Listening 2026-04 Test 3

==================== IELTS Listening Transcript ==================== PART 1 Speaker 0: Part one. Speaker 0: You will hear a man who runs a volunteer agency interviewing a woman called Grace who is applying to do volunteer work. Speaker 0: First, you have some time to look at questions one to five. Speaker 0: Now listen carefully and answer questions one to five. Speaker 1: Hello, Grace. I'm William. Thanks for coming in for this interview. It's very important for us to meet our volunteers in person. I understand. Speaker 2: It's no problem at all. Speaker 1: Okay. Let's get started. What's the best phone number to contact you on? Speaker 2: My mobile phone's probably best. The number's 0216367189. But I can't always answer it during the day. I'll give you my email address as well. I check it frequently. Speaker 1: Okay. I'll make a note that email's a good way to contact you. What's the address? Speaker 2: It's graceb@travel.co.nz. I chose it when I was younger, and I just haven't changed it since. It's easy to remember. Speaker 1: Now do you have any particular qualifications, Grace? Speaker 2: I'm a housewife now, but I used to be in teaching. I trained for that and got my diploma, although I haven't done it for years. Before having children, I worked as a bank teller. Speaker 1: Alright. I need to find out when you'll be available during the week. You said you have children. Are they at school? Speaker 2: Yes. Both of them are. So I can't start work before 08:15 in the morning or work past 03:00 in the afternoon. Speaker 1: So you'd be looking for about four or five hours a day, say 09:15 AM to 2 PM? That gives you time to get to and from school to work. Speaker 2: That's perfect. It's important for me to be there for my children. Speaker 1: Of course. And are you looking to work Monday to Friday? Speaker 2: Yes. If it gets to be too much, I can rethink it later. Speaker 1: Now, Grace, you obviously have a lot of work experience, but have you done any volunteer work before? Speaker 2: During the Rugby World Cup, there were many visitors who didn't know their way around or what they should see and do in Auckland City. So I worked as a guide to help introduce the city to tourists. I really enjoyed it. Speaker 1: Okay. Good. Have you done anything else? Perhaps when you were at school or university? Did you do any volunteer work there? Speaker 2: When I was at university, the manager of a netball team asked me to be the coach, and I did that. Speaker 1: Great. It sounds like you like your sports. Speaker 2: I used to, but not so much nowadays. Speaker 1: Okay. Speaker 0: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions six to 10. Now listen and answer questions six to 10. Speaker 1: If not sports, do you have any other interests? Speaker 2: Oh, yes. I love to get out in my garden, and I grow most of my own vegetables. I love flowers and flower arranging, but I don't suppose there's much volunteer work associated with those kinds of things. Speaker 1: You'd be surprised. Any other hobbies? Speaker 2: Like most people, I guess, I like music. Actually, I can play the guitar, but I haven't done much for a while, so I'm a bit rusty. One day, I'd like to have a go at the flute. Speaker 1: Okay. That gives me a good idea of the type of work you might be interested in. Ideally, it'd be something that combines your experience and your hobbies. If you're interested in something outdoors, I have a position helping out on a farm. That's just for a month. It's not too physically demanding, though it does require you to be on your feet all day. And it'd be nice as long as the weather is fine, but I imagine it could be uncomfortable in the rain or the heat. In the past, we've had many positions working in community centres. They've been working with the disabled or teens. The position we have available now is with elderly men and women. They have activities like flower arranging, music lessons, sing alongs, things like that. Speaker 2: Both of those sound great. I'm really open to anything. Speaker 1: That's nice to know. Just a couple more questions. Why do you want to do volunteer work? Speaker 2: Well, now that both my children are in school, I'd like to make some friends as I've got the time on my hands. Also, I like the idea of helping others. Speaker 1: And last question. How did you find our agency? We aren't in the phone book. Did a friend tell you about us? Speaker 2: No. I was on my way to school the other day, and I saw your advertisement at the supermarket. Speaker 1: It's good to know someone sees those ads. Thank you again for coming. Speaker 0: That is the end of part one. You now have one minute to check your answers to part one. PART 2 Speaker 0: Part two. You will hear a man called John Davies, who is the chairman of a photography club, giving some information to members of the club. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16. Speaker 3: Hi, everyone. My name's John Davies. Welcome to this month's photography club. I'm very pleased to see a few new members in the audience, and I hope you find the club both useful and enjoyable. Now many of you have been asking me about good photography magazines. They're all slightly different, and it really depends on what you're looking for. One of the most popular is Camera Ready. It's packed full of recommendations on where to buy the best cameras and whether the Internet really has the best bargains. And it also has lots of interviews with ordinary hobby photographers like you and me. One good thing is that there's no jargon, so it's great for people who are new to photography. Outdoor Lens might suit you if you want a magazine full of inspiring and amazing images. The color printing is extraordinarily good in this publication, though that leaves little room for handy tips about actually taking a photo. I personally buy Photographer Today. You won't find free giveaways inside or beautiful images of exotic locations, but it does help me keep abreast of movements and trends within the photography world. It includes reviews and articles about the latest equipment too, which are well worth consulting before you buy anything. Photo Now is a fairly new publication dedicated to creative photography. It's expensive, but it's packed full of recommendations on how to get the best photograph you can. For example, how to use software to create special effects. Once a year, there's going to be a competition where you can win anything from the latest equipment to a photography holiday. For those of you who are into photographing nature, then Wild Photos might be just the thing for you. There isn't a print version of this one. You have to download it. And it's aimed more at the professional than the beginner, so there isn't much in the way of tips as it assumes you know all the basics. Photo Monthly is happy to accept photos from the general public for publication. This does mean, of course, that the images are not quite up to professional standard. You don't get paid any money, so if you're happy to have your work published for free, then this is the magazine for you. There's also a regular travel feature where you can find good tips about the best places to go with your camera. Speaker 0: 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. Speaker 3: Now I promised to talk about my recent holiday with a company called Photo Safari when I went with my wife to Kenya in East Africa. I chose this company because it has a good reputation, and it offers a number of useful features for guests. Don't expect to stay in a five star hotel, though. The campsites we were on were good, but a little basic for some people on the tour, though there was a locker provided for all our camera gear. The company is suitable for people with any level of photographic expertise, and I learned a lot from the other guests. The only extras you need to pay for are flights, and you'll also need to organize your own transfers to the accommodation when you arrive. Otherwise, it's all inclusive. And I have to say the catering was excellent, particularly the breakfasts. So what did I think of the holiday? Well, everything was very well organized, and the guides were great at finding wildlife for us to photograph. Even if one morning we didn't see a lion or elephant, there was always something to snap. There were some people there who weren't into photography and were there just for a holiday, like my wife. But even they had fun and found lots to see and do. I do think, however, that more information should be given, like about what to wear. I had on a blue denim shirt one night and quickly had to change as the color apparently attracts certain nasty insects. And we went in May and later found out that June to October would have been a better time for spotting wildlife. So what advice would I give to anyone... Speaker 0: That is the end of part two. You now have thirty seconds to check your answers to part two. PART 3 Speaker 4: Part three. You will hear two students named Joy and Tim discussing their classroom management project. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25. Speaker 5: Hi, Tim. I thought you'd never get here. We still have so much of our classroom management project to complete. I don't know how we'll get it done. Speaker 4: Take it easy, Joy. Our results for this course won't be high enough if we rush to finish. It's our final assignments for the semester. We don't have any other projects to do, so we can focus on this. Speaker 5: I'm not worried about my results, but we need to finish it because part of the project is to implement the results of our research and make the classroom a better learning environment. If we don't start soon, we'll run out of time. You know, the semester will finish next month. Speaker 4: That's true. What do you think of the theory chapter in our textbook? Speaker 5: I don't think we should bother with it. Speaker 4: Are you saying that because you find the theory in that chapter too difficult to understand, or is the chapter just too long? Speaker 5: Neither. My real issue is that it doesn't have much bearing on the subject we're researching. Our project is on classroom management, not on company structuring. Speaker 4: There are parallels, though. We're learning about management and structure for careers in business management. This classroom based project is just a training ground. Speaker 5: Maybe. Anyway, last time we were considering the benefits of a discussion board in each home group room. What have you come up with? Speaker 4: The role of the discussion board is for sharing ideas. Each of us can learn from what others have done before us. I thought instead of the students merely stating what textbooks they think will be beneficial, it would be more useful to document what they've already studied and the reactions they had to the material. Speaker 5: In that way, others can find books that will further their own research. That's great. What about you? How have you been getting on with your analysis of classroom structure? Speaker 4: I've been thinking about what we should discuss in our essay on that topic. The teacher's role has been discussed in previous research papers, as has the important relationship between teachers and their students. But I haven't come across much research on the place an individual student holds in the classroom. Speaker 5: So this is what I want to talk about. That could be a controversial topic. The roles have slowly evolved. Traditionally, the teacher dominated the classroom. Now the general idea is that the teacher is a mentor to guide students' learning. Speaker 4: Rather than telling them what to do. I agree. It places the students on a more equal footing with the teacher so the students have more respect for their teachers. Should we conduct interviews with the teachers regarding this developing interaction? It's not required that we do it. We could interview the students instead. I was considering it, but I think it may be difficult for many of the teachers to find the time. I tried to have a discussion with some of the professors, but they were all tied up with marking the first year students' exam papers and suggested I come back in a week or so. Speaker 5: If that's the case, we'd better not bother them. Speaker 4: Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30. Now listen carefully and answer questions 26 to 30. Speaker 4: What about this last research question about the factors that contribute to successful learning outcomes? Speaker 5: Well, obviously, classroom management comes into it. I think for students, it's impossible to gain the full benefits of studying without it. In fact, I'd say it is the single most important factor of success in learning. Speaker 4: I agree, but I think feedback is pretty important too. There has to be a real dialogue going on between teachers and students, and constructive criticism is essential to students' progress and development. Speaker 5: True. And I've been thinking about the shift in roles in recent years, but the essentials are still the same. For instance, effective lesson planning is pretty fundamental. Teachers have the responsibility to do it properly. Speaker 4: I agree. That is a requirement for every teacher. I believe that each student learns at his or her own pace. Some students may need individual tutoring. I think it should be a matter of choice, though, as it doesn't work well for everyone. Speaker 5: You are right. I'd like to see more supervision in the lab too. Some of the students need a lot more help than they're getting. Speaker 4: Yes. That's true. And it would also be beneficial if students had more access to technology. Nowadays, students and teachers can use few simple clicks with a computer to finish something that might take them hours or even days in the past. Speaker 5: I agree. Even though funding technology can be expensive, it pays in the long run. Speaker 4: I am not sure. We can record it in our research though as a recommendation. Speaker 4: That is the end of part three. You now have thirty seconds to check your answers to part three. PART 4 Speaker 0: Part four. You will hear part of a presentation to biology students on new research into sea lions. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Speaker 6: Hello, everybody. I'm here today to tell you about a new research study that my team here at the university is doing on the sea lions that live along the coast of Western Australia. You may be wondering why we've been studying this animal. Well, Australian sea lions have been identified as an endangered species, so there's a real need to count them and find out just how many there are. Up until 1892, the population of these animals was severely depleted because of hunting. That's no longer allowed. But today there is a new danger. Sea lions often forage for food in the same areas along the coastlines where there are nets used to catch sharks. Unfortunately, they tend to get caught up in the nets by accident and drown. Now we wanted to monitor the population of sea lions in this area, but we weren't sure of the best way to do it. There are several different animal tracking methods, which vary in their effectiveness, and there are different factors to consider. One of the most important of these is the cost, but you also have to consider how easy your chosen method is to use. You may choose a traditional method, like a plastic tag. They're relatively straightforward to attach, but they're really only suitable to use with animals that you can catch quite easily. You might also go with a more modern method like GPS tracking, which uses satellite technology to transmit data on the animal around the clock. One drawback for marine animals, though, is that they don't transmit a signal in the ocean. You only get data when they're on land. There are certain large animals in remote areas that have to be tracked using a helicopter. The polar bear is a good example. Now an important part of tracking is being able to clearly identify the animal. Some, like zebras, are identified by markings such as their stripes, while the dolphin usually has distinguishing scars on its body that can help tell them apart. Sea lions don't have any markings like this, which is just one of the challenges of tracking them. When researchers in Perth tried to use electronic tags in a sea lion study, they found that the sea lions had removed their tracking devices by deliberately rubbing up against rocks. This was something the researchers hadn't anticipated. Researchers in California studying American sea lions tried a different method. They applied paint to the animals. They thought this would be a better, less invasive means of identification. Unfortunately, this didn't work so well either because sea lions molt every year and shed their fur along with the identifying mark. So let's look at our current study. We have several aims that we'd like to achieve. The first of these is to try to establish where the sea lions can be identified from the whiskers on their face. These are much coarser than a cat's whiskers, so easier to see. Our theory is that the pattern of these whiskers may be as individual as a fingerprint on a human. If this is in fact true, then we think this could be an effective way to identify them. Our second aim is to come up with a diagram of sea lion whisker patterns so this can be used as a guide for us and other studies. We're using a few different methods to help us do all this. We know that we need to build up a wide range of visual data. So firstly, we've been in touch with zoos around Australia to gather photographs from them of the faces of any sea lions they have. This won't be enough to achieve our purpose, though, so we're also broadening our search by inviting the public to take part in our research. We're hoping this will result in hundreds of useful images we can use. Speaker 0: That is the end of part four. You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.