Practice English Listening B1+ Exercises – What time does your flight leave?

1   Put them back in the cupboard.

2   Clothes, souvenirs, presents for the family

3   At the top of your suitcase

4   a) Roll T-shirts. b) Fold shirts.

5   All together in a separate bag, in your hand luggage

6   Socks and underwear

7   Your washbag, your laptop or tablet, and anything you might need to put on a separate tray at Security

8   You might lose your phone, or it may run out of battery when you need to show the documents.

The holiday season is here, and many of you will be about to travel, and that means that you need to start thinking about packing. Packing is often something we do at the last minute, and we frequently get it wrong – we take too much and then have to pay for extra luggage, or we forget some really important items. Often when we arrive and unpack, our clothes need ironing before we can wear them. So, to make things easier, here are my top eight tips for perfect packing.

My first tip is: ‘Don’t pack too much’.

Put all the clothes you think you want to take on your bed. Then put a third of them – yes, a third – back in the cupboard. And only pack things you really love, otherwise you probably won’t wear them.

Now to my second tip: ‘Keep some space in your suitcase for shopping’.

If you’re planning to do some serious clothes shopping when you’re away, or if you love buying souvenirs, or you want to buy presents for the family, make sure there’s some empty space in your case. Think about what you might want to buy, and how much space you’ll need.

My third tip is: ‘Pack in the right order’.

Think about your itinerary, and put your first day’s clothes at the top and your last day’s clothes at the bottom. Then if you don’t have space to unpack everything, you can just leave your suitcase under the bed, and every morning you’ll easily find what you want to wear.

OK, tip number four: ‘Make sure your clothes arrive looking good’.

Learn to pack your clothes like a professional. Roll your jeans, T-shirts, and pyjamas. The only things you really need to fold are shirts and jackets. Where possible, travel with clothes that don’t need ironing.

My fifth tip is: ‘Keep your chargers and adaptors together’.

We all need chargers for our gadgets these days. Pack them all together in a separate small bag, with adaptors if you’re going to need them. It’s also a good idea to put this bag in your hand luggage, and not in your checked-in luggage, to avoid losing it.

Tip number six: ‘Use shoe bags’.

Never allow your shoes to have direct contact with your clothes – use shoe bags to keep them separate, and put socks and underwear inside your shoes.

Tip number seven: ‘Think about airport security’.

If you’re travelling with hand luggage only, put your washbag at the top or in an outside pocket of your case, so you can easily take it out at security. The same is true of laptops, tablets, and anything you might need to put on a separate tray.

And finally, my eighth tip: ‘Buy a travel wallet’.

It’s a good idea to print out all your important documents, like your itinerary or travel insurance, and keep them with your passport in a special wallet. It’s true that nowadays you can keep a lot of documents on your phone, including boarding passes. But you might lose your phone, or it may run out of battery just when you need it.

So now you’re ready to go. Have a great holiday!