B2 Listening worksheet 1 (standard)

Choosing the right path

Warmer Listening
02
1 Look at the picture. Which of these jobs
do you think… Listen and choose the correct option A, B or C.
A are rewarding? 1 You hear a man talking about changing careers.
B are tedious? The man became a vet because
C make a difference? A he wanted to help the family dog
D are exhausting? B he felt bad he couldn’t help the family dog
E require a lot of training? C it required similar studies to what he’d been
F require a lot of overtime? doing
G allow people to earn a high income? 2 
You hear a school girl talking about her
volunteering experience
2 Why might these children want to pursue
The girl
these careers?
A is surprised at the number stories she hears
3 What profession did you want to go into when B always does her homework
you were 8 years old? Why? C is always home on time
3 You hear a conversation between two friends
Tip The boy
A Wouldn’t like being a full time artist
The first possible option you hear is
sometimes not the correct one B is sorry his mum doesn’t draw anymore
C thinks he’ll have to stop drawing

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B2 Listening worksheet 1 (standard)
Choosing the right path
4 
You hear a woman explaining why she became 3 For each question below, write a sentence
a programmer using a linking phrase from 2. Use vocabulary
The woman thinks that from exercise 1 when possible.
A she became a programmer because of her
Example:
brother
Sheila wants to
B she chose her career based on the offices
she’d seen A be a lawyer
C her brother should have become a programmer B be a journalist
5 
You hear a man talking about working from Sheila used to want to pursue a career as a lawyer,
home. but in fact she’s not sure any more. Maybe being a
Since he started working from home, the man is journalist would be more rewarding.
A less productive than when he worked at 1 2
the office
John doesn’t like his Judy became a novelist
B as productive as when he worked at the office job because because
C more productive than when he worked at A the salary is too low A she loved writing
the office
B the job is boring B she wanted to travel
6 You hear a woman talk about her child. 3 4
The mother Phil quit his job because Sarah loves her
A wishes the coach hadn’t invited the talent scout A he wants to become internship because
B worries about her son’s health self-employed A she can help people
C thinks Alec will never be a professional footballer B he wants to go back B She enjoys learning
to university new things
Improve your listening
Speaking
Tip Work in pairs. Why are these aspects of jobs
The first possible option you hear is important, and which is the most important?
sometimes not the correct one. Use long holidays
a high salary
your knowledge of linking language to interesting work
help you identify the correct answers.

1 Look at the extract below. Does the phrase

introduce an idea which supports or contrasts
the previous idea?
attractive workplace nice colleagues
“…most people think that’s why I switched to
veterinary school after he passed, but in fact I was
finding my studies so tedious that I’d already made up
my mind to take some time out and rethink things.”

2 Listen to the six extracts again and write

down the linking phrases you hear near
the correct answers. Do they introduce and
idea which supports (S) or contrasts (C) the
previous idea?
1 but in fact C 2 3
4 5 6

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B2 Listening worksheet 1 (standard)
Teacher’s notes
Aims
This worksheet aims to practise the skills
needed for Listening part 1, and to draw the
students’ attention to the fact that often
the first possible option they hear is not the
correct one.
● It pre-teaches vocabulary related to the world
of work, which will be present in the listening
extracts and which will be useful in the speaking
activity at the end.
● It then provides practice of a Listening part 1
task, although please note that in this
worksheet there are six extracts following a
common theme, whereas in the exam there will
be eight unrelated extracts.
● After the first listening activity, the worksheet
draws the students’ attention towards linking
phrases which introduce a contrasting or
supporting idea, and which often signal the
presence of an answer.
● The worksheet then encourages students to
practise Speaking part 3, incorporating the
vocabulary pre-taught at the beginning of
the lesson.
Warmer
The students work in teams of four. The teams
write the alphabet on a piece of paper, then
have three minutes to brainstorm professions
starting with each letter. The team with the
most words wins.
1 Elicit the names of the professions in the pictures,
if these were not mentioned during the warmer
activity. Students work in pairs to answer
questions 1–3. Allow the use of dictionaries if
available. During feedback, ask students to justify
their answers in order to check their understanding
of the vocabulary and to generate more language.
Then ask students to answer question 3 with a new
partner, using the new vocabulary.
Students’ own answers
Listening
1 Allow students time to underline the key ideas
in the questions and elicit these before playing
the recording. Play the recording once, then
allow students to check their answers in pairs.
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Play the recording a second time. Challenge
stronger students to identify why the incorrect
options are incorrect.
Answers
1 C  2 B  3 B  4 A  5 A  6 B
02
Question 1
Girl: Did you always know you were going to
be a vet?
Man: No, my dream had always been to be a
doctor. I was halfway through med school,
doing pretty well, when the family dog got
ill. There wasn’t much I could do about it and
most people think that’s why I switched to
veterinary school, but in fact I was finding my
studies so tedious that I’d already made up
my mind to take some time out and rethink
things. I ended up becoming a vet because
it meant the three years in med school
wouldn’t be a total waste. Of course, I had to
do some training to deal with different types
of animals, but it was really helpful having a
medical background.
Question 2
Man: Are you enjoying your volunteering?
Girl: Yes, it’s not bad. Working with elderly people
after school is something I’d definitely
recommend. They always have lots of
interesting stories – that was one of the
reasons why I was keen to work there – but
what I wasn’t expecting to get out of it was
how much history I’d learn. The girl whose
shift starts after mine, though, is always late
or ill so I’m having to do a lot of overtime. I
get home absolutely exhausted. My mum is
concerned that I might find it quite hard to
get all my homework done in the evening, you
know. Actually, so far I’ve been managing ok,
so she should really just relax.
Question 3
Girl: This drawing is great! You’re so talented. Have
you ever thought about selling any of your
work?
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B2 Listening worksheet 1 (standard)
Teacher’s notes
Boy: Not really. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind
doing something like drawing comics for a
living. But I finish school in two years and I’ve
had to pick more sensible subjects -
psychology and law - so I can become a police
officer and go to work with my mum. That way
I’ll be earning a stable income. My mum used
to draw as well but now she’s too tired for it
when she’s off duty. It’s a shame.
I won’t let that happen to me though.
Question 4
Girl: My elder brother took up computer science
in school and used to come home with
homework that actually didn’t look too
boring, and he seemed to enjoy it enough so
I took that up too. Indeed, I think that was the
turning point for me. For a long time I thought
I’d made up my mind about my career, when
I first saw pictures of some start-up workplaces
full of ping pong tables and games consoles,
but now I reckon I’ve been underestimating
the influence my brother had on me. He’s a
teacher now, and he calls me every time his
PC stops working!
Question 5
Man: I started working from home a couple of years
ago, when my daughter was born. We just
couldn’t afford a full time babysitter, and I felt
that pursuing that promotion I’d been offered
simply wasn’t worth being away from her all
day. I’ve been much more productive than I
ever expected to be. Everyone warned me of
the dangers of working from home, namely
that I wouldn’t get as much done, so that
didn’t come as a great surprise, but I think it’s
a much more rewarding experience overall.
Being there for her first steps and words has
been priceless.
Question 6
Girl 1: Alec still wants to be a footballer
Girl 2: Really? Most children grow out of that. How
old is he now?
Girl 1: He’s 17. To be fair, he’s really good. He’s been
training really hard and his football coach
really believes in him, maybe a bit too much for
my taste. He invited a talent scout to watch a
match at the end of the season.
Girl 2: But that’s fantastic!
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Girl 1: It is, but of course I worry. Let alone the fact
that it’s a distraction from school work, Alec
is also training so hard because of it that I’m
worried he’ll injure himself. Still, something
good might come of it, after all. We’ll have to
wait and see.
Improve your listening
1 Elicit why the answer to 1 is A and not C (a lot
of people believed he became a vet because
he would have liked to be able to save the
dog, but the truth is that he thought medicine
was boring). Then elicit that the underlined
phrase introduces an idea which contrasts the
previous one.
2 You may want to write the phrases in random
order on the board if you feel the whole class is
likely to struggle with this activity. Then play the
recording again. Support the weaker students
by asking the class to raise their hand when
they hear the phrases in the extracts. Then
allow students in pairs to decide if the phrases
introduced ideas which contrasted or supported
the previous idea.
Answers:
in fact (c) actually (c) though (c)
indeed (s) so (s) still (c)
3 The students work independently to write the
sentences. They then read them out loud to their
partner, who has to choose the correct answers
for 1–4 according to what they hear.
Example answers:
1 
John is earning a really low salary at his new job.
Still, he wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t so tedious.
2 J udy’s always wanted to travel around, so
she decided to get into writing, which she
loved anyway.
3 P
 hil’s family expected him to start his own
business when he quit. He had his eyes on a
degree, though.
4 S
 arah’s happy she’s making a difference at
work, but actually it’s the training she’s really
enjoying.
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B2 Listening worksheet 1 (standard)
Teacher’s notes
Speaking
Allow time to read the questions and options,
then ask students in groups of four to brainstorm
synonyms of the word “important”. Point out
that repetition should be avoided in the exam.
Possible answers:
crucial critical vital indispensable
essential central fundamental

The students then perform the task. If available,

encourage the students to use their smartphones
to record themselves performing the task. They
should listen to it and, if they choose, they can
redo the task until they are happy with the result.
This will foster autonomy and improve their ability
to self-correct.

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