Gold Experience B1 Audio scripts

Progress test 1

Kate: Hello, and welcome to ‘Changing Places’ – the show where we talk to teens
who are living in exciting places all over the world. Today it’s time to hear
about someone who’s living in sunny Spain! I'm talking to Alex by Skype. Alex
comes from Scotland but is living in Spain at the moment. Hola, Alex!
Alex: Hi!
Kate: How’s life in Spain at the moment?
Alex: It’s good, thanks!
Kate: Whereabouts in Spain are you living?
Alex: I’m living in Madrid – the capital of Spain.
Kate: Wow! Why are you there?
Alex: Well, my parents both have jobs in Madrid so we're living here for a year and
I'm going to school here. Madrid is often really warm and sunny, so it's quite
different from Scotland.
Kate: Do you like it though?
Alex: Yes, I do. I like it a lot. I'm enjoying the good weather and I really like the
outdoor lifestyle – people do everything outdoors here. There’s a beautiful
park near my school and my friends and I go there every day at lunch time.
Um . . . I'm really interested in languages too, so I'm learning Spanish.
Kate: Are you learning quickly?
Alex: Um, yes . . . I think I'm doing okay!
Kate: Do you have a lot of friends at school?
Alex: Yes, I do. I miss my friends at home, but I also love my Spanish friends.
They’re really confident and lively. They’re all great at football too!
Kate: Thanks for talking to us, Alex. Have a great day!

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 Progress test 2

Interviewer: Are you bored with doing the same thing every summer? Do you want to do
something different this school holidays? Then why not try an international
camp? A special summer camp where young people from around the world
meet and learn about each other's languages and cultures. Here's Patricia to
tell us about the international camp she went to last summer. Hi, Patricia.
Patricia: Hi.
Interviewer: Tell me, why did you decide to go to this international camp?
Patricia: Well, I thought it sounded great. I'm very interested in learning about other
countries and languages so I thought this was perfect for me.
Interviewer: Tell us more!
Patricia: Well, the camp was for a week in July. I was in a group with four other
students: a boy from Italy, a boy from Greece, a girl from Kenya and another
girl from Japan. We were all between fourteen and sixteen years old. We had
a lot of fun!
Interviewer: What a great mix of nationalities! What did you do every day?
Patricia: Um . . . we did a lot of different things. We went on trips together to interesting
places nearby: museums and castles – places like that. We all spoke English,
but we also took one day to teach the others in the group about our country,
language and culture. I learnt so much! At the end of each day, all the groups
got together to talk and play games. Then, at the end of the camp we had a
big party.
Interviewer: Were you very sad to leave?
Patricia: Yes, I was. I made new friends and we all understood each other really well. I
didn’t want to come home.
Interviewer: It sounds great! Thanks Patricia!

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 Progress test 3

Ben: Hello and welcome to ‘Future Shop’, the radio programme where we look at
the gadgets of the future! We have a few different gadgets to look at today,
don’t we, Lisa?
Lisa: Yes, we do, Ben! Let’s look at these headphones first of all. We'll all have
headphones like these in the future! You probably have headphones for
listening to music and playing computer games, don’t you?
Ben: Yes, that’s right. I do.
Lisa: Do you think you maybe play your music a little too loud?
Ben: Yes, sometimes. That’s true.
Lisa: Well these very special headphones are for you, Ben. If you’re playing your
music too loudly, they automatically turn down the volume. Ear doctors across
the world will love these headphones!
Ben: Amazing! Now, what about this wonderful fridge?
Lisa: It doesn’t look anything special to me.
Ben: Well, let me tell you that these fridges are going to be in every house in the
year 3000. The fridge remembers all your favourite foods: milk, chocolate,
cheese, whatever. Then when your fridge is getting empty it plays some music
and a red light comes on with a picture of the thing you need!
Lisa: Wow! I want one of these fridges!
Ben: Well Lisa, you can’t have one now, I’m afraid. They won’t be in the shops for
another few years!
Lisa: Aw! Well, take a look at this 3D TV.
Ben: Where’s the plug?
Lisa: It doesn’t have one! You don’t need to plug it in. It also makes special smells,
so if you’re watching a TV programme about cooking you’ll smell the food too!
Ben: I like that idea! It’s making me feel hungry just thinking about it. Well, our next
gadget is this very special dishwasher.
Lisa: Hm . . . What’s this on the front?
Ben: It’s a television screen. While you wash your dishes, you can watch all of your
favourite programmes too!
Lisa: I don’t think that’s a very good idea! Who wants to stand up and watch the
TV? That won’t sell very well. I prefer this microwave. I’m going to buy this as
soon as it gets to the shops. It plays music when your food is ready.
Ben: Now, that does sound like a good buy. I think I’ll get one too – do you know
how much it costs?

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 Progress test 4

Nina: Hi, John.

John: Hi, Nina.
Nina: You look a bit down. What's the matter?
John: Nothing.
Nina: Come on, you can tell me!
John: It’s just that I got a really bad grade in my maths test!
Nina: What did you get?
John: Let’s just say I failed.
Nina: Aw, that’s a shame. It was a really hard test though – everyone thought so.
Did you revise much for it?
John: Yes, I did. I revised every night for a week.
Nina: Well, I didn’t do very well either.
John: Did you pass?
Nina: Yes, just.
John: Well, you didn’t do as badly as me.
Nina: Mm.
John: I guess I’m just not as clever as you.
Nina: Don’t be like that! Listen, we can do something about it. Ben Smith is
organising a maths club on Tuesday evenings after school. I think it’ll be really
good for people who find maths difficult.
John: A maths club? After school? That'll be worse than helping my mum with the
dishes! Come on, Nina. Isn’t there any other way to get better at maths?
Nina: I’m sure it’ll help you, John. Come on, we’ll try it for a few weeks. If we don’t
start getting better grades in maths, we'll stop going. OK?
John: Oh, OK then.

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 Progress test 5

Jen: Hi, Pete! Um . . . you're looking a bit . . . muddy. What’s happened to you?
Pete: Don’t worry about me, Jen! I feel amazing! I’ve just been mud running with the
outdoor club!
Jen: Mud running? What’s that?
Pete: It’s when you go running through cold, muddy water. We went to a bog about
twenty kilometres from the school and we raced through it.
Jen: You raced through muddy water?
Pete: Yes! I know it sounds a bit weird . . .
Jen: Yup, it certainly does, Pete!
Pete: . . . but it’s great! I really like the other people who are in the mud running
group. They’re really funny and relaxed. I've never had so much fun!
Jen: Actually, it does sound quite fun, now I think about it. Was this your first time
mud running?
Pete: Yeah. You know I’ve tried lots of sports before, but I think this is my new
favourite!
Jen: Can anyone join in?
Pete: Yeah, I think so. As long as you don’t mind getting muddy!
Jen: I’ve never tried any interesting sports. Next time you go mud running can I
come too?
Pete: Sure! Are you sure you won’t mind getting dirty, Jen?
Jen: I can always wear old clothes.
Pete: We’re meeting again next Saturday afternoon. Bring a warm drink with you.
You do feel quite cold afterwards!

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 Progress test 6

Interviewer: It can be very difficult when you’re having a hard time at school. Who can you
talk to? Where can you go to find help? Today I’m speaking to Grace, who
had a very hard time at school. She’s here today to talk about how she dealt
with it and how she’s helping people now. Hi, Grace. Thanks for coming on
the show.
Grace: It’s nice to be here.
Interviewer: So can you tell us a little bit about the ‘Text a friend’ service?
Grace: Yes. It’s a special text help service for students who are having a hard time. I
think that school can be very difficult sometimes and it’s hard to know who to
talk to and where to go for help. So I started the ‘Text a friend’ idea for
students with problems like these. Students who are having problems text our
special number and a student will text them back. Then they will meet and talk
about the student’s problems.
Interviewer: Why did you start the ‘Text a friend’ service?
Grace: Well, a year ago I was having a really hard time at school. I was having a lot
of problems and I wasn’t finding them very easy to deal with. It all started
when I fell out with my best friend. Then I started to get really bad grades in all
my tests. I wasn’t getting on very well with my mum and dad at the time so I
couldn’t speak to them either! I just didn’t know what to do.
Interviewer: So what did you do?
Grace: Well, in the end, a classmate helped me. It was someone I didn’t know very
well, but she could see I was feeling really upset and unhappy. She spent a lot
of time with me and listened to all my problems. We spoke about what I could
do to make things better. After that, I wanted to help people who were having
problems like me. I wanted them to know that there were people who could
help them.
Interviewer: And can anyone use this service?
Grace: Yes, absolutely anyone. Students of all ages can have problems. It doesn’t
matter if you’re new to a school or if you’ve been there for years; people can
have problems at any time.
Interviewer: I think some of our listeners might want to start their own ‘Text a friend’
service in schools after listening to you, Grace!
Grace: I certainly hope so.

GOLD EXPERIENCE B1 PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2014 Pearson Education Ltd. 6

 Mid-year test

Carl: Hello?
Bella: Carl? Is that you?
Carl: Bella? Hi! It’s really good to hear you from you! How’s life in Canada?
Bella: It’s great, thanks!
Carl: How are you getting on at your new school?
Bella: Well, it’s getting much better. I had a bit of a hard time at the beginning.
Everything was so different and there were a lot of things I didn’t understand.
Carl: Didn’t understand? What do you mean? They speak English in Canada, don’t
they?
Bella: Well yes, they do. It’s a little bit different from the English we speak, though.
They pronounce a lot of words differently and sometimes I need to ask them
to translate words! For example, everyone talks about soccer when they
mean football! At first, I had no idea what they were talking about!
Carl: Oh, Bella. Everyone knows about that! Have you made some friends?
Bella: Well, it took a while to get to know people. You know I’m a little bit shy.
Carl: Shy? (Sounds surprised) I didn’t know that.
Bella: Well, I am a bit. It was difficult to make friends at school when everyone
already had their own friendship groups. So I decided to deal with it in my own
way and I joined a mountaineering group. Now I have lots of friends and
they’re people I have things in common with too! We all like walking and being
outdoors.
Carl: That’s great, Bella. Have you climbed any mountains yet?
Bella: Yes, we went climbing in the Rocky Mountains last week, actually.
Carl: Wow! Hang on. Aren’t you frightened of heights?
Bella: I was, but I’m not anymore.

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 Progress test 7

1
Owen: I’ve just bought a new album from the second-hand record shop.
Sophie: What is it?
Owen: It’s Bob Dylan.
Sophie: Who’s that? And why have you bought an album? Nobody buys albums
anymore!
Owen: It’s for my dad. He isn’t very good at downloading music from the Internet and
he prefers CDs.
2
Andrea: Hi Jack! Are you having fun?
Jack: Um, yes. The music’s great but the weather isn’t very good, is it? I thought it
was going to be sunny, but it hasn’t stopped raining since we got here.
Andrea: We could go and buy some warmer clothes. There’s a stall selling jumpers
and hats over there.
Jack: Mm. I don’t have that much money and those things look really expensive. My
cousin’s house isn’t far away though. Shall we go there? Maybe we can
borrow some warmer things from him.
Andrea: Good idea!
3
Emily: Hi, Andy. I thought it was you. Are you here to see the play too?
Andy: Yes. It looks good, doesn’t it? And the director is really famous.
Emily: Why have you got a notebook in your hand? Are you worried you’ll get bored?
Andy: I’m reviewing it for the school magazine.
Emily: Oh, I see.
4
Amy: Hi, Jim. Are you here to see the ballet?
Jim: Oh, hi, Amy. Yes, I am. Where are you sitting?
Amy: I’m sitting in the front row. I’ve never been to a ballet before. It’s so exciting!
Jim: Oh, you’ve got a great seat. You’ll be able to see everything from there.
Amy: I think it’s time to go in. I’ll see you after the performance.
5
Julie: I’ve just bought five DVDs for £2. What a bargain!
James: I’m not sure if it’s a bargain, Julie. No one buys DVDs anymore, that’s why
they’re so cheap.
Julie: Well, I like looking at the pictures on the boxes.

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 6
Lucy: I’m so excited!
Nick: What is it?
Lucy: The Curly Gizmos are coming to play a concert here in Falkirk. I can’t wait to
see them perform! I’m going to book a ticket right away.
Nick: The Curly Gizmos? No way! Can you book one for me, too? I’ll give you the
money back later.
Lucy: OK.

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 Progress test 8

Bob: Hi Tom!
Tom: Hey, Bob! It’s really good to see you on Skype.
Bob: You too! I’m really excited about my trip!
Tom: Me too!
Bob: Um . . . I just wanted to ask you what I need to bring with me. I’ve never been
to Canada before.
Tom: I know.
Bob: Is it warm at the moment?
Tom: Um, yeah, it is quite warm. It can still be cold at nights, though. But you don’t
have to bring too many warm clothes in your luggage. I’ve got lots of jackets
and sweatshirts you can borrow. You know you can’t bring a lot of stuff with
you on the flight.
Bob: Yes, I know.
Tom: Oh, and about the flight.
Bob: It’s quite a long one. I think it will take about eight hours.
Tom: Hm . . . that sounds about right. Well, these flights can be pretty boring so
don’t forget to bring things to do on the plane – books to read and some
snacks to eat. You mustn’t play computer games during take-off but I’m sure
the flight attendants will tell you that! I won’t be able to meet you off your flight.
My football team are playing a match that afternoon, but I’ll see you back at
my house.
Bob: OK . . . um . . . that’s fine. So will someone meet me?
Tom: Sure. My brother.
Bob: Is that Alex?
Tom: Yeah, the one who plays basketball. You’ll know him when you see him – he’s
really tall!
Bob: Oh, by the way. I should probably bring a present for your mum. What do you
think she would like?
Tom: Oh you don’t have to get Mum anything! Well, maybe some chocolates or
something.
Bob: OK, I’d better go. I’ve still got lots of packing to do.
Tom: Cool. And Bob . . .
Bob: Yeah?
Tom: Don’t forget your passport!

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 Progress test 9

Interviewer: Hello and welcome to ‘Hobby Hour’, where we love hearing about some of the
interesting hobbies our listeners have! Today I’m very happy to welcome
Darren Jones to the show. Welcome, Darren. And thanks for coming in to
speak to us today about one of my favourite things – cakes!
Darren: You’re welcome. It’s great to be here.
Interviewer: Now, Darren, I know that your hobby is baking cakes – but not the usual
everyday kind of cake. Can you tell our listeners about your cakes?
Darren: Well, I love baking cakes in the shape of famous buildings. I love cakes and
I’m also really interested in travelling to different countries, so I decided to
combine my two interests.
Interviewer: You’ve baked cakes in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, The London Eye, the Taj
Mahal and the Acropolis. How long have you enjoyed doing this hobby?
Darren: I started baking when I was about eleven.
Interviewer: Wow, that’s pretty young. Do your parents like baking?
Darren: My dad is a chef and has always loved making cakes, so it just seemed
normal to me. My mum is terrible at baking, though! I was really young when I
entered my first cake-making competition.
Interviewer: How old were you then, Darren?
Darren: Twelve. It wasn’t a competition for children, but they let me come along when
they saw how interested I was in baking. They say it was nice to see a young
boy who was mad about baking cakes, not just eating them!
Interviewer: You won that competition, didn’t you?
Darren: Yes, the judge said the cake was delicious. I think she was quite surprised
though. She didn’t think a young boy could make a delicious cake. That one
was in the shape of the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Interviewer: So what are your plans for the future?
Darren: Um . . . I don’t have any plans. Well, maybe I’ll open a cake shop one day. But
I don’t want to be rich or famous or anything like that. For me, baking is a
good way of chilling out and it makes me happy. It makes my friends happy,
too. They’re always asking me to make cakes for their birthdays!
Interviewer: I’m sure they are! So everyone’s happy. What more could you want from your
hobby?

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 Progress test 10

Interviewer: Hello, and welcome to ‘Job Club’, where we speak about the kind of jobs you
might want to do after school or college. Today we’re talking to Sandra, who is
doing her dream job. She’s working with a film company! Sandra, can you tell
us a little bit about your job?
Sandra: Well, everyone thinks that my job must be really amazing. It’s good, but it’s
not what a lot of people think. I mean I don’t meet famous people every day or
anything like that. The company makes documentary films mostly. I don’t film
them myself. Most of the time I just watch and learn and bring the film crew
cups of tea!
Interviewer: Working with a film company must be exciting, though. Have you ever met
anyone famous in the course of your work?
Sandra: Erm . . . no. It’s a very small independent company, so we don’t really work
with famous people. I meet a lot of very interesting people, but famous people
. . . no, not really.
Interviewer: So what do you like about your work with the film company?
Sandra: It’s never boring. We go somewhere different and meet new people every day.
You never know what will happen next.
Interviewer: And is the money good?
Sandra: Well this is an internship, so I don’t get paid, no. I’m hoping to find a paid job
next year so I can start making a bit of money. I would really like to move out
of my mum’s house!
Interviewer: I know the feeling! So, Sandra, how did you find out about this internship? I’m
sure a lot of people would enjoy this type of experience.
Sandra: Well, I’ve always loved making films. I showed some of my films to my English
teacher and she said she was very impressed. She told me I should think
about working in film production after school. Then I saw this advert in the
paper. The company were looking for creative people who wanted a
challenge. I thought that sounded like me, so I applied for it, and here I am!
Interviewer: What are your plans for the future?
Sandra: Well, hopefully the work I’ve done with this company will help me find an
interesting job. I’d really like to work in film in the future, and like I said, I’m
starting to feel that I want a place of my own!
Interviewer: Good luck with all your plans, Sandra!

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 Progress test 11

Interviewer: Welcome to ‘Green Guide’, the show where we tell you what teenagers just
like you are doing to save the planet! Today I’m very happy to be talking to
Jim Bretton, who has been a member of his school Green Group for two
years. Last year, Jim thought of a very unusual way for his school to be a
greener place. Can you tell us about it, Jim?
Jim: Well, my Green Group decided to organise a ‘Buy Nothing Week’. We wanted
to help the planet by making people think about what they buy and where it
comes from.
Interviewer: What an amazing idea! How did you think of this?
Jim: Yes. Um, well . . . I thought of it when I was in the supermarket with my mum.
I was helping her to do the shopping and I started thinking about how we buy
things every day – a lot of what we buy is grown or made in faraway countries
you know. Food, clothes and things that we don’t really need are flown around
the world to get to us. I started to think about how we could stop this from
happening and help the environment – the easy answer was for everyone to
stop buying so much!
Interviewer: Was it easy to organise the Buy Nothing Week?
Jim: It wasn’t that easy, no. Some students didn’t want to take part in it and
laughed at the idea of staying away from the shops. You see, for many people
shopping is a bit of a hobby. People think that buying things will make them
happier. I don’t think it does, though. The students who did take part told me
that it was easier than they thought it would be. They started making food to
take into school instead of buying snacks and they stopped going shopping at
the weekend. They went to the park and played sport instead. They said they
felt happier and more relaxed when they weren’t in the shops all the time.
Interviewer: A lot of people are very interested in the Buy Nothing Week. You’ve been
interviewed on television, haven’t you?
Jim: Yes, that’s right. I want as many people to hear about the Buy Nothing Week
as possible. Hopefully more people will realise that they can live well and buy
a lot less.

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 Progress test 12

Interviewer: Are you looking for something interesting to do in the holidays? Do you want
to take part in a school with a difference? Here’s Abbie Gray to tell us about a
really interesting summer school which is taking place in Seaton Park this
year. Hi, Abbie!
Abbie: Hi!
Interviewer: Now, can you tell our listeners what makes the ‘Summer School in the Park’
so different from usual school?
Abbie: Well, there are a few differences, actually! The biggest difference is that all
our teachers are teenagers.
Interviewer: What a great idea! How did you think of this, Abbie?
Abbie: It all started when I went to a similar summer school in Germany three years
ago. I was in Germany with my friend and one day she took me to a school in
her park where all the teachers were teenagers. I learnt skateboarding and
had art lessons. It was really good fun and I had never learnt in this way
before. It was fantastic!
Interviewer: So if the teachers are young, does that mean there are no rules?
Abbie: Yes, there are rules. Our teachers work hard to organise fun lessons so we
don’t want anyone messing about. The most important rule is that you have to
work hard and do your best. It’s like anything else – you get out what you put
in.
Interviewer: Is the school free?
Abbie: You do need to pay five pounds a week. That’s just to pay for things the
school needs, though. We don’t make money out of the summer school.
Interviewer: I understand you’re looking for teachers at the moment?
Abbie: Yes, a lot of people have already said they want to take part in the summer
school and we need more teachers. We hadn’t realised how popular it would
be! So, if you’re creative, enjoy a challenge and have something you could
teach to others, please send me an email and I’ll get back to you. And don’t
worry about spending your summer stuck inside a boring classroom. It’s not
like that!
Interviewer: Can you tell us what the lessons are like?
Abbie: Well, for example we organise competitions, because we think it’s motivating.
There aren’t any tests, though! We also do our classes outside whenever we
can – as long as it’s not raining of course!
Interviewer: Have you anything to say to people who might want to come and join in the
fun?
Abbie: I’d say ‘go for it!’ A student who came along last year had never liked school
but she loved the summer school in the park. She said it had been a life-
changing experience for her.
Interviewer: Thanks, Abbie!

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 End-of-year test

Sam: Hello?
Nora: Is that you, Sam?
Sam: Hi, Nora. How are you?
Nora: Great! Sam, how would you like to do something really exciting this summer?
Sam: Um . . . well it depends what it is, I guess.
Nora: Remember what you were saying last year – about where you would go if you
had a lot of money?
Sam: Oh, yes. Italy of course!
Nora: Well you can!
Sam: But I don’t have a lot of money. I mean . . . I don’t have any money!
Nora: You don’t need to. Listen to this: ‘Are you mad about sport? Do you love a
challenge? We need young sports instructors to come and work in our water
sports camps for young children. All flights and accommodation included in
your pay. You must be sporty and a good team player’. Well?
Sam: Well, what?
Nora: That sounds like us, doesn’t it? Shall we write and apply? There’s an email
address here.
Sam: I don’t know. I’ve never been away from home on my own before.
Nora: You wouldn’t be on your own. You’d be with me!
Sam: Hm . . .
Nora: Jack’s older sister worked at a sports camp last year and she had never been
abroad before. She said it was a totally life-changing experience. I think we
should go for it, Sam!
Sam: Well, OK. I’ll think about it.
Nora: Don’t think for too long, Sam. I’m sure lots of other people will want to go for
this job too.

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