B1–1

Listening for the gist/ listening for the main idea

TASK 3

You are going to hear four people talking about travelling. Which of the sentences A-E best summarises what each one has to say? Select the correct answer A-E. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

TAPESCRIPT

Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 3
Speaker 4

Speaker 1.

You should go there to really appreciate it. It was incredible. The people were so friendly and hospitable. The couriers took really good care of us. We didn’t have to worry about anything. But for me the highlight of the trip was the visit to Petra.

It was a long way to go but one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. The temples and the buildings are just cut into the rock. What a sight!

One thing is, if you go, you should take some warm clothing. You wouldn’t believe, but it gets bitterly cold at night. I was really freezing but I managed to buy a warm sweater at a street market.

Speaker 2.

Generally speaking it was fantastic. The only thing is that I was terribly ill for a couple of days. You know, … stomach trouble. If you go, you mustn’t drink anything from the tap. I’d been incredibly careful but I think it was one of the drinks in the café that must have done it. I was totally helpless for two days. I was happy I was on an organized tour. Jane, the guide of our group, was amazing. She was so helpful. She had experienced it all before, she said.

Speaker 3.

What a difficult lot. I told them to be in the lobby by seven o’clock. I hoped we could set off quickly. We were going to the Tower of London. That was our first stop. You know what it’s like when you get there. They all want to see the priceless crown jewels. Sometimes people have to wait an hour or more to get in.

Anyway, I also warned them about not leaving anything valuable lying around. You know what it’s like with thieves and pickpockets around. Do you think they took my warning seriously? Well, to cut a long story short, it was a disaster from start to finish.

Speaker 4.

Oh, … we had an absolutely wonderful time. The weather was fantastic, sunny and warm. I needn’t have taken half of my clothes. It was a silent season here because there were hardly any other tourists there.

We bought a couple of guide books before we went. One of them was completely hopeless, you know, out of date and inaccurate. But the other one, Roper’s guide was invaluable. I don’t know what we’d have done without it.