Cambridge IGCSE™
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 0510/23
Paper 2 Listening October/November 2024
TRANSCRIPT Approximately 50 minutes (including 6 minutes’ transfer time)
This document has 14 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.
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R1 Cambridge Assessment International Education, Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second
Language, Paper 2, Listening.
[BEEP]
Exercise 1
You will hear eight short recordings. For each question, choose the correct answer, A, B, C
or D, and put a tick () in the appropriate box.
You will hear each recording twice.
R1 Question 1
Where are the friends going to spend their break?
PAUSE 00’03”
M: male, teenager, UK accent
F: female, teenager, UK accent
F: * We’ve got an hour before the next class. Let’s go and have our break in the park.
M: Mmm … look at the sky, it’s going to rain.
F: How about going to that new café opposite the school? It’s meant to be good.
M: Dad made my favourite sandwich this morning, it’d be a shame to waste it.
F: Why don’t you eat your sandwich on the way, and we can get some cake there?
M: I guess that’s better than just sitting in the classroom. Just remind me I need to go to the library on
the way home! **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 Question 2
What did the boy enjoy the most during the trip?
PAUSE 00’03”
F: female, late forties, UK accent
M: male, teenager, UK accent
F: * How was your trip to the coast, Marek?
M: It was OK, I guess. We were all a bit disappointed as because it was cold, our teacher wouldn’t let
Us go swimming, which I love doing. I know that some of our classmates had a nice time walking
along the shore and collecting shells, which they then used to decorate the giant castle that my
friends and I had built with sand. Actually, doing that was quite a lot of fun, even more than taking
loads of great pictures during the trip. **
PAUSE 00’05”
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REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 Question 3
Which instrument is the girl going to play at the school concert?
PAUSE 00’03”
M: male, teenager, UK accent
F: female, teenager, UK accent
M: * Hi Yasmin, I’ve heard you’ve joined the band for the school concert?
F: Yes, I wasn’t going to because I only started to play the guitar last year, so I didn’t think I was
good enough. But my teacher suggested a song I can learn to play on it within a couple of weeks,
and my friend, who plays the violin, made me promise I’d do it. At some point I thought I’d end up
playing the drums instead (laughter). I’m still a bit disappointed that they won’t have a flute in the
band, as I’m much more confident playing it! **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 Question 4
What time is the yoga class the man wants to take?
PAUSE 00’03”
M: male, early twenties, UK accent
F: female, in her twenties, UK accent
M: * Excuse me, do you have any availability left for the yoga class this afternoon?
F: Let me check. Do you mean the four o’clock one, with Liz?
M: Erm … I thought it started later than that?
F: One second … We have an intermediate yoga class at 3 pm, and then the next one is … Oh, silly
me, I’m checking the wrong day. Yes, you’re right about the time, and we still have a few spaces
left for the 4.30 class. It’s followed by a relaxation session at quarter past five. Sorry about the
confusion! Shall I book you in?
M: Yes please. **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
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R1 Question 5
Which item is on special offer at the shop?
PAUSE 00’03”
F: female, early twenties, UK accent
F: * Hi Helena, I’m just giving you a quick call on my way home. I managed to get a gorgeous dress
for my holiday! It wasn’t cheap, but it’s going to go well with the sunglasses I ordered online, which
were a real bargain. I still need to get some sandals to go with it. I saw a lovely pair which had
20% off, but the shop didn’t have my size. You should pop in and have a look for yourself. They’d
look great with that skirt you bought last week. Call me back! **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 Question 6
Where is the man hoping to stay on his holiday?
PAUSE 00’03”
M: male, early twenties, UK accent
F: female, early twenties, UK accent
M: * I was getting really excited about that camping trip next week, but when I checked my tent
yesterday, I noticed there were some pieces missing!
F: Oh no, could you stay at a hotel instead?
M: That’s not really my idea of a relaxing holiday. I was looking at some boats last night, you can hire
them to stay on for a few days, but even the cheapest ones are way over my budget.
F: My parent’s holiday cottage is empty at the moment, and I’m sure they wouldn’t charge you much
to stay for a week.
M: That’d be amazing if you don’t mind finding out for me. **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
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R1 Question 7
How did the girl learn to draw?
PAUSE 00’03”
F: female, teenager, UK accent
M: male, adult, UK accent
M: * This drawing is amazing, Anna.
F: Thank you. I drew it as a birthday gift for my grandmother, who is really into art.
M: It’s impressive. Have you taken art classes at your school?
F: There aren’t any available this year, so I’ve been watching lots of videos online to pick up some
skills and techniques.
M: It seems to have worked out well for you. I’ve got a really good book at home, with step-by-step
instructions. You’re welcome to borrow it if you’d like?
F: That’d be great, thanks! **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 Question 8
What is the homework for the following week?
PAUSE 00’03”
F: female, fifties, UK accent
F: * OK class, let me tell you about the homework while you finish colouring the map of the main
rivers in Britain. A few of you mentioned that you found last week’s homework too tricky, so I won’t
be asking you to cut out the shapes of the continents again! Instead, I want you to visit a local
river, a stream, or a pond, and take some photographs of it to share with your classmates next
Tuesday. We’ll then use the laptops to do some more in-depth research about the native species
… **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 That is the end of Exercise 1. Now turn to Exercise 2.
PAUSE 00’05”
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R1 Exercise 2
You will hear five short recordings. For each question, choose the correct answer, A, B or
C, and put a tick () in the appropriate box.
You will hear each recording twice.
PAUSE 0’05”
R1 You will hear two university students talking about a history project.
Now look at Questions 9 and 10.
PAUSE 00’15”
F: female, teenager, mild US accent
M: male, teenager, mild US accent
F: * We should get started on our history project. I thought I’d be more enthusiastic about it, but I’m
quite stressed about the math exam and would rather study for that. But I’m positive we can still
do a good job if we work hard over the next few days.
M: Yeah, I’ve come across this website which contains lots of useful information. It’s much easier
than getting piles of books from the library, like the professor suggested. I spent all evening writing
down some useful stuff. I can lend you my notes.
F: Great, thanks, and then I can research a different part of the project. **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 You will hear a boy leaving a voice message for his friend about a tennis class.
Now look at Questions 11 and 12.
PAUSE 00’15”
M: male, teenager, UK accent
M: * Hi mate, I’ve just finished my first tennis class. I thought the coach would try and motivate me
on the first day, but instead he put loads of pressure on me and made me run after the ball for the
entire hour! I can’t wait to chill out for a bit when I get home.
Anyway, I explained that you couldn’t make it today and they said you can still join as someone’s
dropped out. Apparently, you can no longer access the online form, but they gave me a contact
number instead. I’ll put it in an email for you tonight, just call them sooner rather than later. Right
mate, see you later! **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
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R1 You will hear a hotel guest making a complaint about her stay.
Now look at Questions 13 and 14.
PAUSE 00’15”
M: male: forties, UK accent
F: female: forties, mild Australian accent
M: * Good morning, madam, hope you’ve had a nice stay with us so far?
F: Well, I got woken up at 5am by the sound of the building work outside, which I understand you
can’t do much about. But the scrambled eggs I ordered were cold, and that’s unacceptable. I was
a bit surprised that the lady who served my breakfast wasn’t more apologetic about it.
M: I’m really sorry, can I offer you a free voucher for our spa?
F: I’m checking out now, so I’d rather you removed the breakfast charge.
M: Of course, I’ll do it now. Can I offer you 10% off your next stay with us?
F: That won’t be necessary … **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 You will hear a student talking about learning how to cook.
Now look at Questions 15 and 16.
PAUSE 00’15”
F: female, early twenties, UK accent
F: * I’d never cooked anything before starting university. My mum was a brilliant cook, but she didn’t
allow her kids in the kitchen, so I had to rely on some videos on the internet to show me how to
prepare food! Thankfully the people I shared my flat with were understanding when I repeatedly
burnt things in our kitchen. But I’m glad that I gave it a go, as now I just love cooking. It’s good to
be able to prepare healthy meals instead of relying on takeaways, and it costs far less too. Above
all, it’s just lovely to be able to have friends come to your house and to share homemade food. **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
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R1 You will hear an art gallery guide talking about a painting.
Now look at Questions 17 and 18.
PAUSE 00’15”
M: male, fifties, UK accent
M: * It’s taken the gallery close to two years to be able to display the portrait of the African woman
you’re looking at right now. We were very happy to make it available to our visitors just over a
week ago, and it will continue to be on display for another two months. This painting has many
different features. The woman is a bride, wearing a traditional wedding outfit, and she appears to
have a gentle smile on her face. Art critics continue to disagree on why the painter chose to leave
the woman’s hair loose and untidy, rather than in the traditional wedding hairstyle people might
expect to see. **
PAUSE 00’05”
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’05”
R1 That is the end of Exercise 2. Now turn to Exercise 3.
PAUSE 00’05”
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R1 Exercise 3
You will hear a student, Nina, giving a talk about birds called barn owls. For each question,
choose the correct answer, A, B or C, and put a tick in the appropriate box.
You will hear the talk twice. Now look at questions 19–26.
PAUSE 00’40”
F: female, early twenties, UK accent
F: * Today, I’d like to talk about barn owls. Barn owls are birds of prey, which means that they hunt
other, smaller animals for food. These smaller animals are known as ‘prey’.
Barn owls are usually encountered in open landscapes, like farmland. They’re less common in
woodland areas than other owl species. Barn owls are comfortable living relatively near to humans,
more so than other owl species. They usually make their homes, which are called nests, in barns
or abandoned buildings, but they normally stay away from towns or cities.
Barn owls prefer open grassland where small mammals they hunt, such as mice, are found in
large numbers. Owls may also hunt along the sides of fields, or even fairly busy country roads,
and any other grassy areas. Barn owls are rarely hunted themselves, though might get caught by
a hungry fox.
Barn owls have many features that help them to hunt. They can see exceptionally well in low-light
conditions, which is common among birds that hunt at night. They can also locate prey from a
long distance, due to their excellent sense of hearing. What distinguishes them from other birds,
though, is their light bodies and large wings, which make no sound when flying.
Barn owls can breed in their first year of life, and most pairs lay eggs only in the spring. Before
1990, the average date for the first egg was May 9th. Since then, it’s moved to April 17th, due to
climate change. These are only averages, however, and eggs in March, while less frequent, also
occur.
The female lays eggs every couple of days – over a period of 8 to 20 days. Incubation, the period
when the mother sits on the eggs in the nest to keep them warm, lasts approximately 30 days,
then baby owls begin to emerge. Young owls take roughly 8 weeks to learn to fly. During this time
they still need to be fed and cared for until they leave the nest soon after.
The main threat to barn owls is the insufficient food supply. What I didn’t realise, is that barn owls’
feathers aren’t very waterproof, so they avoid hunting in bad weather, which can lead to them
starving. Research suggests that chemical products used by farmers may also affect the barn owl
population.
So, how can we support barn owl conservation? During my research, I’ve learned about the Owl
Box Project. It not only provides nesting boxes across the country for owls to have their young in,
it also provides advice to local communities on where to install the boxes. Some workers monitor
owls’ behaviours and share their findings with farmers.
So, how can you support the Owl Box Project? We have a large supply of nesting boxes, so we
don’t need any more right now. But any efforts to educate people about barn owls are welcome,
for example, by distributing our leaflets. We don’t currently have sufficient funds to pay for
advertising. **
PAUSE 00’10”
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R1 Now you will hear the talk again.
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 That is the end of Exercise 3. Now turn to Exercise 4.
PAUSE 00’05
R1 Exercise 4
You will hear six people talking about different types of festivals.
For questions 27–32, choose from the list (A–H) which idea each speaker expresses. Write
the correct letter (A–H) on the answer line. Use each letter only once. There are two extra
letters which you do not need to use.
You will hear the recordings twice. Now read statements A–H.
PAUSE 00’30”
R1 Speaker 1
M: male, thirties, mild American accent
M: * My hometown is well-known for the festivals it hosts - there’s one every month. To be honest,
I no longer find them as exciting as I did when I was younger, and the cost of the tickets, even
though it’s affordable if you go once or twice a year, does add up if you go more often. Nowadays
I’d rather stay in with friends than spend the day surrounded by a crowd of strangers.
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Speaker 2
F: female, early twenties, UK accent
F: I’ve always loved festivals, but only recently felt confident enough to run a stand during an art
festival. I got into jewellery making when I was sixteen, and my friends’ve been praising my
jewellery, and encouraging me to sell it. I wasn’t sure how much interest to expect, but I was
approached by many people, and even made some friends, which is what I like about these
events. I earned a small fortune from the stand but it was exhausting!
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Speaker 3
M: male, mid-twenties, mild Australian accent
M: I recently volunteered at a music festival. My favourite band was playing and I thought that if I
could get in without paying for the tickets, I could spare a few hours to help out. What I hadn’t
considered is the amount of effort that goes into running a festival. I was helping with the safety
barriers, they had to be moved into place, put together and checked over … It was worth it, though,
and I had a fantastic time.
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PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Speaker 4
F: female, in her fifties, UK accent
F: My son got me some tickets to a gardening show for my birthday. I’ve always been a keen
gardener, so I knew I’d have a great time. The plants that they were selling there were twice
the price of those in a garden centre, so I resisted the temptation to get some. But I certainly
appreciated the complex flower displays put together so carefully by the gardeners, and I also
picked up a few useful gardening tips.
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Speaker 5
M: male, teenager, UK accent
M: I had really been looking forward to the comedy festival last weekend, but the experience was not
what I’d hoped it would be. There were some issues with the sound system, and we could hardly
hear the performers. People kept trying to move closer to the stage without paying much attention
to others. Thankfully, the security staff got involved and sorted it out. It doesn’t seem to me that
the organisers tried particularly hard to make it a success.
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Speaker 6
F: female, teenager, mild Australian accent
F: I found this great website where you can get discounts on all sorts of things, and managed to get
50% off the tickets to a food festival. My parents were worried about me going on my own, so they
made me take my older brother. He invited several people I’d never met to join Us, which was a bit
awkward. But the event was great and inspired me to take up baking. Turns out I really enjoy it! **
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Now you will hear the six speakers again.
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 That is the end of Exercise 4. Now turn to Exercise 5.
PAUSE 00’05”
© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2024 0510/23/O/N/24 [Turn over
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R1 Exercise 5
You will hear an interview with Max Jones, who is a juggler – someone who entertains
people by throwing objects into the air and trying to catch them. For each question, choose
the correct answer, A, B or C, and put a tick in the appropriate box.
You will hear the interview twice. Now look at questions 33–40.
PAUSE 00’45”
F: female, interviewer, late twenties, UK accent
M: male, interviewee, late twenties, UK accent
F: * A very warm welcome to Max Jones, a national celebrity who gained their fame by throwing
colourful balls into the air, also known as juggling. Max, joking aside, how did you get into juggling?
M: Well, you know, in my hometown, there’s this world-famous school for jugglers. Of course, I’m
joking, even if such a place existed, my parents certainly wouldn’t approve of me joining. They
weren’t too keen when I started to practise the juggling tricks I had seen on various TV shows.
They thought I’d end up in a circus.
F: But it wasn’t long after that you gave your first performance?
M: That’s right. I wasn’t quite ready to demonstrate my ability in public at the time, despite all my mates
saying that I was doing great. But one day my neighbour was let down by the party entertainer she
had booked for her little daughter, so I decided to take action.
F: Performing in front of other people must have been quite stressful!
M: Well, if you think about it, at 15, I was still quite young, and found making eye contact with strangers
very challenging. So instead, I focused on keeping all the balls in the air, and soon I could hear all
the little kids enjoying themselves and shouting in excitement, which really helped me to feel more
relaxed.
F: Sounds good. So, what tips would you give to anyone interested in juggling?
M: Well, start by having realistic expectations. I mean, it’d be silly to expect to be able to juggle five
balls before you can handle three. But most importantly, remove anything that might distract you
from the room where you practise: keep your mind on your hand movements, and the objects you
juggle. Also, at the beginning, you’ll need at least an hour a day to work on your skills.
F: Any advice about what the best things to juggle are?
M: I once tried juggling ice-cream. I’d worried that I’d end up with it all over my clothes, but surprisingly,
I didn’t, and people loved it, so that worked OK. (laughing). I really enjoy using coins, but the issue
was that the audience at the back of the room struggled to see them due to their size, so make
sure to use something that’s visible even from a distance. And do consider the weight carefully, as
items that weigh too much or not enough, like balloons, can be almost impossible to control.
F: Interesting. So, how do your parents feel about you working as a juggler now?
M: Well, they’ve finally accepted that it’s not just something I’m going to do in my free time. In fact, I
think they are surprised to see that juggling brings in a decent income, but of course they’d rather
I didn’t spend weeks on end travelling all over the country. In fact, they regularly remind me about
it!
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F: And what are your plans? Are you happy to continue your juggling career?
M: Yes and no. I’ve started a degree in journalism so that’s a career I’ll probably pursue in the future,
but I’d certainly like to stay involved in juggling by becoming a trainer. I always have and will
continue to turn down invitations to appear on TV shows though … (laughter)
F: I’m sure I read that you were considering attempting to get an international world record in
juggling …
M: Only very briefly, when a sponsor approached me to offer to pay for my entry, but I decided against
it as I don’t see the point of competing with other jugglers. We’re all unique and aim to entertain
our audiences the best we can with our skills …
F: So, thanks for talking to Us today, Max. That was very interesting. **
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 Now you will hear the interview again.
REPEAT FROM * TO **
PAUSE 00’10”
R1 That is the end of Exercise 5.
You now have six minutes to copy your answers onto the separate answer sheet. I will
remind you when there is one minute left.
PAUSE 05’00”
R1 You have one more minute left.
PAUSE 01’00”
R1 That is the end of the examination.
© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2024 0510/23/O/N/24
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