Practice English Listening Tests for B1 – Listening Test 49

1

1 c)   2 b)   3 c)   4 b)   5 b)   6 a)

2

2   engineering

3   Hong Kong OR Dubai

4   You have had enough to eat

5   His car license plate

6   online bullying (of students)

Audioscript

Narrator:   1

Alice:   So how are you settling in, Lynne?

Lynne:   Fine. It’s weird living in a small country town after the bright lights of the city, but everybody’s made us feel really welcome.

Alice:   What, they’re bringing you homemade cakes and inviting you for coffee every morning?

Lynne:   Not exactly, thank goodness. I don’t have time for coffee in the mornings! But the neighbors next door invited us for lunch last Sunday. It was a beautiful day, so we ate in the backyard. It was all very relaxing and informal. They’re very nice people.

Alice:   Do you have much in common?

Lynne:   Well, they play golf—so Harry was very happy about that!

Narrator:   2

Jim:   I need your advice, Bill.

Bill:   OK. How can I help?

Jim:   Well, it’s about Jack.

Bill:   Jack? How did he do on his final exams, by the way?

Jim:   Great. He got an A and two Bs.

Bill:   Very good. So he could go to any college he chooses.

Jim:   That’s exactly the point. He’s not sure he wants to go to college.

Bill:   Oh, why’s that?

Jim:   Well, you know, he has a real aptitude for building and fixing things—especially engines.

Bill:   Yes, so he should study engineering.

Jim:   I know. But he’s not great at math. He wants to be a car mechanic.

Bill:   In my view, that would be a mistake, Jim. You need a degree nowadays.

Jim:   But you don’t have a degree, Bill—and you’re a millionaire! But what I wanted to ask you was—could Jack do an apprenticeship in one of your garages?

Narrator:   3

Dennis:   Hi, Jo, where are you going in such a hurry?

Jo:   Oh, hi, Dennis! I need to get to the travel agent before it closes.

Dennis:   Going on vacation?

Jo:   Sort of. Yes, my sister’s getting married in Sydney in March, so we thought we’d combine it with a vacation.

Dennis:   Aren’t you online at home?

Jo:   Yes, we are. Why?

Dennis:   You could plan it all online.

Jo:   Oh, no. I like to talk to a real person. There are usually so many options. And we want to stop over somewhere on the way—Hong Kong or Dubai, we’re not sure.

Dennis:   Yes, I know what you mean. But you’d be surprised how quick and easy it is online, especially if you use one of those travel sites like Expedia or Travelocity. It’s worth a try. And you can get very cheap deals.

Jo:   Really? Better than the travel agent?

Dennis:   Usually, yes.

Jo:   OK, I’ll have a look tonight. So let’s go for a drink now and catch up, should we?

Narrator   4

Elizabeth:   Where have you been, James? Haven’t seen you for ages.

James:   Hi, Elizabeth. Yes, I just got back from Cairo. I do quite a lot of business there.

Elizabeth:   Really? Funnily enough, I’m off to Cairo in a couple of weeks to see my daughter, Alex. She’s been studying Arabic there.

James:   Oh, that sounds interesting.

Elizabeth:   Yes, she’s staying with a local family. I’d like to take them a present or something. Any tips?

James:   Well, if you’re invited to their home for dinner, take some really nice chocolates. Not flowers though—they’re only for weddings.

Elizabeth:   Oh, that’s useful to know. Anything else?

James:   Well, they love it if you have second helpings. But if you’ve had enough to eat, leave a small bit of food on your plate. Otherwise they’ll keep filling it up!

Elizabeth:   Thanks for the warning!

Narrator:   5

Tom:   Do you have Matt’s phone number, Vicky?

Vicky:   Sorry, Tom—it’s on my cell, but that’s at work. I forgot to put it in my bag.

Tom:   But don’t you remember the number?

Vicky:   No, of course not!

Tom:   But you’ve been going out with Matt for six months—and calling him several times a day. Surely you know his number by now.

Vicky:   Why should I? I always use my cell. Anyway, I’m hopeless at remembering numbers.

Tom:   Haven’t you written it down somewhere?

Vicky:   Yes … but I can’t remember where. Oh, come on, Tom! You’re not much better. You couldn’t remember your car license plate last week!

Tom:   That’s because it’s a new car. You borrowed it—and then forgot where you parked it! Remember?!

Narrator:   6

Principal:   Hello, John. Hi, Barbara. Thank you for coming at such short notice. It’s just that I wanted to discuss something with you before the parents’ meeting next week.

John:   Is it about the bullying of students on the social networking sites?

Barbara:   Yes, I’ve heard about that, too. The mother of one of my students asked me what we’re going to do about it.

Principal:   Exactly, Barbara. We need to discuss our options. What do you think we can do? John?

John:   Well, in my view, it’s the parents’ responsibility to monitor their children’s use of these sites.

Barbara:   I have to say I agree with John. I think that we should make sure students aren’t bullying each other at school, but I don’t see how we can control what they do at home—on their computers.

Principal:   Yes, but for me, there is a connection between the two. Let me give you an example …

1 d)   2 f)   3 c)   4 a)   5 e)   6 b)

Audioscript

Narrator:   Listen to six people talking about their neighbors.

Narrator:   1

I’ve lived in this town for most of my life, and it’s always been a great place to live. Everyone’s really friendly, and there’s a real sense of community. My neighbor is wonderful, and, now that I’m in my eighties, it’s good to know that she is there if I need her. She’s always been really helpful, but, now I can’t get around so easily, her assistance makes all the difference to me. I’m still very independent, so I don’t need much help, but every week she asks me what groceries I need and gets them for me. That’s what I think makes a good neighbor.

Narrator:   2

I’ve been quite lucky with this apartment. Some of my friends say their neighbors keep them awake all night with their loud music, but, here, it’s pretty quiet and everyone keeps to themselves. I like that. I’m a private person, so I don’t want nosy neighbors who always want to know your business. That to me is the key difference between a good and bad neighbor.

Narrator:   3

It was only when it started getting warmer that the problems with our neighbors started. The first time I nearly got hit by a ball when gardening, I thought it was an accident and returned it to our neighbors. But, after politely asking three or four times for them to stop their children throwing things over the fence, I got really fed up. I knew the children were doing it on purpose, but their parents didn’t care. It didn’t feel safe sitting in the backyard, and it certainly wasn’t relaxing. We’ve since moved and now have the perfect neighbors. They’re really good parents, and it’s a joy to hear the children playing next door. Sometimes you hear them getting yelled at when they get too noisy, and I know for sure that, if a ball did happen to land in our yard, it would be an accident and they would apologize.

Narrator:   4

We decided to move to the Brecon Hills community because we feel strongly about being part of something where other people’s values match ours. We strongly believe that neighbors should share and work together, and one of the things we love about this community is that we have weekly meetings to sort out any problems and to discuss what improvements can be made. This week we’re going to be discussing how we can collectively home school our children.

Narrator:   5

I remember when I was a student, I lived in a really noisy house once. It was divided into two apartments, and I lived in the top floor one with three roommates. The guy who lived downstairs wasn’t the ideal neighbor, that’s for sure! He played really loud music and often played his electric guitar until the early hours. It wasn’t too bad for me as a first-year student, but my roommate had a job, so he was always getting annoyed about being woken up. Now that I’m working, I really appreciate the fact that I have good neighbors on both sides of me. They never play loud music late during the week, and I don’t even know if they’re in most of the time. I feel very fortunate.

Narrator:   6

I think my neighbor is amazing. He’s just the kind of person you want to live next to. I mean, just last week I had problems with my water heater, and I had to call someone to repair it. The problem was, I couldn’t get time off work, so it was getting a bit stressful trying to organize when they could come out. Fortunately, when I mentioned this to my retired neighbor, Frank, he offered to help and said that, if I gave him my key and told him when the appointment was, he’d make sure he was at home and could let the plumber into my place. I wouldn’t normally give my key to anyone, but, over the fifteen years I’ve been living here, Frank has always been someone I know I can trust. I think that makes the world of difference when it comes to having good neighbors.