306 Workbook Listening Exercises

Unit 6

You will hear five short extracts in which people talk about their favourite artist. While you listen you must complete BOTH tasks.

TASK ONE TASK TWO

For questions 1-5, choose from the list (A-H) when each For questions 6-10,choose from the list (A-H) what most impresses each speaker about their

speaker first saw their favourite artist’s work. favourite artist’s work.

A later in life A the humour

B while on business Speaker 1 ….. B the lack of accuracy in the paintings Speaker 1

C quite recently Speaker 2 ….. C the truthful self-portraits Speaker 2

D approximately a decade ago Speaker 3 ….. D the countryside paintings Speaker 3

E as a young child Speaker 4 ….. E the classical quality Speaker 4

F in their mid-teens Speaker 5 ….. F the ordinary subject matter Speaker 5

G in the nineteen-fifties G the sense of mystery

H as a student H the technique of applying paint

Unit 7

You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A,B or C) which best fits according to what you hear. There are two questions for
each extract.

Extract One Extract Two

You hear two neighbours discussing future energy supplies. You hear part of an interview with Carlos Gomez, an architect who designs

environmentally- friendly houses.

1. They agree that 3. How are Carlos’ houses similar to ‘normal houses’?
A their region is a good location for wind turbines. A they are built to modern standards.
B renewable sources of energy should be used. B they are efficient in their use of energy.
C the appearance of the countryside is important. C they reflect the needs of their occupants.

2. What does the man have against wind turbines? 4. The interviewer assumes the houses designed by Carlos are
A He objects to what they look like. A outside the price range of most people.
B He thinks they are too expensive to build. B about average in price.
C He believes they produce insufficient energy. C more affordable than ordinary homes.

Extract 3

You hear two managers talking about how their company could reduce the negative impact it has on the environment.

5. What worries the woman about her colleague’s suggestion? 6. The woman suggests that the company
A She thinks the public may question the company’s motives. A uses less plastic packaging.
B She thinks it would not make much difference to the environment B purchases more food from nearby sources.
C She thinks it would reduce the company’s profits. C reduces the price of the food it sells.

Unit 8

You will hear a businessman, Mike Townsend, talking about what he finds difficult about learning a language. For questions 1/8, complete the sentences
with a word or short phrase.

Mike believes that all languages are equally (1) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. to learn.
When thinking about language learning, the factor many people forget is the (2) …………………………………………………………………………… of the student.
Mike believes people learn a language more effectively if they have a good (3) …………………………………………………………………………….. to do so.
Knowing some Chinese has helped Mike to do business and to (4) ………………………………………………………………………………….. with people in China.
Mike understands why people are embarrassed by their pronunciation as he himself found certain French sounds (5)…………………………………………. to say
correctly.
Mike uses the term (6) ……………………………………………………………. to refer to words that are similar to words in one’s language but have a different meaning.
As a learner, Mike’s main goal is to learn the (7) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. of a language thoroughly.
Compared with learning written Chinese, Mike found Russian (8) ……………………………………………………………………………..
Unit 9

You will hear an interview in which Karl Mann, a university research scientist, and Laura Fern, a secondary school science teacher, talk about teaching people
science. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A,B,C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.

1. Karl Mann starts by talking about his work 2. Laura Fern assumes that the people Karl works with
A as a research scientist. A are not as bright as her students.
B with unintelligent people B are over sixty years old.
C with non-experts. C are similar to the people she teaches.
D as a school teacher. D are not as young as her students.

3. What does Karl think of the science curriculum Laura describes?
A He approves of it.
B He fears it might put off students.
C He thinks it sounds too theoretical.
D He thinks it will help students get into university.
4. In Laura’s experience as a teacher,
A girls have a deeper understanding of science.
B boys and girls perform equally well at science.
C girls avoid getting jobs which involve science.
D boys and girls approach science in different ways.

5. Karl points out that the people he works with
A need to pass tests and exams.
B have a limited length of time to learn.
C attend his sessions from choice.
D are renewing an old interest in science.
6. How does Karl think his approach helps people?
A It increases their belief in themselves.
B It helps them manage their daily lives.
C It enables them to remain healthy.
D It enables them to understand scientific theory.

Unit 10

You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about worries and anxiety. While you listen you must complete BOTH tasks.

TASK ONE TASK TWO

For questions 1-5, choose from the list (A-H) the signs of worry For questions 6-10, choose from the list (A-H) the causes of the worry described
described by each speaker. by each speaker.

A aches and pains A family matters

B a breathing problem Speaker 1 ….. B financial matters Speaker 1 …..

C exhaustion Speaker 2 ….. C health fears Speaker 2 …..

D forgetfulness Speaker 3 ….. D things outside one’s control Speaker 3 …..

E great fear Speaker 4 ….. E the future Speaker 4 …..

F indecision Speaker 5 ….. F lack of self-confidence Speaker 5 …..

G persistent cough G work related

H trembling H world problems

Unit 8 Word Transformations

Education in the USA

It was the state of Massachusetts that first introduced (1)………………….. COMPEL

education in the USA, but by the year 1918, children in every state had to
attend school. School starting age, the length of the school year and other
(2) …………….. varied depending on the particular state laws governing school REQUIRE
(3) …………….. There were two basic reasons for the introduction of education ATTEND
for all this time. The policy was publicised as a (4) ……………….. in the common REDUCE
practice of child labour, but in addition to this was a desire by the country’s
leaders to (5) …………………. the transformation on children into economically SURE
(6)……………………. citizens. PRODUCE
Since that time, education has (7)……………………….. come to be seen as a means INCREASE
of (8) ……………….. children so as to prevent their involvement in crime and OCCUPY
other (9)…………………… activities. To make sure this last aim was achieved, SOCIETY
laws were introduced to make dropping out of school (10)…………………... LAW (a word that means the same as illegal!!)