LISTENING 7 B1+
At the bookshop
Conversations
You are going to listen to three conversations that take place in a bookshop. Joseph,
who works there, recommends books for three different customers.
1 Listen to the conversations. Match each speaker with the type of book he or she wants to buy.
1 customer 1 _______ ___ A a romance novel
____ ___
2 customer 2 __ B a non-fiction book
3 customer 3 __________ C a long work of fiction
2 Listen again and choose the correct options to complete the sentences.
1 The boy’s father likes to read about
A sports. C gardening.
B home improvements. science.
D__________
2 The boy buys a book by Chris Hadfield. Chris Hadfield is
A a scientist. C an architect.
B an astronaut.
______________ D a designer.
3 What is not in Chris Hadfield’s book?
A a story about a snake
B a story about losing his sight
C advice about how to be successful in life
D advice about how to become an astronaut
_________________________________________
4 Which statement is not true about the film the woman saw?
A Part of the film takes place in World War II.
B Allie must choose between two men who both love her.
C Allie comes from a poor family.
______________________________
D Noah becomes a soldier in the war.
5 The woman doesn’t tell Joseph how the film ends because
A Joseph might want to read the book.
____________________________________
B she can’t remember the ending.
C she fell asleep during the film.
D she was unhappy about the ending.
6 The last name of the author begins with
A an N. ________
C an S.
B a B. D an F.
7 The man is looking for a book for his
A mother. C best friend.
B sister.
________ D girlfriend.
8 Joseph says The Goldfinch is
A a travel book.
B about 800 pages long.
_____________________
C also a film.
D the best book he has read this year.
9 Which of the following is not true about the boy in The
Goldfinch?
A His mother is killed in an explosion.
B He lives in New York.
C He steals a ring from the museum.
________________________________
D He falls in love with a red-haired girl.
10 How many books does Joseph sell?
A 1 C 3
B 2 D 4
_____
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 LISTENING 8 B1+

Hotel receptionist
Conversations
You are going to listen to five conversations between a hotel
receptionist and five unhappy hotel guests.

1 Listen to the conversations and choose the correct answers.

Conversation 1
1 Why is the man upset?
A There is a mistake with his bill.
B His bill is more expensive than he expected.
________________________________________
2 Why does he think he should pay only half?
A He only ate half of his meal.
____________________________
B He only received half of the food he ordered.
Conversation 2
3 Why does the woman phone the hotel?
A She has lost her mobile phone.
B She can’t find her way back to the hotel.
______________________________________
4 Why will it be difficult for Sandi to help her?
A The woman can’t describe where she is.
______________________________________
B The woman can’t find her phone.
Conversation 3
5 Why is the man angry?
A Sandi can’t find his reservation.
_______________________________
B His golf tournament has been cancelled.
2 Listen again. Complete the sentences with words from the
box.
6 What mistake did the man make?
A He forgot to make the reservation. bill checking out client conference credit card
directions guest reservation room service refund
B He came to the wrong hotel.
__________________________
Conversation 4 Conversation 1
7 Why is the woman angry? 1 The man’s total bill comes to £324.15.
A She saw a ghost. 2 The man ordered a pizza and a drink from room service.
B She didn’t see a ghost. Conversation 2
_______________________
8 What is Sandi’s explanation? 3 The woman says she is a guest at the hotel.
A The ghost is on holiday.
________________________ 4 Sandi offers to give the woman directions .
B There is no ghost. Conversation 3
Conversation 5 5 Sandi can’t find the man’s reservation on the computer.
9 Why does the man phone the reception desk? 6 The man gave a credit card number to reserve the room.
A The rain is coming into his room. Conversation 4
B The rain is making a noise on the window.
______________________________________ 7 The woman is checkin out of the hotel.
10 What does Sandi offer to do? 8 The woman is not happy, and she wants a refund .
A She offers to find the man another room. Conversation 5
B She doesn’t offer to do anything.
______________________________ 9 The man is in the hotel conference room.
10 He is meeting a very important client .

Skills Boost B1+ LISTENING 8 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable


Lake Louise
A guided tour
You are going to listen to a tour guide showing a group of tourists around Lake Louise, Canada.
1 Listen to the guided tour and number
the topics in the order you hear them.
3 winter activities
1 the location of Lake Louise
2 how the lake gets its colour
4 summer activities
5 how Lake Louise got its name
LISTENING 9 B1+
2 Listen again and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.
Canada / Calgary.
1 Lake Louise is one of the most famous sights in _______
2 The village of Lake Louise was built in the 1890s
_____ / 1980s.
3 The village was named after a queen / ________
princess.
4 One risk if you go mountain climbing is being hurt by rocks and snow / wild
_____________
animals.
5 The most famous sport at Lake Louise is mountain climbing / skiing.
_____
6 The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Lake Louise / ____________________
a city near Lake Louise.
7 A popular winter activity at Lake Louise is ice fishing / ___
ice swimming.
8 A popular summer activity at Lake Louise is lake swimming / ___
bird watching.
9 The Hotel Lake Louise is popular with people getting _______
married / celebrating
birthdays.
10 The colour of the lake is caused by very small pieces of rock
____ / plants in the
water.
Skills Boost B1+ LISTENING 9 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable
 READING 7 B1+

Smart glasses
Imagine a complete stranger coming up to you, pulling off your
glasses and throwing them on the ground. This is something which
has happened to wearers of smart glasses.
Smart glasses are an example of wearable technology – an
item of clothing or accessory incorporating advanced electronic
technologies – in this case, a computer built into a pair of glasses.
It sounds like the future, but in fact it is being trialled today.
Users activate them by moving their heads. They can give voice
commands to their smart glasses, such as ‘Take a photo’ to operate
the built-in camera. Typical commands include ‘Give me directions
to …’ or ‘Send a message to John.’
So, why are some people so angry about wearers of smart glasses?
Primarily, they have concerns about privacy. Wearers might be
In the area of wearable technology, things have come a long
secretly filming something, and then upload the video recording to
way since the calculator watch was first produced in the 1980s.
the internet.
This watch was an early example of electronics which must look
Smart glasses have certainly divided opinion among early users. fashionable, because they are worn as an item of clothing. The next
Some love them. The biggest advantage is definitely the hands- wave of wearable devices expected to hit the market will be smart
free aspect. You can continue to do what you’re doing and check watches – and we can assume they will be as useful as their older
information on a screen at the same time. This makes following brother the smart phone, and also look good! As the worlds of fashion
directions easy when you are wearing smart glasses. However, and technology collide, companies are already working to make
some early users complain that they need to keep on charging their smart glasses more stylish. However, will we ever see the day when
glasses during the day, and often have to re-set them. it’s safe and normal to walk around with a computer on your face?

1 Read the article. How does the writer feel about smart glasses? Choose the correct 3 Find words in the article to match
answer. these definitions.
A positive neutral
B__________ C negative 1 tested to see if it works
(paragraph 2)
2 Read the article again. Are these sentences true or false, or is the information not trialled
given in the text?
2 worries (paragraph 3)
1 Smart glasses are the first example of a wearable technology. concerns
TRUE /______
FALSE / NOT GIVEN
3 looking modern and up-to-date
2 Wearing smart glasses has been problematic for some people. (paragraph 5)
TRUE
____ / FALSE / NOT GIVEN fashionable
3 Some people are worried that you can use smart glasses to invade privacy. 4 pieces of equipment that do a
TRUE
____ / FALSE / NOT GIVEN particular thing (paragraph 5)
4 There’s an app for smart glasses which can help you sleep. devices
TRUE / FALSE / _________
NOT GIVEN 5 crash together (paragraph 5)
5 You can film with smart glasses. _____
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN collide
6 You can only activate smart glasses with your voice. TRUE /______
FALSE / NOT GIVEN
7 The only important aspect of a wearable technology is how well it works.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
_________
8 Smart glasses will certainly succeed in the marketplace. TRUE / FALSE / __________
NOT GIVEN

Skills Boost B1+ READING 7 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable

 READING 8 B1+

The world’s 50 best restaurants

[1 ] Perhaps a French restaurant? For over one hundred years, the
Michelin Guide, first produced in France, has been used by those looking
for a wonderful place to eat. It uses a system of stars. One star means ‘very
good’, two stars is ‘excellent’ and three is truly ‘exceptional’. All Michelin
reviewers are anonymous. However, the Guide has been criticised for
being biased towards French cuisine.
[2 ] A list of the world’s ‘50 best restaurants’ was compiled by British
magazine Restaurant. This list has been published annually ever since.
Unlike the Michelin Guide system, this list is based on votes collected from
chefs, restaurant owners and food critics.
[3 ] This was a three-star Michelin restaurant in the town of Roses in
Cataluña, Spain, famous for its modern style of cooking. The restaurant
[5 ] As the saying goes: ‘one man’s meat is
took the top place for five consecutive years, from 2002–2006. The
another man’s poison’. How can you compare
restaurant only opened for a limited season, from June to December. In
Indian and French cuisine; Thai and Mexican;
one season, it received over two million requests to eat there, although it
Turkish and Chinese? And just what makes a good
could only accept 8,000 diners.
restaurant? Can it only be the food – what about the
From 2010 to 2012, the crown for the ‘World’s best restaurant’ passed to atmosphere? Certainly, the chef plays a vital role.
the Danish restaurant Noma, in Copenhagen. It topped the list again in
[6 ] One thing is sure: that the restaurants which
2014. The chef here tries to be experimental and innovative.
appear in the list are not complaining. What could
[4 ] The main reason is that voting does not follow clear procedures so be better for business? Or being called ‘The best
each member of the international voting panel votes for their own choice. restaurant in the world’?

1 Read the article and match the sentences (A–F) to the gaps in the text (1–6). 3 Complete the sentences with the
A It is difficult to see how such a personal thing as ‘taste’ can be made into a list. 5 words in the box.
B In 2002, things in the world of fine dining changed. 2 critical criticised critic
C So is this list just a ‘marketing exercise?’ 6 criticism biased unbiased
D Which is the best restaurant in the world? 1 1 This chef has always been
E The first ever winner was el Bulli. 3 biased towards Japanese
F However, the ‘50 best restaurants’ list has also been criticised. 4 cuisine.
2 My brother criticised the food in
2 Read the article again and choose the correct option to complete the sentences. the restaurant and we were given
1 The writer prefers a free meal.
A the Michelin Guide. B the Restaurant list. 3 Many people are critical of
C neither the Michelin Guide nor the Restaurant list.
______________________________________________ the procedures used in compiling
2 Up to 2014, Noma was top of the ‘50 Best Restaurant’ lists the list.

A three times. B four times. C five times. 4 She’s a writer and a food
_____________ critic for a Sunday
3 The cuisine in El Bulli and Noma is best described as
newspaper.
A traditional. pioneering.
B_____________ C exotic.
5 It’s almost impossible to give an
4 The Restaurant list unbiased opinion about food.
is controversial.
A_________________ B is created by anonymous reviewers. 6 He only wanted to hear positive
C follows clear voting procedures. criticism about his cooking.

Skills Boost B1+ READING 8 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable

 READING 9 B1+

Work-life balance
In last month’s Management Issues we reported on a recent
survey in the US. Workers were asked how often they checked
their work email outside of normal working hours. The
results surprised us. They showed that the more people use
computers outside the office, the higher their stress levels,
but at the same time, the more likely they are to have a higher
level of personal satisfaction.
We asked you to send in your experiences of trying to get a
good ‘work-life balance’ in these days of email, smart phones
and tablets. We wanted to know if your boss expects you to
work outside your office hours, or if you simply switch your
phone off and refuse to answer your emails in the evening and
at the weekend. This month, we print some of your answers.

‘I don’t think employers have the right to make us work out of

hours. Everyone has to disconnect. In my company, we have
changed our employment rules, so my boss cannot expect me
to answer any emails in the evening. 1 I’m happy about this.’
Pierre, Paris
‘Many countries try to make laws in order to get people to
work less and have a better work-life balance. I don’t think
these work. The law in Belgium states the working day is
seven and a half hours. 2 ’ ‘The results match my experience of the workplace. The
Elena, Brussels
‘When we work long hours, we aren’t very productive. In
Sweden, we are experimenting with a six-hour working day.
After concentrating for six hours, I think workers get tired. The
aim of this project is to reduce inefficiency. 3 ’
Lars, Stockholm
‘The problem as I see it is technology. I thought it would
help us to be more productive. How lovely of my boss to
buy me a laptop all those years ago, but I ended up taking
my work home! 4 And it’s very difficult to measure ‘digital
working time.’
Janet, NYC
more rewarding our work, the more responsibility we have …
and the more stress. If we want to an interesting job, we have
to accept that it will involve more work outside normal hours.’
Philip, Hong Kong
What do you think? There’s still time to write or email us.
We’ll post the best contributions on our blog.

1 Read the article and match the sentences (A–D) to the gaps in the text (1–4). 3 Are these words nouns, verbs or both?
A Technology just means we work longer hours. 4 Write them in the correct column.
B My actual working day is much longer! 2 blog expect experiment involve
C Also, if we all work less, we can create more jobs. 3 law measure merge reduce
reward satisfaction survey switch
D This means we can take our full rest periods. 1

2 Read the article again. Are these sentences true or false? Noun Verb Both
sastifaction expect blog
1 The survey was conducted in the UK. TRUE /______
FALSE
law involve experiment
2 The survey showed that the more you work, the more unhappy you are.
TRUE / ______
FALSE merge measure
3 Pierre agrees with the new ruling in his company. _____
TRUE / FALSE reduce reward
4 Elena thinks the law in Belgium is effective. TRUE / FALSE
_____ survey
5 Lars thinks a six-hour working day is too short. TRUE / FALSE
_____ twich
6 Janet probably regrets that her boss bought her a laptop. TRUE
____ / FALSE
7 Philip agrees with the survey results. TRUE
____ / FALSE

Skills Boost B1+ READING 9 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable