Modelo examen 9 – Listening

LanguageCert C1 Listening Model 9 audioscript

Part 1: 

Number one:

• So, have you seen any of that series The Blue Planet? 

• No, what is it? 

• It’s this nature documentary series.

• I don’t really like those kinds of programs, I find them a bit… dull.

Number two:

• Do you think I’ll need a jacket while we’re there? 

• I doubt it, I read that it’s still going to be really hot next week and it hasn’t rained for weeks.

• I think I’ll take one just in case.

Number three:

• You still driving this old thing, Jim? 

• Yeah I am, but not for that much longer we’ve actually promised ourselves a new car in the New Year. 

• Time to go electric, surely. 

Number four: 

• Are you okay, Tanya what are you doing? 

• I’ve lost a ring my grandmother gave me. 

• Oh no, how did you lose it, what happened? 

Number five: 

• Are you okay? you look as if you’re struggling. 

• A bit, it’s more difficult than it looks. 

• Yeah, need any help? 

• No, could you give me a bit longer? I’d rather try and do it myself if that’s ok.

Number six: 

• Are you looking forward to watching your first baseball game? I still can’t believe you’ve never been to one before.

• It’s just not that popular here compared to the US, anyway I’m curious to find out what’s so special about your national game.

Part 2

Conversation one: 

P: Today, we’re talking about trying new things. Bella, Richie, at what age do you think we’re most adventurous in life? 

B: Well, I’d say early 20s. That seems to be when we spread our wings and go off and become more independent. 

R: Yeah, but at that age, you don’t usually have the means to go out and do all that much. You’re often stuck in full-time education or at the bottom of the ladder in your first job. Neither of which make you well off. I’d go for mid to late 20s, when you’ve established yourself and are earning enough to actually get out and do stuff. 

P: According to a new report, it’s 30. 

B: Oh really? 

P: The report says that by the time you get to 30, you’ve established yourself at work and in your social life and the … you’re beginning to want to escape the daily grind of life. 

B: Makes sense. 

P: The problem is that that doesn’t last long. 

R: What do you mean? 

P: A separate report claims that people begin to feel less adventurous when they hit … are you ready? When they’re 34. 

B: Wow, four years of big adventure. I guess we need to make the most of it! 

R: I can see why that is. By 34, a lot of us have started a family, which makes adventure a bit more … well, pretty tricky. 

B: Yeah, that’s the time in your life when you really can’t do much except make a living and take care of the kids. 

P: But young families take holidays, so there are some opportunities for travel at least. 

B: Sure, but it’s hard to really explore an area when you’re constantly having to keep an eye on little ones.

Conversation two:

A: Did I tell you about the time I went to Damascus? 

B: No! When was that? 

A: I think it was 2005. 

B: A while ago then. What happened? 

A: So my plane didn’t get in till after midnight as we’d been delayed before take-off. I’d been travelling for over twelve hours and then I arrived at passport control and there was this massive queue. 

B: You must’ve been pretty fed up. 

A: Absolutely. So I finally got to the front of the queue and the border guard took one look at my passport and said ‘Where’s your visa?’ And I said I’d been told I didn’t need one. And he said that was wrong and I had to buy one now, 

B: Oh no. So how much was it? 

A: Thirty pounds, so not that much, but I didn’t have any cash on me, and they didn’t accept cards. 

B: Wasn’t there a cash machine? 

A: Yes, but only after the passport control! And they wouldn’t let me go, so I was stranded! What’s more, my phone had died, my flight home wasn’t for another ten days and I couldn’t speak the language. It was desperate. 

B: I think I would’ve just started screaming in that situation! 

A: Well, I was quite close, but then suddenly this man appeared and said he’d overhead my conversation and offered to pay for my visa. When I said I’d pay him back, he said in this perfect English: ‘You are a guest in my country and I have a duty to make you feel comfortable here!’ Honestly, I was lost for words. It was just very generous. 

B: Wow. That’s a great story.

Conversation three:

G: Thanks for the tour. It’s a lovely place you’ve got here. 

H: Thank you. I’m glad you like it. And as I said, make yourself at home. If there’s anything else you need, just ask, OK. 

G: I will. Actually, there was one other thing. Could you just tell me a bit more about the area? You know, what there is to see and do ‘round here. 

H: Yeah, sure. Well, as you probably saw on your way here, it’s a fairly lively area. If you’re into Korean or Japanese food, check out Dotori on the main road. It’s a must. They have the best sushi ever! 

G: OK. Well, that sounds good. Would we need to book? 

H: It depends a bit on the day, but I think it’d probably be wise to. I have been disappointed a couple of times. I can message you the number later on, if you want. 

G: Thank you. 

H: And you really ought to go and have a look at Factory. It’s a big old warehouse down near the river that they’ve recently renovated and converted into an arts centre. They do free comedy nights on Fridays so . . . 

G: Oh great! You’re spoilt for choice ‘round here, aren’t you? 

H: Well, the area’s changing pretty fast, that’s for sure. 

G: And what about if I want to get into the centre? What’s the best way? 

H: I guess your best bet would be to just get the 154 bus, to be honest. It stops three minutes down the road from here and it’ll take you right into the heart of town. 

G: OK. And what about getting back late at night? What time do the buses run ‘till? 

H: Midnight. Any later than that and it’s advisable to just get a cab. Make sure you get a licensed one, though, preferably. Just to be on the safe side. I usually use the GrabTaxi app, so you might want to download that. 

G: Will do. And I promise not to make any noise if I do come back late. 

H: Thanks. That’d be appreciated. 

Part 3:

Hi and welcome to this week’s Science for Life podcast. In the first talk in the series on senses, we looked at sight. Today, it’s all about taste. 

Have you ever eaten or drunk something and just thought ‘Yeuch! That is disgusting!’? You must have tried my cooking. Sorry, stupid joke. Do people think you’re a ‘fussy’ eater – someone who refuses to eat different foods? Well, you might just be a supertaster. This is someone with a higher density and number of taste cells compared with the average. That must be great, right? To be better than average means you must really enjoy your food. Wrong! Supertasters can’t stand a whole range of foods, including green vegetables like broccoli, sour fruits like lemons or grapefruit, hot and spicy dishes with lots of chillies, and coffee. Some supertasters are also sensitive to sugar. Imagine that – missing out on your birthday cake because it tastes too sweet! 

This was the biggest shock for me when researching this talk – that being a supertaster can actually limit the range of foods you enjoy. So how do you know if you’re a supertaster? A test was developed using a bitter-tasting chemical. The population varies in its ability to taste this chemical. Surveys suggest that approximately fifty percent of people can detect the taste, but not very strongly; about twenty-five percent cannot taste it at all; that leaves about a quarter of us who have a very strong reaction to the bitter taste. These are our supertasters. 

As you might expect, non-smokers and those who don’t regularly drink tea and coffee are more likely to be supertasters. Across the population in general women are more likely to be supertasters than men, and young people more likely than adults. Although the receptors for taste and smell are replaced regularly, something like every ten to thirty days, as we get older the total number of these receptors drops. 

So our sense of smell and taste fade over time, especially after reaching about seventy. In fact, smell plays a huge role in our perception of flavour. Yes, smell. Sure we eat with our mouths and the taste buds are located there, but the nose and mouth work together. What most people don’t realise is that we need the receptors in the nose to work with the taste buds to produce the sophisticated range of flavours we get from our diet. Think about what happens when you have a cold. You can’t taste anything, right? In fact, try this test. Hold your nose and eat a strawberry. It tastes just like water – not sweet, not fruity, just watery. The tongue can pick up only five main taste categories: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and ‘umami’. This is a Japanese word to describe savoury foods like soy sauce, dried meats and strong cheese. It’s the nose that’s really doing the hard work in making your food taste good. 

Humans have about 350 different receptor genes for smells. Their job is to recognise the chemical pattern given off by different foods. Estimates vary as to how many individual smells humans can detect, but one study suggests it’s as many as one trillion. Amazing. Many people from the team here at the Science for Life offices all tried the test. I was really hoping to get supertaster status, but I’m sorry to say I was the worst taster of the whole group. Must be all that black coffee I drank at college! 

Anyway, that’s all from me for today. There’ll be more from us on senses in next month’s podcast, so don’t forget to join us then.

Part 4:

W1: Thanks again, guys, for having me over. That’s the second time I’ve blown all the fuses this year. It sure makes you realise how much you rely on electricity. 

M1: Well, accidents will happen! Talking of darkness, I read the other day that someone spent a whole month in complete darkness … 

W1: Complete darkness? 

M1: Yeah … 

W2: Where? In a cave?

M1: In a bathroom. 

W1: A bathroom? You’re joking.

M1: No, she spent most of a month in a pitch black bathroom. 

W1: Why? Sounds like an odd holiday destination … 

M1: Well, it was like a challenge. 

W1: A challenge? 

M1: Yeah, I think someone challenged her to do it …

W1: But why would she want to… 

W2: … She probably wanted a book deal and a TV series out of it! 

M1: … I was about to say that! 

W2: Hehe, great minds! 

W1: Anyway, what happened? I mean, how did she cope? 

M1: Well, it’s quite interesting, actually, because they created this set of rules that she had to abide by during the challenge … 

W2: They? 

M1: Yeah, the woman and whoever challenged her to do it. 

W2: What sort of rules? 

M1: Well, for example, she wasn’t allowed any contact from outside whatsoever. The bathroom was completely soundproofed so she couldn’t hear anything from outside and completely dark so she couldn’t see anything and, of course, no phone, no torch, no TV or anything like that. She had to be in complete darkness for the whole time. 

W1: Wow. 

M1: But there were positives. Like, all her food was brought to her from a local restaurant … 

W2: Every cloud, I guess, at least she didn’t have to cook. 

M1: … but the meals were delivered at odd times so she couldn’t use that to guess the time of day… 

W2: Why not? 

M1: Well, one of the important rules was that she couldn’t know what time of day it was … or how long she’d been in there. 

W1: Unbelievable. I don’t think I could handle that. Total darkness and not knowing how long till you got out. Did she stick it out for a month? 

M1: Well, that’s the thing because, after 20 days … no, actually, I’m jumping ahead of myself here. Let me go back to how she got through it … 

W2: Yeah, OK. 

M1: So what she did, this woman, I’ve forgotten her name, what she did is she made a routine for herself. She decided that, as much as possible, she’d follow the same routine inside the bathroom as she had on the outside. 

W1: Hmm, easier said… 

M1: Indeed! when she woke up in the morning, at least she thought it was morning, she couldn’t be sure, but when she woke up she had a bath, combed her hair, got dressed, ate something … Then she did yoga and meditation and she used this routine to keep herself as calm and happy as possible.

W2: And did it work? 

M1: Up to a point, yeah. She said there were a couple of times when her mind started to play tricks. One was when she started hallucinating, you know … 

W2: Hallucinating? 

M1: Yeah, she started to see little white balls floating around the room. 

W1: Why? 

M1: I’m not sure exactly but, after a while in total darkness, your mind starts to see things that aren’t there, I guess. 

W1: That would freak me out. 

M1: And a couple of times she started to get into a negative thought cycle where she started thinking ‘What if I never get out?’, ‘What if I go crazy in here?’, that kind of thing. 

W1: I’m not remotely surprised. 

M1: She just had to stop herself going down that mental path, you know, she just started meditating or doing yoga or anything to break the thought pattern, really. But we’re getting off topic. Let me finish my story. So actually this woman came out after 20 days … 

W2: Only 20 days? 

W1: That’s not such a bad effort. 

M1: The guy who had challenged her said that he realised she was going to win the challenge, so he admitted defeat and said that she may as well come out. 

W2: Well, well done her. Hey, maybe my boss will go and hide in a darkened bathroom for a month… 

W1: Heh, don’t count your chickens! Actually, Patrick should be here soon. He’s into caving and crawling around in the dark, he might be into it. 

M1: And, speak of the devil…