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school subjectsWelcome to our free open resource future options give you practice so you feel confident when the B2 First exam day arrives. Our lessons are centred around different themes. These themes are featured in the reading, writing, use of English speaking and listening parts of the exam.

About 10 minutesStrengthening listening comprehensionCambridge English B2 First Exam

B2 First Listening Part 2 (Future Options)

Exercise 1TranscriptWord List

You will hear a talk about future options given by a headteacher to students who are going to leave school next year. Listen to the talk and complete the details below. Write one or two words only in each gap.

Listen carefully, everybody. As you know, this is your final year at school, and there are several options available to you after you leave. We’ve decided to arrange a series of lunchtime talks, every Tuesday from next week until the end of term, for any of you to come to if you’re interested. We hope it will help you think about your future options, and make the decision-making process slightly easier.

I know lots of you are hoping to go to university. So, we’ll start off by considering the reasons for and against taking a year off. We’ll also provide you with some general information about how to get a loan, should you need to cover your university costs.

We’ve arranged several short sessions on a range of courses you could consider. The most popular ones tend to be, for example, Law, Medicine, and Economics – we’ll start off with the last of these. If there’s a particular course you’d like us to cover, just let us know.

There will also be a useful session which focuses on the ways in which university life differs from being at school – you’ll need to get used to working alone without so much guidance, and obviously time management is something that most people need to think about.

We’ve also invited a few guest speakers to join us. Firstly, two or three ex-students who are currently in their second year at university are going to come back here and tell you about some practical things – such as having a job during term-time, accommodation, and dealing with money. We’ve contacted a couple of professors too, who can tell you about the academic side of things. We’ve invited Professor Black from Hampton College, who we’re still waiting to hear back from, and also Professor James, from Bridge College, who has accepted. She’ll be happy to answer specific questions if you send them in beforehand.

Of course, not all of you want to go to university. It’s becoming increasingly popular to do an apprenticeship, which means learning a practical trade from an employer. So, we’ve arranged a couple of sessions on this too. You might be considering a future as a mechanic, let’s say. A member of staff will talk about this possibility, and other options including becoming a plumber; and a hairdresser will also come in and tell us how he began his working life as an apprentice.

Others of you might prefer to go straight into employment. So, we’ll have a session on that, in which you can watch a DVD – Choosing Jobs. There’s another really useful DVD – Successful Interviews, and you can watch that in your own time.

That is just an outline of what’s on offer. For more information, take a look at the newsletter which you can pick up from the table next to the reception, and also at the noticeboard in the corridor in front of the library. The sessions themselves will be in the computer room – you don’t need to sign up in advance – just turn up on the day. So, has anyone got any questions?

Here are the keywords and phrases covered in this activity

  • accommodation
  • corridor
  • economics
  • employment
  • final year
  • guest speakers
  • guidance
  • future options
  • newsletter
  • noticeboard 
  • practical trade
  • several options
  • university costs
Extra Free Exercises for B2 First Listening Part 2.

B2 First Listening and Speaking Section

Requires being able to follow and understand a range of familiar spoken materials, such as news programmes, public announcements and other sources, but targeted at the interests of the learners.

In this part you talk to the examiner about yourself and your life, e.g. your name, school, interests and future plans.

In this part, you talk about two photos on your own which you have to compare for about 1 minute. After you have finished, your partner will be asked a short question about your photo. When your partner has spoken about their photos for about 1 minute, you will be asked a question about their photos.

In this part you express ideas with your partner by looking at a discussion point that the examiner gives you.

This will be available soon.

In this part, you focus on general aspects of a topic with the examiner or you may involve your partner.

This will be available soon.

In this part, you will hear people talking in eight different situations.

In this part, you will hear five people talking about different things.

In this part, you will hear an interview.

B2 First Use of English and Reading Section

You need to be able to understand a range of texts, including how they are organised and the opinions and attitudes expressed in them. The texts will be from sources familiar to you such as magazines, articles, fiction and advertisements, but targeted at the interests of students. Students’ use of English will be tested by tasks which show how well they can control their grammar and vocabulary.

For this part, you practice how to understand the details of a text, including opinions and attitudes.

For this part, you practice how to understand the structure and follow the development of a text.

For this part, you practice how to find specific information in a text or texts.

B2 First Writing Section

You are required to produce two pieces of writing. The first piece is compulsory and will be an essay of 140-190 words. For the second, you can choose from an article, email/letter, essay, review or report (B2 First for schools the report is replaced with a story) of 140-190 words.

Especially helpful are exercises that are focussed on a theme or topic as these provide word retention practise so you can be confident to read, write, speak and listen successfully. We have many activities to get your English up to speed in no time.

Customs and Traditions explores how we celebrate our cultural identity across the globe.

Entertainment and Leisure explores how we spent our free time.

Environment and Nature explores the way humans and animals live, adapt and change on our planet.

Exploring how different societies create roles for people to develop their skills and knowledge.

Exploring how we learn and adjust to the world around us. .

Exploring how we experience the world through our life journeys

The more words you encounter and understand, the broader your day-to-day vocabulary will become. Our word games and puzzles such as our films word search are an excellent way to help to reinforce spellings in your mind.
Level Links:
This free material is for the B2 First Listening Part 2 for students at an Upper Intermediate Level of English. This will probably be suitable for students in their third or fourth year of English studies. We add exercises on grammar and vocabulary as well as whole text activities on a regular basis. In addition, we provide test practice activity for students who are preparing for the C1 Advanced which is part of the Cambridge Assessment English Main Suite as well as the English Language B for the IB Diploma. The material will also support students studying for the Cambridge Advanced courses and IELTS examinations.

We also provide free resources across the full range of levels to provide the tools to communicate in English well.

Beginner | Elementary | Intermediate | Upper Intermediate | Advanced

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