Practice English Listening B1+ Exercises – Screen time

a 5   b 4   c 3   d 2   e 6   f 1

1

This is World Update. I’m Katy Lee. Here are tonight’s top stories. The Prime Minister has just announced that spending on education is to be increased…

2

A   Johnson! Have you been sleeping on the job again?

B   No, Ms Lewis. I was just, er, resting my eyes.

A   But there’s a pillow on your desk!

B   Uh-oh! I did it again!

3

A   Yes…Yes…Where? OK, we’re on our way.

B   What is it?

A   They’ve found a body. Next to the canal.

B   Do they think it’s her?

A   They don’t know yet. Come on, let’s go.

4

Here, deep in the African forest, lives the green mamba, one of the world’s most poisonous snakes. It spends much of its time in the trees, and adults can grow to a length of over two metres …

5

A   Mark, welcome to the programme.

B   Thanks, Jake. It’s a pleasure to be here.

A   Now I know you’re over here promoting your latest film, and in a minute, I’m going to ask you about it, but first…

6

Now Parker on the ball…to Lennon…now to Dempsey, making a run. Lennon finds Dempsey; he’s got room here…Dempsey! Oh my word! That changes everything!

A

Speaker 1 D   Speaker 2 E   Speaker 3 C   Speaker 4 F

Speaker 5 B   Speaker 6 G   Speaker 7 A

B

Speaker 1

He watches TV programmes on a television, laptop, or iPad at home. And if he’s out, maybe on his phone.

Speaker 2

She often checks emails or does online shopping while watching TV.

Speaker 3

He watches live TV and catch-up, but more catch-up.

Speaker 4

She doesn’t binge-watch very often, but she once watched 8 episodes of a series (Mad Men).

Speaker 5

He uses a streaming service, like Netflix. He likes being able to watch old films and TV series that he didn’t watch when they first came out.

Speaker 6

She watches YouTube if she has a problem and wants to find out how to fix it and for recipes.

Speaker 7

She has sometimes voted for contestants on Strictly Come Dancing, and once voted for a contestant who was auditioning for a TV show.

I = interviewer, M = man, W = woman

1

I   How do you watch TV programmes, on a television or on another device?

M   I watch programmes on TV if I’m at home, or on my laptop, or on my iPad. I might watch something on my phone if I was…I don’t know…I suppose when something has happened on the news, I might watch it live, or something like that.

2

I   Do you ‘two-screen’ while watching TV? What kinds of things do you do?

W   Yes, I can often be guilty of perhaps checking emails on my phone, or perhaps even doing a bit of online shopping while I’m watching TV. In fact, yesterday I was watching MasterChef – you know, the cookery competition – and I bought some small cake tins that you needed to make…to make a chocolate thing that one of the contestants was making.

3

I   Do you normally watch live TV or catch-up?

M   Both, though nowadays I watch more catch-up. But I watch the news live, and football or tennis – Wimbledon – things like that.

4

I   Have you ever binge watched a TV series? How many episodes did you watch in one go?

W   I haven’t done it for a long time, but I did once watch eight episodes in one sitting of the American series Mad Men. But as I say, it was a long time ago.

5

I   Do you use a streaming service like Netflix? What do you like about it?

M   I have Netflix and I also buy things off Amazon Prime Video – is that a streaming service? I don’t really use them for films, more for TV series, like old ones I missed when they first came out. For example, a few months ago, I watched all the episodes of Brideshead Revisited, the original series from the eighties, because I didn’t see it then, but I’d heard that it was very good.

6

I   How often do you watch YouTube, or online channels like Apple? What kinds of things do you watch?

W   I sometimes watch YouTube – it’s usually if I have a problem with my laptop or my phone and I want to find out how to fix it, and I sometimes… I sometimes use it for watching people cook recipes. In fact, I’ve just watched someone preparing a fish dish because I’m going to cook it this evening.

7

I   Do you ever interact with TV shows by voting for contestants?

W   I Not very often, but I do like Strictly Come Dancing and I have voted several times for contestants, when they’ve done a really good dance. And once, I was addicted to a TV show where the contestants were auditioning for a part in a West End musical, and I really liked one young singer, so I voted for him every week. And eventually, he won, and I remember shouting and jumping off the sofa when the results were announced!