FCE 1 Test 2
Question 1
Listen, about Jimmy's school project. I spoke to the computer department at work about borrowing a laptop, and apparently they're only supposed to give them out to people on company business. So I guess Jimmy will just have to write it all out by hand and type it out when we get back. That'll only give him two days, but what can we do? I know he's been at home all summer, but that's Jimmy for you, and he's only twelve. I just wish his school was a bit more understanding about people's holiday arrangements. 
Question 2 
    Woman: Go ahead, Paul, I'm listening. 
    Man: Well ... I'm fed up with listening to all your callers moaning on about the new traffic scheme. I mean, that woman who said it took fifty minutes to cross the city by car instead of her usual thirty. Poor thing! Why doesn't she leave the car at home and use the bus service instead? Anyway, the aim of the new scheme isn't to make car journeys quicker; it's for shoppers and pedestrians and cyclists and bus passengers, and it's working. I recommend everyone to have a walk in the city centre and see for themselves. That's all I wanted to say.
Question 3
    I do sometimes think about moving, I couldn't deny it but when you've lived in a house for as long as I have, you learned to accept its drawbacks and you stop always trying to change things. Here, the garden is a bit big for me to cope with as I would like, but now I've got someone who comes in  once a week to help me out, and things have definitely improved, so I think I'll be staying put for just a little bit longer. 
Question 4 
 
    Man: I had dinner at Mark's house last night. His father made a delicious Italian dessert. 
    Woman: Oh, yes his parents are Italian, aren't they? I kept forgetting that because Mark's English is so good. 
    Man: Of course it is! He was born in Texas. And his mother's not Italian, she's French. That's what they all speak to each other, though they used English when I was there. Mark has to go to classes on Saturdays to learn to read and write Italian. To hear him speak on the phone to his grandmother in Rome, you'd think it was his first language!
Question 5 
As a child all our holidays were in Scotland my father was very keen on climbing and he insisted we want climbing everyday. One day the weather stopped us going climbing, much to relief, so we hired a rowing boat on the lake. My father complained it was uncomfortable and slow (he preferred motorboats) but I sat there and thought, 'This feels good!' -- even though the boat was old and creaky. After that, I just got the bug really ... and I've been rowing ever since. And the boat now are better than that first one in Scotland!
Question 6
As any childcarer knows, it's pointless buying drums or expensive instruments for small children; give them a wooden spoon, a saucepan lid and a cardboard box, and they'll happily bang away for hours. So you could say that the group named Thump are simply having their second childhood. Just over seven years ago, this small band of street performers fro the north of England decided to turn their routine with metal rubbish bins and bicycles chains into a stage show. They now have five separate groups working highly across the country and are just about to begin their first tour of the USA.
Question 7 
    Woman: Mark, this new project you've got, this flat agency has this arisen from your own experience or what? 
    Man: Both from bitter personal experience of hearing to find somewhere to live in Edinburgh over the last few years -- crossing the city from one corner to the next and turning up at hundreds of places which weren't suitable ... and also it was taken from an idea in Australia where a similar service was set up and I thought, 'Well, let's try and take out some of the misery of trying to find a flat here in Scotland!
Question 8 
    Woman: And new, Mr Harman, what I want to ask you is in which of Shakespeare's plays does the character Queen Titania appear. 
    Man: Mmm, now let me think for a moment. Well, it was one of the comedies. I believe she was a fairy ...
    Woman: I can tell you that it was performed at the Regent Theatre last year starring Eveline Thomas and had excellent reviews.
    Man: I don't remember that. Now, is it Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare?
    Woman: Indeed it is. 
Part 2
And now a look at some of this evening's programmes on Radio Pearl. At 7:30 we have Art Review, a programme which has fast become a favourite among our listeners with the artists who regularly come into the studio. Today we'll be going to London to the National Museum, which holds approximately five events a year, and this particular one is always popular because it features work by student artists.    This year is no exception as everything is the work of final-year art students from a local college. You'll be surprised at the variety of things you can see. Exhibits range from curtains to glass work, and I understand there are a total of nearly 2,000 works on display. There is an excellent use of materials and of course many exhibitions demonstrate how industrial technology can be employed in art. If you want to buy any of the exhibits, it will sot you anything from 25 pound up to 2,000 pound. So for more information on what can be seen, where and for how much, tune in to Radio Pearl tonight at 7.30.    Then at 8.00, there's another in our series of classic plays and tonight it's The Vanishing Lady, starring Margaret London.      Briefly, two young people become caught up in a thrilling adventure when they are walking through a carriage on a train and suddenly hear a noise that sounds to them like a gun being fired. They rush into the next carriage which is completely empty with its doors swinging backwards and forwards. Then in the restaurant car they ask the first person they meet -- who happens to be a waiter -- if he also heard the sound.    'No', he says, and goes on to tell them that an old lady is in the carriage -- he just saw her going back in there. But when they return, of course, she's gone. Some say the lady never existed but others are sure they saw her. Who's telling the truth, or is everyone on the train lying? Find out at 8 o'clock tonight. It's a brilliant play by Porten and also his last before he moved on to writing for films.    Finally, for those of you who like sailing, Business Scenes at 9:30 p.m. brings you the 'unsinkable' boat and a chance to meet its maker, Canadian businessman Peter Field. In 1995, Peter was a manager in a computer company but he left that job to go on a world cruise. He had wanted a stress-free life but ended up back in the rat race, building boats. His new company has many products including luxury boats costing from $1-2 million, which Peter claims will suffer no serious damage even if they hit an iceberg at full speed ... It's all in the type of metal you see, as he explains tonight.     And we also hear about Peter's unusual collection. You would think that a man i his line of work would collect model boats and ships, rather than the old maps which are his real passion! If you tune in this evening, you'll find out how he started his collection and how he hunts for items to add to it!
    Well, back to this afternoon's programmes ... 

Question 5
get the bug
～に熱中する、夢中になる
Question 6
saucepan
A deep cooking pan, typically round, made of metal, and with one long handle and a lid.
Part 2 
carriage
A means of conveyance, in particular.