Practice English Listening Tests for B1 – Listening Test 12

8 B   9 C   10 B   11 B   12 C   13 A

Audioscripts

8   You will hear a wife and her husband talking about housework.

Woman:   Have you seen how untidy the living room is? The children have left it in a mess again.

Man:   I know. To be fair, they’ve done a lot more around the house since we spoke to them last week.

Woman:   They started well, but I think we need to have another talk with them. We’re both so busy trying to organise work and home. And I’d love to get some outside help but I’m not sure about your idea of getting a cleaner.

Man:   OK, I’ll have another talk with them later.

Now listen again.

9   You will hear two friends talking about a university.

Man:   So I hear you’ve decided on Melchester University. Is that right?

Woman:   Yes. I’ve looked at a few now and I think that’s the best for me.

Man:   You were saying there are better ones for your subject area but I’ve been told it’s still good.

Woman:   I know, I’m happy with the course. I’ve now got to organise my accommodation.

Man:   I’ve heard rent isn’t too expensive there so you may be able to find somewhere nice. Once you’ve made some friends at university, you’ll be able to share a place.

Now listen again.

10   You will hear two friends talking about the weather.

Man:   I’m really enjoying this sunny weather we’ve had lately, aren’t you?

Woman:   I know. It’s lovely to wake up to a blue sky every morning, isn’t it? It makes a change from all the rain we had last month.

Man:   So, what are your plans for today?

Woman:   I want to do some exercise if I can. I might go the gym as it’s a bit cooler there. It’s too warm to go running. I can’t remember it being this warm before. I’m certainly not complaining though!

Now listen again.

11   You will hear two friends talking about a journey to work.

Man:   Getting to work in the morning seems to take longer each day. I was half an hour late this morning.

Woman:   Are you still driving in?

Man:   Yes, but I might stop using the car. The traffic is so bad early in the morning. It’s a shame as I like using the car but it’s just one traffic jam after another. There’s no way I’m cycling in – it’s too dangerous.

Woman:   What about getting the train?

Man:   I might do that. I know there were always delays in the past, but I’ve heard the service has improved.

Now listen again.

12   You will hear two friends talking about the local swimming pool.

Woman:   I haven’t seen you at the swimming pool for a while. Have you stopped going?

Man:   Yes, I haven’t been recently, although last time I went there weren’t too many people. We’ve been quite busy at work lately and I get home feeling really tired. That’s no excuse though. I could always go at the weekend I suppose.

Woman:   You should. It sounds like a swim is just what you need.

Man:   I thought the changing rooms were clean and tidy, but I think they need better security. I didn’t feel confident leaving my things in the locker, and after that I stopped going.

Now listen again.

13   You will hear two friends talking about visiting someone in hospital.

Man:   I’m going to visit Simon in hospital on Saturday if you want to join me.

Woman:   Sorry but I can’t make it at the weekend. Too much to do. I was planning to see him next week. If I give you some grapes could you give them to him?

Man:   Of course.

Woman:   How are you getting there? I was planning to go on the bus as it stops right outside.

Man:   I’m driving there. You can park on the street outside quite easily.

Woman:   OK, I’ll see how I feel next week.

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.