FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

Part 1
You will hear people talking in eight different situations. For questions 1-8, choose the best answer (A, В or C).

1. You need to see a doctor urgently. You telephone a surgery and hear this answer-phone message. What are you
advised to do?
A. go to 217 Jordan Street
B. contact another doctor
C. telephone 622919
2. You hear part of a news broadcast on TV about an accident at a chemical factory. The speaker is speaking
A. in the chemical factory.
B. outside the chemical factory.
C. in the nearby town.
3. You are staying in Britain with a host family. You hear the father speaking to one of his children. The day of the
week they are speaking on is
A. Tuesday.
B. Thursday.
C. Wednesday.
4. You overhear a man at a call box telephoning an emergency break-down service to ask for a mechanic to fix his
car. Where is the car?
A. near the Green Lion pub
B. opposite the Green Lion pub
C. opposite the high street
5. Listen to a man outside a supermarket talking to a housewife. What does the man want to do?
A. sell her some washing powder
B. ask her about her family's washing habits
C. visit her home
6. You are with a group of friends. One of them is telling you about something that happened to her at work. She
works
A. as a secretary.
B. as a railway employee.
C. for the police.
7. Listen to this man being interviewed on the radio. The man is
A. a singer.
B. a film star.
C. an actor.
8. You are on a bus tour of a British historical city. You are currently looking at Saint Christopher's
Memorial Hospital. The speaker's opinion of that building is that
A. she is not clear on its appearance.
B. the gardens are exceptionally beautiful.
C. the architecture is a masterpiece.

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FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

Part 2
You are going to hear somebody giving their opinion about the media and its influence on society. For questions 9-
18, complete the sentences.

Society and the Media

The three forms of media are TV, radio and 9
.
Politicians use the media during political 10 .
Entertainers use it to stay in the 11 .
The percentage of people who did not have a particular point of view about the privacy of
celebrities was 12 .
The most influential form of media is 13 .
We can be deceived by TV when we are shown carefully selected 14
. Some TV stations turn
true events into 15 .
A newspaper had to pay 16 for printing lies about a pop singer.
Sometimes a paper can avoid being sued if it makes a public 17 .
There are two kinds of newspaper; the "quality" papers and the 18
.

Part 3
You will hear five different women talking about the same wedding. For questions 19-23, choose from the list A-H
who the speaker is speaking to. Use the letters only once. There are three extra letter which you do not need to use.
A. her husband Speaker 1 19
В. her boyfriend Speaker 2 20
C. a child Speaker 3 21
D. her father Speaker 4 22
E. her boss Speaker 5 23
F. somebody she's just met
G. her mother
H. the vicar

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FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

Part 4
You will hear three friends talking about their relationships. For questions 24-30, choose the best answer (A, В or
C).
24. What's Anne's problem?
A. She's got no one to go out with.
B. She's angry with her boyfriend.
C. She has hurt herself.
25. Who has been hard to get in touch with recently?
A. Mark
B. Dave
C. Anne
26. What does Mark do?
A. He gets angry with Anne.
B. He tries to change the subject.
C. He asks Sue about her boyfriend.
27. What does Dave say?
A. He will never get married to Sue.
B. He isn't sure if he is going to go on holiday or not.
C. He doesn't know where to go on holiday.
28. What is Mark's problem?
A. He smokes too much.
B. He goes out too often.
C. He has a medical problem.
29. How can Anne be described at the end?
A. sad
B. optimistic
C. nervous
30. What is Mark's attitude towards Anne?
A. He disapproves of her dating someone else so quickly.
B. He wants to try to help her.
C. He thinks it is unlikely that her cousin will be interested in her.

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FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

Answer Keys
Part 1 Part 2
1. B 9. newspapers
2. B 10. campaigns
3. C 11. public eye
4. A 12. 4%
5. B 13. TV
6. C 14. images
7. C 15. fiction
8. A 16. one/1 million pounds
17. apology
18. tabloids
Part 3 Part 4
19. G 24. A
20. B 25. A
21. F 26. B
22. C 27. C
23. E 28. C
29. B
30. B

Tapescript
The part of the text containing the answer is underlined with the question number given in square brackets []. If
you still struggle with FCE Listening, please refer to Listening tips.

Part 1
1.
Answering machine: You have reached the East Street Surgery answering service. Doctors Marsh, Green and
Clifford are not available for consultation at this time. If you urgently need to see a doctor, dial Reading 622909 for
doctors Smith and Parker [1] or go to 217 George Street. If you wish to leave a message at this surgery, please
speak after the tone.
2.
Reporter: It's been three hours since the first casualties were brought out and we have been informed that there are
many more victims still inside the compound. Looking through the chain-link fence, I can see [2] the head of one
body lying on the ground only a hundred yards or so from where I'm standing. Even the grass at my feet was badly
scorched by the blast. All the bodies so far have been taken to a nearby town for identification. So far, no effort has
been made to cap the leaking column but we've been informed that a team of German scientists are on their...

3.
Dad: When are you going to get your hair cut? It's not long till school starts again. I thought you were going to do
it yesterday.
Son: Er, well, I'll have to go tomorrow or the next day. I couldn't go yesterday; it was closed.
Dad: I thought it was always shut on Wednesday afternoons.
Son: No, it's shut all day Tuesday.

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FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

Dad: Well, look, you'll have to go today or tomorrow because Friday's a public holiday and everything will be
closed then. [3]
Son: Not everything, Dad. The pubs will be open.
4.
Hello... yes... er, it's my car... Er, no, I can't get it to start... No, I've tried that already... Yes, it's a 1963 Hillman
Avenger... Er, where?... It's parked right opposite the chemist... No, not the one on Baker Street, the one on the high
street, you know, beside the Green Lion pub. [4]
5.
Excuse me, madam. I wonder if you could spare me a few minutes. I see you've bought an automatic washing
powder for use in a standard front-loading washing machine. You see, I work for the British Energy Conservation
Council and we're currently carrying out a survey to determine how much energy is required for an average
family's washing needs. [5] I must assure you that if you do agree to participate in our questionnaire right now, it
will not be necessary for one of our representatives to visit your home. Now, if I could just have your name and
address and possibly your telephone number...

6.
Well, I was working at the desk that day and well, it had been quite a busy morning and it must have been about 11
o'clock when two officers brought a suspect into the station. [6] They'd received a 999 call from a woman living in
Maple Road and as soon as I saw him, I just burst out laughing because I suppose it's not often that the head of
Much Hadham CID gets pulled in on his day off.
7.
Lucy: And that was a very impressive performance but you've beeninvolved in a bit of controversy recently.
Sebastian: You mean in 'The Silent Revolutionary'?
Lucy: Well,... yes, one critic described it as the most utterly unpleasant ninety minutes he'd ever endured.
Sebastian: Well, it always was the intention of Tim Broke, the director, to be shocking but perhaps he did misjudge
the audience's reaction to some of the things that we do on stage.
Lucy: But I gather you've been playing to nearly empty houses recently.
Sebastian: Well, hum...
8.
Speaker: The building just coming up on our right is the Saint Christopher memorial hospital. Founded in the late
1930s, it is considered to be one of the finest examples of this style of architecture. It is particularly noted for the
unusual layout of its ornamental gardens, which are at their best in the late spring. The building has been hailed as
a masterpiece, although I personally have reservations because it lacks the colour and flamboyance of many of
the... [8]

Part 2
Narrator: There is no escaping the fact that the media has become one of the most powerful influences in our
lives. TV, radio and newspapers are the three main forms of media [9] that we have daily contact with. Because of
their importance it is inevitable that controversy will often go hand in hand with such a powerful force.

The media is not always used wisely or responsibly and is often a source of gossip, scandal or propaganda.
Politicians use it in their political campaigns in order to gain support. [10] Entertainers and celebrities use it to
promote themselves and keep themselves in the public eye. [11] This is of course to their advantage but on the

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FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

other hand they are also open to the disadvantages of publicity. Private lives are brought out into the open and the
word private no longer suits the situation. Celebrities find themselves being followed and photographed at all times
of day or night and in the most personal situations. A survey has been carried out asking people what they thought
of this invasion of privacy and a massive 85% thought that celebrities were asking for it, 11% believed they were
still entitled to their privacy and 4% had no opinion either way. [12] The survey also asked which form of media
people felt they were most influenced by. Over two thirds of the people asked said TV [13], rather than radio or
newspapers.

This then leads us to the question of how reliable the information that we get from TV is. The belief that if we can
see through images what is happening we cannot be tricked or lied to, is a fallacy. Carefully chosen or edited
images can deceive us more than words. [14] It is in fact the images that are not shown which often speak the truth.
Some channels have even been accused of showing scenes that were not actually from the place being reported
about. This kind of false information turns fact into fiction [15] but how is the viewer meant to distinguish between
the two? That is the problem. Radio and newspapers, on the other hand rely on words to get their story across and
if they intentionally lie they run the risk of being taken to court later. This of course happens regularly, particularly
when a celebrity is involved. One rock singer was recently awarded one million pounds when a tabloid paper said
he was a homosexual. [16] Sometimes the papers are lucky and get away with making a public apology [17] and
withdrawing what they have previously said about somebody. A distinction has to be made between newspapers
though as they do tend to fall into two groups; the tabloids and the so called "quality newspapers". [18] The
question is though, can we really trust anybody to tell us the facts objectively?

Part 3
Speaker 1
Well, it really was a pity you couldn't be there. Brian and Julia looked so wonderful and everything went off
perfectly. The vicar gave a beautiful address and the reception was gorgeous. Everyone commented on the
bridesmaids' dresses. They wore pale yellow just like you wanted, oh, and I almost forgot, Brian mentioned you in
his speech. He said Julia's got everything a wife could offer, but he still likes your cooking best. I think he meant it,
too. Of course, Dad was there with... er... but I don't suppose you want to hear about that. [19]

Speaker 2
Brian's not going to have an easy time of it. After all, Julia's not going to coddle him like that mother of his does.
And it's a good thing too if you ask me. It's about time he learnt to be useful around the house. Seventy years of
feminism doesn't seem to have done much for our family either. Still, when we get married a few little things are
going to change. There'll be no more nights out with the lads [20] - not when I'm in charge - and I'll tell you
another thing, if I were Julia, I'd be keeping a good eye on one of those bridesmaids, too.

Speaker 3
So you must have known Brian for quite some time now. Has he always been this handsome?... No, don't tell me, I
can imagine. [21] Well, anyway, I met him a couple of years ago when they moved our unit up to head office and
he was already working there as entertainment officer. You know, all the big firms have them these days. He
organises surprise parties and hires entertainers and kissagrams and then comes round the office collecting money
for them afterwards, but I suppose you know all this already.

Speaker 4
Did you take all these pictures yourself? You are clever. And look there's one of me. I don't remember you taking
that one. Oh, and here's one of everybody outside the church. Your Auntie Julia would probably like a copy of that

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FCE Listening – Practice Test 14

one and so would your granny [22]; mind you, it's a pity it's got your granddad in with that Marjorie. Oh, could you
be a darling and get some copies done? We could send them for Christmas. They always send you something nice.
Speaker 5
It was really one of the best weddings I've ever been to. The service was short; the bride arrived on time; the groom
was sober; the food was excellent; the speakers were funny - not like my wedding at all. They really must have put
so much thought into it, and so much preparation. Which must show that they're serious about each other because
so many young people aren't these days. The only sad thing is that they live so far away. I mean if you hadn't given
me the Friday off, I simply wouldn't have been able to get there on time. [23]

Part 4
Anne: I'm fed up with staying in nearly every night. Since John and I broke up life has been really boring. [24]
How about you two, how's your love life these days? Mark you're grinning, you must be happy.
Mark: Well actually yes I've just met someone really nice. She started working in the office a fortnight ago and we
liked each other straight away.
Dave: Well, well. That's why you're never home these days when I phone you. [25] Are you actually going out
with her then?
Mark: Yes I am.
Anne: So how many times have you been out?
Mark: Erm, quite a few.
Dave: Why are you so embarrassed?
Mark: Well actually, we've been out nearly every evening since that first day.
Dave/Anne: Every evening!
Mark: Anyway, enough of my personal life. What about you Dave? How's Sue? [26]
Dave: Oh she's fine. We're trying to decide where to go on holiday this summer. [27]
Anne: Maybe on honeymoon?
Dave: No way! I'm far too young to think about wedding bells yet.
Mark: But you've been together for years.
Dave: I know. I'm not saying we won't get married but not yet.
Anne: Well I' m going on a girls' night out this Saturday. We thought we'd go to that new disco in town.
Mark: I've been there, it's okay but very crowded and smoky and I had to leave early because the smoke was
making my asthma bad. [28] I could hardly breathe and felt terrible the next day.
Dave: You should really try alternative medicine for that Mark. Homeopathy really helped my cousin with his
asthma.
Anne: Talking of cousins Mark, is your handsome cousin still young, free and single?
Mark: Yes he is actually, but I thought you were still suffering from a broken heart.
Anne: Well, the best cure for a broken heart is a new romance! [29]
Mark: I'll see if I can arrange for him to be at the Christmas party and then you can casually chat him up. [30]
Anne: Oh, thanks, Mark.

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