Past Perfect Dictation: Duration before a Past Event

Listen for had been before the -ing activity. Both short words belong in this longer verb group. The activity was continuing before a past point, or had recently stopped and explains a past result. It is not always still happening at that later moment. Duration phrases such as for hours tell you how long it lasted, but some sentences show the result instead. Keep the complete chain and any timing detail. I'd hear the earlier activity and later situation as two connected parts before typing the whole sentence.