B2 Practice Test 1

Audioscript
1.01

You are going to answer eight questions. You have 10 seconds per question for questions 1 and 2, and
20 seconds per question for questions 3–8. Start speaking when you hear this tone.
Question 1: What’s your name?
Question 2: Which country do you come from?
Question 3: I’m going to ask you some questions about languages. Tell me which languages you can speak.
Question 4: How long have you been studying English?
Question 5: Why do you think English will be useful for you in the future?
Question 6: I’m going to ask you some questions about health and exercise. Which sports do you enjoy doing?
Question 7: Can you tell me about the last time you did some exercise?
Question 8: When do you prefer exercising alone and when do you prefer exercising with other people?
1.02

You are going to leave a voicemail message. First read and listen to the task, then decide what you want
to say. You have 40 seconds to leave your voicemail. Start speaking when you hear the tone.
You recently took your car to a garage to have a problem fixed. You are not satisfied with the work that was
carried out. Leave a voicemail message for the garage manager. In your message, you should: say who you
are; explain why you are not satisfied; say what you want the garage owner to do.
You now have 20 seconds to think about what you want to say.
1.03

You are going to reply to a voicemail message. First read and listen to the task, then decide what you
want to say. You have 40 seconds to leave your voicemail. Start speaking when you hear the tone.
Listen to the message from your friend about a party. Then, leave a voicemail message for your friend. In your
message, you should: thank your friend for the suggestion; tell your friend why you don’t like the suggestion;
say which place you prefer for the party and why.
Now listen to the message.
F Hi, it’s Sam. We said we were going to discuss the best place for our joint birthday party next month. I
think the Italian restaurant on the High Street would be perfect. Let me know what you think about that or
where you’d like to go, OK? Thanks.
You now have 20 seconds to think about what you want to say.
1.04

You are going to give a talk. Read and listen to the task, and start speaking when you hear the tone.
The town where you live has a large empty building and the town’s residents need to decide what the best
use for the building would be. You are going to give a talk to your English class about different ways of using
the building. Choose two photographs. Tell your class about how these two ideas might be a good use for the
building.
You now have 30 seconds to think about what you want to say.
You now have one minute to give your talk.

1  Oxford Test of English  B2 Test 1 audioscript  © Oxford University Press

 1.05

You are going to answer six questions about your talk. You have 30 seconds to answer each question.
Start speaking when you hear the tone.
Question 1: Your talk was about buildings. Tell me about an interesting building in your town.
Question 2: Some people say that very old buildings should be preserved. What do you think?
Question 3: How do you think buildings will be different in the future?
Question 4: In your home, which room do you spend the most time in?
Question 5: What is the best age to leave the family home?
Question 6: Where would you prefer to live: in a city or in the countryside?
1.06

Listen and choose the correct picture, A, B, or C.

Question 1
A young woman is leaving a voicemail message for her mother. How does the woman plan to travel?
F Mum, I know I said I was hoping to get the 5 o’clock train back, but that was before I remembered the
strike! Julie’s driving and has offered to drop me off right at the door, but she’s hoping to get away soon, as
she knows it’ll be madness out there later, and I’ve still got tonnes to do. Anyway, I’m thinking of just jumping
on the airport shuttle service that passes near our road … they leave from the station every hour or so. Don’t
wait for me for dinner … It’ll be too late for that. See you later!
Now listen again.
Question 2
A husband and wife are making plans for their day. What do they agree should be done first?
M Juan and Maria’ll be here around five and there’s a fair bit to get done before that. Shall I head to the
shops and get a few supplies in?
F I’m ahead of you there … I ordered online yesterday and the delivery should be here within the hour.
M Good thinking! The kids have made a mess in the living room yet again, so I can take care of that.
F That’d be great. Their uniforms need sorting, too, so we’d better get a wash on, actually. The living room
can be done once that’s out of the way.
M OK, I’ll go and gather up their stuff then.
Now listen again.
Question 3
Two colleagues are discussing a conference they have just attended. What did they both particularly like
about the conference venue?
M I never thought they’d go for such an exclusive conference venue this year.
F Yeah, no expense spared, eh? My room was so comfortable, it was difficult to leave it. How was yours?
M Pretty average, really. But what about that pool! It was Olympic-sized, wasn’t it?
F It sure was! I could’ve spent a lot longer in it.
M Me too. And we didn’t exactly go hungry while we were there. I always end up going back for more at
those things.
F Yes, that’s the trouble isn’t it? I do think they could have done with a few more salads, though … you
know just to strike a balance.
Now listen again.
Question 4
A student and a lecturer are discussing the student’s presentation. Which area of the presentation does the
student need to work on?
F Thanks for stopping by Felipe. I just wanted a quick word about your presentation.
M I’m particularly concerned about the visual aids.
F I couldn’t find fault with your charts at all, actually.
M Ah, that’s a relief.
F What I would just say is consider adding a few more headings. People sometimes lose marks for failing to
emphasize key information.
M Good point. How about the pictures? They’re my own personal shots.
F Again, they lend themselves well to the whole thing … they demonstrate your point.
Now listen again.

2  Oxford Test of English  B2 Test 1 audioscript  © Oxford University Press

 Question 5
A shop assistant is leaving a voicemail message for a customer. Which item is the shop unable to deliver to
the customer?
F Hello. This is a message for Mr Garcia … Carla here from the Electronics Warehouse to give you an update
on your order. There’s a bit of an issue with the keyboard, I’m afraid, as the wrong model was advertised
on our website. The CT 180 went out of production last year. I’ve got some suggestions for an alternative
though. Your 3D TV’s ready for dispatch and it’s marked for delivery, as requested, to the second address you
provided. The smartphone’s good to go too. Anyway, if you wouldn’t mind giving me a call on 0121 496 0534,
we can discuss further where to go from here. Many thanks.
Now listen again.
1.07

Listen to a holiday camp representative give a talk to some new guests. Choose the correct answer
(A, B, or C) for each gap (1–5). The first one has been done for you. You now have 30 seconds to look at the
task.
F Welcome to Sparky’s Holiday Camp everyone. I’m Kris and I want to give you some information about
our facilities before you start exploring. You’re booked in for a fortnight, so that gives you time to relax and
unwind. I’m here for a couple more days this week … and I’ll be making sure you feel at home.
Now, the resort’s fairly large, so I want to ensure you all know what to do in case of any problems. There are
information desks in all five zones and someone is always on duty at these. Each desk also has a plan of the
resort showing where you are in relation to the main building. As it’s the furthest away, the Brown Zone also
has an emergency mobile, so if there are any urgent queries you can contact reception for assistance. You
won’t be charged for using this.
You might have noticed our fantastic, new swimming pool. We’re almost ready to open – just a few things
left to do. We’re delighted with the high boards for all you daredevils out there and we’ve got state-of-the art
filters to keep the water sparkling. What we do need to do is make a final check on the walkways around the
pool to ensure they’re as safe as they can possibly be. We should be open by tomorrow afternoon.
For those of you interested in learning golf while you’re with us, we must apologize. We’d normally have
beginners’ lessons tomorrow, but they’ve had to be called off as our instructor’s away. Don’t worry, he’s fit and
well. He just had to take some time off as his daughter’s getting married this weekend. He’ll be back in time to
organize the golf tournament for our fifth anniversary celebrations next week, though.
Ah, what else? Well, I should mention our sailing courses. There’s been an update to the policy regarding the
age groups allowed to sign up for the lessons. We used to accept children accompanied by adults. For safety
reasons, it’s only the grown-ups who can get involved. Oh yes, and of course, 13–18-year-olds, too, I should add.
Finally, a quick word about our medical facilities. We’re fortunate to have a local doctor as part of our team.
Please be aware that he just comes in for an hour and a half each morning, so if you need to see him, you
should be up early to get to the front of the queue. When the doctor leaves, the nurse takes over and she’s on
call until late evening. Remember that our first aid team is available on a 24-hour basis and they’re trained to
deal with minor problems like cuts that need a bit of attention.
So, that should be enough information …
Now listen again.
1.08

Listen to a man and a woman talking about planning a school show. Match the people (woman, man or
both) to the opinions below. The first one has been done for you. You now have 30 seconds to look at the
task.
M Hi Maria, could we have a quick chat about the end-of-year show?
F Sure, Carlos. It’s that time of year, isn’t it? Time to start thinking about it all.
M To be honest with you, in terms of preparation we should be way beyond where we are now. It’ll be no
joke getting it all done by June.
F Well, we’re not afraid of a bit of hard work, so I’m sure we’ll be absolutely fine.
M Hmm … I admire your optimism!
F Anyway, I guess one of the first things we need to consider is how long we want this year’s show to be. I
remember quite a few parents commenting that last year’s show was a bit on the short side. That’s easy for
them to say, though, when they’re on that side of the stage!
M They’re hardly the ones going through all those hours of rehearsals!

3  Oxford Test of English  B2 Test 1 audioscript  © Oxford University Press

 F So, that’s that settled then. We’ll stick to the tried and tested timeframe. Should we introduce something
different to the line-up this year? Like, say, a comedy act? Some of the students would definitely volunteer for
that, I’m sure. And it’d be a guaranteed winner.
M Good idea. Obviously we’d need to keep a close eye on the material they’d do though. We wouldn’t want
to offend anyone. Hmm … on second thoughts, I think we’d better stay away from jokes. How about a dance
act?
F All those dance-themed reality TV shows have definitely inspired more people to take up dancing. And I
see that trend reflected here in school, too, so I’m on board with that.
M I’m hopeless at it! But it certainly seems to have a wide appeal – it could be a real crowd pleaser!
F Talking of pleasing people, I guess not all of the students will want to be the centre of attention. Last year
we set up a student organizational committee. Remember? It was a bit of a nuisance. Do you think we should
do that again this year?
M I wasn’t sure about the committee idea when we decided to try it out last year, even though I could see
the potential benefits of getting the students on board. I wasn’t convinced it’d work out. Happy to say I was
proved wrong, though.
F And what do you say about having a word with the art and music departments … you know, just to give
them a bit of advance warning that we’ve started the ball rolling, so to speak.
M We’ve got a big staff meeting coming up … it’s still a while off, but that might be the right time to talk
about it because everyone’ll be there then.
F That makes sense. It’s easier than doing it by email, and that can only be a good thing. Let’s face it, we’ve
got enough to be getting on with.
M And you and I can have another chat towards the end of next week.
F Sounds good.
Now listen again.
1.09

Listen and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).

Question 1: A husband and wife are talking about an art exhibition they have visited. What is the woman’s
opinion of the exhibition?
A She felt it was poorly organized.
B She found the paintings uninspiring.
C She regrets paying the admission fee.
M So, what did you make of the exhibition?
F Well, let’s just say I’m glad you had those vouchers to get us in without spending anything.
M Come on! It wasn’t all that bad, surely?
F Well, I suppose you couldn’t fault the venue or the layout and design …
M … erm, I’m not sure I follow then.
F I’m just saying if you’ve seen one piece of abstract art, you’ve seen them all really, haven’t you?
M Hmm, I’m not sure I agree with you there.
Now listen again.
Question 2: A man is leaving a voicemail message for his colleague. Why is he leaving the message?
A to inform his colleague that he is running late
B to let his colleague know that he is feeling unwell
C to complain to his colleague about how long a job is taking
M Hi Pavel, Marek here. Well, on the plus side I seem to be over the worst of that bug I’ve had for the last ten
days or so. I’m sure you must have thought I was never coming back! Actually, I’d been hoping to get in bright
and early, and then I remembered all that motorway maintenance work. It never ends, does it? I mean, this all
started months ago! Anyway, I’ll be there as soon as I possibly can. Just go ahead and start without me.
Now listen again.

4  Oxford Test of English  B2 Test 1 audioscript  © Oxford University Press

 Question 3: A husband and wife are discussing a history documentary. What is the topic of tonight’s
programme?
A animal shelters
B farming tools
C cooking methods
M Oh, I’m going to miss that history documentary tonight.
F That’s a shame. I think I read that in this episode they’re looking at all the equipment they used for
looking after crops.
M Huh? I’ve seen that one.
F Oh, you’re right! I must have been looking at last week’s TV guide! That’s the one we watched together!
M Yes, and they looked at how people used to try and protect their cattle from the severe winters too.
Remember? They said that in the next episode, they’d be taking a look at how people went about preparing
food, and I was really looking forward to that.
Now listen again.
Question 4: A woman is leaving a message for a member of a professional organization. The organization is
mainly concerned with:
A illustrating family trees.
B researching family history.
C organizing family parties.
F Hello, this is Nuran Demirel speaking. I’m hoping you can help me out. My brothers and I have been
drawing up our family tree and we’ve made decent progress in that we’ve been able to go back about 200
years. But now we’ve come to a complete standstill. We just can’t find any more information. That’s where I
see you coming in. We’ve got my parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary coming up, so ideally we’d love to be
able to present them with our full family history. Please call me on 020 7946 2318. Thanks.
Now listen again.
Question 5: A brother and sister are talking about the sister’s wedding. How does the woman feel about her
friend?
A frustrated that her friend has not been in touch with her
B irritated that there has been no offer of help from her friend
C disappointed that her friend is unable to attend the wedding
M You must be excited! Just ten more days until the big day!
F I am!
M Have you heard from Sophia?
F Yeah, she sent me a text yesterday saying she’s not back until the end of next month. I do think she
could’ve made a bit more of an effort. I mean we’ve known each other since primary school! She’s given me
some great advice on planning the evening events, but it’s not the same.
M Well, just let me know if I can help out.
F Thanks. I might take you up on that.
M Sure.
Now listen again.

5  Oxford Test of English  B2 Test 1 audioscript  © Oxford University Press