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FCE Listening Practice Test 30

Answer Keys
Part 1 Part 2
1. B 9. Russian ballet dancer
2. В 10. New Zealand
З. А 11. Christmas lunch
4. A 12. 667
5. B 13. Perth, Australia
6. А 14. (a) definitive answer
7. C 15. beating egg whites
8. А 16. the United Kingdom/the UK
17. water and sugar
18. its first birthday

Part 3 Part 4
19. D 24. A
20. A 25. B
21. F 26. C
22. B 27. A
23. E 28. C
29. B
30. В

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.
Speaker: Of course I can understand their concerns, it’s bound to have an effect on some
of the wildlife there, but at the end of the day you’ve got to balance that out with the
positive effect it will have on the village. It will be a lot more pleasant for all of us here
when we don’t have to wait an hour just to cross the road to get to the post office.  [1]
2.
Student: My parents tried to convince me to study Medicine, and I went along with them
right up until the final moment when I had to submit my university application. Although
I’d always been quite good at science I’d never really enjoyed it that much and I couldn’t
see how medicine would be that different. Of course, at that age I never fully appreciated
how hard it would be to get a degree in Fine Arts… but sometimes you’ve just got to
follow your heart. [2]
3.
Speaker: So, if you look closely you can see that just by applying a small quantity of it
to the surface and rubbing it ever so gently in a circular motion with a kitchen cloth, the
final result is as clean as if you’d been scrubbing it for hours. It’s a marvel of modern
science, it really is. And at just under two pounds a bottle, you can’t say fairer than
that. So how many bottles would you like? [3]
4.
Woman: If it’s no trouble… oh that’s great… thanks ever so much. You just have to
check there’s enough water in the bowl. I’ll be back by Monday, so you only need to go
round there twice. And if you leave him some food in the bowl every other day, that’ll be
great. [4] Is there anything you’d like me to bring you back?… Sure, no problem. Bye!
5.
Woman: I’d had my hair done there before and I loved it. They really take care of you in
there. I had a lovely cup of coffee while I was waiting and they even gave me a head
massage before the styling. So, as it’s my birthday and I’ll be going out this evening I
thought why not get my nails done there… [5] then go home, put on my best dress and
some make up and hit the town.
6.
Woman: I’d put it in my drawer because I didn’t want to take it outside with me and risk
it getting wet if it suddenly started raining. I thought it would be fine if I just left it
there… but when I got back after lunch there was no sign of it.  [6] I haven’t got a clue
who could’ve done something like that. It’s really put me in a fix, it really has!
7.
Speaker: Well, leave it with us. We’ll have a look at it as soon as we can. It doesn’t
sound like it’s anything too serious. We’re a bit busy at the moment but we can definitely
get round to it by Friday. So if you come around on Monday then I’m sure we’ll have it
up and running for you by then. Oh, hang on, Monday is a holiday and we’re closed, so
pop round the next day then [7].
8.
Speaker: I know most people hate it… it’s stressful, it takes too long… it’s hell they
say. But for me… well… it’s the only time I get to myself really.  [8] When I’m at work
the phone’s ringing nonstop… at home the kids are either screaming or wanting help with
their homework. So it’s a time I can just slip on some good music and sort of switch off.
Actually I wish it took two hours instead of one!

Part 2
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna
Pavlova [9]. It is a cake similar to meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner.  The
dessert is believed to have been created to honour the dancer during or after one of her
tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s [10].
Where it was created and the nationality of its creator has been a source of argument
between the two nations for many years, but research indicates New Zealand as the
source. The dessert is a popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both
countries, and is frequently served during celebratory or holiday meals such as Christmas
lunch [11]. All currently available research suggests the recipe originated in New
Zealand. Keith Money, a biographer of Anna Pavlova, wrote that a chef in a hotel in
Wellington, created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour.
Professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago in New
Zealand, has researched the pavlova, and has compiled a library of cookbooks containing
667 pavlova recipes from more than 300 sources  [12]. Her book, The Pavlova Story: A
Slice of New Zealand’s Culinary History, contains a timeline of pavlova history which
gives 1935 for the first Australian pavlova recipe and 1929 for the recipe in the rural
magazine NZ Dairy Exporter Annual.
It has been claimed that Bert Sachse originated the dish at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth,
Australia in 1935 [13]. A relative of Sachse’s wrote to Leach suggesting that Sachse
possibly got the year wrong when dating the recipe, but Leach replied they wouldn’t find
evidence for that, ‘simply because it’s just not showing up in the cookbooks until really
the 1940s in Australia.’ Of such arguments Matthew Evans, a restaurant critic for the
Sydney Morning Herald said it was unlikely a definitive answer about the pavlova’s
origins would ever be found.  [14] ‘People have been doing meringue with cream for a
long time, I don’t think Australia or New Zealand were the first to think of doing that,’ he
said.
Pavlova is made by beating egg whites to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster
sugar [15], white vinegar, cornstarch, and sometimes vanilla, and slow-baking the
mixture similarly to meringue. This makes the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy
shell, while the interior remains soft and moist. The pavlova’s internal consistency is thus
completely different from that normally associated with meringue, having more of a soft
marshmallow texture. This difference is due to the addition of cornstarch, the use of
which is the defining feature of a pavlova recipe. Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a
topping of whipped cream and fresh fruit, such as strawberries and kiwifruit. Raspberry is
a popular topping in the United Kingdom, with the tartness of raspberries contrasting
with the sweetness of sugar. [16]
Factory-made pavlovas can be purchased at supermarkets and decorated as desired. A
commercial product is available that includes pre-mixed ingredients for baking the
meringue shell, requiring only the addition of water and sugar  [17]. Те Papa, New
Zealand’s national museum in Wellington, celebrated its first birthday in February
1999 [18] with the creation of the world’s largest pavlova, named ‘Pavzilla’, cut by the
Prime Minister of New Zealand of the time, Jenny Shipley
Part 3

Speaker 1
It was only a summer job when I was at university; just a couple of months work and the
pay was awful. I suppose I was just young, I didn’t take it seriously… I think if I’m
honest, I thought it was beneath me… I was an academic after all… I thought I could do
it with my eyes closed. Anyway, one day the boss came over and told me that if I didn’t
improve he would have no choice but to sack me [19]. I think I was so embarrassed that I
began to take it seriously and everything turned out OK. I spent the money I’d earned on
a holiday in Greece.

Speaker 2
I suppose it was a bit of a silly thing to do really. I put it on my CV that I spoke fluent
French. Rather stretching the truth, to say the least. I could just about order a coffee if I
had to. [20] Well, I didn’t think much about it, doubted I’d ever have to prove it, but one
day the boss called me over and said he had an important new client with a French wife
who didn’t speak a word of English, and would I show her around the city for the day
while her husband was in a company meeting. There was nothing I could do about it. I
couldn’t just tell him the truth. So I spent the day with her. Luckily she didn’t let me get a
word in edgeways and I just smiled and nodded at appropriate moments. The next day I
was sure my boss would ask to see me and that would be it; I’d be history. But he never
did – I don’t think the wife even noticed I hardly spoke a word.

Speaker 3
It was a work placement really, but I’d still consider it my first job. I mean, I worked the
same hours as everybody else, mucked in with everybody else. I’d never really thought
about the work they did before, but that time really opened my eyes. By the time the
placement ended and I had to leave, I’d made up my mind.  [21] There was no way I was
going into a boring 9 to 5 office job just for the money. I was going to spend my life
helping people. And that’s why I became a paramedic. [21]

Speaker 4
Some friends and I went to France to spend the summer picking fruit, just moving from
place to place wherever the work was. I suppose we had an over-romantic idea about the
whole thing. We had no idea just how back breaking the work would be. The amount of
different things we picked – strawberries, grapes, apples, raspberries, pears – it didn’t
matter what it was – at the end of the day you could hardly move. Anyway we had to cut
the whole thing short and come back to Scotland. I got a twig caught in my eye while we
were picking pears and the pain was unbearable, there was no way I could carry on
working after that. [22]

Speaker 5
A dogsbody, that’s the word! I suppose you have to expect it at that age and in your first
job, but at the time it really got to me. I don’t know if I expected to be doing more
important things or what, but I’d come home boiling with rage thinking ‘that’s it!
Tomorrow I quit!’ ‘Cup of tea, Darren, fill up the photocopier with paper, Darren, clean
the shelves, Darren.’ [23] It was non-stop and I’d never know from one day to the next
what I’d be spending my day doing.

Part 4

When I was 8 years old my family followed the ancient family tradition and packed me
off to a moderately expensive public school in Cambria [24]. I hated almost every day
that I spent there. My very first term was a disaster and I found it very difficult to settle
in.

Life in a boarding school can be almost impossible, especially if you aren’t that happy at
home, which I wasn’t at the time. I did miss a nice home-cooked meal though; the food at
the school was dreadful. Apart from having to follow all the rules and time-honoured
customs, you were never left alone, even for a minute – you were always with another
boy at all times. I have always enjoyed my own company and a bit of solitude, so day-to-
day life at school was very hard for me, although the other boys didn’t seem to mind
it. [25]

In the first term there I developed a nasty cough. The school nurse said it was nothing and
gave me some pills to take. However, a short time afterwards, playing rugby in a
snowstorm, I suddenly felt I couldn’t breathe properly and was taken to hospital with a
nasty dose of bronchitis and pneumonia. As soon as I arrived at the hospital they put me
into a small room with another boy who was also very ill. He eventually died and I’m
told, so did I nearly.[26]My main memory of my time in hospital was that the nurses on
duty in the evening used to get together in my room and play scrabble and chat. That they
were keeping me awake with the light on and their talk didn’t seem to worry them in the
slightest. [27]

When I had recovered I was sent home for a few weeks to convalesce and so missed
almost all the school term. When I eventually returned to school, I was sent to bed early
because of my illness… and so finally I got to have a brief period to myself every
day. [28] Later in the term I was allowed to go to the school library alone which was
another great improvement.

The day I left school the headmaster came up to me to say goodbye and asked if it was a
sad day for me. I told him that in fact it was the happiest day of my life. He said that he
was sure that I would come to think of my time at the school in a completely different
light [29]. I told him that I was sure I would not. Although of course over the last thirty
years I have had dreadfully unhappy days in my life, I found that my conclusions then
– that there was nothing that could ever be so bad as my time in boarding school – were
indeed proved to be quite correct. [30]