Test 1 answer key with extra explanations

Listening
Part 1
Questions 1–7

1 The correct answer is C: The woman says ‘It’s that guidebook’ and explains ‘I thought I‘d
put it in my backpack … but I guess I didn’t’. A is incorrect. The man asks ‘Have you got
your passport ready?’ and the woman replies ‘Mine’s in my backpack’. She also says ‘I know
I forgot it (her passport) once, but I’m more careful now’. B is incorrect. Her phone is also in her
backpack: ‘in my backpack, with my books and phone’.

2 The correct answer is C: The T-shirt is divided into two parts, a top and a bottom: ‘The top
part has black and white stripes, and there are stars on the white parts. The bottom … has black
circles on a white background’. A is incorrect. The top part of the T-shirt has circles on the
white stripes and the bottom part has stars on a white background. B is incorrect. The shirt is
divided with a right and a left side.

3 The correct answer is A: The woman says she phoned the theatre to get tickets for the show:
‘I had to call the theatre’. B is incorrect. The woman says ‘their website wasn’t working when
I tried on my laptop’. C is incorrect. The woman says ‘I stood there (in the queue outside the
theatre) for a while and then gave up and went home’.

4 The correct answer is B: The woman says ‘the strong winds we’re experiencing at the
moment mean trains are moving … at reduced (lower) speeds’. A is incorrect. The woman says
that ‘there is a possibility of snow’ that evening (not now), but ‘this is unlikely to affect services
to Histon’. C is incorrect. The rain was the night before and it ‘has cleared (gone)’.

5 The correct answer is B: The man says ‘our best chance (to see the tigers) is in the open
spaces where they hunt’. A is incorrect. The man says it is ‘a challenge (difficult) to see them in
the forest’ because ‘their stripes help them hide among the trees’. C is incorrect. The man says
‘it’s too early in the season’ to see tigers at the water holes.

6 The correct answer is A: The woman’s first suggestion is ‘Jack Leon’s new movie’ and she
confirms that it is a detective film. At the end, the woman says ‘I think my first suggestion looks
more interesting’ and the man agrees by saying ‘OK. Let’s do that then’. B is incorrect. The man
says the woman doesn’t like science-fiction films: ‘they’re hardly your thing’. C is incorrect. The
woman says ‘it looks a bit serious’, suggesting that she doesn’t want to see the historical film.

7 The correct answer is C: The man says ‘It took me forty minutes on foot’. This means
that he walked. B is incorrect. The man says ‘They (buses) aren’t always reliable where I live’.
C is incorrect. He says ‘my brakes need fixing (mending) and I haven’t had time to deal with
them yet’. This means that he can’t use his bike.
1
Part 2
Questions 8–13

8 The correct answer is B: The man says ‘we should have our main meal earlier in the evening’
and adds ‘it’s not good to go to bed with a full stomach’. The woman agrees, saying ‘It’s worth
trying’. A is incorrect. They will continue to go to bed early because of their jobs: ‘It’s a shame we
can’t stay up later’. C is incorrect. They will both continue with their favourite sports. The woman
says ‘I’d like to carry on playing badminton and you enjoy swimming’. The man says ‘I agree’.

9 The correct answer is C: The woman says ‘It’s taken me a while to get used to the situation’.
She wants to stay at her company and says ‘I’m hoping to become a manager myself in the next
six months’. A is incorrect. The woman doesn’t comment on the boss herself, only about the
changes the boss has made. B is incorrect.
The woman says ‘I wasn’t exactly delighted (happy) when I heard about all the changes’.

10 The correct answer is C: The man thought ‘The ruins look even higher in real life’. He also
says they are ‘incredible’. A is incorrect. The man says ‘I knew we wouldn’t be able to go up
them’, so he wasn’t surprised by this. B is incorrect. His comments about the location are
positive: ‘The colour of the water behind them was gorgeous’.

11 The correct answer is A: The man says ‘I know nothing’. This means he is a beginner. And
the woman says she is ‘happy to start again’. B is incorrect. The woman says ‘let’s see if other
places have courses’. This means they haven’t yet decided where to do one. C is incorrect. The
man thought the course would be shorter than three months and the woman says ‘You have to
take lots of classes’.

12 The correct answer is B: The woman says ‘We haven’t sold as many tickets as I’d expected.
We need to get a bigger crowd’. And the man replies ‘we’d better focus more on advertising the
event then’. A is incorrect. The woman says ‘I’m sure they’ll be fine’ about the replacement band.
C is incorrect. The festival can be inside if the weather is bad: ‘we can use the hall instead of
being outside’.

13 The correct answer is A: The woman says she is surprised: ‘It’s quite shocking. I don’t
understand why we haven’t heard about this before’. B is incorrect. She was shocked by the
news, not annoyed by the writer’s attitude. C is incorrect. There is no reference to her being
confused by details in the article.

B1 Preliminary 2, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Listening 2

Part 3
Questions 14–19

14 The correct answer is ‘Sunday’: The woman says ‘we’re going to do a Sunday ride’.
‘Saturday’ is incorrect. She says they ‘considered doing a ride on a Saturday’, but they
changed their mind because ‘the roads are always busy’. ‘Friday’ is incorrect. It is the final day
for cyclists to say if they are coming on the group bike ride.

15 The correct answer is ‘21 km’, ‘21 kilometre(s)’ or ‘21 kilometer(s)’: The woman says
‘We … decided that 21 kilometres would be enough’. ‘25 kilometres’ is incorrect. The woman
says the original length of the bike ride was 25 kilometres: ‘we originally (first) planned to do
25 kilometres’. ‘30 kilometres’ is incorrect. The woman says ‘Eventually we hope to get fit
enough to do 30 kilometres’. This means they might do 30 kilometres in the future.

16 The correct answer is ‘Skerten’: The woman says ‘The bike ride will start … under Skerten
Bridge – that’s S-K-E-R-T-E-N’. The word must be spelt correctly.

17 The correct answer is ‘castle’: The woman says they will ‘take a break (rest) just in front of
the castle’ and ‘eat [their] lunch’. ‘Sea’ is incorrect. The woman says ‘From there (the castle), the
views over the sea in the distance … are amazing’. This doesn’t mean they will be near the sea.

18 The correct answer is ‘(a) cake’ or ‘some cake(s)’: The woman says the shop is ‘famous
for its cakes’ and explains ‘You can buy some there for the picnic’. ‘Sandwiches’ and ‘snacks’
are incorrect. The woman asks everyone ‘to pack some sandwiches or other snacks in your
bag before we set off on (start) the ride’. This means you can’t buy them during the ride.

19 The correct answer is ‘gloves’ or ‘some gloves’: The woman says ‘make sure you
have gloves on. They’ll protect your hands from the wind’. ‘Shorts’ is incorrect. The woman
says ‘you could wear shorts if you want to’, but you don’t have to wear them. ‘Raincoats’ is
incorrect. The woman says ‘I don’t expect (think) we’ll need raincoats’.

B1 Preliminary 2, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Listening 3

Part 4
Questions 20–25

20 The correct answer is A: James says ‘my uncle bought me a camera, and from then
on I started taking pictures’. B is incorrect. He says his mother is a painter, not a photographer.
C is incorrect. He says ‘My mother … often took me to art exhibitions’, but this doesn’t mean
he became interested in photography after attending one of them.

21 The correct answer is A: James says he has taken pictures in the park ‘over the years’.
B is incorrect. Nobody recommended the park to him. He says ‘my friends and I used to play’
there. C is incorrect. He says the park ‘[is] not the most attractive place, even though it’s really
improved a lot recently’. This means the park was even less attractive in the past.

22 The correct answer is B: James says ‘The best bit (thing) was being introduced to (meeting) a
well-known guy who takes pictures for an international magazine (a photographer)’. A is incorrect.
His parents knew he had won the competition before James did: ‘they got the phone call saying
I’d won’. C is incorrect. He says ‘I’d never entered one (a competition) before’. In other words,
this was James’s first photography competition.

23 The correct answer is C: James says photos should ‘help you learn things about life’.
A is incorrect. He is ‘always ready’ to take photos. B is incorrect. He believes photos
‘are more than just pretty pictures’.

24 The correct answer is C: James says photography is a social activity: ‘there are lots of
clubs, and it’s really fun doing it with other people’. A is incorrect. He says ‘it’s easy to do
anywhere’. In other words, you don’t have to travel. You can ‘get wonderful pictures closer to
home’. B is incorrect. You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy photography. It’s a hobby for
‘ordinary people’.

25 The correct answer is A: James believes finding out what works and doesn’t work in
photography can take time: ‘nothing’s better than … getting experience’. B is incorrect.
He thinks experience is better than going on a course: ‘I didn’t learn my skills by taking a
course’. C is incorrect. He says that although there is fantastic equipment, ‘most phones
take great pictures’.

B1 Preliminary 2, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Listening 4