Music & Performing Arts – B2 English Listening Exercise

9 nursing staff 10 classical guitar 11 parking space 12 dining room

13 breathing 14 speakers 15 Sunday afternoons

16 questionnaire 17 printed programme 18 children’s ward

Liam: Hi everyone, my name is Liam, and I’m a third-year student and the secretary of our university’s music society. Today I want to talk to you about a community outreach project we’ve been running, which involves staging charitable concerts for patients convalescing at our local hospital.

The whole initiative began about six months ago. Many people assume the idea came from the hospital management, or perhaps a former patient who missed hearing live music. But actually, it was the nursing staff who originally contacted our society, asking if we could provide some soothing entertainment for people recovering from long-term illnesses.

Deciding what to play was our first hurdle. We initially assumed that upbeat jazz would cheer everyone up, and we also prepared some lively folk music. However, after a few trial runs, we discovered that classical guitar was overwhelmingly the most popular choice, as it really helped the patients drift into a relaxed state.

Of course, organising these events wasn’t without its logistical challenges. We were initially quite stressed about transporting heavy instruments like cellos and keyboards across town. As it turned out, that was relatively straightforward; our biggest headache was actually securing a parking space that wasn’t miles away from the main entrance.

Finding the right venue inside the hospital was also a bit of trial and error. We originally set up in the main reception area, hoping to entertain people as they walked in. But it was far too chaotic. Instead, the hospital administration kindly allowed us to use the dining room, which provides a much more intimate and quiet atmosphere for our audience.

The impact on the convalescing patients has been incredibly rewarding to witness. We obviously hoped their mood would lift, and it did. But the doctors told us they also noticed measurable physical improvements. They mentioned that the patients’ breathing became significantly more regular and relaxed while listening to our performances.

Technically, we had to make a few adjustments. The hospital generously supplied us with a mixing desk and several microphones, which was a huge help. However, the acoustics in the room were a bit flat, so we had to invest in some high-quality speakers using our own society funds to ensure the melodies carried well.

Scheduling the concerts took some coordination. We briefly tried Friday evenings, but the patients were simply too exhausted by the end of the week. Ultimately, we figured out that Sunday afternoons worked perfectly, as the wards are generally much quieter and there are fewer medical procedures taking place.

We always want to ensure we’re playing music the patients actually want to hear. Rather than just guessing their tastes, or conducting lengthy face-to-face interviews which might tire them out, we distribute a brief questionnaire a few days before each concert. It’s a great way to gather their personal requests.

At the end of each performance, we like to leave the patients with a little keepsake. We initially thought about giving out recordings on CD, but many patients don’t have the devices to play them. Instead, we hand out a beautifully printed programme featuring the names of the composers and the students who performed, which they really appreciate.

Looking to the future, we are hoping to expand the project. There was a suggestion to play for the intensive care unit, but that was deemed a bit too disruptive. However, we’ve just been given the green light to take our musicians into the children’s ward starting next month, and we’re already rehearsing some fun, interactive songs for that!

9 Funtime 10 10 minutes 11 October 12 voice

13 confident 14 football 15 singing

16 shoes 17 glasses 18 Time Dance

Tim Tanner: Hi there. My name’s Tim Tanner, and I usually sing with my twin brother, Sam Tanner. I’m going to tell you about our career. Sam and I’ve been pretty famous as the singing twin brothers for about three years and we’ve appeared on lots of TV shows including Summer Holiday Special and Funtime, which is the talent show where we were voted best act – you probably saw it. It’s the one where the people in the acts had to be related to each other. After that we had four hit singles in a row and I guess the rest is history really.

People often ask us what it’s like to be twins who’ve grown up looking so alike. Sam and I’ve shared almost every experience, and we’re never usually apart for more than an hour at a time. I was born ten minutes before Sam so officially I’m the older brother, although we do actually have a real older brother, Ken, who’s a year older than us.

We were born premature, you know – earlier than we were supposed to be. Mum says it was hard carrying both of us when she was pregnant, and she was quite relieved when we suddenly appeared in October rather than January, over two months earlier than expected. Our big brother Ken’s birthday’s in December – so we’re pretty close in age – it must have been tough for our parents with three young boys.

Sam and I aren’t completely identical, but most people can’t tell us apart. It’s only mum who never mixes us up. Even our dad makes a mistake sometimes calling me ‘Sam’ and my brother ‘Tim’, because there’s hardly any difference in our hair, and we’re the same height and build. But as soon as we open our mouths, he’ll know which one it is by the voice. Sam’s is a bit deeper than mine, but most people don’t even notice that.

In character we’re quite similar – we’ve both always loved music, and since we were five we’ve wanted to be pop stars. We’ve always had a real interest in going out, and being sociable too. I’m a bit shyer though – people that know us say I’m not as confident as Sam is, which is probably true. Although I’m not exactly shy, you know. After all, you can’t appear on TV if you are!

At school we used to pretend to be each other sometimes for a laugh. Sometimes we’d swap places for spelling tests but nobody noticed because we got the same marks, which were pretty low – we were better at sports, and both played in the school football team. I was also good at basketball, but Sam wasn’t as keen, preferring volleyball for some reason.

We were both much more interested in music. I began learning the guitar and he started proper singing lessons with a private teacher when we were about thirteen, but a year or so later we both got into dancing in a big way and then we went to a special school where we could do loads of stuff that’s turned out to be useful – things like drama.

We share everything, and have one phone and computer between us and we get on well almost 100 percent of the time, but of course occasionally we have a row, usually about shoes because we share them too, but if we both want to wear the same ones for a show then we’ll argue for about 20 seconds and then one of us’ll give in and it’ll all be over. We manage to share the computer pretty well without fighting over it, which some people might find surprising.

Our image is based on being twins and looking alike and because we both have poor eyesight we enjoy choosing different styles of glasses for performances, you know, maybe green ones, to go with green suits, or dark ones with T-shirts and jeans. So the glasses are a major aspect of the way people see us on stage.

And look out for some new looks on our next tour, to promote the new album which is called Time Dance and comes out in a few weeks. It’s got some exciting new songs on it, quite different from our first album Soul Brothers. Sam and I wrote all the new songs together.