Practice English Listening Test for B1 with answer and audioscript – Test #14

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

Audioscript

1   How much is the man’s ticket?

Man:   Can you tell me how much a ticket is for Saturday’s performance of Macbeth?

Woman:   The front stalls and the circle are the most expensive at £16.50. The middle seats in the stalls cost £15 and the back three rows cost £12.50, but the view isn’t so good. All seats are £10 for students.

Man:   I’ll have one in the middle please. I’m not a student. I’ve got my credit card here …

2   What will they have for lunch?

Man:   It’s chips for lunch. What would you like with them?

Woman:   Not fish again, please, and we had chicken last night.

Man:   Well, we’ve got plenty of sausages, but we’ve finished the eggs, I’m afraid.

Woman:   That’s decided then.

3   Why was the man late home?

Woman:   Hi! Have you had a busy day at the office?

Man:   Yes, sorry I’m late. I didn’t get the bus because Peter offered me a lift. We didn’t realise the motorway was closed because of a lorry accident, so it took much longer than normal. I’ll be even later tomorrow with the train strike.

4   What was the weather like on John’s holiday?

Man 1:   How was your holiday, John?

Man 2:   We had a good time, but the weather was awful. We didn’t have one sunny day!

Man 1:   Oh dear, a week in the rain, poor you.

Man 2:   Well, that’s the funny thing. It never actually rained, it was just freezing cold and cloudy, we thought it might even snow.

5   What time was the woman’s appointment?

Woman:   I’ve had an awful morning! I was really late for my hospital appointment. I just missed the 9 o’clock bus, and the next one didn’t come until 20 to 10. I was supposed to see the doctor at 10 past 10, but I didn’t arrive until half past. He wasn’t very pleased.

6   What did the woman buy?

Man:   Did you get anything from the duty-free shop?

Woman:   Well, I really wanted some of that perfume I bought last time and I got a large bottle. Then I looked for the Walkman I’d promised I’d get for Tony. Fortunately, they’d sold all of them, so I had enough money for a lovely silk scarf for myself. I completely forgot about the chocolates I was supposed to get for Mary.

7   Where are the man and the woman talking?

Woman:   It’s a bit crowded isn’t it … worse than a football match! Can you see well enough from here?

Man:   It doesn’t matter – as long as I can hear and get down the important points of what he says, it’s OK.

Woman:   I’m going to the library after this. I want to get this report finished so that I can go to the cinema.

8 A   9 C   10 C   11 A   12 A   13 C

Audioscript

Woman:   Well, good evening everyone. I’ve come along to talk to you about my painting. It was just a hobby but it’s really more than that now. I used to paint in the evenings after work, but now I work four days a week instead of five. That means I spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday on my painting. I have pictures in local exhibitions at least once a month.

I’d love to give up my job and spend all my time painting, but I work with computers and I earn more that way! I do make some money from selling my pictures, enough to pay for all my paint, brushes and paper and a few art lessons. I’d love to go to art college full-time for three years, but I’ve got all the rent on my flat to pay and a car to run.

I first became interested in art when I was at primary school. I used to go out with some paper and a few pencils during break time and draw anything I saw: houses, gardens, people. Then at secondary school we had art classes twice a week, and I learnt how to use chalk and then different kinds of paint: water colours, oils and so on.

Those classes were really useful for me, and ever since then I’ve had lessons of some kind. I’ve attended evening classes and been on what they call painting ‘holidays’, where you go out into the countryside and paint during the day and then sit and discuss your work with a teacher and the other artists after dinner. Those holidays are great; you learn so much talking to other people studying with you.

I’ve enjoyed painting in lots of different countries. I’ve been to Morocco and painted desert scenes with beautiful sunrises. I’ve been to Greece and Spain and painted pictures of the local people working in the fields near their homes. My favourite place is still Scotland. I love walking in the Scottish mountains, and there are so many different birds to see, especially in spring.

Well, I’m going to finish now by showing you a video of the places I’ve visited. After that there’ll be a chance to relax with a cup of coffee and then there’ll be time for some questions. Oh, and I’ve got some information about my next art exhibition for you. It’s going to be at the Queen’s Gallery. Now, if someone would turn off the lights …

14   expensive / not cheap

15   Square / Sq

16   (the) (bus) driver(s)

17   map(s)

18   jewellery

19   a quarter to five / four forty(-)five / 16.45 / 4:45

Audioscript

Man:   Well, good morning. This week’s programme is about the city of Glasgow. We’re going to give you some ideas of what you can see and do if you visit for a weekend. Glasgow is Britain’s third largest city, and Scotland’s biggest. It is well worth a visit.

If you arrive by car, the motorway will take you into the city centre. Don’t park in one of the city centre car parks however, as they are expensive. It’s better to leave your car at your hotel or somewhere away from the centre, and take the bus.

Glasgow is a large city and there is an excellent public transport system. A good idea is to catch a “Discovering Glasgow” tour bus which leaves George Square every half hour. You can get off anywhere and catch the next bus to continue your trip. The tour costs £5 and tickets are available from the bus driver.

If you want to walk around the city centre, then it’s best to start at the Welcome Centre on St Vincent Place. You can get information about opening times and entrance fees of places to visit and take a free map to help you with your sightseeing.

Don’t miss the fifteenth century cathedral, which has particularly beautiful windows. Further on is the Merchant City area, where there are cafés and lots of small, fashionable shops which sell jewellery and clothes.

Byres Road is popular with university students and you can find a lot of bargains in the shops around there. The Botanic Gardens are also worth a visit. The gardens are open until sunset, and the glasshouses from ten o’clock until a quarter to five. These contain a wide variety of beautiful plants and flowers. The gardens are also a good place to have a picnic.

Well …

20 B   21 B   22 B   23 A   24 A   25 B

Audioscript

Boy:   So, where do you want to go first, Linda?

Girl:   Let’s go in here. I want to see what they’ve got. It was my birthday last week and Mum gave me some cassettes. They’re really great but I’ve already got one of them so I want to change it for something else.

Boy:   I love this shop, there’s always so much to choose from. What are you going to get?

Girl:   I’m not sure. I thought I’d just have a look around and see if there’s anything I like the look of. I want something different. I’m a bit bored with all the music I normally listen to. Can you suggest anything?

Boy:   Well, you don’t usually like the sort of music I listen to. What about this band?

Girl:   Who are they? I’ve never heard of them.

Boy:   They’re a new band from America. They’re not very well known yet but you wait and see. In another couple of years they’ll be really famous.

Girl:   Mmm, let me have a look. Can you find it on cassette for me? I haven’t got a CD player.

Boy:   The sound’s much better on a CD, you should get one.

Girl:   Well, there’s no point for me, my cassette player’s really good quality, so it wouldn’t make any difference. Besides CDs cost a lot more than cassettes.

Boy:   Here you are. I’ve found it on cassette.

Girl:   Oh look, it’s on special offer. That’s really cheap, isn’t it? I’ll take it.

Boy:   There’s something else we could get while we’re here.

Girl:   What’s that?

Boy:   Well, there’s a concert in the sports stadium next week. There’s a new Irish band playing. You might like them, so would you like to come with me?

Girl:   That sounds great. I hope I do like them. The last band you took me to see was awful.

Boy:   This one is different. I’ll go and buy some tickets then, shall I?

Girl:   All right then.