Entertainment

1 You hear someone on the radio reviewing a play. Red Roses is a new play about a young Russian girl living in London who wants to become an actress but has to work on a flower stall to make a living. The story is powerful and moving. The acting, in general, is good too, although I found some of the characters slightly unbelievable. I think this was a problem with the way their parts were written rather than the way the actors performed. Overall, I recommend going to see the play. It lasts approximately two hours and is on for the rest of this week.

2 You hear two friends talking about learning something new.
Girl: I’d quite like to do something a bit unusual. Not a sport or a language, or anything like that- something a bit creative maybe, like a painting.
Boy: I agree. I already do basketball but I’ve probably got time for another hobby too. The problem is, I’m really not very good at painting. I’m about as good at it as I am at dancing!
Girl: In that case, an art class sounds just right for you. You’ll soon learn, and I really want to give it a try.
Boy: Well, all right then. It’ll be fun if we do it together.

3 You hear a young woman talking on the radio. My mother is an actress and my father is a film director, so I suppose they had a big influence on my career ambitions when I was young. I joined a drama class and got a few parts in TV commercials, but I was more interested in the script and the way it was directed than in acting. I’ve always been a keen reader, so I suppose I naturally thought about being an author. I wrote my first short story when I was about 15, and after that nothing could stop me. I didn’t do much acting after that.

4. You hear two friends talking.
Teenage boy: I fancy something to eat. What about you?
Teenage girl: Good idea. Shall we have something in the cafe? It looks really busy though. Or we could go outside- it’s a lovely sunny day.
Teenage boy: True, but will they let us back in again? I haven’t seen everything I want to see yet.
Teenage girl: Of course, they will. We’ve got tickets, haven’t we? People spend all day in these places, they can come and go as they please.

5 You hear a musician talking about his band. Of course, we had talent. Take our lead guitarist, for example- I don’t know anyone who can play like him. But talent isn’t enough if nobody notices you. Everything changed after we got our new manager, Lucy. Lucy had friends in the music industry, like record producers, and people on TV. She got us auditions, concerts and a lot of media coverage too. Then it all happened really fast. We went from performing in restaurants and at weddings to making headlines. Without Lucy, we would be nothing.

6 You hear a boy and girl talking about their plans.
Boy: It’s still raining. What do you want to do this afternoon?
Girl: We could play computer games. Or how about going round to Megan’s house?
Boy: Megan’s away this week. And I don’t really want to stay at home just because it’s raining.
Girl: I know! Dad can take us into the Metrocentre.
Boy: Cool! I need to buy some trainers, and there are some good shops there. Maybe there’s a film on at the cinema too.
Girl: There’s nothing good on this week, but I’m happy to go around town. I need to buy some things anyway.

7 You hear a tour guide talking to a group of tourists. Right, we’re going to stop in a minute to look at the Hollywood Bowl, probably the most famous outdoor concert arena in the United States. Some of the greatest names in music have performed there, like The Beatles. Now, when we get off the coach, we’ve got a group ticket, so you can just walk on through into the arena. Go right to the top for a great view of the famous Hollywood sign. After that, we’re going to meet back here at the coach and drive to Griffith Park, where we’ll go for a walk.

8 You hear a girl talking about singing in a competition. I was really nervous before the show. I’d been practising my song for ages. But practice isn’t everything, is it? As I walked out onto the stage in front of hundreds of people, I felt terrified! I knew people at school were watching me on TV too, and that made me even more nervous. Would they laugh at me the next day at school? My parents were in the audience though, so I tried to think about them instead. I couldn’t see them because of all the lights, but I knew they were there. That helped me a lot.

Here are the keywords and phrases covered in this B2 Listening Part 2 exercise:

• actors
• audience
• auditions
• career ambitions
• characters
• competition
• creative
• directed
• entertainment
• media coverage
• musician
• music industry
• outdoor concert arena
• performed
• record producers
• script
• talented
• TV commercials
• reviewing