Test 2 answer key with extra explanations

Listening
Part 1
Questions 1–8

1 The correct answer is B: The woman finds it fascinating to watch the birds building their
nests, finding food for their babies, and helping them to fly. A is incorrect because the birds
‘keep [an] eye on’ her. C is incorrect because she doesn’t recognise individual birds, and so
doesn’t know if it’s the same birds that return the following year.

2 The correct answer is B: The woman explains what researchers say about music and maths,
and how Albert Einstein thought music helped him with maths problems. She ends by saying
‘I think that’s the gist of it’. A is incorrect because she is reporting what she has learnt about
researchers’ opinions, but she doesn’t try to convince the man. C is incorrect because she only
asks a factual question, that is, whether the man is as good at maths as he is at music.

3 The correct answer is B: The man says a problem for him was ‘how to make an impact in
the final sentences’ and the woman replies, ‘That’s my weak area’. A is incorrect because the
woman doesn’t ‘have a problem with the first few lines’. C is incorrect because, although the
man ‘struggled making [his] characters realistic’, the woman ‘thought [her] heroes were quite
good’.

4 The correct answer is C: The woman thinks there’s too much pollution on city streets, and
the trees in the park help her to ‘switch off’ from her troubles while she runs. A is incorrect
because she has progressed moderately and therefore isn’t worried about getting injured. B is
incorrect because she is motivated to run, even though other people find it monotonous.

5 The correct answer is B: The woman says, ‘the mountains looked amazing for miles around
– it was stunning’ (very beautiful). A is incorrect because they couldn’t get exactly what they
wanted to eat, and the cuisine wasn’t classy. C is incorrect because she didn’t really notice the
accommodation because they were so tired from hiking during the day.

6 The correct answer is A: The man says scientists ‘accidentally discovered’ the organ when
researching another health condition. B is incorrect because, although the man says the organ
is hard to see, he doesn’t say it is very small or that this is incredible. C is incorrect because the
man says there are many things we still don’t know about the human body.

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7 The correct answer is B: The man thinks the evidence collected by the writer of the article
‘looks convincing’. A is incorrect because, although he’s going to look for other stories about
this subject, he is already convinced that the journalist has got a point. C is incorrect because,
although at one point he thought the subject risked getting boring because there were so many
stories about it, he is now interested to read more about it.

8 The correct answer is A: The man took a long time to learn to surf well but it was only later
that he realised ‘if [he’d] been in better shape, [he’d] have had better balance, board control and
stamina’. B is incorrect because soon after he started learning, he did give up (quit) for a while.
C is incorrect because he says other people don’t realise how expensive surf boards are.

B2 First 5, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Listening 2

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Part 2
Questions 9–18

9 The correct answer is ‘pollution’: Dave is used to the noise, the feeling of sitting in a cab all
day and the pressure from passengers, but he ‘wanted to be somewhere without pollution’.

10 The correct answer is ‘(dark) cliffs’: Dave says the English coast is known for its white
cliffs, but the dark ones in Jersey are ‘just as stunning’.

11 The correct answer is ‘(sound of) waves’: Dave says that when his head was on the pillow
(he lay in bed), the ‘sound of waves was really calming’. ‘Seagulls’ is wrong because the noise
they made was unpleasant. Dave could hear restaurant customers, but he doesn’t say that he
appreciated their noise.

12 The correct answer is ‘showers’ (or ‘rain’): Dave says ‘thank goodness’ there was no
chance of the showers predicted in the weather forecast. Dave mentions ‘mist’ and ‘sunshine’,
but he doesn’t say he had expected either of these.

13 The correct answer is ‘signs’: Dave says ‘if [he’d] known how many signs there are … , [he]
needn’t have worried … about planning [his] routes’ in advance. ‘Speed restrictions’ is wrong
because Dave had heard about these before he went to Jersey.

14 The correct answer is ‘paintwork’: Dave was aware of sand in his bike chain, but it was
only when he got off his bike to check for damage that he noticed damage to the paintwork.

15 The correct answer is ‘castle’: Dave wasn’t paying attention and nearly hit a pedestrian
because an amazing castle came into view. The sky, sea and the bay were all impressive but
looking at these didn’t cause Dave to nearly have an accident.

16 The correct answer is ‘radio tower’: Dave says it was the radio tower that ‘eventually
appealed most’. ‘Museum’ is incorrect because he was tempted but didn’t go there.
‘Lighthouse’ is incorrect because that was the view from the radio tower. ‘Fun park’ is incorrect
because Dave says that was for people with kids.

17 The correct answer is ‘cows’: ‘A herd of cows’ blocked Dave’s path at one point. Dave
didn’t see squirrels because he had missed the season, and he didn’t take a boat trip to see
dolphins.

18 The correct answer is ‘hills’: Dave saw many cyclists, walkers, joggers and day-trippers on
Jersey, but it was the many hills that he wasn’t expecting because, before going to Jersey, he
mistakenly thought it was flat.

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Part 3
Questions 19–23

19 The correct answer is G: The woman regrets not paying more attention to all the guidance,
because starting at university was overwhelming. B is incorrect because she soon established a
routine. D is incorrect because she had several mates who were also doing the same course.

20 The correct answer is B: The man would have done a lot better if he had done assignments
in advance and not the day before deadlines. C is incorrect because he only mentions his father
and brother to say that they also studied history. H is incorrect because he ‘chose’ to let his
social life take over.

21 The correct answer is D: The woman wishes she had ‘made the most of … clubs and
societies’ to meet people instead of focusing so much on getting a degree. C is incorrect
because she only mentions family to say that leaving her parents at home was something to
be nervous about. E is incorrect because she didn’t find living on a budget challenging. F is
incorrect because she knew how to live independently because she’d been travelling on her own
after leaving school.

22 The correct answer is H: The speaker couldn’t focus on studying because he lacked money
and had to work in restaurants instead of being able to study enough. D is incorrect because he
made some good mates at university. E is incorrect because he didn’t have much money.

23 The correct answer is F: When the woman got to university, she was unprepared for looking
after herself (e.g. doing laundry, buying food) and wished she’d got more tips from her parents.
A is incorrect because she enjoyed going for walks in the local area. G is incorrect because she
wanted more information from her tutors about essays.

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Part 4
Questions 24–30

24 The correct answer is C: When Andrew joined an IT company, he ‘couldn’t stand being
inside for hours on end every day’. A is incorrect because Andrew learnt a lot about birds and
other creatures, but he doesn’t say that being interested in them made him want to be a tree
surgeon. B is incorrect because his father, who was a tree surgeon, ‘always avoided putting
pressure’ on Andrew to join his business.

25 The correct answer is A: Andrew says he hadn’t realised that climbing a tree ‘requires
techniques that can take ages to get right’. B is incorrect because he was so tired after cutting
down the tree that he ‘couldn’t really appreciate’ what he’d achieved. C is incorrect because
Andrew says tree care is ‘obviously’ very physical (tiring) work.

26 The correct answer is B: Andrew says he’s not so good at – but admires his father for –
‘thinking in broader terms and judging what the best way ahead will be’. A is incorrect because
his father doesn’t panic, and that is something he has passed to Andrew. C is incorrect because
Andrew and his father are ‘not that different in some ways’, for example, his father doesn’t leave
anything to chance (he plans carefully).

27 The correct answer is A: The customer was ‘delighted’ that the job was completed by
lunchtime, instead of in ‘a few days’. B is incorrect because Andrew did communicate clearly
but that wasn’t what the customer gave him positive feedback about. C is incorrect because
Andrew did show knowledge about the problems with the customer’s trees, but that wasn’t what
the customer gave him positive feedback about.

28 The correct answer is C: The question asks what Andrew likes most about his job, and
he says ‘What appeals to me more than anything is that we help to make public places … safe
but also beautiful’. A is incorrect because being part of a team isn’t what he likes most. B is
incorrect because continuous learning isn’t what he likes most.

29 The correct answer is B: Andrew says filling in forms and checklists is ‘definitely not [his]
thing’. A is incorrect because other tree surgeons complain about the weather, but Andrew
thinks the varied climate has ‘its plus points’. C is incorrect because he doesn’t enjoy tidying up
but he would rather tidy up than do paperwork.

30 The correct answer is B: Andrew says he has to plan for the future because he won’t be
able to keep doing the hard, physical work ‘after a certain age’. A is incorrect because he hopes
tree surgeons will be paid more in the future, but that isn’t the reason why he needs to think
seriously about his future. C is incorrect because he believes there’s more awareness about the
importance of trees, but that isn’t why he needs to think seriously about his future.

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