Practice PET (B1) Listening Test 11 with Answers and Audioscripts

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

Audioscripts

1   Which of the following needs attention?

Man:   Barbara. it’s me. Charlie. I’ve just got back from work. I’ve noticed the window in the garage has been broken. I think one of the branches came down from next door’s tree during the storm and hit it. The branch is in front of the garden gate. I’ll call someone to have a look at it tomorrow. See you when you get home from work.

Now listen again.

2   Which item will be cheaper soon?

Woman:   Can I help you sir?

Man:   I’m just looking at the moment. I bought my trainers from you a few months ago during the sale and I thought I’d come back to see what else you have in store.

Woman:   Well, we’re planning to reduce some of our running shorts next week, so feel free to have a look at them.

Man:   Thanks. I’ll buy a pair of running socks while I’m here. I can get them cheaper online, but I like to support local shops.

Now listen again.

3   When is the man starting his course?

Woman:   Have you organised everything for your training course?

Man:   Yes, I think so. I’ve booked the train tickets. I leave on Friday and return on Sunday.

Woman:   And what about accommodation?

Man:   I’ve got somewhere for Friday night. The course begins on Saturday and there’s a chance they can provide a room for Saturday so I’m going to wait and see.

Woman:   OK, have a great time.

Now listen again.

4   What does the woman say they need for the party?

Man:   I’m just going to the shops. Do we need anything else for the kids’ party?

Woman:   We’ve got plenty of plates. I bought some paper ones yesterday. I’m not sure about paper cups though.

Man:   I think there are some in the cupboard. I’ll check before I go out.

Woman:   OK. We’ve got enough knives and forks. But I wonder if they’re suitable. I think small wooden ones might be better for the children as they can be recycled. See if you can find any in the supermarket.

Now listen again.

5   What did the man leave at work?

Man:   Hi, it’s John here from the sales department. If someone could get a message to the cleaners, I’d be very grateful. I was in a hurry this evening to get ready to leave and dropped my wallet. All the cards and money fell out. I thought I’d found everything but I’ve just noticed there’s a credit card missing. If one of the cleaners finds it, could they give me a ring on my mobile? My number’s on the staff noticeboard.

Now listen again.

6   Where is the woman going on holiday?

Man:   Do you have a holiday planned for this year?

Woman:   I think so. I was hoping we’d go to Italy again. We went there last year, to Rome, and had a wonderful time.

Man:   So, it’s Italy then?

Woman:   Well, the children say they want to go somewhere different. Our eldest daughter is studying Spanish, so somewhere in Spain would have been perfect. But eventually we agreed on Greece as none of us have been there before. Spain will have to wait until next year.

Now listen again.

7   Which platform is the 9.30 train to London leaving from?

Woman:   Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Please listen carefully to the following announcement about arrivals and departures. Passengers travelling to London should catch the 9.30 train from Platform 11. This is a change from the timetable and it isn’t departing from Platform 10 now. For those of you waiting for the arrival of the 9.15 train from London, we regret to inform you that this has been delayed but it will be arriving at Platform 14 at 9.45.

Now listen again.

8 B   9 B   10 A   11 B   12 A   13 B

Audioscripts

8   You will hear two friends discussing what to do in the afternoon.

Man:   Do you still fancy going out for a walk this afternoon?

Woman:   Yes, but shall we see what the weather’s like first? The forecast says we’re going to get heavy rain.

Man:   OK, but I really don’t want to stay in. We can have a look around the shopping centre in town if it rains. That’s all indoors.

Woman:   I want to go out too but not more shopping, please. I’ve already spent too much money this month.

Man:   Yes, me too. Yes, let’s see if the forecast is correct before we decide.

Now listen again.

9   You will hear two friends talking about keeping fit.

Man:   Have you decided to renew your gym membership?

Woman:   I’m not sure really. I don’t know if it’s doing me any good.

Man:   Why don’t you try swimming? You’re a good swimmer.

Woman:   I could do I suppose. It might be more fun than the gym.

Man:   I don’t think there’s a better way to keep fit. Plus, that new swimming pool is huge. I always find swimming pools get crowded and you get in each other’s way, but that’s not a problem in the new one.

Now listen again.

10   You will hear a woman telling a friend about a handbag.

Woman:   Can you pass me the laptop? I need to write an email complaining about that handbag.

Man:   What’s the problem with it?

Woman:   Well, I’ve already sent one back. I ordered one in brown and they sent me a black one. I really don’t like black so I returned it and they sent me the correct one. But look, the handle is coming off.

Man:   Oh yes. That’s not very good is it?

Woman:   No, it’s not. And what makes me angry is I have to keep going to the post office to post it back. It doesn’t cost anything but it’s annoying and a waste of time.

Now listen again.

11   You will hear two friends talking about a new doctor.

Man:   I’ve got to make an appointment with that new doctor tomorrow. Have you seen him yet?

Woman:   Yes, I went to the clinic a couple of weeks ago. Doctor Collins. He’s a lot younger than the last doctor, and very caring.

Man:   Good, I was hoping he’d be better than the last doctor we had.

Woman:   I know. That one never seemed to listen to what you were saying, did he? You should phone early for your appointment though. The new one is the only doctor there at the moment, so he’ll get booked up very quickly.

Now listen again.

12   You will hear two friends talking about a storm.

Woman:   Was there anything interesting on the news tonight?

Man:   They’re still reporting on the storm that happened last night. They said we had a month’s rain in one night.

Woman:   It was terrible, wasn’t it? There’s been so much damage to people’s property.

Man:   Our area escaped the worst of it. It seemed to affect the northern parts of the country most. They think there’s another storm heading our way at the end of the week. It’s not going to be quite as bad but we still need to take care.

Now listen again.

13   You will hear a woman telling a friend about her noisy neighbours.

Woman:   Ever since those people moved into the flat upstairs, I haven’t been able to sleep properly.

Man:   Why is that? Do they make a noise?

Woman:   Yes, they play music quite loudly late at night and they seem to have a party almost every weekend.

Man:   Have you spoken to them about it?

Woman:   Not yet. My husband thinks we should knock on their door and tell them to be quiet but I’m thinking of asking them round for dinner. It will be a nice thing to do and then if we do need to complain in the future, they might be more likely to agree.

Now listen again.

14 two days   15 height   16 plain

17 accurate   18 reading   19 three photos

Audioscripts

William:   I had a great time away on holiday and one of the things I did was go on a two-day photography course about taking photos of people. It was for beginners and I was given quite a few tips, some of which I think are really useful.

For example, getting your position correct is really important. They said a common mistake is to stand too far away from the person. You get a much better result if you get close to them as they take up more of the photo. It’s also important to make sure the camera is at the same height as the person, especially if you’re taking one of a child.

A really useful tip was to pay attention to the background. The person will stand out much more if the background is as plain as possible. This will help you to focus on the subject of your photo.

Although most smartphones come with a flash to provide extra light, they suggested we try to make as much use as possible of daylight. Doing this will make the colours more accurate and the photo will appear more natural.

We’re all used to asking someone to ‘say cheese’ when we’re about to take their photo. To get a more interesting picture, they recommended taking a photo of the person when they don’t know you’re about to do it. Perhaps they’re reading or looking out of the window.

Finally, they told us to take plenty of photos so we can practise our skills. They said we should aim to take at least three photos of people every day. These can be of friends and family or even strangers, if you ask their permission.

Now listen again.

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

Audioscripts

Interviewer:   I’m really pleased to have Penelope Leigh with us today to talk about the best ways to revise in preparation for an exam. What’s your number one piece of advice, Penelope?

Penelope:   Well, some students might not like to hear this but there’s no easy solution. The best way to learn something is to understand it. This will put the information into your long-term memory and you’re less likely to forget it.

Interviewer:   So how do we do that? It sounds quite challenging.

Penelope:   Some people choose to read things again and again, hoping this will help them remember. But most of the time, this doesn’t work. You should underline or make a note of key points, and a great tip is to try explaining these points to a friend or relative. If you can explain it clearly, you probably understand it.

Interviewer:   What do you think about trying to revise a few days before an exam?

Penelope:   This isn’t always a good idea. It’s OK if you just want to go over things you’ve learnt in previous weeks or months but not to rely on this method on its own. Organise your revision over weeks, or even months, going over your notes occasionally to remind yourself of key points.

Interviewer:   Are some subjects easier to revise than others?

Penelope:   I’m not sure the subject matter is important. I think it’s more about being interested in what you are learning. If the subject is boring it’s more difficult to understand and learn the main points. Unfortunately, some of us have to learn subjects like these, so try to make them interesting by revising with someone who loves the subject. They may be able to help make it more interesting.

Interviewer:   What about music? Can that help us concentrate?

Penelope:   It’s difficult to say. I know some people love listening to their favourite tunes when they revise. I personally find it difficult to concentrate if a song comes on that I love. And actually, research has been carried out that showed listening to music doesn’t improve our ability to revise, so it’s not something I would do.

Interviewer:   OK, so any more tips for students who are listening?

Penelope:   OK, let’s imagine you’ve successfully understood key points and just want to remember them for the exam. Try making a word out of the first letters of each key point. Then all you need to do is remember the word. Or make a story using the key points. These are better ways of learning than trying to remember lists on their own.

Now listen again.