Practice Listening English Exercises for A1 – Night and Day

1 6:41   2 easy   3 two six-hour   4 Earth

Audioscript

NIGHT AND DAY AROUND THE MILKY WAY

“Every day aboard a space shuttle is different in many ways, but you’re always busy up there!” said crew member Leroy Chiao when we asked him to tell us about a typical day on a mission in orbit.

Good Morning!

Every ‘morning’, Mission Control wakes the crew up with music at exactly 6:41 pm CST (Central Standard Time – that’s the same time that people in Chicago use). The pieces of music are always different. For example, they might wake up to a traditional Japanese song one day, and a new American rock song the next! After that, they have a couple of hours to wash, have breakfast and get the ‘morning’ messages from Mission Control.

Washing isn’t easy in space, and it’s impossible to have a shower, so the crew wash themselves with a wet sponge. Shaving is also a difficult task up there, so the men have to use special ‘space’ razors.

Let’s get busy!

At around 8:45 pm CST, the crew starts work. Most of the time they work on projects involving satellites and the shuttle itself. They also take photos of their activities and the view from the shuttle to send home. Each day there are also two six-hour space walks. “We have between eight and ten minutes to do each task,” says Leroy, “so we have to work every closely and help each other.” The crew take a short break for lunch during the ‘afternoon’.

They need a lot of energy, so they eat a lot of food. According to NASA, the crew’s special meals are “tasty and very good for them”. After lunch, they go back to work until around 8:45 am CST.

Astronauts need to rest, too!

“Fortunately, it’s not all work and no play aboard the space shuttle,” says Leroy. “In the ‘evening’ we all have a couple of hours to have dinner and relax. Most of us read and send our personal e-mail in this free time, but we also like to read books or listen to music. Sometimes we sit by the window and admire the Earth and the stars.” After that, at exactly 10:41 am CST, it’s time for the crew to go to bed, while Mission Control and the shuttle’s computers take over for the ‘night’.

1 breakfast   2 leave   3 have   4 finish

Audioscript

Presenter:   You’re listening to What’s My Job? – and with us today is John Smith. Welcome to the show, John.

John:   Hello.

Presenter:   John’s going to tell us about his daily routine, while you listen carefully for clues to find out what his job is. The first caller to give the correct answer wins two tickets for tonight’s concert at the Palais. So, John, are you ready?

John:   Of course. Well, my day starts very early. You see, I live a long way from where I work, so I usually wake up at about 5 o’clock.

Presenter:   Oooh! That is early, isn’t it?

John:   Oh, I don’t mind. Anyway, the first thing I do is have a shower, then at around 6:00 I have breakfast.

Presenter:   What time do you leave the house?

John:   At about quarter past seven – no, no, sorry, at about quarter to seven – I leave the house at quarter to seven and catch the bus to work. I haven’t got a car, you see. I usually get to work by 8:00 or so. Lessons start at half past eight and last until 1:30.

Presenter:   What happens then?

John:   Well, at 1:30 I have lunch. Then it’s back to work again. At half past four I finish work and take the bus home.

Presenter:   What time do you usually get home?

John:   By about 6:15.

Presenter:   That’s a long day! At least you can relax in the evening, though …

John:   Not really! In the evenings I prepare my lessons for the next day, then I have dinner around quarter past eight. After dinner, I sometimes go out and meet friends, or stay at home and read a book. I never go to bed before 11:00.

Presenter:   Thank you, John. Well, there you are – now it’s your turn. What job does John do? The number to call is 336-7897, and remember, the first caller.

Maths: 2C   History: 3B

Geography: 6A   Art: L5

Audioscript

Tom:   Hi – my name’s Tom.

Peter:   Hi – I’m Peter, Peter Richards.

Tom:   You’re new here, aren’t you?

Peter:   Yes, that’s right. It’s my first day at St Luke’s.

Tom:   Whose class are you in?

Peter:   Mr Dobson’s, 3A, but I don’t know where it is. Can you show me?

Tom:   Sure – I’m in old Dobson’s class, too. Have you got your timetable yet?

Peter:   No, not yet. What’s our first lesson?

Tom:   My least favourite subject – Maths! That’s in 2C, on the 2nd floor, from ten past nine to 10 o’clock. Then it’s Geography in 6A until eleven o’clock. After that, we have a half-hour break, then we’re in the Science Lab – trying to understand Chemistry!

Peter:   What an awful way to start my first day! Is the afternoon just as bad?

Tom:   Well, lunchtime is from twenty past twelve till half past one. Everyone has lunch in the school cafeteria. After that, it’s History until 2:20 in 4B. Oh, no, wait a minute! The caretaker is decorating 4B at the moment. This week we’re in 3B. Art is the last lesson, and that’s always in L5.

Peter:   I’ll never remember all that! Do you think I could sit with you this week until I find my way around?

Tom:   Sure – no problem. (bell rings) Oh, that’s the bell. Come on, we can’t be late for old Dobson!

Speaker 1: a taxi driver

Speaker 2: a secretary

Speaker 3: a ballet dancer

Audioscript

Speaker 1:   Hi – my name’s George. I’m married to Joan and we have two children, Tony and Lyn. They both want to go to university, so I need to work hard to pay for their education.

I love my job, but it can be tiring. London is a big city and I need to know all of it. I don’t start work until about two o’clock in the afternoon. I usually stop for a break at about eight o’clock in the evening to have a snack and a cup of coffee. It’s not easy to eat healthily when you drive all day. I rarely finish before two in the morning, and I don’t go to bed before three. I get up again about midday, and then I have breakfast.

I don’t have much free time, and I never go out in the evenings as I work almost every night. I can’t take a holiday, either, because then I won’t get paid. But I enjoy the work – I wouldn’t do it otherwise!

Speaker 2:   Hello – I’m Barbara. I’m twenty-one years old and I live on Staten Island, which is about five kilometres from New York.

I leave home around eight and catch the ferry at 8.15. The journey only takes about twenty-five minutes and I usually read a book, so it goes very fast. It’s also very cheap because a lot of people travel from the island to the city to work. I reach New York at about 8.40, and then I take the subway to Wall Street, where I work. I get to the office around 8.55, just before my boss arrives. I type letters, answer phone calls and arrange meetings. After work, I sometimes stay in the city and go to the cinema or have dinner with friends. The last ferry leaves at 10.30, so I never go home really late. At weekends, I often go to the theatre.

Speaker 3:   My name is Natasha and I live in Moscow, in Russia. I have a large family – three sisters and two brothers. They live with my parents on a farm in the country.

Every day, I get up early in the morning to do some exercises before breakfast. After breakfast I have ballet classes until lunchtime. In the afternoon, I go to the theatre to practise until the show starts. I finish at about 10:30, then I go home, have a light dinner, then I go to bed.

I don’t do much at the weekend because I am always so tired. I’d like to visit my family regularly, but they live so far away. It takes almost five hours to get there by train. Sadly, I don’t see them very often.

hair: long, brown

clothes: smart suits

Audioscript

A:   Do you want to see some funny pictures?

B:   Yes, why not?

A:   Can you guess who this is?

B:   No. I don’t think I know her.

A:   It’s Pauline, my sister.

B:   No way! Pauline’s got long brown hair, and she doesn’t wear glasses!

A:   Yeah, but she used to have short orange hair and she used to wear glasses. She doesn’t any more, because now she wears contact lenses.

B:   And those clothes! She always wears smart suits.

A:   Mm … she used to wear ripped jeans and brightly coloured T-shirts all the time, back then.

B:   Look, she’s smoking in that picture! Pauline doesn’t smoke!

A:   Not any more – but she used to smoke 60 a day! She used to be a bit wild, didn’t she?

B:   She certainly did! I didn’t recognise her. She looks much better now. I think.

1 F – … a small terraced house.

2 T

3 T

4 F – … in a large house with a big garden.

5 T

6 F – … going to the theatre or to parties.

Audioscript

From Rags to Riches

Liza Smythe is a successful British singer. Her smiling face appears on the covers of international magazines, and every year she travels to many different parts of the world to perform concerts for millions of fans.

However, life used to be very different for this bright young star from Liverpool. “Eight years ago,” says Liza, “I lived in a small terraced house with my parents and three brothers. It was very cramped! We didn’t have a lot of money, so I used to work as a cleaner at the local hospital to make ends meet. I used to buy my clothes from second-hand shops. I was quite plump back then, because I liked eating chips and chocolate. In my free time I used to sing in the college choir or go for walks on the beach. I didn’t use to go to clubs because they were very expensive. I used to listen to the radio a lot, though. I learnt all the words to every pop song and people hired me to sing at parties. My friends liked my voice a lot, so they persuaded me to send a cassette to a record company. That’s how it all started for me. Three weeks later, I received a phone call from the company and my life changed completely.”

Today, Liza lives in a large house with a big garden just outside London with her husband and young daughter. She is much slimmer now, and looks very elegant in her chic designer clothes. She is constantly on a diet and goes to the gym every day to keep her body in shape. In her free times she enjoys going to the theatre or to parties.

Liza’s lifestyle has changed a lot since those days in Liverpool. “I think I’m very lucky to lead the life I do today. It’s not easy, though, because I don’t have the privacy that I used to have. Still, I have a lovely family and a very promising career. What else could I ask for?” she says.

Audioscript

Narrator:   Bill Newton is Britain’s most successful film star. However, things were not always easy for the boy from Bristol.

“I grew up in a poor area,” says Bill. “We lived in a flat in the middle of Bristol. All the neighbours had big families, so there were always a lot of children about the place. I remember it was very noisy in our street. I don’t think I was a very attractive teenager. I had long hair and I was also quite plump. I didn’t dress very fashionably, either. I usually wore something boring, like blue jeans. I used to eat hamburgers and drink a lot of coffee, too. We didn’t know anything about healthy eating in those days! I had a lot of friends, though. At weekends, we used to play football in the park, and on Saturday nights we usually went to the cinema or to a rock concert.”

Nowadays, Bill lives in a large house with a garden in the countryside. He is slim and handsome, with short hair, and he wears expensive suits by famous designers. He has to diet though, so he usually eats fruit and salads. He goes to the gym every morning and drinks orange juice for breakfast. When he isn’t working, Bill still enjoys a good social life. These days, he prefers parties and nightclubs or an occasional visit to the theatre.

Bill’s life has changed a lot since those days in Bristol. “I enjoy my success and hope it will continue for many years to come,” he says.