4.2.1

W: Oh, Peter, there you are. You’ve been ages. What kept you so long?

M: I’m Sorry I’m so late, Sally. Have you been waiting long?

W: Oh, half an hour. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve had a coffee and I have been reading this guidebook for tourists.

Sally has been waiting half an hour for Peter, so C has been circled.

Now we shall begin.

You should answer the questions as you listen, because you will not hear the recording a second time.

Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.

W: Oh, Peter, there you’re. You’ve been ages. What kept you so long?

M: I’m Sorry, I’m so late, Sally. Have you been waiting long?

W: Oh, half an hour. But it doesn’t matter.

I’ve had a coffee and I’ve been reading this guidebook for tourists. Sit down.

W: You look very hot and tired. What would you like to drink?

M: I’d love a really chilled mineral water or something. Will you have another coffee?

W: Yes, I will. The waitress will be back in a moment. Why were you so late? Did something happen?

M: Yes. You know I went to the bank to cash some travellers cheques?

Well, the exchange rate was looking healthy, but when I went to the teller, they told me the computer system was temporarily down, so they couldn’t do any transactions.

They said the problem would be fixed in a few minutes, so I waited.

And then I started talking to another guy in the bank, and I forgot the time.

W: Oh, really? Someone you met in the bank? Does he work there?

M: No, he was a tourist, from New York. His name is Henry, and he’s been here for a week, but he’s moving on to Germany tomorrow.

He’s an architect, and he’s spending four weeks travelling around Europe.

W: Just like us!

M: Yeah, just like us. He told me the names of some places where we should eat.

Great food, and not too expensive, he said.

Oh, and he also gave me this map of the bus system. He said he didn’t need it anymore.

W: That’s useful. Pity he’s moving on tomorrow.

Ah, here’s the waitress. Let’s order.

Do you want anything to eat, or shall we just have a drink?

M: Well. I’m hungry, and we’ve got a lot of sightseeing to do, so let’s just have a snack and a drink.

W: Sounds good to me.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation you’ll have some time to look at questions 6 to 10.

Now listen, and answer questions 6 to 10.

M: Well. Let’s decide what we’ll see today.

I guess the best place to start is the Cathedral, and then the Castle.

What are the opening times for those two?

W: Well, according to this guidebook, the Cathedral is only open from 9.30 in the morning until midday.

Oh, no, hang on. That’s the Cathedral Museum.

The Cathedral itself is open morning and afternoon.

The Castle is just open from 1 to 5, so we can’t go there until after lunch.

I really want to spend some time in the Art Gallery, because they’ve got this wonderful painting by Rembrandt that I’ve always wanted to see.

M: What else should we see?

W: Well the guidebook says the Botanical Gardens are worth spending some time in.

And they’re open all day from 8 to 6 so we can go there anytime.

I’d like to go to the Markets near the river too, but…Oh…no, wait, that’s only in the mornings, too.

M: As well as today and tomorrow, we can see some other places on Monday you know.

But I don’t think the Markets will be open then; they only open on Thursdays, so we’ve missed them for this week.

Maybe we should go to the Cathedral today because it’s Sunday tomorrow.

And even though it’s open every day, it might be more difficult to get in tomorrow because of the church services.

W: Em, that’s true, but the Art Gallery isn’t open on Sundays at all, so we’ll have to go there today.

The Castle’s open every day except Monday, so we’re OK there, and the Gardens of course only close at night.

M: Are all these places free or do we have to pay to go in? What does the guidebook say?

W: I think there’s a charge for all of them except the Botanical Gardens. Oh, and the markets, of course you don’t pay to go in.

M: Okay, well, it looks like our plan is this: we’ll go to see the painting you like first, the Rembrandt, then have lunch and go on to the Castle after that, and then the Cathedral.

W: Okay. It says here that the roof of the Cathedral is really beautiful.

M: Is that right? What I really want to do at the Cathedral is climb the tower.

The view is supposed to be spectacular!

W: Okay, well, that’ll be more than enough for today.

Then, tomorrow, let’s go to the Botanical Gardens and have a picnic.

I want to sit by the river and watch the swans. This city’s famous for them.

That is the end of section one, you now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section two.