PET Listening Practice Test 4

Answer Keys

Tapescript

The part of the text containing the answer is underlined with the question number given in square brackets []. If you still struggle with pet Listening, please refer to Listening tips.

Part 1

Question 1
Woman: I stopped at the supermarket on my way home because we were almost out of coffee. I didn’t take my shopping list with me so I just wandered around the shop aimlessly. While I was there, I noticed they had some new mugs near the kitchen things. I liked the large ones, but they were more expensive than I wanted to pay. The smaller ones were on special offer, so I bought two of those. [1] Then I remembered I needed some washing-up liquid, but I didn’t get it because my tote bag was pretty full at this point. And I completely forgot about the coffee!
Question 2
Woman: Hey Benny, are you going straight home after school?
Benny: Not today, no… I promised Dad I’d help him in the garden, but that’s not until later.
Woman: So you’ve got some free time before that?
Benny: Yeah. I will need to return a library book, and it closes at five, so that’s the first thing I should do… [2] I also really want to meet Tom for football, but he has to practise with the school team today.
Woman: This shouldn’t be a problem, you’ll get to see him tomorrow anyway!

Question 3
Woman: I’ve been at my new job for three weeks now, and I’m really enjoying it. The office is much closer to my house than theold one, so the journey is easier. My new colleagues are friendly too, and we often have lunch together.
The salary is about the same as before, so that’s not really the reason I’m happier. What I really enjoy is having different things to do every day. [3] At my old job, I spent most of my time doing the same tasks, and that became rather boring. The constant change in my current line of work is something that I truly welcome!

Question 4
Man: I’ve finally started decorating the house. The kitchen was already painted when we moved in, so I didn’t need to touch that – I left it as it was. The bedroom is next on my list [4] I’m leaving it until the weekend because I need to move some furniture first. I don’t want it to be stained in paint because it is almost brand new. Yesterday I painted the hallway. It took much longer than I expected because there are so many doors and corners. There’s only one room left downstairs now — the living room. I’ll be working on it this afternoon. At least, that’s the plan for now.

Question 5
Man: I haven’t seen you at the sports centre lately. Did you quit swimming? You used to love that!
Woman: No, I still go, but I’ve changed the sports I do there. The swimming pool is being cleaned this week, so they have closed it for now. I tried the gym on Monday, but I didn’t really enjoy it. It’s just not as fun, you know what I mean? And yesterday I went to a dance class. That was much more like the thing I’d do! I’m going again tonight because we’re learning a new routine. I might even keep going there when the pool opens again. [5]
Man: Maybe I’ll join you sometime. It’s not just for girls, is it?
Woman: No, not at all! Everyone is welcome there!

Question 6
Woman: The shelf in the hall looks much better now. Did you finally fix it?
Man: Yes, I have. It was bothering me for a while, and I finally got to taking care of it. It wasn’t difficult once I worked out what was wrong.
Woman: Didn’t you need a drill for that? You kept putting the whole thing off for later because you had no necessary tools
Man: Well yes, but then I looked closer and the holes were already there! One of the screws had come loose, so I all I had to do was just replace it. I couldn’t find the right screwdriver at first. In the end, I used the small one from my bicycle repair kit. [6] It’s surprisingly useful.

Question 7
Man: I had a day off yesterday – it was such a nice change after a busy few weeks at work. The pressure has been too much recently! Anyway, I started the morning by cycling to a lake outside town. It was pretty cold, so I didn’t stay there for long, but the ride was great.
In the afternoon, I met my brother for lunch. We hadn’t seen each other for ages, and we spent nearly three hours talking, so that was probably the best part of the day. [7] I also went to the cinema in the evening, but I was too tired to follow the story at thatpoint. Still, it was nice having a whole day with nothing I had to do.

Part 2

Question 8
Man: I heard that you went to a photography exhibition yesterday? Was it fun to you?
Woman: Yes, more than I expected. There were some amazing pictures of wild animals, especially the ones taken in Africa.
Man: Personally, I thought the old buildings were more interesting. Some of those photographs were really beautiful.
Woman: They were good, but there were so many of them, I felt kind of lost in them. I spent most of my time in the final room, where the photographer had pictures of people from different countries. [8] Some of them were taken in busy streets, and others were just ordinary people at home. They felt much more personal.
Man: I remember that room. I think I rushed through it.
Woman: You should have stayed longer. It was my favourite part.

Question 9
Woman: You look tired. Was the traffic that bad this morning?
Man: Not really. The bus was actually quite quick today. I would have got there even earlier than usual if it wasn’t for this one thing.
Woman: So what happened?
Man: I couldn’t find my headphones when I was getting ready. [9] I checked the kitchen, my bedroom and even the bathroom.
Woman: The bathroom?
Man: I sometimes leave things there. I eventually found them inside my coat pocket, but I’d already spent about fifteen minutes looking.
Woman: At least you didn’t leave your wallet at home again. Then you would have got in a lot of trouble on the bus.
Man: No, that was safely in my bag this time.

Question 10
Woman: So, what are you wearing tomorrow? You said the restaurant was quite nice.
Man: I’m not sure. I was thinking about my blue shirt and jeans. They’re comfortable, and I don’t want to look as if I’m trying too hard.
Woman: The shirt is a good choice. But I’d probably leave the jeans at home. The place is a little smarter than that.
Man: I’ve got the jacket I bought recently. Would that be too much?
Woman: Not with your dark trousers. Wear the jacket with those and the blue shirt underneath. It’ll look smart without being too formal. [10]
Man: And the new trainers?
Woman: They’re great, but I’d save them for another time. Your black shoes would go much better with the trousers.
Man: All right, I’ll go with that. I suppose it’s worth making a bit of an effort.

Question 11
Mark: Hey Susan! How are your cooking lessons going?
Susan: Hi Mark. Pretty well. I’m much more confident with vegetables now. I can chop them quickly without making such a mess.
Mark: That’s good. Do you still find it difficult to decide what to cook?
Susan: Not really. The teacher gives us recipes, and I’ve started keeping a list of things I’d like to try at home. My biggest problem is knowing when something is actually ready. Last week I took a chicken dish out too early, and yesterday I left some potatoes in the oven for far too long. [11]
Mark: You’ll get used to it.
Susan: I hope so. Everything else seems much easier now.

Question 12
Man: Are you ready to go?
Woman: Not yet, wait a minute, let me think… I’ve put the bags in the hall, and I’ve got my phone and keys.
Man: What about your jacket?
Woman: It’s in the car. I took it out of my room earlier.
Man: Good. I’ve put some sandwiches in the picnic bag too.
Woman: Great. Oh, wait — the cat hasn’t had her breakfast yet. [12] Can you take the bags outside while I give her some food?
Man: Of course. I’ll meet you by the front door.

Question 13
Woman: I saw that new café near the station yesterday. Have you tried it?
Man: Yes, last Saturday. I went with Mark. We weren’t particularly hungry, so we had a couple of sandwiches.
Woman: Were they any good?
Man: The sandwhich was fine. The soup was probably the better choice, though. Mark had that with some bread, and he said it was delicious. The soup is their specialty, apparently.
Woman: So you’d recommend the soup?
Man: Definitely if you’re having lunch. But leave room for something afterwards. Their chocolate cake is worth trying. We ordered one, and I actually preferred it to the sandwich.
Woman: Hmm. I might have the sandwich and cake, then. [13]
Man: That’s what I’d take. [13]

Part 3

Daniel: When I was about twenty-two, I started thinking seriously about doing something completely different with my life. I’d left college without finishing my course, and I was working in a warehouse. One evening, I found an old magazine at my parents’ house which had an article about the French Foreign Legion. [14] I’d heard of it before, but I’d never really considered joining. The article made me curious, so I started looking for more information.
A few months later, I decided to go to France. I arrived in October 2018 [15] with one small suitcase and not much of a plan beyond seeing if I could get through the selection process. I remember feeling surprisingly calm at the airport. The reality of what I’d decided to do didn’t really hit me until later.
After the initial interviews and medical checks, I was sent to a training centre near Paris. [16] The first few weeks were difficult, although not always for the reasons I expected. The physical training was hard, but I actually enjoyed that part. What I struggled with most was the language. [17] I had studied a little French at school, but that was very different from understanding people when they were speaking quickly, especially when I was tired.
There were twelve of us in the room during my first month. [18] We came from several different countries, so communication was sometimes difficult even when we were all trying to speak French. I became particularly friendly with a recruit from Poland. We didn’t have much in common before joining, but spending every day together changed that.
I stayed in the Legion for several years. There were certainly days when I wondered what on earth I was doing, but I learned a lot about myself. I became much more organised, and I learned to keep going when things weren’t comfortable. More than anything, I think the experience made me more patient. [19] I wouldn’t say it was always enjoyable, but I’m glad I did it.

Part 4

Presenter: Alex, you have a rather unusual hobby. You learn a new language every year. How did that begin?
Alex: It actually started after a trip to Portugal. I’d studied French at school and could manage a few basic conversations, but I hadn’t really enjoyed learning it. In Portugal, I became fascinated by the way Portuguese sounded. When I got home, I started reading about the language, and then I began noticing how differently languages can express the same ideas. That was what really caught my attention. [20] It wasn’t simply about being able to order food abroad or ask for directions!
Presenter: What did you do differently?
Alex: I started concentrating on useful phrases rather than individual words. I also began speaking from the first week, even though my Portuguese was terrible. That was uncomfortable, but it taught me something important: you can understand a lot more than you can actually say. [21] Later, I started using conversation groups, but I wouldn’t say that’s what changed everything. The biggest difference was accepting that making mistakes was part of the process. [22]
Presenter: You’ve studied some languages that aren’t particularly common among learners. What attracts you to them?
Alex: I like the feeling of discovering something that isn’t immediately familiar. But the best part is often meeting speakers of those languages. A few years ago, I was learning Georgian, and I met a Georgian family at a local event. They were genuinely surprised that I’d chosen their language, and we ended up talking for nearly an hour. My Georgian wasn’t very good, but that conversation was much more memorable than any vocabulary list I’d completed that year. [23]
Presenter: Was there a language that really challenged your usual methods?
Alex: Japanese, definitely. I’d become rather confident in my system by then, but Japanese made me rethink it. The writing system meant that I couldn’t simply apply what had worked with European languages. I had to spend more time reading and writing, whereas I’d previously focused heavily on speaking. I wouldn’t say Japanese took longer because it was impossible to learn. It simply required a different balance of skills. [24]
Presenter: So, after doing this for several years, are you going to keep learning a new language every year?
Alex: For the moment, yes. I like having a clear challenge, and the end of one year gives me a reason to choose something new. But I’ve started wondering whether twelve months is always enough. With some languages, just as I was becoming comfortable, the year was over. So I might keep the idea of learning a new language regularly, but give myself longer when I find one I really want to explore properly. [25]
Presenter: So there’s no danger of you running out of languages?
Alex: Absolutely not. That’s probably the easiest part of the whole challenge!