Rajararata University of Sri Lanka

Faculty of Management Studies

ELT 1260 Listening Test

Examiner’s transcript

01) Read the text below once at normal conversational speed.

A HOUSE ON FIRE
I had never seen a house on fire before, so, one evening when I heard fire engines with
loud alarm bells rushing past my house. I quickly ran out and, a few streets away joined a
large crowd of people. We could see the fire only from a distance because the police
would not allow anyone near the building to fire.

What a terrible scene I saw that day! Huge flames of fire were coming out of each floor,
and black and thick smoke spread all around. Four fire engines were engaged and the
firemen in their uniform were playing the hose on various parts of the building. Then the
tall ladders of the fire engine were stretched upwards. Some firemen climbed up with
hoses in their hands. The continuous flooding brought the fire under control but the
building was completely destroyed.

02) Read the text below twice at normal conversational speed.

SOCIAL MEDIA 'DESTROYING HOW SOCIETY WORKS'

A former Facebook executive has said social media is doing great harm to society around
the world. The executive is a man called Chamath Palihapitiya. He joined Facebook in
2007 and became a vice president. He was responsible for increasing the number of users
Facebook had. Mr Palihapitiya said he feels very guilty about getting more people to use
social networks. He said the networks are destroying society because they are changing
people's behavior. Twenty years ago, people talked to each other face to face. Today,
people message each other and do not talk. People also really care about what other
people think of them. They post photos and wait to see how many people like the photo.
They get very sad if people do not like the photo.

Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a long break from social media so they can
experience real life. He wants people to value each other instead of valuing online
"hearts, likes, and thumbs-up". Palihapitiya also points out how fake news is affecting

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 how we see the world. It is becoming easier for large websites to spread lies. It is also
becoming easier to hurt other people online. Anyone can hide behind a fake user name
and post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was a global problem. He is
worried about social media so much that he has banned his children from using it.
However, he did state that Facebook was a good company. He said: "Of course, it's not
all bad. Facebook overwhelmingly does good in the world."

03) Read the dialogue below twice at normal conversational speed.

A CONVERSATION BETWEEN EDWIN AND BUDDHI

Edwin: Hey Buddhi, how you going?

Buddhi: I'm good Edwin, how are you?

Edwin: I'm not too bad. Did you do anything last weekend?

Buddhi: Yes, I did. I went out with a bunch of friends after a very long time. And, yeah, I
had a nice tim e.

Edwin: What did you guys do?

Buddhi: First, we wanted to go out for lunch and then we did some shopping. And then
we went out for some dancing. It was nice. I enjoyed my Saturday.

Edwin: oh, how was the dancing? Are you a bit of a dance master?

Buddhi: I wouldn't say that. Well, I love dancing, so we had a nice time. How about you?
How was your weekend?

Edwin: My weekend was alright. I just went down to the city and did a bit of shopping. I
bought some winter clothing, and it's getting a bit cold these days, so yeah.

Buddhi: I'm not a very winter person. Do you like winter?

Edwin: No, I don't like winter. I'm a very summer person.

Buddhi: Oh, really. Well, I don't like when it's too warm. And you like it?

Edwin: I prefer to sweat rather than freeze.

Buddhi: So do you like sea bathing and outdoor activities?

Edwin: Yeah, I love the sun. So I like a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain
climbing, rafting, and camping. It's better than being cooped up in a room.

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Buddhi: In my case, I'm not a very outdoor person. I'd say my favorite season will be
spring.

Edwin: Ah, I guess, yeah. Spring is a nice time. Not too hot, not too cold.

Buddhi: Yeah, yeah. Especially, I guess because I'm from a tropical country, and we are
used to that kind of weather.

Edwin: I see. I guess here in Australia the summer's not so tropical. It's just a lot of dry.
So, I guess Sri Lanka and Australia are really different?

Buddhi: Yes. Sri lanka has a wide variation of climate depending on the region.
Anyways, I recommend you to stay in the beach area as that’s what our country is famous
for.

Edwin: last summer I had a beach vacation in Bali. We had a lot of fun. So, this time I’m
looking for a change. A wild safari would be better.