Practice English Listening B1 Exercises – Can we make our own luck?

Amy had travelled to Sydney to surprise Ian at exactly the same time he was travelling to the UK to surprise her. When they spoke on the phone, Ian asked her to marry him and she said yes.

N = Narrator, I = Ian, A = Amy

N   Ian thought Amy had gone out for the evening and sat down to wait for her to come back. Tired after his long journey, he fell asleep. When he woke up, the phone was ringing. Ian answered the phone. It was Amy.

I     I said, ‘Where are you?’ She said, ‘Ian, I’m sitting in your flat in Australia.’ At first I didn’t believe her but then she gave the phone to Eddie, who lives in my flat in Sydney, and he told me it was true. I was so shocked I couldn’t speak.

N   Amy had had the same idea as Ian. She had flown from London to Sydney via Singapore at exactly the same time Ian was flying in the opposite direction. Incredibly, both their planes stopped in Singapore at the same time. Ian and Amy were sitting in the same airport lounge but they didn’t see each other.

A   I had saved all my money to buy a ticket to Sydney. I wanted it to be a fantastic surprise for Ian. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I arrived. You can’t imagine how I felt when I arrived at his flat and his friend Eddie told me he’d gone to England! I just couldn’t believe it! When I spoke to Ian on the phone, he told me that he had flown back to England for a special reason and then he asked me to marry him. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but I said ‘yes’.

I     It was just bad luck. If one of us had stayed at home, we would have met. It’s as simple as that.

There were 15 cardiologists from different countries on the plane all going to a conference. They then gave her emergency treatment, and they managed to save her, so she was able to go to her daughter’s wedding.

N = Narrator, MF = Mrs Fletcher

N     The cabin crew put out a desperate call to the passengers: ‘If there’s a doctor on the plane, could you please press your call bell…’

        The cabin crew were hoping to hear this [sound effect of a bell], but they didn’t. They heard this [sound effect of lots of bells]. Incredibly, there were fifteen doctors on the plane, and all of them were cardiologists. They were from different countries and they were travelling to Florida for a medical conference.

         Four of the doctors rushed to give emergency treatment to Mrs Fletcher. At one point, they thought she had died, but finally they managed to save her life. The plane made an emergency landing in North Carolina and Mrs Fletcher was taken to hospital. After being in hospital for four days, she was able to go to her daughter’s wedding.

MF   I was very lucky. If those doctors hadn’t been on the plane, I would have died. I can’t thank them enough.

N     But now that she’s back in England, Mrs Fletcher has been less lucky with British hospitals.

MF   I had fifteen heart specialists on that plane, but I’ll have to wait three months until I can see one in this country!