OPTI M I S E PRACTICE TEST | Audioscript
PART 1
Narrator: Optimise B1 Preliminary for
Schools, Practice Test, Listening.
There are four parts to the test. You will
hear each part twice. We will now stop
for a moment. Please ask any questions
now, because you must not speak during
the test.
Now look at the instructions for part 1.
For each question, choose the correct
answer.
Look at question one.
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.
[Repeat]
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.
[Repeat]
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.
[Repeat]
4 What time will the lesson finish?
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
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morning. We’ll finish about 15 minutes
earlier, so at 10.45 instead of 11 o’clock
like we usually do.
[Repeat]
5 What is the girl going to do later?
Dad: 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.
Dad: 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!
[Repeat]
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.
[Repeat]
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 afford the fees
for that AND the photography club.
[Repeat]
PART 2
Narrator: Now look at part 2. For each
question, choose the correct answer.
8 You will hear two friends talking
about shopping.
Boy: I’m tired. We’ve been to nearly
every shop in the mall. Can’t we stop for
a coffee or a snack?
Girl: Yes, good idea. I don’t think I’m
going to find what I want today.
Boy: Have you tried looking online? I’m
sure you could find the right shoes.
Girl: Oh, I’ve been looking, believe me.
There was a great pair and they were
on sale.
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Boy: Well, why didn’t you buy them?
Girl: I didn’t want to risk it. I’d bought
a pair of jeans once and, of course, they
didn’t fit. I had to pay to send them back
and wait for a refund.
[Repeat]
9 You will hear a boy and his mother
talking about going out.
Mum: It’s nearly 6 o’clock, Joe. You’d
better hurry or you’ll miss the start of
the film.
Boy: Oh, I’m not going, Mum.
Mum: But I thought you had plans to go
with your friends.
Boy: That was before Mr Smith told
us about the history test we’ve got on
Monday. No one’s going out.
Mum: I see. Well, that’s a shame. You
were really looking forward to it.
Boy: Yeah, it’s disappointing, and it
means cricket’s cancelled too. But I
suppose I’ve got more important things
to do this weekend.
[Repeat]
10 You will hear a girl telling her friend
about a holiday.
Boy: Welcome back! How was your
holiday?
Girl: Great! Much better than I expected.
I’d never been to any place with snow
before, but there was so much to do –
I even built a snowman. That was
really fun.
Boy: Did you have skiing lessons, too?
Girl: Only a few. I loved skiing, but I kept
falling over! Still, it was good because
I met other people my age. That’s what
really made it a great holiday, otherwise
I would have been with my parents the
whole time. And that would have been
boring!
Boy: I know what you mean.
[Repeat]
11 You will hear two friends talking about
an exhibition they’ve been to.
Girl: Wow! Those paintings were
brilliant.
Boy: I loved the portraits – especially
the one of the old man with the calm
expression on his face.
Girl: Yes, that was beautiful, but he
seemed kind of sad to me. As I looked
at him, I wondered what had made
him feel that way, and what kind of life
he’d lived.
Boy: I suppose that’s the power of art – it
makes you use your imagination.
Girl: It certainly does, and it’s amazing
how two people can look at the same
work of art and see different things in it.
[Repeat]
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OPTI M I S E PRACTICE TEST | Audioscript
12 You will hear a boy telling his friend
about a concert.
Girl: I’m sorry I couldn’t go to the
concert with you, but I was too sick.
Boy: That’s OK, Amy. I hope you’re
feeling better now. Actually, it’s good that
you didn’t come.
Girl: Why? Was it terrible?
Boy: Not the bands, no – you would have
enjoyed them. It’s just that it finished so
late, there were no buses. I should have
checked the timetables before I went. It
was stupid of me not to.
Girl: Oh, no! How did you get home?
Boy: I had to call my dad at midnight.
He wasn’t too pleased and he let me
know it!
[Repeat]
13 You will hear two friends talking about
a birthday party.
Girl: Oh, it’s your birthday in a few
weeks! I’d nearly forgotten! Are you
going to do anything special?
Boy: I was hoping to, but the thing is, it’s
during our final exams. Everyone will be
studying; they won’t be in the mood for
a party. I should wait until the exams are
over, I suppose.
Girl: True, but you can still celebrate
on the day. It doesn’t have to be a huge
event! Why don’t you invite a few friends
to your house for a pizza or something?
Just for a few hours. They’d probably like
a break!
[Repeat]
PART 3
Narrator: Now look at part 3. For each
question, write the correct answer in
the gap. Write one or two words or a
number or a date or a time.
Look at questions 14–19 now. You have
20 seconds.
You will hear a man giving some
information about a fundraising event
to a group of students.
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 terrible storm last 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
has stepped in to help with the repairs.
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What a great idea from the staff and
students there! As I said earlier, they
are organising a great event. It will
take place on Saturday 21st, starting
at 5 pm, at the school hall. There’ll 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 join in!
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
give six pounds to the shelter.
Now, since some people aren’t so light
on their feet – myself included – they
can choose 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 dance contest is
available at highmoreschool.com.uk …
[Repeat]
PART 4
Narrator: Now look at part 4. For each
question, choose the correct answer.
Look at questions 20–25 now. You have
45 seconds.
You will hear an interview with a girl
called Sara Jenkins.
Interviewer: Fourteen-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.
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This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
B1
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.
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 …
[Repeat]
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