Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – Achievements

1

good habits: B, C, D revising a lot/studied hard/hours in the library

bad habits: A, E late starting an essay/no revising

2

1 B   2 E   3 C   4 A   5 D

A   I’m writing an essay at the moment. But I’m a bit worried, because I only started today and I have to hand it in on Friday. I really need to speak to my lecturer. I might fail the year if she doesn’t give me more time.

B   I can’t believe it’s all over – the last exam was yesterday. Now I just have to wait for the results. I studied hard, so I’m quite confident. If I pass, I’m going to have a big party! If I don’t, well … I’m not going to think about that …

C   So I’ve got my results and … I’m really happy with my marks. All those hours in the library paid off! The problem now is that I have to choose which course to do at which university. I’ve got three places to choose from and they’re all really good, but they’re slightly different. I have to be quick – if I don’t decide soon, I’ll miss the deadline.

D   Well, my exams start next week, so I’m revising a lot at the moment. I really want to do an economics degree but it won’t be easy to get a place – there are a lot of people who want one. But I’m sure I’ll get the grades I need if I work hard.

E   The exam’s in a couple of hours. I’m not really ready, because I went to a few parties this week and I haven’t had time to revise. If the questions aren’t too hard, I might be OK. But this lecturer normally gives us difficult exam papers, so I think I’m in trouble!

1

1 T   2 F   3 F   4 T

2

1   Shyness becomes a problem when it stops you doing what you want to do.

2   Because of technology / the Internet, we speak to other people much less now.

3   They worry a lot and they expect things to go wrong.

4   She asks them to talk about their feelings and make a list of all their fears; then she asks if things will really happen and they say ‘yes’; she works with them and in the end they say ‘no’; they go out and speak to people and see what happens – normally nothing bad.

PRESENTER   So, let’s have a look at another story in the news today. A study reported in the newspapers this week has found that 50% of people in the USA say they are shy. And also that this is an increase, and shyness is becoming more common. Well, here to talk about this is Dr Lamb, from the University of South London. Dr Lamb, good morning.

DR LAMB   Good morning. Thanks for inviting me here.

P   Let’s talk first about shyness in general. Obviously we all feel shy sometimes. When does it become a problem?

L   Well, it becomes a problem when it stops you doing what you want to do. Shy people normally want to communicate with other people. They don’t want to be on their own. But they find it difficult when they need to talk to other people. Or when people talk to them.

P   OK, and is it true that people are becoming shyer? Is shyness becoming more common in the world?

L   That’s a difficult question to answer. But some people say that modern technology is making us shyer.

P   Yes, in fact the study mentions technology. What is the relationship between technology and shyness?

L   Yes, well, the idea is basically that we speak to other people much less now … because of technology. The Internet has changed things a lot. We maybe use email or Facebook more than we talk on the phone or meet our friends. We check our bank account online. We don’t go to the bank much anymore and speak to someone. We book our holidays online, not at a travel agent’s. So there are all of these things. We just speak to other people less than in the past. So when we do speak to someone, it’s more difficult for us.

P   So tell us – what makes shy people feel the way they do? What’s going on in a shy person’s head?

L   Well, first it’s important to say – everyone is different so there’s no single answer. But in general, shy people worry a lot and they expect things to go wrong. Let’s imagine a shy person wants to go to a party. He or she will probably make lots of predictions about the party, normally bad ones. So they’ll say, ‘If I go to the party, I won’t know anyone and it will be difficult. I won’t enjoy it.’ And so on. Or often they imagine terrible situations – ‘Everyone will laugh when I speak’, ‘Everyone will hate me’, that kind of thing.

P   These are, I think, the kinds of feelings we all get sometimes. But you’re saying that very shy people get more of them.

L   Yes, yes – absolutely.

P   And what can you do to help shy people?

L   Well, when I work with shy people, I ask them to talk about these feelings. I tell them to make a list of all the things they worry about. Then I can ask, ‘Well, do you think these things will really happen?’ At the beginning they say, ‘yes’. But I work with them and I hope in the end they’ll realise the things probably won’t happen. That’s important. And after this training, I ask the shy person to go out and speak to people, to see what happens. And normally nothing bad happens. Then they can compare this real experience they’ve had to the list of fears they wrote on Day 1. There’s normally a big difference and this really helps them to deal with their shyness.

P   OK, Dr Lamb, we have to finish there. Thanks for coming to speak to us.

L   Thank you.

1

Mark (Riley)

No, Mark will call her back.

2

1   Mark’s in a meeting.

2   Annie asks him to tell Mark that she called.

3    He offers to ask Mark to call Annie back.

4   Annie’s name; if Mark has Annie’s number

Part 1

RECEPTIONIST   Good morning, Turner and Collins.

ANNIE   Oh, good morning. Is it possible to speak to Mark Riley in Marketing?

R   I’ll just put you through.

COLLEAGUE   Hello, Mark Riley’s phone?

A   Oh, hello. Is Mark there?

C   I’m afraid he’s not available – he’s in a meeting. Can I take a message?

A   Umm, can you just tell him that I called?

C   And who’s calling, please?

A   This is Annie Morton speaking.

C   OK. And shall I ask him to call you back?

A   Ah, yes please.

C   Did you say your name was Annie Morgan?

A   No, sorry, Annie Morton. That’s M-O-R-T-O-N.

C   OK. And has he got your number?

A   Yes, he has.

C   Fine, I’ll ask him to call you.

A   Thanks very much.

C   No problem. Bye.

A   Goodbye.

3

at 2.30 tomorrow / the next day

4

1   Annie’s feeling better and she’s sure she’ll find something.

2   She’s called Mark. She’s spoken to her boss.

3   so they can have a chat (because they’re [the company is] always looking for new people in Mark’s office)

4   Rachel wants to ask Mark to buy a few things on his way home.

Part 2

RACHEL   So, how are you doing? Are you feeling better about finding a new job?

ANNIE   Yeah, definitely. I’m sure I’ll find something.

R   Good … thank you, Tina.

A   And I called Mark this morning. He wasn’t there, but I left a message for him.

R   Great. And did you speak to your boss? Did you ask about other jobs at your company?

A   Yeah, I did. But she said there won’t be anything else there.

R   Oh dear. Well, it was still a good idea to ask.

A   Yes, definitely. It was good to get everything clear. I understand the situation now.

R   Exactly. And what happened with Leo in the end? Is everything OK?

A   I met him just now for lunch actually. But yeah, everything’s fine. He wasn’t very well – that was all.

R   Oh dear.

A   Anyway, what about you? How are things here at the shop?

R   Fine. Actually, it’s been quite quiet this week.

A   Oh, this could be Mark now.

R   Answer it!

A   Hello?

MARK   Hi, is that Annie?

A   Yes?

M   Hi, it’s Mark here.

A   Oh hi, Mark!

M   Is now a good time?

A   Yes, it’s fine.

M   Well, I got your message. And Rachel explained you’re looking for a new job.

A   Sorry, Mark, I didn’t catch that.

M   Yeah, I was just saying, Rachel explained you’re looking for a job.

A   Yes, that’s right.

M   Well, look, why don’t you come in to the office some time? We’re always looking for new people here. Come in and we can have a chat.

A   OK, that sounds great. How about two thirty tomorrow?

M   Sorry, was that three thirty tomorrow?

A   No, two thirty.

M   Er … OK, that’s fine.

A   Great. Well, see you tomorrow then. Oh, I’m with Rachel and she wants to speak to you.

R   Hi, Mark.

M   Yep.

R   Yes, I just wanted to ask you if you could buy a few things on your way home.

M   Er …

R   We need some milk, some orange juice …

M   Sorry, can I call you back? I’ve got a meeting now, so I’ve got to go.

R   OK …

M   I’ll call you in about an hour.

R   All right. Speak to you soon. Bye.

M   Bye.

1

Janina; her IT skills aren’t very good

2

1   T

2   F – She thinks online courses are great.

3   T

4   F – She could meet teachers if she wanted to.

5   T

6   F – She doesn’t need any special skills.

7   F – She can do it any time.

ROBERTA   Hi Janina. What are you reading?

JANINA   I’m just looking at the course information for next year.

R   Oh, OK.

J   It says that one of the psychology courses I have to do is going to be online.

R   That’s good.

J   You think so? I’ve never done an online course.

R   I did one this year – it was great. I wouldn’t mind doing my whole degree online.

J   Really, Roberta? What’s so good about it?

R   Well, we only had about two classes on the whole course. And they recorded them and put them online anyway. I was free to study whenever I wanted. Good for people like me who are always late for classes!

J   Yeah, I don’t have a problem with that but it sounds good.

R   I mean, you still have to write essays and hand things in on time and all that kind of thing.

J   Of course.

R   And I got good grades on that course.

J   But did you … I mean, didn’t you miss asking your teachers questions? And what about meeting other students?

R   Well, we could go and meet the teachers if we wanted to … you know, make an appointment and ask about something one to-one. And at the beginning of the course, we had to write an online profile. We had students from all round the world in our class, so the profiles were really interesting.

J   How many international students were there?

R   About 15, I think. And from all kinds of different places – Colombia, China, Morocco, Turkey, Oman – all over the place.

J   And did they talk about their countries a lot?

R   Yeah, that’s what I really enjoyed.

PROFESSOR   Good morning, Gavino. Thanks for coming to see me this morning.

GAVINO   Good morning, Professor.

P   I’d like to talk to you about your work. There seem to be a few problems at the moment.

G   Problems, Professor?

P   Yes. The last two essays that you wrote for me were very poor. I really don’t think that you had read any of the books. And you handed them both in late. I know that you’re very busy at the moment, but so is everyone, and all the other students managed to do the essays on time.

G   I’m sorry, Professor. I had six essays to write this term.

P   I know that you only fnished secondary school last year, but when you start a degree in Psychology, that’s what you expect. If your next essay is late, I will refuse to mark it. OK?

G   Yes, I understand.

P   You’ve also avoided coming to my class for the last two weeks. If you don’t come to class, you won’t learn anything, Gavino. This is so important. Do you dislike listening to my lectures or have you got something better to do?

G   No, of course not. I really regret not coming, but I was ill. But one of the other students agreed to lend me his notes.

P   OK. Well, I recommend reading them very carefully. And if you don’t understand something, come and talk to me. There are exams at the end of this term and if you don’t attend every lecture, there is a good chance that you will fail.

G   Yes, I know. I’ve started revising for them already.

P   Well, that is good news. I’ve arranged to meet a group of students every Wednesday afternoon to talk about the exam. I think it would be very useful for you to join us.

G   Yes, that sounds really useful. Unfortunately, I play rugby every Wednesday. My rugby is very important to me, Professor.

P   And your degree isn’t?

G   Yes, that is very important too. Of course.

P   Only 25 students every year get a place to study Psychology at this university. You are very lucky to be here. If your work doesn’t get better, you may lose your place on the course. I want you to think very carefully about what is most important to you.

G   I will, Professor.

P   Have you got any questions that you want to ask me?

G   Yes. There is something. Which books should I read?

P   The books on the reading list.

G   Which list is that?

P   The list that I gave you at the start of the term.

G   I don’t think I have it.

P   So you haven’t read any of the books then.

G   Er, no, I haven’t.