Listening
Part 2
B2 First Exam
Introduction - Listening Part 2
Part 2 of the B2 First Listening paper is usually a monologue (that is: one person talking) and it lasts about 3 to 4 minutes.
You'll get 10 sentences which you'll need to complete using the information that you hear (usually a word or a short phrase)
You will have 45 seconds to read the text before the recording starts.
What happens
You will hear an introduction about what the task is about. This is written on the exam paper as well.
Then you will have 45 seconds to look at the questions.
The recording will start after that.
The recording will be repeated with little time between both recordings.
Before Listening
You will have 45 seconds to read the text before the audio begins
Use this time to underline any keywords
Think about what kind of word is needed to fill the space (a noun, a title, a date, a phrase, etc).
While listening
Answers quickly come one after another so don't waste time thinking about what you've written down
Sometimes you'll hear pieces of the question repeated in the recording, so use this to help you out
You must only use words that you hear in the audio. You cannot change them in any way.
Write the answer in the gap.
The answer will be maximum 3 words long.
Check your grammar and spelling.
Tips
Your answers must be words taken from the audio. You cannot paraphrase or use synonyms. You cannot change them in any way (i.e. if the answer heard in the audio is "mountain" you cannot write "mountains").
The phrase will never be more than 3 words long.
If your answers are not grammatically correct, it's possible you've chosen the wrong word, or you didn't hear the correct form of the word.
You can write numbers. For example, if you hear "two hundred" you can write 200. 1 number = 1 word.
You'll hear the answer for question 2 before you hear the answer for question 3. They always are in order.
Answers may sometimes be paraphrased, so listen for synonyms (that is, what you hear may be different from what you read on your paper). However, you still must answer using a phrase or word taken directly from the audio.
Small spelling errors are OK on the B2 First exam as long as your intention is clear. You should still get a point if it's obvious that you heard and understood the word(s). To be 100% sure that you get full points, spell the word(s) correctly.