Practice Test A - Listening Transcripts - Close
Practice Test B - Listening Transcripts - Close

Practice Test A - Listening Transcripts

Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving

You will hear a conversation between two people in a university office. The woman is about to start university, and the man is a Student Advisor.


Section 1:

MAN: Hello, how can I help you?

WOMAN: I’m registered for the Honours Psychology program, and for the foreign language requirement, I’d like to take Latin, but it’s offered at the same time as the first year Honours Psychology course.

MAN: You could take French instead.

WOMAN: But I took French in high school. Every single year.

MAN: Well, you could take the first year General Psychology course, and then just switch to the Honours courses in your second year. That way you could take Latin.

WOMAN: The first year Honours Psychology course isn’t a prerequisite? For me?

MAN: Not really. We have so many students wanting first year Psychology, we just created two sections. And it makes sense to put all the Honours students in the one section and the General students in the other. You’re already accepted into the Honours program, so there’s no problem just registering for the Honours courses in your second year.

WOMAN: Okay, thank you.


Now answer questions 1-3.

1- What is the woman’s problem?
2- What does the woman think about taking French?
3- What does the man imply about the first year Psychology courses?

Section 2:

MAN: Hello again!

WOMAN: I was talking to a friend about what you advised, and she actually did that. But she said that once she was in second year, she never got anything higher than an A minus. Her professors thought she was just a General student trying to step up to the Honours level. Even though, like me, she was an A plus student all through high school.

MAN: I’m sorry to hear that. Many students’ grades go down once they’re in university. Perhaps your friends’ high school teachers graded easy. I really don’t think our professors would be so prejudiced. I’m sure they grade assignments fairly.

WOMAN: I hope you’re right. Even so, I’d like to be considered an Honours student from the beginning. She also said that by second year, everyone’s formed their groups. So she felt like an outsider in the Honours program for the rest of her degree.

MAN: I see. Well, there might be another solution. If you took a language course at the other university, you might get credit for it here. I’d have to look into that. In the meantime, why don’t you see if they offer a Latin course, and bring back the course outline, in case the decision here is made on a case by case basis.

WOMAN: Okay, I’ll do that.


Now answer questions 4-6.

4- What grades did the woman’s friend get in high school?
5- What is the woman concerned about?
6- What is the man’s response to the woman’s implication about professors?

Section 3:

MAN: Hello, I have good news—we give transfer credit for all language courses at the other university. Even English.

WOMAN: Oh, that is good news. They don’t have Latin, but they do offer Chinese, which I’d like to take. And it doesn’t conflict with any other of my first year courses.

MAN: Not even the Honours Psych?

WOMAN: No!

MAN: Then you’re all set!

WOMAN: Yes!


Now answer questions 7-8.

7- What language course will the woman take?
8- How would you describe the ending?

Part 2: Listening to a Daily Life Conversation

You will hear a conversation that takes place at a bus stop.

WOMAN: Hi! I'm waiting for the number #87 bus that goes by Main Street. Do you know if this is the right stop?

MAN: Yes, it is the right stop, but apparently we both just missed the bus! I'm just checking the transit schedule on my phone and it came by five minutes ago, even though it says it should be here right now. I guess it came early. The next one comes in half an hour.

WOMAN: Oh, darn. I'm going to be late to my business meeting. I would have driven to work today, but my car got a flat tire last night. I think I drove over a nail or something.

MAN: That's too bad. Is your car the red Honda parked on the side of Wordsworth Avenue?

WOMAN: Yes, it is!

MAN: We're neighbours then! I noticed a red Honda with a flat tire outside my house this morning.

WOMAN: I live up the street on the next block, but the tire rim was scraping on the ground and I didn’t want to damage it. Is it okay if I park it in front of your house until I get it fixed?

MAN: Leave it as long as you like! Did you move here recently? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.

WOMAN: One month exactly today! I used to live downtown, but I prefer it out here, where there's more nature.

MAN: I like living out here as well. The only real drawback is that commuting to the city takes a lot longer.

WOMAN: It would be okay, if only transit was reliable! I'm really late. Maybe I should just take a cab. Are you going to Main Street as well? Did you want to split a cab there?

MAN: That would be great, actually. I'm meeting a friend for lunch and I don't want to keep him waiting.

WOMAN: That works out perfectly then. I'll just call a cab now!


Now answer questions 1-5.

1- How long have the man and woman known each other?
2- Why is the woman worried?
3- Where do the man and woman live?
4- Why is the woman taking the bus to work?
5- How do they get to Main Street?

Part 3: Listening for Information

You will hear a conversation where a woman arranges an event.

WOMAN: Hi there, I saw that the Green Butler company won the award for best catering on bestweddings.com, so I thought I’d drop by. My family and I are planning my sister’s wedding for July 9th.

MAN: We can certainly cater your event! We provide a comprehensive range of wedding services from location rentals to floral arrangements, and custom menu choices.

WOMAN: Well, I’m actually a florist myself, so we won’t need flowers, thanks! And my sister has already picked Clearwater Park as her location, so that’s covered too. But everything else we will need.

MAN: Excellent. How many people will be coming to your event?

WOMAN: We’ve invited seventy, and so far fifty have confirmed. Could I let you know the exact number by the end of next week?

MAN: Oh, no rush! As long as we know a week in advance to the actual day of the event, that’ll be fine . . . Now, what sort of meal service would you prefer? We offer full multi-course dinners, buffet-style food, or appetizers on platters.

WOMAN: I think buffet-style would be best. It will be outdoors in the park, and we don’t want to have to set up too many tables or chairs.

MAN: Great! We have four basic options for buffet menus. One is vegetarian, one is seafood, one is meat, and one is continental, which is basically a mix of the other three. Of course, we can modify them if needed.

WOMAN: Sophia and her fiancé are both vegetarian, but the rest of our families are not, so I think the continental menu would work best.

MAN: Sounds good! Would you like to book this today? We take a 25% deposit at the time of booking, and the rest of the payment no less than ten days before the event. If you should need to cancel, the pre-payments and deposits are forfeited.

WOMAN: That all sounds great. Send us a quote with full pricing details laid out, and we’ll get back to you in a few days.


Now answer questions 1-6.

1- Why is the woman interested in this company?
2- What does the woman say about flowers?
3- Why does the woman want a buffet-style meal?
4- Why does the woman choose the continental menu?
5- What is the woman’s final decision?
6- What kind of event is the woman planning?

Part 4: News Item

You will hear a news item about two people who got lost.

Two hikers lost on Mount Gibson for the past three days were finally found and rescued today. Ron and Sally Jackson left their home in Calgary, Alberta last Saturday and drove north to Mount Gibson. The couple had planned to spend the afternoon hiking the mountain trails and carried a small backpack containing only sandwiches and water. An hour into their hike, they decided to leave the designated trail and soon became lost in the dense forest. Fortunately, a local resident noticed that their car had been parked at the base of the mountain for a few days. He notified the police, and a Search and Rescue helicopter was sent to look for the pair.

When asked how they had managed to survive, Sally Jackson, who was uninjured but very dehydrated, answered, “We ate berries and drank water from the creek.” Search and Rescue official Frank Smith said, “People should always carry extra food, water, and clothing when hiking, and they should also inform someone as to where they plan to hike and approximately when they expect to return.”

Grateful for his rescue, Ron Jackson said, “We wouldn’t be alive today without the help of the man who reported our car to the police and the experienced Rescue Crew that found us. And next time, we’ll stick to the marked trails!”


Part 5: Listening to a Discussion

You will watch a discussion among three colleagues at work. The man works in the company’s Legal department, and the women work in the company’s Human Resources department.

Beatrice: Thank you for meeting with us, Ted. We know how busy you are.

Ted: Yeah, too busy for this! Is this meeting even necessary? Every year we present the “Hostile Workplace” lecture. I talk about the legal issues; you guys talk about the personnel issues. What’s to discuss? We could’ve picked a time, you could’ve booked the room . . . we wouldn’t have to have this meeting.

Rosa: Hey, I’m short on time, too. But I want to make some changes to this year’s event, so let’s talk. First of all, no more standing on the stage while people just sit and listen.

Beatrice: We thought that the staff could be more actively involved . . . maybe do some roleplaying games.

Ted: There’s over a hundred staff, and they all have to attend! Doing some kind of . . . participatory drama games . . . it’s gonna be kind of chaotic, isn’t it?

Beatrice: Well, I’m no expert, but roleplaying is a widely-used learning activity. People can learn a lot from it. And isn’t that our goal? To help our employees learn? Teach them what to do and not to do on the job? This affects you directly, you know.

Ted: Well, when you put it that way, I do want to reduce the number of grievances and prevent lawsuits.

Rosa: And we could do it in small groups. And in a cozier place than the cafeteria. Obviously, this room would be too small. But maybe we could book a conference room.

Ted: Look. I’ve got a lot on my plate. I can put aside maybe one day a week to do this . . . I don’t want to do Marketing one day, Accounting the next day . . . If we could just book, say, every Monday at 10 o’clock, and do a different department each week?

Rosa: Actually, I was thinking we could get units to mix and mingle. Have you ever noticed that at the annual winter party, people just tend to stick to their own departments? I think it would be good for the company if people weren’t so . . . attached to their tribes. We should warm up to other people . . . become more aware of what they do.

Ted: You know, that might go a ways towards creating a less hostile work environment. If people learned some respect for those in other departments . . . If everyone didn’t think they were the only ones with important work to do . . . If everyone weren’t so . . .


Part 6: Listening for Viewpoints

You will hear a presentation about city planning.

Back in the 1980’s, Roger Wang lived in Surrey, British Columbia and commuted to work in Vancouver. The journey took him forty minutes. Over the last thirty years, city planners have been designing and investing in road improvements and transit systems. Now, thirty years later, Roger’s son lives in Surrey and commutes to Vancouver just as his father did. The journey by car takes close to an hour. Despite the changes, traffic congestion has not improved.

City planners across Canada have been unsuccessfully fighting commuter congestion for decades. Despite wider freeways, computerized management systems and more transportation corridors, most cities are worse off than they were three decades ago. Experience has shown that building more roads simply leads to more traffic. Moreover, most Canadian cities cover a huge area and demand a lot of roads. The cost of developing such an infrastructure in the low density suburbs of our cities is immense. What can we do to defeat traffic congestion once and for all? The short answer is that we need to get people out of their cars. City planning policies need to consider alternatives to roads. As long as most commuters travel alone in a car, traffic congestion will remain a problem.

Change will not be easy. Opposition to changes in city planning policies are overwhelming. In Vancouver, closing down a single lane of a bridge for a bicycle lane met with furious opposition from motorists. Proposals for a gasoline tax to raise funds for public transportation also met with protest from motorists. Curiously, the one form of commuter infrastructure investment that meets with general approval is more road bridges and wider roads—precisely the policies that have consistently failed over the last few decades.

In short, we have a society that seems determined to persist with failed policies. There are four reasons why this might be the case. First, for most commuters, private vehicles are usually faster than public transportation. Second, there is the problem of getting to the workplace from the train station which may involve an additional ten-minute walk. Third, fatigue also discourages utilization of our public networks. Few people wish to start and end their day with an hour of standing in cramped conditions. Fourth, grocery shopping or other errands after work might be difficult.

It seems that people will continue to rely on private vehicles until this mode of transportation proves less pleasant than the alternatives. City planners, however, continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a road infrastructure that makes the motorists’ method of commuting marginally more tolerable than the alternatives.

Practice Test B - Listening Transcripts

Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving

You will hear a conversation that takes place in an eyeglass store. The woman has questions about buying glasses. The man, a salesperson, tries to help her.


Section 1:

MAN: Good morning. Can I help you?

WOMAN: Hi. My husband is convinced I need a pair of glasses for reading. I've never had glasses, so I’m not sure what to do.

MAN: Well, you've come to the right place. Have you had your eyes checked recently?

WOMAN: No, not recently. I get regular check-ups from my doctor, but I don't remember him checking my eyes.

MAN: OK, so the first step is to see an eye doctor and get your eyes tested. If your vision needs correcting, the doctor will give you a prescription.

WOMAN: Do you do this testing here?

MAN: Actually, there's an eye clinic right next door. It’s on the left. You can go there and make an appointment. If they give you a prescription, bring it here and we can help you.

WOMAN: Thanks. I'll do that right now.


Now answer questions 1-2.

1- Why is the woman visiting the store?
2- does the man suggest going to an eye doctor?

Section 2:

WOMAN: Hi. I was here last week. I did as you suggested and got my eyes tested. I have my prescription.

MAN: Oh yes. Can I see your prescription? . . . Well, Mrs. Mackie, this shows you certainly do need glasses!

WOMAN: Yes, so the doctor said. He was surprised I’d managed to wait so long.

MAN: OK, so first you need to decide which frames you like.

WOMAN: I don’t want anything too pricey. Just regular inexpensive glasses to help me see better will be fine.

MAN: Here’s what we have in the lower price range. These are plastic frames, and they usually last a long time. I think these would look nice on you. Why don’t you try these on and see what you think?

WOMAN: Oh my, they make me look like a different person! The blue frame looks great with my blue eyes. What do you think?

MAN: I agree, and they are a good price. I’ll take some measurements so we can prepare the glasses for you. It’ll take a couple of weeks for them to be ready.


Now answer questions 3-5.

3- Why was the doctor surprised she had waited so long?
4- What is most important for the woman in choosing glasses?
5- What does the woman think of the frames he suggests?

Section 3:

WOMAN: I’m here to pick up my new glasses.

MAN: Mrs. Mackie, please have a seat and I’ll get them for you . . . Here we are. Try them on.

WOMAN: Oh my goodness, these are awesome! I can see! And the text on my cellphone is so much clearer! I won’t text the wrong person now! This is wonderful.

MAN: Here’s a special cloth and cleaning solution. If you always use this, the lenses won’t get scratched. Just wet the glasses, spray on some solution, then dry them with the cloth. I’d do that every morning.

WOMAN: This is wonderful! My husband will be delighted that I can see now, and that this whole experience didn’t cost as much as he feared. Thanks so much!


Now answer questions 6-8.

6- What did the woman come back to the store for?
7- Why does the man talk about cleaning her glasses?
8- What will the woman probably do next?

Part 2: Listening to a Daily Life Conversation

You will hear a conversation between a man and a woman. They are trying to make some choices for a work event.

WOMAN: Andrew, do you have a minute? We need to discuss who should get the Top Employee Award.

MAN: Sure, Irene. I guess you and I are this year’s selection committee.

WOMAN: I don’t know anything about this award. What is it for?

MAN: Well, the selection guidelines are very broad, and there’s really no definition for “top.” It used to be called Office Choice Award, but that was a popularity contest. Some people even paid friends to vote for them, if you can believe it.

WOMAN: Wow, the award is that important? There are around 70 employees here, but only one person can get the award, right? Unless they make 70 mini-awards, or just give up on the award entirely.

MAN: These ideas were discussed, too. But the award is given during the summer office picnic, and it’s part of the fun. The Top Employee Award has been given for three years now. We can only choose 5 recipients, you know.

WOMAN: Really? This is getting interesting. So who got it last year?

MAN: I think Ginette got it because she decorated her office space so well, and because she made the best cheesecake for the picnic. George also won it because of the spectacular entertainment he lined up for our Open House last Christmas.

WOMAN: Oh, so the criteria are that relaxed? It sounds like we could just draw names out of a hat and then justify our choices afterwards!

MAN: Well, to tell you the truth, that is how Ginette and George and the others were chosen last year! We put everyone’s names into a box and drew 5. Then we came up with reasons for why they are top employees. Oh, and we don’t choose the same people each year, and you and I are not eligible. It’s very democratic.

WOMAN: I’ll say! And everyone’s OK with this system?

MAN: Oh yeah. The award is a highlight of the picnic. Let’s get started. This won’t take long.


Now answer questions 1-5.

1- Why are the woman and the man meeting together?
2- What is the man’s opinion of the award?
3- How are the award winners chosen?
4- When is the award given?
5- Which statement is probably true about the woman?

Part 3: Listening for Information

You will hear a conversation where a man is trying to arrange his upcoming wedding.

MAN: Hello! I'm getting married this July and I'm looking for a wedding photographer. My friend John referred you to me. He got married last September and said you were excellent. I saw your photos and they were beautiful. He also showed me your online portfolio, and I have to say I was really impressed with your sense of design.

WOMAN: Oh thanks, that's nice to hear. Yes, I remember John’s wedding. I love garden ceremonies. Well, I'd be very interested in photographing your wedding. Could you first tell me the date and location, so I can check my calendar and see if I'm available?

MAN: Sure! It's July 2nd, and it will be at my parents' property in Halifax. It won't be as fancy as John’s wedding, but they have a beautiful backyard overlooking the ocean. My fiancée Sarah and I wanted something outdoors.

WOMAN: Hmmmmm . . . it looks like I am unavailable on that day. I'm flying away to shoot another wedding. Now, when you checked my online portfolio, you must have seen my colleague, Cindy Shin’s work. Would you be interested in having her shoot your wedding?

MAN: Oh, that’s such a pity. I guess I should have called earlier. Yes, I’ve seen her work, and I liked it as well. Her work bears a lot of similarities to yours.

WOMAN: It certainly does, and that’s because she was my mentor. I’m looking at her schedule and she happens to be available that day.

MAN: That is really lucky! Would prices be comparable?

WOMAN: We charge the same rates, and we offer three different packages. The basic package starts at $3000. It includes an engagement portrait session and complete wedding day coverage, which covers everything from getting ready, to cutting of the cake, dancing, and guest portraits. In addition, we charge travel costs, food, and lodging when the ceremony is out of town.

MAN: Basic is fine with me. That's already slightly over my budget, so I'd rather not be tempted by the other packages! Do I choose which photos I want printed? Is printing included?

WOMAN: Of course. You'll receive a link to an online photo gallery of the best 200 photos within 3 weeks. You can pick out the 50 you like.

MAN: That sounds great. I’ll talk it over with my fiancée and get back to you in a few days. Thank you very much!


Now answer questions 1-6.

1- How did the man find out about the photographer?
2- What will the man’s wedding be like?
3- Why does the woman suggest another photographer?
4- Why does the man consider the woman’s partner?
5- What is the man prepared to pay for?
6- How will the photographer present the photos?

Part 4: Listening to a News Item

You will hear a news item about protesters complaining about a sign.

A group of protesters gathered at the local racetrack yesterday, asking people to sign a petition they intended to take to city hall. The petition requested that a newly erected billboard advertising the racetrack be removed. Protesters claim that the sign, with its blinking lights and animation of a racing horse, is highly distracting. Jillian Smith, spokesperson for the group, pointed out that the human eye is naturally attracted to bright lights and movement. She said that, when you’re driving on the highway, that’s a very bad thing.

Smith went on to say that using a cellphone while driving is now illegal because of the distraction factor. Therefore, she said, roadside billboard advertising should also be illegal, especially when it is designed to take our attention off the road.

The owner of the racetrack initially refused to comment, but, when pressed, he insisted there was nothing wrong with his sign. He pointed out that there’s no law against it, so he sees no obligation to take it down.

Police could neither confirm nor disconfirm that roadside billboards are a contributing factor in highway accidents.


Part 5: Listening to a Discussion

You will watch a discussion between three people who work at a college. The two women work as writing skills tutors, and the man is their supervisor.

Max: OK, I’ve been getting emails that you two are refusing to help students with their writing assignments. It’s my understanding—and I thought that you two understood this as well—that that is exactly what your job is. You are the Writing Skills Tutors.

Robin: Yes, but it’s the end of the year, and students are coming to us for help with the end-of-the-year assignments worth half their grade! We both think it’s cheating and—

Max: Cheating? How so?

Claire: Well, by the time we’re through with their essay, we’ve turned a D essay into a B essay. We’ve done that. With our comments, our suggestions, our corrections, our questions . . .

Robin: Getting that level of help with a major year-end essay? It isn’t fair to the students that have done the work on their own.

Max: Isn’t there some way you can, I don’t know, lead the students to make the improvements themselves? Show them what to do without doing it for them?

Robin: Normally, yes. But it’s March, and the students that are coming to our door now—for the first time—they’re not interested in doing the work themselves. They come in, throw their rough notes on the desk, and expect us to do the rest of the work.

Claire: We make suggestions and demonstrate how to use them, but the students just pretend to listen—they didn’t come here to learn; they came here for free editing.

Max: So how do you help? I mean, what did we hire you for?

Robin: Well, the way I see it is that we’re here to help the students with their homework—the day-to-day assignments. And those students that have gotten help with the practice work are then prepared to do the graded assignments on their own. The others—I assume they don’t even do their homework. Like Claire said, they’re just here to get their corrections done for free.

Max: What if you helped them with the final assignments only with the teacher’s authorization? That way the instructor would know which essays have had the benefit of your help and which ones the students have done on their own. And they can take that into account when they’re doing the grading.

Claire: I don’t know . . . I guess we could try. As long as the teachers know that what they’re grading is partly our work, I guess that would be fair. But—I’m telling you—as soon as word gets out that we’re willing to help with final essays, you’re going to have to hire another half dozen Writing Skills Tutors.

Robin: At least.


Part 6: Listening for Viewpoints

You will hear a presentation about working from home.

Harold is a sales executive at an export company. Every day he spends two hours on the road getting to and from work. At work, Harold spends his day talking and texting with his clients in China and India. Every week Harold uses a hundred dollars of gas and spends 10 hours stuck in traffic in order to talk to people who are in another country. Surely he could do his work from home.

The question is: Why are we still commuting? Why not allow people like Harold to commute online rather than through our often-clogged transportation systems? If we did allow people to work from home, other economic benefits would follow. We would spend less on gas and more on leisure, education, and other consumer goods. Community restaurants and coffee shops would thrive. More importantly, there would be benefits to the environment with a decrease in gas consumption, especially in urban centres.

Perhaps we are still commuting because corporations still associate productivity with physical presence and hours spent in the office. Clearly, though, corporations could also benefit from employees working at home. With staff working from home, corporate offices could be smaller and hence cheaper to run. Productivity per employee might also increase. Employees would be more able to work at times that might otherwise have been spent commuting. They could also tailor their work schedule to fit their family lives, which would improve their mental health and wellbeing.

It seems that online commuting would have a positive impact on families, corporations, and our society as a whole. We might well wonder, then, why we still encounter traffic gridlock in almost every major city.

Experts say there are four key difficulties with working from home. First, corporations fear offsite employees will be more easily distracted and work less. Second, many managers are concerned that they will not be able to manage staff when their staff are not present in the corporate workplace. A third issue is that the office is not simply a physical location. It is also a psychological space in which a team can develop a sharp, shared focus on the tasks at hand. People who work in the same space can think together and share ideas. Finally, the collective workspace helps staff to feel they belong to a community or culture. They will care more about their company’s product or service.

So, will we always work in offices? Younger people increasingly ask to work from home. The younger generation has been raised in a socially networked world in which connections, culture, and creativity are no longer anchored in a geographical or physical space. Perhaps, as some in this generation are already saying, the office will become outdated.