LTE  

 
 

London Tests of English 

 

 
 
 
 

 

                   

                Session Two: 2006 

 

 

                                                            

        Tape Script  

           Level 3 

 
 
 
 
 
L29003

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
RUBRIC: 

Hello everyone! Today’s test is the London Tests of English Level Three. 

The theme of this test is Modern Art Galleries. This test lasts two hours. 
There are five tasks. Tasks One and Two are listening. You must listen to 
the tape and write your answers in this booklet. Good luck!  

  
Task One:  

Art Galleries in London   

 

Your teacher is planning a class visit to London, and before you leave 
you decide to get some information about different art galleries that you 

could visit. You telephone a recorded information line to find out details 
about three galleries.   

  

Listen to the recorded message and complete the notes in the table 
below. Some have been done for you as examples. You will hear the 
recorded message twice. Do as much as you can the first time and finish 
your work the second time. You have one minute to look at the table.   

  

[ONE MINUTE PAUSE]  
  

Listen carefully. The recorded message starts now.    

  
[TONE/BEEP]  
  
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE}  
  

Hello. This is the Art in London recorded information line, with information 

about three galleries in London: the Saatchi Gallery, the National Gallery, 

and Tate Modern.   

  

The Saatchi Gallery specialises in work by young and international artists. It 

brings new work to a wide audience. It opened 20 years ago, and has rapidly 

become popular. If you visit the Saatchi before the end of November you 

can see the special exhibition ‘The Triumph of Painting’.  The gallery now 

receives over 600,000 visitors each year.  It is open every day. From Sunday 

to Thursday opening hours are from 10 am until 6 pm, and on Saturday it 

closes slightly later, at 8 pm. Last admission is 45 minutes before the gallery 

closes. The normal admission price is £9.00 for adults, but the special price 

for students is £6.75. You can get to the Saatchi gallery by underground or 

bus. The nearest underground station is Waterloo, or you can take the 

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number 12 or 53 bus to Westminster Bridge.  

  

The National Gallery in London houses the national collection of European 

painting. There are over 2,300 pictures dating from 1250-1900, including 

many masterpieces by great artists. There is no special exhibition at the 

moment, but the next one starts on 26 October featuring the work of the 

Dutch painter Rubens. The National Gallery is open daily from 10 am until 6 

pm, and until 9 pm on Wednesdays. There is no charge to visit the National 

Gallery, and there is also a restaurant and café suitable for families. Meal 

prices start from £4.95. The National Gallery is in Trafalgar Square, and the 

nearest underground station is Charing Cross. If you want to take the bus, 

the best ones to get are either the 13 or 159 to Trafalgar Square.  

  

Finally, Tate Modern is one of London’s newest galleries. It features British 

art from 1500 and international modern art. The current special exhibition 

is of the work of the Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. Opening hours are from 

10 am until 6 pm every day: late opening is on Friday, when closing time is 

10 pm. Please contact Tate Modern for opening times of special exhibitions. 

Admission to the gallery is free, but donations from visitors are needed to 

support the gallery’s work. You can also help by visiting the shops, café or 

restaurant. Tate Modern is located on the south bank of the River Thames at 

Bankside, near Blackfriars Bridge. The closest Underground is Blackfriars, 

approximately ten minutes walk away. A number of buses service the area, 

including the 45 and the 381. We do not advise visitors to take the 344 bus 

as it can get very busy. You can also access the gallery by the Tate Boat, 

which runs every 40 minutes.  

  

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For any further information, please contact the individual galleries, or Art in 

London on 0207 654 6643.  

[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]  
 

You will now hear the recorded message again.  

[TONE/BEEP]  
 
[REPEAT RECORDED TEXT]  

 
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]  
 

That is the end of Task One. Now go on to Task Two.  

  
Task Two:  

The Life of Frida Kahlo   

 

After listening to the recorded information about the galleries, you think 

you would like to visit Tate Modern. They have a special exhibition of 
the work of the artist, Frida Kahlo. That evening there is a programme 
on the radio about her life.   
  
Listen to the programme and write short answers to the questions below. 
The first one is an example. You will hear the programme twice. Do as 
much as you can the first time and finish your work the second time. You 
have one minute to look at the questions.   

  
[ONE MINUTE PAUSE]  
  

Listen carefully. The programme starts now.  

  
[TONE/BEEP]  
  
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]  

  

Good afternoon.  Welcome to ‘Modern Art’, Culture Radio’s programme 

about the world of art and media. Today’s programme is about the life of 

Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist whose work is currently in a major exhibition 

at Tate Modern Gallery. Her work is very popular today, and her life was 

very interesting.   

  

Frida was born in Mexico City. Throughout her life she gave her birth date as 

July 7 1910, although her birth certificate shows July 6 1907. This is just 

one of the many lies that she told about her life, and which make her such a 

mysterious character.   

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Frida had a tragic life. At the age of 6 she was taken ill with polio, which 

made her right leg appear much thinner than the other. It remained this 

way for the rest of her life. Then, on September 17, 1925, when she was 18, 

Frida had a serious bus accident, which left her with many broken bones. 

For a month afterwards, she had to lie flat on her back, encased in a plaster 

cast, and enclosed in a giant box. She began painting shortly after the 

accident because she was bored: a carpenter fixed an easel at the end of 

her bed, and placed a mirror above her so that she could see what she was 

painting.  

  

Doctors thought that Frida would die, and although her recovery was 

miraculous, she experienced great pain and tiredness throughout her life. 

This meant that she had many more visits to hospital.   

  

On August the 12

th

 1929, Frida married the Mexican artist Diego Rivera. 

They were divorced in 1940, but remarried after a year, this time for good. 

Their marriage was difficult, but they admired each other and encouraged 

each other to produce wonderful paintings.   

  

Frida was highly educated, but had no formal training in art. Her work was 

influenced by several European traditions, such as cubism and futurism. Her 

painting style also reflected her political beliefs. As a child, Frida lived 

through the Mexican revolution, and this made her interested in politics 

from a young age.   

  

Frida was proud of being Mexican, although her family background was 

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mixed. Her father was German, and many of her paintings, especially ‘My 

Nurse and I’ show her mixed race heritage. After her marriage to Diego 

Rivera, she often wore traditional Mexican dress, and this linked her very 

strongly with her mother’s Mexican family background. She also often wore 

men’s suits, and several family photographs show her wearing these.  

  

As an artist, Frida Kahlo is probably most famous for her self-portraits, a 

series of paintings of herself, often at difficult points in her life. She died on 

July the 13

th

 1954, aged 47. Though her life was short, her paintings are 

famous, and continue to give pleasure to people all over the world.   

 

[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]  
 
RUBRIC: 

You will now hear the programme again.  

 

[TONE/BEEP]  
 
[REPEAT RECORDED TEXT]  
 
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]  
 

That is the end of the listening tasks. The other tasks test your reading 
and writing of English. Now go on to Task Three.   

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