FCE Listening Practice Test 30 Printable

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 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.
Speaker: Of course I can understand their concerns, it’s bound to have an effect on some of the wildlife there, but at the end of the day you’ve got to balance that out with the positive effect it will have on the village. It will be a lot more pleasant for all of us here when we don’t have to wait an hour just to cross the road to get to the post office. [1]

2.
Student: My parents tried to convince me to study Medicine, and I went along with them right up until the final moment when I had to submit my university application. Although I’d always been quite good at science I’d never really enjoyed it that much and I couldn’t see how medicine would be that different. Of course, at that age I never fully appreciated how hard it would be to get a degree in Fine Arts… but sometimes you’ve just got to follow your heart. [2]

3.
Speaker: So, if you look closely you can see that just by applying a small quantity of it to the surface and rubbing it ever so gently in a circular motion with a kitchen cloth, the final result is as clean as if you’d been scrubbing it for hours. It’s a marvel of modern science, it really is. And at just under two pounds a bottle, you can’t say fairer than that. So how many bottles would you like? [3]

4.
Woman: If it’s no trouble… oh that’s great… thanks ever so much. You just have to check there’s enough water in the bowl. I’ll be back by Monday, so you only need to go round there twice. And if you leave him some food in the bowl every other day, that’ll be great. [4] Is there anything you’d like me to bring you back?… Sure, no problem. Bye!

5.
Woman: I’d had my hair done there before and I loved it. They really take care of you in there. I had a lovely cup of coffee while I was waiting and they even gave me a head massage before the styling. So, as it’s my birthday and I’ll be going out this evening I thought why not get my nails done there… [5] then go home, put on my best dress and some make up and hit the town.

6.
Woman: I’d put it in my drawer because I didn’t want to take it outside with me and risk it getting wet if it suddenly started raining. I thought it would be fine if I just left it there… but when I got back after lunch there was no sign of it. [6] I haven’t got a clue who could’ve done something like that. It’s really put me in a fix, it really has!

7.
Speaker: Well, leave it with us. We’ll have a look at it as soon as we can. It doesn’t sound like it’s anything too serious. We’re a bit busy at the moment but we can definitely get round to it by Friday. So if you come around on Monday then I’m sure we’ll have it up and running for you by then. Oh, hang on, Monday is a holiday and we’re closed, so pop round the next day then [7].

8.
Speaker: I know most people hate it… it’s stressful, it takes too long… it’s hell they say. But for me… well… it’s the only time I get to myself really. [8] When I’m at work the phone’s ringing nonstop… at home the kids are either screaming or wanting help with their homework. So it’s a time I can just slip on some good music and sort of switch off. Actually I wish it took two hours instead of one!

Part 2

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova [9]. It is a cake similar to meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The dessert is believed to have been created to honour the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s [10].

Where it was created and the nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years, but research indicates New Zealand as the source. The dessert is a popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both countries, and is frequently served during celebratory or holiday meals such as Christmas lunch [11]. All currently available research suggests the recipe originated in New Zealand. Keith Money, a biographer of Anna Pavlova, wrote that a chef in a hotel in Wellington, created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour. Professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has researched the pavlova, and has compiled a library of cookbooks containing 667 pavlova recipes from more than 300 sources [12]. Her book, The Pavlova Story: A Slice of New Zealand’s Culinary History, contains a timeline of pavlova history which gives 1935 for the first Australian pavlova recipe and 1929 for the recipe in the rural magazine NZ Dairy Exporter Annual.

It has been claimed that Bert Sachse originated the dish at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Australia in 1935 [13]. A relative of Sachse’s wrote to Leach suggesting that Sachse possibly got the year wrong when dating the recipe, but Leach replied they wouldn’t find evidence for that, ‘simply because it’s just not showing up in the cookbooks until really the 1940s in Australia.’ Of such arguments Matthew Evans, a restaurant critic for the Sydney Morning Herald said it was unlikely a definitive answer about the pavlova’s origins would ever be found. [14] ‘People have been doing meringue with cream for a long time, I don’t think Australia or New Zealand were the first to think of doing that,’ he said.

Pavlova is made by beating egg whites to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar [15], white vinegar, cornstarch, and sometimes vanilla, and slow-baking the mixture similarly to meringue. This makes the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist. The pavlova’s internal consistency is thus completely different from that normally associated with meringue, having more of a soft marshmallow texture. This difference is due to the addition of cornstarch, the use of which is the defining feature of a pavlova recipe. Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a topping of whipped cream and fresh fruit, such as strawberries and kiwifruit. Raspberry is a popular topping in the United Kingdom, with the tartness of raspberries contrasting with the sweetness of sugar. [16]

Factory-made pavlovas can be purchased at supermarkets and decorated as desired. A commercial product is available that includes pre-mixed ingredients for baking the meringue shell, requiring only the addition of water and sugar [17]. Те Papa, New Zealand’s national museum in Wellington, celebrated its first birthday in February 1999 [18] with the creation of the world’s largest pavlova, named ‘Pavzilla’, cut by the Prime Minister of New Zealand of the time, Jenny Shipley
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