Practice English Listening Test for B2 with answer and audioscript – Test #53

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

Audioscript

1

Woman:   Like many actors, he always seems to be in the news for one reason or another. I know celebrities can be given a tough time, but he seems to get off relatively lightly. He’s in loads of movies these days – and so he should be. His performances were fairly patchy when he was starting out, it my opinion, but that’s never the case these days. And the signs are he’ll continue to develop, especially now he’s getting to play lead roles in popular theatre productions, too. If you ever get the chance to see him on stage, you won’t be disappointed. Otherwise, catch him at a cinema near you!

2

Man:   You initially started off doing the hair of models in the fashion industry. What made you move to TV?

Woman:   The fashion industry turned me off quite a bit actually. I didn’t like working with people who had such a high opinion of themselves. My attitude is that you should treat everyone the same and I found I was constantly having to bite my tongue because of the way I was treated there. The TV’s different: it’s much more a case of being respected for what you can offer regardless of your status … and that suits me. The TV people acknowledge you as a fellow professional and they’re much more down-to-earth.

3

Man:   When I’m doing my comedy act, at theatres or clubs or on TV, I’ll often get my ideas from keeping my ears close to the ground. I try to pick up on all the strange and humorous everyday stuff, sometimes even boring … that you get in life … and I build it into my act. Obviously I do also get ideas from listening to other comedians too. I like to think that three generations of one family can sit at my show and know they won’t feel threatened, because I’m not rude. Even in big arenas people feel like I’m talking to them individually. It’s a comfort thing for them.

4

Woman:   Excuse me. Could someone come over and clear one of the tables in the window please?

Man:   Oh yes. I’m sorry. We’ve just had a really busy lunch break and, between you and me, my colleague’s new and hasn’t really got the hang of things yet.

Woman:   Yes, you look as if you’ve been really busy.

Man:   We should be able to get straight now it’s a bit quieter. I’ll get my colleague to come and clear your table right away.

Woman:   Hmmm … It certainly needs it!

Man:   Anyway, what can I get you? Coffee and cake or …

Woman:   I’ll just have coffee please.

Man:   And I’ll get a cloth to wipe the table.

5

Woman:   Hi Mark, how did you like the exhibition?

Man:   It was alright, actually. I’ve got the catalogue here. Would you like to have a look?

Woman:   I don’t usually bother with them, personally. They’ve always felt like a bit of a waste of money.

Man:   I know what you mean, but somebody lent me this one.

Woman:   So … what’s the gallery like?

Man:   Really cool, using natural light to show off the paintings – saves energy too, you know …

Woman:   I expect it was crowded.

Man:   Well, I’d expected there to be masses of people, so I wouldn’t be able to see anything. In fact, I nearly had the place to myself.

6

Man:   Hello. Colin Foggerty here. I was in the shop last week, and bought a pair of the new Comfort football boots. I asked about a discount I’d heard about for members of Kirkley Rangers football club, which I’m a member of. The assistant was by herself and said she didn’t know anything about it. I then checked on the football club website, and it confirms what I thought. I emailed you at the shop this morning and was told that the shop gives special discounts for official club purchases, but I’m still not sure whether the discount is applicable to ordinary club members like me. So I thought I’d better ring and sort it all out.

7

Woman:   So you’ve been at the company for five years, how do you feel it’s going?

Man:   Well, the boss sees me as someone who’ll go far but I don’t really know if I want to. I mean I’ve seen what happened to Joe who was promoted last year to sales manager. At the time, I thought ‘lucky him’, but he isn’t enjoying it. The working environment isn’t as friendly and supportive as it was when I first joined – mainly because of all the targets we’ve been set. Sad that management feels the need to play with that was a winning formula. Still, let’s see what the future brings.

8

Man:   Are you feeling tired?

Woman:   No, I’m fine, just stopping to look at the scenery. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Man:   Fabulous, but keep moving – it’s too cold to stand still.

Woman:   Well, we knew that when we set off. The forecast’s better for tomorrow. I did say we should wait.

Man:   Sorry, I know, but let’s carry on because there’s only another five kilometres to go. Right or left here?

Woman:   Left, I think, according to the map. Five kilometres you said? It’ll be just about dark when we get to the end.

Man:   If we do get there! I’m only joking!

9 father   10 humour/humor   11 plants   12 (physical) size

13 panic   14 (plastic) bags   15 knife   16 river

17 fire (without matches)   18 (being good at) time management

Audioscript

Hi, my name’s Megan and I’m going to tell you about a forest survival course in Australia. So how did I come to do a course like that? Well, I’d been thinking about what to do in my summer holiday and my professor suggested I should do some teaching at a summer camp he was running, but I wanted to get away from academic stuff for a while. Then my father found the website about survival courses while looking for something to interest my brother. And that was it!

The course leader, John, was a very experienced survival expert with an impressive range of skills. I can’t tell you how absolutely terrifying the experience of being in the forest was at times but John’s humour eased the tension, for which I was really grateful. He also knew exactly when to offer support and when to leave us to it.

Chris was his assistant, and he brought different qualities to the group. He was never short of enthusiasm, and was particularly keen on insects – he told us the name of every one we came across in the forest. He also knew all the facts about plants so that over the five days, we got to know what was safe to eat while we were there and what we had to avoid. That information proved really valuable.

There were ten of us on the course and we made a great team. I thought I’d struggle with the tasks that made big physical demands because of my size, but I soon learnt that mental toughness was equally important. And in fact that turned out to be something I didn’t have a problem with.

John drilled into us the importance of staying safe at all times. In that respect, possessing sufficient self-awareness is key … knowing our own capabilities and limitations could save our lives. All this holds back panic, which is often a greater danger than the situations we find ourselves in.

We’d all been equipped with a mini survival kit which contained things like a first aid kit and water sterilisation tablets, and of course we’d all brought other things as well, including some fancy gadgets which were never used … but nobody else had thought about plastic bags to keep stuff dry in our rucksacks. I passed mine around and they were much appreciated.

Our first task was to make tools that we could use. For example, did you know you can actually make a spear from a branch if it’s strong enough? We were shown how to make a knife out of a stone that was lying on the forest floor. It took me quite a long time to make one but it was great for all sorts of tasks.

The next thing was to find a water source. We found a small stream and we followed that some distance to where it finally joined a river. John told us that because the water at that point was quite fast-flowing, it was drinkable as long as we boiled it. There was also a small lake nearby but we were advised not to use that because of the wild animals that were often there.

Our first meal in the forest was what we collected ourselves, such as berries. Then, after all that walking and looking for food, we were ready for a good night’s sleep. I didn’t find making a shelter too problematic actually, which was just as well because if lighting a fire without matches had been left to me, then we’d have been shivering all night!

The thing that I found most interesting about the course was that many of the skills I use as a student at university are invaluable for survival too. Of course, you’d expect team-building to be useful. But what I hadn’t expected was that being good at time management would also be an advantage.

19 G   20 F   21 A   22 H   23 C

Audioscript

Speaker 1

Well I work for an IT company and I love it because it’s really stimulating. I work hard but the rewards are there. At the same time it’s quite laid back – at least where the dress code is concerned anyway. My first few weeks were great. My friend works in the adjoining building so we often had lunch together. The problem was, she had a longer lunch break than me and I started wandering back a few minutes over the hour. I didn’t think anyone would notice but my colleagues soon had a quiet word with me – in the nicest possible way of course! I don’t do that anymore.

Speaker 2

My first job was for a finance company. I’d beaten off quite a few candidates to get the job and I was riding high. I’d bought a new suit and briefcase and walked in there on the first day thinking ‘This is it. Now I’m going to show them what I’m made of.’ I thought I knew it all. I’d correct colleagues if they said something wrong and I was always talking about what I’d learnt at university. Anyway, in my fourth week the boss called me in and told me I’d done something that had lost the company quite a lot of money. I learnt a lot that day.

Speaker 3

I worked for a small company locally. It was my first job back after maternity leave and I was really glad to be back at work. I got on well with my colleagues and the work was fine, but I really didn’t like the boss. Anyway, I got quite friendly in the first few weeks with the receptionist. She was a nice young girl – very chatty. She asked me how I was getting on and I said I really liked the job and everything, but not the boss. Stupid I know. Anyway, it turns out that the receptionist was the boss’s niece! Small world. I should’ve noticed their surnames were the same!

Speaker 4

Well, I didn’t really need the job in the supermarket. You know, I was retired and just wanted something to fill the time and the extra money was useful. I’d been a manager for an engineering company in the past so I knew how things worked. I did my job. I was always on time. But I resented being told to do things that weren’t in my job description, and I didn’t think that was fair. I didn’t say anything but I think they knew I wasn’t happy. In the end, I decided I didn’t fit in. On reflection, I think retirement suits me better.

Speaker 5

I’ve never been very confident so I was really surprised when I was offered a job in a very posh law company. I decided to really show them that I was up to doing the job, but I went a bit too far – volunteering to do everything, taking clients’ names and details home to memorise so I could greet them by name when the came in and so on. I overdid it actually because I wasn’t being myself. After a few weeks, my colleagues told me to relax and that I was doing fine as I was. I didn’t need to prove anything. I love my job now.

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

Audioscript

Interviewer:   My guest today is the international concert pianist, Karen Hong. Welcome Karen. I’m sure you’re busy with your piano practice!

Karen:   Don’t apologise! But you’re right – I do an average of six hours’ practice a day. People think when you’re a performer, you just know the pieces of music by heart and don’t need to practise, but this isn’t true! For one thing, you might be performing a piece for the first time. For another, even pieces you know well still need maintenance and repair work on them. Also, every pianist at whatever level needs to do their drills and finger exercises as a warm-up.

Interviewer:   I remember you saying before that your parents are both very dynamic, motivated people.

Karen:   Yes absolutely. My mother would repeat to me ‘You have this opportunity to develop your talent. Neither your father nor I had this. Don’t waste it.’ She made me do three hours’ practise a day even before I was allowed out with my friends. She’s never cared about the fame or fortune aspect of my career. To this day, she’ll still tell me if she thinks I haven’t done enough practice before a concert. Dad’s different – he can’t hide his delight at my success.

Interviewer:   You won a major competition for young musicians, and for a couple of years you seemed to be forever in the limelight.

Karen:   I got numerous offers to do advertising … even modelling! When you’re thrown into all that, it’s really easy to become disorientated and forget what brought you to everyone’s attention in the first place. I reached a point where I didn’t believe all the hype about me. I kept asking myself what my celebrity was really based on. I was doing more than 100 concerts a year so I didn’t have nearly enough time to rehearse properly. I’d walk onto a stage and feel I was insulting my own ability.

Interviewer:   So you decided to take some time off, I believe?

Karen:   Yes, I felt some of the support I needed wasn’t necessarily there within the profession. It’s an extremely cut-throat business, so I guess it’s understandable. So yes, I turned my back on that world for two months – gave no performances. I changed my agent, I found two new teachers in China, and I made sure I got back to practising with other pianists as opposed to by myself.

Interviewer:   At the time when you were performing a lot on TV, the media seemed to be using you to glamorise classical music.

Karen:   Yes the marketing people tried to project me as a popular classical babe … you know trying to make classical music more youthful and appealing. And while I rejected all the glamour side of that, the purely musical aspect of it did still appeal to me. I love the idea of building a bridge between two worlds. I’ve played Bach at a televised rock concert in Russia! As long as I can play a piece of music that I think is good, I’m up for playing it anywhere.

Interviewer:   So what do you feel about pop music?

Karen:   I don’t really have strong opinions about it – I just think it’s a pity that in some countries there’s this commercial culture attached to it that is drummed into kids’ brains every day, and that this makes them see classical music as elitist and remote when subsequently they get to be teenagers. But to a five-year-old child, say, music is music. It just sounds how it should. They don’t have any preconceptions about it.

Interviewer:   I understand you’ve done a lot of work with young school children.

Karen:   Yes, classical music can really help children to become happy, creative people. But when I go into schools I don’t just say nice encouraging things to the children … the musicians … when they don’t deserve it. I went into one school regularly to help out with music lessons. And after a while I really started to emphasise to them the value of hard work. As a result the school now has nine of its students playing with the National Youth Orchestra.