Practice English Listening Test for B2 with answer and audioscript – Test #36

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

Audioscript

1

Woman:   Fresh lime soda is made by the side of the road in Calcutta, India. Citrus drinks are popular all over India but fresh lime soda is a speciality in Calcutta. Stallholders set up early in the morning, making the drink with fresh limes, soda water, sugar, a pinch of salt and freshly ground cumin. In hot weather, the body loses a lot of its salt through perspiration, so salty drinks, especially those with lime juice, are very refreshing. Limes grow easily in India and are used in numerous recipes.

2

Man:   Of course these days there are lots of young people who spend a period of time travelling all over the world. We couldn’t do that when I was younger – you couldn’t get to all these places so easily and we didn’t have the time or the money. But I don’t feel like I’ve missed out at all. I mean, what do they actually see and learn? It seems to me that they just do it for the sake of it, as if they’re just ticking places off on a list. They just do it because it’s what people do. They can’t be bothered to find out about the people or their culture. They just want to talk about where they’ve been when they get back.

3

Woman:   Our Gym Instructor course will help you gain the skills and knowledge you need to get the best out of people and help them reach their fitness goals. On successful completion of the course, you’ll be able to take the practical assessment test to prove that you’ve reached a recognized standard in working with people of different fitness levels and abilities. As well as studying anatomy and physiology, you’ll learn about the importance of customer care and correct exercise technique.

4

Interviewer:   Do you ever add your own bits to a scene?

Man:   I think with everything you do, you have the basic structure, but you do your best to explore it as much as possible while you’re shooting a film. If you do something on the spur of the moment, it can be fun. You see the reactions all around. People panic for a second.

Interviewer:   A lot of your characters have been pretty strange, haven’t they?

Man:   Are you saying I’m weird? Well, I think everyone’s nuts, I really do. The strangest people in the world are the ones who are super-serious. They’re probably crazier than any of the guys I’ve played.

5

Reporter:   The meanings of symbols on dashboards are beyond the grasp of many drivers, a survey shows. Almost half of women and a third of men surveyed by the Automobile Association could not correctly identify symbols for frequently-used functions or basic warning lights. Researchers found that nearly 40 per cent of women and 28 per cent of men were unable to correctly identify the warning lamp for the main beam headlight. Two thirds of women could not correctly identify the front windscreen washer and wipe symbol and one in five admitted that they had no idea what it signified.

6

Woman:   It would be very interesting to find out what he was trying to achieve on this latest CD, because it’s totally different from his previous ones. He’s given several interviews since it came out but he doesn’t seem to want to discuss the thinking behind this extraordinary change of style. Of course, the fans will make their views clear – they’ll either stick with him despite the sudden change or they just won’t buy it. Personally, I think it’s a very effective and powerful set of songs and he deserves praise for not just sticking with his tried and tested formula. It’s certainly the best of the releases we’ve looked at so far.

7

Man:   Look, I know you’re upset, but let’s not ruin the whole evening over this.

Woman:   That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s been insulted.

Man:   I know, but just try to forget it. Let’s go for our meal, just as we planned it and try to enjoy ourselves. I have booked a table after all.

Woman:   No, I just can’t face it. Turn around and take me back. I’m really not in the mood.

Man:   Well, I’m hungry.

Woman:   Go on your own, then. But drop me off first. I just want to be on my own.

8

Woman:   At school and college, I used to belong to an athletics club and enthusiastically took part in cross- country races. But then for years I didn’t really do any exercise. Then, eighteen months ago, I decided to get fit and stay fit, and I rediscovered the joys of running. I started training and was soon hooked on running again. I got a colleague to join me and she caught the running bug so badly that she even joined an athletics club! Seeing each other every day at work and discussing running kept us both motivated and I found it surprisingly easy to stick to my schedule of training in the gym and going out for road runs.

9 loan   10 an engineer   11 poorest people

12 one/1 minute   13 product; service

14 socially responsible   15 multiple entries

16 script   17 passion   18 ten/10

Audioscript

Woman:   So, are you thinking about that idea again? That absolute money-spinner, the ultimate business brainchild that could change your fortunes and transform your life forever? No, you think, it’s impossible. People like you should stick to dreaming. But what if you were given a real chance to change your life and achieve that goal? How would you react if the support you need suddenly landed in your lap? Not in the form of a loan – but free. Well, now’s your chance. In this competition, we’re offering £100,000 to a budding entrepreneur, and there are no obligations other than that you have to use the money to follow through your idea. All you have to do is convince us that your plan is worth backing. The £100,000 prize is to help pay for your financial commitments while you pursue your goal.

The competition is open to a variety of ideas and people. Perhaps you have a particular skill that you know could be put to more effective use in a different sector or country. Perhaps, given the right backing, you could change hundreds of lives. Are you an engineer with an idea that could transform sanitation and bring clean water to Africa? Or an architect with a vision that could solve the problems in Britain’s inner cities? Or are you a farmer who could teach the world’s poorest people how to grow crops in the worst conditions? If you are any of these, you could win the competition and the prize money.

Here are the details for entering. If you phone, after leaving your name and address, you will have up to one minute to pitch your idea. If you choose to email, you will have to pitch your idea in no more than 100 words. There are three categories of entry, and you will have to choose one of them. The first category is for those with an innovative idea for a business offering a new product or service. The second is for those who plan to learn new skills by taking a course such as an MBA. The third is for those who want to use their skills to support a socially-responsible project. The winner will be chosen from across all three categories.

Now, there are some other very important details if you are thinking of going in for the competition. Only one entry per person is allowed – multiple entries are not permitted. If you make a mistake while delivering your pitch, you will not be allowed to call back and leave another entry. We suggest that you practise delivering your pitch before phoning. If it helps, write down a script and read that. And remember, you can’t go over the time limit.

Our judges will be looking for a number of qualities when they make their decision. The best idea will have big potential and demonstrate a great deal of innovation. The judges will want to be sure that the idea, if it was carried out, would change the life of the entrant, and preferably the lives of others. Entrants must be able to demonstrate great passion for their project, with thought having been given to how it could be put into practice. The top 100 will then be whittled down to 10, who will be invited to present their ideas in person to a panel of judges. The winner will then be announced.

19 E   20 C   21 A   22 B   23 D

Audioscript

Speaker 1:   When I won the Best Actor award it was an extraordinary moment. There had been so many occasions when I’d thought I might win an award, only to find that someone else got it instead. So when I finally got it I was thrilled. It was a fantastic personal achievement but in fact the main thing in my mind was all the people who had helped me along the way. I thought about all of them and all the help they’d given me. I knew that without them I would never have won it. And I mentioned as many of them as I could in the time available.

Speaker 2:   I guess that being voted Footballer of the Year went to my head. All I could think about was how well I’d done. Me, the best! I thought back to the early years of my career, which weren’t so great and I felt fantastic. And it was all thanks to my own efforts, not because anyone had handed me anything on a plate. It had been a long, hard journey but I’d finally made it to the very top. I suppose it made me a bit big-headed for a while, but I just felt so good about myself and what I’d managed to achieve.

Speaker 3:   Everybody was expecting me to win the Writer of the Year award – I don’t know why, there were plenty of other good contenders on the shortlist. Because everyone was predicting I’d win, I felt under pressure, as if it would be some kind of failure if I didn’t win. It was a silly way to feel, I know, but I couldn’t help it. So when my name was announced I was just glad that it was over and I had in fact won it. All the pressure came off me in a moment and I just felt like sitting down quietly rather than celebrating.

Speaker 4:   These awards mean a lot in the music business and so winning the Best Singer award was a great honour. I’d worked so hard over the years and I’d spent so long getting nowhere that it was amazing to have achieved this recognition. I thought I’d be absolutely overcome with joy, but in fact the reverse happened. As I accented the award, I was wondering if it would be all downhill from there. Would I be able to keep it up and stay at the top? Or would this be the high point, followed by a lot of low points? I couldn’t put those thoughts out of my mind.

Speaker 5:   I wasn’t totally surprised when I got the Best Student award, because to be honest I felt that I deserved it. In fact, I’d put in so much effort to win it, doing far more work than anyone else, that I was completely worn out. It had been so important to me to win it that I’d dedicated myself completely to the task of winning it. So when I went up to collect it, I’d used up all my energy over the previous couple of weeks and was totally drained. I could barely put a few sentences together for my acceptance speech, though I managed to remember to thank a few people for their help.

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

Audioscript

Interviewer:   It’s tough maintaining a child’s interest, but Kate Scarborough has had the experience to know what it’s all about. Kate, you used to be a teacher, didn’t you?

Kate:   Yes, six years ago I had the idea that I wanted to do something for children, so I decided to be a primary school teacher. I have never been so tired as I was working as a teacher in a classroom. You just never stop. Working with children is so intensely exhausting, but it’s also fantastic.

Interviewer:   Well, today, we’re sitting in your London office and talking about something very different – being the founder of CY magazine, a new magazine for children. Having worked in children’s non-fiction publishing for 12 years before retraining as a primary school teacher, you certainly have the background to produce such a magazine.

Kate:   Yes, well being a teacher I guess led me to the idea for CY. I felt that there was a gap in the market for a monthly publication that not only entertains and teaches children, but also satisfies their parents too. And it was during my teaching days that I began preparing for CY. I talked to children about what they wanted. I then thought, if I was a child, what would I want, and as a parent, what would I want my children to be reading?

Interviewer:   OK, now the outcome is a magazine that’s filled with competitions, short stories, puzzles, and a cartoon strip. Flicking through the first issue, I’d say two things become apparent – enthusiasm and the language used.

Kate:   Enthusiasm is incredibly important. When I was at school, it didn’t matter what you were teaching children if you totally believed in it. When you give a bad lesson, you can see those blank faces looking back at you. I really hope I get that belief across, and that children find it entertaining and become interested in what’s going on around them all the time.

Interviewer:   How about the actual style of writing itself?

Kate:   The whole brief to my writers was that they should approach it as if they are talking to intelligent people. Of course, you can’t use some words because they would go above children’s heads. But when I was doing my research, I put a number of texts in front of children. They are very perceptive – if they feel they are being talked down to, they see it. So it’s all written in a direct way, rather than assuming you have to use a very childish style – the readers wouldn’t like that.

Interviewer:   Now, the age range for the magazine is stated as seven to 12 years, but it’s quite difficult to judge that, isn’t it?

Kate:   Yes, children develop at different rates. For some at seven it will be difficult, but for others perfect. And when some hit 12 they become interested in totally different things. Parents will know whether or not it’s right for their children.

Interviewer:   Now a very interesting aspect of the magazine is its use of the Internet. Tell me about that.

Kate:   Well, if children read something that interests them, by visiting the magazine’s website they can learn much more about it. The reasons for this are rooted in my experiences at school. Take explorers as a subject. There are so many fantastic stories attached to them and all kinds of themes to raise excitement, but you can’t spend a week teaching them that. So I wanted readers to be able to follow up a subject, in a way they may not be able to at school.

Interviewer:   Now obviously, you want the magazine to be successful and profitable, I assume?

Kate:   Yes, but ultimately, it isn’t making a profit that’s on my mind. I want to inspire children. If a child reads an article in the magazine on houses, for example, and they are inspired to go on to be an architect, that’s great. It can be the tiniest thing that sparks a child off. From my point of view, I am trying to cover as much as I can so there’s a chance of that little spark.

Interviewer:   OK, now another aspect of the magazine ……. (fade)