Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – World market

1 Turkey   2 Canada   3 Thailand

4 Australia   5 France

Audioscripts in B below

1 a leather bag

2 a wooden doll

3 spices (green curry)

4 a painting

5 bread and cheese

Audioscripts

1

Woman:   I want to look at some leather products. I heard the Mexican market has some really nice things.

Man:   They do. I was there last week. I bought some great sandals there.

Woman:   What else did they have? Did they have any nice bags?

Man:   I don’t think they had leather bags. You know, Turkey is famous for leather. I bet they have lots of leather bags at the Turkish market.

Woman:   Sounds good. Let’s check it out.

2

Clerk:   Can I help you?

Woman:   Uh, yes. I’m looking for handmade goods. I need to buy a special gift for my niece. She’s turning five this weekend.

Clerk:   OK. Both the Canadian and the French markets sell handmade goods – clothing, toys…

Woman:   Oh, yes! I saw some beautiful wooden dolls in a gift catalog from Canada once. She’d love one of those.

Clerk:   Well, the market is right over there, across from the Australian market.

3

Man:   All right. I think I have almost everything we need for tonight’s dinner party.

Woman:   Great! Let’s get going so we can start cooking.

Man:   Oh, wait. I still need to get some spices.

Woman:   Oh, you’re making something spicy? Mexican food, maybe?

Man:   No. I’m making Thai curry. I need some green curry spices.

Woman:   Mmm. I love curry. I think the market is this way.

4

Woman 1:   Our new apartment is going to look so great! I can’t wait to get home and start decorating.

Woman 2:   I know! We’ve got some really great things here. Hey, I was thinking… I saw some nice paintings back there. There was one that would look great in the living room.

Woman 1:   Oh, yeah – at the French market – those pretty paintings with the flowers?

Woman 2:   No, I was talking about the ones at the Australian market. The ones with the really bright colors and patterns.

Woman 1:   Oh, those. Hmm, I don’t know. Well, all right. I’ll go back and look at them with you.

5

Man:   Mmm. All this shopping is making me hungry. Should we stop and get something to eat?

Woman:   Well, it is almost lunchtime. I think the Thai market had some little snacks and appetizers.

Man:   Hmm, too spicy for me. Hey, it’s a beautiful day. Why don’t we get some French bread and some cheese and go outside.

Woman:   A picnic! That’s a great idea. I think that market’s just over there.

1 United Kingdom, added water

2 Asia, offered shorter stays

3 India, made burgers without beef

4 Japan, changed the flavors

Audioscripts in B below

1 difficult   2 Europeans

3 religion   4 adults

Audioscripts

1

Man:   Campbell’s ® Soup Company has been selling canned soup for over one hundred years. Campbell’s soups are easy to prepare. You just add water and heat the soup. However, the company had a problem when it tried to sell soup in the United Kingdom. Because the customers usually bought soup with water already added, they thought Campbell’s soup was expensive and inconvenient, not very easy to prepare. So the company changed its soup – it added water to the soup it exported to the United Kingdom. Campbell’s decided that changing the soup was easier than trying to change people’s habits.

2

Woman:   One famous international company offers beach vacations around the world. On these vacations, people spend a whole week resting on the beach and don’t have to go anywhere. Many Americans and Europeans love this kind of vacation. In Asia, however, this was not very popular. Many Asians prefer shorter sightseeing visits to several different places. So, to be more popular in Asia, the company changed its plan. It offered short, three-day stays at a beach resort, followed by a tour of several countries. This helped the company sell more vacation plans to Asians.

3

Man:   One of the most well-known companies to export around the world is McDonald’s ®. McDonald’s also changes its products for export. In India, McDonald’s even changed its main product, the hamburger. Many Indians don’t eat meat for religious reasons, so in India, McDonald’s introduced hamburgers made without beef – a vegetarian burger for people who don’t eat meat.

4

Woman:   Haagen-Dazs ®, the American ice cream company, had success in Japan after it changed its products. In Japan, people often think of ice cream as a treat for children. But Haagen-Dazs decided to change its products to make them more popular with Japanese adults, too. The company wanted its ice cream to be a product that adults would want to try, so it added special, new flavors that are not available in the U.S., like melon and mango-coconut. Today at Haagen-Dazs shops all over Japan, you can see long lines of both children and adults waiting to try the latest flavors.

1 b   2 c   3 c   4 a   5 b

Audioscripts

Woman:   The Toyota car company has always been known for both expensive, luxury cars and smaller, lower-priced automobiles in its home country, Japan. In the U.S., however, Toyota first became known as a company that sold smaller, lower-priced automobiles. Researchers at the Toyota company found that Americans would probably not buy an expensive car with the Toyota brand name. So, in nineteen eighty-nine, when Toyota wanted to sell its more expensive cars in the U.S., it created a new brand name for the cars: Lexus. It was a success. These days, Lexus is famous in the U.S. as a luxury carmaker.

Audioscripts

1

You are going to buy a new digital camera. What country do you want to buy the digital camera from? Check your answer, or write another country you want to buy the digital camera from.

2

Your friend from France is visiting you this summer and wants to bring you a gift. What do you want from France? Check your answer, or write something else you want from France.

3

Your friend is visiting China and wants to bring you back a gift. What gift do you want from China? Check your answer, or write another gift you want from China.

4

What kinds of products do you often buy from other countries? What things do you buy that are from other countries? Check your answer, or write another product that you buy.

5

You’re going to stay with a family in another country for two weeks. You want to bring a special souvenir from your country. What souvenir will you bring? Check your answer, or write another type of souvenir from your country.

1 b   2 c   3 c   4 c   5 b

Audioscripts in B below

1 no   2 yes   3 no   4 yes   5 no

Audioscripts

1

Man:   This is a nice box. What kind of wood is it?

Salesclerk:   Actually, it’s not made of wood at all. It’s leather – made in Turkey.

Man:   Hmm. It’s very beautiful.

Salesclerk:   Would you like me to wrap it up for you?

Man:   What? Oh, no. I’m just looking. But thanks, anyway.

2

Woman:   I’m really hungry. What should we order?

Man:   Hmm. … Those meat pies look good.

Woman:   What’s in them?

Man:   It’s probably beef.

Woman:   I didn’t know Australia was famous for beef. Well, I’m going to order one. How about you?

Man:   Me, too.

3

Man:   I’m looking for a new watch.

Salesclerk:   Well, our Japanese watches are very high quality.

Man:   OK. Can I try the one with the leather band?

Salesclerk:   Certainly, sir.

Man:   How much is it?

Salesclerk:   The price is on the back.

Man:   Oh…. It’s very nice, but, uh, I think I’ll have to come back when they’re on sale.

4

Salesclerk:   Can I help you?

Woman:   Yes, I’m looking for a camera. Is this all you have?

Salesclerk:   Yes, it is. If you want a bigger selection, you might try the Japanese market.

Woman:   Yeah, I was just there, but they didn’t have what I want, so someone told me to come here to the Canadian market. Um … could I see that one?

Salesclerk:   Sure.

Woman:   This is nice, but I’m not sure I like the color.

Salesclerk:   It also comes in silver. Here you are.

Woman:   That’s perfect. I’ll take it.

5

Man:   There’s the Chinese market. Should we get something for Professor Brown?

Woman:   Sure, let’s take a look.

Man:   She might like some of this. It smells really good.

Woman:   Yeah, but I’m not sure she likes tea. She usually drinks coffee.

Man:   Hmm. Well, maybe we should wait and get her something at another market.

Woman:   Good idea.