Modelo examen 1 – Listening

LanguageCert C1 Listening Model 1 audioscript

Part 1: 

Number one:

• it’s blowing a gale out there!

• I know, and it’s bitter too. 

• Did you know it was going to be like this? 

Number two:

• Hi ya! How’s it going? 

• Ah, don’t ask.

• Oh, dear! what’s up? 

• Nothing major, I’ve just had one of those mornings 

Number three:

• Hi there, how can I help? 

• Oh yes hello, we’re here to pick up a car we booked online. I’ve got all the details here. 

Number four: 

• Did you know I once ran a marathon? 

• Seriously, or are you joking? 

• No, it’s true. It was quite a long time now, but I did it.

Number five: 

• It’s a gorgeous day!

• Lovely. Bit weird for this time of year though.

• Hey I’m not complaining it’s just nice to see the Sun instead of all that grayness 

Number six: 

• So, how was your weekend?

• Oh yeah, it was quite good, thanks. 

• Did you do anything special?

Part 2

Conversation one: 

• I was just watching something about kidfluencers. It’s crazy what some people will make their kids do, isn’t it? 

• I don’t know, maybe some of the kids like doing it. What’s your problem with kidfluencers? 

• It’s not the kids, it’s the parents. To begin with, they shove their children into the limelight at a young age, and usually just to make money. 

• Well, are all the parents like that? Maybe some kids choose to do it, and their parents are just being supportive? 

• Or, to put it bluntly, the parents are driven by blind ambition, and do everything they can to monetise their children. 

• That’s pretty blunt! Lots of parents push their kids into things though, you know, my parents made me go to tennis lessons till I was twelve. 

• Yes, but that has some value, it’s exercise, it’s not pushing tacky toys and sugary drinks to other kids. 

• OK, Ann – I think that’s a bit over the top, and there are some kids who probably love showing off their new stuff online, but let’s agree to disagree on this one

Conversation two:

S: It’s 8.20, and you’re listening to me, Sajid Meyer at breakfast. With me now is city councillor Elaine Miller. Good morning, Elaine.

 E: Good morning, Sajid, and thanks for inviting me on the show. 

S: So, Elaine, I’d like to start with a text message from one of our listeners, if I may. Robin from Wingate wants to know what the council’s going to do about the public transport problem in our city, especially in Wingate, where buses run only once an hour, and they’re expensive, especially for young people. 

E: Ah yes, well, we looked at this issue earlier in the year, and what we did was to look at ways of making sure any extra investment actually works. 

S: How do you mean? 

E: Well, it’s no good just throwing money at these things. They have to be planned carefully. 

S: I’m sorry, but that sounds like an excuse for doing nothing to me. Are you actively working to improve public transport in our city? 

E: Of course we are, Sajid. Look, all I’m saying is that we have to invest sensibly and carefully.

Conversation three:

C: Where were you this morning, Jake? You missed something interesting in the lecture. 

J: Yeah, I had a doctor’s appointment so I couldn’t make it. I couldn’t have a look at your notes, could I? 

C: Sure, here you go. 

J: What’s this … cheese experiment? 

C: Ha, yeah. It’s a study Professor Hughes told us about. 

J: Your notes are really good, Clara. 

C: Yeah, it’s a technique I use, where I have the main points here, and the supporting details here. 

J: So what’s this experiment about then? 

C: Well, it’s all about the effect of music on cheese. 

J: Interesting! 

C: So, the gist of it is some researchers at Bern wanted to see if exposing cheese to music has an effect on its taste. What they did was expose different cheeses to different types of music. 

J: I see. And on the right of your notes are the types of music, right? 

C: That’s right. Basically, they found that the cheese exposed to hip-hop tasted best. 

J: And here is how they measured it?

 C: That’s right, with a jury of tasters.

Part 3:

To fully understand why fake news is so successful, we need to look to psychology, because fake news very much relies on our psychological make-up as humans to work. 

The first explanation is our tendency to believe the people we trust. When they share news with us, we’re much more likely to accept it without question. Those we trust are usually people we perceive as having the same kinds of beliefs, values and attitudes to life as we do. In the past, we may have known just a handful of people that met these criteria. Today, it can be hundreds or … or even thousands of people who all socialise within the same online circles as us, all sharing news and information. 

The second explanation for the success of fake news is what’s called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias describes the way people seek out information to confirm what they already believe, ignoring any information which might contradict that. It makes fake news easier to believe because it reinforces what we already think, so it must be true. One thing which may well be a catalyst for confirmation bias is the so-called echo chamber. This describes a space online – like a social media group – where everyone has the same beliefs. It’s called an echo chamber because people express opinions which are then echoed back to them. Their beliefs are never challenged, and their bias is reinforced. Fake news is less likely to be identified in such spaces. 

The final explanation is that, once we believe something to be true, eliminating it from our minds is hard to achieve. Essentially, we tend to have high confidence in facts and, as a result, once we assimilate a ‘fact’ into our knowledge system, we’re reluctant to accept that it’s wrong. This may be due to the fact that admitting our mistake is to admit a failure. Admitting a failure can harm our self-worth. Another reason is that we tend to reject correct information staring at us in the face simply because we don’t trust the person who is presenting it to us. We often think that anyone with an alternative viewpoint is someone that has different ideals to us and, therefore we suspect they’re biased and have a reason for presenting us with opposing information. We don’t trust their reasons.

Part 4:

T: Ah, Mrs. Ricardo. I’ve been expecting you. Come in. Would you like a cup of tea? 

M: Er … no thanks. I won’t stay long. Toby, there’s still no sign of the rent money. That means that, as per yesterday’s discussion, … 

T: … I’m out on the streets. Yes, I know. I’m all packed and ready to go, if that’s what you really want. 

M: Er … yes, I suppose so. And I see you’ve been cleaning too. 

T: Yes. I’ve tried to make it look nice. I never noticed how beautiful these chairs are. Are they antiques? 

M: Well, I’m not sure about antiques, but they’re quite old. They belonged to my parents. This was their flat, you see, before they died. So, all this furniture is their old stuff. There are a lot of memories here. 

T: Oh, wow. I had no idea. So, it must have been quite upsetting to see everything in a mess before. I’m so sorry. 

M: It’s OK. They’re just things. Maybe it’s time to move on. 

T: Hmmm, I’m not so sure. I think it’s important to keep things like that … but maybe not in a flat you’re renting to a nightmare tenant like me! 

M: Er, yes, sorry. I may have lost my temper a little yesterday. 

T: It’s fine. It’s completely understandable. So, how come you decided to rent out this flat, then, if it has so many precious memories for you? If you don’t mind me asking, of course. 

M: Well, I didn’t want to rent it out at first. But then, well, I lost my job, and I needed some extra income. 

T: Oh no. So I can see why you’re so desperate for me to pay the rent on time. I’m really sorry about the situation with this month’s rent. This situation with my client is driving me crazy – I hate being late with my payments. 

M: So, what exactly is the problem? 

T: Basically, they tried to pay me for a big job about two months ago. Unfortunately, due to a stupid mix-up, they ended up paying it into somebody else’s bank account. They’re in the process of recovering it and transferring it to my own account, but it’s ridiculously bureaucratic, and everything is taking weeks and weeks. I can show you all the emails, if you like, to prove that I’m not making it up. It was the payment for about six months’ work, you see, so you can imagine I’m pretty desperate for it by now. 

M: Yes. I can imagine. That can’t be easy for you! So are you saying you expect to have the rent in the next couple of weeks? 

T: The next couple of days, hopefully. Once the money arrives in my account, I’ll be able to pay you for the next two months’ rent upfront, if you need it – to apologise for all the trouble. Er … unless you’ve kicked me out on the street by then. 

M: Well, perhaps I was a little harsh with you yesterday. Maybe we can try and work something out. I suppose I might be able to wait a few more days for this month’s rent. 

T: That would be amazing. I love living here. I’d hate to have to leave. 

M: Well, I’m sure it won’t come to that. It’s more a matter of long-term stability for me – I need to ensure I have a steady income, month in, month out. 

T: Yes. I completely understand. 

M: But yes, I’d like to see that email, if you don’t mind. It’s not that I don’t trust you, of course, but, well, I have been taken advantage of by previous tenants in the past, so you can’t be too careful these days. 

T: Yes, of course.