Practice English Listening B1 Exercises – Listening for people’s goals for the future

Transcripts

Interviewer:   Thank you, Mr. Sandberg. Can you tell me about an accomplishment that you are proud of?

Mr. Sandberg:   I was lucky to have my parents’ help paying for my education. But when I decided I wanted to study abroad in Italy, both my parents thought it was a complete waste of my time. I tried to convince them, but in the end they told me that if I went, they wouldn’t help me financially. So I decided I would pay for it myself. I was able to get two jobs and for one year before my trip, all I did was work and study. But I did it! I managed to save enough money and study in Italy like I wanted. That experience taught me that I could do anything I wanted if I worked hard enough.

Interviewer:  Ms. Rowe, please tell me about an obstacle you managed to overcome.

Ms. Rowe:   Well, one thing you must know about me is that I love soccer. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at playing it, and it took me years to finally accept that. But I didn’t want to give up on soccer. I just needed a new approach. I started investigating and managed to find a job coaching a kids’ soccer league. I discovered I was really good at it. I understood their frustration and energy. That experience taught me that we have to be creative dealing with problems. We shouldn’t give up on what we love, but sometimes we have to think about what we love with a different perspective to find a solution.

Parts A and B:

1   Hugo: he hopes he’ll have established his career as a green architect; protecting the environment is important to him, he has lots of ideas for building with recyclable materials, and green building is the architecture of the future

2   Erin: she’ll have opened the world’s biggest luxury hotel chain; she knows what makes people happy and she knows about luxury

3   Danny: he’ll have started working full time as a veterinarian, and by age 35, he’ll have his own clinic; he loves animals and they make people happy

Transcripts

1   Hugo

Hugo:   Protecting the environment is something that is really important to me. We only have one chance with our planet, so we need to keep finding new ways to live that don’t destroy it. By the time I’m 30, I’d like to have established my career as a green architect. I have lots of ideas for building with recycled materials, and there are so many environmentally friendly ways to create energy. I think green building is the architecture of the future, and I want to be a huge part of that!

2   Erin

Erin:   I know what makes people happy and I know about luxury. That’s why by the time I turn 30, I’ll have opened the world’s biggest luxury hotel chain, and it’ll be a huge success! I don’t have any money right now, but I know I can convince rich people to invest in my hotel. I’ll start with one hotel in every major European city. And then, by the time I’m 40, I’d like to have retired so I can travel all over the world and stay in my hotels.

3   Danny

Danny:   Ever since I was little, I’ve loved animals. We always had pets in my family – cats, birds, even snakes – and they always made me so happy. That’s why I’m going to veterinary school. I want to take care of animals so they can make other people happy. I hope that by the time I’m 30, I’ll have started working full time as a veterinarian. My dream is to have my own clinic five years after that.