English Listening Level Test

Isla: Excuse me. Which bus goes to the park? David: Bus number twelve goes to the park. Isla: Where is the bus stop? David: It is over there, next to the bank. Isla: Thank you. How much is a ticket? David: A ticket is twenty lira. Isla: And what time is the next bus? David: At half past nine. That is in five minutes. Isla: Great. Thank you!

Isla: Excuse me, which platform is the train to Izmir? Jack: It's usually platform four, but today there's a change. It leaves from platform seven. Isla: Platform seven. And what time does it leave? Jack: At ten forty. But it's twenty minutes late today, so it will leave at eleven o'clock. Isla: I see. Can I buy a ticket on the train? Jack: No, you have to buy it here. The ticket office is on the left, next to the café. Isla: How much is a one-way ticket? Jack: It's one hundred and twenty lira. Isla: Thanks. I'll get a coffee while I wait.

Dr. Adams: Emma, I've read your plan for the recycling project. It's very good. Emma: Thank you. We'd like to put three coloured bins in every classroom, one for paper, one for plastic bottles and one for cans. Dr. Adams: Three bins in thirty classrooms is quite expensive. Who will pay? Emma: We've asked the parents' association, and they've agreed to pay for half. We hope to raise the rest with a cake sale. Dr. Adams: When would you like to start? Emma: As soon as possible, but we can't begin until the bins arrive. The shop says that will be in two weeks. Dr. Adams: I suggest starting with the first floor only, to see how it goes. If it works, we can do the whole school next term. Emma: That makes sense. We're also making posters to show which items go in which bin. Dr. Adams: Excellent. Show me the posters on Friday, and I'll tell you if the colours are clear enough.

Carla: Welcome back to Community Matters. This morning I'm in the hall on Mill Lane, where thirty or so people are sitting around tables with screwdrivers, sewing kits and, I have to say, a very sorry-looking toaster. With me is David, who set up this repair cafe three years ago. David, did you expect it to take off like this? David: Not remotely. We began in a corner of the library with six volunteers, and I assumed we'd see a handful of people each month. Now we get around forty items every session. Carla: And do they all get fixed? David: Not all, no. About seven in ten, which I think is pretty respectable. The rest are usually beyond saving, or the part has been discontinued. Carla: It must feel like you're saving the planet one lamp at a time. David: Well, I'd be wary of putting it quite like that. Obviously it keeps things out of landfill, but honestly, what keeps people coming back is the company. Folk arrive with a broken kettle and leave having chatted to three neighbours. Carla: Is there anything you're short of? David: Yes, actually. We've got plenty of people who are good with electrical things, but hardly anyone who can mend clothes. If any of your listeners have a sewing machine and a free Saturday morning, we'd love to meet them. Carla: Lovely. The hall is open every Saturday from ten.

Frank: Good afternoon, Harbour View Guesthouse, Frank speaking. Emma: Hello, Frank. It's Emma Clarke here. I'm ringing about a reservation for next weekend, and I've just noticed something that doesn't quite add up on the confirmation. Frank: Oh dear. Let me pull it up. Clarke... yes, two nights, Friday and Saturday, one double room with a sea view? Emma: That's the thing. We booked a family room for four of us, with two beds and a sofa bed, and the sea view was supposed to be included. The confirmation says double. Frank: I see where the confusion has come from. Looking at the system, the family room was fully booked by the time your payment went through, so it automatically downgraded you. I'm so sorry; nobody should have done that without contacting you. Emma: Well, that rather puts me in a difficult position. Four of us can't fit into a double room. Frank: Absolutely not. Let me see what I can do. I could offer the family suite on the second floor. It has a garden view rather than the sea, but it's larger, and I'd honour the original price. Emma: To be perfectly honest, I'd rather have the sea view. It was the reason we chose you. Is there any chance the family room will become free? Frank: Our cancellation policy is forty-eight hours, so I'll know by Wednesday. If it does come free, I'll move you straight away, and otherwise the suite is yours at no extra charge. Emma: That seems fair. Could you put all of that in writing tonight? Frank: Of course, and please accept a complimentary breakfast on the Saturday as a gesture of apology. Emma: That's very gracious of you.

Dr. Lee: Ben, I've been through your questionnaire, and I'm afraid it has what I'd call an enthusiasm problem. Almost every question is phrased in such a way that the respondent can only agree with you. Ben: Surely not every one. I did try to keep it neutral. Dr. Lee: Question six asks how much more useful they find the new timetable compared with the old one. You've baked the conclusion into the wording. Anyone who thinks it's less useful has nowhere to go. Ben: I see that now. I suppose I was so attached to my hypothesis that I couldn't see it. Dr. Lee: It's the commonest pitfall in the business, and, to be fair, you're in good company. Where the questionnaire does shine is the layout. It's clean, and nobody will abandon it halfway through, which is more than I can say for most I've seen. Ben: So do I scrap it? Dr. Lee: Scrap is rather strong. Rewrite questions six to nine, then pilot it with ten students from outside your own year group before you go any wider. Their confusion will be more informative than their answers. Ben: Do I have to postpone the main survey? Dr. Lee: Only by a week, I should think, though if the pilot throws up problems, I wouldn't be surprised if it took two. Don't let the deadline bully you into a hasty design. A flawed survey that arrives on time is still a flawed survey. Ben: Understood. Thank you. That was bracing. Dr. Lee: I'm told that's my speciality.