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Lesson

Listening Part 1: Reporting a lost bag

A call to a railway lost property office. Practise describing objects (colour, material, contents) and catching a corrected train time.

Listening Band 4–5 · A2–B1 11 questions Sign in to save

Describing things

Part 1 often asks you to note a description. Words usually come in this order: opinion → size → age → colour → material → noun.

a small old green canvas bag

Useful words:

  • Colours: dark green, light blue, navy (dark blue), beige, grey
  • Materials: leather, canvas, plastic, cotton, wool, metal
  • Parts: zip, pocket, strap, handle, label

The correction trap

People often say one thing and then change it: "It was the 7.15… or no, sorry, it was the 7.45." The answer is always the last thing they decide.

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Listening

Northfield Station: lost property

Kofi calls the lost property office because he left his bag on a train.

Show the transcript (try the questions first)

Officer: Lost property office, Grace speaking. How can I help?

Kofi: Hi. I think I left my bag on a train yesterday evening.

Officer: I'm sorry to hear that. Which train was it?

Kofi: The seven fifteen to York. Oh, no, sorry, it was the seven forty-five. I missed the earlier one.

Officer: The seven forty-five, yesterday evening. Do you remember which part of the train you were in?

Kofi: Carriage C, I think. I put the bag on the shelf above my seat and completely forgot about it.

Officer: That happens a lot. Can you describe the bag?

Kofi: It's a backpack. Dark green, made of canvas, with two pockets on the sides.

Officer: Is there anything that makes it easy to recognise?

Kofi: Yes, there's a yellow ribbon tied to the zip. My daughter put it there.

Officer: That's helpful. And what was inside?

Kofi: A black jumper, a pair of running shoes, a water bottle and a library book.

Officer: Anything valuable? A wallet, or a phone?

Kofi: No, luckily those were in my pocket.

Officer: Good. Could I have your name, please?

Kofi: Kofi Mensah. The surname's M, E, N, S, A, H.

Officer: Thank you, Mr Mensah. Your reference number is L P, four seven two nine. Please keep that.

Kofi: Four seven two nine. Got it. How long do you keep things?

Officer: We keep items for twenty-eight days. If we find your bag, there's a collection fee of three pounds.

Kofi: That's fine. When will I know if you've found it?

Officer: Most items reach us within forty-eight hours, so if you haven't heard from us, call back on Thursday afternoon.

Kofi: I will. Thanks very much.

Questions 1–10: Lost property report

Complete the form. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

  1. Train: the to York (yesterday evening)

  2. Carriage:

  3. Colour: dark

  4. Material:

  5. Special feature: a yellow tied to the zip

  6. Contents: black jumper, running shoes, water bottle, library

  7. Surname: Kofi

  8. Reference number: LP

  9. Items are kept for days.

  10. Collection fee: £

Question 11

Choose the correct answer.

  1. When should Kofi call back if he hasn't heard anything?