Practice Listening English Exercises for A2 – A Ghostly Welcome

Suggested answers 

1   The story took place in a castle during a stormy night.

2   It was pouring with rain and there was thunder and lightning.

3   He got out of the car and ran quickly through the rain to the castle.

4   Mrs McDougall’s daughter welcomed him into the castle.

5   Mrs McDougall had tea with George. Then, when she was showing him to his room, she started crying because George reminded her of her husband whom she had not seen for ten years.

6   George woke up after a good night’s sleep and realised he was alone in the castle. He left a note for the McDougalls and went back to his car, which started.

7   The man went to a café for breakfast. When he talked to the waitress about the two women in the castle, she was surprised. She told him that the two women had died in a car accident ten years before. The man was shocked.

Audioscript

      Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by the crash of thunder. George Philips was driving carefully along the narrow country lane. It was late at night and he was looking forward to reaching his hotel. Suddenly his car engine died. “Blast!” he said angrily. Up ahead in the distance he could see a light coming from a castle. He got out of the car and ran quickly through the pouring rain towards the huge building.

      George reached the castle’s big wooden door and rang the bell. The heavy door slowly creaked open. In front of him stood a young woman.

      “Oh, please come in out of the rain,” she said. George thanked her and entered a big hall, then introduced himself and explained what had happened. She told him that he was welcome to spend the night in the castle and led him into the library. George went to warm himself in front of it. The young woman offered to make some tea and left the room.

      George had been standing there for a few minutes when he heard a voice behind him. “Good evening. I’m Mrs McDougall. My daughter told me we had a guest. Please, have a seat.”

      Soon afterwards the daughter came in. After they had finished their tea, Mrs McDougall offered to show him to his room. George was following her up the huge staircase when he heard her weeping.

      “Is something wrong?” he asked her.

      “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as tears ran down her wrinkled cheeks. “It’s just that you remind me so much of my husband. I haven’t seen him for ten years.” The wind was howling outside and George felt a chill run down his spine.

      When George woke up the next morning, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. He put on his clothes, and went downstairs to thank the two women. He had been looking for them for some time before he realised that he was alone in the castle. He wrote a note thanking them for their kindness and returned to his car. To his relief, when he turned the key, the car started with a roar.

      Ten minutes later, George stopped at a café to have breakfast. As the waitress was filling his coffee cup she said, “That was a terrible storm we had last night, wasn’t it?” George nodded and took a sip of hot coffee. He told her that, as his car had broken down, the McDougalls had put him up for the night in their castle. “But that’s impossible!” she exclaimed. “Nobody has lived in that castle since Mrs McDougall and her daughter died in a car accident ten years ago!” George stared at her in disbelief and, trembling with shock, dropped his coffee cup onto the floor.

2 1 4 7 3 5 8 6

Audioscript

Police Constable Mark Harris was driving through the wet streets of Bristol, thinking about his warm, comfortable bed. It had been a long day, and he was very tired.

Suddenly, he noticed two young men dressed in black running out of a building. Feeling suspicious, Mark stopped the car and watched the two men jump into a red car and speed away. Just then he heard a voice scream, “Murder! Murder!”

Not stopping to think, Mark followed the red car at top speed. As he approached the car he heard a gunshot, and then a bullet went through the windscreen of his car. Mark decided to ask for help. A few minutes later he saw two police cars up ahead, blocking the road. The red car screeched to a stop and the two young men jumped out and started running, but Mark was too fast for them. “Stop! Police!” he yelled. Realising they were trapped, the two men slowly raised their hands into the air.

The other police officers handcuffed them and pushed them into the car. “Nice work,” one of them said. “Thanks,” said Mark. “I think I’ve done enough for one day, though. See you tomorrow.”

1   The story takes place in the jungle on a hot day.

2   A man is involved in the story.

3   At first he felt hot then frightened, then happy and finally frightened again.

4   He tried to find some treasure. When he found it he got trapped in the cave and couldn’t get out.

Audioscript

      Peter Wilkins looked up at the blue sky and wiped the sweat from his neck with a handkerchief. He had been searching the jungle for days, trying to find the cave where the natives kept their diamonds, but so far he had found nothing.

      Suddenly he heard a noise behind him. He looked round and saw a large, dark shadow moving towards him. He immediately turned and started to run. He pushed through the trees, which scratched his face and tore his clothes. As he was running he saw a hole in the ground in front of him and stopped.

      “This must be it!” he thought. He saw steps leading underground and quickly started going down them. When he reached the bottom he looked around and couldn’t believe his eyes. He was standing in a huge cave filled with glittering diamonds!

      “They’re mine, all mine,” he shouted greedily. He had just started filling his pockets with jewels when he heard a voice.

      “These diamonds belong to the gods. If you like them so much, you can stay with them – forever!” Then the cave began to shake and the walls started falling around him. When the rocks had stopped falling, Peter looked around again. He felt terrified as he realised that, though he had found the treasure, there was no way he could escape.