Part 1
Question 1
One. You overhear two people talking in a restaurant. Where has the woman just come from?
Woman: I felt so sorry for her, she just couldn't cope. She had the baby under one arm and a list in the other. And he was screaming, all red in the face. She must have only just come out of hospital, he was so tiny.
Man: So you offered to help.
Woman: Well, I wanted to get through the check-out and pay for my things quickly, otherwise I knew I'd be late getting here, but…
Man: Well, I've only been here half an hour.
Woman: Oh, I'm sorry, there was such a queue. And then I forgot, it's the big football game today and the roads were just packed…
Question 2
Two. You hear a man talking about a mobile phone he has bought. What most attracted him to this phone?
I've never wanted to walk around with an enormous mobile, you know, fixed to my belt or whatever, because that's socially embarrassing, isn't it? So I was really taken with the Edmundsen GP 876 model which you can just slip in your inside pocket and no one's the wiser, if you know what I mean. And it says in the blurb 'satisfaction guaranteed - should your mobile develop a fault in the first year, we will replace it the next day'. Well, to be honest, it wasn't exactly what you call cheap, so I'm rather hoping that I don't need to find out just how good that particular promise is.
Question 3
Three. You hear a man talking on the phone about buying a house. What is the purpose of his call?
Hello, it's Mr Brown here. I got your message. Yes, I was really sorry to hear the house I wanted had just been sold… Yes… I missed the chance to buy the house of my dreams. Yes, I know it wasn't your fault. I should have contacted you earlier… Yes… That's why I'm now eager to hear of any houses that come on the market. As you know, what I want is a house which combines a kitchen and breakfast room with lots of space for living, eating and cooking… Yes, I'm tired of small places where you can hardly move.
Question 4
Four. You hear a teenage girl talking about her hobby. What is she talking about?
I got it as a present from my father when I was fourteen. My family thought it would be a phase, that I'd go off the idea. Mum doesn't believe there'll be any money in it, but Dad is quite interested because, apart from football, it's the only thing I can talk to him about at the moment. If you're not going to make the effort to practise on it, no way is anyone going to be interested in you. I think one of the reasons you see so few girls playing in bands is that they tend not to be willing to do all that work.
Question 5
Five. On the news, you hear a story about a cat. Where was the cat found?
A cat with a mind of its own joined the eleven fifty-five train from King's Lynn yesterday. A passenger spotted the cat, thought to have boarded at Littleport, and handed it to a member of the platform staff once the train got to Ely station. The friendly cat was put in a box and returned to Littleport. Eventually, its owner, Jack Prince, from Littleport, was reunited with his cat. It is thought that the cat must have crossed the lines at Littleport and waited on the platform, together with a dozen passengers who didn't notice it at all.
Question 6
Six. You hear a woman talking about how she gets ideas for her work. Who is the woman?
I work with my husband, Bob, and every time we have a holiday somewhere, we seem to come up with an idea. And touring round the USA last year, he'd written the words for this children's ghost story. But I had no idea how to… to get the atmosphere in the pictures, which is my role in the partnership. And then we went to Las Vegas and all that amazing architecture, lit up at night under the desert sky, was er… was dreamlike. I mean, despite all the films, nothing prepares you for what it actually feels like to be there. I just sat down and started sketching out ideas on the spot.
Question 7
Seven. You hear two people talking. How does the woman feel?
Woman: There they are! At last. I've been looking for them everywhere.
Man: What? Your keys? You're always losing them.
Woman: I know, and I really thought I'd lost them for good this time. Thank goodness!
Man: Why don't you make sure you put them down in the same place, then you'd have the satisfaction of finding them whenever you wanted them.
Woman: Maybe. That's not a bad idea. I'll think about it.
Question 8
Eight. You turn on the radio and hear a man speaking. What are you listening to?
Discover the amazing secrets of the planet Earth in three major recently launched exhibitions: 'From the Beginning', 'Earth's Treasury' and 'Earth Today and Tomorrow', which form the finest series of exhibitions of their kind in the world. Together they tell Earth's dramatic story, starting with the birth of the universe, exploring the forces that shape it and the riches within it, concluding with a glimpse into the future and what it might hold for our planet.