Practice English Listening Test for B2 with answer and audioscript – Test #55

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

Audioscript

1

Woman:   I did well at school but wasn’t sure what to do next: to carry on studying, or get a job straightaway. Then I discovered the apprenticeship scheme. And now I’m in college for part of the week, studying professional cookery, and an apprentice working in local restaurants – including a four-star one – for the rest of it. The restaurant work is exhausting and, because I’m never in the same kitchen two days running, it’s hard to settle into a routine. But the experience is invaluable and it’s paving the way to realising my dream of opening my own restaurant. And I’ve learnt so many different cooking techniques from my teacher at college!

2

Man:   I seem to spend my life taking crowded buses all over town! It gets tedious and there’s never a chance to sit down and do a quick bit of work.

Woman:   What about music? Haven’t you got any earphones?

Man:   Yeah, but I suspect if I did that I’d completely lose track of time … might miss my stop!

Woman:   Oh right … or the other thing for me is just looking out of the window at what’s going on, you know, unwinding, even solving problems.

Man:   I’ll watch the world go by if I’m sitting in a window seat, but usually I’m jammed up against a metal pole concentrating on not losing my bag!

3

Man:   Right listen really carefully everyone. We’re going to do the Moorland Hill route. Tony will lead us out of the car park. Please stay in a tight compact group with no overtaking until we get out of town and over the bridge. Then we get on to the A69 main road. We’ll be turning off at the second exit, not the first … please note, because they’re both signposted to Moorland Hill. I want you to try and push it up the big hill today, so save your legs and conserve some spend on the long flat stretch past Acomb village. On the return route we’ll have the wind behind us, so you can get some speed up later.

4

Woman:   Have you ever considered writing an autobiography?

Man:   Well, certain sections of my novels are based on my experiences growing up. But, as a reader, I’ve found autobiographies deeply unsatisfying and have no real enthusiasm for doing one. Some consist of chapter after chapter of mind-numbing, trivial detail, or endless pages where the writer praises him or herself with little justification. Recently, in the autobiography of someone I’ve known personally since childhood … pure invention and no mention at all of several people who contributed significantly to his success.

5

Man:   You’re a biology graduate. What prompted you to take up journalism?

Woman:   You’d amazed at how wide and varied it is and how much it overlaps with other subjects like ecology, psychology, chemistry. And you could see this from the sort of jobs biology graduates were going into – I read all this on the university website. Some were even getting into jobs like banking! As for me, I got asked to report on one of my projects for the university students’ science magazine. Then that took off into a regular column, and so that sowed the seeds of a career!

6

Man:   I went into that new clothes shop you were telling me about to have a look round.

Woman:   The one in Bridge Street?

Man:   Yeah, you said you really liked the way they have a member of staff just inside the door – to welcome you with a smile.

Woman:   That’s right. Why? Didn’t you like it?

Man:   Well … I can’t see the point of it. and shops soon lose interest in these experiments, which tells you something about the reaction of customers. Mind you, that’s a step up on what happens in some clothes shops, where you get pushy sales staff asking if you need any help the moment you get near them. That I can’t stand.

7

Woman:   Well, what’s happening is, I’m applying for lots of full-time posts. But meanwhile I’ve been networking on social media with a group of recent graduates based in my town. We’re planning to buy a portable climbing wall, like the things you get now in some sports centres. Then we can take it to different places where there are lots of children, like beaches, country parks, that sort of thing. Some of the guys are trained mountaineers, so the safety qualifications are already in place. And I’d be the photographer, taking action pictures of each climber to sell to the parents online. Shame it’s only seasonal.

8

Woman:   A two-metre tall penguin, weighing in at 115 kilos, that’s what researchers say the fossils of wing and foot bones recently unearthed in Antarctica belonged to. Such a bird would have been alive 37 million years ago. Given that the emperor penguin, the largest living species of penguin, stands 1.1 metres tall and weighs just under 50 kilos, it’s no wonder that this newly discovered specimen is being called the colossus. To find out more about this extraordinary bird, including how its giant size allowed it to stay under water for up to 40 minutes to hunt for fish, tune in tonight after the weather forecast.

9 (a) location researcher

10 (flexible) (work/working) hours / (flexibility of) (the) (work/working) hours

11 castle   12 (an) ice(-)cream / ice(-)cream(s)   13 (some) farmers

14 database   15 movie(-)map   16 leaflets   17 privacy

18 work placement (programme / program)

Audioscript

Hi. I’m Paula Kanning. I work in my local council’s film department. Let me explain what that is exactly. I live in a region that’s featured in many films and TV programmes, and tourists are attracted there as a result. So, the local council decided to create a department with the job of promoting the region both to film-makers and to tourists who’d seen the films.

I joined the department when it was first set up. I now work as a Film Advisor, but when I started I was employed as what’s called a Location Researcher. In other words, my job was to go round the region trying to identify places that’d be good for filming the outdoor sequences in films and TV programmes.

What initially attracted me to the job wasn’t so much the salary, although that was OK, but the fact that it involved flexible working hours. Because I’d be travelling around the region looking for places, I could fit the work around looking after my young family.

One or two places in my region were already quite famous. For example, a big country house that once appeared in a TV drama series, and a castle that’s been used in a surprising number of horror films! My job, though, was to identify less obvious places that film-makers wouldn’t find without my help.

For example, I worked a lot with a company that films advertisements. They’d come to me when they wanted to film a new car zooming up a mountain road or a field of cows for a cheese advert. I didn’t always find what they were looking for, but I did suggest the beach in one ice-cream advert that’s been shown thousands of times in cinemas.

I spent a year in that first job – and really enjoyed it. It was fun working with the film industry, and with local people too. Locals are generally thrilled to think their village or street might feature in a film. But I remember having to spend a lot of time trying to talk farmers into allowing filming on their land.

Once I’d begun to build up a list of potential places, I decided to develop a database. This featured photos and a video clip as well as a written description of each place. I found developing all that material really rewarding and I think I did a really good job. I also made lots of useful contacts in the film industry, and films are still being made in the region as a result.

In my current job, I spend more time dealing with the tourism that films bring to the region. I get involved in the planning of projects like special weekend tours that take visitors around the places they’ll recognise from films. And I’m in charge of a project called Moviemap, which is an online resource for tourists who prefer to visit the places independently.

I quite like the challenge of website design, but the tourist office also needs things to give out to tourists who aren’t so keen on technology. So I also have to put together leaflets, which believe it or not is actually more complicated. I don’t know why, but dealing with printers seems to involve a lot of problems.

Another thing I’ve been working on is a set of guidelines for tour companies which take groups of visitors to the sites – especially if it’s places where people live. I think everyone understands the need to respect people’s houses and land, you know, not to damage or drop litter, but people’s privacy also needs to be respected.

So there’s lots going on in our department – and there’s only three of us working in the office. That’s why we’ve started what’s known as a work placement programme, which is aimed at young people. It involves voluntary work of course, but if we can get local teenagers in full-time education to come and work with us for a few weeks in the summer, it would help us and be great experience for them.

So before I go on to …

19 C   20 F   21 H   22 B   23 E

Audioscript

Speaker 1

At school, I always thought I’d wake up one day knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life – but that never happened. I did like the idea of eventually going to university but it felt like ‘same again’ after 12 years of having my nose in books. When I was offered a job straight out of school, I took it without thinking. I changed jobs quite a bit before the penny finally dropped, and I realised that nursing was the career for me. I also felt that the time was right because I’d done a lot of growing up in the intervening years. So, here I am, at university at last!

Speaker 2

Well, my wife and I got married really young – straight out of school. We just wanted to get on with being independent, I suppose, and getting on the first rung of the employment ladder was central to that. We both went out and got ourselves good positions, so financially we were secure, but after a few years, I felt I wanted to change direction in terms of my work and I realised that higher education was the only way. My wife and kids tried to persuade me to do something in computers so I could earn loads of money but I chose to do Politics instead.

Speaker 3

When I didn’t apply for a university place in my final year at school, people thought I wanted to take a year out for travelling. But I’ve wanted to be a vet for as long as I can remember and I especially want to treat wild animals and opportunities for studying that subject at university are few and far between. It actually took me ages to come up with one that exactly fitted the bill. Eventually, I got offered a place at a university in Europe starting next year. At least I’ve got time to earn a bit of money to take with me and I can hardly wait to go!

Speaker 4

My parents dropped a bombshell when I was in my final year at school. They calmly announced that we were emigrating to Australia, where I live now! Staying behind to go to university was never an option for me cos Australia was a place I’d always fancied visiting. I think my parents just thought I’d be able to get straight into university in Australia but the system’s a bit different here and it turned out I’d already missed the headline. But I spent a great year travelling around Australia and enjoying the Australian way of life. I feel I’ve grown up now and become more responsible, and that I’ll study harder because of my break.

Speaker 5

I was all set to go off to university after I finished school and even had the application forms ready to fill in. Then my grandfather got taken ill and he needed help to get around. I decided to go and live with him cos my Mum was busy with a full-time job and we didn’t really live nearby. So I spent six months doing that. I was completely broke but I had plenty of free time and as he lives near the sea, I even took up surfing! It was great to experience something different. He’s made a full recovery now and I’m planning to go to university next year.

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

Audioscript

Interviewer:   Susan Fletcher works as an environmental biologist on a research station in Antarctica. Between trips she’s joined us in the studio today to talk about what it’s like working in one of the remotest places on Earth.

Susan:   Hi everyone!

Interviewer:   First of all, you spend long periods of time in Antarctica – sometimes over a year – without coming home. How do you usually feel just before you set off?

Susan:   In the days leading up to it, I feel sad of course. Everyone finds it hard to leave family behind. But I also feel grateful for having a chance to be away and I really appreciate what they mean to me. these emotions are all part of preparing, but at the same time I have to control my feelings of doubt about managing the challenges I know are coming my way.

Interviewer:   You’re about to leave on another trip, aren’t you? Are you under a lot of pressure?

Susan:   Yes, we all are. Scientists involved in polar research don’t get a choice where they work, and it could be on land or at sea. To be fair we have plenty of time to get everything ready, and make sure we think of everything we’ll need – both for the research and for ourselves personally. No matter how well organised a person is, though, there’s always the danger of missing something that turns out to be vital, and that worry’s always somewhere at the back of my mind.

Interviewer:   And what are your colleagues like?

Susan:   They’re an amazing bunch of people, who put the interests of science and research before their own needs for months on end. Antarctica is one of the most difficult places to live on the planet, and somehow they make life there tolerable. Everyone’s responsible for everyone else, and for ensuring that we achieve our objectives.

Interviewer:   I suppose you have to provide your own entertainment?

Susan:   Yes, indeed! Especially music evenings, or evenings when people cook food from a particular country. Although there’s no shortage of enthusiasm, it has to be said that our talents lie in other fields! It’s actually crucial for our wellbeing to have special events because otherwise the days just combine to become one endless day or night. In the Antarctic summer, for example, the sun rises in September, and doesn’t set again until March.

Interviewer:   Is there anything you find difficult about life on a research station?

Susan:   Well it’s comfortable, but it really is communal living, so you have to get used to that. We have our own bedrooms, but so much of our day is spent in other people’s company, and I sometimes find that tough. By the time I get to bed at night, I’m so tired I just fall asleep immediately and sleep pretty soundly. The food’s all right – you can choose what to have, and there’s a reasonable variety.

Interviewer:   You obviously love your work. Can you say what it is about it that makes you want to keep on going back?

Susan:   Hmm … I mean I’m so incredibly lucky to be able to work in such an unusual environment. I walk past penguins every day, without even thinking about it. That remote and inhospitable continent miles from anywhere has come to be a second home for me, which is a real privilege.

Interviewer:   What advice would you give to students hoping to work on a research station in Antarctica in the future?

Susan:   Well there are scientists there will degrees in a wide variety of subjects from engineering to biology. And there’s also a doctor, a chef, pilots, computer specialists, and people from many different walks of like. So look on the website and see what’s going on. That will give you an idea of the qualifications and experience you’ll need if you want to join us. You must be determined, because you’ll need to become an expert in your chosen field – but if that’s your dream, then go for it!

Interviewer:   Well, thanks, Susan, for telling us …