Practice English Listening Test for B2 with answer and audioscript – Test #60

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

Audioscript

1

Teacher:   Our science lessons this week are all about food. Today we’re going to find how many calories there are in the foods I’ve brought in, using this calorimeter. It’s a piece of equipment for measuring calorie content, which is used by the food industry. It looks complicated, but it’s quite straightforward to use. What I want you to do is simply note down what you think the calorie content of each food is, and afterwards you can see how far out you were. We’ll be doing something we’d try to avoid when we’re cooking – burning the food! Then, using the calorimeter to measure the heat released, we’ll find the food’s calorific value.

2

Boy:   The new coach has really shaken things up. Actually he’s dropped a couple of players, and he didn’t seem at all bothered about their feelings. But they were guys who weren’t doing well, so fair enough. We have more training sessions now, although some of the players say the haven’t really got the time. He’s even introduced the idea of practising basic skills at home. I think I need all that to be honest. I reckon he’s not picking up on the little things we’re doing wrong though, which he should be noticing. It’s because he’s got too many in the squad, so it’s hard for him to manage the training sessions.

3

Girl:   I’ve always loved drawing and making sketches, but I wasn’t much good. I used to practise for hours and left bad if I didn’t do something every day. It took up more and more of my time and, in the end, I realised I was just drawing without thinking about what my weaknesses were. So, I focused on what were for me the challenging aspects of drawing, instead of just drawing without any particular purpose. And I started getting somewhere. I’ve read books too, and I’m sure studying what the experts say is useful!

4

Reporter:   Almost seventeen thousand animals of all shapes and sizes have been put on the scales at London Zoo for the annual weigh-in. This takes place to ensure that all the animals in the world-famous zoo – from the heaviest giraffe to the lightest snail – are of a healthy weight. But getting some of the animals to co-operate requires quite a bit of manpower and planning. It is far from straightforward to get silverback gorillas and crocodiles to wait patiently while experts attempt to take an accurate reading. Although visitors would undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to observe the weigh-ins, the process is too complex for this to be practical.

5

Boy:   When I started my music blog, I knew I had plenty to say. People talk about how hard it is to be inspired and get fresh and different ideas for entries, but I didn’t struggle too much with that. I wasn’t expecting to feel I had to update the blog every few days, though, even when I was busy at school – that was tough. But it’s useful having feedback and reading comments from people, even if they’re criticising what I’m doing. And people often try to come up with ideas for other music I could feature or suggest changes, but I haven’t got round to doing anything about those ideas yet.

6

Boy:   Good trip to the studio, wasn’t it? Great to see where it all happened. It really brought the book to life for me.

Girl:   I wish I could say the same – after reading the reviews about the place, I’d expected something more spectacular – there was enough to stop me getting bored, though.

Boy:   The costumes department was great – and the masks on display were so imaginative – more realistic than I thought they’d be. They must’ve helped the actors to get into character.

Girl:   And I suppose even people who didn’t know much about the actual film would have appreciated going.

Boy:   Well, the place has a broad enough appeal to attract anyone, really.

7

Teacher:   In our last lesson, we looked at the agricultural revolution of the eighteenth century in the UK, which involved new ways of managing farms, new types of crops being grown, and the invention of new farming equipment. All this resulted in an astonishing increase in the amount of food produced, despite a fall in the number of people working in agriculture. Now, we’ve mentioned the individuals who were thought to be behind these changes. But, as I said, their ideas didn’t necessarily have the impact that historians once thought. So remember – studying other possible reasons for this change, social and economic, for example, will make your notes much more reliable.

8

Girl:   Did you try that online quiz, Sam?

Sam:   About the moon? Yeah and I was full of confidence when I downloaded it. That didn’t last long, though. I mean, after all the stuff we’d done in class, I was looking forward to seeing what I could do – I’d expected to do much better. I’m glad I don’t have to do it again.

Girl:   Well, it was only a bit of fun.

Sam:   At least I got the question about the first man on the moon right. There was stuff I’d never come across before, though, like how long a moon day is. Did you know that?

Girl:   Yeah, I got that one.

Sam:   Right …

9 coal   10 art   11 landscape   12 weight   13 wind   14 (airline) pilots

15 painful   16 brake(s)   17 (sudden) drop   18 (water) tunnel

Audioscript

Marianne:   Hi! I’m Marianne. Now, if you love exciting rides at theme parks, you’ll think what I do – designing high-speed rides called roller coasters – is a great job! It is – but it’s also hard work! I’ve got some questions people have emailed me, and here’s the first one.

Dan asks what the first roller coasters were like. Well, it’s not a new idea, Dan. In Russia, for example, people used to ride on tree trunks down slopes of ice. The first ride that actually charged a fare, though, was in the States and made use of train tracks which had previously been used to transport coal down a mountainside.

Next, Sarah asks what qualifications I have. Well, I studied engineering at university, which included courses in maths and physics. Both these subjects are essential in my job. Having a basic qualification in art has also been valuable – it means I can design things that look beautiful, as well as being functional.

Now, Carrie asks how I start on a new design. Well, there are lots of things to consider, like the client’s budget, for example, and choice of materials, but the landscape – you know, whether it’s hilly or completely flat – is also a major consideration.

Another thing to think about is what we call the capacity of the roller coaster. Theme park owners normally think more about the number of passengers they can fit in, because that’s where their profit comes from! But designers have to think about the weight that the ride will need to carry, as that affects the design.

Paul asks if lots of people are involved in the design process. Yes, Paul, because we need different expertise. Most importantly, though, the ride has to be safe and enjoyable, and luckily my team has people who are experts in all the forces that passengers will experience during the ride, like exposure to wind and also gravity. We aim to reduce those – and if we get it wrong, it might not be a fun ride!

Of course, our designs are all based on years of research, because we have to ensure passenger safety while they’re on our rides. We make use of studies that have been done into airline pilots – what kind of pressure their bodies can cope with when flying long distances – and that’s supplied us with the majority of the data we have. And studying astronauts has provided us with some useful information about how being in space affects them.

This leads to a question from Peter, who asks what people don’t like about our rides. Well, I guess they’d tell us if they were boring, or too tame, because roller coaster fans are thrill-seekers! But they do let us know if they find them painful, which the rides can be if we throw passengers around at speed. Even the most dedicated riders dislike that!

Harry asks about the latest ride I’m working on. Well, it isn’t open yet, but there’s been lots of interest already! The height and length of this ride is impressive, but possibly not what riders will remember – it will make them feel odd, due to the brakes which are positioned under each of the fifty large carriages. They’re unusual because they can stop the train very suddenly.

Jack asks what’s the scariest ride I’ve ever designed. Well, they all have unexpected bends, but one we finished a while back has what’s known as a sudden drop. I’m not easily scared, but that did make even me feel a little nervous when I rode it!

And lastly, the ‘coaster I’ve enjoyed the most – a really big one with a huge loop that turned you upside down. Then there was a steep climb, before it went off round a lake, and shot you through a water tunnel – without warning! So the riders got a bit wet, but we agreed that was the best bit!

19 G   20 D   21 F   22 H   23 B

Audioscript

Speaker 1

Girl:   I was very excited when I was picked to play Angie in our school musical. The play is called Our House and it’s about teenagers and family life – something we can relate to, which, I suppose, is why it was chosen. There are some quite good performers and musicians in the school, so you’d have thought the preparation would be quite straightforward, but it wasn’t – some of the cast were extremely sensitive about being criticised, for example. That’s understandable, but it tended to slow everything down. When it came to performing the show to audiences, they stood up and cheered. I was stunned, to be honest, considering what we’d gone through beforehand.

Speaker 2

Boy:   It might sound arrogant, but I knew the show would be successful well before we performed it to an audience. Our House is a great musical, of course – the songs are so well known, for one thing. But the fact that everyone – the costume designers, the band, the performers – was willing to work and rehearse several evenings a week over a couple of months, when they had loads of other things to do, that made it special for me. We aren’t professionals, and not many of us are particularly gifted. I must admit there were fallings out and occasionally people got upset, but the end result showed that if you stick together, things are likely to turn out well.

Speaker 3

Girl:   One good thing about doing a musical is that lots of people in the schools can get involved – not just the cast, but musicians like me, stage hands, lighting people and others. Of course, the potential for things to go wrong increases with more people – and, from my involvement in previous school shows, I know performers often aren’t afraid to express their feelings and opinions. But everything just clicked from the start. This was mostly because the main singers had such brilliant voices and natural stage presence, I think. I’d be terrified having to sing on my own a big crowd – luckily I could just sit in the band playing my clarinet.

Speaker 4

Boy:   I don’t really have what it takes to perform on stage – I’m too shy for one thing – but I love drama and I had a great time working on the lights and sound effects. The directors, who were our drama teacher assisted by two students, gave us incredibly detailed instructions about the different lights and sounds they wanted at various times during the show. They really had to think ahead and anticipate all sorts of things that could go wrong in order for the technical aspects of the production to work. Everyone was pretty nervous before the first live performance, which is natural I suppose, but it all went very smoothly.

Speaker 5

Girl:   I’m into art and fashion more than musicals, so when I was asked if I’d design the costumes for the cast, the idea really appealed to me. Our House is about ordinary life in a modern family, so the performers don’t need historical costumes or anything strange, but it was still fascinating to work out what each character should wear. And I did well, judging by feedback from the directors. I thought the three of them did a brilliant job. Whenever anything potentially awkward cropped up, they dealt with it really quickly, and they also handled all the different people involved in the production well – I didn’t see any serious arguments, for example.

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

Audioscript

Interviewer:   When we watch a great 100 metre race on television, part of the excitement comes from the skill of the person describing the action. Well, today we have the athletics commentator Paul Murphy with us. How did you start commentating, Paul?

Paul:   It was for a local radio station covering an athletics championships. Their regular commentator dropped out suddenly and they needed a replacement. The producer, who was a friend, asked if I’d have a go. I had nothing else on, so I said yes. You’d think they’d have given me some good guidance – instead they gave me a microphone and a few notes, and told me to get on with it. It was one of those things – I was in the right place at the right time and they must’ve really liked what I did.

Interviewer:   Weren’t you a teacher?

Paul:   Yes. I taught geography. As I got asked to do more and more commentating, it became increasingly difficult for me to switch between the two – one day trying to keep the attention of a class full of fourteen-year-olds and the next describing athletes in action to thousands of listeners. To commentate well, you can’t just turn up and start talking – there’s masses of research to do, which you need time for. Just like when you teach actually, so it was something I had experience of.

Interviewer:   Last year, you commentated at the world championships. What was that like?

Paul:   Wonderful. I saw the world’s best ever times in three events, athletes achieving personal bests and some dramatic races. I was commentating on the 1,500 metre final when one of the athletes fell badly, got on her feet again and closed an enormous gap between her and the other runners. That race, the atmosphere – all the people in the stands cheering, and talking to everyone in the studio about it afterwards – that will stay with me forever.

Interviewer:   Lots of teenagers listening will be thinking what a brilliant life you have – you know, travelling round the world and appearing on TV. Are they right?

Paul:   Well, yes, but not everything’s glamorous. In the run-up to a big event you worry things will go wrong, as you can imagine. It’s also hard work, more having to deal with different people than the numbers of hours you’re actually commentating. If you’ve never done it, you don’t realise what it’s like trying to describe the action while your producer’s giving you instructions in your headphones, a cameraman’s pointing at something, and another commentator’s shouting in the seat next to you.

Interviewer:   You also get to interview athletes. Do you enjoy that?

Paul:   Very much. I had a fascinating interview yesterday with Amy Grant, the sprinter. I remember speaking to her two years ago when she was only sixteen, and I hardly got a word out of her. She’s completely different now – it’s amazing. She has a new coach and a special fitness programme which pushes her to the very limit. She talked about aiming for medals at the next Olympics, which might seem unlikely, but it’s certainly not out of the question.

Interviewer:   Are there any young athletes out there who you think will become world beaters?

Paul:   It’s difficult to say. It can be dangerous to get young athletes doing too much when they’re still developing physically – they need time to get over injuries, for instance, or they might have serious trouble in the future. To reach the top, athletes must be single-minded – if they’re not prepared to put all other distractions aside, then even having access to brilliant running tracks and stadiums won’t get them into the elite. That’s my view, anyway.

Interviewer:   How about other sports – would you like to commentate on them?

Paul:   I’ve done a bit of football. It’s refreshing to have a go at something which doesn’t have much to do with athletics. Given the choice, I’d go for cycling, though. Something about it makes it increasingly attractive to more and more people around the world, not just in Europe, but also in Asia and South America, and I’m curious to know what that is. Commentating might give me an insight into that, I think.

Interviewer:   Thanks, Paul. Great talking to you!