CAE (Advanced Exam) Listening Test 1

Part 4
21 B  22 F  23 H  24 E  25 A

26 B 27 C  28 G  29 F  30 D

Part 4 consists of two tasks. You’ll hear five short extracts in which people are talking about how
they gave up office jobs to do other types of work.
Look at task 1. For questions 21–25, choose from the list A–H what made each speaker decide to
give up office work. Now look at task 2. For questions 26–30, choose from the list A–H what each
speaker likes best about their present job.
While you listen you must complete both tasks. In the exam, you have 45 seconds to look at Part 4.

Speaker one
I just drifted into office work – having no particular qualifications to speak of. I didn’t mind that it was
nine-to-five or that we were always chasing impossible deadlines. I mean, that’s what kept the
people in our section on our toes. No, the thing I couldn’t stand was all the sitting about in front of a
screen. Even though I went to the gym at lunchtime, I still never really felt fit. Gardening’s certainly
put that right. I’m outside in all weathers, but I love it, and although the money’s nothing to write
home about, I really feel that people who employ me are grateful – that’s worth a lot to me.

Speaker two
The trouble with our office wasn’t so much the lack of space; I could put up with that – it was the
sort of people you had to work with. I mean, sitting in front of a screen for six hours at a stretch, you
needed a bit of light relief, but nobody there could see the funny side of my anecdotes I’m afraid.
I’m much happier in hairdressing. I chat all day, and you never know who’s going to come in next.
My boss is a real laugh and I feel that I’m really expressing my creativity when I suggest a new style
to a client – even if it doesn’t always work out as I intended.

Speaker three
People think I went into nursing because I wanted a more caring job, but that wasn’t the real
reason. Sure, it’s nice helping people, but we used to do that in our office too. No, it was having to
do everything by yesterday that got me down. We were always in a rush because the bosses
couldn’t get the scheduling right. Although the hours are a bit irregular, I’m actually a bit better off
as a nurse, so it’s a real win-win situation for me, because I had been expecting a cut in my
standard of living. I’m calmer and feel more in control of my life and, in a year’s time, I’ll be fully
qualified.

Speaker four
I went into office work because I had good IT skills. I thought it was a good career move. It never
occurred to me that I’d find it stressful just being there. I mean the hours weren’t that long but we
were all packed into this really small area. It was quite well-paid, but it just wasn’t worth it. As a
window dresser for a big store I know that what I do will be seen by lots of people and could have a
big impact – that makes me determined to do it as well as I can. I love that feeling. And there’s no
grumpy boss breathing down my neck all the time either!

Speaker five
I thought I’d get promotion eventually and that’d help me re-engage with the job. But when I did, it
made no difference. I couldn’t care less whether we met our deadlines or not – much to my
colleagues’ disgust. I just did my hours and looked forward to going home. I’d no commitment to it
anymore. Plumbing’s such a contrast. It’s a small company but they’re paying for my training and
that makes up for the drop in salary. What thrills me is that people look up to you when you say
you’re a plumber, even if I’m not fully qualified yet. It means you can do things they can’t. I never
felt that as an office worker.