Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Communication

A

1 c   2 b   3 b

B

1   It was great to meet you, Pete.

2   Anyway, I should get going. I’ll call you later.

3   Talk to you soon.

Transcripts

1

Liz:   Hi, are you Pete?

Pete:   Yes. Hello.

Liz:   I’m Liz Morton. Tom Morton’s mother?

Pete:   Oh, right. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Morton.

Liz:   You, too. So, are you enjoying the party?

Pete:   Yeah, it’s great. This might be the last time I see some of these people for a long time, so I’ve been pretty busy trying to make sure I get a chance to talk to everyone.

Liz:   You know, it’s strange to think that all you kids are graduating. Do you have any plans after graduation?

Pete:   Well, I’ve applied for a teaching job overseas. I guess I’ll probably find out if I got the job or not next week.

Liz:   You’re more adventurous than Tom. I can’t believe he’s going to take a job right here in town. But it’s a good job, I guess. And, of course, I would miss him if he went far away.

Pete:   Yeah, I know. My mom doesn’t want me to go far away, either. Oh, . . . wait a minute. I’m sorry. I think another friend of mine is leaving. Excuse me, Mrs. Morton, I need to say good-bye to him before he goes.

Liz:   Oh, sure. It was great to meet you, Pete.

2

Harry:   Hey, Jim, great music. What group is it?

Jim:   I don’t know. It’s the radio. Maybe they’ll say after it’s over.

Harry:   Well, it’s a good thing Sheryl isn’t here, or she’d make me dance to it. You know she loves that old-fashioned dancing.

Jim:   Yeah, I know, Meg is the same way.

Harry:   Myself, I haven’t danced since my wedding day. And I intend to keep it that way.

Jim:   Yeah, I’m with you.

Harry:   Although I do like this old-fashioned dance music. The bands back in those days could really play. Not like today. It’s all image now, you know?

Jim:   Oh, I don’t know about that. It’s just the styles change, that’s all. I mean, a lot of those pop stars are actually pretty talented.

Harry:   You really think so?

Jim:   Sure. Actually, I’ve been listening to this music my grandson left on my computer last Thanksgiving. It’s some of that, uh – what do you call it? That hip-hop music.

Harry:   You what? You’ve gotta be kidding me.

Jim:   No, no. A lot of it isn’t bad! I mean, at least the lyrics are about something, you know?

Harry:   Hmm. I don’t know.

Jim:   No, try it! You’ll see! Wait, wait, I’ll play it now.

Harry:   I’d rather go out dancing. Anyway, I should get going. I’ll call you later.

3

Samantha:   Mmm, Jenny . . . this is delicious. I love stuffed grape leaves.

Jenny:   Yeah. Me, too. It all tastes delicious. Do you think they made all this themselves? Or did they have it catered?

Samantha:   Oh, no. George is a great cook. Why would they cater it?

Jenny:   Really?

Samantha:   Oh, yeah.

Jenny:   George cooks?

Samantha:   You didn’t know that? Lynn’s always saying that’s half the reason she married him!

Jenny:   Well, that is a good reason. Is she ever lucky! I wish my husband liked to cook. He completely avoids anything that has to do with the kitchen.

Samantha:   You know, my husband’s talking about signing up for an Italian cooking class on Saturdays. I hope he does it.

Jenny:   Oh. I wonder if I could convince my husband to do that. I’d sure love being the taste tester for his recipes.

Samantha:   Exactly what I was thinking. Well, I’ll let you know when the class starts.

Jenny:   Great! Please do. In the meantime, I think I’ll go mention it to him. Talk to you soon.

A

1 a   2 b

B

1 c   2 a   3 a   4 b

Transcripts

1   Nicole

Nicole:   I got some incredible news over the weekend!

Man:   Yeah? What happened, Nicole?

Nicole:   Well, my sister is finally getting married.

Man:   Really? Well, that is exciting! How long have they been seeing each other?

Nicole:   Oh, I mean, it’s been over four years since they met. My mother has always said that they would get married someday, but no one expected it to happen now. And you know what? The funny part is how it happened.

Man:   Yeah?

Nicole:   Yeah. OK, listen. My sister told me that they were eating at this fancy restaurant, and while they were reading over the menu, listening to some classical music . . .

Man:   Ah . . . let me guess. He pulled out a ring and asked her to marry him.

Nicole:   Actually, it was the other way around. She asked him! She said she got right down on one knee and proposed!

Man:   Yeah?

Nicole:   Yeah! And he was pretty surprised, I think. But of course, he immediately said, “Yes.” They’re planning a wedding for the fall.

Man:   Well, that is great news. Yeah . . . and I’m sure they’ll be very happy together.

Nicole:   Yeah. Now I have to start thinking about the wedding. She asked me if I would be a bridesmaid. So, you know, I have to buy a dress, and then . . .

2   Tony

Woman:   Why the long face, Tony?

Tony:   Oh, I got some bad news today.

Woman:   What happened?

Tony:   Well, you know my job at the design studio?

Woman:   Yes.

Tony:   Well, . . .

Woman:   Oh, no!

Tony:   Oh, yes. Today, the boss called me into his office and told me they had to lay me off. That means as of April 30, I’m out of work.

Woman:   Oh!

Tony:   No more job.

Woman:   Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry. You said you really liked working there, too.

Tony:   Yeah, well, it’s not all bad news. The boss told me there’s still a small chance that the company would call me back in the summer if the work picked up. You never know what’ll happen. They may need me then.

Woman:   Oh. But this is so sudden, isn’t it?

Tony:   Well, not really. Two other employees had already been laid off, and I had a feeling I might be the next one in line. You know, I’ve only been working there 10 months, so I don’t have any seniority. If they’re going to lay people off, it’s always going to be the newer employees first.

Woman:   What are you going to do?

Tony:   Like I said, I’ve still got a job until the end of the month. In the meantime, I plan to send out résumés and, if possible, go on some interviews . . .