English Listening Exercises for B2 – Buying and selling

a

1) b    2) c    3) a    4) b    5) a    6) b

b

1) d    2) f    3) e    4) b    5) c    6) a

Transcript

The world’s population is increasing. By 2050, it will reach 9 billion. How will all these people be fed?

The biggest problem is meat. This is because a lot of food is needed to produce the meat. To get one kilogram of beef, for example, 25 kilograms of grass must be grown to feed the cow. There simply isn’t enough land to produce all that grass. Every year, large areas of rainforest are cut down to create farms for cattle, but that can’t go on forever.

Unfortunately, most of the protein in our diets is provided by meat. So what can we do? Some scientists think that there is an answer – we should eat insects!

Insects have many advantages. They are full of protein. They grow very quickly and they don’t need a lot of food. A kilogram of beef needs 25 kilograms of food for the cow. A kilogram of grasshoppers, on the other hand, needs only 2.1 kilograms of food – less than 10% of what the cow needs. So producing insects is much more efficient.

Insects are already eaten in many countries around the world:

–  Grasshoppers can be bought on the street in Mexico. They are usually roasted with lime juice and garlic.

–  Caterpillars are eaten in many places in Africa.

–  In Thailand and Korea, fried silkworms are a popular snack.

–  Leafcutter ants are sold as a snack in cinemas in Colombia.

–  And honeypot ants are eaten by the Aborigines in Australia.

–  Mealworms can be found on the menu in many restaurants in China.

Of course, the main problem with eating insects is that they look horrible. Because of this, scientists think that in the future insects will probably be used in two ways:

1   The insects will be chopped up to make burgers, sausages or meatballs. In that way, you won’t actually see the insect.

2   The insects will be made into food for fish and other animals, and we will eat those things.

So perhaps you won’t sit down to eat a plate of grasshoppers and caterpillars, but we will all eat insects in some form in the future.

a

1) c   2) d

b

1) Russia   2) seven   3) four   4) horizontal or vertical

5) by a spaceship   6) the Earth   7) special training

8) five days

Transcript

It will be the most unusual – and the most expensive – hotel in the world … Except that it won’t be in the world! It will be in space. A Russian company has plans to build a hotel in orbit around the Earth, and they say it will be launched in the next four years. The space hotel will be big enough for seven people. It will have four private rooms, all with their own toilet and shower.

In a hotel on Earth, you choose whether you want a single bed or a double bed, but at the space hotel your choice will be a horizontal bed or a vertical bed. With no gravity, you can sleep in any position. Food won’t be prepared at the hotel. It will be delivered by a spaceship. The hotel will have large circular windows which will give you a spectacular view of the Earth.

You have to be fit and healthy to live in space, so guests will have special training before they are allowed to travel to the hotel. The special training will be provided by the hotel company.

And how much will all this cost? Well, the hotel is out of this world and so is the price. Guests will stay at the hotel for five days, and that will cost you one million dollars!

a

1) h   2) f   3) c   4) g   5) b   6) d

b

1) 11.38   2) 9.45   3) 12.49   4) 15.57

Transcript

1)

The next train to arrive at platform number 4 will be the 11.38 to London Euston, calling at Preston, Wigan, Warrington and London Euston. Platform 4 for the 11.38 to London Euston.

2)

We regret to announce that the 18.15 train to Birmingham is running approximately 27 minutes late. The train is now expected to arrive at 18.42. We apologize for this delay.

3)

Your attention, please. This is a platform alteration. The 10.32 train to Portsmouth will now depart from platform 7. Platform 7 for the 10.32 to Portsmouth.

4)

The train now standing at platform 3 is the 9.45 train to Dartford calling at Waterloo East, London Bridge, St Johns, Lewisham, Hither Green, Lee, Mottingham, New Eltham, Sidcup, Albany Park, Bexley and Crayford. Platform 3 for the 9.45 to Dartford.

5)

We regret to announce that the 12.19 train to Brighton has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience. Passengers travelling to Brighton should wait for the 12.49. The 12.19 to Brighton has been cancelled.

6)

The 15.57 train to Lancaster will depart from platform 3. Passengers for Blackpool should change at Preston.

1) i 2) f  3) d  4) j  5) a 6) g 7) e  8) b  9) h 10) c

Transcript

Hi. name’s Brad. I work in Britain, but I come from the USA. When I first arrived in London, I thought that everything would be easy, because we speak the same language, English. But I soon found that quite a lot of common words are different. I stayed in a hotel and I didn’t know which floor room was on. In the UK, the bottom floor is called the ground floor and you go up the stairs – or take the elevator – to the first floor. But in the States the bottom floor is the first floor. We don’t have a ground floor.

And if you want a snack, things can be difficult. In Britain, people ask for biscuits, but we ask for cookies. British sweets are American candy. But the biggest problem comes with chips. I went into a shop and asked for some chips. The assistant said: ‘We don’t sell chips.’ But I pointed and said: ‘Yes, you do. There they are.’ And she said: ‘Oh, you mean crisps.’ So I found out that American chips are called crisps in Britain. Of course, there are chips in Britain – as in fish and chips. We call those French fries. I said I went into a shop. Actually in the USA we call that a store, not a shop.

And there are other differences, too. If you want some water in Britain, you turn on the tap. In America, you open the faucet. In Britain, when you travel by car, you put your bags in the boot. We put them in the trunk. When you pay for something in Britain, you might give the assistant a ten pound note, but we don’t use the word ‘note’ for money. We say ‘bill’, so you give the assistant a ten dollar bill. And if they want to relax, the British watch a film, but Americans watch a movie. So the same language? Well, almost!