OPTI M I S E PRACTICE TEST | Audioscript
PART 1
Narrator: There are seven questions
in this part. For each question
there are three pictures and a short
recording. For each question, choose
the correct answer A, B or C. You
will hear the recording twice.
Question 1
Which television programme is on
next?
Man: What an exciting semi-final
that was! Don’t forget to watch
the last episode of Teen Chef
next Saturday to see who will
win the title. Stay tuned now for
news from home and around the
world, followed by Our World, the
incredible new documentary series.
Tonight, it looks at the effects of
global warming on endangered
species. Make sure you watch after
the news.
Question 2
Where is the boy going now?
Girl: Hi, Max. Do you want to come
to the library with me? We can
do some research for our science
project.
Boy: Yes, we need to make a
start on that, but I’ve got football
training now and the coach gets
annoyed if we miss a session.
Girl: No problem. I’ll be there till 7
o’clock if you want to stop by later.
Boy: Let’s meet at the café instead
and you can show me what you’ve
found. We’ll be able to talk there.
Question 3
How will they get to the concert?
Girl: Sorry, but my mum can’t drive
us to the concert on Friday. She has
to work late.
Boy: That’s OK. I don’t mind taking
the bus or the underground. We’ll
just need to leave about an hour
earlier. Say at around five instead
of at six.
Girl: There’ll be traffic on Friday
afternoon. Maybe the underground
would be better. You know what it’s
like being on a bus when the roads
are busy.
Boy: You’re right, let’s do that.
Question 4
What time will the lesson finish?
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Teacher: Please remember to hand
in your geography assignments on
Tuesday. I don’t want to hear any
excuses either. You’ve had plenty
of time to do them, so I expect all
of them on my desk at 10 o’clock.
Oh and let me remind you that
our lesson that day will be shorter
as you have your museum trip in
the morning. We’ll finish about 15
minutes earlier, so at 10.45 instead
of 11 o’clock like we usually do.
Question 5
What is the girl going to do later?
Man: Carly, don’t forget to tidy your
room before you go out.
Girl: Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll put my
clothes away and make my bed
now. It won’t take me long at all.
And I’ll vacuum the carpet in the
living room as soon as I get back.
Man: Good. I’ve already cleaned
the bathroom and your brother has
promised to wash the car.
Girl: Mum won’t believe how clean
everything is when she gets home
from her business trip tomorrow!
Question 6
What will the weather be like
tomorrow?
Radio announcer: Great news for
the weekend! If you’re planning on
having a picnic, playing sport, or
just enjoying the summer holidays,
Saturday and Sunday will be warm
and sunny. In fact, don’t leave your
sun cream at home or you could
get sunburn. That won’t happen
tomorrow though. We’ll be lucky
if we even see the sun. We’re not
expecting rain, though, despite
the clouds, so not a bad day to be
outside.
Question 7
Which club is free to join?
Girl: Have you decided which clubs
you’re going to join this year at
school?
Boy: I was thinking of joining the
art club. It sounds really fun and I
can draw pretty well. I just need a
bit of help to improve. What about
you?
Girl: I’m definitely joining the
theatre club and the photography
club. I’ve always been interested in
both. I like drawing too, but I can’t
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B1
afford the fees for that AND the
photography club.
PART 2
Narrator: You will hear part of
an interview with a girl called
Sara Jenkins, who does judo. For
each question, choose the correct
answer A, B or C. You will hear the
recording twice.
Interviewer: 14-year-old Sara
Jenkins is a junior judo champion.
Sara, how did it all start?
Sara: Behind the pool where
I swim there are some other
buildings with an indoor basketball
court and that’s where the judo
lessons are held too. One day, I
went in there to watch my friend
playing basketball and a judo
lesson was on. Of course, I’d seen
similar sports on TV – karate, I
think. Anyway, it looked really
interesting, so I decided to sign up.
Interviewer: You mentioned
karate. It’s very similar to judo, isn’t
it?
Sara: In many ways, it is, yes.
They’re both from Japan and
they’re both ways to protect
yourself. For both sports, you wear
a white jacket and trousers and
you tie the jacket with a coloured
belt. The colour shows your level.
When I started, I had a white belt
and that’s the lowest level in both
sports. I have a blue belt at the
moment, which is the sixth level in
judo, but not in karate.
Interviewer: Do you know why the
colours are in a particular order?
Sara: Well, our instructor told us
that students didn’t replace their
belts. Instead, they used to dye
their belts as they reached higher
levels. So for example, a white belt
would be coloured yellow when
students had reached the next
level. Because they kept dyeing the
same belt, they had to use darker
and darker colours each time.
That’s why the order of the belts is
from white to black, with the other
colours in between.
Interviewer: That’s very
interesting! I had no idea that was
the reason.
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OPTI M I S E PRACTICE TEST | Audioscript
Sara: According to our instructor,
it was done for practical reasons.
It happened years ago when Japan
was a poor country. Dyeing was a
cheap way to show the different
levels as students progressed. It
seems strange to us that a belt
could be so expensive though.
Some people joke that the belts
weren’t dyed, but that the white
belts became dirty over time and
eventually turned black!
Interviewer: Most people don’t
know the difference between judo
and karate. I admit I don’t. Could
you tell our listeners about that?
Sara: Of course. In karate, you kick
your opponent. In judo you grab
your opponent by the jacket so that
you can try to throw, push or pull
him – or her – to the ground. In
karate, opponents try to keep some
distance between each other so
that they can kick, but judo is more
like wrestling. You have to get close.
Interviewer: You recently won
a competition, didn’t you, Sara?
Congratulations!
Sara: Thanks! I’m really happy
about it. I was given a trophy
and it’s in my room next to my
swimming medals and trophies.
I still swim, by the way! I want to
keep doing both sports for as long
as I can.
Interviewer: Well, thanks for being
on the show, Sara …
PART 3
Narrator: You will hear some
information about a fundraising
event. For each question, fill in the
missing information in the numbered
space. You will hear the recording
twice.
Man: Are you a good dancer?
Do you think you could dance all
night? Well, here’s your chance to
show everyone your moves on the
dance floor! What’s even better,
it’s for a great cause. The staff and
students at Highmore Secondary
School are organising a dance
contest to raise money for the
Highmore Animal Shelter.
As you know, the shelter was
damaged in a severe storm last
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month. Luckily, none of the animals
were hurt, but the buildings,
including the vets’ offices and
reception, were left with broken
windows. Highmore Secondary
School have stepped in to help
with the repairs. What a great
gesture from the staff and students
there! As I said earlier, they are
organising a great event. It will
take place on Saturday the 21st,
starting at 5 pm, at the school hall.
But make sure you get there a little
earlier as the dancing will start at
exactly 5 o’clock.
Oh, and there’s plenty of parking
behind the school, so no problem
there. There’ll also be refreshments
– soft drinks and snacks – provided
by the students and parents.
These will be free of charge for
dancers, so that’s another reason to
participate!
You can take part in two ways.
Firstly, if you think you’ve got the
energy to keep dancing, download
a sponsorship form from the
school’s website. Once you’ve got
your form, find sponsors! They’ll
pay you for every hour you stay on
the dance floor. So, if you can dance
for six hours without stopping, and
your sponsor has promised one
pound per hour, they’ll donate six
pounds to the shelter.
Now, since some people aren’t so
light on their feet – myself included
– they can nominate who they wish
to sponsor and how much they
want to sponsor them for. Again,
just visit the website, and you’ll
find a list of dancers.
More information about the
danceathon is available at
highmoreschool.com.uk …
PART 4
Narrator: Look at the six sentences
for this part. You will hear a
conversation between a girl, Julia,
and a boy, Damian, about a birthday
present for their friend, Chris.
Decide if each sentence is correct or
incorrect. If it is correct, choose the
letter A for YES. If it is not correct,
choose the letter B for NO. You will
hear the recording twice.
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This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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Julia: I’m really looking forward to
Chris’s party. I think it’s going to be
great. His cousin is a DJ and he’ll
be playing all the music. Everyone
from school has been invited and
his friends from the chess club too.
It’s going to be huge!
Damian: Yeah, I can’t wait to go!
Have you got a present for him
yet? I was thinking of getting him
a video game. There’s a new one
called Football Fun. What do you
think?
Julia: I know he’s got loads of video
games. Maybe you should ask
Chris’s sister if he’s already got that
one before you buy it. Even if he
can change it at the shop, it’s not
fun getting something you can’t use
straight away.
Damian: That’s true. And
sometimes it’s annoying taking
something back to a shop. Do you
know that for my last birthday I got
the same book from three different
people? It was crazy! Anyway, what
did you get for him?
Julia: I haven’t got anything yet.
I’m still thinking about it. I want
to get him something really nice
because he helped me a lot with
maths last term. If it wasn’t for him,
I might have failed my exams. But
the problem is I haven’t got a lot of
money.
Damian: Well why don’t we buy a
present together? We could go to
the shopping centre tomorrow and
have a good look around. I’m sure
we can find the ideal present.
Julia: That’s a good idea. You know,
there are some really cool T-shirts
at Hype. They’ve just got them in
the shop. Hopefully, they’re not
expensive – they usually aren’t
at Hype. And I saw these great
wireless speakers on sale for
£20. He loves listening to music,
so that might be something he’d
appreciate.
Damian: I like your ideas, Julia,
especially the speakers. I’m glad
I ran into you! So, let’s meet
tomorrow at four, shall we?
Julia: OK. See you outside Hype
at the mall. We’ll start with those
T-shirts.
Damian: Great! Bye!
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