FCE Listening Test 5 Part 3 |
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Part 3 You will hear five different writers talking about their first novels. For questions 19-23, choose from the list (A - F) what each writer says. Use the letters only once. There is one extra letter which you do not need to use. |
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A I learnt some of the skills of novel writing in a previous job. B My earlier style of writing was not suitable for a novel. C I was determined to write a novel that was true to life. D I believe I should've been paid more to write this novel. E This novel benefited from a course of study I attended. F Being asked to write a novel came as a complete surprise to me. |
19 Speaker 1 ______ 20 Speaker 2 ______ 21 Speaker 3 ______ 22 Speaker 4 ______ 23 Speaker 5 ______ |
Test 5 Part 3
19. E
20. B
21. F
22. C
23. A
You will hear five different writers talking about their first novels. For questions 19-23, choose from the list (A-F) what each writer says. Use the letters only once. There is one extra letter which you do not need to use.
Speaker 1
I'd never done any writing before, though I was a keen reader. This novel was inspired by my own childhood experiences - I got to meet a lot of people as a child because my parents owned a large, successful restaurant. I don't think I could've written it if I hadn't decided to take a degree in creative writing a few years ago, though. It was a way of being serious about writing and it gave me a lot of confidence. I began work on the novel halfway through the second year, and completed it after graduating. It was very, very hard work, but it's all really been worthwhile.
Speaker 2
I'm only twenty-two years old, and I've been writing since I was thirteen - mainly short stories which were published in teen magazines. When I started writing a novel I realised the way I'd written so far wasn't so good really, not for real fiction. So I knew I had to look at my favourite writers - you learn a lot by seeing how they do what they do. I knew very well what I wanted to write about, though. I get bored with books where everyone is a bit like someone you know. I wanted to write about people who only exist in fiction. That's what readers find attractive.
Speaker 3
My novel began life as a blog on my website. Within a week of starting it, I'd been offered a book deal by a publisher. I remember sitting and looking at this offer on my computer screen. The sum was several times bigger than my annual librarian's salary and I thought there must've been some mistake. The novel is a fictional version of my blog, and it centres on a university librarian, his partner and their sons. Writing it wasn't particularly hard because basically I was being asked to keep to the same style. And I'm now adapting it for the screen. I'd always wanted a job that I could really enjoy.
Speaker 4
I used to watch a lot of TV, and I admit that the inspiration for my novel came from the dramas I watched, or rather from my disappointment at how unrealistic and far-fetched they were. It was very rarely that any of them attempted to get under the skin of the characters. So that's what I aimed to do - tell it like it was. It wasn't easy, and when people say how wonderful it must be to be recognised in the street and to be asked to sign autographs, I tell them about the long hours in front of the computer, and about forgetting what it means to have a free weekend.
Speaker 5
I used to be a journalist on a national paper and I began work on my novel in 2001. It's a historical novel and I spent months researching the history of the period - it's set in India in the 1920s. I then spent two years writing it. Journalism wasn't a bad place to acquire useful skills. It taught me to be clear and edit myself, not to write too much. My parents couldn't believe it when they heard my name on the news. I hadn't told them anything because they never Thought very highly of anything I'd written previously, and I didn't want to start having any doubts myself.