CELPIP Listening practice test

Marco: Hi. I dropped my phone off here on Monday for a new screen. The slip says it'd be ready today by noon, so I've come to pick it up.

Fatima: Sure, let me check. Do you have the slip? Okay, I see it here. Oh, I'm sorry. It hasn't been done yet.

Marco: Really? Did something go wrong?

Fatima: Well, the screen we ordered came in on Tuesday, but it was for a slightly different model. The technician tried it, and it just doesn't fit.

Marco: Oh, no. So what happens now? I really need it back. My manager sends my shifts through an app on that phone.

Fatima: I understand. We've already reordered the right one. The supplier says it ships tomorrow, so it should be here early next week.

Marco: Early next week. Hmm. That's a long time to wait.

Fatima: I know, and I'm really sorry. Let me see what I can offer you.

Elif: Okay, so the committee has two hundred dollars for the patio garden this spring. Where do we start?

Rohan: Honestly, I'd love a bench. People keep saying there's nowhere to sit out there.

Elif: I know, and there's room by the fence. The manager said it's fine, too. But the one I looked at is a hundred and forty dollars.

Rohan: Ouch. That's most of our money.

Elif: Right. Maybe next year. What I really want is a rain barrel. They're eighty-five dollars.

Rohan: Isn't water included in the rent? It won't save us anything.

Elif: It's not about the bill. The only tap is at the far end, and the hose won't reach the beds.

Rohan: Oh, I didn't think of that. Okay, a barrel makes sense.

Elif: Last summer I carried watering cans back and forth for half an hour every evening.

Rohan: Yikes. What about soil?

Elif: Seventy dollars fills all four beds. So that's a hundred and fifty-five, and we've got forty-five left for seeds and gloves.

Rohan: Can they deliver the soil?

Elif: For fifteen dollars extra. We can't spare that.

Rohan: No problem. I'll pick it up on Friday after work. My cousin lends me his van.

Elif: You're a star. Those bags are heavy. And we need shovels, but the manager has some in the storage room.

Rohan: Good, so we only bring gloves. So, when's the work day? Sunday morning?

Elif: The forecast says rain all day Sunday. What about Saturday?

Rohan: Saturday afternoon I've got my niece's recital. But the morning's fine.

Elif: Perfect. Saturday at nine, then.

Rohan: I'll believe it when I see people show up, though. Last spring we only had four, and two of them were from my family.

Elif: I know. This time I'll make a big sign for the lobby, and I'll put it up tonight on my way home.

Rohan: Good idea. Add that there's free coffee.

Elif: Ha, I'll bring a thermos. And the barrel I'll pick up Thursday.

Rohan: Great. Then we're set.

James: Hi, have you got a minute? The front desk said you could help me put together a fitness plan.

Monique: Sure, I've got about fifteen minutes before my next class. What are you hoping to do?

James: Well, I signed up last month, but I've mostly been on the treadmill. I'd like to get stronger, especially for carrying stuff at work. I move boxes in a warehouse.

Monique: That makes sense. How many days a week can you realistically come in?

James: Probably three. My shifts change, though, so some weeks it might only be two.

Monique: Okay, then I'd suggest a full-body routine instead of splitting it into arm days and leg days. That way, if you miss a session, you haven't skipped a whole muscle group for the week.

James: Oh, I hadn't thought of that. What would a session look like?

Monique: You'd start with about ten minutes on the rowing machine to warm up. Then four or five exercises, like squats, rows, and carrying a pair of weights across the room. That last one is great for your job, because it's basically what you do with boxes, just more controlled.

James: How heavy should I go?

Monique: Pick a weight you can lift ten times with good form, where the last two feel hard. Don't worry about the number on the plate. If you can do twelve easily, go up a little the next week.

James: And the treadmill? Should I drop it?

Monique: No, keep it, but move it to the end. If you run first, you'll be tired for the lifting.

James: Got it. Do you offer sessions to check my form?

Monique: Members get one free session with a trainer. After that it's forty dollars an hour, or you can buy a pack of five for one hundred and seventy-five. Most people just book the free one, then come back after six weeks for a check.

James: Six weeks?

Monique: That's usually when people are ready for a change. By then the routine feels easy, so we adjust it.

James: Great. Can I book the free one now?

Monique: The sign-up sheet's at the front desk. Mornings fill up fast, so try for a Tuesday or Thursday evening.

Reporter: A regional health authority has begun using drones to carry prescription medicine to three remote communities that have no year-round road. The first flight took place on Monday morning and covered forty kilometres in about twenty-five minutes. Until now, the same trip relied on a weekly boat in summer and an ice road in winter, and deliveries were often held up for days by weather. Each drone can carry up to five kilograms and lands on a marked pad beside the community's nursing station. Project manager Adrian Lindqvist said the authority chose medicine first because small packages were needed most urgently. He said the drones will fly twice a week to start, and more often if demand is high. Daniela Fortin, a nurse at one of the stations, said patients had already asked when the next flight would arrive. Yusuf Haddad, who runs the general store in one community, said he hopes the program will later include groceries. The authority plans to add two more communities in the spring, once pilots have finished training.

Laura: Okay, Javier, Owen, thanks for staying after practice. We need four hundred fifty dollars for the tournament entry fee by the end of the month. Who has an idea?

Javier: Thanks for waiting, Laura. I vote for a pancake breakfast in the community hall. We did one a few years ago and everybody loved it. Tickets could be ten dollars each.

Owen: It sounds fun, but the hall costs ninety dollars to rent, and the food is another hundred or so. If we sell forty-five tickets, we'd only keep two hundred sixty.

Javier: That's still a good morning, though. Whole families come to a breakfast, and the hall stays warm if the weather turns.

Laura: Here's my idea. A car wash in the grocery store parking lot. The manager told me we can use it for free. At twelve dollars a car, another club did thirty cars last spring.

Owen: Thirty cars is three hundred sixty dollars, and supplies are maybe forty. So three hundred twenty for us. That's more than the breakfast, but a rainy Saturday would wipe it out.

Laura: We pick a Saturday with a good forecast and keep the following one as a backup. Both are before the deadline.

Javier: A backup doesn't fix the helpers. Last time we asked the team for volunteers, only four showed up, and I was one of them. I'd hate to scrub cars for hours with so few.

Owen: A breakfast needs helpers too, you know. Cooks, servers, cleanup. But I have a way to add money. A baked goods table beside the car wash. My sister could donate muffins, and at three dollars each, fifty muffins is one hundred fifty.

Laura: That would put us at four hundred seventy. Over the goal, and a table needs only one person.

Javier: On paper, sure. But we won't sell every muffin, you know.

Owen: Even if we sell thirty, that's ninety dollars, and we'd still be at four hundred ten. Close enough that we could make up the rest with a few more cars.

Javier: Okay, I can live with that. The car wash wins, but I'm still asking everyone at practice to sign up. I'll make a sign-up sheet and bring it Thursday.

Laura: Great. Let's say the second Saturday, ten o'clock to two, with the third Saturday as the backup. I'll tell the store manager tomorrow.

Owen: And I'll ask my sister about the muffins tonight. Can someone borrow buckets and hoses?

Javier: I've got a few in my garage. I'll bring them.

Laura: Perfect. Then we're set, and I'll send everyone a reminder message on Wednesday.

Reporter: The provincial Ministry of Education is considering a new rule that would require every high-school student to complete forty hours of volunteer work before graduating. Under the proposal, students could count hours spent at libraries, community gardens, sports clubs and seniors' centres. The rule would apply to students who start grade nine next September. The ministry is collecting public comments until the end of January, and the idea has drawn strong reactions from teachers, parents and community groups. Aisha Rahimi, a high-school guidance counsellor with twelve years of experience, welcomes the proposal. She says many students reach grade twelve with no work experience at all, and volunteering gives them something real to put on a résumé or a college application. Ms. Rahimi describes one student who spent a summer helping at a community garden and later chose to study environmental science because of it. In her view, a requirement is needed because the students who would benefit most are often the ones who would never sign up on their own. Liam Fitzgerald, the father of two teenagers and a member of his school's parents' council, has doubts. He agrees that volunteering is valuable, but he says many teenagers already have part-time jobs, sports practices and family duties, such as looking after younger brothers and sisters. Mr. Fitzgerald worries that a fixed number of hours will turn something meant to be generous into one more box to check. He would rather see students earn a credit for volunteering if they choose to, without making it a condition for graduation. Jamal Haddad coordinates volunteers at a seniors' centre. He says the centre would be glad to welcome teenagers, and that residents enjoy playing cards and doing puzzles with young people. However, he points out that every new volunteer needs training and supervision, and the centre has only one paid staff member who looks after volunteers. If hundreds of students in the area need placements at the same time, he says, groups like his will not be able to keep up. Mr. Haddad is asking the ministry for funding so that community groups can hire extra help. A ministry spokesperson says students would have all four years of high school to finish their hours, so placements would be spread out over time. The ministry is also thinking about allowing up to ten of the forty hours to be done online, for example by helping local museums type up old records. Ms. Rahimi calls that a sensible idea for students who live far from town. Mr. Fitzgerald says it is a step in the right direction, but it does not change his view that the hours should be a choice, not a rule.