Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – Tales

A

1   Hollywood biopics

2   People like watching movies that give them more information about a person or event they already know something about. People can learn about history in an entertaining way.

B

1 T   2 F   3 T   4 T

C

1 true stories   2 1920s   3 real events   4 difficult

5 Oscars   6 tea   7 accent   8 image

Audioscript

A

H1 = Host 1   H2 = Host 2   R = Rosie

H1:   Hi, and welcome to The Movie Show, where today we’re looking at the Hollywood biopic and why it’s become so popular. Now, Hollywood has always used true stories in its movies. In fact, it began making successful movies in the 1920s, and, since then, there have been thousands of movies based on true stories.

H2:   That’s right. But, in recent years, there’ve been more and more biopics. Directors have turned to the lives of famous people as a source of material. So, why is it that some of the best movies in recent years have been based on real events or inspired by real people?

H1:   Today, we’re talking to Rosie Truman, an actor and a movie historian. Rosie, why do you think Hollywood is doing so many biopics?

R:   Well, one reason is that audiences really enjoy movies about people they already know something about, but they want to know more. So, from these movies, we’ve learned something. We’ve learned about the difficult lives of some of the biggest music legends, like Ray Charles and Johnny Cash. And we’ve learned about the lives of politicians, like George Bush, or sporting heroes, like Muhammad Ali. It’s a way in which Hollywood can actually teach us about history in an entertaining way. And it’s interesting.

H2:   Yes, I think that’s right.

B

H2 = Host 2   R = Rosie   H1 = Host 1

H2:   But, what about the actors, Rosie? I mean, many of the actors have won Oscars for their roles in these movies. What’s it like for them?

R:   Well, I think actors just love these roles. It’s very exciting to be asked to play a character everyone already knows. Look at Helen Mirren. She won an Oscar for her role playing the Queen, and it’s probably one of her greatest successes.

H1:   Oh, absolutely! So, how do they do it? How does an actor prepare for a role like this? Do they meet the person they’re going to play?

R:   Well, yes, obviously, if that person is still alive, then that’s a great way for the actor to study the character, to see how they move and how they talk. In fact, I know that Helen Mirren met the Queen for tea, you know, very English. And that really helped her to understand her character. And Will Smith, who played Muhammad Ali … Well, when they met, they got along really well, and … and they became friends.

H2:   But what about playing a character everyone knows, like George Bush, for example?

R:   Yes, it’s funny actually. When you’re playing a character people recognize, you have to work really hard at getting the voice right. Josh Brolin played George Bush. And, when he was preparing for the movie, he talked to himself all day in a Texas accent. He even phoned hotels in Texas, just so he could listen to their accent.

H1:   Really? That’s funny. What about actors who can’t meet the character in person? What do they do?

R:   Well, there are other ways to prepare. Audrey Tautou, for example. She played Coco Chanel. So, she couldn’t meet her in person, but she watched hours and hours of film footage. She watched her in interviews, and she looked at photographs. Tautou wanted to look like Coco Chanel when she was on screen so that we would recognize her image.

H2:   That’s right. And it was a beautiful movie.

R:   It was, and you know one of the things …

C

H1 = Host 1   H2 = Host 2   R = Rosie

H1:   Hi, and welcome to The Movie Show, where today we’re looking at the Hollywood biopic and why it’s become so popular. Now, Hollywood has always used true stories in its movies. In fact, it began making successful movies in the 1920s. And, since then, there have been thousands of movies based on true stories.

H2:   That’s right. But, in recent years, there’ve been more and more biopics. Directors have turned to the lives of famous people as a source of material. So, why is it that some of the best movies in recent years have been based on real events or inspired by real people?

H1:   Today, we’re talking to Rosie Truman, an actor and a film historian. Rosie, why do you think Hollywood is doing so many biopics?

R:   Well, one reason is that audiences really enjoy movies about people they already know something about, but they want to know more. So, from these movies, we’ve learned something. We’ve learned about the difficult lives of some 165 of the biggest music legends, like Ray Charles and Johnny Cash. And we’ve learned about the lives of politicians, like George Bush, or sporting heroes, like Muhammad Ali. It’s a way in which Hollywood can actually teach us about history in an entertaining way. And it’s interesting.

H2:   Yes, I think that’s right.

H2:   But, what about the actors, Rosie? I mean, many of the actors have won Oscars for their roles in these movies. What’s it like for them?

R:   Well, I think actors just love these roles. It’s very exciting to be asked to play a character everyone already knows. Look at Helen Mirren. She won an Oscar for her role playing the Queen, and it’s probably one of her greatest successes.

H1:   Oh, absolutely! So, how do they do it? How does an actor prepare for a role like this? Do they meet the person they’re going to play?

R:   Well, yes, obviously, if that person is still alive, then that’s a great way for the actor to study the character, to see how they move and how they talk. In fact, I know that Helen Mirren met the Queen for tea, you know, very English. And that really helped her to understand her character. And Will Smith, who played Muhammad Ali … Well, when they met, they got along really well, and … and they became friends.

H2:   But what about playing a character everyone knows, like George Bush, for example? 

R:   Yes, it’s funny actually, when you’re playing a character people recognize, you have to work really hard at getting the voice right. Josh Brolin played George Bush. And, when he was preparing for the movie, he talked to himself all day in a Texas accent. He even phoned hotels in Texas, just so he could listen the accent.

H1:   Really? That’s funny. What about actors who can’t meet the character in person? What do they do?

R:   Well, there are other ways to prepare. Audrey Tautou, for example. She played Coco Chanel. So, she couldn’t meet her in person, but she watched hours and hours of film footage. She watched her in interviews, and she looked at photographs. Tautou wanted to look like Coco Chanel when she was on screen so that we would recognize her image.

H2:   That’s right. And it was a beautiful movie.

R:   It was, and you know one of the things …

B

1 B   2 A   3 C   4 D

C

It was false.

Audioscript

B

A:   OK, so, tell me all about it …

B:   Well, in the beginning, I was at home, and … um … this was just one morning before a very important interview …

A:   Uh-huh.

B:   And … um … I didn’t feel well, so my mother had given me some pills, and um … then I didn’t think anything more about it. So, anyway, … I then got on to the subway to go for my interview.

A:   Right, and what happened then?

B:   Well, clearly I must have fallen asleep because I wasn’t feeling great by this time. And um, I’m starting to feel sleepy, so I’m thinking I must have fallen asleep. Anyway, I was getting some funny looks, even before I fell asleep, but anyway. I fell asleep, and then I realized, before long, um … I must have been having a dream, I suppose, about my mother. And all of a sudden, I woke up. But, I didn’t just wake up, I woke up shouting the word, “Mom!”

A:   No! You’re joking!

B:   At the top of my voice, in a packed, quiet subway car.

A:   Oh, no!

B:   Yes, and everybody’s staring at me, and that did not help matters. Anyway, I got off the subway, and I then arrived at my interview, put all that behind me, I’m not, I’m still not feeling a hundred percent perfect, but nevertheless arrived at my interview on time. And, I go in, and think, actually “This is going pretty well. They’re not saying an awful lot, and, come to think of it, they’re looking at me in a really strange way.”

A:   Then what?

B:   Well, the next thing I knew, I’d left the interview, and said, “thank you very much for seeing me,” blah-blah-blah … and gone to the ladies’ room. And there in the mirror, I could see what everyone was looking at and why they couldn’t say anything,

A:   What was it?

B:   My face had swollen up!

A:   Ah! No way!

B:   It was bright red, and …

A:   No!

B:   and covered in blotches, pimples …

A:   Oh! You’re kidding!

B:   No, and the pills that my mother had given me were so out-of-date that they had caused an allergic reaction …

A:   Oh! How embarrassing!

B:   I know.

C

A:   OK. What do we think? True or false?

B:   Erm … I don’t know. I think it might be false because … I don’t know …

A:   Yeah, she was a little bit slow in telling the story …

B:   I don’t know if your mom would give you out-of-date pills …

A:   Yeah, would a mother give her daughter out-of-date pills?

B:   I think false.

A:   It sounded like she was trying to think of what to say next, so … you think false? I think false, too.

C:   Yes, it was false!

The story is true.

Audioscript

OK. This story is about a man called Radu Dogaru, who stole famous paintings from a museum in Rotterdam. In fact, he stole paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Monet. The paintings were worth millions of dollars. What Radu didn’t realize was that, because the paintings were so famous, he would have difficulty selling them. So, he tried to hide them at home. Later, the police thought they had caught Radu. However, the problem was that, when they went to search for the paintings, they couldn’t find them. It seems that, when Radu’s mother, Olga, found out what Radu had done, she destroyed the paintings by burning them in her oven in order to protect her son. In the end, Radu was arrested for the theft.

A

A 3   B 4   C 1   D 2

B

1 Rob   2 Gino   3 Danny, a friend

4 people outside the station

5 Marianne   6 John Lennon

Audioscript

1   Christine

A lot of friends were staying in my apartment. We’d had a party the night before, and, in the morning, one friend, Danny, got up to make everyone some coffee. While he was making the coffee, he heard the news on the radio. He came back into the room and told us that John Lennon had died. Someone had shot John Lennon. We were all really shocked. It was a very strange feeling. We couldn’t believe it. We had all grown up with the music of John Lennon and the Beatles. We had played his music the night before. And now, suddenly, he was dead. There was a huge feeling of loss. He was such a peaceful man who had wanted peace for everyone. It was a terrible way for him to die.

2   Rob

I was traveling to a meeting on the subway that morning, and there were delays everywhere. They closed the subway station. At first, I was really angry and worried about not getting to my meeting on time. But gradually, we started to realize that something terrible had happened. People outside the station were trying to talk on their cell phones, but the networks were all down because of the panic. Some people started to get news, and soon we discovered there had been bombs all over London. It was a strange and terrible feeling. There were crowds of people outside stores watching the news on the television.

3   Gino

I was sitting in the kitchen of my house in Italy with my family, and I was only a child. Everyone was watching television. I remember the black and white pictures. I watched as this man landed on the moon. And I can remember thinking how amazing it must be to be an astronaut and what an exciting job it was. Until then, I had wanted to be a train driver, but for a few years afterward, I definitely wanted to be an astronaut.

4   Marianne

I was staying in Los Angeles with some friends, and I was only about eighteen years old. In the night, I suddenly woke up, and the whole house was shaking. I had never felt an earthquake before, but I knew that was what was happening. It was very frightening. But, after a few seconds, it stopped. Everything went quiet, and I went back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I thought perhaps it had all been a dream. But, when I went downstairs and turned on the radio, I heard the news. The quake was in San Francisco, and it had done a lot of damage. So, I was really lucky. But, I will never forget that feeling.