PET (B1) Listening Practice Test 1

Section 1

Question 1

Boy

What are you bringing for the picnic?

Girl

My mum bought some soft drinks for us to take, but apparently Ellie had already said that she’d bring some, so I thought about making some sandwiches instead. Or we’ve got loads of fruit at home - I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind if I took a few apples and bananas and so on.

Boy

I think Harry’s bringing fruit.

Girl

In that case, I’ll go with my other idea. We’ve got plenty of bread and cheese and things.

Boy

Great! Let’s hope the weather’s good tomorrow.

Question 2

Girl

So how was your holiday?

Boy

Good, thanks. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the mountains as much as the sea, but I did.

Girl

I bet you missed windsurfing, didn’t you? You do that every year.

Boy

I got to do some, actually - on a lake near the hotel. It’s still my favourite, but cycling on the paths through the mountains was nearly as exciting.

Girl

Didn’t you say you wanted to go horse-riding, too?

Boy

I was going to, and I’d still love to try it, but we just ran out of time.

Question 3

Man

Have you got much homework?

Girl

I’ve got some art. I have to draw a vase or something like that, I think. It doesn’t have to be handed in till Friday, so I can do it on Wednesday night. My history essay has to be in tomorrow, though, so I’d better finish that this evening. Oh, and Mr Havelock set us some maths homework today and gave us a week to do it, so no need to do that until the weekend.

Man

Well, good luck with it.

Girl

Thanks.

Question 4

Boy

That was a great school trip. There were so many different animals.

Girl

Yes. I love dinosaurs, but even I got a bit tired of looking at bones after an hour on the trip last year.

Boy

I agree. At least this time they were alive!

Girl

Yes, and it’s so nice to see creatures from all over the world. I’m glad the teacher didn’t decide to do what she’d originally planned and go to the farm. You see sheep and cows all the time around here.

Boy

You do.

Question 5

Boy

Hi Sarah, it’s Max. I need to talk to you about Dad’s birthday present. I know you said you wanted to get him some chocolates. I hope you don’t mind, but I saw some boxes of the ones he really likes on special offer in that shop near the school, so I just got one. Why don’t you buy him the cookery book that I was going to get him instead? It probably costs about the same, and he’ll like that more than socks or whatever we usually get him.

Question 6

Girl

How was your weekend?

Boy

It was good, thanks. There’s a funfair on in town at the moment that my sister wanted to go to. I said I’d prefer to go to the big football match that was on at the stadium. My parents said they’d rather go to the river for a picnic instead, though, so everyone wanted to do different things. Then it started raining, so I got what I wanted in the end because the roof closes when it rains, so we could avoid getting wet.

Question 7

Girl

Hi, I’m just phoning to say that I’m going to arrive at your house a bit later than I’d planned. I’d got part of the way there when I had a problem with the tire on my bike and couldn’t fix it. I had to walk home with it because it’s too big to take on the bus. Anyway, my dad’s just got home from work and said he can give me a ride but he has to make a phone call first. I’ll be there in half an hour.

Section 2

Question 8

Girl

That was a great film.

Boy

If you’re into that kind of thing. I haven’t seen anything as bad as that for a long time.

Girl

Oh, I didn’t know that you don’t like horror movies.

Boy

I usually do, but I’m not sure that’s how I’d describe that film - there was only one bit I found at all scary. It’s strange because the main characters were played by two quite big stars, but I don’t know how they got to be so famous if that’s the best they can do. It was all very disappointing …

Girl

Oh, dear!

Question 9

Girl

How’s your biology homework going?

Boy

Not very well. I can’t work out what I have to do.

Girl

In that case, it probably won’t be much use looking online. You can find all the information you need there, but if you don’t know what to do with it, it’s not really going to help you. Have you seen Mr Benson about it?

Boy

No, not yet.

Girl

It might be best, as he set the homework in the first place. Take your coursebook with you when you go so he can explain everything to you using that.

Boy

Good idea!

Question 10

Girl

Did you see that interview with Denny Starr?

Boy

I did. He seemed so nervous at the beginning. And it wasn’t that the guy asking the questions was especially rude or asked him anything difficult.

Girl

I know. But once he relaxed a bit, he really spoke about lots of things I didn’t know anything about.

Boy

I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk in so much detail about his life before. In other interviews I’ve heard, he’s generally given answers that had very little to do with what he’s been asked.

Girl

Yes, like he didn’t really understand the question.

Boy

Exactly.

Question 11

Boy

How was the diving trip?

Girl

It was great, but I learned to dive in a swimming pool where the water doesn’t move around much. Going underwater in the sea was a completely different experience. I seemed to become totally unable to do all those things that I got so good at in the pool.

Boy

So is it something you’d like to have another go at?

Girl

I’ll think about it, but if I do, I need to make sure I go with my cousin Martin again. It gave me a bit more confidence to be underwater with someone I knew.

Question 12

Girl

Hey, did you see the big basketball game last night?

Boy

I did, yeah.

Girl

That was awesome when their star player jumped so high he nearly landed on that cameraman! Wouldn’t you love to be able to do that? You’d be a great player - you’re real tall.

Boy

I guess. I can’t say I understand much about the rules, though.

Girl

Some of them are quite complicated, especially the ones about how long you can hold onto the ball for. But the best way to understand them is to play - that way you’d learn them as you were having fun.

Boy

Maybe one day.

Question 13

Girl

How was London?

Boy

Great, except we got lost.

Girl

Oh no! How?

Boy

My dad had this guide book which was at least 20 years old. We told him lots of things would be different now, so most of what was in it would be wrong. Even though it was old, it was probably more accurate than the information a guy on the street gave us for getting to Big Ben - we ended up somewhere completely different! We only used the book for getting around on the Underground in the end - the map’s almost the same as it was back then.

Section 3

Student

Hi everyone. I’m going to tell you about a new video game that I’ve played a lot recently, called Sky Jam. It’s produced by the same company that made Road Jam a few years ago, which was set in a city of course. Instead of streets and huge buildings, though, you’ll find yourself living in a rainforest in this game.

Student

It’s an unusual game because you have to answer questions in order to make progress, as well as by moving through the environment. You’ll be asked all sorts of things regarding insects, which you have to learn on the way from the many helpful creatures you meet, such as butterflies and bats.

Student

There are 30 levels in the whole game, which are supposed to become more and more challenging as you go on. I found the one called ‘the monkey’ almost impossible, even though it comes well before the last level, called ‘the frog’, which didn’t seem so difficult.

Student

There are lots of things to love about this game. The story you learn about as you continue through the game is fantastic, second only to the characters you can play, who are lovely, and extremely interesting too. Learning to play the game is easy and fun, too.

Student

Unfortunately, unlike the eight players who could play against each other in Road Jam, six people at the most can join in this game at any one time. I found this to be a few too many, though, and preferred playing in a group of four.

Student

You can find out more about the game online. If you’re interested, visit the company’s website www.lombardio.com. I’ll spell that for you: it’s L-O-M-B-A-R-D-I-O.

Section 4

Man

Welcome, Andrea. You’re an expert ice hockey player now, but when did you start playing?

Andrea

Not until about three years ago actually, so quite recently. I’ve come a long way quite quickly. I’ve always loved sport, though, and have played basketball since I was five or six. I gave that up for a while when I got into football about five years ago, but started playing again once I’d lost interest in football.

Man

How did you first become interested in playing ice hockey?

Andrea

My brother’s into it, and I used to go to his games. His team wasn’t very good, though, so I didn’t think of it as something I actually wanted to do. That moment came when there was a professional match on a sports programme I was watching. I knew then I wanted to try it, and fortunately a couple of friends did too so we all started playing together.

Man

You sometimes play against boys’ teams. How important is that?

Andrea

Very. There are as many girls playing ice hockey now as there are boys, which is great. Attitudes towards us have always been positive, in my experience. I want to do better against boys somehow - I’m not sure why - which really helps to develop my talents.

Man

How did you feel when you were chosen for the national under-16s team?

Andrea

I’d been really happy with how I’d been playing for my club, and felt I could do just as well at a higher level. There’d been a lot of talk about me being picked, so I kind of knew it was coming. It was great for my parents too - they felt great having a daughter in the national team!

Man

Are the national team matches your favourite games?

Andrea

Not always, even though some of them are big games and appear on national television. If a game’s close because both teams are good, then it’s fantastic for the crowd to see, and better to play in because of that. It’s far more interesting than scoring loads of goals because we’re so much better than the other team.

Man

Any advice for people wanting to start playing ice hockey?

Andrea

You can spend hours reading books about what you can and can’t do, but there’s no better way of becoming good than playing. So borrow some skates and a stick if you need to - you can buy your own later - and join a team so you can start playing straightaway.

Man

Thank you, Andrea!

Part 1

Questions 1–7

Part 2

Questions 8–13

Part 3

Questions 14–19

Video game review

Part 4

Questions 20–25

Listening test help

Settings