Final Preparation - Aptis Listening Exam

Creating Opportunity Worldwide Pro-ELT Teacher Training Materials

Level: B1 to B2

Aptis Listening Exam – Final Preparation 1 - Refresh your memory Aptis Listening Exam Quiz Discuss whether the following statements are true or false: 1) There are 25 recordings and questions in total. 2) There is one mark for each correct answer. 3) You can listen to each recording only once. 4) You must complete all 25 questions in 50 minutes. 5) You cannot go back to an earlier question once you have moved on. 6) The ‘easy’ questions all come at the beginning and the ‘difficult’ ones at the end. The answers are at the end of this booklet.

2 - The Aptis Listening Exam Website Here is a screenshot from the exam you are about to do. Look at it carefully and answer the following questions: 1) Which question is this candidate on? 2) Which question has this candidate not answered yet? 3) How does the candidate listen to the recording? 4) How does the candidate move forward to the next recording? 5) How can the candidate move forward to recording 20? The answers are at the end of this booklet.

Notice also that some ‘questions’ are not questions! They are sentence completions.

Contributed by: Jason Anderson © The British Council, 2013 The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities. British Council Malaysia is a branch (995232-A) of the British Council, registered as a charity in England and Wales (209131) and Scotland (SC037733)


Level: B1 to B2

3 - Practice Predicting the Answer Look at the following question. Do you think the man is going to state his mode of transport?

The answer is, no! This question is a typical B2/C1 question (the most difficult type). He will give you vocabulary clues to help you, but he won’t tell you the answer directly. You have to infer it! When you meet a question like this in the exam, before you press play, take a few minutes to predict related vocabulary. This will help you to hear key words if they come up in the answer. In pairs, complete the 4 columns below with vocabulary related to the four modes of transport. Write 3 more vocabulary items in each column: by car motorway traffic jam

by plane flight pilot

by coach (coach) station driver

by train (train) station line

You will meet this question when you do the practice exam.

4 - Do the Aptis Website Practice Listening Exam Now go to the Aptis Listening exam and do it individually. You’ll need headphones (or a quiet corner of the room). Remember it’ll take you about 60 minutes, but take your time – you have as much time as you want! Here’s the website address: http://www.britishcouncil.org/aptis-practice-tests/AptisListeningPractice/ When you’ve completed it, the website will give you a mark. Write it here: _____________%



Level: B1 to B2

5 - The Answers Here are all the questions with the correct answers, a comment on how easy the question was and selected notes on the answers. Read through them and circle the answer you chose. (Don’t worry if you can’t remember.): 1. Listen to the message. Where is Amanda’s bag? A On the table. B In the window. C Under the table. D Near the table. C (easy) 2. Listen to the message from Simon. Where should Ben get off the train? A Dandenong B the university C Huntingdale D North Road C (easy) 3. Listen to the message. What is Matilda’s room number? A 427 B 472 C 274 D 247 A (easy) 4. Listen to Sandy and Brad. What does Brad decide to do? Brad decides to A ride his bike. B go for a walk. C eat something. D do his homework. D (easy) 5. Listen to the arrangements for an office visit. What is the most important part of the visit? The most important part of the visit is A making a good impression. B the welcome dinner on Tuesday. C sight-seeing around the city. D the factory visit on Wednesday. D (easy) 6. Who or what is the woman describing? A Angelina Jolie B A film she saw C A great actress D A cinema B (tricky) It’s confusing as she does begin by describing Angelina Jolie as part of her description of the film. 7. Listen to the airport announcement. Which gate should you go to if you’re travelling to Odessa, Ukraine? A 11 B 17 C 12 D 9 C (fairly easy) Very long and she does mention two places called Odessa, one is Odessa Texas, not in Ukraine! 8. Listen to this message from a friend. Find out the best place to park your car. Your friend says the best place to park is A in the car park next to the cinema. B in the supermarket car park. C outside the restaurant. D at the underground station. A (tricky) There are several ‘red herrings’ here, but the answer is clear if you follow the clues: 9. Listen to part of the radio programme. What makes the man angry? A dropping litter B pollution from factories C not enough recycling D too many cars on the roads A (tricky) He mentions all as problems. The clue is when he says: “I suppose the thing that makes me really mad is when I see people dropping rubbish on the streets. It would be so easy for them to use litter bins instead.”

10. Two students are discussing their studies. What does the man think of their new teacher? A He doesn’t like her. B He’s generally unfavourable. C He likes her. D He’s generally favourable. D (very difficult) See ‘Analysis’ below. 11. Listen to the message. How many cups of water are needed? A 2 B 4 C 1 D 5 C (fairly easy) ”You’ll need two cups of milk and half that amount of water.” 12. Listen to the message. What time does Sally’s train get in? A 4.00pm B 4.13pm C 4.15pm D 4.30pm D (easy) 13. A guest is talking to a hotel worker. Where is the small coffee shop? A On the second floor. B Next to Business Centre One. C Opposite the shop. D Across the road from the hotel. B (tricky) This one is confusing because she’s explaining where the business centre is, but we need to understand the location of the coffee shop. The answer is given fairly clearly: “Keep going to a small coffee shop. On the right of it you should see a sign that says Business Centre One.” 14. Listen to the message. Why must the two friends meet one hour before the game starts? A They must find the ground. B There will be lots of people. C Peter was late the last time. D They must buy their tickets. B (tricky) “…I think we should meet one hour before the kick off so we can be sure to get to our seats in time. This is a big match and they’re expecting a crowd of at least 50,000. Try not to be late this time, we don’t want to miss the first goal again…” 15. Listen and find out what can you see in the Great Hall of a museum. (sic.) In the Great Hall you can see A the soldiers’ weapons. B the king’s crown. C the king’s uniform. D the princesses’ jewellery. D (tricky) See ‘Analysis’ below. 16. Listen to the announcement about the boat to Green Mountain. The Boat to Green Mountain A leaves at 7am. B leaves at 9am. C doesn’t sail today. D leaves in the evening. D (fairly easy) 17. You hear an architect talking about her latest project. Listen and decide what she is designing. The architect is designing A a retirement home. B a medical institution. C a holiday resort. D a military centre. B (difficult) See ‘Analysis’ below.


Creating Opportunity Worldwide Pro-ELT Teacher Training Materials 18. Listen to the message. When does Peter want to meet Janet? A Friday B Tuesday C Wednesday D Thursday C (easy) 19. Two colleagues are talking together. Who is Mary describing? A Their new boss B Kate Winslet C An actress D Jane A (fairly easy) 20. Listen to Jennifer talking about her plans for this weekend and decide what she’s going to do on Sunday. On Sunday Jennifer is A going for a long swim.B meeting Sally for lunch. C going dancing with Greg. D meeting Sara for a coffee. D (fairly easy) 21. Listen to a woman talking about running. How far does she usually run? A 7 miles B 5 miles C 3 miles D 4 miles B (easy) 22. Listen to two friends talking. What does Jane suggest doing? Jane suggests

Level: B1 to B2 A going for a swim. going to the library. D (fairly easy)

B walking around the park. C D going to see a film.

23. Listen to a man talking about a difficult journey. how was he travelling? A by car B by plane C by coach D by train D (tricky) The speaker doesn’t mention the answer. We have to guess from the vocabulary he uses, but there are several clear clues. 24. What are the friends discussing? The friends are discussing A what was in the news.B financial redundancies C employment opportunities D a new local project A (difficult) See ‘Analysis’ below. 25. Listen to Alan and Jodie talking about travel. What does Alan think of travelling? Alan thinks travelling is A luxurious. B a lot of fun. C very difficult. D better than staying at home. C (tricky) All the words in all 4 answers are mentioned, but there are several clues to the right answer.

6 - Analysis of 4 Difficult Answers Here are 4 of the more challenging questions and the tapescript of the listening. Read the tapescript carefully and underline any information that indicates the answer: Question 10 Two students are discussing their studies. What does the man think of their new teacher? A He doesn’t like her. B He’s generally unfavourable. C He likes her. D He’s generally favourable. The answer is D. This one is challenging even for native speakers, due to apparently conflicting information. But D is definitely the best answer: M: “She’s really good at explaining things but she sets so much homework after every class. There’s no way I’ll have time to do what she’s given us by Monday.” W: “Yeah, but you knew that this course would be difficult when you signed up for it.” M: “Of course but not this hard. I’m thinking of dropping it. Really it’s the subject matter that I object to.” W: “Why don’t you talk to her and see if she can offer any advice?” M: “It’s a good idea. She’s really easy to talk to even though I’m scared of how intelligent she is.” Question 15 Listen and find out what can you see in the Great Hall of a museum. (sic.) In the Great Hall you can see A the soldiers’ weapons. B the king’s crown. C the king’s uniform.

D the princesses’ jewellery.

The answer is D. Although it’s clearly stated, notice how the answer is hidden at the end of a long sentence and a red herring is added afterwards: “…including the uniform he wore in the great war of 1430. You can also see some of the weapons his soldiers used. They are on display in the Oak Room, which is at the end of the Great Hall, where we have a display of some of the jewellery he gave to the princesses. His crown, which is usually on display in the Great Hall has been removed for cleaning…”



Level: B1 to B2

Question 17 You hear an architect talking about her latest project. Listen and decide what she is designing. The architect is designing A a retirement home. B a medical institution. C a holiday resort. D a military centre. The answer is B. She never gives the name of the place, but vocabulary clues infer the best answer: “Well my new project is quite a tricky one, not only because the building needs to be functional as well as visually pleasing, but also because a diverse range of people will be using it every day. And to add to the challenge I need to take unusual needs into consideration. For example: How will injured or disabled people move around the building? How do we stop the transmission of disease from one section to the other? But at the core of it all for me anyway is the main purpose of the place – rest and recovery. And for that I will be designing a building that offers tranquillity, comfort and healing to everyone who enters.” Question 24 What are the friends discussing? The friends are discussing A what was in the news. B financial redundancies C employment opportunities

D a new local project

The answer is A. The friends mention D, C and B, meaning they can only be describing the news. Only an understanding of the full conversation content can reveal the right answer: M: “Did you watch television earlier on this evening?” F: “No. Why do you ask?” M: “In the news they said there’s some sort of new project down the road from here. It looks like thousands of jobs could be created.” F: “Are they opening a new factory or what?” M: “Well they haven’t announced the full details yet, but it seems as though a big foreign company is launching a joint venture with a local firm.” F: “Wow! That’s good news for people around here.” M: “That’s right. Another thing they reported was that the national unemployment rate has gone up by 5% compared to this time last year.” F: “Yeah, a lot of jobs have been lost this year in the financial services industry…”

7 - Further Self-study Ideas It can be difficult finding appropriate materials to practise for the Aptis Listening exam. Here are two different exam tasks that will help you to improve your listening skills before you take Aptis: 1) PET (Preliminary English Test) Listening Part 2 This is an easier exam (about B1 level). Part 2 is a long conversation or announcement with 6 multiple choice questions. Here are two to try: http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part2.htm http://englishaula.com/en/pet-listening-part-2-exam-3-cambridge-preliminary-english-test-practice-tests-exercise.html

Alternatively, Google the following and you’ll find the websites above and many more!

2) FCE (First Certificate in English) Listening Part 1 This is a more challenging exam (about B2 level). Part 1 has 8 multiple choice questions, each with its own question. This is the most similar task to Aptis listening available in other exams. Here are two to try: http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening_part1.htm http://englishaula.com/en/listening-part-1-exercise-exam-1-fce-cambridge-first-certificate-english.html

Alternatively, Google the following and you’ll find the websites above and many more! Between now and the exam, we recommend you do 3 online multiple choice exams. Contributed by: Jason Anderson © The British Council, 2013 The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities. British Council Malaysia is a branch (995232-A) of the British Council, registered as a charity in England and Wales (209131) and Scotland (SC037733)


Level: B1 to B2

Answers to the Aptis Listening Exam Quiz 1) 2) 3) 4)

There are 25 recordings and questions in total. There is one mark for each correct answer. You can listen to each recording only once. You must complete all 25 questions in 50 minutes.

5)

You cannot go back to an earlier question once you have moved on.

6)

The ‘easy’ questions all come at the beginning and the ‘difficult’ ones at the end.

True True False. You can listen twice. False. The total time for all the recordings is 25 minutes. If you listen twice (which you always should), this makes 50 minutes. But there is no clock timing you in the listening exam, so you can take as long as you want to read the questions and think about your answers. False. You can go back, but once you have pressed the listening button for a question twice, it will not work again. You can change your answers at any point until you submit your exam. False. While the exam often begins with an easy question, and there are often more of the difficult questions towards the end, they are mixed up, so be ready for a difficult question at any point.

Answers to the Aptis Listening Exam Website Questions 1) 2) 3) 4)

5)

Which question is this candidate on? Which question has this candidate not answered yet? How does the candidate listen to the recording? How does the candidate move forward to the next recording? How can the candidate move forward to recording 20?

Question 8 Question 6. That’s why it’s red. By pressing the red ‘Play’ button. By pressing the ‘Next’ button. By pressing on the red number ‘20’ button in the left hand column.



Level: B1 to B2

Trainer Supplement - Complete Online Listening Exam This is a copy of the exam online at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/aptis-practice-tests/AptisListeningPractice/ It can be used instead of the online exam if teachers cannot access the online exam. The recordings can be found on the shared drive in the folder: Aptis > Final Preparation > Listening Recordings – Aptis Online Practice Exam.

Aptis Online Listening Practice Test 1. Listen to the message. Where is Amanda’s bag? A On the table. B In the window. C Under the table. D Near the table. 2. Listen to the message from Simon. Where should Ben get off the train? A Dandenong B the university C Huntingdale D North Road 3. Listen to the message. What is Matilda’s room number? A 427 B 472 C 274 D 247 4. Listen to Sandy and Brad. What does Brad decide to do? Brad decides to A ride his bike. B go for a walk. C eat something. D do his homework. 5. Listen to the arrangements for an office visit. What is the most important part of the visit? The most important part of the visit is A making a good impression. B the welcome dinner on Tuesday. C sight-seeing around the city. D the factory visit on Wednesday. 6. Who or what is the woman describing? A Angelina Jolie B A film she saw C A great actress D A cinema 7. Listen to the airport announcement. Which gate should you go to if you’re travelling to Odessa, Ukraine? A 11 B 17 C 12 D 9

8. Listen to this message from a friend. Find out the best place to park your car. Your friend says the best place to park is A in the car park next to the cinema. B in the supermarket car park. C outside the restaurant. D at the underground station. 9. Listen to part of the radio programme. What makes the man angry? A dropping litter B pollution from factories C not enough recycling D too many cars on the roads 10. Two students are discussing their studies. What does the man think of their new teacher? A He doesn’t like her. B He’s generally unfavourable. C He likes her. D He’s generally favourable. 11. Listen to the message. How many cups of water are needed? A 2 B 4 C 1 D 5 12. Listen to the message. What time does Sally’s train get in? A 4.00pm B 4.13pm C 4.15pm D 4.30pm 13. A guest is talking to a hotel worker. Where is the small coffee shop? A On the second floor. B Next to Business Centre One. C Opposite the shop. D Across the road from the hotel.


Creating Opportunity Worldwide Pro-ELT Teacher Training Materials 14. Listen to the message. Why must the two friends meet one hour before the game starts? A They must find the ground. B There will be lots of people. C Peter was late the last time. D They must buy their tickets. 15. Listen and find out what can you see in the Great Hall of a museum. In the Great Hall you can see A the soldiers’ weapons. B the king’s crown. C the king’s uniform. D the princesses’ jewellery. 16. Listen to the announcement about the boat to Green Mountain. The Boat to Green Mountain A leaves at 7am. B leaves at 9am. C doesn’t sail today. D leaves in the evening. 17. You hear an architect talking about her latest project. Listen and decide what she is designing. The architect is designing A a retirement home. B a medical institution. C a holiday resort. D a military centre. 18. Listen to the message. When does Peter want to meet Janet? A Friday B Tuesday C Wednesday D Thursday 19. Two colleagues are talking together. Who is Mary describing? A Their new boss B Kate Winslet C An actress D Jane

Level: B1 to B2 20. Listen to Jennifer talking about her plans for this weekend and decide what she’s going to do on Sunday. On Sunday Jennifer is A going for a long swim. B meeting Sally for lunch. C going dancing with Greg. D meeting Sara for a coffee. 21. Listen to a woman talking about running. How far does she usually run? A 7 miles B 5 miles C 3 miles D 4 miles 22. Listen to two friends talking. What does Jane suggest doing? Jane suggests A going for a swim. B walking around the park. C going to the library. D going to see a film. 23. Listen to a man talking about a difficult journey. how was he travelling? A by car B by plane C by coach D by train 24. What are the friends discussing? The friends are discussing A what was in the news. B financial redundancies C employment opportunities D a new local project 25. Listen to Alan and Jodie talking about travel. What does Alan think of travelling? Alan thinks travelling is A luxurious. B a lot of fun. C very difficult. D better than staying at home.


Final Preparation - Aptis Listening Exam

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