Practice English Listening A1 Exercises – What are you up to?

A

Colin is Millie’s dad. Millie is his daughter. Millie is in Sydney, Australia. Colin is in London, UK. It’s 1 p.m. in Sydney and 2 a.m. in London. Millie is calling Colin in the middle of the night.

Audioscript

A

A call in the night

C = Colin M = Millie

C   Who … ?

M   It’s me Dad!

C   Oh … Millie! Millie, are you all right?

M   Hi Dad, I’m just phoning to see how you and Mum are!

C   Millie, we’re fine, but it’s two o’clock in the morning here. We’re in bed, sleeping – well, I’m not sleeping now!

M   Oh sorry, Dad. I forgot … the time difference!

C   Sssh – your mum’s still sleeping. How are you doing? Is everything OK?

M   It’s great. It’s lunchtime here in Oz – we’re having a barbecue on the beach. We’re cooking steak and sausages.

C   That’s wonderful, honey … but I’m so tired. I’ll call you tomorrow morning – eight o’clock our time and seven your time. OK?

M   OK, Dad! Love you!

B

What are they doing?

A   What’s Millie doing?

B   She’s phoning her parents.

A   Why is she phoning?

B   Because she wants to know how they are.

A   What’s her dad doing?

B   He’s talking to Millie. He’s not sleeping.

A   What’s her mum doing?

B   She’s sleeping.

A   What are Millie’s friends doing?

B   They’re having a barbecue.

A   Where are they having the barbecue.

B   On the beach.

A   What are they cooking?

B   Steak and sausages.

Where are you going?

T = Tony M = mum N = Nina J = Jane

Conversation 1   On a train

T   Hi, Mum!

M   Hi, Tony! Where are you?

T   I’m on the train. I’m just doing a bit of work on my laptop.

M   Oh, where are you going?

T   I’m going to Birmingham for the day to see some friends – you know, Ed and Kay.

M   Oh, yes! Do they live in Birmingham?

T   No, they don’t, but they’re staying with Ed’s mum at the moment. She’s not feeling very well.

M   Oh dear! I hope she’s better soon. Well, I’m just phoning to see how you are …

Conversation 2   Packing to go

N   Jane!

J   Hi, Nina! Am I disturbing you?

N   No, no! You’re not. I’m just packing for Dubai. I’m trying to decide which clothes to take.

J   So, what’s the temperature in Dubai at the moment?

N   34 degrees!

J   Phew! Well, I’m just phoning to wish you ‘good luck’ and ‘bon voyage’!

N   Thanks, Jane. I’m really nervous.

J   You’ll be great. You always speak so well at conferences.

N   Thanks, Jane.

A

From left to right: Anton, Helena, Eric, Charlotte, Leon and Peter Vine.

B

Audioscript

Who’s who at the art exhibition?

A   Oh, dear! I don’t know anybody. Who are they all?

B   Don’t worry. They’re all very nice. I’ll tell you who everybody is. Can you see that man over there?

A   The man who’s standing in front of the window?

B   Yes. The man wearing the bow tie. That’s Eric. He’s American, from New York. He has an art shop there. He often visits London to buy pictures. He’s very rich. And very funny.

A   Ah, yes. I can see that – the woman next to him is laughing a lot. Who is she?

B   That’s Charlotte. She’s lovely, very clever. She’s a professor at the university. She teaches art history.

A   Mmm. I like her bag. And who’s that on their left? She’s wearing a beautiful pink scarf and drinking champagne.

B   That’s Helena. She’s a writer. She writes stories for children. They’re excellent. A very nice lady.

A   And who’s the man she’s talking to? He’s got a beard and he’s wearing a big black hat.

B   Ah, that’s Anton, he’s an artist, a very interesting man. He lives and works in Paris most of the time. That picture over there is one of his. It’s called ‘The Tree.’

A   Really? Wow! It’s beautiful! OK – so that’s Eric and Charlotte … Helena and Anton … Now, who are those two over there? The guys with the brochure – they’re looking at Anton’s painting.

B   Oh yes. That’s Leon and Peter Vine. They’re brothers and they’re both art dealers.

A   And do they work in London?

B   Yes, they do. They have an art gallery in Bond Street. Come with me, I’ll introduce you to them and I’ll get you a brochure.

A   Thank you.

A

1 116   2 257 and 107   3 10,000   4 48

5 144 million   6 15,000   7 $20,732   8 4,500

9 2,500   10 14 meteors   11 360   12 0.15

B

1   Karam and Kartari Chand’s. It lasted 90 years. They were 20 and 13 when they married.

2   132 million are born and 55 million die every year on average.

3   Satellites – 1,071 of them.

4   110 times

5   9 trillion

6   I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas

7   $0.013 per minute, Bill Gates

8   1.8 million

9   46% is food, 27% is paper and plastic

10   80,000 years ago in Namibia

11   hotter

12   The Black Rhino, the Mountain Gorilla, and many species of frogs.

Audioscript

What’s happening in the world right now?

1   At this moment, 116 people are getting married. The longest marriage ever lasted an amazing 90 years. In 1925, Karam Chand, then 20 years old, married his wife Kartari, age 13, in India. They celebrated their 90th anniversary in 2015. Karam died just six weeks later.

2   At this moment, 257 babies are being born and 107 people are dying. On average about 132 million people are born and 55 million die every year.

3   At this moment, 10,000 planes are flying above the Earth. There are also 1071 satellites going round the Earth, one of which is the International Space Station.

4   At this moment, 48 million people are making phone calls. Do you know that more people in the world have mobile phones than toilets and the average person checks his or her phone 110 times a day?

5   At this moment, 144 million people are sending emails. People also text a lot. Worldwide they send nearly nine trillion texts every year.

6   At this moment, 15,000 people are downloading songs on iTunes. There are 26 million songs you can download on iTunes. I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas is the most downloaded song ever.

7   At this moment, the top ten billionaires are earning on average $20,732 every minute. Sad to say that the average person worldwide is earning just $0.013 in this same minute. Bill Gates, the American businessman who founded Microsoft, is the richest billionaire in the world – he is worth $76.6 billion.

8   At this moment, 4,500 people are buying McDonald’s hamburgers. McDonald’s has more than 34,000 restaurants worldwide and employs 1.8 million people.

9   At this moment, we are throwing away 2,500 tons of rubbish. Every year, we create about 1.4 trillion kilos of rubbish worldwide. 46% is food waste, 27% is paper and plastic.

10   At this moment, 14 meteors are falling to Earth. The world’s biggest meteor fell on Namibia in Africa about 80,000 years ago. It’s called Hoba and is between 190 and 410 million years old.

11   At this moment, lightning is striking the Earth in 360 places. The average temperature of lightning is around 20,000°C hotter than the Sun!

12   At this moment, 0.15 of an animal is becoming extinct. Animals in danger include the Black Rhino and the Mountain Gorilla in Africa and many species of frog.

1 C   2 G   3 D   4 H

Audioscript

Describing people

1   She looks happy – she’s smiling. It’s a cold day, so she’s wearing a warm, red scarf and hat, and long, black boots. She’s walking in the snow.

2   He’s got a dark beard and he’s wearing a cap and … sunglasses – but I don’t know why, it’s not a very sunny day.

3   He’s not very tall – his friend’s much taller. He’s wearing shorts and trainers and carrying a ball – I think it’s a basketball.

4   She’s really pretty – she’s got beautiful, long red hair and I think she’s in love – she looks very happy.

1 g   2 f   3 c   4 i   5 a   6 b   7 d   8 e   9 h

Audioscript

1   A   Beautiful day, isn’t it?

      B   Yes, it’s definitely getting warmer now.

      A   Yes. I didn’t even bring a jacket today.

      B   Me neither.

2   A   Sorry, I’m late again!

      B   Not to worry. We’re just starting.

      A   It’s the trains! Another cancellation this morning!

      B   I know. It’s awful, isn’t it. OK, let’s get started …

3   A   Can I help you, sir?

      B   Yes, I’m looking for a bike for my 11-year-old son.

      A   OK. How about this mountain bike?

      B   That looks good. How much is it?

4   A   Would you like to go out for a drink after work?

      B   I’d love to. Which pub?

      A   The Red Lion. A lot of us are going.

      B   Great! See you later.

5   A   Excuse me! This machine isn’t working.

      B   Oh dear! Let me have a look. It breaks all the time.

      A   I put my money in and nothing happened.

      B   Don’t worry. I’ll give you the money back.

6   A   I can’t find my phone.

      B   Oh not again! You had it in the coffee bar. Did you leave it there?

      A   No, I’m sure I didn’t. Oh it’s here somewhere. Call my number! … There it is! It’s in one of the shopping bags.

7   A   Thanks for the dinner invite, but I’m afraid I can’t come. Sorry!

      B   Ah that’s a pity. Maybe another time.

      A   I’m going away on business that weekend.

      B   Never mind. We’ll meet up when you’re back.

8   A   Patrick and I are expecting a baby!

      B   Wow! That’s fantastic news! Congratulations!

      A   Thanks. We’re both pretty excited. And a bit nervous.

      B   We can understand that.

9   A   Bye! Have a good journey!

      B   Thanks. See you in a couple of days.

      A   I hope you have a good time.

      B   I’m sure we will. Bye!