B1 Preliminary for Schools
Audioscript, Sample Test 1
Cambridge, Preliminary English Test for Schools, Listening. Sample Test 1.
There are four parts to the test. You will hear each piece twice.
We will now stop for a moment.
Please ask any questions now because you must not speak during the test.
Now look at the instructions for Part One.
Pause
PART ONE For each question, choose the correct answer.
Look at Question 1.
1 Which jumper does the girl decide to buy?
F: There are so many nice clothes in this shop!
M: Have you decided what to get?
F: I like all three of these jumpers. The one with the stars on is my favourite but it’s a bit too big,
so I think I’ll go for the one with the three buttons up the middle.
M: The jumper with the stripes is great too, though. I’d get that if I was choosing.
F: Yeah, I really like it too. My sister’s got a similar one, though – I don’t want to look the same
as her.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
2 What sport did the boy try at school today?
F: How was your day?
M: Really good actually, especially sport.
F: Oh, why was that?
M: Well, instead of playing the same sports as we usually do, the sports teacher had organised
some coaches to come in to show us how to play different sports. I’d seen rugby on TV before
but had never realised how much fun it is until this afternoon. They’re doing the same thing
next week so I’m thinking of trying badminton then. I think I’d prefer playing that to hockey,
but we’ll see.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
1 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
3 How is the girl going to get to her friend’s house?
F: Dad, would you mind giving me a lift to Laura’s house?
M: I’d love to be able to but your mum’s taken the car to do some shopping. She’ll be back in
about half an hour if you can wait.
F: I said I’d be there in twenty minutes.
M: Well, the buses only go about once an hour at this time so they’re no good.
F: And my bike’s broken … I guess I’ll just have to wait for Mum then.
M: I fixed it at the weekend actually.
F: Oh, problem solved then! Thanks, Dad!
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
4 What time will the next train to Manchester leave?
M: Good afternoon, this is an announcement for any passengers waiting for the delayed service to
Manchester. We are sorry but there have been some electrical problems with the train and it’s
now running around thirty minutes late. This means that rather than arriving at the planned
time of seven fifteen, it will be here at seven forty-five. The seven thirty train to Liverpool also
calls at Manchester, so passengers are advised to take this service unless you have reserved
seats on the seven fifteen train.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
5 Where does the girl want to meet her friend this afternoon?
F: Hi Sylvia, it’s me. I was just calling to see if we could meet somewhere that’s a bit nearer the
sports centre this afternoon. I’m starting kick boxing classes there today and it’ll be easier for
me to meet you straight after that. I wondered about the train station. It’s not far from where
I’ll be and it’s much nearer your house than the cinema, where we’d arranged to see each
other. What do you think? Text me or call me and let me know, will you? Bye!
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 2
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
6 Which house does the boy live in?
F: My dad said it’s fine to come to your house to do the history project tomorrow. I’ll come after
my piano lesson.
M: Great. You know where the road I live on is, don’t you?
F: Yes.
M: Most of the houses along there look the same – they have two floors with a window on each
side of the front door. Ours looks similar except it only has one window on the ground floor.
There’s a bungalow next to it, you know, a house with just one floor.
F: OK, I’ll find it.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
7 Which film is on this evening?
F: Today sees the start of our summer film season with movies on every evening over this
coming week. The season sets off with a great action adventure called The Winner, so if fast
cars are your thing, tune in at nine. The record-breaking horror movie, The Monster, continues
the season, so make sure you’re not spending the evening alone when that comes on
tomorrow at ten. Science fiction fans can look forward to all three of the Planet Battle movies,
one every evening from Tuesday onwards. Enjoy!
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
That is the end of Part One.
Pause
3 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
Now look at Part Two.
PART TWO For each question, choose the correct answer.
8 You will hear two friends talking about a new science museum.
Pause
F: So what did you think of the new science museum?
M: I thought it was great, but I noticed you were looking a bit bored.
F: From what I’d read about them before we went, I thought the various exhibitions would be far
better than they actually were. They’ve chosen the right people to work there, though – there
wasn’t a single question about science they couldn’t answer.
M: That’s true. So would you go again then?
F: I wouldn’t say it was a total waste of ten pounds, but I can think of much better things to spend
my money on.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
9 You will hear two friends talking about a geography textbook they use at school.
Pause
M: I still haven’t got used to this new geography textbook. The one we used last year had
explanations that were really easy to understand for each new thing we learnt. The ones in
here seem so complicated.
F: They do. I’ve learnt more so far by just looking at the diagrams. They’re much easier to
understand than the ones in the previous book.
M: There’s lots of detail in them, and plenty of labels too. Using descriptions of actual places to
show how each landscape was created is a good idea.
F: I couldn’t see how they connected to what we were studying actually.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 4
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
10 You will hear a boy telling his friend about playing ice hockey for the first time.
Pause
F: How was ice hockey?
M: I was a little nervous before I started, but it was OK, I guess. I’ve done loads of ice skating, but
this was completely different.
F: Oh?
M: Yeah, my friends warned me how fast things move but I didn’t really believe them. They were
right, though. When I arrived where I thought the action was happening, it’d already moved on.
F: You’ll get used to that, though.
M: I don’t know if I want to get used to it actually – I’m not sure I’ll go back.
F: I bet you were much better than you think.
M: I doubt it!
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
11 You will hear two friends talking about learning how to paint.
Pause
M: I’m not making much progress with my painting.
F: If you want to do anything really well, you have to do it regularly, I guess. You always seem to
be painting, though, judging by how often you show me new things you’ve painted.
M: I am.
F: And I’ve seen how much art stuff you’ve already got, so getting more isn’t going to solve the
problem. Are you still going to classes with that guy?
M: Of course.
F: I remember you saying he wasn’t really pushing you to try new techniques, so maybe you need
to think about trying someone else.
M: Perhaps you’re right.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
5 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
12 You will hear two friends talking about a café.
Pause
M: This is a great place to meet to work on our homework project.
F: It is. Most other places that let you stay for ages without buying much have really
uncomfortable chairs and tables.
M: They’re probably hoping you’ll leave pretty quickly. No danger of that here … how long have
we been waiting for our drinks?
F: At least half an hour. It was forty minutes before they arrived last time.
M: Good job we didn’t order anything to eat then. Imagine how long it would take them to bring
that!
F: What I’ve seen the waiter taking to other tables looks pretty good, though.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
13 You will hear two friends talking about their local park.
Pause
M: I like walking through this park on the way home from school.
F: Me too.
M: You hardly ever see anyone here, apart from a few people walking their dogs. It’s a shame,
because it’d be full of kids and teenagers if it had a football pitch and a basketball court.
F: Yes, and some play equipment for the younger ones. There’s certainly enough space!
M: So many other parks have bottles and papers from ice creams all over the place. I think there
must be someone who comes here to pick all that stuff up, though, because I never see any.
F: No.
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
That is the end of Part Two.
Pause
© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 6
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
Now look at Part Three.
PART THREE For each question, write the correct answer in the gap. Write one or two words or a
number or a date or a time.
Look at Questions 14 to 19 now. You have 20 seconds.
Pause
You will hear a teacher making an announcement about a school play.
M: Good morning, everyone. Before we start the lesson, I want to give you some information
about this year’s school play.
We want to include students of all ages in this year’s production, so we’ve chosen one called
The Result, because it has parts for both younger and older people. There was another good
play, whose title was The Score, but this was more suitable for older students.
Anyway, the play’s all about football, and it tells the story of an eighteen-year-old called Alice,
who works as a photographer but dreams of becoming a professional footballer. She meets a
coach called Frank who helps her work on her skills.
So obviously we’re looking for actors to play all of the roles, which means about twenty people
in total. Mr Ainsworth, the Technology teacher, will be making the scenery for us but we do
need students to help create the costumes for all of the actors.
If you’re interested in getting a part in the play, before we start practising, there’s a meeting
on Wednesday afternoon to discuss who should play which role and to check your acting
skills. Then to prepare for the actual performance, everyone involved will meet each Tuesday
afternoon in the school hall.
Family and friends will all be able to come and watch the play on the 17th October. We thought
about having it earlier on the 26th September but think it’ll be so much better with an extra
few weeks to practise.
It you want to watch some scenes from the play, to help you to decide whether you want to
get involved or not, there’s a website that has some short videos of parts of the play on it. The
website is www.altidrew.com. I’ll spell that for you … it’s A-L-T-I-D-R-E-W dot com.
Does anyone have any questions?
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
That is the end of Part Three.
Pause
7 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
Now look at Part 4.
PART FOUR For each question, choose the correct answer.
Look at Questions 20 to 25 now. You have 45 seconds.
Pause
You will hear an interview with a teenage radio DJ called Caleb, who does a show for a
local radio station.
F: Welcome to the programme, Caleb. You work part-time as a DJ on local radio as well as
studying. When did you first want to become a DJ?
M: My uncle actually once worked as a DJ. He used to tell me stories about his job and about all
the latest bands he’d been to see. But I didn’t really think ‘I’d like to do that’ until I saw a film
about a famous DJ on the internet.
F: How did you feel during your first show?
M: It was a mid-afternoon programme when most people are at work or school, so I didn’t have
to worry about having a huge audience. Once I started, I was glad I’d prepared everything
before the show because talking, which is something that normally comes really easily to me,
suddenly seemed extremely difficult.
F: Do you play songs you like or songs your listeners ask for?
M: A bit of both. I always mix a few of the ones I prefer, which have to tell a story or say things
that really make me think, with the ones listeners want. Most people ask for songs with tunes
that aren’t too difficult on the ear, with guitars and drums and so on, which people are used to
hearing.
F: You do interviews on your show too. Who are the most interesting people to interview?
M: I get the most positive comments from listeners when I speak to footballers or basketball
players, but I guess that’s because they’re popular sports. Personally, I have more fun when
I’m talking to people who are involved in politics, although actors come a close second – they
often have funny stories to tell too.
F: Have you had any embarrassing moments during your show?
M: Plenty! I’ve introduced a particular song, then put a totally different one on. I once read out
the previous week’s weather forecast, which had been left in the studio by mistake. The worst,
though, was when I just couldn’t remember the questions I’d planned to ask a really famous
guest. There was silence for several seconds, which isn’t great on the radio!
F: You work part-time as a DJ at the moment. What are your plans for the future?
M: I’d love to get into full-time, paid radio work – there are so few opportunities so I can’t see it
happening. I think I’ll have more chance of introducing shows on television, so that’s what I’m
aiming for. I wondered about trying to develop my skills as a singer, too, but I honestly don’t
think I’m good enough.
F: Thanks, Caleb!
Pause
Now listen again.
Repeat
Pause
That is the end of Part Four.
Pause
© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 8
B1 Preliminary for Schools Audioscript Sample Test 1
You now have six minutes to write your answers on the answer sheet.
Pause 5 minutes
You have one more minute.
Pause 1 minute
That is the end of the test.
9 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019
