Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – Getting there

1 Raffles Hotel

2 Sentosa Island

3 Little India

4 Chinese Gardens

Audioscripts in B below

1 [1] subway, [2] on foot

2 [1] subway, [2] cable car

3 [1] taxi, [2] subway

4 [1] subway, [2] on foot

Audioscripts

1

Transportation agent:   Yes, sir. May I help you?

Man:   Yes, I have a reservation at a hotel; the address is One Beach Road. Can you tell me the best way to get there?

Transportation agent:   Excellent choice, sir. You are staying at the best place in Singapore. To get there, you can take a taxi, or the MRT also stops very nearby.

Man:   The MRT?

Transportation agent:   That’s the subway. MRT means “Mass Rapid Transit.” From the stop, you’ll just have to walk a short distance to the front desk. But once you check in, the porter will help you with your bags.

Man:   OK, the subway, and then a short walk. I think I can do that. Thanks a lot.

2

Woman:   Hi. We’re looking for something fun to do with the kids today.

Hotel clerk:   OK. There’s a place I think you’ll all enjoy. There’s a golf course, the famous Merlion statue, a butterfly park, and the kids will love Underwater World.

Woman:   Sounds great. How do we get there?

Hotel clerk:   Well, first you take the subway from here to the World Trade Center.

Woman:   OK, take the subway to the World Trade Center. Then what?

Hotel clerk:   I recommend taking the cable car to the island. You’ll have a great view of Singapore and the harbor.

Woman:   Thanks very much. OK, kids, let’s go!

3

Man 1:   Could you recommend a good place to eat in Singapore?

Man 2:   Sure. Do you like Indian curry?

Man 1:   Yeah! I love it. In fact, I spent a year studying Hindi in New Delhi.

Man 2:   Then you should go to the Indian part of Singapore.

Man 1:   Sounds wonderful. What’s the best way to get there?

Man 2:   Well, you can take a taxi to the subway station from here. Ask the driver to stop at the northeast line station.

Man 1:   A taxi, and then the subway. OK, got it. Thanks!

4

Woman:   Phew, I’m tired. Let’s find someplace to sit down and relax.

Man:   Let me look at the map. This looks nice; there are lots of beautiful flowers and trees, and quiet places to sit. It looks a little far, though – about a fifteen-minute walk.

Woman:   Forget it, let’s just take the subway.

Man:   We’ll still have to walk for a few minutes after we get off the subway.

Woman:   That’s OK. Let’s take the subway and then walk.

1 cable car   2 bus   3 subway

4 on foot   5 streetcar

Audioscripts in B below

1 more expensive   2 don’t have

3 the same   4 ten   5 thirty-five

Audioscripts

1

Woman:   Excuse me. We’re going to Fisherman’s Wharf. Can we walk there from here?

Man:   It’s quite far. Why don’t you take the cable car? It’s just a block away, although, there’s probably going to be a long line. There are lots of tourists in town.

Woman:   Oh… maybe we should take a taxi.

Man:   That would be pretty expensive, much more expensive than the cable car. And the cable car ride is really fun.

Woman:   Do we have to transfer?

Man:   No, it’s easy. And it goes quite close to Fisherman’s Wharf. It takes twenty minutes.

Woman:   OK. We’ll do that. Thanks. And how much is it?

Man:   Three dollars.

2   [bus stops]

Man:   Excuse me. We’re going to see the baseball game. How do we get to the ballpark?

Bus driver:   Ah, going to see the Giants play at AT&T Park? Good for you! It’s a bit too far to walk. You’ll need to transfer to the sixteen A-X bus. Get off between Fourth and Fifth. Then take the sixteen A-X straight down Fourth Street, and you’ll see the park.

Man:   We paid a dollar twenty-five for this ride. Do we have to pay again when we transfer?

Bus driver:   Oh, no. I’ll give you a transfer ticket.

Man:   Great. And how long does it take from here?

Bus driver:   Oh, about fifteen minutes.

3

Woman:   Excuse me. We want to go to City Hall. Can we walk there?

Man:   It’s not far. You can take the streetcar and get off at the first station. It takes fifteen minutes and costs a dollar twenty-five. Or for the same price, you could take BART.

Woman:   Uh… what is “BART”?

Man:   Oh, sorry, that’s the name of the subway. B-A-R-T, Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Woman:   I see. Well, we haven’t used BART yet. We’ll do that. It’s a dollar twenty-five?

Man:   Yes.

4

Hotel clerk:   Can I help you?

Man:   Yes, we want to go to Chinatown.

Hotel clerk:   OK. You can take the cable car. It’s about a ten-minute ride, and the fare is three dollars. Or you could walk.

Man:   Chinatown is that close?

Hotel clerk:   Yep. It’ll probably take you fifteen minutes, just a little longer than the cable car.

Man:   OK. That’s what we’ll do. It’s free and good exercise, too.

5

Woman:   The kids want to go to the zoo. Does the subway go there?

Man:   No, you want to L line. It takes about forty minutes.

Woman:   The L line. Uh, is that the streetcar or the bus?

Man:   That’s the streetcar.

Woman:   OK. Do you know how much a child’s fare is?

Man:   It’s thirty-five cents for a child’s ticket. So it’s seventy cents for the two of them, and a dollar twenty-five for you.

1 b   2 a   3 a   4 c   5 c

Audioscripts

Woman:   Excuse me. Do you know how to get to the Grand Hotel?

Transportation agent:   Certainly, madam. You have several choices. You can get a taxi. Just go out that door next to the One World Airlines ticket counter. I can help you with your bags…

Woman:   How much does a taxi cost?

Transportation agent:   About twenty dollars.

Woman:   Twenty dollars?

Transportation agent:   You can also take a bus. The bus stop is right over there, in front of the parking lot.

Woman:   That sounds cheaper.

Transportation agent:   Yes. The bus costs a dollar seventy-five, but it’s slower, of course.

Woman:   That’s OK. I’m not in a hurry. Which bus should I take?

Transportation agent:   The number four bus stops just one block away from the Grand Hotel.

Woman:   Thank you.

Audioscripts

1

How do you get from your home to your English class? How do you get to your English class? Check your answer, or write another way you get to your English class.

2

Think of your favorite restaurant. How do you get to your favorite restaurant from your home? Check your answer, or write another way you get to your favorite restaurant.

3

You need to go to the airport from your home. How will you get there? Check your answer, or write another way you will get to the airport.

4

Imagine you’re going to visit San Francisco. What kind of public transportation would you like to take around the city? Check your answer, or write another type of transportation you would like to take in San Francisco.

5

In your city, what is the cheapest type of public transportation? What is the cheapest public transportation in your city? Check your answer, or write the cheapest public transportation.

1 b   2 c   3 a   4 a   5 c

Audioscripts in B below

1 false   2 true   3 false   4 true   5 false

Audioscripts

1

Man:   Excuse me. Is there a bus stop near here?

Woman:   No, but the streetcar stops at the next corner. Where do you want to go?

Man:   To the Asian Art Museum.

Woman:   Oh, you can walk. It’s not far.

Man:   I know. I work there. But my car broke down and …

Woman:   Oh, OK. Well, then, go to the next corner and catch the streetcar there.

Man:   Thanks.

2

Woman:   Excuse me. I’m trying to get to the train station.

Man:   You want the number twenty-one bus.

Woman:   Oh, thank you. What time is the next one?

Man:   Let’s see…. The next bus comes at three-thirty.

Woman:   Uh-oh. That’s twenty minutes from now. I guess I’ll have to take a taxi.

3

Son:   Mom, can you drive me to the mall?

Mother:   You don’t need a ride, do you? Why don’t you walk?

Son:   But it’s raining!

Mother:   Well, you can take the bus.

Son:   But I’m meeting my friends at five-thirty. The bus will get me there too late.

Mother:   No, it won’t. There’s a bus that comes in five minutes, and that will get you to the mall in plenty of time. Have a good time, dear!

4

Woman:   Oh, let’s take the cable car!

Man:   OK. How much does it cost?

Woman:   Three dollars.

Man:   Three dollars each? That’s six dollars! Let’s take the bus. It’s cheaper.

Woman:   Oh, but I like the cable car!

Man:   Well, OK. But we can’t spend too much money on lunch.

Woman:   That’s fine with me. I’m just going to order a sandwich and a cup of coffee.

5

Man:   Here’s the subway station. How much are the tickets?

Woman:   Let’s see…. It’s two dollars for adults, so that’s four dollars.

Man:   And how much for kids?

Woman:   It’s the same as the bus – a dollar seventy-five. So, all together it’ll be five seventy-five.