Listening 2026-06 Test 8

Test 2. This is the IELTS Listening Test. You will hear a number of different recordings and you will have to answer questions on what you hear. There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions and you will have a chance to check your work. All the recordings will be played once only. The test is in four parts. At the end of the test, you will be given ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Now turn to part 1. Part 1. You will hear a customer asking a travel agent for information about some trips. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6. Now listen carefully. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. At Lanter Travel Agency. May I help you? I saw your advert in the newspaper this morning and decided to come over for more detailed information about some trips that you currently offer. What kind of trips do you have in mind? Well, I enjoy surfing very much and want to get tanned but all my friends suggest either mountain climbing or biking. We currently offer all the three types. Even though biking is the most popular type of holiday, it doesn't work for everyone. I think you should follow your heart. Right. What are my options for accommodation then? For this type of holiday, you can choose to stay in a hotel or a self-hatering apartment. Can you introduce the hotel package first? Sure. Price for our hotel package is quite reasonable compared with that of your own reservation. What does the price include? It covers the beachside hotel and free breakfast. Good. Does the hotel have any recreational facilities? Oh, rest assured. The hotel is fully equipped with a pool, a nightclub and a gym. Guests can enjoy a vibrant nightlife during their stay at the hotel. Five-star ratings are common for the hotel satisfying service. So how much does it cost? Well, it was originally 360 euros for an adult but we are now offering a Labor Day promotion. You can get a discount of 12.5%. So that's 315 euros for now. A really good deal. Right. What about the self-hatering apartment? Oh, that'll be even cheaper. But you have to stay in a shared room with other guests. Each room has six bunk beds with lockers. Okay. I think the hotel is much better. Getting a good night's sleep is critical for a relaxing holiday. I can't stand sharing a room with someone who snores all night long. I can't agree more. What about the surfing equipment rental? I don't want to bring my own surfboard. You can hire a surfboard by the hour, day or week, just book it in advance and it will be delivered to the hotel or even directly to the beach. How much does it cost? It costs 15 euros for a day. But for a week's rental, it's just 75 euros. The surf station also provides surf lessons if you're interested. That's good to know. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at Question 7 to 10. Now, listen and answer Question 7 to 10. Oh, there's one more thing you should know. Just in case of an accident during your trip, we recommend each customer to have the correct travel cover in place before leaving home. Please tell me about it. Well, we mainly offer two types of insurance. The first one is basic coverage. It costs 30 euros. What does it include? It covers medical treatment during your trip and things like missing your flight, flight delays and cancellations. But you know, extreme sports can be quite dangerous and therefore injuries during these activities are excluded. Then how about the other one? The second one is called Premier Cover. It is more expensive at 42 euros 50. But we highly recommend this one for regular surfers. If you receive an injury or hurt anyone else while participating in extreme sports like surfing, you are fully covered. I see. I think I'll go with the Premier cover. When your flight gets in, there will be a mini van to pick you up at the airport and take you to the hotel. But you'll have to get to London Airport yourself. It's all right. I'll just take the airport shuttle. Actually, I personally suggest you take a taxi. It's much cheaper than other types of transport, including the airport shuttle. Thanks for the tip. I think I'll book a trip for next weekend. Okay. How would you like to pay? Do you accept credit cards? Yes, we do. But there will be a slight charge on that. If you pay by check, there's no extra fee. Great. I'll write you a check then. That is the end of Part 1. You now have one minute to check your answers to Part 1. Section 1 – You will hear a woman talking to a man who works in a tourist information office. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6. You will see that there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first. Good morning. Can I help you? I hope so. I have a friend in Spain and her two daughters are coming to the city to study for a month. So I thought the tourist information center was the best place to ask about hostels. Can you recommend any? Of course. I usually suggest one of the hostelling international places. H.I. West End is a big hostel in a residential area, but is only 10 minutes from downtown if you take a bus. It's really popular. The journey time is by bus, so bus has been written in the space. Now, we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 6. Good morning. Can I help you? I hope so. I have a friend in Spain and her two daughters are coming to the city to study for a month. So I thought the tourist information center was the best place to ask about hostels. Can you recommend any? Of course. I usually suggest one of the hostelling international places. H.I. West End is a big hostel in a residential area, but is only 10 minutes from downtown if you take a bus. It's really popular. Okay. Sounds good. I need to know how much it costs. The girls want a double room to themselves. They don't want to share with other people. That makes it more expensive. The price is under $30 for a bed in a dormitory, but they'll be paying $50 a night. But if they become members of hostelling international, the price comes down to $41 a night. Membership costs $35. Right. And membership offers them benefits to all kinds of activities. What kind of things? Oh skydiving and whitewater rafting. Things like that. Hmm. I don't think they're interested in that kind of thing. If they become members, will they get cheaper entrance tickets to museums? Oh yes. And also discounts on bicycle and car hire. Okay. It's probably worth it. Is the hostel very noisy? They're coming here to do some studying. Ah. I think it is quite noisy. Is it a really big hostel? And if they want to use the internet, this hostel still makes a charge, unfortunately. It's $1 for 15 minutes and $3 for an hour. It might not be ideal for them. What else can you recommend? Is there anything in a quiet area? There's Ellis Code Hostel. Hmm. How do you spell that? ELLISCOAT I've never heard that name before. And where is that? It's on the beach looking over the bay. Here. Look on the map. Oh. It's quiet, but not far from Dragon Island. There's plenty going on there in the evening. Oh, that's a nice area. And if they want to go to Dragon Island, it only takes a couple of minutes to walk down to the ferry. So how much is a room there? It's in such a nice spot that the rooms are a bit more expensive. They're $62. Does that include any meals? Unfortunately not. It is possible to buy meals in the hostel at a reasonable price, but because it isn't very busy in the winter, they only cook in summer. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at question seven to ten. Oh, I think I know the place you mean. It's an old building, isn't it? Yes, it's well known as it's one of the oldest in the city. There's been a hotel there since 1887 when it was first built. It was turned into a hostel in 1985, and they've invested a lot of money restoring it inside. Hmm. They'd like that, but I'm just looking on the map at where their college is. It's right in the center. It is a bit far from them from there. The hostel actually has scooters for hire at a very good price, so they could do that. Uh, it would be quicker than cycling or walking to the center. Hmm. It has a bit expensive, but it sounds like the best one so far, unless there's something a bit cheaper. Okay. Uh, well, what about the backpackers hostel? That's not so expensive. It's in a side street in the entertainment district. They wouldn't need to go far to find everything they want. They could walk everywhere. It's very reasonable, only $45, and another $5 if they want to have breakfast. Hmm. But what about other meals? There's no cafe, but on each floor in this hostel, there's a kitchen for residents to cook in. Oh. I'm not sure how well equipped they are, but it should be fine for basic meals. Well, that's really very helpful. I'll pass all this information on now. You ask your friends to ring me if they need to know anything else. I will. Thank you. That is the end of section one. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Listen to the following conversation carefully, and then complete the forms from different extracts. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 4. Message 1 I've lost two credit cards. One is a visa, the other is a master card. What can I do? Don't worry. What's your name, please? My name is Ronald Howard. Howard, H-O-W-A-R-D. Do you know the numbers of the lost cards, sir? Yes, I wrote them down here. The visa is number 6091-1313-9781-0231. And the master card is number 7228-6718-7217-5059. Do you still remember the expiration date of the cards? Yes, the visa expires in November 2014, and the master card in January 2015. Thank you, sir. Could you show me your ID card? Here you are. Thank you. Please come by the office on Wednesday so that we can issue two new cards. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10. Message 2. Could you show me the menu, please? Here you are, sir. Will you dine a la carte or the tabla dote? I think the tabla dote will do very well for me. Does it include an appetizer, soup, and so forth? Yes, sir. The tabla dote includes an appetizer, soup, salad, choice of dessert, tea or coffee. Is there any particular dish you would recommend? The roast duck is very good tonight, and we also have several special chicken dishes if you like chicken. Okay, I'll take the roast duck and some veal. Do you want to drink something? A bottle of beer. Will you order your desserts now? Apple pie, ice cream or cakes? Apple pie, please, and a cup of coffee. Okay, wait a minute. I'll bring you the appetizer right away. I've got a reservation through my secretary. My name is Reed, R-E-A-D-E. Just a minute, please. Yes, you've got a reservation. A single room for three days. The room number is 1201. Here is the key. Thank you. Could you show me your passport? Your passport number? Its number is J-D-A-215-1623. How many pieces of luggage do you have? Just these three. Two suitcases and one bag. Okay, please sign the register here, and the portal will take your luggage to your room. Here is the register. Thank you very much. You're welcome. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here. That is the end of part one. You now have half a minute to check your ounces. --- Section 2. You will hear a podcast on Camber's Theme Park. Now you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16. Now listen and answer questions 11 to 16. Welcome to Camber's Park podcast. In the next few minutes, I'll tell you a little about the park and the amazing things we have to offer. We like to think that Camber's offers more than other theme parks. Like them, we have a variety of exciting rides for people of all ages, but Camber's also places strong emphasis on the educational experience for its visitors. Not boring facts, but lots of interactive exhibits. Although it's mainly an outdoor experience, we do have some indoor activities if the weather gets too dreadful. The parks got a lovely well-established feel. Set in 80 acres of beautiful countryside, about three miles south of the tourist resort of Dolchester. The park was set up in 1997 by the Camber family, but then taken over by new owners in 2004, who have maintained the original vision of the Cambers. It has lots of old trees, hundreds of flower beds, and a gorgeous lake. Cambers has over 45 different rides, exhibits, and arcades. All but one of these is free once you've paid your entrance fee. We charge a small fee for our newest ride to reduce the length of the queues. You don't pay anything for parking. A family ticket for a family of four works out at about £8 per person, which is amazing value. All details of current prices are shown on our website, along with full details of rides, etc. and directions for getting to us. We also have a number of special offers. For example, if you live locally, why not join our Adventurers Club, which entitles you to 50% off ticket prices all year round, and a special lane for all rides and exhibits, which means you don't have to wait to get into any part of the park. See the offers tab on the website. We've recently added a number of new exhibits to the park, and we're particularly proud of our future farm zone, which houses over 20 different species of animals, from chipmunks to dairy cows. The emphasis is on getting near to the animals. All of them can be petted, and you can buy food for feeding the animals. Many of our younger visitors say that this is the high point of their visit. And speaking of food, don't let the animals have all the fun. We have a total of seven different catering outlets on the site. We're open 10 to 530 all year round, and cold drinks and snacks can be bought at any time during opening hours. And hot food is available most of the day in the Hungry Horse Cafe from 11 until 5. Just half an hour before closing time. Now you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20. Now we want all our visitors to have an exciting time when they come to the park, but our first priority must be safety. Parents and guardians know their children's behaviour and capabilities, but here at the park we have set certain conditions for each of the rides to ensure that all visitors get the maximum enjoyment out of the experience and feel secure at all times. There are four major rides at the park. Our newest ride is the River Adventure, which is designed to reproduce the experience of white water rafting. No amount of protective clothing would make any difference, so only go on this ride if you're prepared to get wet. One under eight can go on this ride, but all under 16s must have an adult with them. Not all of our rides are designed for thrills and spills. Our jungle gym roller coaster is a gentler version of the classic loop the loop, specially created for whole family enjoyment, from the smallest children to elderly grandparents, suitable for all levels of disability and health conditions. Members have comfortable seating for up to eight people with safety belts for each passenger which must be worn at all times. Sit back and enjoy the scenery. One of the best established and most popular of Canberz rides is the massive swoop slide. Whiz down the polished vertical slide, nine metres in height and scream to your heart's content. There are no age or height restrictions, be careful though, you must have on long trousers so you won't get any speed burns. And then there's the famous zip go-kart stadium with 16 carts, eight for single drivers and eight for kids preferring to ride along with mum, dad or carer. Take part in high speed races in our specially designed Formula 1 style carts, but no bumping other carts please. All riders must be above 1.2 metres because they have to be able to reach the pedals even in the shared carts. Full details of all safety features are available on our website at www.canberzpark.com. So come and make a day of it at Canberz Theme Park. That is the end of section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers. --- Now turn to Section 3 on page 5. Section 3 You will hear two law students called Eleanor and Jamie discussing their work on whether the evidence given by people who witness crimes is reliable. First, you have some time to look at questions 21-26 on page 5. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21-26. Hi Jamie, I've just been reading this book about eyewitness testimonies. It really goes into how much we can actually rely on what the people who witness crimes actually say and what things influence eyewitness reliability. Oh, I've read a couple of case studies on that too. Can we compare notes? Good idea. It's fascinating to learn that eyewitness identification is such compelling evidence in both civil and criminal trials. You mean if a witness says something, generally they're believed? And reading between the lines, I'd say that when a witness gives evidence in a very self-assured way, everyone takes them at their word. Whether they're a doctor who speaks with an assumed authority or the average person in the street, it doesn't seem to matter as much as their manner. Right, so is that textbook worth reading? Yes, it's a good book, divided into user-friendly sections. It refers to case studies and the conclusions are clearly underlined, but actually, some of the cases are more than 10 years old now. Well, it's the same problem with the survey reports our tutor gave us, but at least they draw on a representative sample. That's good. All the books point out that eyewitness statements are very often unreliable. But there can be good reasons for that, like an incident may happen at night in the dark. Or it happens somewhere away, but it's the fact that it can happen in just a split second that makes the witnesses account so unreliable. That point's made very strongly in what I've read too. Yeah. Have you read anything about photo identifications? Yes, about the procedure and the reliability of witnesses looking at photos of different people and picking out the suspect. The case studies all clearly show how easy it is to sway a witness's choice of photo, even just by the flicker of an eye. But steps have been taken now to avoid this happening. And are the witnesses told exactly what they have to do? Mostly. But the trouble is, most people focus on the photos and choose the most likely suspect from the bunch and forget about the actual incident and who they saw at the time. And I read something about a naive observer. Do you know what that is? Is it a witness who's never been in a court before? Oh. I understood it to mean someone who's had nothing to do with the event. And they're asked to look at the photos and pick out the potential suspect. That figures. Then they can see if the photos are a good set and make sure one person doesn't stand out. Another thing I read was that witnesses don't like to change their minds once they've made a particular statement. I thought people might worry about the fact that they told a lie in court and think they might be punished in some way. But it's simply that they're afraid of seeming unintelligent or lightweight. Yeah. People are reluctant to lose face. Imagine if a case had been going on for weeks and you suddenly realised you'd got something wrong right at the beginning before you hear the rest of the discussion. You have some time to look at questions 27 to 30 on page 6. Now, listen and answer questions 27 to 30. Changing the topic slightly, can I just check with you what you've understood about the problems of interviewing child witnesses when they've witnessed, for example, robbery? Yes. Did you get the handout about the stages that should be followed when children are interviewed? Yes. The rapport stage when a relationship between the child and the interviewer is built up seems to be crucial. But many children fail to say anything that provides any real information. It must be hard for them, not to feel a bit scared about being in a formal setting like a court building. Still, it's a good lead-in to open-ended questions where the interviewer carefully sticks to their prepared questions in order to remain neutral. I can see the point of that, but the handout discusses the issue of children simply not understanding the specialist language used, so the whole interview just gets more puzzling for them. I think the stage called closed questions is easier for children to handle. They just have to answer yes or no. But everything's not so clear cut in a child's world. And abstract concepts such as honesty haven't been fully grasped by young children. You mean they make things up? Apparently. And in the final stage, closure, where the interviewer has to check anything that hasn't been made clear to them by repeating previous questions, children often become suspicious of the questioner. It must require lots of training to be able to interview children successfully. Yes. There is the end of section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. --- Odd 4. You will hear part of the geography lecture about rubber production. 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 morning. In this module, we've been looking at the production of some of the world's most important raw materials. And today, it's the turn of rubber. Traditionally, natural rubber was produced on small holdings. And in case you're not familiar with the process, I'll just describe it briefly. The first stage in the process, known as tapping, involves making an incision in the rubber tree and removing a thin layer of bark. This procedure has to be done very carefully, with a special knife. Because if the incision is too deep, the tree will be damaged. And a white liquid known as latex starts to ooze out. Next, the taper attaches a cup to the tree, made out of something simple like a coconut shell, to collect it. Tapping is usually started in the early morning, because the coolness encourages the latex to flow easily. Later in the day, the taper goes back to each tree to get the latex, and take it to what you might call the factory. Although the procedures that take place in it are relatively simple. Here, it is poured into a mold, and then formic acid is added to it, and the mixture is left for a few hours. The purpose of the formic acid is to thicken the liquid latex. So, after some time, the latex is transformed into a solid block of rubber. This block of rubber is then pressed manually, to turn it into a thin sheet. And then, when it's thin enough, the rubber sheet is fed through a mangle. And I should point out that apart from this, no other machinery is used in the process. It's fairly simple, just a frame with two rollers, and a handle to turn them. The procedure is repeated several times to get rid of as much water as possible. And finally, these sheets are taken to a special smoke room where they are dried. And you're then left with what are by now sheets of brown rubber. These are then sold to traders, who collect them from villages and sell them on in turn. Well, that's the process then. Now, just a little bit about the history of rubber. Rubber was in use in America long before it became commercially important. The rubber tree was a native of Brazil. And there's an account from as long ago as 1525 of people in Mexico playing with rubber balls. But it wasn't until the 19th century that Europeans recognized the usefulness of the substance, chiefly for clothing. Various attempts were made to improve the properties of rubber. One of the key discoveries was of a process known as vulcanization, which involved heating the rubber and adding sulfur to it. And the result was a substance that had a lot more strength and was also more elastic, making it suitable for a variety of uses. But the thing that gave demand for rubber a real boost was the expanding automobile industry, at the end of the 19th century. And the invention of car tires. During the 20th century, rubber became so important that there were various attempts to develop a synthetic version. But none of them resulted in a product that was able to compete with natural rubber until Germany developed a successful substitute when its supplies of the natural substance were cut off during the First World War. Later, this was accelerated when the American government built its own rubber factories. So, in economic terms, rubber has had an outstanding position in the global market for more than 100 years. That is the end of Part 4. You now have one minute to check your answers to Part 4. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> Good morning, my name's Susan Mossman, and as well as being a part-time lecturer on the University's Museum Science degree, I'm also curator of a new exhibition opening at the Mid-Mouth Museum called Plasticity. This traces the history of plastics and ways they are being developed and used today. The first type of plastic was originally developed in response to a call from the makers of sports equipment. Animal-derived materials were becoming extremely expensive, so manufacturers launched a competition to find an alternative to ivory for making pool and billiard balls. Although various forms of plastic were developed, none of them were good enough to win the competition. But the inventors knew they were onto a good thing, and started researching a variety of different substances, partly based on organic material, what we call semisynthetics. One of the early semisynthetic materials produced was the first commercially produced celluloid or plastic film, which was made by dissolving cotton in a strong acid, such as nitric acid. Unfortunately, this had a tendency to explode, so technicians had to be very careful with it. They also experimented with making plastics out of products derived from milk, but this didn't really work, and efforts were therefore concentrated on other organic material. One of the first uses of plastic was in the production of artificial fabric, and the earliest successful one was a substitute for silk. This was obviously a very expensive fiber, so artificial alternatives were thought to be worth investing in. The next significant breakthrough came in 1907 with the invention of bacolite. This was the first entirely synthetic plastic made in a laboratory. It was invented by Hendrik Bakeland, a chemist, who had made a fortune from producing paper used in photographic processes. Bakelite is a pretty unusual type of plastic, because it actually gets hard when it's heated, whereas most other plastic becomes more malleable when hot, that is they become more plastic, which is of course where the name for the category of materials comes from. So strictly speaking, Bakelite isn't a plastic at all. But now let's look at the exhibition itself. In it we show a variety of semi-synthetic and totally synthetic plastics. Some of them dating back are hundred years. Some of the older plastics on display are unstable. This means that when they are in the process of degrading, they may produce gases which are acidic, and which can cause neighboring objects in the display to disintegrate. We had to be very careful with these displays, because there is one thing which causes plastic objects to degrade or break down, and that is light. So we've had to think of ways to get around this problem when setting up the objects on display. We have about 850 objects in the exhibition. One of our most interesting is a magnificent chandelier, a lamp designed to hang in the center of the ceiling of a big hall. It's only when you look carefully that you can see this is a wonderful example of recycling. It's made entirely of pens, ones which we use and throw away every day. A second exhibit which is drawing a lot of attention is a car made entirely from plastic, which is now in small scale production in Japan. [BLANK_AUDIO]