Practice Listening English Exercises for A2 – Read my Lips

full lips:   responsible, decisive, bossy

thin upper lip with a full lower lip:   energetic, ambitious, self-centred

thin lips:   determined, careful, reserved, mean

lips with down-turning corners:   generous, intelligent, sensitive

Audioscript

Read my lips

Forget about fortune tellers and horoscopes. The shape of a person’s lips can say a lot about them. The 5,000-year-old art of face reading is gaining popularity. So, take a look at the shape of someone’s lips to find out about their personality …

People with full lips are usually responsible. You can always trust them to do what you ask them to do. They are also decisive; they make decisions quickly. On the other hand, they tend to be rather bossy. They live telling other people what to do!

People who have a thin upper lip and full lower lip are energetic. They work very hard are like participating in a lot of activities. They are ambitious as well; they want to be successful in life. However, these people tend to be self-centred. They seem to only care about themselves and they sometimes forget about other people’s feelings.

People with thin lips are determined; they know what they want and they do all they can to get it. They are careful people who do their work with a lot of attention and thought. However, they tend to be reserved; they don’t like showing their feelings or expressing their opinions. They can also be mean; they don’t like sharing things or spending money.

People who have lips with down-turning corners are very generous. They love giving things to other people and helping them. They are also intelligent and understand difficult subjects quickly and easily. On the other hand, they can be sensitive at times; they get upset easily, so be careful of what you say to them.

The two people described are A and D.

Audioscript

A:   Right Steven, who should we have to play the part of Molly?

B:   Well, I think we should try to find someone who fits the book’s description of Molly. She should be quite tall and slim, with long blond hair and a rather long face. Oh yes, and she should be in her late twenties.

A:   Hmm … What about Betty Jones?

B:   Marvellous! She’s perfect, with her gorgeous grey eyes!

A:   Great. Now for Steven. Who would be good as the leading man?

B:   Um … Well, we need a tall muscular man in his early thirties, preferably with blue eyes and a wide mouth.

A:   That sounds like John Woods.

B:   Who?

A:   You know, John Woods – he’s got short black hair.

B:   The one with the mole on his cheek?

A:   That’s him!

B:   Yes, you’re right. He’s ideal. Okay, we’d better call their agents … (fade)

1 T   2 F   3 T   4 F   5 T   6 F

Audioscript

Mother:   Isabelle, how are you? I really appreciate you looking after Paul for the weekend.

Isabelle:   It’s nothing. Besides, both you and John deserve a holiday.

Mother:   Mm. Anyway. Paul won’t be a problem. In fact, he spends most of his time playing computer games.

Isabelle:   Do you think he’d like to go to the playground? There’ll be lots of children there for him to play with.

Mother:   I don’t think he’ll like that. You see, he hates meeting new people and doesn’t make friends easily.

Isabelle:   Well, what does he like?

Mother:   If you don’t mind reading to him, Isabelle, Paul loves bedtime stories – especially science fiction.

Isabelle:   OK. Now, what about homework?

Mother:   You don’t have to worry about that. Paul always does his homework on his own. He’ll even tidy his own room. He doesn’t mind doing that. But please don’t let him near the stereo! He likes playing pop music really loud. Paul, please stop it. I can’t stand that music any more!