Modelo examen 6 – Listening

LanguageCert C1 Listening Model 6 audioscript

Part 1: 

Number one:

• Oh! You haven’t emptied the dishwasher, you never do it.

• That’s not fair! I sometimes do it.

Number two:

• Hi, sorry I’m a bit late. 

• A bit late? Actually, you’re really late, I’ve been waiting here for 25 minutes.

Number three:

• I’ve got a rental property you might be interested in it’s slightly over your budget but it’s worth it 

• But that’s a long way over our budget I’m afraid. Have you got anything a bit more within our price range?

Number four: 

• …And you’re absolutely sure that you didn’t leave your laptop on the train, are you?

• Well, I’m fairly sure, I mean, it’s always possible that I’m wrong, I guess.

• I really hope you haven’t lost yet another thing, Rebecca.

Number five: 

• I think we should maybe go back, it’s getting thicker.

• It’ll be fine, I’m sure it’ll clear soon and brighten up.

• Seriously? look at it.

Number six: 

• Look, it says here that scientists are working on a cure for aging.

• Aging? How can you cure aging? There’s no cure for that

• Apparently, they think they’re quite close to a cure, they’ve had a major breakthrough. 

Part 2

Conversation one: 

A: So, I think the fire in the block of flats is incredibly important.

B: Mee too, I mean, they’ve already changed some safety regulations, haven’t they? 

A: Absolutely, and so they should the whole thing could have been avoided. It’s a scandal really that people died because people didn’t follow regulations.

B: I know, It’s shocking!

A: But apart from that, I think the effect of that on housing policy has been quite big, I just don’t think the government would be talking about building quality social housing for poorer people if the fire hadn’t happened.

B: Well, it definitely caused a lot of outrage and poked on people’s attention.

A: And I also think maybe it’s changed attitudes to those who live in social housing 

B: You think?

A: Yeah, I think when you heard their stories at the inquiry I think people had real sympathy they understood that these were hard-working people trying to make a new life as best they could. 

B: Maybe, I’m not so sure about that, I’m not sure how many heard those stories or how long that sympathy lasts. I hope I’m wrong though.

A: No, I’m quite optimistic about it.

Conversation two:

A: Have you seen this article about the water shortages in London? 

B: I saw something about it on TV but I wasn’t really paying attention, is it serious?

A: It’s causing quite a bit of controversy. London and the whole of the southeast is facing a drought. Apparently, we’ve had half the usual rainfall so far this year.

B: I can believe it, the garden is really dry.

A: Well, we’re all going to have to learn to start using less water.

B: Less? How much less?

A: The average at the moment is 150 L per person per day.

B: Per day?!

A: Yeah, but it’s too much, we need to cut that by a third. That means shorter showers for you, you spend hours in that bathroom.

B: Oh come on! that would make absolutely no difference whatsoever. I’m just one person in a country of Millions.

A: Everyone can make a difference.

B: You’re being idealistic, we are powerless. 

A: Really if that were true then nothing would ever change, we’d all be stuck in the Stone Age still.

B: Oh, come on… 

A: What? it’s true!

Conversation three:

A: I just couldn’t believe it, honestly, I almost didn’t recognize him he looks so different, I mean, when we used to work together he was the kind of guy you take the lift to go up one floor and I’ve junk food for breakfast lunch and dinner but you should see him now, super fit and looks way younger. It’s amazing!

B: So, what brought all that on did he say?

A: Yeah I think it was a couple of things. He said a couple of years back, he saw a documentary about the meat industry and it just really put him off the whole idea of eating animals. So he decided to go completely vegan. 

B: Wow he didn’t just go veggie?

A: Nope. Apparently, he won’t even wear leather or use any animal-based products these days. 

B: Okay, and all because of a documentary?

A: Well, he did also say he’d met someone and they’re really into the whole fitness thing.

B: Aha!

A: To be fair, I don’t know which came first. Anyway, apparently, they train together three or four times a week.

B: Hey! love can do funny things to a person.

A: It can, it can! Still, it actually made me think that maybe I should think about doing something similar.

B: What, finding a partner? 

A: No, well, that might be good too. No, I mean, seeing him and the way he was talking just made me think I could do more healthwise. You know, take a step further. Like, I’ll sometimes go a week without any meat at all but maybe I should just stop altogether.

B: Oh you’re not going to become one of those annoying people too, going on about being super fit and healthy, I just wish they would keep it to themselves.

A: No! And to be fair, Tom wasn’t being like that at all. I asked him, he answered, he was just obviously much more content and it was kind of inspiring. 

Part 3:

So, firstly, let’s take a look at the numbers. It’s estimated that there are around two billion ‘gamers’ in the world, that’s people who regularly play video games, and by video games I mean all types of digital games including games you play on your mobile phone, because, don’t forget, games are the most popular type of app downloaded from the app stores. Something like 90% of teenage boys play video games and 80% of teenage girls, so, as you can see, gaming is a gender-neutral pastime. Now, of those two billion gamers, around 60%, it’s estimated … 60% of them play every day and they average about 12 hours a week of game time, and this is why gaming is now such a huge industry – around a hundred and fifty BILLION pounds a year. That’s more than films, more than music. It’s the largest and most lucrative entertainment sector in the world… bar none. 

But here’s the thing – around 3-4% of gamers are what we would classify as addicts. That’s according to the World Health Organisation, which now lists video game addiction as a mental health condition. Those are the figures. As I said, I want to talk a little bit about what a game addict might look like. So let’s paint a picture of an average game addict and we’ll call him … Johan. Now Johan, as you might have noticed, he is a ‘he’ and that’s because although gaming is gender-neutral, game addiction is not. Something like 94% of addicts are male and only 6% female. And we’ll look a bit more at why that might be soon but let’s stay with Johan for now. So, Johan is about 25 years old and he plays far more than 12 hours a week but that’s not what makes him an addict. What makes Johan an addict is that playing video games is negatively affecting the rest of his life. Most nights Johan is tired and wants to sleep but he can’t because he’s playing video games. His gaming is what we call ‘compulsive’ which means that he is not fully in control and even when he’s not playing, he’s thinking about playing. He’s lost his friends because he hasn’t got time to see them, so he’s become more lonely, more isolated and less happy, and when he’s feeling less happy, gaming gives him a way out. So the more Johan plays, the unhappier he becomes and the unhappier he becomes, the more he plays. It’s a classic vicious circle. 

So let’s take the WHO’s figures and think about 4% of gamers being addicts. What’s 4% of two billion. Anyone? I’ll tell you. It’s eighty million people. Think about that for a moment. Eighty million people. That’s the equivalent of the population of Germany. So, with that many people showing addictive behaviour, it’s no wonder that countries around the world are starting to take action. In South Korea in 2011, a law was introduced which banned anyone under 16 from playing games between midnight and 6am. In China a law was introduced which banned gamers under 18 from playing between 10pm and 8am and limited gaming time to 90 minutes per week day and three hours on weekends and holidays. And, believe it or not, this kind of reaction to video game addiction is not new. Now, none of you are old enough to remember Space Invaders but that was one of the first video games, and even at that time a British politician tried to introduce a law to ban the game because it was considered too addictive. The bill was debated in parliament and almost became law. So, how long have I got – oh, I’m almost out of time, so let me cut this last section short. What I wanted to talk about were the social factors involved in video game addiction because the addiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

Perhaps the most significant factor influencing addiction, which as I’ve said, is over 90% a male problem, is what people are calling the epidemic of loneliness. More than 40% of Americans describe themselves as generally isolated and 20% say that they rarely feel close to anyone and loneliness correlates very closely with video game addiction. Not all lonely people are addicts by any means, but you will find that a high percentage of addicts are lonely, almost by definition. If you’re addicted to games, you haven’t got time for meaningful relationships. In fact someone who works in the rehabilitation field recently described the problem as one of intimacy and this is the reason that rehabilitation programmes focus on how to build and maintain friendships, real friendships with real people. That absence of meaningful friendships may well be the real problem behind video game addiction. Now my time is up, but if there are any questions you’d like to ask then I’m happy to try to answer them now …

Part 4:

WF: … some sunny spells and showers in the west of the country. Brightening up around lunch time. 

NA: Thank you Caroline, the time is quarter past eight. Now, it’s behind schedule, it’s over budget and it’s still not finished. I’m talking, of course, about The Castor Theatre, our city’s newest theatre, nicknamed by some The Disaster Theatre, which is back in the news after a new report suggested that the theatre may never open. So, should we just abandon the project? Here to answer that question is culture minister Cornelius Heath. Good morning, minister. 

CH: Good morning. 

NA: Minister, will this theatre ever open? 

CH: Well, indeed, yes it will open and when it’s open it will be… 

NA: When will it open, minister? 

CH: Well, the opening date is not yet certain but what IS certain is that when it is complete, it will be one of the finest theatres anywhere in the… 

NA: So, effectively, minister, you have no idea when it will open. 

CH: Well, I have some idea. We hope to open it next year… 

NA: Early next year? 

CH: We hope so but it’s more likely to be later. 

NA: That’s a bit vague, isn’t it? 

CH: As I say, we hope to open it next year. 

NA: You don’t sound very confident, minister. 

CH: I’m quietly confident and we are all working very hard to achieve the earliest opening date possible. 

NA: Wasn’t it a mistake to build this theatre in the first place, minister? 

CH: No, absolutely not. This theatre is replacing the old one which was outdated and neglected and… 

NA: Excuse me for interrupting, minister, but according to this new report, the old theatre should never have been demolished. 

CH: Well, the report is wrong. As I’ve said, the old theatre was very outdated and… 

NA: But it was only twenty-five years old. It wasn’t that outdated. Wasn’t it possible to restore it? 

CH: Well, we took the view that it was better to build a new one. 

NA: So that was your decision, minister. You were solely responsible for the decision to build a new theatre instead of restoring the old one. 

CH: Look, I was one of the people responsible for the decision but I still think it was the right thing to do. Of course, we’ve had some problems along the way. No one’s denying that. The first building contractor went bankrupt and now the project is slightly behind schedule. 

NA: The project is very behind schedule, isn’t it? If you do manage to open the theatre next year, it will still be three years behind schedule.

CH: As I say, there have been some unexpected problems along the way… 

NA: And hugely over budget. 

CH: It is, indeed, somewhat over-budget but … 

NA: It’s fourteen million euros over-budget and counting … 

CH: …what you have to remember is that these projects very often go over budget and… 

NA: Particularly those projects managed by your department, minister. 

CH: No, I reject that accusation. We have a very good record when it comes to delivering new cultural buildings. Look at the Museum of Archaeology that we opened last year. 

NA: Let me put to you a specific criticism that this new report made – an independent report, don’t forget. It says that the capacity of the new theatre will be substantially less than the old one. 

CH: Well that’s not true. The capacity will be around two thousand people, which is marginally less than the old theatre. 

NA: But the old theatre could accommodate two and a half thousand people. Why does the new theatre have 20 per cent less seating? 

CH: The facilities in the new theatre are much improved and good facilities require more space. And let me say this: when this theatre is finally built, it will be one of the finest theatres anywhere in the world and thousands of people will be able to enjoy high quality productions in the theatre. 

NA: Will you resign if the theatre is not completed next year, minister? 

CH: I am doing everything in my power to make sure that the theatre is built next year. 

NA: Will you resign? 

CH: As I said, I am doing everything in my power to make sure that the theatre is completed as planned. 

NA: Minister, thank you for coming on the programme. 

CH: My pleasure.

NA: Now, time for the news summary…