Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – Amazing architecture

1 a   2 c   3 b

Audioscript

Girl:   So what do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of these houses?

Boy:   Well, this first one is an amazing house. It’s the most modern of the three. In fact it’s brand new – it was built this year! I love the design – the shape is just so original. It looks like a spaceship or something.

Girl:   Wow, I can see! So, what about the advantages?

Boy:   Well, this website says it was built so that, in summer, the inside of the house is in the shade. You know, so it stays cool. But, in winter, the sunlight does enter the rooms and helps to keep it warm.

Girl:   Wow, that’s really clever. And what about the disadvantages?

Boy:   Hmmm, I suppose that the main disadvantage is that, because the walls are all made of glass, everyone can see what you’re doing all the time.

Girl:   Yeah, that’s not good!

Boy:   What about the second house? Look how tall it is! It looks like a castle!

Girl:   Yes. I saw a TV programme about this house recently. This is actually a historic building, built in the 16th century. It’s a classic example of a Tudor tower built in a traditional design. But now it’s a house. I love it!

Boy:   What about the advantages and disadvantages of living there? The views from the top of the tower must be spectacular.

Girl:   Yes, they are. It’s very light inside too thanks to all the windows on each side of the tower. The design inside is very traditional, and the rooms look very warm and cosy. The main disadvantage is that it doesn’t have a lift, and there are a lot of stairs.

Boy:   Well, at least you’d get a lot of exercise living there!

Girl:   That’s true. What about this last home? It’s really unusual – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house that narrow before.

Boy:   Yes the architects’ website says it’s one of the narrowest houses in the world! On the outside it looks really small, but when you go inside, there’s quite a lot of space. It looks bigger and lighter than on the outside. There are lots of windows. It has a really stylish and fresh design. But, as it’s so narrow it might be hard to get all your furniture in, I think.

Girl:   I think it would be annoying as you would always leave, say, your phone on the wrong floor. You’d spend a lot of time going up and down stairs looking for things.

Boy:   Yeah, but the same is also true for the historic tower.

Girl:   Yes, you’re right. What do you think about …

1 C   2 A   3 B   4 C   5 B   6 A

Audioscript

1   You will hear a boy talking to his friend about her move.

Boy:   Have you been away, Helena?

Girl:   Yeah, to visit Manchester, where we’re moving to.

Boy:   How do you feel about moving to a city?

Girl:   I felt upset about it at first – I didn’t want to leave all my friends behind. It takes hardly any time to get there by train, though, so everyone can come and visit, which is great!

Boy:   There must be lots to do in the city.

Girl:   There are bigger shops and cinemas, though I won’t be able to go horse riding any more.

Boy:   Why don’t you come back at the weekends, then?

Girl:   Maybe

2   You will hear a boy talking to his friend about his new school.

Girl:   What’s your new school like, Pete? Do you like it there?

Boy:   It’s huge! I don’t know if I’ll ever find my way round it! The building’s been there for a long time, so the classrooms aren’t that big, though the equipment in them is really up to date. The sports fields are better, too. And the library’s incredible – it’s got that whole series of books we’re both reading at the moment – you know, the adventures ones?

Girl:   Yeah. Do you think I can borrow them?

Boy:   Maybe

3   You will hear a boy and a girl talking about making friends.

Girl:   Last Saturday I went with my family to the village we’re moving to.

Boy:   What’s it like?

Girl:   It’s quite cool – there was some kind of festival on in the village square. People seemed really interested in us and we were there for a while talking to them. It was lovely and made me feel better about what everyone’ll be like when we move there. I’m sure I’ll meet more people in my school year group who will be just as nice. It’s going to be strange trying to make new friends!

Boy:   You’ll be fine.

4   You will hear two friends talking about the boy’s new family home.

Girl:   Have your parents found somewhere to live in Mansville, yet?

Boy:   Yeah – they’ve bought a flat. It’s really modern, with enormous windows. We move there next week.

Girl:   Sounds amazing!

Boy:   It’s lighter than the house we’ve been in – it isn’t as cosy, though … I’m sure it’ll look better once all our furniture’s moved in.

Girl:   Have you got your own space now?

Boy:   Yeah – no more sharing a room with my brother at last!

Girl:   Is it in that block beside those fields – where it’s all quiet and stuff?

Boy:   Fortunately not – we’re near all the shops.

5   You will hear a girl telling her friend about the town she is going to live in.

Boy:   Is there much to do in the town you’re moving to?

Girl:   A few things. There’s an amazing football club. But you know me – I’ll still come back here to support our team!

Boy:   Will you still be able to go to drama lessons?

Girl:   Well, I heard there was a good club in the town. When I rang up they said it wasn’t there anymore. That means I’ll have more time to try street dancing – some girls I met invited me to go along to their class. I can’t wait!

6   You will hear two friends talking about moving to the countryside.

Girl:   It’s funny how both our families are moving to the countryside, isn’t it?

Boy:   I know. I’m not looking forward to it – I love being in the city where there are loads of exciting things happening. We won’t be able to carry on with the photography course we’re doing at the weekends.

Girl:   True – there’ll be some amazing views to take pictures of, though. And we can teach ourselves.

Boy:   I didn’t think of that. Great idea!

Girl:   I can’t wait to get out of the city – it’s too crowded and noisy.

Boy:   That’s why it’s fun!

unusual, strange, normal, soft, comfortable, perfect

Audioscript

Julia:   OK, well, I can see a room in what looks like a house, but it’s a very unusual one. It’s a rather strange, new, modern room. It’s got designer lights and things like that. The most unusual thing is the walls. They’re incredible … they aren’t … normal … er … straight. There’s a guy on a skateboard – I think perhaps he’s going to skate up the walls!

This room has lots of space, but not much furniture. And the furniture is quite strange, too. On the left a guy is sitting on some kind of seat against the wall, and there’s something soft behind him. Not pillows exactly, but a bit like pillows? Yeah, they look like comfortable square cushions. And I think someone else is standing on a kind of shelf above him! It looks like he has a skateboard too. There’s a strange, long chair – it seems to be made out of skateboards. And there’s a tall wooden screen, which looks a bit like someone has cut skateboard shapes out of it. This place looks more like a skate park than a house! But I guess it is perfect for these cool Californian guys who just live for skateboarding!

1

It’s a mystery and also a suspense story.

2

1   The homework was only to plan the story.

2   an old house in the country, maybe in Scotland

3   two boys and two girls, friends or cousins

4   The door closes and they can’t get out again.

5   The story takes place in the past, when people didn’t carry phones.

6   He hasn’t written the ending yet.

Audioscript

Kate:   Hey, Sam. Have you got a minute?

Sam:   Sure, Kate. What’s up?

Kate:   Oh, not much. I wanted to ask you about your story for English class. You know, the homework for today. Have you written a complete story?

Sam:   No, we didn’t have to do that. We just needed to write a plan for today, to help us write the story later.

Kate:   Oh! That’s good, because I’ve only made some notes. And what type of story are you planning?

Sam:   Well, it’s a mystery, but not a typical one. I wanted to do something unexpected.

Kate:   That sounds interesting. And where does it take place?

Sam:   In an old house in the countryside, in the middle of winter. Maybe in Scotland, but I’m not sure yet. My grandparents live in a house like that near Edinburgh, and I know it really well.

Kate:   That’s a good idea. I mean, you can describe it easily, then.

Sam:   Yes, but I might write about a time in the past … maybe in the 19th century … before people had phones or televisions.

Kate:   And who are the main characters? Your grandparents?

Sam:   No. I want to write about a group of friends, people our age … maybe two boys and two girls. Or, they could be cousins. I’m not sure yet.

Kate:   Hmm … and what’s the plot? I mean, what happens?

Sam:   Well, at first, they’re walking in the countryside, and they find this old house and next they decide to explore inside, because the door is open. They look upstairs and then downstairs, and finally down into a dark, cold basement, but then all of a sudden the door closes and they can’t get out.

Kate:   Oh! That sounds like a suspense story! You said it was a mystery.

Sam:   Well, yes … it’s both at the same time. A while later, some people arrive … and it’s a group of criminals who’ve just robbed a bank. The boys and girls in the basement can hear them, but they can’t phone for help …

Kate:   … because the story takes place in the past, and people didn’t have phones then! I understand now!

Sam:   Yes, because nowadays, it’d be easy to call the police.

Kate:   OK, so what happens in the end? How do they get out? Do the criminals find them?

Sam:   I haven’t written that part yet. If you want to know the ending, you’ll have to wait until I finish the story and read it in class.

Kate:   Hey, that’s not fair! I know! They could make strange noises in the basement at night to scare away the criminals.

Sam:   I don’t know, I was thinking …

1  

1   a description of the boy’s house

2   what a bedroom looks like

3   what some homework is about

4   where they have been

5   what they are going to look for

6   why a house is good

2  

1 B   2 B   3 A   4 C   5 A   6 A

Audioscript

1

F:   How do you like your new house?

M:   It’s not bad. My parents wanted something bigger, and it is – I prefer the room I used to have, though. And I thought there’d be spectacular views of the countryside. But although we live right next to a farm, there isn’t much to see at all. Our garden’s enormous, though. My neighbour, Josh, is the same age as me, so we play football there every day after school. I thought it’d be incredibly boring living in the country, but I help Josh feed the cows and we climb trees and go fishing in the river …

F:   Cool!

2

M:   I love your bedroom! Do you think Mum and Dad will let me decorate mine, too?

F:   Of course they will! Do you like the paint I’ve chosen? I know everyone has white walls, but I thought I could hang some interesting pictures up and ask Dad to build some shelves for my books.

M:   Good idea. Your new furniture’s cool, too.

F:   Yeah – I love modern stuff. Traditional’s not my thing! Anyway, I used to like sitting on my bed looking out of my window and listening to my music. That new building’s not great to look at.

M:   You’ll get used to it.

3

F:   We’ve got to start that design project for homework.

M:   I know. I thought we’d have a bit more time to do it – we’ve only got two weeks and we have to design an original, contemporary apartment.

F:   Well, it only has to be a simple plan, so we’ll be fine. We’ll have to start getting a few ideas together. I don’t think that’ll be too hard, do you?

M:   I don’t think so. Our teacher has shown us lots of examples of plans. It’s not as exciting as I hoped it would be.

F:   I know, but we’ve got to do it!

4

M:   What a great school trip!

F:   Yes, what a cool idea – staying away from home but in our own city and looking at it in a new way – as if we were tourists.

M:   And now we’ve got to write up our recommendations for ways to improve the experience for visitors.

F:   Staying in an apartment wasn’t very realistic. Most people go to hotels.

M:   Yes, but they’re more expensive and we had to think about things to do, not accommodation.

F:   True.

M:   Anyway, I’m going to sleep for a week now! I can’t believe how much we managed to do in one weekend.

F:   I know! Brilliant!

5

M:   Are you going to help on the project at the weekend – help dig in the fields to find stuff?

F:   I think so. Where is it again?

M:   Near the church. They think there are some ancient remains there.

F:   What, like walls of houses?

M:   Well, they think there could be an old village there. That’d be more interesting than finding old plates and bowls like we did last time.

F:   Definitely! It was pretty good finding those coins that time – the town museum was really happy about that. Maybe we’ll find some more!

M:   Maybe, but it would be nice to see something different this time.

6

M:   My uncle’s just built this awesome house by the sea. He said we can go and stay for the weekend, if we want.

F:   Yeah? What’s so good about it?

M:   It’s super-contemporary. Like, there’s this wall of glass doors, which completely open up, so you’re kind of inside and outside at the same time!

F:   Sounds fantastic! It must have amazing views as well.

M:   I preferred the countryside, where he lived before, but you’ll love it. It isn’t as big as his old house, but it doesn’t matter. It’s just really interesting – the bedrooms are downstairs and the living rooms are upstairs!

F:   Really?!