Practice FCE (B2) Listening Test 27 with Answers and Audioscripts

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

Audioscripts

1   You hear two school friends talking about a drumming workshop they will take part in.

A:   Are you looking forward to the music class tomorrow? Remember some professional musicians are coming to do a drumming workshop with us.

B:   Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that. I’ve never done any drumming before. It’s not that I mind having a go, and I suppose it’s not too technical, but aren’t we supposed to be giving a performance for the rest of the school at the end of it? I’m not really into getting up on stage in front of everyone – I could totally mess it up.

A:   Don’t worry! It’s new for all of us and no one will expect us to be perfect – it’s all about having fun!

2   You hear a woman talking about a shopping trip.

A:   How was your shopping trip?

B:   Well, I wasn’t looking for anything myself as I’d got that new coat last week, but I’d promised Mum I’d help her find an outfit for the wedding she and Dad are going to. I knew it was a bad idea – not because of Mum, of course, but because I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist treating myself once we got into town. Which is why I’d actually given myself a small budget, despite what I spent last time. Anyway, it ended up being a successful trip – Mum got a really nice suit and I came back with a cool pair of earrings!

3   You hear a man talking about a car he used to own.

I got a sports car as soon as I could afford it, and it wasn’t really very economical, but I decided I could live with that. However, after a few weeks I got a job further away from home, and I realised it was the wrong car for long journeys; it was too noisy, there wasn’t enough leg room, the suspension was broken and you could feel every bump in the road. That’s why I decided to sell it. I’ve still got to get from A to B, though, and I’ve got my eye on something at the car showroom. I’m going to go and test drive it later.

4   You hear a woman phoning the reception desk of her hotel.

Hello, I wonder if you could help me? I’m in room 447 – I just checked in this morning – and there seems to be something wrong with the radiators – they won’t come on, so it’s very cold in here. I tried turning the control knob, but it simply won’t move. Could you send someone to have a look at it, please? Oh, and could you tell me how to operate the TV? I’ve been trying to follow the instructions for the control but I seem to be doing something wrong. Everything else seems fine – I had a problem with getting the door to lock but I’ve worked it out!

5   You hear a girl talking to her father about a school trip.

A:   So how many kids from your class are going on this trip?

B:   Practically everyone’s going, Dad! We go on a guided tour of the city, including the Eiffel Tower and a boat trip on the Seine, and then we’re back in London by Sunday afternoon, so I’ll be home early on Sunday night.

A:   Oh, I have no doubt the activities will be worthwhile. Paris is a lovely city and it’s not the expense that’s bothering me either – I just want to make sure you have enough supervision and won’t be spending all day wandering about on your own.

B:   You’re kidding! Every minute of our time is going to be organised!

6   You hear a man describing a trip in a hot-air balloon.

As soon as we took off, the basket started swaying from side to side, which took a while to get used to, but it was no major concern, really, Apart from the slight creaking that caused, there wasn’t a sound to be heard. After doing quite a bit of flying in commercial planes, I think that’s what stunned me most about this flight. Drifting along with the wind helped me chill out – I got real peace of mind knowing there was nothing to do but sit back! I think it made one or two of the other passengers a bit nervous, but the operator had everything perfectly in order.

7   You hear two friends talking about an exercise routine.

A:   Have you heard about high intensity training? There was a programme on about it last night.

B:   You mean the regime where you just do three minutes of exercise a week and that’s supposed to be enough to keep you fit? I can’t see how that could possibly work, do you?

A:   I had my doubts about it initially – though the scientist on the programme did a good job of explaining things. Cycling as fast as you can for three minutes must be exhausting!

B:   Do you really think so? It can’t be too challenging to do three minutes a week, can it?

A:   I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to keep up.

8   You hear a woman talking about a magazine she used to read as a teenager.

I remember the magazine used to come out on Fridays, and every Friday after school I’d race round to the newsagent’s and buy a copy, and then spend all evening reading it. It was aimed at girls exactly like me; it gave you ideas how to choose accessories, how to wear make-up and had information about the latest trends in fashion. The only thing it didn’t have was interviews with pop stars and free posters! I sent in a story once that I’d written for it – I was convinced it’d get published as I thought it was a great story. I never heard anything back from them, though!

9 June 15th  

10 ads / adverts / advertisements

11 mayor   12 footballer

13 experts   14 practical

15 flexible   16 qualifications

17 applications   18 website

Audioscripts

Thank you everyone for attending this presentation about the new college. My name’s Linda Brown and I’m the director of the college. I’d like to start with some basic information. We’re planning on holding the opening ceremony on April 21st with a view to starting summer classes on June 15th. That gives us enough time in between to make any last-minute improvements and adds a bit of extra time to the schedule, just in case.

It’s hard to say at this moment exactly how many students are likely to enrol for the summer school, but there’s certainly been a lot of interest, especially after the series of adverts we did on the radio. We were confident those would be more effective than TV promotions as people tend to change channels in the breaks between programmes – less likely on the radio, we thought. So, I would hope we’ll have plenty of people signing up for courses through that.

We’re hoping to attract some useful publicity at the opening ceremony, and our marketing director has been working very hard on this. We thought it was important to request the services of someone who works within the community to declare the college officially open, and who could be better than the mayor? We’re pretty pleased he’s agreed as he’s proving to be very popular in the town.

We’ve also invited a number of other local figures to get involved. We’re thrilled to announce that the footballer Harry Watson, who comes from the area, has agreed to stand up and give a short talk – we’re hoping he’ll be a popular draw! We’ve also asked along a number of business investors and other VIPS from the area.

The aim of the opening is to get local people signing up for courses – we plan to do that by involving them in all sorts of ways. For instance, as far as possible, we’re going to have local experts giving classes here instead of academics who have little connection with the area. We’ll have the chief accountant from a local business teaching accountancy classes – that kind of thing.

We’ve decided to place importance on practical subjects at his college, to attract students who may not be interested in a more theoretical kind of course. Basically, we’re hoping to get students who are keen on developing their skills – perhaps people who are already working. We’ve taken a very flexible approach about the students we’re going to accept. Many people who don’t come out of school with the best grades may well have ended up in jobs they don’t really enjoy. These people have a great deal of potential and many of them would relish the opportunity to study – we want them to enjoy the benefits of studying at a higher level, and we’re prepared to give them the chance to do so.

Our admissions policy will be to accept students who didn’t have the qualifications required for entry into more established colleges. We’re pretty sure a lot of young people will be tempted to enrol. We want to attract people who wouldn’t normally think about enrolling for higher education.

Something else we believe will boost numbers is our newly-opened applications office right in the middle of the town to create interest. We think it’s a great idea to provide visibility for the college, rather than people having to go out of their way to reach the registrations office here at the college itself.

In addition, should members of the public require further information about the college, they can visit our website for a full description of what we do. That’s where you can also ask for a brochure will all the details supplied online to be sent directly to your home. I’ll give you more information about that a little later on but for now, does anyone have any questions so far?

19 C   20 G   21 B   22 H   23 D

Audioscripts

Speaker 1

I’ve only been there a couple of times with my husband, who’s a diplomat. I must say the pace of life there is rather hectic. Although it may sound rather trivial, what appeals to me most about the city are the absolutely fantastic department stores! I have to be very careful when I go there not to overspend. I love the green spaces, too – where you can chill out away from the crowds on the street and re-energise yourself after an afternoon of sightseeing before you hit the restaurants later in the evening. Yes, New York is definitely one of my most favourite cities in the world.

Speaker 2

New York’s a dynamic place, full of interesting characters and places to go. I love people-watching and seeing people from every corner of the globe. I guess what really does it for me are the opportunities to try cuisine from all over the world, which I can’t get at home as I live in a small village which is pretty traditional. New York caters for every taste and I really look forward to the evening after a day spent walking from one end of the city to another to see the various sights. It’s a huge city, but it’s a fun place and the people are so friendly.

Speaker 3

Well, for me the attraction of a city is its inhabitants. In New York the fact that the people there are from such different cultural backgrounds makes it a really exciting place to be. I think you have to have a sense of humour to get by as a tourist in New York. It’s a big place to navigate and you’re bound to end up heading in the wrong direction away from the museum you wanted to visit and going towards the central shopping district instead! Not that there’s anything wrong with shopping – or sitting down for a good meal afterwards in one of the superbly-located restaurants.

Speaker 4

I’m not so keen on some aspects of big city life, but I do enjoy the facilities that only big cities have to offer. In artistic terms, New York is absolutely splendid, with a wide variety of exhibitions and a very active cultural life. That’s the best thing about the city for me. The buildings are magnificent of course and there’s a wide range of activities for people of any age, I can see that. There’s certainly a lot of life in the streets, though I’m not really a big walker and prefer to use public transport to get around between sights or shops.

Speaker 5

I love New York. I remember being just stunned by the skyscrapers and that magical view of the Statue of Liberty the first time I visited … Now I’ve been there a few times, I think what I like most is the dry wit of the people there. It’s that clever type of humour you get in big cities where people live together in a crowded place. Sitting on a bench watching the locals go about their daily routine is fascinating – well, I say locals but there are people in New York from all over the world. I’m not a big shopper, but I find some of the gift shops amusing.

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

Audioscripts

Interviewer:   This morning, we’ve got Ray Garrett in the studio. Ray, how did you become a professional deep-sea diver?

Ray Garrett:   Well, when I left school, I got a job in a lawyer’s office, and by the time I was 25, I’d worked my way up to the position of office manager. I was good at my job, and it never occurred to me to leave or do something else. When our company was bought out and the local office closed, I started thinking about other jobs. I’d always been interested in scuba-diving, as a hobby, and just about that time I saw an advert in a magazine. A company was looking for people to train as divers, so I put my name down for it.

Interviewer:   You were still living at home with your parents at that point. What did they think of your career change?

Ray Garrett:   When I told my parents about what I was planning to do, my mother wasn’t at all keen; in fact, she and my dad didn’t believe I’d last the three months’ training! Scuba-diving doesn’t take great physical strength or unusual exercise tolerance. All it takes is the desire, plus come basic classroom and in-water instruction.

Interviewer:   So, tell us more about the work you do.

Ray Garrett:   Well, a qualified diver can safely remain underwater for anywhere from a few minutes to over two hours. Most of the work I do now isn’t very dangerous – or very exciting! My job involves working on ships that have to be repaired, so we’re not even very deep under water.

Interviewer:   What are the risks as far as accidents are concerned in your profession?

Ray Garrett:   Working underwater can be dangerous if you don’t take the necessary precautions and especially if we need to go right down to the sea bed, perhaps to do some work on a shipwreck. People have accidents when they stop thinking about the dangers facing them in their job, and I never do that. I never exceed the time limit of my dives, which depends on various parameters like depth, rate of air consumption, and the profile of any dives I have done in the previous six to twelve hours.

Interviewer:   And what are you working on currently?

Ray Garrett:   At the moment we’re doing quite an exciting job: exploring an old wreck! We’re working off the coast of America, examining a ship on the sea bed that sank almost 150 years ago! I absolutely love this kind of work and I never fail to be amazed not only at the wreck itself but at the sea life around it.

Interviewer:   Tell me more about the wreck itself. It was a ship called the SS Union, right?

Ray Garrett:   Exactly. She was travelling from the northern states of American to the south in the mid- to late-eighteen hundreds. For a long time, nobody knew where the shipwreck was, but a team from the University of New Orleans found it last year, using some new sonar equipment. The ship is supposed to have a lot of gold on board – although we haven’t actually found any yet.

Interviewer:   We’ll keep our fingers crossed for you! Finally, what are the effects of deep-sea diving on the body?

Ray Garrett:   Well, the work itself is absolutely fascinating, but the body can be affected in several ways. For example, problems of diving at such depth include de-compression sickness, air embolism, hypothermia and physical exhaustion. On top of that, the ship can break up at any time, which means that you run the risk of being trapped inside. A couple of days ago I had a lucky escape when part of the shipwreck fell, and that’s the sort of thing that can really cause problems for divers. Still, it’s a great profession!

Interviewer:   Ray Garrett, thank you very much.