Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Possibilities

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the river 5   Dan Cooper’s ‘wife’ 2   airport security 1

the parachute 3   the money 4

extra topic: the pilot of the Boeing 727

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1   We know that Dan Cooper wasn’t his real name. That was easy to check and there were no Dan Coopers who’d gone missing.

2   He knew a lot about planes and he also knew how to parachute, so he may have been a retired pilot or he may have had some job to do with aircraft. Certainly someone with inside knowledge.

3   We know that what he did was possible, because not long afterwards a stuntman repeated exactly what he’d done – successfully. And quite a few things suggest that he did land safely.

4   In 1980 a boy found some of the money buried in a riverbank … so people thought that he might have drowned in the river.

5   In 1982 a woman claimed that he was her husband, who’d just died. She said she’d found him in 1972 hiding in her garden with a broken foot and they’d fallen in love and got married.

INTERVIEWER   The story of Dan Cooper raises more questions than it answers. Today we talk to Bob Fernandez, who has written a new book on the disappearance. Bob, there are a lot of mysterious elements to this story. First of all, how did he get on the plane with a briefcase full of dynamite?

BOB   Well, that’s easy to answer. Remember, this was 1971 and they didn’t have airport security the way they do now. Security checks came in much later, so there’s no mystery there. But, of course, we have no idea whether he was really carrying dynamite – it might have just looked like dynamite.

I   And who was he? Do we know that?

B   We know that Dan Cooper wasn’t his real name. That was easy to check and there were no Dan Coopers who’d gone missing. But who was he? No one knows. He knew a lot about planes and he also knew how to parachute, so he may have been a retired pilot or he may have had some job to do with aircraft. Certainly someone with inside knowledge. And he also knew the area where he jumped. One interesting thing is that several people claimed later that he survived and they knew him. For example, in 1982 a woman claimed that he was her husband, who’d just died. She said she’d found him in 1972 hiding in her garden with a broken foot and they’d fallen in love and got married. This was her story. But there was no way they could prove it.

I   I suppose the big question is, could he have survived the jump? He jumped into a storm, at night, holding bags of dollar bills and he had to open a parachute. Is that possible?

B   Well, we know that what he did was possible, because not long afterwards a stuntman repeated exactly what he’d done – successfully. And quite a few things suggest that he did land safely. For example, they never found either the body or the parachute and if you think the parachute was bright yellow and red, and they searched everywhere, that’s quite something. You’d be able to see it from the air. So that suggests he might have landed and then hidden the parachute.

I   One of the few clues we have is that in 1980 a boy found some of the money buried in a riverbank.

B   Yes, this was one bag of Dan Cooper’s money, so people thought that he might have drowned in the river. But they searched the river pretty carefully and they didn’t find anything. And there are other explanations. For example, he might have lost some of the money when he landed and gone off with the rest. Or he might even have thrown it away to confuse the police and then crossed the border into Mexico. No one knows. The one thing we do know is the police never found him.

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Picture 1: Louise

Picture 2: Terry

They both gave up their jobs to pursue a dream.

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Louise: She’s always been fascinated by Africa, but a holiday there wasn’t enough. Her company allowed her six months off work but she wanted to go for a whole year. So she resigned from her job.

Terry: He didn’t like the atmosphere at work and he felt that he could do a much better job than his manager. He realised that people preferred to have a technician go round to their house to fix computer problems, so he set up his own business.

LOUISE   Ever since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated with Africa. The thing that has always interested me most is the incredible wildlife – lions, elephants, gazelle, rhinos – I mean, there are just so many amazing animals. After I started work, I saved up money for a holiday in South Africa and went on a safari. It was fantastic, but it just wasn’t enough. I remember thinking at the time, ‘I wish I could stay longer.’ I came back home and went back to work. I’d heard about conservation projects and the fact they often need volunteers – you know, people who go and help researchers – that kind of thing. So, I started saving, because I thought it would be great to go and volunteer for a year. It took me another six years to save up enough money to support myself for that year, but I managed to do it. My workplace lets people take leave without pay for up to six months. I should probably have done that, but I wanted to go for a full year, so I had to resign from my job.

TERRY   I’m a computer technician and I used to work in the IT support department for a bank. I was there for about three years and in my final year I really began to hate the atmosphere in the team I worked in. I thought my boss wasn’t a very good manager – and I felt I could have done a better job. If only I’d applied for his job when it became free. I thought I wasn’t qualified enough, but I would have done a much better job than he did. Anyway, I realised there were a lot of people living in my area who needed help with computers and IT problems. And I also worked out that they’d prefer the technician to go to them at home rather than have to take it to a workshop to be fixed. So I decided to set up my own business and become my own boss. I gave up my job at the bank.

LOUISE   I was really excited just before my departure. When I arrived, we stayed in a kind of hut, but there were five people sleeping in the same room and I found it a bit crowded. I wish I’d checked this before leaving, because I’ve heard that other conservation projects have better living conditions and I could have chosen a different project. The main part of my job was counting elephants. Sounds a bit boring, I know. But I loved it. And apart from the elephants, I saw all kinds of extraordinary wildlife. I also made some amazing new friends. It was a unique experience. I’ve been back now for three months and am having trouble finding a new job. I could have stayed on in Africa, but I didn’t have enough money. If only I’d saved more before I left, I could have had two years there. Not to worry, I’ve had an amazing year and I’ve managed to make a dream come true. How many people can say that?

TERRY   Things were quite hard to start and I wish I’d done a bit more market research before I gave up my job. For example, I found out that I got more calls at weekends, so, perhaps in the beginning, I could have worked part-time for the bank and started my business at weekends only. This would have helped my money situation. And the other thing – I should have checked out other companies doing this kind of work. I quickly found out that I wasn’t charging enough, so I wasn’t making enough money. Still, after two years, things are going quite well and I’m managing to make a decent living. I don’t think this will make me a millionaire and getting set up was much harder than I’d thought it would be. I wish I’d done a course on starting a small business, but it’s too late now! But I do have much more flexibility in my working life and, most important of all, I’m my own boss.

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The tutor wants to tell Tessa she has won the photography competition.

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1 surprised   2 delighted   3 pleased

Part 1

TUTOR   Oh hi, Tessa. I was just looking for you. Uh, can I have a quick word? It’s something important. Let’s go to my off ice.

TESSA   Yeah.

BECKY   I’ll wait for you.

TU   Don’t look so worried. It’s good news. We’ve had the results of the photo competition.

TE   Oh yeah?

TU   And you’ve won first prize. £500. Congratulations!

TE   What?

TU   Yes. Well done. We’re very pleased for you. And it’s excellent news for the college too.

TE   I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting this.

TU   No, you deserved to win. I don’t think you realise quite how good you are.

TE   Well – no. I mean, yes, thank you.

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3, 4

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1   Paying a deposit on the flat (without asking Becky first).

2   He thanks Emma for her cooking; he thanks Phil for his idea to stay open late and serve meals.

Part 2

SAM   So … two things to celebrate today. First, Becky and Tom, you’ve found your dream flat.

BECKY   Thanks to Tom making a quick decision.

TOM   We almost didn’t get it.

EMMA   We hope you’ll both be very happy in it.

B   So what’s the second thing?

S   The second reason to celebrate … as you’ve seen, business is going well. The meals have really been a success. Thanks to Emma and your wonderful cooking … and to Phil, it was your idea to open late and serve meals. Brilliant! So, let’s cut this cake.

B   Hold on, there’s something else we have to celebrate.

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Tessa won the photography competition.

Phil has finished his novel.

Tom and Becky have set a date for the wedding.

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1 Tom   2 Sam   3 Phil   4 Tessa   5 Phil

Part 3

BECKY   Hold on, there’s something else we have to celebrate. You know the photo competition? Our photos of the bridges? Well, Tessa won first prize.

EMMA   That’s brilliant!

SAM   Yeah, great news.

E   When did you find out?

TESSA   I only heard this morning. I couldn’t believe it, I was so surprised. First prize! I still can’t get over it.

PHIL   Well done, Tessa. I knew you’d win. You take such great photos.

S   So three things to celebrate – the flat, the café and Tessa’s prize.

E   And you looking happy for a change – that’s a fourth thing.

S   OK. So can we eat this cake?

P   Hang on a minute, before we start. I have got something to say … I know you won’t believe this, but … I’ve finished my novel.

E   That’s great, Phil!

P   I sent it off today. So, the coffee’s on me.

B   You can’t afford to buy us coffee, you’re not JK Rowling yet!

T   You never know. Maybe one day? Well done, Phil. It’s such a good story. And so original.

P   Thanks, Tessa.

T   I reckon you’ll get some good news soon.

P   Hope so.

T   But you won’t forget us when you’re rich and famous?

P   How could I?!

S   Right, eh I’m going to cut this cake.

T   Just a minute, before we start. One more thing. We’ve decided on a date for the wedding.

B   Finally.

T   Saturday the 19th of June … and you’re all invited!

S   OK, any more good news anyone? No? Right – now I am definitely going to cut this cake.

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1 c   2 d   3 e   4 a    5 b

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1 confident   2 not hopeful   3 surprised

4 fortunate   5 angry

JOHN   I don’t really know how I feel it went. I was really nervous before I went in and then, when I sat down, I saw there were three people on the other side of the table! That was a bit unexpected – I thought it would just be me and one other person. Anyway, I think it went quite well – it was actually quite informal and they seemed to like me. There were a couple of questions I probably could have tackled better, but overall I really think my performance was really good.

MARTHA   I really don’t know what happened. I can’t have left it in the café because I had it with me when I bought the newspaper at the station. And then I suppose I might have left it on the train somehow, but I don’t remember ever taking it out of my pocket. It could have fallen out, I suppose. If it did, I hope someone handed it in – it’s got everything inside, cards, driving licence, you know, all those kinds of things. But I’ve got to admit, I don’t feel very optimistic – there are so many dishonest people out there these days that you’ve got to think the worst, haven’t you?

GENO   It was unbelievable, really – I was just walking past that clothes shop and she stopped me, said hello, and started talking about how long it had been since we’d seen each other, all that kind of thing. But I just had no idea who she was! She may have been someone I knew from school, or perhaps university. But I’ve got a great memory for faces and I just didn’t recognise her. I think she must have confused me with someone else. Anyway, I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I answered all her questions. Then we said goodbye and she went off. It was really strange!

BARRY   I think I’m very lucky. It all happened so quickly. One moment, I was going down the street, listening to my favourite radio programme, and the next thing, there was a bang and the sound of glass breaking. I suppose I must have just lost control because of the rain – it was pouring down at the time. In the end, there wasn’t too much damage – there are a few repairs to do but I can still actually drive it. And the wall I hit – well, that will have to be repaired too, and I think I’ll have to pay for it. But I can’t complain about that – I’m just glad I’m OK because I think I could have been hurt quite badly.

EMIL   Well, one moment, we were all just talking calmly and I was trying to get everyone to agree who would do what, and then suddenly he started shouting, saying I’m always trying to pass on my work to him and that I don’t work hard enough. Apart from being untrue, it was also extremely unprofessional and very impolite, shouting like that in front of everyone. I’m really furious now – I mean, who does he think he is, behaving like that? It’s not the first time he’s lost his temper like that with someone, so it wasn’t like a big surprise. I know he has a lot of problems, and I suppose he might have had a really difficult day or something. But we’re all under stress, aren’t we? I’m going to have to make a formal complaint about him, I think.