Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Dilemmas

1

2 ✓   3 ✓   4 ✓   5 ✓   6 ✓

2

MICHAEL   Welcome to this week’s edition of The Money Pool. Today, we’ve invited personal finance expert Mia Radkin on the show to answer questions about your money. Hi Mia.

MIA   Hello Michael.

MIC   And welcome.

MIA   Thank you.

MIC   The number is 0800 666961. Give us a call now with your personal finance question, but I believe we already have Jacob on the line.

JACOB   Hello Michael – Mia.

MIA   Hello.

MIC   So, Jacob, you’ve got a question about savings goals, is that right?

J   Yeah, that’s right. My income’s OK and I more or less manage to keep up with my bills and everything, but I never seem to get much ahead. I’d like to start saving for a home, but it feels like a bit of a waste of time.

MIA   OK, Jacob, I noticed that you said you ‘more or less’ keep up with your bills. What’s your biggest monthly bill?

J   Well, probably my credit card.

MIA   Hmm … thought so.

J   But I always pay at least the minimum amount each month – sometimes a bit more.

MIA   Do you mind my asking, Jacob, how much do you owe on your credit card?

J   Well, it’s about £15,000.

MIA   And I imagine you’re paying about 18% interest.

J   Yeah, about that.

MIA   OK, here’s what I’d suggest you do, Jacob. Find another credit card provider who will let you transfer your balance to them and pay a very low interest rate. If you transfer your balance, you’ll probably pay as little as 3%. And then start paying off that debt as fast as you can. The first step to serious saving is to get out of debt.

J   Right.

MIA   And then I’d like you to do something else. Get a pair of scissors and cut up your new credit card.

J   You mean get rid of it?

MIA   That’s right, so you don’t use it.

J   But if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to afford things like holidays and going out for dinner.

MIA   Well, no. Looks like you might have to make some lifestyle changes too, Jacob. But the first step is to manage your debt – sensibly. OK?

J   Yeah, good point. Thanks.

MIC   Thank you for calling us, Jacob. So, now we go to Sophie. Sounds like she’s got money to spare. Is that right, Sophie?

SOPHIE   Hello?

MIC   Yes, hello Sophie, you’re on air now.

S   Oh, right.

MIA   How can I help, Sophie?

S   Well, I just want a bit of advice, really. I’ve been putting aside money for the past five years or so. I’ve got savings of just over £17,500 in a long-term interest account and it’s earning about 2.5%. But I worry if this is the best place for it. Should I be investing the money somewhere else?

MIA   So, tell me, Sophie. Have you got debts?

S   Not really. Well, just my student loan, but money gets taken out of my salary for that. It’s automatic; sort of like paying tax.

MIA   But you’re still paying interest on that loan. If I were you, I’d use the money to pay off your student loan.

S   But if I did that, I wouldn’t have any spare money, you know, for an emergency.

MIA   £17,500 – what kind of emergency are you expecting?!

S   Yes, I see.

MIA   Look, it sounds to me like you’re a pretty sensible person when it comes to money. And I always say before you worry about investment, free yourself from debt.

S   Actually, I think my student loan is now about £16,000. If I pay it off, I’ll be debt free.

MIA   And that’s a very good thing to be.

1

1 Speaker 3   2 Speaker 2   3 Speaker 4   4 Speaker 1

2

Speaker 1 a   Speaker 2 b   Speaker 3 b   Speaker 4 a

SPEAKER 1   Well, I think if I’d found it in the street, I would have posted the letter. It seems quite clear to me. Obviously, the person should have been more careful, but it wasn’t addressed to me, so it would have been quite wrong to open it. It would have been theft; it doesn’t matter what was in it. If I’d found it in a café, I would have given it to one of the staff to keep for Mr Fingham.

SPEAKER 2   I probably would have opened it to check that there really were tickets inside, but then I would have posted it to Mr Fingham. I’m sure the Closing Ceremony was wonderful, but if I’d used the tickets, I would have felt guilty, so I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. If I’d wanted to go, I would have bought my own tickets.

SPEAKER 3   If I’d found this letter, I certainly wouldn’t have just posted it. First, I would have looked at it to see what it was, and I think I would have opened it to see if there really were tickets inside, just out of curiosity. Then I would have thought about it. Maybe I would have used the tickets myself, I don’t know. I would have been tempted, certainly. Maybe I’m just not a very honest person – but I would have thought, ‘Well, it wasn’t my mistake; he shouldn’t have dropped the letter. So tough luck.’

SPEAKER 4   If I’d seen a letter like this, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up; I would have just walked on past and left it for someone else. It’s better to mind your own business – you never know what you might find if you pick something up in the street. You hear so many stories about letter bombs these days. I think I would have been afraid to touch it.

1

1 b   2 a

2

Part 1: 1 T   2 F – Tom tried calling the estate agent.   3 T

Part 2: 4 T   5 F – he wants to buy a new cooker and a fridge.   6 T

Part 1

TOM   The estate agent just called me back.

BECKY   And?

T   We didn’t get the flat. We just missed it. Someone came in and signed a contract about an hour ago.

B   Oh, no. So we just missed it?

T   Afraid so.

B   That’s really disappointing.

T   I know. I did try ringing earlier, but kept getting the estate agent’s voice mail.

B   Don’t worry. It’s not your fault – we’re just unlucky.

T   Yeah. I’ll go and see what else they’ve got a bit later on.

B   Good idea. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other places. We’ll find somewhere.

T   Of course we will.

B   Bye.

Part 2

SAM   I’m just popping out for an hour.

BECKY   Sure.

S   What’s up?

B   Oh, flat hunting – you know …

S   Yeah, it’s never easy. Don’t give up hope – you’ll find something.

B   Yeah. You look very smart! What’s the big occasion?

S   The bank.

B   Oh … scary!

S   Well, if I want to make improvements to the kitchen …

B   Yeah, that’s going to be expensive.

S   Yeah. We need a new cooker, a bigger fridge – that sort of thing.

B   Well, the evening meals have been popular though, haven’t they?

S   Yeah, better than I thought.

B   Emma’s a great cook.

S   Well, I always knew that!

B   And it’s good to make changes.

S   I hope the bank agrees.

B   I’m sure they will. Good luck.

S   Thanks!

3

Both missed out on something they wanted.

4

1   unsure

2   unsure

3   Someone else got it first, then changed their mind.

4   They sympathise with each other.

Part 3 

TOM   Sam!

SAM   Hi Tom!

T   Hi Sam. Escaped for a few minutes?

S   I’ve just been to the bank.

T   Oh yeah?

S   To see about a loan to improve the kitchen.

T   Oh right. How did it go?

S   I don’t really know. You know banks … they never say much at first. And then they say no!

T   Yeah, the same thing happened to me.

S   At the bank?

T   No, at the estate agent’s. They weren’t very helpful.

S   Yeah right finding somewhere to live. It’s really difficult, isn’t it?

T   Yeah, it is. Sorry. I’ve got to get back to work. Are you going this way?

S   Yeah. Erm, Becky said it’s been hard work.

T   Yeah, we missed out on the perfect flat.

S   Hmm, I know the feeling.

T   Oh?

S   It was just like that when I was looking for the café.

T   But you found a good place. The café’s great. And it’s in a good location.

S   In the end. Someone else got it first – then they changed their mind.

T   Oh right.

S   So you never know …

T   Well, I’ve learnt one thing.

S   What’s that?

T   The next time we find the perfect place, I’ll say ‘yes’ straight away.

1   Katie

2   Katie says that something interesting’s just come up.

3   249 456

Part 4

KATIE   Hello, Tom. It’s Katie here from Barkers Estate Agents. Thanks for coming in earlier. Something interesting’s just come up. Can you call me back on 249 456?

TOM   Hi, Katie? Katie – hi. Hi, it’s Tom Gibson here. Yes, I just got your voicemail …

1 T   2 F – she saw it by accident.

3 T   4 F – he hardly spoke.

5 T   6 T   7 F – Paul thinks that everyone knows this.

PAUL   Did you see that reality crime show on TV last night?

ZOE   The one about the young woman using the old man’s credit card to buy things for herself?

P   Yeah. It made me really angry. It was like a lesson on how to commit a crime. You know, get friendly with the old person – get them to trust you and then offer to get a credit card for them. I mean, if you show people this stuff, then other people will just copy what that young woman did.

Z   Do you think so? But it showed you’ll get arrested in the end.

P   That’s only because the old man’s niece happened to see the credit card statement and notice all those purchases for women’s clothing.

Z   Actually, what amazed me about that is the way the niece spoke to the young woman first. If it had been me, I’d have gone straight to the police.

P   But I still think the whole programme was sort of saying it’s OK to do this. Like, the interview with the young woman. She had all this make up on, a beautiful dress – it was like she was some kind of star or something. I couldn’t believe it!

Z   That’s true and they hardly spoke to the old man. Poor thing, he looked terrified by the whole experience of being filmed.

P   Exactly and he really didn’t want to be on TV. I thought the presenter was really pushy with him – she kept repeating the same question – ‘but didn’t you realise, didn’t you realise?’

Z   But he must have agreed to it all. They usually have to sign something for those TV programmes.

P   I bet it was the niece who talked him into it. She seemed to enjoy being on TV, too. That’s the problem with programmes like that – all these boring, ordinary people turn into ‘famous people’. Well, for about five minutes, anyway.

Z   But I guess you could say that the programme was like a warning to people. You know, telling them to be careful, who they trust with their money, credit cards, things like that.

P   Hardly.

Z   But the presenter did say that at the very end.

P   Yeah, I suppose so. But the saddest thing of all – the old man still thought the young woman was a ‘nice girl’.

Z   And the presenter did point out that many thieves are very charming.

P   But doesn’t everyone know that?

Z   Obviously not! If I were you, I wouldn’t watch that show any more.

1

3, 4, 1, 2

2

1 b   2 a   3 c   4 b   5 b

PRESENTER   Hello, and welcome to this week’s Crime View, where we ask you for help in solving crimes in the local area. As always, you can call us on our freephone number and the information you give will go directly to the police. You don’t have to leave your name, and any information you give could lead to a cash reward. So, let’s turn to our first crime. Rhona Kent has the details.

RHONA   Our first report is on an incident that happened at the Faylands Shopping Centre. Two weeks ago, a man walked into one of the jewellery shops here. He talked to the assistant and asked to see a number of different watches. While all this was going on, a second man entered. He appeared to look at some bracelets and other jewellery, and then he left. But soon after, staff realised that over £2,000 worth of jewellery had been taken by the second man. The men are described as being in their early thirties, both with dark hair. The second man had blue glasses.

P   Thank you Rhona. Police would like to hear from anyone who has information on this. If anyone has tried to sell you jewellery on the street, in cafés and so on, please do get in touch. Now let’s hear from Steven Craven about another crime the police need your help with.

STEVEN   Well, in an electronics store in Park Road three days ago, a young man was seen running out into the car park with a bag full of items taken from the shop. These items included MP3 players, USA sticks, tablets and a number of other expensive items. One young woman, a local student, tried to stop him after she realised that staff from the store were shouting at him. The man accidentally knocked her over as he ran past. The woman wasn’t hurt, but the thief managed to escape. The young woman said she didn’t see the man’s face clearly because it was too dark, but that he was wearing blue jeans and a red T-shirt.

P   Thank you Steven. If you think you might know who the thief was, please get in touch. Now, we’re joined in the studio by Inspector Hugh Jones, who is going to tell us about a series of crimes that have occurred over the last month or so.

INSPECTOR JONES   Yes, thank you. Over the last six weeks, we’ve unfortunately seen thieves break into six different houses at night and steal a number of items. All these incidents have happened in quite a small area – mainly in the area between Thatch Road and Crescent Drive. It’s mainly jewellery that has been stolen. In each case, the people involved were able to get in through open windows. Now, I realise that in this hot weather nobody wants to keep their windows closed, but we think that most of these crimes wouldn’t have happened if the owners of the houses had taken care to close all their windows before going to bed. So please get in touch if you have any information, but also – please make sure you close your windows before going to bed, or if you’re going out.

P   Thank you Inspector Jones. Now, to finish, an update on one of the crimes we featured in our previous programme. Well, police caught two men last week, accused of robbing the Newport Road petrol station back in February. The appeared in court, were found guilty and are now in prison. The names of the men involved were given directly to the police as a result of this programme. So thanks again for your help – if we hadn’t received your calls, these crimes would not have been solved. So please call in with any information you might have on the stories we’ve covered tonight.