Practice English Listening Test for B1 with answer and audioscript – Test #31

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

Audioscript

1   How are they going to get to the café?

Woman:   Where shall we go for coffee in town?

Man:   How about the café near the station?

Woman:   That’s always so crowded. We can try that new one next to the library.

Man:   That’s quite a long way. It’d be really slow with all the traffic.

Woman:   We could take our bikes – though we’d have to go back and get them.

Man:   I suppose so. Or another possibility would be a walk through the park.

Woman:   That definitely wouldn’t be so quick.

Man:   But it’s so much nicer.

Woman:   Well, if you say no …

2   What has the man had a problem with?

Man:   Have you seen my new computer?

Woman:   It looks good – the latest kind of mouse and a really nice keyboard. It’s quite a big screen.

Man:   Only thing is one of the keys I use a lot is in a different position from the keyboard I had before, so I have to take my eyes off the screen and look down to press it.

Woman:   I’m sure it’ll seem easy to use in no time.

Man:   I’ve only had it a few days, so I’m sure there’ll be more new things to learn about.

3   When does the man plan to get up?

Man:   I’m going to bed now.

Woman:   What? At this time?

Man:   Yeah, I’ve got to get up early tomorrow. I’m taking my class on a school trip and the coach leaves school at half past seven.

Woman:   What time are you getting up then?

Man:   I’ll be up at half past six.

Woman:   Are you sure that’s going to be early enough? You ought to get up at quarter past.

Man:   I don’t think I’ll need more than an hour, so I’ll have enough time. Good night.

Woman:   Sleep well.

4   What are they going to order?

Man:   What are you going to have?

Woman:   I’m just going to have a coffee and a banana. I had a sandwich earlier.

Man:   So did I, so I’m just going to have a coffee and a piece of that chocolate cake. It looks delicious.

Woman:   It’s enormous, but look at the price.

Man:   It looks worth it though.

Woman:   I might have one after all. That sandwich didn’t really fill me up.

Man:   It’d me more satisfying than a banana, but not as healthy. I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Woman:   Shall we order then?

5   What is the woman phoning about?

Woman:   Hello, this is Sarah Wright. I arranged to collect a guitar I ordered. I was meant to come this afternoon, but there’s a problem. I had to get a book from the library and I’ve just missed the bus – so I won’t be able to get out to the shop before you close. I’ve got an appointment in the town centre to choose some new glasses tomorrow, so I could come in and pick it up then. I hope that’s ok.

6   What are they going to watch first?

Man:   Is there anything good on television this evening?

Woman:   Let’s see. There’s that science-fiction film called Lost Planet at seven.

Man:   That’s a brilliant film, but I’d rather watch something I haven’t seen before.

Woman:   There’s a documentary about tigers at seven-thirty.

Man:   Oh, I heard about that and I wanted to see it.

Woman:   Oh but look, it’s on at the same time as the live final of the tennis.

Man:   Well, I’m sure the documentary will be repeated, and it’s no fun watching a tennis match if it isn’t live.

Woman:   You’re right.

7   What is the woman going to buy?

Man:   How can I help?

Woman:   I’m looking for a smart shirt for work.

Man:   Well, we have a special offer this week. On these plain shirts you can buy one and get one free. They’re excellent quality.

Woman:   How much are they?

Man:   Twenty-five pounds and there are several colours.

Woman:   How much are these striped shirts?

Man:   They’re twenty-six pounds each.

Woman:   I’m not sure. I could take one of each – plain and striped.

Man:   You won’t benefit from the special offer for two then.

Woman:   In that case, I’ll go for two of the ones on offer – in blue, please.

8 B   9 C   10 C   11 A   12 B   13 A

Audioscript

Int:   Jack Salter is a young Canadian who has just won the young photographer of the year competition. Jack, is that right – you started out taking photos of street signs?

Jack:   That’s right. I’ve been serious about photography for about a year, maybe a year and a half, but I’ve been taking photos ever since I was little. I probably first picked up a camera when I was about seven, and went around talking photos of street signs of all shapes and sizes. My mother tells me it was all down to my being attracted to the bright colours. I guess she’s right.

Int:   Can you tell me a little about the winning photograph?

Jack:   It was the first day of dry weather for a while, and I decided to go out and play around with some new kit for my camera. I started off in my own yard. There wasn’t much to photograph though until this butterfly happened to land on a large flower, and fortunately I was able to get what turned out to be the prizewinning photo.

Int:   Were you happy with the photograph?

Jack:   I was lucky actually, because on the camera screen the butterfly didn’t look terribly amazing. I could see that it was in a great position and the background scene was nice and clear, but you couldn’t see the pattern on its wings because of the size of the screen. It was only when I saw the picture on the computer that I realised how good it was.

Int:   What do you think of the other photos from the competition?

Jack:   I’ve seen the work on display with mine and the standard is hard to believe. There are photos of animals and plants from all over the world, and you can see the work of photographers from places as far apart as Russia and Australia.

Int:   Has anything changed for you since winning the competition?

Jack:   That’s a hard question. Before winning I’d been concentrating mainly on taking photos of people, although after coming to London for the exhibition and talking to all the other photographers, I intend to get more into doing shorts of landscapes in different countries.

Int:   Do you have any advice for young people starting out in photography?

Jack:   Don’t make excuses. My entry was taken with an excellent camera, but that’s not everything. My method is just to get out there, and do it, and you don’t have to go far to get the shot, you’ll find something. You’ll start to love it.

14 football stadium   15 email   16 sports bag

17 water bottle   18 shirt(s)   19 BEATON

Audioscript

If you’re a student who wants to keep active over the summer vacation, you’ll be interested in this. The Student Running Club meets every week and is open to students from any college in the town. Come to the football stadium every Friday between May the eighteenth and August the thirtieth if you’d like to take part.

Registration for the club couldn’t be easier. If you were a member last summer, you’ll receive a registration form in an email. If this is your first time, you can register in person on meeting days but make sure you’re there by five-thirty pm at the latest.

A five dollar payment will allow you to run in all the Friday races through the summer, and you’ll get a sport bag with the club name on it. If you just want to turn up for one race, the cost is only one dollar.

The club’s aim is to show that running and exercise can be fun, not to see who can run the fastest, so there aren’t any prizes for the person who comes first. After each race, all runners will be given a free water bottle. Healthy snacks are available at special prices.

Runners are grouped according to experience, so there’s no need to worry if it’s your first time. Those who are new to running start first, and wear orange shirts; those with more experience follow on afterwards in blue, while the fastest runners wear red.

If you need any particular information on the event, or if you would like to volunteer, you can contact Carol Beaton, that’s B-E-A-T-O-N, on 8302195. So, get out your running shoes and get down to the club with your friends.

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

Audioscript

Anne:   Are you going to the college end-of-term party on Saturday night, Peter?

Peter:   I want to, Anne. But my sister’s coming to visit at the weekend, and she isn’t that keen on parties. I hope she won’t mind me going without her.

Anne:   Oh, I’m sure she won’t mind. They’re usually great parties, apart from last year’s one.

Peter:   I thought you had such a good time last year. What was wrong with it?

Anne:   Well, it was fun, but it’s just that there were too many people there. Some of them I didn’t know at all. And this one’s going to be in the new college hall, so there’ll probably be even more people.

Peter:   I don’t mind a lot of people, and it’s an improvement on the old hall because there’s a lot more space. That should really make a difference, so it won’t feel as crowded as the old place.

Anne:   I hope there’ll be a good DJ – that helps to make a brilliant atmosphere, and it means there’s a wider variety of music.

Peter:   There needs to be plenty of good dance music, but I’m not sure we need a DJ. They just play the stuff they like, or just the latest music, whether it’s any good or not. What about the food? Do you think it’ll be ok?

Anne:   I hear there’s going to be a special buffet, with a top-quality restaurant providing stuff, so it’ll be completely different from the awful food in the college cafeteria. I hope the party won’t end late though, because it means missing the last bus.

Peter:   We can always get a taxi if there’s a group of us.

Anne:   But everyone’ll be looking for one at the same time if it ends at midnight.

Peter:   Don’t worry. I’ve heard it’ll definitely go on well after that because we’ve got permission for an extra hour. That’ll be popular with everybody.