Listen to the radio programme about Ammon Shea’s book on the experience of reading the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). For questions 1 – 6, choose the option (A, B or C) which best expresses what you hear. You will hear the information twice.

Listen to Mark Thompson, who has worked for the BBC for many years. For questions 11 to 18, choose the best answer a), b) or c) according to what the speakers say. You will hear the recording TWICE. You now have 1 minute and 30 seconds to read the options. 

EXAMPLE:

1. Thompson thinks British society …
   1. is not certain about the importance of television.
   2. watches quite a lot of television.
   3. is not well represented by television.

Listen to the “9 News” bulletin and choose the right answer for each of the news items. Write the appropriate letter (a, b or c) in the box provided below, as shown in the example. You will hear each news item TWICE before moving on to the next one.

INTRO: EXAMPLE. On Wednesday afternoon, more than a million people were unable to…

a. check their emails from their personal computers.

b. access the 9 News website due to a hacker attack.

c. make proper use of their mobile phones.

You are going to hear six extracts about different topics. For items 1 – 5 , match the options (a – g) to the speakers (1 – 5). There is ONE extra option which you do not need to use. You will hear the extracts ONCE. You now have 20 seconds to read the options.

EXAMPLE: A. «A famous cocktail» –> Extract 0

Listen to 7 short extracts about the latest news on cancer research. Match each extract (1-7) with the best description (A-J). Two of the letters do not correspond to any extract.

EXAMPLE:  «D. Prevention is better than cure» –> Extract 0

 

You will hear five different young people about shopping for food. Choose from the list (A–H), what each speaker says. Use the letters only once. There are one extra letter which you do not need to use.

You will hear five different young people talking things they were relieved about. Choose from the list (A–H), what each speaker says. Use the letters only once. There are one extra letter which you do not need to use.

You will hear five different young people talking about airports they have recently been to. Choose from the list (A–H), what each speaker says. Use the letters only once. There are one extra letter which you do not need to use.

You will hear five different young people talking why they decided to live in another country. Choose from the list (A–H), which of the reasons each speaker is giving. Use the letters only once. There are one extra letter which you do not need to use.

You will hear five different young people talking about renting homes. Choose from the list (A–H), what each speaker says. Use the letters only once. There are one extra letter which you do not need to use.