Listening Exercise: A Look Back into the Past English •

In this exercise, we will practise listening for gist, detail, and specific information in the context of ecotourism.

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

Listening for Gist

Q1:

How many people are being interviewed?

  • AThree
  • BA group of people
  • CTwo
  • DOne
  • ENo one is being interviewed.

Q2:

What is the main topic of the interview?

  • ABirthdays
  • BDifferent jobs a person can have
  • CDifferent food around the world
  • DThe importance of eating fruits and vegetables
  • EWhat life was like in the early 1900s

Q3:

What age category is the interviewee in?

  • A30–50
  • B50–80
  • CChild
  • DYoung adult
  • E80–100

Q4:

What is the general message at the end of the interview?

  • ALife is better now than it used to be.
  • BVegetables are much tastier now than they used to be.
  • CLife is worse now than it used to be.
  • DFresh water will be available soon.
  • ELife is much harder now than it used to be.

Q5:

Which tone would you say this interview has?

  • AExcitable and engaging
  • BReflective and informative
  • CScary and intimidating
  • DFunny and nerve wracking
  • EAngry and critical

Listening for Detail

Q6:

How many economic crises has the speaker lived through?

  • ATwo
  • BHe lived through more than one, but the audio doesn’t say how many.
  • CZero
  • DThree
  • EOne

Q7:

What does the speaker think of food banks?

  • AHe thinks they don’t exist.
  • BHe doesn’t mention food banks.
  • CThey are good and help people.
  • DHe thinks they are too expensive.
  • EThey are annoying and useless.

Q8:

What is a ration?

  • AFresh vegetables and fruits grown in the garden
  • BA small amount of food which has been divided equally between a community
  • CA big variety of different foods
  • DAnother word for an egg
  • EWhen lots of food is available and you can pick anything you would like

Q9:

What type of foods were rationed?

  • ANothing was rationed in the war, but everything is now.
  • BFruits and vegetables
  • CDairy products
  • DRationing was an idea, but they didn’t start using it.
  • EEvery type of food

Q10:

What did Peter receive for his birthday the year after the war?

  • ASomething big
  • BAn orange
  • CIt doesn’t say in the audio.
  • DNothing
  • EMoney

Q11:

How did Peter feel on receiving his gift?

  • AGrateful
  • BAnnoyed
  • CConfused
  • DDisappointed
  • EFrustrated

Q12:

What type of job did Peter’s parents have?

  • AThey were just general workers.
  • BThey worked in a factory.
  • CThey were writers.
  • DThey didn’t have a job.
  • EThe audio doesn’t say.

Q13:

True or False: Peter’s parents only worked during the night.

  • AThe audio doesn’t say.
  • BFalse
  • CTrue

Q14:

True or False: The interviewer thinks that working conditions are still bad today.

  • AThe audio doesn’t say.
  • BFalse
  • CTrue

Listening for Specific Information

Q15:

Listen to this part of the audio.

Fill in the blanks: Well, firstly, supermarkets full of , foreign foods, and such a wide range of choices were not a thing. And food banks? That would have been a great help, but, unfortunately, we were only left with .

  • Aeggs, rashers
  • Bexotic, racers
  • Cexciting fruits, rations
  • Dexotic fruits, rations
  • Eeggs, rashes

Q16:

Listen to this part of the audio.

How many eggs were given per week?

  • A5 per family
  • B2 per person
  • CIt varied depending on how much food was available.
  • DYou had to produce eggs yourself from chickens.
  • E1 per person

Q17:

Listen to this part of the audio.

Fill in the blank: Some people had their own animals, so they could produce products such as milk, but the rest of us survived on liters a week.

  • A1–2
  • B1
  • C3
  • D1–3
  • E4

Q18:

Listen to this part of the audio.

In what order are the foods listed?

  • ABread, cheese, eggs, and milk
  • BBread, cheese, milk, and eggs
  • CMilk, cheese, and eggs
  • DCheese, milk, bread, and eggs
  • ECheese, milk, and eggs

Q19:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What time did Peter’s parents leave in the mornings for work?

  • AIt was different each day.
  • BOnly his dad had a job.
  • C7 am
  • D6 am
  • EThey always worked at night.

Q20:

Listen to this part of the audio.

Fill in the blanks: They earn more money than in the past, but then everything in has become more expensive. For some, working are still terrible.

  • Acity, conditioner
  • Bsociety, conditions
  • Ccity, conditions
  • Dsociety, condition
  • Esocial, citizens

Q21:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What is now readily available for the community?

  • AFresh water
  • BGood systems
  • CGreen
  • DCleaner
  • EFresh vegetables

Listening for Grammar and Vocabulary

Q22:

Listen to this part of the audio.

Which of the following gives the correct definition of to earn?

  • ATo capture someone
  • BTo receive in return for effort and especially for work done
  • CTo give money to someone who needs it
  • DTo lose money
  • ETo be an entitled person

Q23:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What synonym is used for sad?

  • ACoal
  • BMiserable
  • CCold
  • DMystery
  • EMirror ball

Q24:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What word is used to mean "a lack of something"?

  • AWas much
  • BDivided equally
  • CDivided
  • DWasn’t much
  • ELeft

Q25:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What does the phrase “in terms of” mean?

  • AA synonym for also
  • BWith regard to the particular aspect or subject specified
  • CThe terms in a school year
  • DWith regard to how difficult something is
  • EEmphasising how much something has changed

Q26:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What does the phrase “along with” mean?

  • AAs well as
  • BMeeting with
  • CWithout
  • DA long time ago
  • EAt the side of

Q27:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What tense is being used here?

  • APresent perfect continuous
  • BPast simple
  • CPresent simple
  • DPresent perfect simple
  • EPast perfect simple

Q28:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What tense is being used here?

  • APast perfect simple
  • BPast simple
  • CPast continuous
  • DPresent perfect simple
  • EPresent simple

Q29:

Listen to this part of the audio.

What best describes the meaning of the sentence?

  • AWhen they did work at night, they worked for some of the night only.
  • BThey always worked for the whole night.
  • CThey only worked at night.
  • DThey didn’t work at night; they always worked during the day.
  • EWhen they did work at night, it was for the whole night.

Q30:

Listen to that part of the audio.

What is the meaning of the sentence?

  • AWe know the specific time that the speaker watched a documentary.
  • BThe speaker is watching the documentary now.
  • CThe speaker is going to watch the documentary soon.
  • DThe speaker watched a documentary recently, but we don’t know exactly when.
  • EThe speaker has recently thought about watching a documentary.

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