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слу́шатьto listen · at natural speed
At natural speed, unstressed vowels shrink and words run together. These tasks train your ear for exactly that.
Russian listening·B2 to C1

Advanced listening at natural speed

A weather forecast, a voicemail from a friend, a lecture extract. Listen first with no text, answer the questions, and only then open the transcript to check every word.

Speed:
1Listen with no textPlay the recording once or twice. Don’t look at anything else.
2Answer the questionsSay your answers aloud before revealing them.
3Open the transcriptTap any sentence for its gloss, pronunciation and translation.
WRITTEN → HEARD AT NATURAL SPEED здра́вствуйте→здра́сьтеZDRAS-tye · hello сейча́с→щасshchas · now ты́сяча→ты́щаTY-shcha · thousand говори́т→гритgrit · says челове́к→чекchek · person Blue: everyday speech, everywhere.Red: very fast or casual; recognise, don’t copy.
At natural speed, unstressed syllables in long common words collapse. The transcripts below always show the full written form; the audio may not.
B2 · Radio

Прогно́з пого́ды

Weather forecast · 5 sentences
Answer before you read
1 What will the weather be like tomorrow?
2 How warm will it get during the day?
3 What happens at the weekend?
B2 · Voicemail

Голосово́е сообще́ние

A voicemail · 5 sentences
Answer before you read
1 Why can’t Olya come at seven?
2 What does she suggest instead?
3 What should Dima do if plans change?
C1 · Lecture extract

Язы́к и мышле́ние

Language and thought · 5 sentences
Answer before you read
1 What is the lecture about?
2 What example does the lecturer give?
3 What is the lecturer’s conclusion?

Related guides

Where to go from here depends on how the three recordings went. If you needed the transcript for most answers, step down a level; if you followed them on the first play, step up. Listening well is a skill in any language; see our guide to active listening.

← Step down · A1 to B1 Listening practice Fifteen short dialogues at slower speed, each with a gist question and a glossed transcript.
You are here · B2 to C1 Advanced listening A forecast, a voicemail and a lecture extract at natural speed.
Step up · C1 to C2 → Listening at C1–C2 A long interview, TV news and a public talk, with no slowed audio.
If the speed lost youредукция · reduction Pronunciation rules Why unstressed о and е shrink to a short “uh” in fast speech, so молоко́ sounds like “ma-la-KO”. If the tone lost youИК-3 · question tune Intonation How a rise on one word turns a statement into a question in the voicemail. Same level, on the pageчте́ние · reading Advanced reading News, essay and feature texts at B2–C1, the written partner of these recordings. Words from the forecastпого́да · weather Weather vocabulary Осадки, порывы ветра, заморозки: the forecast words, with stress and audio. Words from the newsСМИ · media Media vocabulary The language of reports and broadcasts you will meet at the next level.