Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – City life

1   Speaker 1: city; Speaker 2: village; Speaker 3: village; Speaker 4: city

2   Speaker 1: rush hour; Speaker 2: public transport; Speaker 3: graffiti; Speaker 4: green spaces

Audioscript

Speaker 1

Woman:   It’s probably the worst thing about living in London. It lasts for about two hours in the morning and the same in the evening. There are people everywhere – in the streets, in train stations, shops … The worst place is the Underground. I avoid it after work – especially in the summer. I’d rather walk or catch a bus.

Speaker 2

Boy:   There is a serious problem with this where I live. There’s nothing to do at weekends, so we go out to the city. There are buses from here – but not many. My parents give me a lift and sometimes I have to get a taxi home. But it’s expensive. I can’t wait until I’m old enough to get my driving licence.

Speaker 3

Man:   There’s a bus stop near my house and it’s got writing all over it. It’s horrible. Really ugly. I sometimes clean it myself, but then a few days later it comes back again. I think I know who is doing some of it. But I’m not completely sure and I don’t want to start an argument. We’re a small community. Everyone knows everyone here.

Speaker 4

Girl:   There aren’t enough of these where I live. One of my favourite places is the park, but the nearest one to our house is over 20 minutes’ walk away. It’s too dangerous to cycle there because the roads are really busy. When I was younger, we lived in a village. It was safe enough to walk to school and there were lots of fields all around my home.

1 bus stop   2 walked   3 a lift   4 the underground

Audioscript

1   Man:   There’s a bus stop near my house and it’s got writing all over it. It’s horrible. Really ugly. I sometimes clean it myself, but then a few days later it comes back again. I think I know who is doing some of it. But I’m not completely sure and I don’t want to start an argument. We’re a small community. Everyone knows everyone here.

2   Girl:   There aren’t enough of these where I live. One of my favourite places is the park, but the nearest one to our house is over 20 minutes’ walk away. It’s too dangerous to cycle there because the roads are really busy. When I was younger, we lived in a village. It was safe enough to walk to school and there were lots of fields all around my home.

3   Boy:   There is a serious problem with this where I live. There’s nothing to do at weekends, so we go out to the city. There are buses from here – but not many. My parents give me a lift and sometimes I have to get a taxi home. But it’s expensive. I can’t wait until I’m old enough to get my driving licence.

4   Woman:   It’s probably the worst thing about living in London. It lasts for about two hours in the morning and the same in the evening. There are people everywhere – on the streets, in train stations, shops … The worst place is the Underground. I avoid it after work – especially in the summer. I’d rather walk or catch a bus.

1   In general they agree.

2   1 country   2 lived   3 sometimes   4 public transport

      5 worse   6 recycling

Audioscript

Presenter:   So for this week’s teacher-student debate, we invited Bess from Year 10 and Mr Evans, our chemistry teacher.

Bess:   Hello!

Mr Evans:   Um, hello.

Presenter:   Now, Mr Evans lives in Carrington. It’s a village about twenty minutes by car from school. Bess actually lived in the same village when she was younger, but now she lives here in the city, quite near our school. It takes her a few minutes to cycle here in the morning. She’s never late for school!

Mr Evans:   Well, I’m not sure I agree …

Presenter:   OK. So our questions this week are about life in the country and in the city. Mr Evans, you’re first. What do you think about living in the country?

Mr Evans:   I love it in my village. It’s green, there aren’t many traffic jams, and there isn’t much crime. I know all my neighbours, and there are lots of things to do.

Presenter:   Do you agree, Bess?

Bess:   I don’t think so. I mean, I agree about traffic and crime. And there’s a lot more pollution where I am now. But I don’t agree that there are lots of things to do. There aren’t any cinemas or anything like that in Carrington.

Mr Evans:   That’s true. It isn’t as interesting for people your age in Carrington. Personally, I think the problem is public transport. There aren’t many buses, and until you’re old enough to drive, it can be difficult to get around.

Presenter:   Bess?

Bess:   Yes, maybe you’re right. I definitely have a lot more fun here than I did in the village … Young people in Carrington just hang out by the river. It’s a bit boring.

Presenter:   Bess. Is there anything you don’t like about living in the city?

Bess:   Well, the worst thing about living here is the rubbish. It’s everywhere. I really noticed it when I moved here.

Presenter:   Have you got any good solutions?

Bess:   Yes, it’s simple. There aren’t enough rubbish bins, especially outside school. And we need more recycling bins. I went to Germany in the summer. It was really clean and every bin was a different colour. There were always four or five different recycling bins, and they recycle almost everything!

Presenter:   What do you think about that, Mr Evans?

Mr Evans:   Well, I completely agree with Bess. In fact, after this interview I’m going to …

In the city, there are too many cars and there’s a lot of rubbish.

Audioscript

Alice:   So, which of these two places would you like to live in, Oliver?

Oliver:   Personally, I think it’s better to live in the city. There are a lot of things to do, like going shopping, going to the cinema or seeing exhibitions. The countryside is boring. What do you think?

Alice:   I’m not sure I agree. Of course, there aren’t many shops or cinemas in the countryside, but you can do other things. You can go biking, or walking, or have a picnic.

Oliver:   But what about people? It seems to me that you meet more people in cities, so you have more friends. Do you agree?

Alice:   Yes, that’s true. But if you ask me, a lot of people isn’t always positive. There are the crowds, too, and rush hour is terrible.

Oliver:   Yes, maybe you’re right.

Alice:   I think that the biggest problem in cities is the pollution. There’s too much traffic and too many cars, and there’s a lot of rubbish.

Oliver:   I completely agree with you about that!

1   Places mentioned: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 (not in that order)

2   1   false (They went to Saturday morning.)

      2   true

      3   false (She visited Times Square on Saturday evening.)

      4   true

      5   true

      6   false (She had lunch in Chinatown.)

Audioscript

Dan:   Hey, Fiona! How was your trip to New York City last weekend?

Fiona:   It … was … amazing! I had such a good time!

Dan:   I’m not surprised! I love the Big Apple. And you had good weather too!

Fiona:   I know! That was lucky because we wanted to visit Coney Island on Saturday morning. I love amusement parks.

Dan:   Me too. Coney Island isn’t very big or new, but it’s fun. And what about baseball? Did you see a game?

Fiona:   No, we didn’t have enough time, but my dad and I took a tour of Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon. That was cool!

Dan:   What other things did you see in New York?

Fiona:   Well, we visited Times Square, of course! That was Saturday evening. I took lots of selfies! And after that I went up to the top of the Empire State Building. The view was incredible!

Dan:   What about MoMA? You know, the Museum of Modern Art. Did you go? That’s one of my favourite places.

Fiona:   No, we didn’t go there this time. I love MoMA, but my parents wanted to go shopping …

Dan:   Where? On Fifth Avenue?

Fiona:   No! Things are too expensive on Fifth Avenue! We went to Brooklyn on Sunday. I love the second-hand clothing shops there.

Dan:   And for lunch? Where did you go?

Fiona:   To Chinatown! You know I love Chinese food! It was delicious. And after lunch, we decided to visit the Museum of Chinese in America. We learned a lot about Chinese immigrants in the 19th century.

Dan:   And what else? Did you visit Liberty Island?

Fiona:   No, we were only there for two days and I’ve seen the Statue of Liberty before.

Dan:   I wonder … When did they build the Statue of Liberty?

Fiona:   They finished the statue in 1886, but did you know that it came from France? It was a gift from the French government.

Dan:   Yes, I know that! Well, it sounds like you had a busy time in New York.

Fiona:   We did! Oh, and I didn’t tell you about Sunday evening. We went out for dinner to the Hard Rock Café, and you won’t believe who I saw there!

Dan:   Who? Lady Gaga? Come on, tell me!

1   3 interesting clean-up projects

Audioscript

Teacher:   OK, we know that cleaning-up projects are really popular at the moment. We’ve all heard of ‘clean up the world’, ‘clean up the beach’, erm, ‘clean up your computer’, and so on. I asked you all to find out about a clean-up project that you didn’t know about and that you think is interesting.

2   1 game   2 turtle   3 problem   4 museum   5 website

Audioscript

Teacher:   OK, we know that cleaning-up projects are really popular at the moment. We’ve all heard of ‘clean up the world’, ‘clean up the beach’, erm, ‘clean up your computer’, and so on. I asked you all to find out about a clean-up project that you didn’t know about and that you think is interesting. Jenny, can you tell us about your project?

Jenny:   Sure. I found this project on an Australian website called ‘clean up the river’. It’s a game for children. You choose your avatar and your transport – how you’re going to travel on the river. I chose a turtle – they are such great animals! Then you have to clean up the dirty river. It’s cool because it teaches young children about a problem but in a fun way, you know, it’s a game. I really liked it – and I learned a lot too! And of course, what you do next is get a group of friends together and go and clean up a real river.

Teacher:   Interesting! I like that and it’s a fun idea. OK, next, Greg, what have you got?

Greg:   Well, I just typed in ‘clean up’ and there were a lot of ‘clean-up’ days as you said, but I found one website that was really interesting – Museum Clean-up Day! – at a history museum in the United States. They ask for people to help them to clean up the museum. I think that when you do this, you help people paint and things. But you can also visit the museum for the day – and it’s free! I really like that idea. And if you enjoy the day, you might go back to the museum. I really like history so I would love that!

Teacher:   That’s new to me too! And I agree, it sounds interesting to do.

3   1 the   2 crowd   3 met   4 told   5 plastic   6 rubbish

     7 groups   8 fun   9 drop   10 bin

Audioscript

Teacher:   OK. Now you, Meg.

Meg:   Well, I actually took part in a ‘clean up the beach’ day. There was a big crowd of people and we all met at the bus stop in front of the beach. There was a man who told us what to do. We had big plastic bags and we collected any rubbish that we found. We were in different groups and we worked together. It was a really fun day, but it’s a pity people drop all this rubbish. It’s easy to put it in the bin!

4   1 F   2 T   3 T   4 T   5 F   6 T   7 F

Audioscript

Teacher:   OK, we know that cleaning – up projects are really popular at the moment. We’ve all heard of ‘clean up the world’, ‘clean up the beach’, erm, ‘clean up your computer’, and so on. I asked you all to find out about a clean-up project that you didn’t know about and that you think is interesting. Jenny, can you tell us about your project?

Jenny:   Sure. I found this project on an Australian website called ‘clean up the river’. It’s a game for children. You choose your avatar and your transport – how you’re going to travel on the river. I chose a turtle – they are such great animals! Then you have to clean up the dirty river. It’s cool because it teaches young children about a problem but in a fun way, you know, it’s a game. I really liked it – and I learned a lot too! And of course, what you do next is get a group of friends together and go and clean up a real river.

Teacher:   Interesting! I like that and it’s a fun idea. OK, next, Greg, what have you got?

Greg:   Well, I just typed in ‘clean up’ and there were a lot of ‘clean-up’ days as you said, but I found one website that was really interesting – Museum Clean-up Day! – at a history museum in the United States. They ask for people to help them to clean up the museum. I think that when you do this, you help people paint and things. But you can also visit the museum for the day – and it’s free! I really like that idea. And if you enjoy the day, you might go back to the museum. I really like history so I would love that!

Teacher:   That’s new to me too! And I agree, it sounds interesting to do.

Teacher:   OK. Now you, Meg.

Meg:   Well, I actually took part in a ‘clean up the beach’ day. There was a big crowd of people and we all met at the bus stop in front of the beach. There was a man who told us what to do. We had big plastic bags and we collected any rubbish that we found. We were in different groups and we worked together. It was a really fun day, but it’s a pity people drop all this rubbish. It’s easy to put it in the bin!