Listening 2026-05 Test 21

Hello, how can I help you today? Ah yes, hello, I'm just phoning you as I have seen an advertisement on your website for a property that I'm interested in renting. If possible, I'd like to find out some more information before I organise a viewing. No problem at all. What is the address of the property that you'd like to inquire about? It's 21 North Avenue. Okay, what is it that you'd like to know? First of all, I'd like to know what facilities the office has. As I need to make sure that it'll be suitable for my advertising company. I see. The office contains a large open-planned space with a wide frontage onto a busy street with lots of passes by. So your business would have a really good street presence. There was also a toilet and newly refurbished kitchen equipped with dishwasher and oven. Wow, that sounds great. I'd definitely like to register my interest. Okay, perfect, I just need to take some details from you, if that's okay. What is your full name? Jonathan Smith. And what position do you hold in your company, Jonathan? Until recently I was sales manager, however I've recently been promoted to regional manager. So I'll be in charge of running our new office. Can I ask whether the office is located? Yes, of course. It's located downtown just around the corner from Royal Square Shipping Centre. Hmm, that's a bit too far out of the centre for my liking. I'd much prefer to be located in close proximity to the station. Do you have any property located in that vicinity? It would help me to narrow down the results if you could tell me how many employees you intend to have working in the office. Our branch is made up of 30 employees, and we'd like some extra space for meetings and presentations. Most average office spaces are around 8,000 square feet. But it sounds like you would need more space than that. I think that 10,000 square feet would be more suitable for your needs. Now, let's see, we have 10 properties that match those criteria. So let's try and narrow it down. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5-10. Now, listen, and answer questions 5-10. Do you have any other requirements? Well, we'll need access to the office 12 hours a day, but security should be 24 hour. We don't hold any money on the premises, but it's crucial that we protect our customer information against theft. Okay, anything else? Yes, ideally I'd prefer the new office to be split over to levels, so that the working office area is kept separate from street level. That will enable us to locate a reception at ground floor level to welcome customers when they arrive. And are there any particular facilities that you need? Our employees work very hard throughout the day, and I want to make sure that they're well nourished. It would therefore be ideal if I could provide them with a kitchen to cook hot meals at lunchtime. Would you want the kitchen to be located at first floor level with the office? No, I don't want the office to be filled with the smell of food. It would be better if the new office had a basement where we could locate the kitchen and staff room area to keep it a dorm's length from the workspace. Okay, I have now narrowed the search to two available properties. Do you have any other requirements that could narrow our search down to one result? All of our office staff will be working at desktop computers, so I'll need the office to be equipped with at least 40 power sockets if possible. Anything else? The studies have shown that exercise is very important for maintaining happiness and healthy brain function. In an office environment it's very difficult to get sufficient daily exercise, so it would be great if they had access to a nearby exercise area. One of the available offices is located next door to a gym, would this be suitable? Yes, absolutely, a gym is exactly what I was thinking of. Brilliant, do you need the office to be furnished? I don't think so, I already have some furniture, so I would prefer to bring this myself. No problem at all. And before I forget, we will definitely require Wi-Fi access as much of our work and customer recruitment is carried out online. No problem, it sounds like the property will suit your needs perfectly. I've taken the liberty of booking you a viewing at 3pm on Thursday, so you can see it for yourself. Is it anything else I can help you with today? No, I think that's all the information I need, thanks very much for your help. No problem, it's been my pleasure to be of assistance, goodbye. That is the end of section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section 2. Please wait for the answers. Thank you. Thank you. Section 1. You will hear a woman phoning in a state agent about renting a flat in a city called Jazzburg. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6 on page 2. Section 1. Hello, key data estate agency. Hi, my name is CZ Beck, I'm looking for a two-bedroom flat to rent in Jazzburg. Okay, in which area are you looking in Miss Beck? Lowtown. Let me just look. Okay, I've got 3 here which might be suitable. First, there's number 57 Princess Square, Lowtown. Right, as well as the two good sized bedrooms, it's got a bathroom, sitting room and a kitchen, and there's a dining area in the kitchen. That's good, I don't like kitchens that are too small. What about outside? Ideally, I'd like a bit of a garden. Yes, there's a shared one, but it hasn't got a parking space I'm afraid. That shouldn't be a problem, though, it's a nice quiet area. You can just leave your car on the street. Okay, how much is it? It's £1,000 a month and it's available from the 28th of August next Monday. Okay, what's the second flat like? It's in Green Park. Green Park, is that still in Lowtown? No, actually it's not, it's just outside to the north of there. So that's Northgate, isn't it? That's right. Oh, that's okay, so the rooms in that one? It's got a nice sized bathroom, kitchen, sitting room, and there's also a balcony leading out from the sitting room. It's not big, but it looks very nice in the photos. Right, and outside? Just a garage. Okay, and what rent are they asking? £1,050. If you're interested in that one, it's not available right now. The present lease ends in the middle of September, but then we inspect it and leave time for repairs and so on. So that means it will be free to move into on the 30th of September. Would that be okay for you? Yes, that'll be fine. Now the third one's in New Keyside, Lowtown. Oh, I have a friend who used to live there. They're nice flats. Yes, aren't they? So you know the basic layout of the flat. Yes, ultra-modern bathroom and kitchen, big sitting room, and then you get the use of a gym, don't you? That's right, but no swimming pool, unfortunately. No, well, a gym's more useful, and what's the rent on that one? Actually, because the owners really need to find a tenant as soon as possible, they've just agreed to drop the rent a bit. They were asking £1,400 a month, but they're accepting £1,505 now. Okay, so obviously that's available straight away. Yes. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10 on page 2. Right, well, I'd like to see the flat at New Keyside. Can we fix up a viewing? Of course, just one moment while I look at my calendar. Could you do Thursday afternoon? I prefer Friday if that's possible. No, sorry, it has to be Thursday, or otherwise Monday next week. Okay, this week. What about the time? When would suit you? I'm busy until 3, and then I'll need at least half an hour to get there. What about 345, or later if you prefer? No, that's fine. Shall we meet at the flat? Will you be driving there? There isn't any on-street parking right near the flats. The residents will have single garages. Right, but there's a cafe in New Keyside, isn't there? We could meet outside there and leave our cars in the street next to it. Coculan. Okay, do you remember exactly where it is? It's at the entrance to New Keyside, isn't it? That's right, but can you give me directions to New Keyside from the main roundabout in Lowtown? It's ages since I've been there. Yes, take the first right turning after that roundabout. Go straight on until you reach a bridge. Turn left there into New Keyside. Okay, I'll probably remember the way when I get there. Can you tell me your name, please? Yes, it's Edward. Edward Trelaw. Thank you. I'll see you at New Keyside then. Yes, bye. Bye. That is the end of section one. You now have half a minute to check your answers. --- Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16. Good afternoon listeners, thanks for tuning in to 4KB. Jane Lewis is with us from Tourism Queensland to tell us about the annual Queensland festival. Jane, welcome. Morning John, so much is going on for the next couple of weeks in our festival. Here in the States capital of Brisbane, the music tent opens this week and this will be an event not to be missed. As the name suggests, the music tent is an enormous tent where musical performances and activities will be going on throughout the day for the next two weeks. Monday is going to be really busy as it's a public holiday and the first day of the event. It's going to be lots of fun but if you're free, it's probably a better option to leave it till Tuesday unless you love crowds. The following day is when the master classes take place and this requires pre-registration so you can't just turn up and afraid. The weekend educational workshops were so popular last year that they have been extended this year. They now run each afternoon from one till four o'clock before the evening performances start from five. If you're learning to play an instrument, these workshops are great fun so make sure you get along there. Tickets for the music tent events are available from the door or you can purchase them at the ticket office located in the city centre. For the best deal though, take proof of your home address to any library as a local resident you will be able to purchase discounted tickets. Apart from music, we'll also be celebrating our local history with a special walking tour around Brisbane's city centre. Not to be missed on the walk is a tour of Macquarie House, the home of Queensland's first governor. It has lovely gardens you can walk around or picnic in. This building has a fascinating history because it was built on the very same spot with the first settler's landed so it's a really worth a visit if you enjoy learning about our local history. No Australian event is complete without a Barbie and I think the Big Barbecue is going to be fantastic. It's not quite as big as the Millennium Year Barbecue but there'll be local and international bands playing on the main stage for the first time this year at no extra cost. As always the food will be prepared by top local chefs, my mouth is watering already. I really recommend going along to the Railway Museum during the festival because trains are such an important part of Queensland's history. On loan from Queensland Rail at the moment is our very first steam train. You won't be able to see it in operation but you can hop on board and have a meal in the old dining carriage. There's also a wonderful display of uniforms that have been worn over the last 100 years. Before you hear the rest of the talk you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20. Another really special opportunity is a 10th trip on our only remaining steam train which runs from Ipswich to Toowoomba. If you purchase a family ticket as well as a trip on the train you receive a free Australian flag each to wave while aboard. There is a small charge for the Ipswich Museum tour but I think it's worth it as it makes an educational day out. The documentary film you can see there is interesting and it's well worth the $2 entry fee. On the return train journey the kids get a lovely activity book designed to teach them about the history of the steam train. Don't forget to bring your sunscreen and hats it's going to be hot up there in Toowoomba at this time of year. And finally I'm going to tell you about an event called our favourite place. This is an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite spot anywhere in the state. Maybe a park or restaurant is up to you. You can vote even if you're not living in the area at the moment. You can vote as often as you like by sending in the voting form or if you prefer, send a text message from any Australian mobile phone number with the name of the location. It's so easy. Not much time left though, so get those votes in as soon as possible. The winning location will be announced on the last Saturday of the festival. Also remember that no age limit applies for this one. So this is a good way to get the whole family involved. Well, thank you very much for that, Jane, now we have music. That is the end of part two. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part two. --- Section 3 You will hear a conversation between two students attending a university open day. First, you have some time to look at questions 21-25. Now listen and answer questions 21-25. Excuse me, is this seat taken? No, by all means, have a seat. Are you here for the open day? Yes, I think I've just about finished now. I got here first thing this morning. What about you? I got here a little while ago. I spent some time walking around the place first, just to get a feel for what it's like. I'm doing the organised events this afternoon. I thought I'd have a coffee before I get started. It's a lovely campus, isn't it? Yes, I love it. And the facilities are unbelievable. I've just been over to have a look at the sports centre. There's an Olympic-size swimming pool, a gym, squash courts, everything, really. All the high street banks are here, and the bookshop looks better than the one in town. There's supposed to be a big supermarket, a few minutes walk from the main entrance, so there's pretty much everything you need here. Yes, I really like the look of it. I wonder if you can help me. I think I need to register to let them know I've arrived. Don't I? I'm not sure you have to. You can just pick up an information pack from the desk over there. And nobody asked my name or anything when I turned up for the events earlier. I just walked in. But you never know, they might check after to see if people have bothered to come to the open day, so I think it's best to register. Thanks. I'll just finish my coffee and then I'll get started. So is this your first open day? No, it's my fourth. I've been to Sussex, Coventry and Birmingham so far. They've all got their good points, but being a bit older, I'm particularly keen on somewhere that has a few students my age on the course. Apart from that, they all seem to have great links to businesses, and there is a much to choose between them as far as their facilities are concerned. How about you? I haven't been to any other open days yet, but I'm hoping I end up here. I've just been to a presentation by the head of department. It sounds like a great place to do maths, that's my subject. He was telling us about all the avenues open to maths, graduates, and the kind of work you can end up doing. A lot of students go into finance, accountancy, banking, that kind of thing. I can't say that's ever appealed to me though. My maths teacher college was telling me about the opportunities in the software industry, which I quite like the sound of. Before you hear more of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 26-28. Now listen and answer questions 26-28. Well I hope you managed to get in. According to the letter they sent me, my department is doing something similar. There's a talk later this afternoon by the head. I can't miss that. There's also someone who'll be explaining about the year abroad. Apparently you can spend your third year of one of their partner universities in Spain or Germany. I'm going to have to give that a miss though to catch my train. Oh and there's also an exhibition area in the physics department with some of the things people are doing here. I'll try and catch that. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 29-30. Now listen and answer questions 29-30. There were a few second and third year students at the exhibition I went to. One of them gave me some great tips on finding work as well. I already knew about a couple of accountancy firms in the area that offer work experience. That's on a voluntary basis though. But apparently the students helping here on the open day get paid. And the university advertises other jobs that come up now and again so that's worth remembering. And a lot of the shops here are always looking for staff. That's useful to know. I overheard someone saying there's a tour of some of the halls of residence in about half an hour so I think Karl register and try to fit that in before I go to the talk. Are you thinking of living on campus? I've not made my mind up yet. I don't live far from here. My parents' place is just the other side of town. I could easily get the bus onto campus. Plus it would be a lot cheaper if I stayed at home. But it would be nice to get some independence as well. So I don't know, I'll have to see. But I didn't know about the tour. Would you mind if I tag along with you? No not at all. Let me just finish my coffee and I'll go and register. That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers. No turn to section 4. Section 3. You will hear a tutor talking to a student during a tutorial. The tutor is giving the student feedback on an essay. First, you have some time to look at questions 21-24. Now listen and answer questions 21-24. Hello Jacob, come in and take a seat. How are you finding the course? Very good. I'm really enjoying myself. Good. Well, I've had a look at the first draft of your assignment and it shows a great deal of promise. How well do you think you answered the question? I think I dealt with the task okay. I spent hours in the library reading up on the subject so I feel confident I answered the question. I'm not sure about my Spanish though. Well, for a first draft, I was very happy with the content. You've included all the important points and you've given a very balanced argument so I'm pleased with that. I think one area you need to work on is organisation. Yes, my other tutor said the same thing about another piece of writing. My ideas weren't organised logically, she said. Well, to be fair, I think the order of your ideas here is fine. It's your paragraphing that's the problem. If you look at this page, it's difficult to actually see your organisation. Your ideas are in the right order, but I can't make the organisation out very well because there aren't any paragraphs. Yes, I see what you mean. Perhaps if I left a line between paragraphs, it would make it clearer. Yes, that's an excellent idea. Have a look at paragraphs in books, magazines, newspapers, no kind of thing. There's no need to read everything, just pay attention to how paragraphs are presented. Before you hear more of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30. OK, I'll have a look at some of my friend's work as well. They don't seem to have this problem. What about the style of the writing? Is that OK? I've never really learnt how to write formally, so I'm always a bit worried about this when I write an essay. The register is very good, Jacob. No problem at all. You've used lots of nice set expressions we'd expect to find in a piece of writing like this and used them very naturally. That's good. What about my Spanish? Your basic grammar is OK. You haven't made many mistakes, so that's good. What I would suggest is trying to experiment more with advanced sentence structures. Yours tend to be on the short side. That's OK when short sentences are acquired, but sometimes combining two sentences into one can make the essay flow more naturally. Have you got anything I can use to practice that? Any books or websites I could visit? Yes, no problem. I'll give you one of our worksheets in a minute. You can take it away and work on it before you write your second draft. Finally, another thing you could think about is using more advanced vocabulary. Again, the words you've used to find, but there are more advanced synonyms that would fit more appropriately in an essay like this. Well, I've bought at the Soros. Yes, that's just what you need. As you can see, I've underlined where I think you could make changes, but I haven't suggested any synonyms. Use your Soros to try and find some alternatives. That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section 4. You will hear two students discussing a presentation they are going to give. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Hi Robert. Hi, sorry I'm late. I was just printing off some pages about food waste in Britain. Do you want to include Britain in the presentation? I thought we were concentrating on the USA. Well it is a global problem so I thought we ought to provide some statistics that show that. Fair enough. What did you find out? Well, I was looking at a British study from 2013. It basically concluded that 12 billion pounds worth of food and drink was thrown away each year. All of it ending up in landfill sites. Over 8 million tons. And that wasn't including packaging. An incredible amount. Yes, and they were only looking at what households threw away. So there's no information about restaurants and the catering industry. But one thing the study did investigate was the amount of milk and soft drinks that were wasted. And I think it was probably quite unique in that respect. Interesting. You know, in the other European reports I've read, there's one thing they have in common when they talk about carbon dioxide emissions. I know what you are going to say. They never refer to the fuel that farms and factories require to produce the food. And the carbon dioxide that releases? Exactly. We could really cut down on carbon emissions if less food was supplied in the first place. To my mind, the reports talk too much about the carbon dioxide produced by the trucks that deliver the fresh goods to the shops and take the waste away. They forget about one of the key causes of carbon dioxide. Absolutely. If the reports are actually going to be useful to people, they need to be more comprehensive. Who do you mean by people? Well, the government, industries, people making television programs. Have you seen any documentaries about food waste? Not that I remember. My point exactly. These days they all seem to be focusing on where your meat, fruit, and vegetables are sourced from. We're being encouraged to buy locally, not from overseas. That's probably a good thing, but I'd still like to see something about waste. Yes, it's the same with magazine articles. It's all about fat and sugar content and the kind of additives and coloring in food. But nothing about how it reaches your table and what happens after it ends up in the bin. Well, we've only got 15 minutes for this presentation, so I think we'll have to limit what we say about the consequences of food waste. What do we want to concentrate on? Well, I know some of the other presentations are looking at food and farming methods and what they do to the environment. So I think we'll avoid that. And the fact that in some countries, people can't afford the food grown on their own farms. That was covered last term. Okay, we don't want to repeat stuff. What concerns me above all else is that in a recession, governments should be encouraging business to find ways to cut costs. Apparently, supermarkets in the USA lose about 11% of their fruit to waste. That's throwing money away. All right, we'll focus on that problem. It should get the others attention anyway. Now, how do you want to begin the presentation? Let's not start with statistics, though, because that's what everybody does. I agree. How about we give the other students a set of questions to answer about what they suspect they waste every day? Let's find with that. Probably a better option than showing pictures of landfill sites. It'll be more personalized that way. All right. Now, let's start. Now, listen and answer questions 26 to 30. Okay. Shall we now have a look at the projects that different researchers and organizations are working on? For me, the project I really liked was the one at Tufts University, you know, where they've invented tiny edible patches to stick on fresh foods that show you what level of bacteria is present, and so whether you can still eat it. It's a great idea as it tells you if you need to hurry up and eat the food before it goes off. The other good thing about the patches is that apparently they'll be cheap to manufacture. Good. Then the other thing I thought was great was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Project. I hadn't seen that. Well, they've developed these sensors that can detect tiny amounts of ethylene. Ethylene is the natural plant hormone in fruit that makes them turn ripe, apparently. The researchers think that they can attach the sensors to cardboard boxes, and then supermarkets can scan the sensors with a portable device to see how ripe the fruit inside is. That's got to be a quicker way to check for ripeness than taking each box off the shelf and opening it. Definitely. And I thought that lean path was worth mentioning, too. Their waste tracking technology means that caterers can see how much food is being wasted and why. That'll increase profits for them eventually. Yes. And did you read about 0 percent? They've produced this smartphone application that allows restaurants to send donation alerts to food charities. The charities can then pick up the unwanted food and distribute it to people in need. In the long run, that'll definitely benefit poorer families in the neighborhood. No kid should go to school hungry. I agree. And I read that quite a few local governments in the USA are thinking about introducing compulsory composting in their states. So you can't put any food waste into your rubbish bins. Just the compost bin. Well, I guess that means a bit more work for people. I mean they have to separate the organic and inorganic waste themselves before they take it out to the compost bin. And you know how lazy some people are. But I guess if we all start composting, we'd be doing something positive about the problem of food waste ourselves rather than relying on the government to sort it out. Having said that, not everyone has a garden. That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section 4. You [BLANK_AUDIO] --- Section 4. You will hear a biology freshman at a university, presenting his research findings on the survival strategies used by butterflies. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. We were required to do the investigation regarding survival strategies of particular animals. And I chose to study how the butterflies will do for survival when cold weather and food shortage could easily influence their life cycle. I concentrated on a number of main strategies butterflies adopt to handle these harsh conditions, hibernation and migration. First, let's talk about the hibernation, which means a long-term sleep, in which an animal's metabolism slows to conserve strength. Various butterfly species have formed different patterns of hibernation at continuous periods of their life cycle. For example, the banded hair freak hardly hibernates in its full-grown adult form, but as an egg, and another species, the daffod white, breathes during the winter in a crystallized stage. And during this time, it's able to draw on the energy it stimulated earlier on in its larval stage. Though the slowing of the metabolism in hibernation functions with many of the difficulties faced in winter, it can't prevent them all. In addition, some butterflies have extra plans for survival. For instance, they develop a substance in their blood, usually in glycerol or sorbitol, which serves as antifreeze, thereby adding extra resistance against lower temperatures. Actually, there is a positive side to the cold weather, fewer predators exist to cause problems. This is because they're mainly active in warm weather. So, now let's move on to the second type of survival strategy the butterflies used in winter, migration. That means moving to regions with a more suitable environment. I'm going to start this topic with a detailed study about particular cases of migratory species, the monarch butterfly. Many butterfly species found in various zones of the world migrate, like the Red Admiral, a British butterfly which winters in North Africa. But the monarch butterfly is the sole example to do this in North America. At any stage of the life cycle, the monarch cannot survive in the low winter temperatures. So when it gets cold, the monarchs begin to gather in huge groups and fly south. They can travel up to three and a half thousand miles. But only the last summer generation of monarchs migrate. Normal generations only live for a maximum of ten days. In fact, the last migration generation, as reported, do for six months, which enables them to take such a long journey. These huge teams of migrating monarchs only fly during daylight hours, and at night they usually have a rest in trees. Again, often in vast groups. Research is now being done into what encourages them to reach the destination. It has been known for years that they find their way on the journey by following rivers. And there are a few of these, along the migratory route. However, the new research indicates that they may also treat the sun as a navigational aid. During this time, they are able to feed mainly from a type of flour called milkweed, but they are not able to reproduce during this period. The monarchs hand in their lineage to a particular region in Mexico known as the Pierre Asaquaya. The monarchs are anticipated with great interest within the region. And over recent years, their annual arrival has gained great popularity among tourists. However, their habitat has been increasingly threatened. That is the end of section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Thank you for your time. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] Now turn to part four. Part four. You will hear a presentation on obesity and sugary drinks. First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. You have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Good afternoon everyone and thanks for coming to my presentation today, which is on the link between childhood obesity and sugary drinks. Childhood obesity is a worrying phenomenon that affects many developed societies. Childhood obesity is a worrying phenomenon that affects many developed societies. Childhood obesity is a worrying phenomenon that affects many developed societies. Childhood obesity rates have doubled throughout the past 30 years in the United States for children aged 2 to 5 and 12 to 19 and tripled in the age group of 6 to 11. Many social and environmental pressures lead to greater obesity in children. Chief among these influences is the wide variety and availability of sugar sweetened drinks that contain little to no nutritional value. These beverages include soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, flavored teas and coffees and energy drinks. Throughout the past 10 to 15 years these drinks have exploded onto the consumer scene, flooding grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores and vending machines. Americans have doubled their consumption of soda pop in the last 25 years, a trend that closely follows the obesity epidemic. The average American drinks 1.6 cans of soda pop a day, which is more than 500 cans a year. Soda drinking is particularly rampant among teenagers. Data indicates that soft drinks account for 13% of a teenager's caloric intake by far the largest source of calories in his or her diet. For decades milk was the most common beverage consumed by children, but by the mid-1990s boys and girls were drinking twice as much soda pop as milk. One recent study has demonstrated a strong link between consumption of sugar sweetened beverages and childhood obesity. Although some studies conflict regarding the causality between sugar sweetened beverages and obesity, a number of research studies confirm the findings that increased soft drink and sugar laden beverage consumption is a risk factor for obesity. Not only do sugar sweetened drinks likely lead to obesity, they are also associated with tooth decay and fragile bones. Energy and soft drinks can also contain large amounts of caffeine. The amounts of caffeine found in such drinks are often about 10 grams per ounce. With that in mind, take a look at the amount of caffeine found in other beverages. Most experts recommend that children consume well under 100 grams of caffeine per day. The pharmacological effects of caffeine are notable in children, most commonly seen as hyperactivity, sleep disturbances, and restlessness. Drinking large amounts of caffeine can also be associated with high blood pressure and frequent headaches. Researchers have reported that a new practice among college age students is the simultaneous consumption of energy drinks and alcohol, which allows greater consumption of alcohol since alertness is perpetuated by the energy drink. In addition, the sugar content of energy drinks is comparable or higher than most soft drinks with, for example, a typical energy drink containing 27 grams of sugar. Alcohol usually contains a lot of sugar, and this can lead to massive sugar intakes for people who mix energy drinks with alcohol. So what can be done to limit the amount of the nutritionally poor liquid calories that children and adolescents are consuming? On an individual basis, the best approach is simply to replace soda and sports drinks with water or low-fat milk in children's diets. Water is the best hydrator available. Low-fat milk not only hydrates, but delivers calcium, protein, and vitamin D. What happens at school may be out of the immediate control of a parent, but parents can petition the school to eliminate machines that sell soft drinks and energy drinks in favor of bottled water. Children should be watched at home regarding their choice of liquids. A glass of 100% fruit juice per day is fine, but excessive soda, sports drinks, or energy drinks is unhealthy. Parents need to provide guidance to their children so that they know and understand this. Moderation in guiding children, of course, is appropriate. Children who are constantly deprived of treats are more likely to binge eat or drink. Studies suggest that children who are raised by parents who exert excessive dietary restraint may be more likely to become obese. Also, the role models presented by parents are important. Children possess the ability to regulate their caloric intake. However, if they see their parents struggle with the effort to control food or drink intake and the conscious restriction of intake to control weight, they may pattern their own eating and drinking behavior after their parents instead of allowing their internal energy regulation to guide them. This in turn seems to lead to greater obesity in children. In conclusion, parents should adopt healthy eating and drinking patterns limiting the consumption of soft drinks and other sugar sweetened drinks and to do so without obsession. Helping children develop a love for the refreshing taste of water or a cold glass of milk will pay immediate health rewards for children as well as dividends for their future, health, and weight control. Careful education of today's youth will be the key to them avoiding these destructive drinks. That is the end of part four. You will now have half a minute to check your answers. [BLANK_AUDIO]