Listening VSTEP B1 Mini Test

You will hear people talking in 8 different situations.  For questions 1-8,  choose the best answer A,  B or C. 

1. You will hear two friends talking about a film they’ve just seen.

A: That was a great film. 

B: If you’re into that kind of thing.  I haven’t seen anything as bad as that for a long time.

A: Oh,  I didn’t know that you don’t like horror movies. 

B: I usually do,  but I’m not sure that’s how I’d describe that film. There was only one bit I found at all scary.  It’s strange because the main characters were played by two quite big stars, but I don’t know how they got to be so famous if that’s the best they can do.  It was all very disappointing. 

A: Oh dear. 

2. You will hear two friends talking about some biology homework.

A: How’s your biology homework going? 

B: Not very well. I can’t work out what I have to do. 

A: In that case it probably won’t be much use looking online. You can find all the information you need there, but if you don’t know what to do with it, it’s not really going to help you. Have you seen Mr Benson about it? 

B: No, not yet.

A: It might be best. As he said the homework in the first place,  take your course book with you when you go so he can explain everything to you using that.

B: Good idea!  

     3.You will hear two friends talking about an interview with a singer they’ve seen on TV. 

A: Did you see that interview with Denny Starr? 

B: I did. He seemed so nervous at the beginning. And it wasn’t that the guy asking

A: The questions was especially rude or asked him anything difficult. 

B: I know. But once he relaxed a bit, he really spoke about lots of things I didn’t know anything about. 

A: I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk in so much detail about his life before.  In other interviews I’ve heard, he’s generally given answers that had very little to do with what he’s been asked. 

B: Yes. Like he didn’t really understand the question.

A: Exactly. 

4. You will hear a girl telling her friend about a diving trip.

A: How was the diving trip? 

B: It was great. But I’ve learnt to dive in a swimming pool where the water doesn’t move around much. Going underwater in the sea was a completely different experience. I seemed to become totally unable to do all those things that I got so good at in the pool.

A: So is it something you’d like to have another go at?

B: I’ll think about it. But if I do, I need to make sure I go with my cousin Martin again. It gave me a bit more confidence to be underwater with someone I knew. 

5. You will hear a girl talking to a friend about basketball.

A: Hey! Did you see the big basketball game last night? 

B: I did, yeah!

A: That was awesome when their star player jumped so high he nearly landed on that cameraman. Wouldn’t you love to be able to do that? You’d be a great player. You’re real tall.  

B: I guess. I can’t say I understand much about the rules though. 

A: Some of them are quite complicated. Especially the ones about how long you can hold on to the ball for. But the best way to understand them is to play. That way you’d learn them as you were having fun.  

B: Maybe one day. 

6. You will hear a boy talking about a trip to a city with his family

A: How was London? 

B: Great, except we got lost. 

A: Oh no! How? 

B: My dad had this guidebook which was at least 20 years old. We told him lots of things would be different now so most of what was in it would be wrong. Even though it was old, it was probably more accurate than the information a guy on the street gave us for getting to Big Ben. We ended up somewhere completely different. We only used the book for getting around on the underground in the end. The map’s almost the same as it was back then.

7. You will hear two friends talking about a music performance

A: I enjoyed that. 

B: Me too. I don’t think either of them played a wrong note in the whole performance.

A: I think I heard a few. Perhaps they hadn’t had enough time to play together before the concert. 

B: Maybe. I still wish they’d played a little longer though.

A: Maybe a few more songs. 

B: I thought it was about right as it was. That kind of music sounds so much better in a smaller place though. I don’t know why they chose to have it there. 

A: The two guitars are too quiet for somewhere that size. 

8. You will hear two friends talking about a play they have seen recently

A: That was an amazing play. 

B: It was. Over half the people watching were school students like us. 

A: I guess that’s not so unusual for an afternoon performance. Most adults are working then. 

B: I wonder what it’s like being an actor. They must have to practice so hard. 

A: The ones in this play certainly had. I found it difficult to believe how realistic they managed to make all of the characters. 

B: Yes, and I couldn’t predict what would happen at the end.

A: I studied this play in literature classes last year so I already knew what was going to happen.