FIRST CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH

Listening

 Sample Test 1

Time  Approximately 40 minutes (including 5 minutes’ transfer time)

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Do not open this question paper until you are told to do so.
Write your name, centre number and candidate number on your answer sheet if they are
not already there.
Listen to the instructions for each part of the paper carefully.
Answer all the questions.
While you are listening, write your answers on the question paper.
You will have 5 minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers onto the separate
answer sheet. Use a pencil.
At the end of the test, hand in both this question paper and your answer sheet.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

There are four parts to the test.
Each question carries one mark.
You will hear each piece twice.
For each part of the test there will be time for you to look through the questions and time for
you to check your answers.
B2 First Listening Sample Test 1

Part 1

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

1 You hear two friends talking about a new shopping mall.

They both say that

A it took them a long time to get there.

B they felt shopping there was a stressful experience.

C finding their way around was straightforward.

2 You hear a museum assistant talking about her job.

What is she doing?

A giving advice to people interested in museum work

B explaining what she finds challenging about her work

C criticising the attitude of some museum workers

3 You hear a man telling a friend about the choir he sings with.

He believes that being a member of the choir

A has helped broaden his appreciation of music.

B has led to feelings of increased self-confidence.

C has provided him with a way to keep his mind active.

4 You hear a wildlife photographer talking about taking award-winning photos.

What point is she making?

A Her best photos weren’t the result of chance.

B A lot of patience is required to photograph animals.

C Excellent equipment has become essential nowadays.

© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 2

 B2 First Listening Sample Test 1

5 You hear a woman helping her nephew with a college application.

She thinks her nephew should

A explain more clearly why he wants to do the course.

B add details about the relevance of his work experience.

C highlight the background reading he’s done on the subject.

6 You hear an art critic talking about a new exhibition.

He was disappointed by the exhibition because

A the paintings were all quite similar.

B it left many questions unanswered.

C too few paintings were on display.

7 You hear two journalism students talking about news websites.

What do they agree?

A It’s impossible to ignore the advertisements on news websites.

B It’s easy to become obsessed by what’s happening in the news.

C It’s good to see national stories reported by foreign websites.

8 You hear a man talking about his memories of maths lessons at school.

The man says that in his maths lessons

A students were presented with practical maths problems to solve.

B he was encouraged to find his own way of solving maths problems.

C the teacher taught solutions to maths problems that he still remembers.

3 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019

B2 First Listening Sample Test 1

Part 2

You will hear a man called Robin Haywood talking about his job as a food researcher. For questions 9 – 18,
complete the sentences with a word or short phrase.

Working as a Food Researcher

Before becoming a food researcher, Robin studied
(9) at college.

Robin’s first job after college was for a company that made
(10) in his area.

Robin joined his present company as a food

(11) .

Robin was initially surprised that his job involves working in a (12) .

According to Robin, flavour and (13) are the most important

things for consumers of breakfast cereals.

Robin says a lot of time is needed to achieve a cereal which is (14)

in colour.

Robin eats only (15) on days when he’s tasting new products.

When developing new products, Robin says visiting his (16) is

very important.

Robin suggests people might be surprised that finding the right

(17) for a new product is hard.

Robin says that being (18) hasn’t affected his work.

© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 4

 B2 First Listening Sample Test 1

Part 3

You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about mountain climbing. For questions 19 – 23,
choose from the list (A – H) why each speaker enjoys mountain climbing. Use the letters only once. There are
three extra letters which you do not need to use.

A It makes me feel I belong to a community.


B It provides me with the routine I need.


Speaker 1   19
C It helps me control my fears.


Speaker 2   20
D It is something people admire me for doing.

 Speaker 3   21
E It has many health benefits.

 Speaker 4   22
F It appeals to the competitive side of my character.

 Speaker 5   23
G It forces me to forget about my daily life.


H It’s a way to enjoy the beautiful countryside.

5 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019

B2 First Listening Sample Test 1

Part 4

You will hear an interview with a teacher called Helena Coad, who speaks many different languages. For
questions 24 – 30, choose the best answer (A, B or C).

24 What does Helena say about her childhood?

A She had an advantage growing up with bilingual parents.

B She knew languages would be part of her future.

C She felt under pressure from her father to learn languages.

25 When asked about how many languages she speaks, Helena

A tries not to show off.

B can’t easily give a number.

C changes the subject.

26 What does Helena say about making vocabulary errors?

A She rarely worries about making errors.

B She is often unaware of her errors.

C She used to make fewer errors in the past.

27 Rather than learning more languages, Helena wishes to focus mainly on

A improving her pronunciation in certain languages.

B visiting countries to hear languages in use.

C reading literature in other languages.

28 Helena suggests that her technique for learning a new language

A is unlikely to work for everyone.

B is regarded as expensive by some people.

C is an easy method for students to copy.

© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019 6

 B2 First Listening Sample Test 1

29 Helena believes that when she’s speaking another language

A her personality often alters slightly.

B she becomes more aware of her own culture.

C the way she treats people can change.

30 What is Helena’s ambition?

A to reach an advanced level in more languages

B to learn a little-known language

C to write a grammar book

7 © Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2019