Practice English Listening B1+ Exercises – All kinds of problems

A

He wants to take her to his nephew Luke’s house in Oxford.

He can’t because two of the tyres are flat / punctured.

She’s going to take the bus.

B

1 has been found   2 will like Luke   3 has two flat tyres

4 vandals   5 knows   6 rent a car   7 make dinner for Henry

8 doesn’t wait

N = narrator, J = Jenny, H = Henry, L = Luke

N   Day two. Nine a.m. Jenny has come to the UK for work and a bit of holiday. She’s staying with her father-in-law, Henry, outside Oxford. She had some problems on her first day – her suitcase didn’t arrive, and her laptop isn’t working for some reason. Henry says that Luke, Rob’s cousin, who lives in Oxford, will be able to fix her laptop. While they are walking to Henry’s car to drive to Luke’s house, Jenny’s phone rings.

J   Hello?…Yes, it is…Oh that’s great news. Thank you…Later today? Great. Now I won’t have to buy new clothes. Yeah, that’s the right address. Bye.

H   Good news?

J   Great news! They found my suitcase, and they’re bringing it over later today.

H   Excellent. Right, I’ll take you to my nephew’s house so he can fix your computer.

J   I’m looking forward to meeting Luke.

H   You’ll like him. He’s a bright boy. Not that I understand a word he says.

J   I bet he doesn’t know much about Greek mythology, either!

H   You’re probably right.

N   Henry looks at one of the front wheels of his car.

H   That’s funny.

J   What’s wrong?

H   The tyre’s flat.

J   Do you have a spare?

H   Well, yes, but it shouldn’t be flat; it’s new and…

N   He walks round and looks at the other front wheel.

H   Oh, I don’t believe it!

J   What is it?

H   They’re both flat! They’ve been punctured!

J   What? Somebody did that on purpose? In the English countryside?

H   You get vandals everywhere these days. Well, I’ll just have to stay here and see if I can get the AA to bring out another spare tyre. I’ll call you a taxi.

J   Isn’t there a bus I could catch?

H   Well, there’s a bus stop on the main road. You could get the bus to Oxford from there, I suppose.

J   How do I get to the bus stop?

H   The quickest way is the footpath at the back of the house.

J   I think I’ll do that, then.

H   Are you sure you want to get the bus? How will you find Luke’s house?

J   You gave me the address. I can look it up on my phone if I get lost.

H   Ah, yes, of course. But this is really inconvenient for you. You were going to borrow my car, weren’t you?

J   No, don’t worry, Henry. I’d actually decided to rent a car, anyway. I’ll need it for work, and it’ll probably be cheaper to rent here than in London. I can get one while Luke is working his magic.

H   Well, if you’re absolutely sure. Just go to the back door and you’ll see the path. Follow that – it takes you to the bus stop.

J   OK. Oh, I’d like to cook dinner this evening to thank you for having me.

H   You don’t need to do that!

J   I want to.

H   Well, if you’re sure. What time?

J   How about seven o’clock?

H   Great! And I’ll keep my phone on in case you need me.

J   See you later, Henry.

H   Bye!

N   Jenny leaves to catch the bus and Henry phones the Automobile Association. Suddenly, a dark car draws up in front of the house. The driver is a strange man he’s never seen before.

H   Who’s that?

N   Day two. Eleven a.m. Jenny finally arrives at Luke’s house in Oxford.

J   Luke?

L   You must be Jenny. Hi.

J   Nice to meet you.

L   You too. Come in. Would you like some coffee? I’ve just made some…

J   I’d love to, but I’m running a bit late. We had trouble with the car, and then the bus took forever. And I really need to get to a car rental place. I’m really sorry, but could I just leave the computer with you?

L   Yeah, no problem.

J   That’s great. I feel awful just leaving it here like this.

L   Honestly, don’t worry about it.

J   Are you sure?

L   Yeah, it’s cool. I love doing this kind of thing. I’ll send you a text and let you know how I’m getting on.

J   That’s nice of you, Luke. Thanks. See you later.

L   See you later.

1   Nine days

2   A Vauxhall Corsa (Vauxhall is what this brand of cars is called in the UK; in many other countries it is called Opel)

3   At the airport

N = narrator, Ne = newsreader, A = assistant, J = Jenny

N   Inside a car rentals shop, the assistant is watching the news on TV on the counter. On the TV screen, there is a photograph of Heathrow Airport and the headline ‘Airport Assault’.

Ne   The man found unconscious at Heathrow Airport yesterday has been named as Andrew Page, a research scientist from Oxford. Police believe he was attacked…

A   Hello. Can I help you?

J   Oh, hi. I’d like to rent a car, please.

A   Have you hired from us before?

J   No.

A   OK, could I see your driving licence, please? Great. So, what kind of car are you looking for?

J   Oh, nothing too big. It’s just for me.

A   OK, so a compact. Three-door?

J   Yeah, that’ll be fine.

A   For how long?

J   Nine days.

A   Automatic or manual?

J   An automatic, please.

A   Any additional drivers?

J   No, just me.

A   Great. Well, we have several models I can show you, but I’d recommend the Vauxhall Corsa. It’s sixty-five pounds per day, and that includes insurance.

J   That sounds promising. Can I take a look?

A   Of course, but first I’d like to run through some of the basics. The petrol tank is full when you start, so if you return it with a full tank, there’s no extra charge.

J   Great.

A   But if you get any parking tickets or speeding fines, you have to pay for them yourself.

J   Fair enough! Would it be possible to leave the car at the airport?

A   No problem, but that’s a one-way rental, so there’s an additional charge of £50.

J   OK.

A   And one last thing – have you driven in the UK before?

J   Yes, I have. So driving on the left’s not a problem.

A   That’s good. OK, let’s go out and take a look at the car. We can go through the paperwork afterwards.

J   Great.

N   As Jenny and the assistant leave the office to see the car, the TV shows Andrew’s photograph with the headline ‘Airport Assault’.

A

a) Jenny’s laptop is still with Luke, who needs more time to fix it.

b) Her suitcase has arrived at Henry’s house, but the lock is broken.

She hears on the news that Andrew Page, the man she met at the airport, has been attacked and is now in hospital in a critical condition.

B

1   F (Henry isn’t at home.)

2   T

3   F (She thinks it’s really weird.)

4   F (Luke thinks Henry has probably gone for a walk.)

5   F (He’s very punctual.)

6   T

7   F (Henry still isn’t home.)

8   F (She phones Rob because she needs to talk to him.)

N = narrator, J = Jenny, H = Henry, L = Luke, Ne = newsreader

N   Day two. Five p.m. Jenny drives back to Henry’s house. She’s bought food to cook for dinner. She leaves the food on the table and looks for Henry.

J   Henry? Henry? Henry?

N   Henry doesn’t seem to be there, so she phones him.

H   This is Henry Walker. I’m afraid I can’t take your call at the moment. Please leave your message after the tone.

J   Hi, Henry, it’s Jenny here. I just wanted to let you know everything went fine. I got my car and I’m back home. Remember, I’m making dinner. See you soon.

N   She notices some books on the floor and picks them up and puts them away. She then phones Luke.

J   Hi, Luke. It’s Jenny.

L   Hi, Jenny. What’s up?

J   I just wanted to apologize for running off this morning.

L   You really don’t need to! I should apologize, actually. It’s going to take me longer than I thought to unlock your computer. It’s like there’s an extra security code or something.

J   That’s really weird.

L   Don’t worry, I’m sure I can crack it.

J   I just have no idea how it got there. Hang on.

L   What is it?

J   My suitcase has arrived!

L   Hey, that’s great!

J   Oh, look at that. The lock’s broken.

L   Must have been the baggage handlers!

J   Well, at least it’s back.

L   So, how’s Uncle Henry?

J   He isn’t here. I called him, but he didn’t answer.

L   He probably went for a walk. He often does that. He thinks about his research and stuff.

J   Well, I hope he’s back in time for dinner!

L   He will be. He’s always on time.

J   Yeah, Rob told me Henry’s very punctual.

L   Unlike Rob!

J   Exactly.

L   Is that the jet lag catching up with you?

J   Yeah, I’m pretty tired.

L   You should have a nap. Don’t worry, I’ll get this computer working as soon as I can.

J   Thanks, Luke. See you later.

L   Bye!

N   Jenny sits down on the sofa and turns on the TV, but soon she closes her eyes and falls asleep. The TV is still on. Jenny suddenly wakes up. She’s been asleep for almost four hours.

J   Oh no, dinner! Henry? Henry! That’s strange.

N   Jenny phones him again.

H   This is Henry Walker. I’m afraid I can’t take your call at the moment. Please leave your message after the tone.

N   She then glances at the TV.

Ne   The victim of last night’s assault at Heathrow Airport has been named as Andrew Page. Mr Page is a research scientist from Oxford. Police believe he was attacked as he left the airport. He is now in hospital in a critical condition. Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen Mr Page to contact them immediately. Mr Page had just returned from New York, where he was conducting research on renewable energy.

J   Oh my gosh! Andrew!

N   Jenny picks up her phone and dials.

R   Hi, Jenny.

J   Rob, I need to talk to you.