when I leave work and it stays light until I start again.

Interviewer:   And do your mealtimes have to change?

Ahmet:   Not as much as you might think. When I’m at home I tend to get snacks from the fridge at odd hours of the night, pretty much anytime I like. And it’s the same when I’m not. I work in a supermarket, remember. So once my shift is over I don’t usually bother with breakfast.

Interviewer:   Finally, what kind of people are the shoppers?

Ahmet:   All sorts, really, including night workers like police officers, and young people on their way to or from cinemas or nightclubs. Sometimes I think they wonder what the police are doing there, until they see they’re carrying shopping baskets. One of the nice things about the night shift is that shoppers seem to have more time to chat, and that helps me pass the time. But compared to people there in the day, their trolleys tend to have more junk food in them, so maybe their diet isn’t so healthy.

Interviewer:   Thank you, Ahmet.