On Screen C1 WB p 10. Special Relationships. Listening

 Say if the following statements are true or false

1. The two men hit it off straightaway.

2. Charlie is a seasoned traveller.

3. The speaker was second to none at the short story competition.

4. It was the speaker's first foray into learning Spanish.

5. Had the speaker not struck up a conversation with his dad's friend, he wouldn't have been offered a job.

 

KEY

 

 

1 T (we had similar ideas about what we wanted for our respective spaces. We ended up
helping each other at the weekends.)

 

 

2. T (He’s been all over the world and he’s given me loads of advice on where I should go for my gap year, what I’ll find and how I can fund my travels.)

 

 

3. T (I won the competition)

 

 

4. F (I’d been to Spain a few times before I went on the exchange and I’d been trying to learn the language for a while)

 

 

5. T (I was having some trouble in the job hunting department so I spoke to him one evening when he was at our house,...He’s also introduced me to a lot of other people with the same interest and one of them has just offered me a job!)

Script

Speaker 1
I first met Richard while I was at the garden centre. We were both renovating our gardens  and we had similar ideas about what we wanted for our respective spaces. We ended up helping each other at the weekends. It was a lot of hard work, but we really couldn’t have done it without each other. He taught me a lot about construction and I helped him out with choosing which plants and trees would work well with his space and soil. Our talents complemented each other’s and we worked so well together that we decided to start a landscape gardening company. I never guessed when we were working on our little gardens it would lead to a new career.
Speaker 2
My friends and I were doing some voluntary work in a care home as part of a school project. We did some chores around the place, in the house and the garden, and we spent time with the residents. That’s how I met Charlie. He doesn’t have any family of his own and he had no other visitors so after I finished volunteering I continued going to see him. He has led such an interesting life and has so many great stories to tell. He’s been all over the world and he’s given me loads of advice on where I should go for my gap year, what I’ll find and how I can fund my travels. Now I know so much more about the amazing places I’m going to visit.
Speaker 3
I love writing stories so my teacher encouraged me to enter a short story competition. I thought I would give it a go. All my family love reading my stories and my grandparents have even shown them to people in their neighbourhood. Would you believe it, I won the competition and on top of that the prize was presented by Philip Coleman, one of my favourite local authors. We got to talk at the award ceremony and he had lots of great tips to offer me. We kept in touch and he’s become a kind of mentor to me, giving me guidance and feedback. He’s even helped me get my work published, which isn’t easy in such a cutthroat business.
Speaker 4
I went to Spain a couple of years ago on an exchange programme and stayed with Carla and her family. She and I have a lot in common. We’re the same age and she also has an older brother. I’d been to Spain a few times before I went on the exchange and I’d been trying to learn the language for a while but I’d never quite mastered it. Carla helped me a lot with that and we’ve kept in touch over email and Skype and have been writing to each other ever since, which has improved my Spanish immensely. She’s even been over to meet my family and they loved her, too, so they have no problems with us planning to go around Europe on our gap year together.

Speaker 5
My dad’s best friend is a guidance counsellor, you know, the teacher at school who gives you career advice. Well, when I was sitting my finals at university I was having some trouble in the job hunting department so I spoke to him one evening when he was at our house, but we ended up talking about a whole host of different topics and never even got to the subject. While we were talking, I discovered that we shared a love of bird watching. Since then, we’ve seen some extremely rare species. He’s also introduced me to a lot of other people with the same interest and one of them has just offered me a job!