Practice English Listening Tests for B2 - Listening Test 02

Listening 1

You will hear people talking in eight different situations. For questions 1-8, choose the best answer (A, B or C).

1 You hear a girl phoning her friend.

What is the girl doing?

A apologizing for something that she’s lost

B suggesting a change in arrangements for something

C making an excuse for having to cancel something

2 You hear a boy talking about a football match he has just played in.

How did he feel about the match?

A The result wasn’t what he’d expected.

B The opposing team was better than he’d anticipated.

C The support of the crowd came as a surprise.

3 You hear two students talking about a presentation by a famous author they attended.

What do they agree?

A They have a new understanding of the author’s books.

B The author’s broad experience gives his stories their appeal.

C The author’s interest in his audience was impressive.

4 You hear a girl and her father talking about a restaurant menu.

What do they agree about it?

A The range of dishes is limited in some respects.

B There are the kind of dishes they expected to find.

C It includes some dishes they’ve near tried before.

5 You hear an architect talking about a recent project he worked on.

How did he feel during the project?

A inspired by the design possibilities that were available to him

B proud to be involved in creating a city of the future

C disappointed at the loss of some historical buildings

6 You hear a girl talking about her cousin, Jake.

She describes him as someone who

A has always supported her when she’s had problems.

B gave her the confidence to attempt what she’s achieved.

C is able to give her practical help when she needs it.

7 You hear a maths teacher telling his students about a new book.

He is recommending it because he believes it will

A be visually beautiful enough to maintain interest.

B inspire even people who aren’t very interested in maths.

C encourage some of them to think more deeply about maths.

8 You hear a girl telling a friend about a family boating trip on the river.

What did she see as a problem?

A Some of the participants wouldn’t cooperate.

B Important supplies got left behind.

C They managed to get lost.

Answer & Audioscript

1 B 2 C 3 A 4 C 5 A 6 B 7 C 8 B

Audioscript

Hi Jasmine! It’s Alice. I’ve just been to buy a new T-shirt from that shop near the library, but when I went to return my books afterwards, I discovered I didn’t have my student ID. I must have left it in the shop, and I needed it to get a student discount. I’m really sorry, but I was wondering if we could meet a bit later than we planned, so I can go back to the shop? We could go to that café we always stop at on our way home, if you want. I’ll buy the drinks! It’s the least I can do. Let me know!

We’ve just played the final match of the season, against Wilton School. They’d gone through the qualifying rounds beating their opponents really easily, so we guessed they’d be tough to play. So imagine how we felt when our players scored twice in the first half! What I hadn’t realised until then was that loads of people from school had come to cheer us on – and at that point they went wild! That motivated us to keep fighting, although the game slipped away from us in the second half, and Wilton scored three times – so the result was much as people had predicted. Still, I was really proud of our performance!

Ollie: It was great to actually meet the person that wrote the books I’ve enjoyed so much. And he asked us a lot about our opinions of his work.

Amy: I found that as he talked, it made all the references in his stories much clearer. He’s certainly had varied experiences – becoming a doctor, going climbing in the Andes …

Ollie: You’re right. For me, that’s the attraction of the stories – they’ve got such a wide range of settings, you never get bored.

Amy: I don’t know, There have been a couple I couldn’t get into.

Ollie: Well, they all make some sense to me after what he said. Maybe you should go back to those books again …

Amy: Maybe.

Dad: What would you like to eat, Lauren?

Lauren: I don’t know, Dad. I really love fish, so let’s have a look …

Dad: Hmm, I can’t see see anything like that on the menu. There’s plenty of other things like steak, chicken, all the usual stuff …

Lauren: There are one or two things here that are a bit different, though – aubergine curry, that’s a new one on us, isn’t it? I’ll have that. Sounds delicious.

Dad: True. Hmm, it’s good to experiment – I’ll give that a go. Shame there aren’t any fish dishes, though. I know you like those.

Lauren: Oh, there are lots of other things to make up for it.

As you know, there’s recently been a huge project to modernise and develop our city centre. In the process, of course, we needed to demolish a number of buildings put up in the last century, which many people wanted to preserve. However, they’d become structurally unsafe, so nothing could be done to save them. In their place, we’ve built a centre that addresses all our needs, and will impress generations to come – and being part of that was a real honour. It provided an opportunity to use some interesting design ideas, too – they’ve received mixed reviews, but I’m confident they really add to the city’s architectural appeal.

I get on well with my older cousin Jake. Until recently I didn’t see him much, ‘cos he lived miles away, but now he’s moved closer. So while he wasn’t around for some of the big events in my life, he was the one who told me I was good enough to take up competitive running and apply to study Maths at university. I’ve been successful in both, and I probably wouldn’t have tackled them if it hadn’t been for him. I wouldn’t say stuff like fixing my bike or sorting out my IT problems are really his strength – but I’m grateful for all the support he’s given me.

Now before we start, I’ve recently come across a book you might enjoy taking a look at. It’s basically a colouring book – well, more precisely, it’s a gallery of beautiful pictures containing different mathematical concepts, to get people thinking more about maths. The pictures are all based on maths topics such as geometry, number theory and so on. Now you might feel anxious at the mention of those, as they’re pretty difficult concepts. But I think if you’re keen on maths, you’ll really find yourself engaging with some of the fantastic images, especially as there are notes to talk you through each one. Do have a look, anyway – it’s on my desk.

Joe: How was your boating trip?

Florence: Well, we set off along the river, with my two brothers rowing the boat – that was fine. Then we suddenly discovered that our picnic was still in the car. Shortly after that, my brothers decided they were too tired to row, so Dad and I had to do it. Not having any food didn’t bother me, but the rowing was exhausting, so I was really cross with them. We’d been exploring the little streams joining the river, and at one point I thought we were lost, but Dad knows the river well, so he got us safely back to the car at the end.

Joe: Right …

Listening 2

You will hear an interview with a student called John Benton, who’s just completed a 25-kilometre running race. For questions 24-30, choose the best answer (A, B or C).

24 Why did John decide to enter the race?

A He was encouraged by his father to take part.

B He wanted to prove his friends wrong.

C He was inspired by a celebrity’s achievements.

25 One feature of John’s training before the event was to

A get some rest between training sessions.

B leave himself enough time to build up his fitness.

C set targets that he felt were realistic.

26 John says that once he started training, he had difficulties

A fitting it in around his usual school schedule.

B finding time for leisure activities after school.

C making himself run in cold weather before school.

27 What does John say about his diet before the race?

A decided not to follow a very strict diet.

B left it almost too late to adopt a suitable diet.

C was unwilling to give up his favourite foods.

28 What particularly encouraged John on the day of the race?

A The atmosphere was much more positive than he’s expected.

B People he’s never met before were wishing him well.

C Some people in the crowd were there to support him personally.

29 One strategy John used to keep himself going was to

A maintain a fairly even running speed throughout the race.

B ignore any negative thoughts about failure.

C keep in mind the finishing time he wanted to achieve.

30 Immediately after John finished the race, he

A was almost too tired to notice people congratulating him.

B promised himself he would never attempt another one.

C celebrated his achievements with friends.

Answer & Audioscript

24 B 25 C 26 A 27 A 28 C 29 B 30 A

Audioscript

Interviewer: Today I’m with John Benton, who’s just taken part in a 25-kilometre running race. John, you’d never run that distance before, what made you decide to enter the race?

John: Well, a few famous people have recently taken up running – one in particular ran twice the distance I did. That really impressed me – but what finally made me get my running shoes out was my mates’ attitude. They reckoned I was far too lazy to complete any race at all, so I was determined to show them I could do it! Anyway, my dad’s a keen runner – and once I’d decided to enter, he came along during my training runs as my ‘running buddy’, which was great.

Interviewer: So how much training did you do beforehand?

John: Well, I was pretty organised! First of all, I drew up a 12-week training plan, and built in goals I thought would be manageable. Dad wondered if I was being over-ambitious time-wise, ‘cos I hadn’t run for a while – but then I do play football, so I knew I was in reasonable shape. And I was told I shouldn’t push myself too hard without resting and recovering between training sessions, but I admit I didn’t really listen to that advice!

Interviewer: And I imagine the training was tough. Were there any problems?

John: Well, of course there were school mornings when the alarm went off really early, and it was freezing outside, but I’d still look forward to getting myself out there. Getting back home again in time for the school bus caused problems though – and when I got home from school, after 4 p.m., it was really too dark to run, but I still went. Anyway, at least after my training, I could still play computer games on the sofa as usual!

Interviewer: And did you follow a special diet?

John: Well, some runners do things like eat high-protein, high-carbohydrate diets, but I just tried to eat what I usually do, pretty healthily – apart from chocolate and chips, which I cut out, and I didn’t miss them. Then about a week before the race, I started eating more carbohydrates, like pizza and pasta, to build up my energy levels, and that worked fine especially on the day of the race itself. I knew I had to start all that well before the race, though – it’s too late to experiment on the day.

Interviewer: And what was the day of the race like?

John: Pretty exciting. There were loads of people there when we arrived, and even complete strangers were wishing me luck. Anyway, once we’d all set off, everyone was cheering us along the route, and calling out the names of their friends – I actually spotted my mates holding up a sign with my name on! That really made me determined to finish the race.

Interviewer: So did you have any strategies to help you keep going?

John: I had a finishing time in mind that I was aiming for. But once I’d started, the aim just became ‘keep going and cross the finish line’! Since I’d never done a race like that before, I didn’t have a ‘personal best’ to beat. I’d been told, too, that starting too fast is a mistake, that I should just relax and enjoy it, then speed up before the end – which did work. It’s blocking out the voice in your head, telling you that you can’t do it that’s hardest. But I’d learnt to manage that by dealing with the race in stages, and remembering my training.

Interviewer: So how did you feel when you finally crossed the line?

John: Well, I’d assumed my first thought would be that I’d never attempt anything so tough again! But I had such a feeling of achievement that I’d finished, and my dad looked so proud, waiting there with my friends – although I was so exhausted I barely registered it. But we did celebrate later! And I’ve already signed up for my next run!

Interviewer: I’m sure! Congratulations, John!