Oxford preparation and practice b2 first for schools audioscripts

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Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

Audioscripts


Preparation & Practice Test 1
Listening
Part 1 Preparation

Audioscripts

1.01

The memory is still so clear in my mind – as if it was
yesterday. I was in town with my friends. We were
just hanging around doing nothing in particular. It
was warm and sunny, and we were enjoying a day
off school before our exams. My mate Jake and I
were talking about the next day’s maths exam when
another classmate, Julie, came running across the
road towards us. ‘Did you hear that explosion about
twenty minutes ago?’ We said we hadn’t and asked
Julie what it was. ‘It was a gas leak at the school: the
main hall has been destroyed!’
1.02

Teacher  Can I have a word, Mike?

Student  Yes, of course.
Teacher  I need to check how you’re getting on with
the project.
Student  Which project is that?
Teacher  The biology project that’s due in at the end
of next week.
Student  I’ll be starting it at the weekend.
Teacher  What? You mean you haven’t started it yet?
Student  Not the actual writing, but I’ve been
thinking about it.
Teacher  That’s not good enough, Mike.
Student  Don’t worry – it won’t be late.
Teacher  I hope you’re right. It’s a very important
piece of coursework.
Part 1 Practice
1.03

1 You hear two friends talking about a tennis
match they saw on TV.
Boy  Did you watch the tennis on TV yesterday?
Girl  Yes, I thought it was really exciting, but the
French player shouldn’t have lost.
Boy  I don’t agree. He may have been the more
skilful, but I thought the American was faster and
more powerful.
Girl  That’s true, but didn’t you think the French
player was unlucky when he slipped on the final
point? I was sure he was going to win it.
Boy  Well, I can see why you think that, but it was
still a mistake. You have to stay on your feet, and

the American didn’t slip once in the whole match.
He deserved to win.

AUDIOSCRIPTS

2 You hear a girl telling her friend about a concert
she attended.
Girl  It’s a real shame you couldn’t come to the
concert last week. It was fantastic. I’d never seen
the band on stage before, and they were terrific.
Recordings are great, but they’re nothing like
hearing music live. You wouldn’t believe how loud
it was, and it seemed to get louder as it went on. I
thought my eardrums would burst. Of course, you
can turn the volume up at home, but it still isn’t the
same. It can be exciting, but it can’t match the thrill
of the real thing. I love my MP3 player, but I love
live music even more.
3 You hear a news report about the dangers
facing tigers today.
Reporter  Only around three thousand tigers
remain in the world today. They have just one
enemy, but that one enemy has almost wiped them
out. And, of course, it’s us – human beings. One of
the problems is that we have destroyed much of
their habitat, but hunting threatens the tiger still
more. In some places, parts of the tiger are used
to make medicines, and a single carcass can fetch
up to 50,000 US dollars. Many poor people live
in areas where there are tigers and, although it’s

dangerous, tiger hunting gives them the chance to
earn far more money than they could otherwise.
4 You hear a teacher talking about essay writing.
Teacher  Writing an essay isn’t hard. The tricky part
is to make it interesting. And the best way to do
that is to note down your ideas before you put pen
to paper. For example, if you have to write about
a visit to a museum, the easiest thing would be to
start at the beginning of your visit and go through
it in order. But if you have notes to guide you, then
you might think of more interesting possibilities –
for example, you might begin by describing some
exhibit which especially impressed you, or by
saying how you felt at the end of the day.
5 You hear a brother and sister talking about how
much sleep they need.
Sister  I wish we didn’t always have to go to bed so
early.
Brother  Do you? I really need eight hours’ sleep if
I’m to feel good the next day.
Sister  Maybe you just need more than I do. I could
stay up another hour easily.
Brother  You might think so, but you haven’t tried
it, have you? I bet you wouldn’t like it much if you
did.
Sister  I’d be fine. Maybe girls just don’t need as
much sleep as boys.
Brother  That’s stupid. We all need the same
amount.
Sister  Not true. Some people get by on five hours

a night.
Brother  Ha! What you mean is, they say they only
need five hours a night.
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Part 2 Preparation
1.04

Slow Food is an international organization with
members in many countries. As well as members
of the public, the organization involves farmers
and other food producers, chefs, and business
organizations. It started in Italy in 1989, and its main
purpose is to help people link the enjoyment of eating
with the need for a responsible attitude towards the
environment and the communities they live in. It is
a non-profit organization, which encourages people
to eat healthily and to consume, where they can, the
traditional food associated with their country or their
region. Slow Food tries to persuade people to change
their eating habits by replacing fast food and other
processed food with fresh produce.
AUDIOSCRIPTS

1.05

It’s amazing how mobile phones have changed in the

last few years. I remember getting my first phone
when I was thirteen. All my friends were getting them
around that age – in fact, I think I was the last person
in my class to have one. It was quite a large heavy
thing which would just about fit in my jacket pocket.
We all thought we were cool as we tried to phone
our friends during lessons – even those just on the
other side of the classroom. It wasn’t long before
the school banned mobile phones in school, and
several of us had them taken away by our teachers.
Gradually, phones got smaller. Every time a different
model came out, my friends with rich parents got
new phones. You could text as well as talk on these
new phones. In no time at all, texting was the latest
craze, and everyone walked around with their heads
looking down and their thumbs moving around as
they wrote their messages. Then, when it became
possible to watch films and videos on phones,
screens got much bigger again.
Part 2 Practice
1.06

You hear a teenager talking about his project on
coffee.
Good morning, everybody. I hope you all had as much
fun as I did on the project we’ve just completed.
When we were told to do some research on a type of
food or drink which we used every day, I first thought
of bread. But I decided that was just too boring.
It was an accident that made me choose coffee

instead. I’m always in a rush in the morning, you see,
and one day, in my hurry, I knocked over my mug and
had to go without my regular shot of caffeine. On
my way to school, I wouldn’t say I didn’t feel cheerful,
but somehow I wasn’t as alert as usual. I found that
interesting, and that’s what made me decide on
coffee for my project.
It’s always surprised me that coffee has a bad
effect on some people. My mum, for example, says it
makes her mind race, and my dad doesn’t sleep well
if he drinks it late at night. But my brother and I both
drink coffee before we go to bed, and we both sleep
fine. Maybe it’s something to do with age or maybe
it’s just that we’ve got used to it.
Of course, there are many different ways to drink
coffee. The most basic choice we make is between
white and black. Nobody knows who first thought
of adding milk to coffee, but the idea caught on. I
usually prefer white coffee, but my first cup of the
day is always black. That’s what gives me the energy
to get going in the morning.
There’s an endless argument about whether or
not coffee is good for you. Different studies show
different things. As someone who enjoys coffee, I was
glad to learn that some recent studies say that if you
drink coffee, you might be less likely to suffer from

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Audioscripts

6 You hear a boy telling a friend about his summer
holiday.
Boy  It rained almost every day, so we hardly went
to the beach at all. If you’d asked me before how
I’d feel about that, I’d have said I would hate it.
But, you know, it was all right. I spent a lot of time
just walking round the town and ducking inside a
coffee shop if it rained. I was a bit nervous about
speaking French, but just ordering a coffee helped
me feel more confident. I even visited a couple of
museums, and they were good. I’m not turning into
an intellectual, but now I think I’d find it boring to
lie around on the beach every day.
7 You hear a news item about a lost cat.
Newsreader  The trouble was that, on the day of
the move, Pixie was nowhere to be seen. The family
had no option but to leave without her. They could
only ask their neighbours to look out for her and
tell them if she turned up. As they settled into their
new home, however, no word came and they had
to accept that she was gone. But then, a month
later, the little cat turned up at their front door, a
bit thinner than before, but otherwise perfectly
well. How she was able to find them 200 miles
away, no one will ever know.
8 You hear a radio interview with a young pianist.
Interviewer  You’ve said you had no interest in
music until your final year in school. Why was that?

Pianist  Well, the teacher was good, but he tried
too hard. Most music teachers do. Better to let the
music speak for itself.
Interviewer  So how did you become interested?
Pianist  In my final year, I had to choose between
music and art, and art interested me even less. As
I was no longer being forced to do it, I began to
enjoy music much more.
Interviewer  But did you ever think that you might
make a living from it?
Pianist  No, I just thought of it as a hobby, and
I’m sure my teacher never saw me becoming a
professional musician.


Audioscripts

depression. But how does it affect the risk of cancer,
for example? It depends on who you ask.
I’m not sure if coffee increases my physical energy,
but it certainly does something for my mental
energy. This is what the mathematician Paul Erdo´´s
had in mind when he said that a mathematician is a
device for turning coffee into theorems. I wonder if
Pythagoras would have done even better if he’d been
a coffee drinker?
We know he wasn’t, because he lived a thousand
years before coffee was first drunk. The coffee plant
probably first grew in East Africa, perhaps Ethiopia,
but it seems to have been in Yemen in the fifteenth

century that people began to roast and brew coffee
beans in the way we do today.
There is a legend that an Ethiopian farmer by the
name of Kaldi discovered the properties of the coffee
plant six hundred years before that. The story goes
that he saw his goats dancing excitedly after eating
the red berries of an unfamiliar tree. He tried them
himself, and they had the same effect on him. A
monk to whom he passed on the news was excited,
because he thought this might help him with an
embarrassing problem: he used to fall asleep during
prayers. And it was he who first boiled the dried
berries to make a drink from them. Well, it’s a great
story, but it’s almost certainly not true. It was first
recorded in writing eight hundred years after the
supposed event.
Coffee was known in Europe before 1600, though
hardly any European had ever had the chance to try
it. But, once people did get to know it, its popularity
increased rapidly. England’s first coffee house opened
in 1652, and by 1675 the country had more than
3,000. Sounds great, but England’s King Charles II
was not pleased, and he tried to have them all closed
down. He argued that they were places where people
went to relax and have fun rather than work, but his
real concern was that they were centres of debate.
The topic was often politics, and Charles did not want
his people to talk politics. He thought it dangerous.
But to move on, …
Part 3 Preparation

1.07

Speaker 1  People think I listen to music all the time.
That’s because whenever they see me, I’m wearing
headphones – whether I’m on my way to school,
hanging round with my mates in town, or when
I’m working in the café – that’s my part-time job.
But actually, it’s not always music I’m listening to.
Sometimes I’m listening to notes I made to help me
revise for my exams – which I recorded myself. And to
be honest, sometimes I’m not listening to anything at
all. I keep my headphones on so I don’t have to talk
to other people. If they ask me what I’m listening to, I
make something up. Does that sound odd?

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Speaker 2  Most of the music I listen to is from
the Internet. I subscribe to one of the well-known
streaming services. It doesn’t cost that much, and
there’s an incredible range of music you can listen
to. But my favourite way is listening to music on the
radio. It’s probably the element of surprise I like.
You’re never quite sure what they’ll be playing next.
For me the best shows are ones which play a wide
variety of music, rather than just one type. Obviously,
I don’t like everything I hear, but I hardly ever hear
things I actually dislike.
Speaker 3  My friends all think I’m a bit strange
because I listen to CDs – mainly because I like to

actually have something I can pick up and look at
rather than having virtual lists on my computer or
my phone. Once, I tried putting all my CDs on to my
computer. It was very boring and time-consuming,
and I kept making mistakes – probably because
I’m not technically minded. I always try to buy CDs
second hand on the Internet. You can find most
things if you look hard enough.
Speaker 4  When I was a kid, our house was always
full of music – my parents were great music lovers,
mainly of 1970s rock music. I didn’t think about
whether I liked it or not – it was just there, blaring
out of the radio or the record player, especially at
weekends. When I was about twelve, I suddenly
discovered other kinds of music. I can remember
hearing jazz for the first time – that was amazing –
and I’ve been a fan of jazz ever since. I listen in all the
usual ways, but what I like best is going to jazz clubs,
even though I know it sounds a bit middle-aged.
Speaker 5  Oddly enough for someone of my age,
music is not that important to me, so I don’t spend
much time listening to it. The thing is, I’m very busy
– my time’s taken up actually doing things. I’m very
keen on sport. So I guess I don’t have too much
opportunity to sit around listening. Having said that,
I find having quiet background music on helps me
to concentrate when I’m doing my homework or
revising for exams. I know some people can’t do this
because they end up listening to the music and not
working, but for me it’s the opposite. My parents can’t

understand it.
Part 3 Practice
1.08

You hear five teenagers talking about holidays
abroad.
Speaker 1  I have a cousin who doesn’t like going
abroad on holiday. His parents take him a couple of
times a year, but he’d rather stay at home. They’ve
agreed that he doesn’t have to go with them next
year, and he’s happy about that. But me, I love visiting
new places. Bad weather is disappointing, but I
always take a guidebook so that I’ve got something
to do if it rains. If I want to visit a museum, for

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Part 4 Preparation
1.09

Interviewer  Hello, and welcome to today’s Youth
World. My guest this afternoon is Matt, a seventeen
year old from a school in London. We’re going to
be discussing how Matt sees his future. Hi, Matt –
how’re you doing?
Matt Yeah, great thanks.
Interviewer  I’d like to start by asking you to tell
us your current situation. Are you still in full-time

education or have you left school?

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Matt  No, I’m still in full-time education. I’m actually
enjoying my final year and wondering what to do
next. It’s quite a worrying time, actually – you know,
thinking about the future.
Interviewer  What are you studying at school?
Matt  Music, physics and history are my main
subjects.
Interviewer  That’s an unusual combination.
Matt  Yeah, I know – that’s what my parents said at
the time. But they’re the subjects I do best at.
Interviewer  Fair enough. So as far as next year’s
concerned, what are your main options?
Matt  There seem to be three possibilities: simply
leaving school and looking for a job, applying for
university or taking time out.
Interviewer  Time out? You mean doing nothing?
Matt  No, certainly not. I’m think about doing
voluntary work abroad – you know, somewhere
where they need help. To be honest, at the moment
that would be my first choice.
Interviewer  And why is that?
Matt  I’ve thought a lot about it. My parents think
I shouldn’t waste my time going to university. They
would be a lot happier if I looked for what they
call a proper job – for them that means something
like working for a large company, like a bank or an

insurance company; the thing is, I’m just not ready to
start a serious career. Also, I feel I need a break from
education. I’d like to see a bit of the world before I
settle down, as they say. I’ve contacted a few charity
organizations who are looking for volunteers in parts
of Africa and the Far East.
Interviewer  Okay, I can understand that. Do you
think you’ll go back into education eventually?
Matt I’m not sure. The only subject that would more
or less guarantee me a job at the end of a university
course would be physics and that’s the least
enjoyable subject. I’d love to do music, but I’ve no
idea what I’d do afterwards. The career choices are
pretty limited, aren’t they? And by the time I finished
my course, I’d be thousands of pounds in debt and
have no secure employment.
Interviewer  Hmm, that’s a tricky one. What about
teaching? You could be a music teacher?
Matt I’m not sure. Don’t get me wrong, I love
children, but I think teaching music in a school would
be an uphill struggle. Most kids are quite happy to
listen to their favourite bands, but they aren’t that
keen on studying music.
Interviewer  When do you have to make your final
decision?
Matt Good question – after all, it is my decision.
Actually, I’m probably already too late to apply for a
university course for next year – which reduces my
options down to a serious job or working for one of
the charities. I’ll have to talk to my parents about it

again, but I know what they think. The problem is, the
charity will only provide food and accommodation,
so I’ll be dependent on my parents financially unless

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Audioscripts

example, and nobody wants to come with me, that’s
fine. I’m okay on my own. I’m always happy enough to
be going back home, but I love being away.
Speaker 2  I often hear people come home from
holiday complaining that it was cold or wet where
they went, and they’re just glad to be back. But
sunbathing bores me, so as far as I’m concerned,
the weather can do what it likes. I always take a
guidebook, you see, and since my parents aren’t
interested in the things that interest me, I sometimes
go off on my own for a few hours. They’re cool with
that, and it’s the best way of getting to know a new
place. Part of the fun of a holiday is learning things,
and I never feel I’ve wasted my time.
Speaker 3  I really enjoyed my summer holiday last
year. We were all set to go to Spain, where we’d never
been, but then Dad broke his leg and we couldn’t
go. So we just stayed here and I went for long walks
on my own, hung out with friends and so on. It was
great. I know most people love going away, but I
always find more interesting things to do at home.

The weather matters, of course, but not so much as
when you’re hoping to go to the beach every day.
I don’t need a guidebook, and I don’t feel guilty if I
don’t learn a lot of new things.
Speaker 4  Last year, Mum and Dad took me to Paris
– this was the first time I’d been. It was disappointing
that the weather was bad, but that isn’t so important
if you’re in a city. Trouble was, it felt a bit like being in
school. My dad is a great one for guidebooks, and he
turned the whole trip into one huge guided tour of
Paris. I learned a lot, of course, but it was still a bit of
a relief when it was over. In fact, the best part of the
holiday was the return journey. Perhaps I’ll go to Paris
on my own sometime and just chill out there.
Speaker 5  When we go off on holiday, I feel like an
explorer. There’s always the chance to learn things.
There’s more to it than learning, of course, but that
has to be part of it. For me, doing only the obvious
tourist things – like my parents do – would be a
waste of time. I’d get so bored that it would be a
relief to go home, even if it was from sunshine to
pouring rain. So I go looking for the places that
tourists don’t visit. Of course, I also want to see the
sights, but I like to see them through my own eyes,
without having a guidebook to tell me what to do.


Audioscripts

I go for a job. That’s one of the reasons they’ll put

pressure on me to start working.
Interviewer  I’ve no doubt, Matt, that you’re not
the only person of your age who’s in this awkward
position.
Matt I’m sure you’re right. Not many of my school
friends are sure about what they want to do next
year. It’s such a huge decision to make. One of the
benefits of doing voluntary work for a year or two is
that you can put off the final decision until later.
Part 4 Practice
1.10

You hear an interview with a chess player.
Interviewer  With me in the studio today is Sophie
Harris, whose ability on the chessboard is attracting
a lot of interest. So tell me, Sophie, how did you first
get interested in chess?
Sophie  Well, my parents both play, but I didn’t learn
the game from them. And although I started a chess
club in school, that wasn’t where I started, either.
What got me into it was seeing chess problems in
the newspaper. I was ten at the time. They didn’t
mean anything to me at first, but I thought it would
be a challenge to try them. So I learned the rules
online, and then found that I could solve most of the
problems quite easily. Then I started playing on my
computer. There are plenty of websites where you
can play against other people.
Interviewer  Did you win most of the time?
Sophie  Yes, I did, but I came across some really good

players – too good for me. A few times, I’d be well on
top, but then things would go wrong. My suspicion
is that some people, when they’re losing, look for
help on the computer. There are websites which
recommend moves for you. It’s possible, of course,
that I’d become overconfident, or that my opponent
hadn’t been concentrating at the start, but I don’t
really think so. Maybe I’m just the suspicious type.
Interviewer  How long was it before you first played
someone face to face? And did it feel very different?
Sophie  I’d been playing for a year or so before I
actually faced another player across the board. Being
able to see your opponent’s face makes it a very
different experience, and so does the presence of
the clock. It may not actually tick, but still you feel
the time pressure. I lost some of my early games –
against people I really should have beaten – because
I just wasn’t used to it. Sometimes I made blunders I
wouldn’t have thought possible.
Interviewer  So let me ask, what’s the worst mistake
you’ve ever made on a chessboard?
Sophie  What an embarrassing question! But okay,
I’ll tell you. One of my early face-to-face games was
against a university student who thought he’d beat
me easily, and was obviously shocked to find that I
was better than him. But just as I was on the verge of
victory, I made a stupid move, which left him without

AUDIOSCRIPTS

a legal reply. That’s called stalemate, and means the
game is drawn. It felt like I’d lost. He couldn’t believe
his luck! I’d never have made such a blunder if I’d
been playing online, and hadn’t been so emotionally
involved.
Interviewer  Oh well, you seem to have got over it
well enough. But let me take you back a little. You
mentioned starting a chess club in school. Tell me a
bit more about that.
Sophie  When I started secondary school, I expected
to find plenty of people to play against. But not many
of the students even knew the rules and, at first,
there was very little interest. But I started a club
anyway, and gradually other people began playing. It
took time, but our numbers have increased a lot and
now everyone wants to take up chess. We’ve been
very successful in matches against other schools.
Interviewer  I’m guessing that you’re probably much
better than the other club members, though. Don’t
you get bored of winning easily all the time?
Sophie  Well, what you can do if you’re a lot
stronger than your opponent is to give him or her an
advantage. So I often start the game without one of
my pieces, sometimes even a rook, which is a very
powerful piece. I don’t do it to show off, but I do
enjoy the challenge. It’s easy to weaken one player
slightly in order to make the game more competitive.
Not many in school would want to play me on equal
terms.
Interviewer  Do you expect to keep up your interest

in the game as you grow older or will you begin to
give more time to other things?
Sophie  Well, I do have other interests, but I can’t
help thinking how cool it would be to become a
grandmaster. Of course, that would be very difficult,
but I think it could happen. I’m still way short of the
ability of the best in the world, but I’m improving all
the time. Whether that’s happening fast enough,
I don’t know yet. When I leave school and go to
university, I’ll decide how much further I want to
take it.
Interviewer  Well, Sophie, I’d say you’re going places.
I hope to speak to you again when you’re world
champion!

Speaking
Part 1 Preparation
1.11

1Examiner  Do you enjoy going on holiday?
Candidate 1  Yes, I do, but we don’t go on holiday
every year. Last year we went to Portugal. It was
great.
Candidate 2  Yes, I really enjoy holidays –
especially if everyone in the family goes.
Candidate 3  Yes, I do.

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Part 2 Preparation
1.12

Examiner  In this part of the test, I’m going to give
each of you two photographs. I’d like you to talk
about your photographs on your own for about a
minute, and also to answer a question about your
partner’s photographs. Ben, it’s your turn first. Here
are your photographs. They show people enjoying
themselves on the beach. I’d like you to compare the
photographs and say what you think they tell you
about the people’s lives.
Ben  This picture was obviously taken a long time
ago – probably about a hundred years. You know this
because of the clothes the people are wearing. Most
of the people are wearing their ordinary clothes.
They are quite formal. Some of the men are wearing
suits and ties, and the women are wearing long
dresses and hats. In the other picture, people are
wearing more casual clothes. The beach is a lot more
crowded in the first picture. In the second picture,
some people are sitting on the sand and some people
are just walking in the water. The children are playing
on the beach. In the first picture, almost everyone is
standing and only a few people are sitting down. It’s
difficult to tell what the weather is like in this picture,
but it looks quite dull. I imagine a hundred years ago
people did not have as much free time as today. They
were probably not so used to relaxing on the beach.

AUDIOSCRIPTS

And maybe they didn’t have much choice about what
clothes to wear. I think in those days everything was
more formal.
Examiner  Thank you, Ben. Julia, how do you think
people felt about beach holidays a hundred years
ago?
Julia  Well, of course, I don’t know for sure how they
felt, but I imagine they only had one holiday a year,
and really looked forward to it. And if they lived in
cities, they would enjoy the fresh air at the seaside.
In those days probably not everyone could swim, so
that’s maybe why they weren’t wearing swimming
costumes.
Part 3 Preparation
1.13

Now, I’d like you to talk about something together
for about two minutes. Here are some ways in which
teenagers can keep fit, and a question for you to
discuss. How practical are these ways for teenagers
to keep fit?
1.14

Interlocutor  Now, I’d like you to talk about
something together for about two minutes. Here
are some ways in which teenagers can keep fit and a
question for you to discuss. How practical are these

ways for teenagers to keep fit?
Gemma  Let’s start with going to the gym regularly.
Sam  Okay. Do you go to a gym?
Gemma  Yes, but not regularly – only when I have
enough time. The problem is I’m too busy to go
regularly – there are so many other things to do.
Some of my friends go to the gym every day and
spend at least an hour there, usually after school. I
couldn’t do that. When I go, I run for about twenty
minutes and do a bit of weight-lifting. What about
you?
Sam  I must admit, I never go to the gym. I find the
exercises really boring, and I’ve never tried lifting
weights. I suppose if I went, it might help me to keep
fit, but I can’t stand the machines – and worst of all, I
hate the awful music that they always play at gyms.
Gemma  You don’t have to go to a gym to keep
fit. You can do simple things like walking to school
instead of taking the bus. Do you do that?
Sam  No, I’m afraid not. It would take me half an hour
to walk to school. How about you?
Gemma  I don’t walk to school, but I cycle there every
day. It’s quite tiring, but I think it keeps me fairly fit. So
do you do any of these things to keep fit?
Sam  Yes, I do. I’m in the school football team. We
practise two or three times a week, and we play
matches every fortnight. I think running around for
ninety minutes keeps me pretty fit – don’t you agree?
Gemma  Yes, of course. I’m not really very sporty
myself, but I go dancing regularly – that’s good

exercise, too. Dancing is a kind of sport, isn’t it?

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2Examiner  Where did you go for your last holiday?
Candidate 1  We went to Portugal. We go to the
same place every year.
Candidate 2  Sorry, I can’t remember.
Candidate 3  We went to Morgat. It’s a small
fishing village in France.
3Examiner  What kinds of things do you like to do
when you’re on holiday?
Candidate 1  I just like relaxing, but I don’t mind
doing a little sport.
Candidate 2  Swimming, walking, horse riding.
Candidate 3  The things everyone does – nothing
special.
4Examiner  What’s the best holiday you can
remember?
Candidate 1  That’s a difficult question ... I enjoy all
holidays.
Candidate 2  Going to New York. It was just great.
Candidate 3  My best holiday was definitely going
skiing in the Alps. I made some new friends.
5Examiner  Is there somewhere you’d like to go on
holiday in the future?
Candidate 1  There are lots of places I’d like to go,

but I’d particularly like to go to Austria. I don’t know
why. I think it’s because I like the name.
Candidate 2  I’d really like to go to Australia
because it’s such a large country.
Candidate 3  Let me think. Er ... sorry, I can’t think
of anywhere in particular.


Sam  Yes. And how about eating? Would you say you
eat healthily?
Gemma  Yes, usually. I try to eat lots of fruit and
vegetables, and avoid too much junk food. What
about you?
Sam  I try, but the problem is I love burgers and
pizzas. I’d find it difficult to give up eating those.

Audioscripts

1.15

Interlocutor  Now, you have about one minute
to decide which two ways of keeping fit you’d
recommend to teenagers.
Gemma  I think eating healthily is the most
important thing teenagers can do to keep fit.
Sam  Really? I don’t agree. I’d say walking or cycling
everywhere would be more important. But, of course,
I agree that eating healthily is a good idea.
Gemma  Hmm, maybe you’re right. Okay, so let’s
agree that walking and cycling is important and a

practical possibility for most people of our age.
Sam  Mm. My other choice would be joining a sports
team because doing sport is a way of keeping fit and
at the same time doing something you enjoy. When
you play a sport, you’re trying to win. You’re not
thinking about keeping fit.
Gemma  I’m afraid I don’t agree. There are a lot of
people who don’t enjoy team sports. My second
choice would be going to a gym regularly because it’s
possible for most people to do this.
Sam  I can see what you mean. And it’s not always
that easy to find a sports team you can join. So, have
we chosen our two ways?
Gemma  Yes, I think we have. We’d recommend
walking and cycling, and going to the gym regularly.
Interlocutor  Thank you.
Part 4 Preparation
1.16

1 Thinking about someone who wants to keep fit, do
you think they should choose a team sport or an
individual sport?
2 Experts say that everyday jobs, like housework and
gardening, are good ways of keeping fit. Do you
think these are practical ways of keeping fit for
teenagers? What everyday jobs could you do?
3 Some people believe that doing a lot of exercise
can be bad for you. Do you agree?
4 How important do you think it is for people to do
keep-fit activities regularly?

5 Do you think a healthy diet is as important as
exercise for someone who wants to keep fit?
6 Some people say exercise has to be uncomfortable
or even painful to be effective. What do you think?
1.17

Examiner  Thinking about someone who wants to
keep fit, do you think they should choose a team
sport or an individual sport?

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Jason  Shall I start? Okay. I’d suggest they should
choose a team sport, mainly because team sports are
sociable. Doing individual sports can be quite lonely.
How about you, Laura?
Laura  I’m not so sure.
Jason Why?
Laura  Let me explain. Some people want to be
able to exercise at any time of the day or night. The
problem is that team sports are usually at fixed times.
Jason  That’s true.
Laura  And I don’t agree with the idea that individual
sports are lonely activities. You can go running with a
friend, or you can join a running club. My point is, you
can run when you like.
Jason  Agreed, but there are a lot of people who
enjoy being part of a team and competing with other
teams. That’s because they like the idea of winning.
Examiner  Some people say exercise has to be

uncomfortable or even painful to be effective. What
do you think?
Monica  Personally, I think that’s a ridiculous idea.
For one thing, exercise should be enjoyable. I mean,
nobody would enjoy doing exercise which hurt them
or made them feel uncomfortable.
Jonathan  I disagree. Some people are so determined
to get fit that they don’t mind a little discomfort or
pain. Getting fit is more important to some people
than how they feel at a particular time. And in any
case, the pain they feel doesn’t last long.
Monica  My point is that exercise without pain can
also be effective. I mean, going to the gym can be
painful if you exercise too hard or for too long, but I
think you should stop before the pain starts.
Jonathan  I guess we’re not going to agree. You see,
I think that it’s when the pain starts that the exercise
becomes most effective.

Practice Test 2
Listening
Part 1
1.18

1 You hear a teenager talking about herself and
her sister.
My younger sister Helena and I are different in lots
of ways. For a start, I’m more sociable than she is,
but she’s more sensible than me. We’ve had our
ups and downs, but basically we get on really well.

Our parents have always been harder on me than
on Helena. I’m not sure why. I used to get annoyed,
because it seemed that Helena could get away
with doing things that I’d never been allowed to
do – it didn’t seem fair to me. Anyway, I’m going to
university next September, so we’ll be separated
for a lot of the time. I’m sure I’ll miss her.

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AUDIOSCRIPTS

Student  Sort of. I know I want to specialize in
science, but I haven’t decided on my optional
subjects.
Teacher  I thought you were keen to do art or
music.
Student  I am, but my parents think they wouldn’t
be very useful to me in the future.
Teacher  And what do you think?
Student  I’d really enjoy them, whether they were
useful or not.
Teacher  They’d certainly be a change from
science. The thing is, I need to know next week. In
the end, it’s up to you, Shaun.
6 You hear a news report about an important
sports event.
Reporter  If you haven’t heard the result and

you’re planning to watch the game later this
evening, I suggest you turn the radio off now.
Okay, let’s go over to Mike Gardener who was our
reporter at the match. Mike, tell us what happened.
Mike  Well, I have to say, it wasn’t the most thrilling
game I’ve ever seen. In the first half, very little
happened. There were a couple of poor shots at
goal, but both teams were playing defensively. But,
after half time, it all suddenly came to life. United
scored twice in ten minutes, and City equalized five
minutes before the whistle. So two all at the end of
the match.
7 You hear a teenager talking about a night he’ll
never forget.
I went to bed just before midnight. I must have
just dropped off when the wind started blowing.
Half an hour later my bedroom window broke with
a terrible crash. I jumped out of bed and rushed
to check my younger sister was all right. When I
opened the door, I could see her staring out of
the window looking very scared. Fortunately, there
was no actual damage to her room. Together, we
went to check that our parents were okay. Their
bedroom was at the back of the house – away
from the wind and, amazingly, they were in bed
and still fast asleep.
8 You hear a teenager talking about something
he’s always been afraid of.
I’ve had this fear for as long as I can remember. My
father had been scared of dogs ever since he was

bitten on the arm as a small boy. So I guess that’s
where my phobia came from. My dad used to tell
me that all dogs were potentially dangerous, even
if they looked friendly and wagged their tails. So,
from quite a young age, I was convinced that any
dog I saw might attack me, and I organized a lot of
my life around this fear. Parks were complete no-go
areas for me, and I always avoided visiting people
who owned dogs.

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Audioscripts

2 You hear part of a radio interview with a singer.
Interviewer  Hi, Emma. Thanks for coming in.
Singer  It’s great to be here – thanks for having
me.
Interviewer  Tell us what you’ve been up to since
we last chatted.
Singer  Okay. Well, I’ve been on my spring tour
– forty shows in the last two months – mainly in
Europe, but I also flew over to the States and did a
couple of dates there.
Interviewer  That’s some schedule. I hope you
were well looked after.
Singer  Oh, I was. I’ve got a great team travelling
everywhere with me.
Interviewer  And I hear you’re about to bring out a

new album soon?
Singer  We’re launching it here in London two
weeks today. I’m really excited!
3 You hear two friends trying to arrange an
evening out together.
Woman  How are you fixed this week? I could
make Thursday or possibly Saturday.
Man  Are we thinking about afternoon or evening?
Woman  I’d prefer evening, if that’s okay with you?
Man  That’s fine. It always feels more of an
occasion in the evening, doesn’t it?
Woman  Yes. We could go for a meal before or
after.
Man  Did we actually decide what we wanted to
see?
Woman  Well, we did think about that new musical
with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
Man  The one that won all the awards last year?
Woman  Yes. Where’s it on?
4 You hear a teenager telling a friend about a
situation he once found himself in.
I’ll never forget that morning. It was half past
five and I’d been asleep. It was getting light when
we landed, but even then, the airport was busy.
We got off the plane and on to the airport bus.
Five minutes later we were queuing to have our
passports checked. That’s when things went
wrong. The officer opened my passport, then
looked at me, and tapped something into his
computer. Then, in a serious voice, he said, ‘Come

this way.’ I followed him into a small office. ‘I’m
afraid you will have to catch the next plane back to
where you came from. Your passport ran out three
weeks ago.’
5 You hear a conversation between a student and
a teacher.
Teacher  I need to check something with you,
Shaun. Have you got a minute?
Student  Yes, that’s fine.
Teacher  Okay. Have you decided which subjects
you’re going to take next year?


Part 2
1.19

Audioscripts

You hear a teenager talking about his project on
lightning.
There’s something frightening and at the same time
fascinating about lightning. Maybe that’s because we
all have a basic understanding of most other types of
weather, like rain, snow or wind. But lightning seems
to be different somehow. Lots of us are frightened
of lightning and its almost strange power, perhaps
because we don’t understand it. This is why there are
so many myths around the subject of lightning.
Perhaps the most well known of these is that
lightning never strikes twice. People think that

because lightning strikes are so rare, it is extremely
unlikely for the same place to be struck more than
once. Unfortunately, there are lots of people who
know only too well that this is not true. It is a proven
fact that some places are more likely than others
to be struck by lightning. This is usually to do with
their physical location; mountainous areas, places
where there are tall trees or where the rocks have
a high metal content are likely to be hit more than
once. And as for people, I read about a Canadian park
worker who spent a lot of his time working in the
open and was actually struck seven times. Amazingly,
he survived.
Anyone who has experienced a thunderstorm
knows that you see lightning before you hear
thunder. We always expect the two to be quite close
together, but this is not always the case. Lightning
can travel up to sixteen kilometres ahead of thunder
so that, when it strikes, it takes people by surprise,
because it appears to come out of nowhere.
Another common belief is that lightning only
comes from the sky and in a downward direction,
but in reality, the lightning that comes from the sky
is met by lightning moving upwards to meet it from
the ground. We don’t see this because the lightning
coming from the ground is much stronger and faster
moving than the lightning coming from the sky.
I think we’d all agree that lightning is associated in
most of our minds with certain weather conditions
– particularly rainstorms or changes in temperature.

But according to my research, particularly dramatic
lightning can be caused by an erupting volcano.
There is plenty of photographic evidence that shows
lightning accompanying eruptions – but only certain
kinds of violent eruption where volcanoes explode
and throw rocks and ash into the air. At the moment,
scientists are not quite sure why this happens, but
they believe it may be caused by the speed of the
upward movement of the rocks and ash.
‘Ball lightning’ is another phenomenon that people
have always found very strange. Glowing balls about
the size of a large orange and of many different
colours seem to float slowly in the air. They can move

AUDIOSCRIPTS

around rooms and even through walls. There are
cases where a lightning ball has entered an aircraft
and frightened the passengers. This form of lightning
has been known for hundreds of years and has
always mystified scientists. One theory is that what
we are seeing is a ball of glowing gas.
Finally, some advice about what to do to protect
yourself from lightning during a thunderstorm. Most
of you probably know this already. The first thing to
do is to avoid outside activities, particularly openair sports, like golf and fishing. Next, stay inside
a building or a car with all the windows closed.
Water conducts electricity, so don’t swim or take a
shower. You should also unplug electrical devices
like computers and televisions, because they can be

damaged by the sudden increases in electrical power,
which can be caused by lightning. One last thing: if
you can’t move indoors, find a low area away from
trees and posts of any kind.
Part 3
1.20

You hear five people talking about seasons they
like or dislike.
Speaker 1  Spring is definitely the best season of the
year for me – it’s always been my favourite season.
Mornings are especially lovely, because they’re not
too cold, but nothing like as hot as it gets later on in
the day. But more importantly for me, spring is the
time of year when nature comes alive again: plants
which have looked dead for months, as if by magic,
produce leaves and flowers. Birds start singing again
– as if they’ve woken up after a long sleep. And other
animals emerge from their winter hiding places. In
my experience, the arrival of spring affects people,
too. Everyone seems to walk around with a smile on
their face.
Speaker 2  For me, autumn is the best season for
several reasons. It’s probably partly a childhood
thing – maybe because my birthday is in the middle
of September, actually the day before my father’s
birthday, so as a child autumn was a time of the year
to look forward to. But that’s not the main reason. I
love autumn afternoons, when it’s still quite bright
– before winter sets in. As a family, it was a time

for gardening. My brothers and I used to help our
parents pick the fruit. I can remember the wonderful
smell of the bonfire we made to burn the garden
rubbish. I suppose it’s quite a nostalgic time for me.
Speaker 3  I know most of the world loves spring
and early summer, but for me, this is the time of year
which is accompanied by a form of punishment. ‘Why
is that?’, you may wonder. The fact is, at some point
during late spring or early summer, my eyes start to
itch and I begin to sneeze. I’m sensitive to various
kinds of plants – mainly grass and certain kinds of
trees. I take various tablets which help a little, but

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Part 4
1.21

You hear an interview with a young musician.
Interviewer  My guest today is Ruby Johnson, who
is making an international name for herself as a
solo violinist. She’ll tell us how this all happened in
a minute, but can I ask you first, Ruby, to tell us a bit
about your everyday life?
Ruby  I’m just an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl
who lives a normal life at home with my family. I go to
the school nearest to where I live and, like most other
people my age, I watch TV, play computer games,

spend time on social media and hang out with my
friends. And, occasionally, I’m lucky enough to play
the violin with a world-class orchestra.
Interviewer  How did this amazing musical career
begin?
Ruby  I was only about three years old when my
parents started taking me to violin lessons. To be
honest, I don’t remember much about those early
lessons. I think I enjoyed them, and I certainly never
made a fuss about going. Apparently, I showed early
promise and my teacher told my parents I had a rare
talent. As you can imagine, they were delighted,
especially my dad, because he played the violin in a

AUDIOSCRIPTS

local amateur orchestra. None of this meant much
to me at the time. I went to my regular lessons at a
music school and didn’t think much more about it. It
was just one of those things that I did regularly as a
child.
Interviewer  So when did you begin to think there
was more to playing the violin than going for regular
lessons with a music teacher?
Ruby  I’m not sure exactly when that was. I don’t
think there was a particular moment when it
suddenly hit me. I gradually realized that here was
something I enjoyed doing and was quite good at.
I took all the exams and seemed to pass them long
before any of the other children at the school. But

even then, playing the violin was just one of the
things I did, you know, like going to school, playing
with my friends, watching TV. One day my music
teacher came round to our house and spent an
hour talking to my parents. Afterwards, they told me
that my teacher wanted to put me in for a national
competition for under-ten-year-olds. That really
made me want to go on doing it.
Interviewer  How did your parents react to this?
Were they happy about the idea of their youngest
daughter going in for a national competition?
Ruby  Yes, as far as I know. They were always really
proud of my musical ability. They explained what
going in for the competition would mean – you know,
lots of hard work, practising the competition pieces.
They stressed that I couldn’t have any time off school
and that I’d have to keep up with all my schoolwork.
But I didn’t mind that. The last thing I wanted was for
the other children in my class to see me as a freak
who was different from them.
Interviewer  Okay, so you practised hard and went in
for the competition. What happened?
Ruby  I practised for four or five hours every day,
mostly in the evenings, because I was at school all day.
I didn’t mind, but by the time the competition came,
I was exhausted. It was actually a relief when the day
came. I went up to London to a big concert hall with
my parents. It was a little scary, but there were nine
other children about the same age as me. We were
all in the same situation and got along very well as we

waited. The organizers provided snacks and drinks,
and we could watch television as we waited.
Interviewer  And the competition itself? How did
that go?
Ruby  I came third. I really enjoyed the day and it
was such an honour to take part in the competition.
I didn’t mind not winning because, above all, it made
me realize that playing the violin was something I
enjoyed so much that I wanted to go on doing it for
the rest of my life. My ambition even at that young
age was to belong to an orchestra and to play the
violin for a living.
Interviewer  That was seven years ago. How about
now?

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

nothing really works and I just have to wait until this
part of the year is over. It hasn’t always been like
this; until I was about twelve, I loved spring as much
as anyone else, but then suddenly one year, it all
changed.
Speaker 4  Without doubt, my favourite season is
summer, because in my mind it’s always associated
with long holidays. As a young child, I couldn’t wait for
school to finish and the break to begin. Those holidays
at the beach were such happy times, when you could
stop worrying about exams and homework and you

didn’t have to get up early. As a family, we usually
spent three or four weeks camping on the coast,
spending most days swimming and playing beach
games. For me, the only thing I didn’t like about the
summer was getting bitten by insects, which seemed
to be everywhere at certain times. I particularly
remember that the end of July was the worst!
Speaker 5  I think I’m the odd one out, because
my favourite season is winter. It’s quite hard to
explain why, but I think it has something to do with
staying indoors when it’s dark and cold outside. It’s
the time of year when my mother cooked some of
my favourite meals and we’d all sit round the table
eating and chatting. Of course, you can do that at
other times of the year, but for me, winter mealtimes
gave me the best memories. I suppose the other
explanation for choosing winter is that I’m not really
an outdoor person. I prefer watching sport on TV to
playing it, and I’ve never really been what you’d call a
nature lover. All my family like winter best.


Audioscripts

Ruby  Well, I do play in orchestras now, or – I
should say – I play with orchestras, because what’s
happened is that people want me to perform as
a soloist. It means that I get to travel all over the
place playing fantastic music in front of thousands
of people. I’m lucky enough to be able do what I like

doing. And, for most of the time, I’m still an ordinary
girl who goes to school and lives with her family.
Interviewer  Thank you very much, Ruby. It was good
talking to you.

Practice Test 3
Listening
Part 1
1.22

1 You hear a man talking about tourism.
Tourism is quite different nowadays. Not only is it
less expensive, but more and more people want
to get involved with the place they’re going to
and learn more about it. The majority of tourists
have read up on their destination and are better
prepared before they go. And travel agencies
are also trying to put tourists in touch with local
people. It’s becoming increasingly important to be
able to connect with people in other countries.
Nowadays, it’s not just hotels you can stay in: you
can stay in somebody’s house. It makes it a more
interesting experience.
2 You hear an interview with a businesswoman.
Interviewer  So what advice would you give
to young people thinking of starting their own
business?
Businesswoman  Well, I spent a long time
working on my business plan. Once I felt confident
enough to put my ideas into action, I launched my

company, and I’ve never looked back.
Interviewer  And what qualifications do young
people need to start their own business?
Businesswoman  It’s difficult to say whether
qualifications are necessary. I have a business
degree and it has helped a bit, but it’s your attitude
that matters most. You must be capable of working
with a range of people and making connections.
These relationships are essential in the business
world.
3 You hear a sportsman talking on the radio.
I’ve already had great success in two different
sports, so I’m often asked if I’d consider taking up
a third sport in the future! No doubt there’d be
a lot of companies interested in me, and I could
probably make an awful lot of money from adverts
and TV appearances and so on. But, to be honest,
I’m more interested in achieving what I can at
sport, not the financial rewards I can get out of it.

AUDIOSCRIPTS

And I always aim to do as well as I possibly can –
I’m never satisfied with being second best.
4 You hear a man and a woman talking about
supermarkets.
Woman  I don’t understand why so many
supermarkets are staying open all night. Do you?
Man  Well, you have to remember that an awful lot
of people work at night, rather than a normal nineto-five day. Everyone needs to buy food, and they

expect shops to be flexible for them.
Woman  But how can supermarkets afford to stay
open all night?
Man  Well, a lot of them get their deliveries at
night because they have to stock the shelves for
the next day, so they’re open anyway. The money
they earn from just a few night-time customers
easily covers the salaries of a couple of extra staff
members. It’s definitely worth them staying open.
5 You hear a man talking about moving to another
country.
We moved abroad in search of a better life. The
people here are so friendly – everyone says ‘hello’
to you, even if you can’t really speak the language.
In some ways we’re quite a young family to have
made a risky move like this, but we absolutely
love it. Moving abroad can be easier in some ways
when you’re older, but a lot of the older people
here wish they’d done it years ago. I’d say that if
you’re thinking of moving to another country, what
are you waiting for?
6 You hear someone advertising a writing course.
Interested in making money in your spare time and
having a lot of fun, too? Why not try our course
to help you become a successful writer? We can
help you develop your skills, and will advise you
on how to go about finding ideas for stories and
articles. The course is especially suitable for those
without any writing experience. You can study in
the comfort of your home and take as long as you

like, so there’s no need to hurry. Call us today, or
visit our website for more details.
7 You hear a man and a woman talking about
family history.
Man  So, how should I find out about my family
history from my relatives? Would it help to use old
photographs?
Woman  I’m not convinced. I suppose a
photograph might make someone talk about a
particular place or time. Most importantly, I think
you should write everything down in case you
forget. It could be really valuable information!
Man  But where should I start? Should I ask about
their childhood first?
Woman  You could do, but don’t just say, ‘Tell me
about your childhood.’ The best thing is to ask about
things like what someone remembers wearing, or

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools


Part 2
2.01

You hear a man talking about the success of
Starbucks coffee shops.
Everyone has heard of Starbucks coffee shops. It’s an
amazing success story that started back in the 1970s,
when the first store opened in Seattle. Since then,
Starbucks has grown into a business of more than

24,000 stores in seventy countries. And today, it’s not
just shopping centres where you can find Starbucks.
People are sometimes surprised to find them inside
hospitals and public libraries!
But the huge popularity of Starbucks isn’t due only
to the coffee; it’s also the way it’s sold. Starbucks
closely studied consumer needs, trying to find out
things like their favourite colours and music. This
awareness of customer psychology has gained them
millions of loyal customers a week.
Twenty years ago, people weren’t drinking coffee
in such large amounts as today, but Starbucks was
there at a time when people were working long hours
and needed a break. There were people coming into
the coffee shops to escape from the stress of their
job, and also those who wanted to do some work
in a more relaxed environment. How many other
businesses would let people treat their shop spaces
as an office?
The company hasn’t always concentrated so
much on creating relaxed surroundings, though.
Originally it was more interested in efficiency rather
than comfort. The chairs and stools customers had
to sit on were rather uncomfortable. There were
complaints about this, and so they made changes
and got rid of the old furniture. In fact, the company
found that the customers they interviewed talked
quite a bit about the atmosphere in the shop. They
didn’t really care about the coffee’s flavour so much,
but they wanted warmth and a feeling of comfort.

Starbucks are also very careful about the image
people associate with the company and its products.
For instance, you’ll never see Starbucks offering

AUDIOSCRIPTS

discounts, because they want you to view their
products as a luxury.
Even their famous green-and-white cups are
important to them. They think that the cup is a really
effective advertisement for their brand, and they
intended them to be seen everywhere in the streets.
And what were the designers of the coffee shop
thinking as they worked on the interior? Well, there’s
none of the shiny metal you see in many cafés. Sharp
edges are strictly forbidden, and tables are small and
round. Natural materials like stone are preferred, or
wood to give an impression of warmth. You certainly
won’t see much plastic!
And what about Starbucks’ plans for the future?
Well, a huge amount of thought goes into even the
smallest decision at Starbucks, like the new summer
flavours it announces each year. At this very moment,
people in the research and development kitchens
are trying to figure out what colour to use with each
flavour next year. They try very hard to follow fashion,
so the flavours they pick will correspond to the
colours they expect to be the most popular a year
from now.
So next time you go past a Starbucks, or enjoy a

coffee in one of their stores, have a think about all
the hard work that’s gone into making it the success
it is today!
Part 3
2.02

You hear five people talking about their holidays.
Speaker 1  My parents have a house in the hills. We
go there twice a year and it’s fantastic. There’s some
amazing scenery to enjoy, and the medieval towns
in the area haven’t been spoilt by tourism. My mum
and dad sometimes invite friends to join us. I prefer
it when they’re old friends that I feel comfortable
with. It can still be a bit of a risk – until you’ve been
on holiday with someone, you can’t be sure how you’ll
feel seeing this person every day for a whole week.
Speaker 2  This year’s holiday was on the coast.
We rented a beautiful house there – it was so
comfortable, and very spacious, too. During a period
of about two weeks, several relatives and close
friends came to stay. One day we had about fourteen
people for lunch in the garden! Life is so hard these
days, and my parents certainly work very long hours,
so I think it’s important that we all have a laugh when
we’re on holiday, forget all our troubles and feel free;
otherwise, what’s the point?
Speaker 3  I’ll be spending some time in Greece. I
look forward to going around the lively markets there,
taking a look at the huge variety of food available.
And I love to discover the best local restaurants by

chatting to people who have lived there all their
lives. For me, that’s the most important aspect of
a memorable holiday – learning about the true

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

their best friend at school. You’ll be surprised how
much people say about these little details.
8 You hear a man talking about video games.
Anyone, even schoolchildren, who has learned to
play just a handful of video games can generally
work out how to operate almost any technical
device. Which is why, nowadays, video games are
used to train people in all sorts of jobs, including
doctors, pilots and so on. Good games challenge
players to deal with a number of different things at
once, predict possible problems and decide what
to do about them quickly. That’s why playing video
games can also be really useful as training for the
world of business.


Audioscripts

character of a country, not just believing everything
you read in the guidebooks. You have to be willing
to look for something a little out of the ordinary and
to seek adventure. Most people just want to play it

safe and don’t want to be challenged by something
different.
Speaker 4  I generally feel much happier in fairly cool
places. My wife is from Mexico and so she always
wants to visit hot countries. She also likes places with
plenty of markets selling clothes and jewellery and,
of course, food, but I’m not so keen, to be honest.
So we have to compromise. We’re taking our two
children, and I’ll be concentrating on them. We’ll play
football and anything else they feel like doing. My
sons like to stay active, so there won’t be much free
time! With a bit of luck, I will have a chance to relax in
the evenings.
Speaker 5  This month I am going sailing with my
family on a lake near here. That’s what we do every
year, and we never seem to get bored. For us, being
in a friendly place we know well matters a lot, and we
don’t want to have the stress of anything unexpected
or strange. There are also some really friendly little
restaurants where everyone knows us, and which
serve a range of interesting dishes. I like to do some
reading on holiday – it helps me relax – and so I take
some good books to read when I’m on the lake.
Part 4
2.03

You hear a radio interview about a young
photographer.
Interviewer  We all know about the paparazzi who
spend their time trying to get photographs of the

rich and the famous. But did you know that some of
them are still at school? In the studio we have David
Thomas, who is going to tell us about one of the
youngest, Nick Winter.
David  Yes, Nick is just sixteen years old and looks
and dresses like any other kid of that age, although
he seems rather quiet, almost shy. But what sets
him apart is the confident and grown-up way that
he carries and uses all his camera equipment,
worth thousands of pounds, and which he takes
everywhere he goes.
Interviewer  Why has it been possible for him to go
into this profession so young?
David  Well, the profession has been through huge
changes over the last few years. We now have digital
cameras, so if you can afford the equipment, then
you have all you need to start taking great pictures,
without needing any formal training. Some shots can
make the photographer a small fortune, so there are
more and more paparazzi of increasingly younger
ages.

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Interviewer  What do his parents think about all
this?
David  Well, they don’t seem that concerned about
his age, and what’s even more surprising is that they
actually take him round the town in the car at all
hours of the day and night. His mother in particular

used to hate the paparazzi she saw everywhere. But
her attitude certainly seems to have changed now
that she can see her son has some talent!
Interviewer  So how did Nick get started in the
photography business?
David  It was his uncle who gave him a camera
as a birthday present, and Nick decided to try
photographing stars as they went into restaurants.
His first photographs weren’t very professional, of
course, but Nick really enjoyed the thrill of mixing
with the rich and famous, and meeting professional
photographers, who often helped him and gave him
advice.
Interviewer  Of course, we know that these days
some paparazzi can be very aggressive and rude.
What does Nick think of that?
David  Nick is very sympathetic to the celebrities
he shoots. While he is of course aware that there
are many badly behaved paparazzi who do things
they shouldn’t just to get a picture, he doesn’t agree
with it. Apparently, he’s had several opportunities to
get photos of stars in embarrassing situations, but
has refused to, even though he could sell them to
magazines for large sums.
Interviewer  Just how difficult is it to get hold of
these sorts of photos? There must be a lot of waiting
around on pavements?
David  It’s not as hard as some people imagine. Don’t
forget that it’s frequently the stars themselves who
call up the paparazzi to tell them where they’re going

to be and when. The worst part of the job is indeed
the waiting. And when a celebrity suddenly makes an
appearance, you have to move fast so you don’t miss
your chance – you don’t get many!
Interviewer  And finally, David, do you feel that it’s a
good thing for young kids to be doing?
David  Well, it’s a tough and competitive world out
there, and I’m not sure that teenagers should be
doing it, but Nick’s father or one of his uncles is
always with him, so he’s safe, and his father insists
that he never pushed Nick into this area. Also, all the
photos he takes are sold on their own website, rather
than going through an agency, which is a good thing.
Interviewer  Well, David, thanks once again for
coming in and revealing something of the world of
the young paparazzi to us today.

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools


Practice Test 4
Listening
Part 1
2.04

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Part 2
2.05

You hear a radio interview with an astronomer.
Interviewer  I believe there’s going to be an open
day at the university observatory this summer. Could
you tell us a bit about it, Mary?

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

1 You hear a woman speaking on her mobile
phone.
Yes … for tonight, please; two people. Can we get
them with a good view of the stage, if possible? …
Sure, that sounds great! We should be arriving at
about nine o’clock, although if the train is late, it
might be quite a bit after that. … Can we collect
them at the door, then? … Fine. Oh, and one other
thing: is there anywhere nearby where we can get
something to eat after the show?
2 You hear part of a news report.
Reports are coming in of a similar situation in the
south, where entire villages are being evacuated.
The emergency services have warned they may
soon be completely cut off by the flames, which
are now gradually heading towards the coast
owing to a light wind from the east. In an attempt
to bring the situation under control, millions of
litres of water are being taken from a local lake
and dropped from aircraft onto the affected area,
but following the recent heatwave the ground is so

dry that it would take days of heavy rain to make a
difference. And here, in July, that is just not going
to happen.
3 You hear a man talking in a restaurant.
I’m afraid this really isn’t good enough. My dessert
still hasn’t arrived and I just can’t wait any longer.
The same thing happened with the main course,
and the side salad I’d ordered finally appeared well
after I’d finished the fish. That completely spoiled
what otherwise would have been quite a nice
meal if I’d been able to relax properly and enjoy
it. I would like to have the bill now, please, though
obviously without being charged for anything I
haven’t actually received.
4 You hear a girl talking about an evening out.
Well, it all started when Keith, a friend of mine
from school, invited some of us round to his house
for the evening. Of course, we then phoned other
friends and they told more people so that in the
end there must have been over fifty of us there.
Most people brought their own music, which
meant we had lots of different kinds of things to
listen to. Keith’s got some good speakers, so it was
really loud. It was much better than going to a
disco, and a whole lot cheaper, too!

5 You hear a boy telling a friend about his new
hobby.
Girl  So how did climbing go last week? Was it
quite scary?

Boy  Well, to be honest, I was surprised how tiring
it was. When you’re up on the wall, you’re just
concentrating on the climb, but afterwards I was
really sore. I carried on to the top, though. I didn’t
want to quit even though my legs were aching. My
sister climbs a bit, and she said I should have done
some exercises before I started. I suppose she was
right. All in all, I had a good time, though. I wish I’d
had a go at it earlier.
6 You hear two young people talking.
Boy  I’ve got an idea – let’s go to the beach. It’s a
lovely day, and there will be lots to do there.
Girl  Well, it does sound like fun, but there isn’t
time today. Perhaps another day, like Monday,
when there’s nothing else to do except spend all
day in the house.
Boy  But the weather’s so great at the moment,
and it might not last until then. I’m sure the sea will
be warm enough for a swim.
Girl  I’d rather do that at the pool at the sports
centre. Shall we go there instead?
7 You hear someone talking in a café.
I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to have any cash on
me at all. I really don’t know what’s happened. I
remember putting twenty pounds in my inside
pocket before I left the house, because I was going
to buy a few things, though in the end I didn’t.
Actually, there should be even more than that,
because earlier this morning Karen paid me back
some money I’d lent her last week, and I put that in

my pocket, too. The only thing I can think of is that
it must have fallen out when I took out my phone
just now, because I haven’t done anything else
with it.
8 You hear an extract from a radio programme.
This week we’re asking you to listen to a few
seconds of three well-known songs that were
all first released in the same year, and then, very
simply, tell us which year it was. That’s all you
have to do! So get ready to listen, and if you think
you know the answer, let us know straightaway
by emailing or sending a text. The lucky winner
will be chosen by our studio guest after the next
commercial break, and they will receive tickets to
the concert of their choice.


Audioscripts

Mary  Certainly. What we’re going to do is explain
what astronomy is and, we hope, make it more
interesting for young people. Far too few are
choosing to do science at university, and we feel that
astronomy is one area that could really appeal to
them once they have an idea what it’s about.
Interviewer  And it’ll be on the last Thursday in July,
is that right?
Mary  I’m glad you mentioned that, because in
fact it’s been brought forward a couple of days to
the Tuesday. We’ll make that clear when we begin

advertising it and, as we haven’t actually started
issuing any tickets yet, the change shouldn’t cause
any confusion.
Interviewer  And what time will it start? Quite late?
Mary  Well, obviously in July, in the northern
hemisphere, you have to wait until late to see
anything in the night sky. But there’s often plenty to
see during the day, too. The moon, for instance, and
sometimes satellites like the International Space
Station or planets such as Venus. On the open
day we’ll be starting early in the evening, weather
permitting, by having a look at the sun. Not with the
naked eye, of course, but through a special telescope.
There’s a lot of solar activity at present, and if that
continues into July, it should be a fascinating sight for
those who’ve never seen it before.
Interviewer  Will they be observing the night sky
straight after that?
Mary  No. First, Dr Margaret Fraser will give a short
talk on what can be seen using the main 24-inch
telescope and then there will be a quick tour of the
museum. Following that we’ll be looking through
the ten-inch telescopes we use for teaching and
research – until quite late, we hope.
Interviewer  What time do you think it will finish?
Mary  Again, that depends on whether it’s cloudy or
not. Assuming it isn’t, we’ll carry on until midnight. If
it is, we’ll finish at about ten. We should have photos
of recent skies to look at, so there will be plenty to
see, even if it isn’t actually ‘live’.

Interviewer  And where will the telescopes for the
visitors be?
Mary  They’ll be in the observatory grounds. So I’d
advise everyone to have a coat with them. Even
though it’ll be summer, it can get quite cold after a
couple of hours there. They’ll be standing still nearly
all the time, and the observatory’s quite high up in
the mountains, after all. The air’s a lot clearer, and
you can see so much more in the night sky from up
there.
Interviewer  Is there anything else that people
should bring with them? Some refreshments,
perhaps?
Mary  That shouldn’t be necessary because tea
and coffee will be available free of charge. So all
in all it’ll be quite an inexpensive evening, as we’re
not planning to charge an entrance fee, either. The

AUDIOSCRIPTS

tickets will be free. There won’t be very many, though;
we just don’t have the space. One hundred and
seventy five, I expect. We’ve done what we can to fit
more people in: it was only one hundred and twenty
the last time we had one of these, five years ago.
Interviewer  I’m sure they’ll all go very quickly. How
soon can people get hold of tickets?
Mary  Monday next week, at nine o’clock in the
morning. In previous years, they were available by
post from the university ticket office, but this time

we want to speed everything up. So as soon as we
receive an email from somebody requesting a ticket,
we’ll send them one, or at most two, immediately.
Interviewer  And we’ll give listeners that address at
the end of the programme. Now finally, Mary, can you
tell me whether you think this will become a regular
event at the observatory? Every year, perhaps?
Mary  Well, we can’t have one next year because
we’re booked up all summer, but possibly in two
years’ time. We’ll see. I should know in about six
months.
Interviewer  Thank you.
Part 3
2.06

You hear five people talking about dangerous
situations they have experienced.
Speaker 1  One summer, when I was a teenager, I
was out on one of those little paddleboats. I was
relaxing and reading a really exciting book, and I
didn’t realize the wind and the currents were taking
me further out to sea. A fishing boat came past, and
the crew told me there was a storm on the way. They
offered to take me back to the town if I liked, but I
said no. Soon the waves got bigger and I started to
worry. Then I saw a small island, so I paddled as hard
as I could and eventually reached it. I had to call my
parents and explain; it was so embarrassing.
Speaker 2  I’m not a particularly good skier, and I’ve
had no survival training. So when I realized there

was an avalanche coming down the mountain, I
didn’t think my chances were very good. As this huge
white mass raced down towards me, I knew I couldn’t
outrun it, but then I saw some skiers turning left
across the slope. In that situation you feel you have
to keep going down as fast as you can, but I took a
chance and followed them. It’s just as well I did. They’d
found the only safe place. I waited there beneath the
huge rock that stuck out of the mountainside and
watched all the snow and ice rush past. Two hours
later, I skied slowly down to the village.
Speaker 3  They’d said on television that a famous
cruise ship was sailing past the coast today. So, like
lots of others, I’d walked across the beach to see it.
There’s about a mile of sand before you reach the sea,
and you get great views of the mountains from out
there. Anyway, I was so busy looking at the ship that

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools


Part 4
2.07

You hear part of an interview with someone who
has recently done voluntary work in another
country.
Interviewer  Jenny, who or what made you want to
spend your summer doing this?
Jenny  Everyone I knew said I must be mad, that I’d

catch all kinds of tropical diseases, but I ignored
them. It was really about making a difference to
people’s lives, especially those who couldn’t fully
look after themselves. I didn’t really mind where they
sent me, and I had no idea where that would be until
much later.
Interviewer  So how did you find out about this
particular organization?
Jenny  After reading about volunteering on a blog,
I checked out several volunteer work websites and
chose one organization I liked the sound of. It had
lots of interesting background information, including
quotes from previous volunteers, so I looked at the
application form. I could have filled it in then, or
emailed my details, but I don’t like giving out so much
personal information online, so I printed it out, filled

AUDIOSCRIPTS

it in, and posted it that afternoon. I had a phone
call from the human resources manager the next
morning, so it was just as quick, really.
Interviewer  Was that to ask for more details, or tell
you what the next step was?
Jenny  Both, really. She wanted to find out more
about my medical studies and whether I was
interested in any particular speciality – I mentioned
child health care – and she said they’d try to take
that into account during the training course.
Assuming I was accepted, of course, and prior to that

there would be an interview.
Interviewer  So you went along for that, and
presumably all went well.
Jenny  Yes, I had a formal letter from them a
couple of days later asking me to go for a medical,
and then to go to their training centre out in the
countryside a week after that. It was in a lovely place,
but the training was pretty intensive – it lasted a
whole fortnight – and I met so many people, I can’t
remember all their names now. But I’d be seeing
some of them again quite soon, because three
weeks later I was off to work in a village about 200
kilometres from the equator.
Interviewer  How did you react to that?
Jenny  Well, I suppose it only really hit me when
I got to the airport and met others going to the
same place. Some of them I already knew from the
training course, and we spent a couple of hours in
the departure lounge trying to hide our nerves by
laughing about the things that’d happened on the
course. That was all, really. We’d been given a fairly
clear picture of what to expect during our year away,
and I don’t think we were scared. I knew the work
that lay ahead would at times be tiring, and the
conditions tough, but I felt I could cope.
Interviewer  And was that the case when you
arrived?
Jenny  In the main, yes. I was prepared for life
without showers or even tap water – we had to
use buckets for washing – and the food, of course,

was different. But I’m a vegetarian, so a meat-free
diet was fine by me, though it came as a shock to
some of my colleagues. I must admit, I hadn’t been
expecting to spend quite so much time with them.
It turned out we had to sleep eight to a very small
room, and as I’d grown up an only child that took
some getting used to!
Interviewer  So what exactly was the job, and how
did you find it?
Jenny  We were setting up a local health centre,
something that hadn’t existed there before. And the
thing I especially liked about the work was the fact
that it was a joint project with the inhabitants of the
village, so they knew it was partly their creation, too.
It’s my belief that the centre will benefit them greatly
for a long time to come, and that’s one of the things
that kept us going when we felt at one point that we
weren’t going to finish it on time. We did, though, and
it’s something we’ll always be proud of.
Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

I didn’t notice the tide coming in, very fast. Suddenly
I realized that I was completely cut off by deep and
fast-moving water, and everyone else had gone. I
called the emergency services on my mobile, and
they told me to stay where I was. So I did, and soon a
rescue helicopter arrived and picked me up, but I felt
a complete idiot.

Speaker 4  It was windy, rainy and freezing! Night
was coming and I was on my own in the forest, a long
way from the nearest town. I was lost, and I had to
make a shelter to stay warm and dry until morning. It
wouldn’t be the first time I’d built one, but this wasn’t
going to be a survival exercise. This time it was for
real, and I wouldn’t get any help. But I did what I’d
been taught and chose a place that was well away
from water, on slightly higher ground, and then found
all the sticks, branches with leaves and other material
I needed. Soon I had my shelter, and although it
wasn’t particularly comfortable, it gave me enough
protection.
Speaker 5  Some years ago, I was staying in Western
Australia, right next to the desert. I had a mountain
bike there, and one morning I was racing down a
particularly big hill when I lost control and crashed.
The front wheel was badly bent. I’d also twisted my
ankle, and it would be a long walk home in great
heat. Fortunately, though, I’d read the chapter about
deserts in a survival guide which said to rest during
the heat of the day and walk at night. The sun was
getting stronger, so I looked for shade on the hillside
and eventually found a small cave. I went inside and
stayed there until the sun went down. Then I slowly
made my way home in the cool night air.


Practice Test 5
Listening

Part 1

Audioscripts

2.08

1 You hear a young singer talking on the radio.
I’m really lucky because there have always been
people around who have been willing to help me.
I first met Alex when I was a teenager. Some stars
don’t find the time to talk to young people like me,
but he did. I used to be really nervous, but Alex
could see that and he helped me get over it. His
advice made a big difference to me, especially
before important shows. The funny thing is that
even though he had such a big influence on me,
he wouldn’t acknowledge it – he’s far too modest
for that.
2 You hear someone talking about a famous
building.
The Bodleian Library in Oxford has played a special
role in the city for over 450 years, during which
time thousands of visitors have walked through
its doors. The library opened to students in 1602,
although the first university library was opened
almost 300 years earlier. When the younger
brother of King Henry V made a gift of priceless
manuscripts to Oxford University, the library was
moved to a new building. However, at that time the
University was very poor, and it was only thanks

to the generosity of Sir Thomas Bodley that we
have the building we know today, which, as well as
books, has also been home to coins and medals,
sculptures and pictures.
3 You hear an interview with a sportsman.
Interviewer  Your dad’s also your manager. How
does that feel?
Sportsman  Well ... my dad obviously wants what’s
best for me. I don’t have to be worried about him
being dishonest. Probably the main difficulty is
that, because he’s my dad, I can’t shout at him if
something goes wrong, as I would if someone else
was my manager!
Interviewer  So you’re glad to have him by your
side?
Sportsman  Yeah. In this industry, I’ve often been
advised not to trust anyone. It’s difficult because a
lot of people in this business are dishonest.
4 You hear about a special day in the life of an
inventor.
When I was invited to the ‘Inventor of the Year’
award ceremony, I was over the moon. From the
moment I arrived for the ceremony in London,
it was a fabulous feeling – there were so many
wonderful people there. Then, to my astonishment,
I was announced as the overall winner. The whole
audience clapped as I got onto the stage to collect
AUDIOSCRIPTS

my award. I felt ecstatic and amazed at the same

time – I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a mistake! It really
was one of the best evenings of my life.
5 You hear an advertisement for chocolates.
Whether you want to say thank you or surprise
someone on a special day, chocolates from our
company make the perfect gift. We pride ourselves
on offering quality products and excellent service.
Our special packaging keeps the handmade
chocolates in perfect condition for up to a week.
Remember, there are several delicious and
unusual flavours to choose from. And unlike with
other gift ideas, you don’t have to worry about
someone being at home when their chocolates are
delivered, as they will fit through any letter box.
You can order your chocolates twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week through our website.
6 You overhear two people talking in a restaurant.
Woman  So what’s the best way to book a table
here?
Man  Well, if you sound friendly, you’re likely to
get better service. You’ll probably be talking to
someone who’s been annoyed by demanding
customers all day, so it pays to be polite.
Woman  And when’s the best time to eat?
Man  You’re more likely to get a table if you don’t
have an exact time in mind. The earlier or later you
can eat, the better. Don’t forget that waiters are
often less stressed early on, so you’ll get better
service! And it’s a good idea if you call straight
after lunch – that’s when many customers cancel

at the last minute.
7 You hear a woman talking about her hobby.
I’m addicted to photography. I spend more time on
it than I should because I just love taking pictures
of, well, just about anything or anyone! And I must
admit, I don’t always tell people what I’m doing!
I’ve been into photography since I was at school.
Wherever I go, I’m never without a camera. If the
weather’s fine, I sometimes just go to the park –
there’s always something worth taking a photo
of. Although, if I’m honest, sometimes I’m happier
taking shots indoors.
8 You hear a man talking on the radio about
windsurfing.
Windsurfing probably began in this country during
the early 1970s, though the first windsurfing board
may have been built in 1958. The original boards
were made of wood, which made the sport hard to
do. It was difficult to take lessons as well, as there
were very few coaches to start with. It’s a different
story now, of course, though when you first have
a go, it can seem like there’s a lot to learn. But
don’t be put off, because it only takes a few hours
to learn the basics. With today’s equipment and
teaching techniques, it’s never been easier to
pick up.

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Part 2
2.09

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Part 3
2.10

You hear five people talking about their
experiences at the theatre.
Speaker 1  … and they reckoned it was a comedy, but
I only laughed once during the whole performance.
Having said that, a lot of people around us were
laughing so loudly that it began to get a bit annoying.
I really tried to enjoy the play. I liked the story, and
some friends from school had recommended it
highly. Mum had given me the tickets as a gift. That’s
the only reason I didn’t walk out at the interval. I’ve
tried hard since to work out why it didn’t work for me,
but I still can’t figure it out.
Speaker 2  This was a fascinating thriller – quite a
complicated story, in fact – played by an excellent
cast of actors in a theatre full of history. It’s a rather
small place, but that added to the whole feel of the
play. Even though it holds fewer than 300 people,
the theatre has great seating, and the advantage is
that you can see the stage clearly from just about
anywhere, and everyone feels involved in the action
on stage. The amazing thing is that the play has been
at this theatre for more than twenty years. It’s easy to

see why it’s been such a success.
Speaker 3  This play didn’t really satisfy me. It’s true
that the actors did an amazing job of conveying their
characters’ personalities and emotions. It’s a shame
then that the play falls apart towards the end and
you start to lose track of what’s going on. It begins
well, but has a very weak ending. To be honest, it
didn’t make any sense at all! The theatre was rather
small, too, so the sound effects were really loud,
which was a bit of a problem.
Speaker 4  I wasn’t able to find much information
on what the play was actually about before buying
the tickets. As a result, I didn’t really know what to
expect, but I was certainly not disappointed. It was
amusing, exciting and occasionally rather sad. You
just never knew what you were going to experience
next. It had everything! I must say, the acting was
tremendous. One of the main actors was very
inexperienced and had never been in a big play like
this before, but he did a superb job.

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

You hear an interview with an expert on insects.
Interviewer  Today, Professor John Townsend is going
to tell us something about insects. John, it’s fair to say
that they aren’t the most popular of creatures, are
they?

John  Well, we might not actually like many of them,
but insects are essential to our existence.
Interviewer  Why are we so negative about insects?
John  Unfortunately, the ones we tend to notice are
those which bite or sting or are a nuisance, but only
about 4% ever do us any harm. In fact, we are hardly
aware of the vast majority of insects.
Interviewer  So why should we care about insects?
John  There are over a million species of insects,
including bees, beetles and ants, and many of them
are in serious danger of extinction. We should be
worried because they are very important to the
environment in so many ways that people don’t fully
realize.
Interviewer  And what about their importance in
agriculture?
John So much of our food depends on insect
pollination, including virtually all the fruit we eat.
I’m sure most of us would miss special treats like
chocolate, which wouldn’t exist without the work of
insects.
Interviewer  Is it true that bees are disappearing?
John Yes, three types of bumblebee have recently
become extinct in the UK alone, but I am even more
worried about the butterfly, since more than 70% of
species face the possibility of disappearing forever.
Interviewer  Are we doing anything to save them?
John  The good news is that we are trying to help.
Conservation societies are working to look after
important wildlife sites such as fields or woods, and

trying to educate ordinary people. We also talk to the
government, but sometimes we cannot stop plans
going ahead. Almost every day we hear of plans for
new roads that will destroy environments that are
home to many unusual insects.
Interviewer  And what about you and me? Is there
much we can do?
John  There are many ways in which individuals can
help. It’s important not only to learn more, but also
to be active in wildlife organizations. You know, two
centuries ago we wiped out countless birds until
organizations were set up to protect them. Now we
need to take action for insects.
Interviewer  And how important are our gardens in
this?
John  Well, for a start, we should think about making
our gardens friendly to bumblebees. Bumblebees rely
on flowers for a sugary liquid called nectar, so we
should give them a variety of flowers rich in nectar all
year round.

Interviewer  But of course it’s not just food that’s
important, is it?
John  No, bees also need shelter and somewhere to
construct their nests. If you can leave an area of your
garden a bit wild, this will really benefit them.
Interviewer  Is there anything else we can do?
John  Well, your listeners can help by participating
in our survey. This can help us to discover a lot
about some of our rarest insects. The information

we gather can tell us where we need to take action
urgently. If anyone would like to get involved, they
can visit the website at …


Audioscripts

Speaker 5  The reviews online had said this play
was really exciting, but nothing could be less true.
In my opinion, the main actor is always important,
but he was very poor and so there was simply no
atmosphere. This made the whole experience very
dull. In fact, the girl next to me fell asleep at one
point. To make matters worse, I went with some
friends who kept talking during the play. I suppose
they at least enjoyed themselves, which is more than
I did.
Part 4
2.11

You hear a radio interview with a diving instructor.
Interviewer  In the studio today we have with us Julie
Moore, who followed her dream to become a diving
instructor. Welcome, Julie. Why did you decide to
leave your job?
Julie  Well, I knew I had to make some changes. I’d
been working in the same place in Scotland for over
twelve years. I got on quite well with the people I
worked with, but I was ready for adventure and, most
of all, I wanted to try diving.

Interviewer  So what did you do?
Julie  I searched on the web and found an
organization that needed volunteers to help protect
a beautiful Pacific island. I knew I would need to do
an introductory scuba-diving course before I went,
but I was fine with that and signed up with the
organization for two months.
Interviewer  How did you feel when you began the
diving course?
Julie  I was nervous, of course! The first time you
dive is in a public pool. It was really difficult to begin
with – I kept bobbing around on the top of the water,
then sinking like a stone to the bottom of the pool!
The worst thing for me, though, being so talkative,
was not being able to speak to anyone while I was
doing it! When I did a ‘proper’ dive in the sea a few
days later, it was raining and a bit cold, but I came out
feeling absolutely great.
Interviewer  It must’ve been a big moment in your
life when you set off on your journey to the island?
Julie  Yes, I was really worried that I might not be up
to the diving once I was out there, or that I wouldn’t
get along with the other people on the project. As it
turned out, we all got on really well. The camp was
in a stunning location, although the accommodation
itself was a lot less sophisticated than I’d expected!
Interviewer  So how did you spend most of your
time on the island?
Julie  Well, apart from diving, of course, we also
visited local schools and helped teach the children

how to care for the wonderful wildlife around them.
We also carried out surveys on certain sea mammals
and sharks, and kept records of the number of fish
that could be found in the coastal waters.

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Interviewer  Did you ever consider going back
home?
Julie  No, I realized at that point that I could never
fit into my old routine again. I wanted even more of
the independence that I’d discovered. I spent the
rest of my time off travelling. One day I was talking
to a friend who had emigrated in search of a more
relaxed way of life and more beautiful surroundings.
It convinced me that I could do something similar.
Interviewer  So at this point diving was still just a
hobby for you?
Julie  Oh no, it was much more than that! By then I
knew that all I wanted was to become a professional
diving instructor. I got onto a course, and six months
later I was a qualified instructor.
Interviewer  I imagine deciding where to work was a
big decision?
Julie  I decided that I really wanted to work in the
Caribbean, but I didn’t think I had much hope of
getting a job, because competition is so intense. But
I didn’t waste any time and I flew out to the Bahamas,
and during the first week I met a man in a restaurant
who, quite by chance, turned out to own a diving

club. It was like a very relaxed interview – and I must
have impressed him, because he offered me a job!
Interviewer  So what’s your life like now, Julie?
Julie  It’s brilliant! I spend my days doing what I
always wanted to and what I’m good at. I have a
house near where I work, the weather’s amazing, and
it’s a million miles away from my nine-to-five routine
back in Scotland.
Interviewer  Is there any chance of you getting tired
of this new lifestyle?
Julie  Not a chance! I’m happier than I’ve ever been,
and I hope to carry on doing this for a good many
years yet!

Practice Test 6
Listening
Part 1
2.12

1 You hear someone talking about a river.
I’ve always loved walking along here, watching the
fish right down there in the water. It’s usually as
clear as it is now, except when a boat comes along.
Then you get waves running along the banks and
the sand on the bottom gets stirred up for a while.
The water level changes, of course, depending
on the time of year, and when there’s been a lot
of rain it’s full and it flows very quickly indeed. Do
you see that tiny little island in the middle there?
Sometimes it disappears completely, but it always

eventually reappears when the level goes down
again. And the river’s never been known to flood
the surrounding area.

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools


AUDIOSCRIPTS

6 You hear a woman talking to a friend about
her car.
I don’t know what you think about this, but I’m
considering selling my car. I don’t really need it,
and every time I use it I add more pollution to
the atmosphere and make climate change that
bit worse. This morning I was thinking about that
TV programme about the likely effects of global
warming, and I suddenly decided to get rid of it.
Then, later on, when I thought about the prospect
of having to wait for the bus every morning,
especially in the winter, I wasn’t so sure. So now I’m
in two minds, and I’m wondering what you would
do in my situation.
7 You hear a man talking about his new home.
I’m very happy in my new flat; it’s a much nicer
place to live than the studio I was in. For a start,
it’s much bigger: more than sixty square metres,
whereas the old place was only about forty. And
it’s well furnished, too, with fitted cupboards
throughout and a new three-piece-suite in the

living room. Above all, though, there’s plenty of
light because it’s got great big windows facing
south. That was the main reason I chose it, really.
I would have liked somewhere with another
bedroom so friends could stay over, but I’m sure
for the occasional night they’d be fine using the
sofa bed.
8 You hear a hotel receptionist talking.
I’m extremely sorry about that. I’ll get someone
to clean it right away, and I’ll have some clean
towels sent up to you as quickly as possible. I really
don’t know what happened there. All I can say is
that we’re very short-staffed at the moment. The
current outbreak of flu has meant that six of our
regular cleaners are off work this week, and two of
our porters called in this morning to say they were
ill, too. But of course this still shouldn’t happen,
and I can guarantee that we’ll do everything
possible to ensure you have a pleasant stay.
Part 2
2.13

You hear a radio interview with an expert in
crocodile behaviour.
Interviewer  Now, Dan, crocodiles get a lot of bad
press – do they really deserve this?
Dan  In a word, yes! The biggest of them, known in
Australia as saltwater crocodiles, can reach twentyeight feet in length, and I’ve actually seen one of
twenty-two feet on a beach near here. Crocodiles
that size will eat almost anything, including humans.

Attacks happen every year, and once those jaws get
you …
Interviewer  When are they at their most
dangerous?

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

2 You hear a woman talking to her son.
Yes, I know you’ve always liked wearing those white
trousers, but you’re going to have to find some
other ones. Look at them on you. You’ve grown
taller so quickly they don’t fit you any more; they
don’t even come down to your ankles. And, to be
quite honest, I’ll be glad to throw them out. They
look all right at the moment, because I’ve just
washed them, but as soon as you go out, you’ll get
them dirty again and they’ll have to go straight
back into the washing machine. And don’t put that
sweater on, either. You’ve outgrown that, too, and
it’s very tight on you now.
3 You hear someone talking about his favourite
sport.
When I first started doing boxing, everyone I knew
told me I must be mad. They said it was a sport
for stupid people, that I’d get hurt and lose all my
fights, because I’m so small. But that was just the
point. I live in quite a dangerous area and if anyone
tried to hurt me, I wanted to be able to protect

myself. I was already very fit, because I used to
do gymnastics, so it was really just a question of
learning new moves. And adding some punch to
them, of course!
4 You hear a woman speaking on her mobile
phone.
Well, that’s exactly my own view, too. He has no
right to ask you to work on Saturday morning,
even if he does own the company, so I don’t blame
you at all for saying ‘no’. I would’ve done just the
same. And I’m very glad to hear that you didn’t get
angry when you were talking to him, because that
never works in those situations. I think it’s perfectly
acceptable to say you don’t agree with something
the boss suggests, as long as you remain calm and
polite, and you give your reasons.
5 You hear a conversation about walking in the
mountains.
Woman  I’ve just seen the weather forecast for the
mountains this weekend and they say it’s getting
colder, with heavy snow showers in places.
Man  That’s not so good. I mean, low temperatures
don’t bother me – I’ve been out walking when it’s
twenty below freezing before now – but heavy
snow falling can make it difficult to see where
you’re going.
Woman  But we’ll be on well-marked footpaths,
won’t we? There won’t be any danger of falling
over the edge.
Man  No, it’s not that. It’s just that we don’t know

those mountains, and it’d be easy to take a wrong
turning and not be able to find our way back.


Audioscripts

Dan  During the breeding season, which begins in
September. Here in Australia that’s early spring, of
course – the equivalent of March or April in the
northern hemisphere – and the warmer weather
enables them to move even faster than in winter. It
continues until May, as a rule.
Interviewer  Do you mean they can swim very fast?
Dan Oh yes, but I was talking about their speed on
the ground.
Interviewer  But aren’t they usually in the water?
Dan  Yes, though in the summer months the females
may be a little way inland guarding their eggs, and
that makes them very aggressive if disturbed. In
general, if you see one on land, it’s best to keep
at least ten metres away. And remember that just
because you can’t see them in the water, it doesn’t
mean they aren’t there – or that they’re necessarily
going to stay there. They can launch themselves out
of a river like a missile, so if you’re walking near a
river in any area where they’re likely to be, don’t go
near the river bank.
Interviewer  What about if you’re in a boat? Are you
safe there?
Dan  If it’s a pretty big, solid one, maybe. You still have

to take care, though.
Interviewer  In what way?
Dan  Well, it may be tempting when the weather’s
very hot to put your legs over the side, in the water,
to cool off. Don’t do it. A crocodile might think
they look like food. And, of course, don’t even think
of going swimming in waters known to contain
crocodiles. That’s one of the biggest causes of
accidents. People see a nice cool stretch of water in
a quiet spot, pay no attention to warning signs, and
suddenly there’s another victim.
Interviewer  And it’s probably not a good idea to
camp there!
Dan  Definitely not. In fact, whenever you’re thinking
of pitching a tent anywhere near water in this part
of the world, it’s advisable to have a good look
round. On one occasion, I woke up in the morning
to discover I’d spent the night right next to a nest.
The last thing you need is an angry female crocodile,
and whilst those young crocs, known round here
as crockettes, may look cute, their mother won’t be
far away.
Interviewer  But once you’re sure there aren’t any
breeding in the area, is it fairly safe to camp?
Dan  As long as you’re more than about fifty metres
from the nearest water, yes. And it’s also vital to keep
the whole place clean. You need to make sure the
ground around your tent is free of scraps of food, as
these can attract hungry crocodiles. They don’t only
eat meat, by the way.

Interviewer  And where do crocodiles most like to go
to feed?
Dan  It’s common for them to wait at points where
they usually drink. The crocs lie just under the water

AUDIOSCRIPTS

near these places and suddenly pounce. The TV
documentaries set in Africa often show them going
for antelope, buffalo, and so on, but here their most
common big target is cattle, which they drag into
the water.
Interviewer  And how often do they eat?
Dan  The thing about cold-blooded creatures is that
they don’t have to keep eating to maintain their body
temperature. We, for instance, eat three times a day,
and other mammals eat many times a week. But
crocodiles, certainly all those I’ve observed, do so
once every seven days. So they can afford to have a
lot of patience.
Interviewer  Thank you, Dan.
Part 3
2.14

You hear five people talking about difficulties they
had while learning something.
Speaker 1  I’d been doing Russian at school for quite
a while. It had always interested me, and my teacher
said I’d made quite good progress. The only thing
was, I’d learned a lot of grammar and vocabulary and

could read and write it pretty well, but I very rarely
spoke it to anyone, even in class. It wasn’t that kind
of school. So when I heard my parents wanted me
to spend two weeks in Russia, I knew I had to find
someone to talk to in Russian, to get used to real
conversation in the language. But I live in a small
town and there was nobody with a good enough
level, so the first time I actually spoke it was on the
airport bus into Moscow.
Speaker 2  I’d bought this new MP3 player and was
really looking forward to putting all my favourite
music on it. I’d got it quite cheaply over the Internet
but it looked like a good one and it had all the latest
features, with enough memory for lots of songs. So
I charged up the battery and then switched it on. I
didn’t quite know what to do next, so I had a look at
the booklet that came with it, but I couldn’t make
sense of it. The words were definitely English, but
none of the sentences seemed to mean anything.
I think it must have been translated by a computer,
and it was no help at all.
Speaker 3  I’d had a car for several years, but when
I went to England to work it wasn’t easy to get used
to driving on the other side of the road. Not so much
the traffic; you just tend to follow everyone else,
especially on motorways. No, it was the car itself,
and no matter how much practice I got, I still found it
strange to have the handbrake and the gearstick on
the left. Maybe I should have got a driving instructor
to teach me properly when I first went there, because

after all it is a kind of learning process. And the same,
of course, goes for British people who drive in my
country!

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools


Part 4
2.15

You hear part of an interview with a reporter
about a city’s bicycle rental scheme.
Interviewer  Kate, you’ve lived in this city for quite
some time. How’s the bicycle rental scheme going?
Kate  Overall, it’s working pretty well. Basically, you
just take any bike you like from one of the stands
located all over the city, ride it to wherever you’re
going and drop it off at the stand nearest to your
destination. It’s open to residents and visitors alike,
as long as you buy an access card. You can get one
of these either from a machine by the stands, or, if
you want one for a year, by filling in a form online
and receiving it by email. The card costs a pound for
one day, five pounds for a week or twenty-nine for
twelve months.
Interviewer  And is that it? I mean, you don’t have to
pay any more?
Kate  You don’t have to pay for the first half an hour,
though if you use it for more than that the price goes
up quite quickly. The next half hour costs one pound,

the following thirty minutes will be two pounds and
for every extra half hour after that you’ll have to pay
four pounds. So it’s not cheap if you’re in the habit
of riding around town all day, and all the bikes cost
the same.

AUDIOSCRIPTS

Interviewer  Do you have to put down any kind of
deposit on the bike?
Kate  Yes, when you get your card you have to give
credit card details and a hundred pounds is held
against the safe return of the bicycle. You lose that
if it isn’t back within twenty-four hours. I can see
the point of that and it seems a reasonable amount,
but it doesn’t matter why you’re late returning it –
accident, illness or whatever – you still lose all your
money, which doesn’t seem right.
Interviewer  And how popular has the scheme been?
Kate  Very. In the first two months, there were over
3,000 rentals. Some residents are finding it a great
way to get home late at night after public transport
has stopped running. But it’s the visitors to the city
that are really using them now – it’s such a great
way to see the sights. There don’t seem to be many
children on them yet – they still haven’t replaced the
school run – but of course kids tend to have their
own bikes.
Interviewer  Are there areas of the city where
they’re not popular?

Kate  Well, I’ve noticed that in the hillier parts of the
city there seem to be very few available at the top of
the big hills, but far more than are necessary at the
bottom. Also, there aren’t enough in the out-of-town
areas where lots of motorists park to avoid driving
into the city centre, and I’m told the same kind of
thing happens at the stations. When everyone rushes
off the trains in the morning, only a certain number
can actually get one – the demand is not met.
Interviewer  So has the scheme actually managed to
reduce traffic?
Kate  Well, I think it’s changed attitudes towards the
car rather than actually getting people out of their
vehicles. People who drive their cars into the city put
up with the traffic because they’re comfortable or
they like driving, so it’s difficult to make them think
differently. Actually, I’d say the majority of those using
bikes have previously used the buses, underground
or trains for journeys that are too far to walk. It could
change, though, as bikes start to take over from the
cars. That’s what people hope, anyway.
Interviewer  How do you see it in the future?
Kate  I’m not convinced it’ll make such a huge
difference as some people would like to think. I don’t
think it’s realistic to talk about it leading to a car-free
central area, for instance. But the sheer number of
cyclists is eventually going to force the council to
increase the number of lanes for them on the city’s
streets quite considerably, and in the end there just
won’t be room on those streets for all the cars using

them now.

Oxford Preparation & Practice for B2 First for Schools

Audioscripts

Speaker 4  This self-study course in information
technology seemed like a good idea, even though
it was expensive, but I soon found it was taking
up more and more of my free time. It wasn’t that I
couldn’t follow the material I was studying, it was
just that there was so much to do; and to be honest,
I was getting tired of all the mental effort required.
So I called the organization’s information line to try
and get some advice. That, too, was much harder
than it sounded. After going through a whole series
of recorded messages and pressing one, two or
three, I finally gave up. And I’ll probably give up the
course, too.
Speaker 5  I took up karate three years ago and I’m
now doing my green belt, which is kind of halfway
to black belt. It’s a fantastic sport, and I’ve always
really enjoyed it, though in the first couple of years
I often had problems doing patterns – the series
of movements you do to practise different kinds
of defence and attack. The thing was, I could do
all the kicks and everything, but I kept forgetting
which order I had to do them in. So they’d shout the
instruction to do a particular pattern and I’d start
off really well but end up doing different things

from everyone else. Eventually I bought a DVD which
showed how to do the patterns and that helped a lot.