B2 First (FCE) · Paper 3 · 86 free exercises
B2 First Listening: the complete guide
Four parts, 30 questions, about 40 minutes, and every recording heard twice. What each part tests, the marks you need for a B2, what to do in the pauses, and free practice with instant marking.
Try one now · Part 1 · 1 of 8 in the real paper
You hear a man talking about a cycling holiday.
Everyone warned me the mountains would be the hard part, but honestly, the climbs were fine. It was the wind along the coast that nearly made me give up. Day after day, straight into my face.
What did he find most difficult?
- the steep climbs
- the weather by the sea
- the length of each day
He mentions more than one idea. Which does he say was actually hard?
- 4 parts
- 30 questions
- 40 minutes
- 160 for a B2
Practise Part 1 free → · Try a timed paper
The four parts, and where students lose marks
Tap a part for its guide
- Part 1 · Multiple Choice: Extracts: Gist, detail, purpose and feeling in short extracts · 21 free exercises. Questions: 8 questions, 1 mark each. What you hear: 8 extracts, 3 options each. B2 students score: 67%.
- Part 2 · Sentence Completion (Hardest): Specific information in a talk, written as you hear it · 21 free exercises. Questions: 10 questions, 1 mark each. What you hear: 1 talk, write the words. B2 students score: 54%.
- Part 3 · Multiple Matching: The main point of five speakers on one theme · 22 free exercises. Questions: 5 questions, 1 mark each. What you hear: 5 speakers, 8 options, 3 extra. B2 students score: 66%.
- Part 4 · Multiple Choice: Interview: Opinion, attitude and detail in an interview · 22 free exercises. Questions: 7 questions, 1 mark each. What you hear: 1 interview, 3 options each. B2 students score: 69%.
- Every part counts towards one Listening score (30 marks)
- You hear every recording twice
Sentence Completion is where B2 students score lowest (54%). Predict the kind of word each gap needs before the recording starts, then write exactly what you hear, spelled correctly. Multiple Choice: Interview is the friendliest part (69%): bank those marks.
Average score from 1,202 tries by 173 B2 students on Cambridge Ready.
The marks you need for a B2
160 on the Cambridge English Scale
- Listening: 18 of 30. About 60% of the marks gives 160.
Your overall result is the average of all five skills, so a good Listening score can make up for a weaker paper.
From Cambridge’s published conversion tables. The exact mark varies slightly from paper to paper.
The method
Six habits that hold under time pressure
- Use the pause before each part to read the questions and underline what you’re listening for.
- In Part 1, decide what each question asks: the speaker’s feeling, their purpose, or a fact.
- In Part 2, predict the kind of word for each gap: a number, a place, a job, an object.
- In Part 3, read all eight options first. Three of them won’t be used.
- On the second listening, check your answers rather than starting again.
- Never leave a blank. A guess costs nothing.
The traps
The mistakes we see most
- Hearing the words, missing the meaning: Speakers often mention every option. The answer is what they actually mean, not what they mention.
- The detail that gets corrected: In Part 2 a speaker may give one detail and then change it. Write the second one. (
Tuesday→ “…no, sorry, Thursday”) - Spelling in Part 2: Write the words you hear, spelled correctly. A misspelt answer can lose the mark. (
acomodation→ accommodation) - Changing a right answer: Change an answer on the second listening only if you heard something that rules it out.
Practise Sentence Completion free → The part where B2 students score lowest. 21 exercises, every answer explained.
Questions students ask
How long is the B2 First Listening test?
About 40 minutes, with four parts and 30 questions. Every recording is played twice.
How many marks do you need to pass B2 First Listening?
About 18 out of 30 in Listening, which gives 160 on the Cambridge English Scale, the B2 level. You pass on your overall score, the average of all five skills.
Which part of B2 First Listening is the hardest?
For B2 students on Cambridge Ready, Sentence Completion (Part 2, 54%) and Multiple Matching (Part 3, 66%) have the lowest average scores.
Do you hear the recordings twice in B2 First Listening?
Yes. Every part is played twice, so you can use the second listening to check your answers.
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