FCE Listening Practice Test 3 Printable

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 FCE Listening, please refer to Listening tips.

Part 1

1.
Radio: This movie has been widely advertised as the big cinema event of the autumn and it certainly has its positive aspects. For instance, the photography is superb, particularly in the outdoor scenes, and the soundtrack perfectly matches the setting and the content throughout. Rather frequently, though, I lost track of the plot, as – I suspect – did many others in the audience [1]. In fact, it was just as well that all the leading actors put in such strong performances or I would have lost interest long before the final third of the film, when the tension – and with it the volume of the music – really starts to rise.

2.
Man: If a group of us travel together, we might be able to get something off the standard rates for fares to other countries, because it’s becoming impossible without some sort of discount [2].
Woman: There would have to be a lot off, the way prices are going [2]. It’d be worth it, though, to see a bit of the world.
Man: I don’t know. There are lots of fun things you can do here in summer, and you don’t add to global pollution by flying everywhere.
Woman: You can take a train, or a bus. Or even go by ship. None of those leaves much of a carbon footprint.

3.
Woman: I often used to listen to that travel programme on the car radio, and although apparently they once mentioned Dolphin Bay I don’t recall it. So it wasn’t until last summer that I became aware of the existence of that wonderful place thanks to a TV documentary [3], following which I went to see it for myself. Since then I’ve discovered a whole website about it, with lots of fantastic photos, a video of dolphin families in the clear blue water, and links to blogs by other people who love the place as much as I do.

4.
Woman: After I’d been waiting in the queue for ten minutes I thought that while I was there I might as well also get some stamps for another parcel I need to send quite soon, but then I realised I didn’t have any cash on me. This one, the one I was actually there to pick up [4], had been sent some time ago and delivered to my house yesterday, but as there was no-one in they left a note saying it would be here from this morning.

5.
Woman: It’s essential we ensure that no more hedges are cut down.
Man: I mentioned that at a council meeting, but someone from the transport department said hedges prevented drivers from seeing other vehicles approaching, which could cause accidents.
Woman: That’s just ridiculous, isn’t it?
Man: Yes, it is. And there are people who’ve moved here from the city saying they don’t want the views from their country homes spoilt by tall hedges.
Woman: They really don’t know how vital they are, how many species depend on them as a place to live. And they would probably be the first people to complain if some of those species started disappearing [5].

6.
Motorcyclist: It was a lovely sunny morning in autumn when I set off for the North, and for the first hour it was a wonderful feeling riding round the long, fast bends on such a powerful bike. But suddenly it started to rain and the temperature dropped alarmingly. Within minutes I was frozen, and I had to slow down because of wet leaves on the road. It’s at moments like that when some start to wonder whether they should’ve bought a car instead, but I’ve never felt that myself. Though I do admit that on that occasion it might have been sensible to find a more comfortable way to travel [6].

7.
Student: I didn’t really want to change college, even though this one’s a slightly shorter walk from my house than the old one, and to be honest I’m still not used to the way maths and science are taught here [7]. I’d also wondered, before the term started, whether the other students might be a bit suspicious of me because I’d come from a rather exclusive college, but in fact they couldn’t have been more welcoming. That’s made it a lot less difficult to settle

8.
Instructor: Well, you’re definitely making progress and you should be ready to take your test within a month or so. There are just a couple of points. Firstly, you’re quite right to stay well below the speed limit, but on the other hand you shouldn’t be holding up the traffic either. You would’ve realised that if you’d checked in your mirror on Kings Road, which you should’ve done [8]. Actually, I was also wondering whether you’d spot that ‘keep left’ sign as we approached the end of the main road, but clearly you did and that was a definite plus.

Part 2

Fiona Doyle: My parents now both work from home so they made the decision to move from our city-centre flat to the countryside, although it meant big changes for the whole family. It was a winter evening when we first went to the village, and as we walked along the pavement I remarked on how dark it was without the street lights of the city, and how bright that made the lights of the cars seem [9] as they approached. I also noticed the sound of running water, and when we reached the house I was delighted to discover that it stood next to a little bridge over a stream. I soon decided I liked the house. It has thick stone walls, high ceilings and wooden floors. The central heating keeps the temperature in all the rooms pleasant throughout the year, although during the colder months those in the basement tend to get a bit damp [10], probably because of the stream. My room is actually on the other side of the house so I don’t hear it at night, which is a pity, really. I was used to the constant big-city background noise of traffic and voices, and for a while after we moved in I’d keep waking up in the middle of the night owing to the total silence there [11]. It doesn’t bother me now, though, and these days I look forward to settling down for the night in my large, comfortable bed. I rarely stay up any later than when I was in the flat, and in the mornings I normally wake up at the same time, but there aren’t the sounds of the city telling you it’s time to get up so I’m usually in far less of a hurry to do so [12]. The atmosphere here is so relaxing, and I have a wonderful view from the window of my room. Whereas before I’d see city wildlife like cats, dogs and maybe the occasional fox, here I start the day to the sound of distant farm animals and the sight of rabbits in the open fields [13]. Apparently there are also deer around, though I haven’t actually spotted any yet. The pace of life in the countryside is certainly slower, but I think I’ve adjusted pretty well to it. I must confess, though, that I can get a bit fed up with the speed of the Internet connection here [14], compared with how fast it was in the flat downtown. In spite of that I still manage to chat online with my friends there more or less whenever I want, so I don’t have the feeling of missing them that I thought I might have before I moved. There is, though, fairly weak mobile reception out here – sometimes no signal at all – and when that happens I may not receive calls they’re trying to make to me [15], which can be annoying. I suppose poor public transport is another disadvantage of living in the country. There isn’t a railway station within five kilometres, it’s nearly a two-kilometre walk to get to a bus stop [16], and taxis charge a fortune to come out here. It’s so different from where I grew up, where the buses stop right outside your home or you can take the Underground.

You can live quite happily there without a car, but not here [17]. People say ‘why not go by bike?’, but the reality is that it’s just too far to ride anywhere from here – and dangerous on those country roads, especially in the dark. I’ll just have to rely on my parents for lifts everywhere until I pass my driving test, which I hope will be before I go to university next year. Fortunately, it’ll be a shorter drive from here than from where I used to live [18], and I’ll avoid the awful traffic on the roads in and out of the city, too!
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