Listening 2026-07 Test 5

Now listen carefully and answer questions one to five. Hello, how can I help you? Hi, I've just moved to the area and saw an advertisement for your drama society so I'm calling to find out some more details. Sure, I'm the society secretary, my name's Jane Coolfield. Thanks, can you tell me exactly where the society is based? Well, the address for the society is My Address, which is 117 Green Road, like the colour, and that's Impressed Win. But that's just the mailing address, it's not where we actually rehearse. We do that at the clubhouse in Win. It's behind the playing fields. It used to be a cricket club, you see. Oh, right. So is this a new interest or do you have some acting experience? It doesn't matter if you haven't, you know, experience isn't a requirement. Well, that's good, because I haven't got any, but I am musical, and I've got some experience of song festivals. Oh, that's great. We're always looking for actors and singers, of course, especially male ones. Oh, by the way, do you have a car? Yes, why? It's a big help if you're able to drive. Not all our members have access to transport, so it's very helpful. I see. Well, I'm sure I can help out there, so when do you actually meet? On Tuesday, from 6 to 8 p.m. Sorry, you said Tuesday, not Thursday. Yes. Good. Thursday's a problem for me. I do some private tutoring and can't move that. Right. And that's all your no breaks. Good point, we do close for a couple of weeks, you know, in August, so we don't get together then. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at Question 6-10. Now listen and answer Question 6-10. To be a member costs just £40. A year? Yes, and that covers our annual dinner. Right. But there's a rate for concessions, which are for people over 60 and the unemployed. I've just retired, so that's good news. What's the discount? It was 10%, but now it's more, you pay just £25, which is a reduction of £15. Every little helps, after all, especially with a teenage son. Actually, I wanted to ask if there's an age limit. Could Jack come along too? He's 15. Actually, we have a special youth group, and that's open to anyone up to and including 16 years old, so he could join that. You're right, keep him out of trouble. And what about the shows you put on? You said you were very busy. Do you have plays, etc. every year, or how does it work? Well, we put on at least two productions a year, occasionally we might do Shakespeare, but normally we choose works by modern playwrights. Sounds quite varied, and challenging. And you rehearse for the two productions when you meet up? Certainly, but that's not all we do. We also write our own family show each winter for the December holidays, which is always a lot of fun, and is actually very popular in the local community. We donate the money we make to the children's hospital here. Oh, that sounds very nice. I've been involved in charity work. That is the end of part one. You now have one minute to check your answers to part one. Good morning, sunshine activity holidays. Can I help you? Hi, I'm ringing from Boston in the USA. We're coming to the UK in the summer to visit my parents and my children want to do an activity holiday at your centre. Of course. First of all, may I take down some details? Can I have your children's full names, please? My son is David, David William Smith and my daughter is Maria Fionner with two ends, Smith. And your home address? 463 Bconn Street. That's B-E-A-C-O-N Street. Boston MA-O-2-1-1-6. Thanks. And a home phone number? 617-742-9835. Our course is all start on a Saturday, which week do your children want to come? They need to do a course which begins on the 27th of June and finishes on the 4th of July. So that's one week only. Okay. Now, have you got any particular activities in mind for them? Well, last summer, the whole family went sailing and they really enjoyed it, so I think it would be nice for them to do that again. You do that on a lake nearby, I think. That's right. And my daughter would like to try surfing. That's a great choice. Would your son enjoy that too? He'd rather do rock climbing. He completed a two-day programme last year and he really enjoyed it. Well, make a note of that. Good. Any other sports they'd like to try? Horse riding is number one on Maria's list, as she rides here in the United States. And David is keen to have lessons, but he's a bit nervous. I think he needs to build his confidence. Okay, I've got that. I take it the children can swim. We've got two pools at the centre and we also take them to the beach. Yes, they both swim well. In fact, I saw on your website that children can do their swimming awards during their stay. Well, actually, we're only offering the gold certificate this year. We didn't get much interest in the silver and platinum awards last year. I think David would like to do that. I don't think Maria is ready yet. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at question seven to ten. That's fine. What about indoor activities? We offer quite a varied range. Yes, I saw that. David's done a lot of drama, so he'd like to do that. Maria is a bit shy, but I think it would be good for her. Put her down for that too. Well, there are opportunities for everyone, whether they've done it before or not, so that's fine. We'll also be offering a new course which hasn't been advertised yet. Cookery, that's to replace woodwork. Well, Maria loves making cakes, so she'd enjoy that. And it'd be something different for David, so put them both down for that. That's fine. Well, I'll get a copy of their programme for the week sent to you as soon as possible. Thank you. Oh, by the way, will they need to bring any sports equipment with them? We provide all safety equipment, riding hats, life jackets, etc., free of charge, as well as things like surfboards and tennis rackets, but you can hire other equipment like a wetsuit for a small fee. She does have her own, but I don't think they'll be room in her luggage, so we'd better hire one. Fine. Oh, there's just one other thing I need to check with you. My husband and I won't be travelling to the UK with the children. We arrive a week later, so they'll need to be met at the airport. I would ask my parents to meet them, but the flight gets in really early, at 6.30, and they live a long way from the airport. So we'll need to book the transfer for seven o'clock. It'll take them at least half an hour to get through immigration. We'll have a representative waiting in arrivals. Now, you'll need to send us a deposit. 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. ECL furnishings Anthony speaking, how can I help you? Oh, I was looking at your internet site and I'm interested in ordering a bed. The customer is inquiring about a bed, so bed has been written in the space. Now we shall begin. You shall answer the questions as you listen, because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 6. ECL furnishings Anthony speaking, how can I help you? Oh, I was looking at your internet site and I'm interested in ordering a bed. Certainly, Madam. What sort of thing did you have in mind? Well, I saw when I liked, but I can't remember the name of the design. Well, we have three basic models. There's the classic, the Oxford and the London. Yes, I remember now. I was looking at the classic and the Oxford. They look nearly the same. Yes, well, the classic has a higher headboard which some people like. Uh-huh. Whereas the Oxford has a lower one. Hmm. Well, actually, it's not a big room, so I'll go for that one. Right. Yes, that's very popular. Now what size did you want? Well, nothing too high as far as the base goes, I mean. The standard height's 30 centimeters. That's the same for all our beds, but we can offer various alternatives for width and length. I want around four foot six inches wide. It's all centimeters now, so you'll be wanting 140 centimeters. What about the length? Well, that's why I was interested, actually, because I saw you have a range there. You see, Roger, my son, the beds for him and he's very tall, six foot four, so I was interested in the longer length. Yes, we can do any length for you. 220 centimeters sounds about right in this case. The standard is 200, but that extra 20 centimeters would just give him that bit of extra room. Fine. Now, we do offer this bed in three wood finishes. That's dark, natural, or bleached finish. Hmm. It depends really on the rest of the furniture in the room. Well, that's all quite dark, but actually, I think I'll go for the natural. The room could do with lightning up a bit. Right. So for this, let's see, a standard for that width would be 225 pounds, and with the extra length, we're looking at 265 pounds. Does that include delivery? Yes, but the bed will be delivered flat-packed, so there's an extra 25 pounds if you want assembly. Well, which would bring it to 290 pounds? No, flat-packed is fine. My son can do the assembly. Okay, fine. Now we do have a special offer on this month for bedside tables in that range. I don't know if you're interested. Well, he could certainly do with one. How much are they? They're a very good value. They're 64 pounds 99, individually, or a pair for 115 pounds. That's flat-packed again. I just want the one. That sounds very reasonable. And then there are various options which you can have at no extra cost. So for example, you can have an in-go light, which is very useful for reading. Oh, yes. I'll have that very nice. And does it have a cupboard? Yes. And you have a choice of a wooden door or a glass one. Right. I think Roger would like the glass one. Okay. And that comes with two adjustable shelves in the cupboard. And you also have a choice of one more open shelf above the cupboard or a drawer on top. Does the drawer have a lock? Let me check. Yes, it does. Right. That will be best then. I'll go for that. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at Question 7-10. Now, listen and answer Question 7-10. Okay. So now I just need to take a few details for delivery. So if I could just have your name, please. Mrs. S. Rogala, R-O-G-A-L-A, and the address is Bell Hill Farm. That's Bell Hill, two words? Aha, Farm, that's in Shifton. Shifton? Oh, yes, I know. Oh, it's a nice village, isn't it? Now are you right in center? No. The farm's a couple of miles south, but anyone can direct you at the village. Oh, and the post-codes, H-E-2-5-4-E-U. Thanks. And do you have a contact phone number? O-1-2-6-7-5-2-3-4-9-9. So when do you think I'll get it? We should get it to you by next week. Will someone be in or is there somewhere we could leave it? Or a neighbor? Well, I'm usually in in the morning, so that's the best time. I tend to be out in the afternoon, and the nearest neighbors are in the village, but just leave it in the garage if no one's in. It'll be quite safe there. It's just behind the house. That's fine. So the last thing is payment. --- Now turn to section one on page two of your question booklet. Section one. You will hear a telephone conversation between a travel agent and a man who needs help planning a holiday. First, you have some time to look at questions one to seven on page two. You can find out more about the travel agent and the man who needs help planning a holiday. 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. Beachheads travel, Pam speaking. Hi, my name is Duncan. I'm hoping you'll be able to help me organize a trip to beachheads. Sure, let me just fill in our customer request sheet while I'm speaking to you. Could you tell me your name again please? Yes, it's Duncan. Duncan White. The man's name is Duncan White, so white 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 one to seven. Beachheads travel, Pam speaking. Hi, my name is Duncan. I'm hoping you'll be able to help me organize a trip to beachheads. Sure, let me just fill in our customer request sheet while I'm speaking to you. Could you tell me your name again please? Yes, it's Duncan. Duncan White. Okay, and is the trip just for yourself? No, there's three adults, myself, my wife and my mother, and our two daughters, Chloe and Eden. So when are you thinking of travelling? During the next school holidays. So they start on the 12th of October, don't they? Yes, but we'll be arriving on the 15th and we want to stay for a fortnight. Right, got all that. Now I'll just take a few notes about the type of holiday you want. So I can make the bookings for you. Have you thought about where you want to stay while you're here? In the first week, we'd like a bit of luxury, and we're planning on staying in a hotel on the beach if possible. That'll be so much better than a campsite. We usually stay in a tent when we go away, but we're going to treat ourselves this time. And do you have a figure in mind for how much you'd like to spend? Are we likely to get anything for under $150 a night? Not really. You'd have to spend at least $175 for a big enough room. Okay, we can stretch to that. I'll just have to stop myself thinking that when we go camping, we only pay about $200 for a whole week. Well, I'm sure it will be worth it. I can also organise some activities for your first week. Is there anything your daughters would particularly like to do? They want to try sailing this year. Last year it was surfing. They were mad about it. Kids change their minds a lot, don't they? Minor into cycling at the moment. I know someone who can teach them to sail, would you like me to organise a class for them? Wonderful. We're bringing our own boat with us. And what about your wife and your mother? Well, my mother Susan goes bowling when she's in Brisbane, but my wife Jenny doesn't really like it. She loves bushwalking, but obviously my mother can't manage that. Can I suggest golf for them both? It's a gentler kind of walk. There's a beautiful course here with magnificent views of the sea. Sounds perfect. Okay, I'll organise a time. Thanks. Could you send me some leaflets about fishing in the area? I'd like to take the boat out myself. Sure, there are some good spots around. Great. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 8 to 10 on page 2. Now listen and answer questions 8 to 10. Okay, so let's think about the second week now. We want something totally different. We'd like to stay up in the mountains in the National Park. Very nice. And what kind of accommodation are you thinking of? There are some beautiful houses you can rent. Yes, we did think about renting a house, but I'm worried about the cost. Is there anything a bit cheaper, say, a caravan or even a cabin? It'd have to be a caravan because they don't have cabins at the campground, but the standard is very high. How much does it cost? $100 a night, but they're very roomy with all mod cons. The campgrounds also in a really good spot. What activities are you thinking of doing in that second week? Well, it's actually going to be my wife's birthday, so I'd like to do something a bit special for her. I can book a really nice message for her after lunch on that day. Lovely. Or would she rather try something more adventurous like a walk in the tree tops? It's really exciting. You go along a really high wooden bridge. Oh, no. She'd be terrified. Stick with your first idea. Are there any nice places to eat near the campground? Yes, there's a fantastic wood-fired pizza restaurant called Marcos. Oh, good. I've got two very fussy daughters. Could you send me their menu so he can check it will be okay? No problem, Duncan. Now, while I remember... That is the end of section one. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section two on page three. Section two. You will hear a talk about two new initiatives to encourage bicycle use in a city in Australia. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15 on page three. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15. Thank you for all coming to today's information session on bicycle use in the inner city. I'll start by telling you about the city council's new bicycle hire scheme, which is called city cycle. We want to provide people who don't own a bike a convenient way to get around the inner city. Now, to use city cycle, first you need to subscribe to the service and you can do that online. Just go to the city council website and follow the prompts and you'll be sent a card. Once you've done that, you can unlock one of our bikes from any station in the inner city area. Just go to the station and log on at the computer terminal. You'll be shown a diagram of the bikes that are currently available at the station so you just choose the one you want by touching the screen. You don't need a password or anything. Once you've chosen your bike, you can then go to where the bikes are stored and push the release button. After you do that, you have about 10 seconds to take the bike out of the rack. You can now start your bike ride. Further down the track, we're thinking about adding lockers for bags if the scheme is popular. Oh, at this point, can I just clarify something that a few people have been asking and that is, do I have to wear a helmet? Well, the answer is yes, you do. That's a requirement by law in this state, so don't forget to wear one at all times when riding. Now, at the end of your trip, just come back to one of the city cycle stations and wheel the bike into the bike rack. It's important to make sure that the bike is properly secured, because you could be held liable if it goes missing. The green light on the rack will confirm that it has been locked into place. So, we hope that with such a simple scheme, we'll have many users. Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20 on page 4. Now, listen and answer questions 16 to 20. Let's turn to another initiative, the layout of the new council bicycle centre, which we'll be opening next week. This is for people who already own a bike. We wanted to provide a place for cyclists to store their bikes, then change before going on to work. Can you all see the plan? If you look at the bottom towards the right-hand corner, you'll see where the cyclists enter the centre. People want more than just a place to park their bikes. That's why you'll see a coffee cart. That's it there between the reception desk and the vending machines. I'm sure it'll be very popular with commuters first thing in the morning. Now, of course, some of our cyclists have very expensive bikes, so we'll have a totally secure place for them to park. That's it in the top right-hand corner. Now, there's another special service for the cyclists that I'd like to show you. Look back at the entry on the map. Just to the left of reception on the Donovan street side of the building, you'll see quite a large room. That's the workshop where cyclists will be able to leave their bikes for repairs while they're at work. We've put a lot of thought into the facilities of the centre. If you have any valuables with you, you can leave these in our lockers. The locker room is in the top left-hand corner of your plan, so you can store your bag or wallet there before you head off for a shower. We've installed 10 state-of-the-art power showers. They are located in this room here, to the left of the hairdryers and just near the exit. There's also a water cooler available, so you can grab a drink and then pick up a towel next to the water cooler there. 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 leave the floor. You will have half a minute to check your answers. You will have half a minute to check your answers. You will have half a minute to check your answers. You will have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section 3 on page 5. Section 3. You will hear two students called Sylvia and Greg discussing their project on renewable energy. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25 on page 5. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25. Greg, about this project on renewable energy, we've got to look at some products that use it and then see how aware people are of this kind of energy. Well, first we must clarify what renewable energy is. I've done that. It's energy from a source which is replaced by a natural process such as wind, tidal energy from the sea, energy from the sun and so on. And I've found some very interesting examples of products using these sources. So if I, what have you got? Well, the first one is a company in Germany which is producing huge kites that pull ships along. The kites are attached by long cables and they fly up to 500 meters above the sea. They must be pretty big. And it means that they can be powered by the wind no matter what the weather. That sounds like a good idea, but will they really help reduce energy use? New bad. As well as that, apparently the shipping industry is one of the worst polluters on the planet as they use cheap diesel fuel which has terrible toxic emissions. The company believes these kites could cut the use of these fuels by 50 percent and reduce the emissions by the same amount. Sounds good. And I found a company in the US which is developing a new type of car. Apparently they're producing a sports car which doesn't use petrol at all. Just electricity, but for the US market only. Sounds intriguing. Do we know what it'll look like? They're very secretive about it. And all they say is that it won't look ugly and it'll have zero emissions. Wow, really? So they say. Any other product? I found an interesting article about a man in South Africa who's selling stoves using ethanol to the local people. Ethanol? Yes, it's made from the sugar of certain crops. Most of the local people use paraffin stoves at the moment and they are dangerous because they can explode quite easily. Right. Now for the next part we have to do a survey to find out how aware the public is about this kind of energy. Who shall we approach local businesses? I think it's easier to do a survey of the general public rather than local companies. Why? Well, last time we sent all those email surveys to commercial organisations and we only had replies from five percent of them. Oh, I forgot that. Okay then. What about the other students and the lecturers here in the university? You know what the lecturers are like. They're so busy they won't have the time but the students will, I'm sure. Okay. And as well as that, we could target the local schools like last time. School kids just love doing surveys. I think we want to stick to adults for this, don't you? You're probably right. Maybe we could approach people who rent their own properties around here since they're the ones who have to pay for the energy. Exactly. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30 on page 6. Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30. Now, what about the kind of questions we want to include in the survey? Well, we need to find out if they know what renewable energy is and how familiar people are with the concept. I know it's been all over the news lately but I think a lot of people are still in the dark about it. Do you think so? I'm not sure I agree. But we can have that in if you want. We also need to find out what they think about the use of traditional energy sources like gas and coal. And if they know what effect these types of energy have on their environment. And what they cost? That's not so important. But we ought to see what they think is going to happen to the consumption of traditional energy sources. You're right. Then there's nuclear power and that's an interesting one because it's cleaner and more efficient in many ways than other fuels. But the safety factor has always worried people. Yes. I know that the technology has improved greatly since it was first used but I don't think everyone is convinced. Are there any problems with renewable energy? Yes. And we need to know what people think about them. One argument is that it's going to be too expensive to use solar or wind power. But once people realize the benefits to us all, the price is bound to come down. It's always expensive to start with. Once enough people want it, it'll be a viable prospect. That's true. But the other thing is they don't like it. They say that some of the technology is ugly, like the big windmills used. A lot of people think they spoil the countryside and I agree. They're not that bad. They're pretty efficient so perhaps it's a case of choosing the right place for them where they look leased out of place. A good point. It'll be very interesting to see the results of this survey. Now turn to Section 4 on page 7. Section 4. You will hear part of a presentation given by a business student on an assignment about absence from work. First, you have some time to look at questions 31-40 on page 7. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31-40 on page 7. Hello everyone. For my assignment I did a review of the literature concerning absence in the workplace and I'm going to present a summary of what I found. I looked at some research on absence from work, that is the number of days work people miss for various reasons. Researchers refer to two types of absence, frequent absence which is obviously a more serious problem and occasional absence. A lot of studies look at the factors involved in absence from work and several have been identified. Firstly, the gender of the employee may influence his or her ability to attend work. For example, a female is more likely to have childcare responsibility and so could be absent as a result of that. The next factor that has been identified is the attitude of employees toward their work. But there has been a lot of debate about the extent to which this actually does influence absence and some people argue that the research hasn't been conclusive. Some researchers have suggested that another reason for high levels of absence is that some organizations have a culture in which absence is accepted, but others have criticized this model, arguing that it's too much of a generalization. And then there are factors related to the type of work the employee does. It's been claimed that workers in industry are more likely to have high absence rates than people who work in offices. It's also important to recognize that groups within a single organization might behave differently. For example, one of the other underlying themes in the literature is that there is a connection between how often an employee is absent and what size of work group he or she belongs to. Specifically, it's been found that the bigger the group, the higher the levels of absence. On a related theme, some writers have focused on a comparison between public sector organizations and private sector ones. There is some evidence that absence levels are higher in the public sector. It's not exactly clear why this should be the case, but one explanation that has been often put forward is that in some cases, public sector organizations may not be as efficient. This might be because their systems are more bureaucratic due to factors which are external rather than internal, like the degree of control the government imposes on the public sector. However, most recent literature suggests a number of other explanations. Firstly, a public sector organization tends to have workforce which is larger. Also, it tends to employ a higher number of female and older employees, both of which groups are likely to record higher absence rates. It is also suggested that public sector organizations are more likely to give their absent employees benefits for a longer period, and are less likely to place restrictions on these. In addition, it's been found that public sector employers have less of a tendency to dismiss employees for being absent, and all of these could be additional or alternative reasons for higher absence rates in the public sector. Now, I'd like to talk about the management of absence. That is the end of section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers. That is the end of the listening test. You now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet. You You --- Now turn to Section 3 on page 5. Part 3. You will hear a student called Aya discussing her research project about mass ability with her tutor. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 23. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 23. Right Aya, last time we met, you decided to choose a class. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 23. Right Aya, last time we met, you decided to choose a class. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 23. Aya, last time we met, you decided to choose skills and attitudes in learning mass as the focus of your research project. And you were thinking of splitting it into two sections. Is that right? Yes, I decided to start by looking at people's attitude to mass and then go on to research how people actually solve different mass problems. Great. Now, what research methods did you use? Well, I explored lots of different techniques and actually tried out things like sending out questionnaires, but then I opted for a different approach. I thought face-to-face interviews would be more appropriate because you can look at things in more depth when you're actually with the person. How many participants did you have? Quite a few, which meant interviewing was pretty demanding work. 35 altogether, 14 men and 11 women. How did you identify them? Well, they were all students at this college and what I did was send round a really short questionnaire by email, asking whether people like mass and these 25 answers not at all, which is what they needed. So you followed them up? Yeah, and arranged to interview them. Now, the first question I asked them was, how good do you think you are at mass? And I got these results. They're pretty even split if either end of the continuum. 20% for both good and poor and the majority in the middle. And I should emphasize that for this, there were no distinct differences between men and women. Did those figures surprise you? I wouldn't say so. What did shock me was how violently anti-masters is subject they were. It wasn't what I'd expected at all. Just like an imagine. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 24 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 24 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 24 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 24 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 24 to 30. Anyway, the next part of my interview asked about their experiences of learning maths and why they had become so negative about it. I identified three different levels of importance as you can see in this table. Do you mean the first row shows those points which were considered most serious? Yes, that's right. And I think the first row shows those points which were considered most serious. Yes, that's right. And the second row, the second most important, and so on. And I also showed the difference between female and male responses. Now, you can see that for the women, they thought bad teaching was mainly to blame for their disliking maths. Didn't the men think bad? No. They talked mostly about the fact that they were actually, you know, the scared of numbers. And some of these people considered themselves to be good at maths? Yeah, interesting, isn't it? And then the problems for the women at the second level was the fact that they couldn't see what applications maths had, what obvious ones anyway. Yes, that's been my experience as well. And for the men, they found problems because they had this strong belief that you have to be born with a child. You have to be born with a talent for the subject to be any good at maths. I've come across that quite often in my work too. And then at the third level, it was striking that men and women have the same problems, which was that they weren't really aware of alternative strategies, you know, for solving problems. Thanks. Now, what about the second part of your study, Ayah? Well, the method I used for my research was observation. So, basically, I set them a problem and asked them to write down any workings out. And I made notes on how they did it. Good mathematicians? And a mixture, actually, five successful and five less successful. Now, I found that the most common strategy used by the people who got the correct answers was that they attempted to comprehend the question taken as a whole. This obviously helped them a great deal in contrast with the way unsuccessful participants worked. For them, the most common strategy was to take a solution which they had learned before and try to apply it. And were there any other strategies? Yes. The second most common technique I saw used by the good problem solvers was visualization. How interesting. I've noticed that actually how I worked best. And what about the weaker ones? Well, I have to say, the strategy they used was to give off immediately after reading the question, I'm afraid. Well, that's extremely interesting, Ayah. Now, how'd you thought about that? That is the end of part three. You now have 45 seconds to check your answers to part three. Section 3. You will hear a lecturer called Dr. Lewis talking to a first-year chemistry student called Leila about her work in laboratory. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26. you Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26. Hello, Leila. Now, this is just a general chat about your progress. First of all, how do you think you are getting along with your chemistry lab work? Well, I'm not sure, Dr. Lewis. I don't feel very confident. I mean, what we do isn't really all that difficult, but I didn't do much science practice. But, presumably, you've been reading the background information for the experiments on the department website. Is that useful? Well, it depends. The last experiment about freezing points of different liquids, it would have been helpful if there had been more detail on the website about how to actually measure the temperature. We didn't do this as accurately as we needed to, so the information we got wasn't very useful. We were okay with the equipment, but we certainly wouldn't have been if we hadn't read the stuff on the website before. And some of these safety warnings seemed a bit extreme, too. But you do have to be aware of the dangers. Yes, of course. Now, what about your lab reports? Students sometimes get very behind with these. The thing is, I don't know where to begin, so I end up putting it off. Well, try setting aside half an hour. Just to do a small part of it. Then the rest won't seem as daunting. And it's important to avoid using informal language or language that's too personal. Yes, I got quite a bit of feedback on that in my last lab report, but the feedback on the introduction was really negative. I'd like to follow the guidelines. I didn't spend it all describing the experimental method, for example, because that's all given in the lab notes. Okay. But apparently, I didn't give enough information about why the experiment was significant. Yes, you may need to do a bit of work for that. And don't forget to put the correct references in your review of the literature. What was the feedback like for your results in discussion section? Okay. Apparently, the labeling of the graphs and tables wasn't always clear, but they liked the way I separated out the different effects of temperature and didn't teach on the different possible reaction mechanisms. Yes, that's good. To link each stage in the experiment to possible explanations rather than treating them separately. Hmm. It takes some students a long time to learn how to make those connections. My summary at the end wasn't too bad either, though they said I needed more emphasis on how it related to possible future experiments. Well, it sounds as if you came all right, actually. But you could join what's called the "Minter" scheme. This is where you talk informally to another student, probably a postgraduate in actual work. Things like how to approach lab reports. Right. Well, I'm feeling a bit better about things now I've talked to you, but I'm so worried about all the articles and books we're supposed to get through. Would that be something a mentor could help me to learn? Sure. That would be really good. And I think the lectures would all make more sense then. Yes. So, how do I go getting a mentor then? I did see a leaflet about it. I think it said something about the University Office. Oh, they just print the leaflets. I heard leaflets themselves say you need to go through the student services. But actually, I can put you in touch with someone in this department myself. That might be better. That sounds good, Dr. Lewis. Thanks. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30. Now, listen and answer questions 27 to 30. How are you getting on with the reading anyway? Well, I've been using chemistry 3 quite a lot. It's not too high a level and I like the way it links the theory and the practice, especially the sections giving real life examples. Yes, that's definitely a strong point. I wanted to read the chemistry of water, but it isn't in the library. They said it was out of print. Yes, that's a pity. It's still one of the best overviews of the topic. Have you ever looked at introduction to chemical bonding? I got it on order at the library. I was going to buy it, but it seemed a lot to pay for what you get. Yes, I agree, but I would recommend you read it as soon as possible. By the time you get to the end of the year, it won't be so relevant. Okay. What do you think about basic inorganic chemistry? Quite a lot of people have thought that. It's not awfully expensive. Well, it covers a lot, but not enough for this course. I'd say you'd be better saving your money there. Okay. Thanks, Dr. Lewis. Now, the last thing I would... Section 3. You are here with two students called Ruth and Edward discussing their assignment about a conservation issue involving elephants in Kenya. First, you have some time to look at the questions 21 to 24. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24. Right, Edward. I've got some notes here for our conservation assignment. I had a look at the research you mentioned in Kenya. I hadn't realized that farmers were having so many problems with elephants eating their crops there. Yes, the trouble is when elephants get into farmers' field and destroy their crops that has all sorts of other results. I don't suppose the farmers can just get up and go somewhere else? No, but it's a real problem because farmers are shooting the elephants to keep their crops safe. And then the other elephants are affected and become very hostile to humans. But you can see for the farmers, it's not homes and families that have been threatened. And it's understandable that farmers don't feel like supporting elephant conservation if their own livelihood is being destroyed. You feel you have the right to defend your property. Exactly. So I thought for our assignment, we can start with the problem that introduced the solutions they've been experimenting with. So now we get onto the bees. I never thought elephants would be afraid of bees. But I suppose even if you're as big as an elephant, a bee sting can still hurt. Well, I think it depends. Bees can't sting through the thick skin on an adult elephant's body, but they target the sensitive areas like near the eyes. Oh, that must really hurt. And I heard they get right inside the elephant's trunk and sting there. Yes, and then there are the baby elephants, the calves, which have thinner skin so they can be really badly affected, especially if they get attacked by a whole swarm of bees. So elephants with babies may be threatened by bees even if they don't get stung themselves. Here the rest of the discussion, you have some time to read questions 25 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30. Okay, so next week we can go on to describe the experiments based on this fear that elephants have of bees. So there was one way. They hung containers full of bees in trees near the farms. And they listened in trees without containers? And they found the elephants trampled down the trees that didn't have any containers. And stayed well away from the ones with the bees in. Okay. So did you read the articles about the experiment where it was done with the audio recording of bees instead of real bees? No. Well, they've got a recording of a swarm of angry bees and they played it to herds of elephants out in the wild. And they all stopped what they were doing immediately and stood erect with their heads up and their ears extended. They must have been really aware there was danger somewhere. But not the sort of danger that they can face up to and charge. So they dashed off in the opposite direction. They kept turning their heads around. Presumably looking for the swarm of bees which wasn't there. Yes. And researchers tested 18 different herds of the elephants and all but one responded in a same way. Maybe that herd just didn't hear it properly. It seems a very small exception to the main finding. I think researchers actually concluded that this particular herd lacked any experience of bees. They've never encountered any so they weren't afraid of the recording. Right. Oh. So that was the reason. Exactly. But what surprised the researchers was? From the 17 herds they did take action when they heard the recording. They found almost 50% of the herds did this very quickly within 10 seconds of hearing the recording. Wow. That's interesting. Right. So playing the recordings of bees could be a good deterrent to elephants. But it's not all that straightforward actually. Yes. You've got to have the electricity to run the machinery. No. That's okay. It can run on batteries. But the whole thing's quite difficult for electrical outlet which might be easy. And then someone's got to set it all out and make sure it's working. That's not difficult, but it's really a job. They're trying other methods as well like electric fences to keep the elephants away from the crops. They haven't had much success. But when they hang cowbells on the fences, that seemed to scare them off. Yes. I've read they tried chili peppers as a deterrent too, but that didn't scare the elephants at all. Right. So I think we've got plenty of information. I turn to section three on page five. Section three. You will hear two students called Mona and Tom discussing Mona's recent work experience in a hotel. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26 on page five. [no audio] Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26. Hi Tom. I'm exhausted. I just finished my work experience week at the hotel in the centre of town. Oh how did it go? Did you do a lot? Yeah it was a very good program actually because they let me work in all the different departments. Oh brilliant. So tell me all about it. Well first of all they put me on reception for a morning and I thought oh I know what this is all about. It'll just be handing out keys and stuff. How wrong I was. In fact they handle loads of different things there. Special requests, contractors coming in and so on. What did you do in the afternoon? Well in the afternoon and evening in fact I was in the hotel restaurant. There were loads of staff there so it wasn't too exhausting but the manager really wanted everything done absolutely precisely. Really focused on the guest. He won't allow to make any mistakes. I thought it was a bit over the top actually. Not very enjoyable to work in. But they've got a really nice coffee bar at that hotel. Did you get a chance to work in that? Yes the next morning you're right it is nice. But I bet it gets really busy. It wasn't too bad actually but there's a lot of running around so I was worn out afterwards and then I had to go to work in the shop. It's interesting to see how shops fit into the overall hotel culture. I never know who goes in those hotel shops but they must be worth it. I suppose they're owned separately from the hotel though. Thanks so anyway there were loads of staff working there but we still couldn't keep up with the floor of customers because nobody knew where anything was or what they were supposed to be doing. I was quite relieved when it was over. Then the next day I went to see what the personal services department did. Fascinating. Yes they seem to mop up everything else don't they? And you must have to be a certain sort of person because to handle the request and some of the people that makes them you have to keep calm and polite and be quite imaginative to find a way around them and resolve them. Absolutely. I couldn't do it. It was beyond me. So I just sat and walked and listened. Didn't you have to go with the domestic staff and do cleaning at all? Oh yes my last day. I was dreading it. I just thought cleaning all those rooms would be so repetitive and tedious. Actually the girls that do it are really lively and good fun. But by the end of the morning my ears were ringing. The row of the vacuum cleaners, trolleys going up and down and the girls shouting at each other. I was amazed the guests didn't complain. 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. So what's your assessment overall? Well mixed. I mean my dissertation is on a different topic and I'm not planning to go into the hotel industry but I see it as something that we have to do to understand certain aspects of this module that we're on. Yes I'd like to do something like that actually. I think I'll have a word with the tutor to see if he can fix me up with something similar. The thing is that doesn't take a while. I think sometimes people call the hotel directly and see if the manager will take them on. Though actually he gets loads of requests so that might not work. You might be better to do it directly through the career's office. If you've got time to pop down there. Yes I might try my tutor first though. Well I've got to go now. I've got to prepare this presentation on my work experience the next week. Yeah I guess that's part of the deal that you have to report back. My tutor doesn't get everyone to do a presentation so I don't think so. Apparently he thought my last one was good so I'm more or less doing a demonstration for the class. Some of them have had very little practice in presenting. By the way what are you going to do for your assignment this term? Oh difficult. I've got that video idea of hotel work so I think I'll use a bit of that and look at the way that business hotels are developing as conference centres. I really want you to do something on those big five star resort hotels and I haven't got the time. Oh well good luck. That is the end of section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. --- Today, I'm going to consider three theories of intelligence, and look at their implications for studying effectively while you're here at university. Early psychologists such as Spirman in the 1920s believe that each individual has a single general level of intelligence, known as the intelligence quotient or IQ. According to that theory, we're born with a certain level of intelligence, which is inherited from our parents, and our intelligence remains constant throughout our life. It follows that any intelligence test we do at any time will give broadly similar results. If this is true, it suggests that there isn't much you can do to make yourself more intelligent since it's a genetic feature. You wouldn't be able to perform any better in your studies than you do now. Most of the evidence for the genetic origin of intelligence has come from studies of twins, which show a considerable similarity in their intelligence. However, other psychologists have interpreted the findings of this research differently, arguing that genetic influence plays only a small part in our intelligence or even no part at all. Their theory says that the similarity in intelligence between the subjects used in such studies may have an environmental rather than genetic origin. These psychologists point out that children brought up in the same family are likely to have experiences which are very similar. This, rather than their genetic inheritance, may be the main reason why they have similar levels of intelligence. Take the case of the Ravens test, an intelligence test used to measure abstract reasoning ability. The Ravens test was designed for use with people of any language, age or country, so in theory, a person's result shouldn't be affected by where they grow up. Yet some research using Ravens into children who moved home and lived in another culture found that after a few years there was a significant improvement in their results. In other words, our intelligence isn't fixed. An alternative view which is significantly different is that we have multiple intelligences, not one general one. In the 1990s, Howard Gardner claimed that there are at least seven separate intelligences. The list includes what you might expect, such as linguistic and logical skills and also other less traditional ones, such as a category of musical abilities. Such in neuropsychology suggests that different cognitive abilities, such as speech, may be partially independent of each other, and controlled by different circuits within the brain. Support for this theory comes from the fact that some people show a weakness in one particular area. For instance, some find it very difficult to recognize someone's face while they may have no problem remembering names. This apparent variation in strengths and weaknesses within one person supports Gardner's view that intelligence is multiple rather than general. Gardner suggests that the various intelligences don't operate in isolation from each other, and instead that interaction between them creates a far more complex picture and greatly increases what we can achieve. If this is the case and it seems likely, we can consciously use this knowledge in our own approach to studying and learning. If you develop a sense of rhythm, this can improve not only music and dance, as you would expect, but also areas that aren't obviously linked, spelling, for instance. If you need to learn a chemical formula or lower physics by heart, turn it into a song, it doesn't matter at all if you're out of key, but it'll be easier for you to learn it. That's just one way of using multiple intelligences to make studying easier and much more fun. Now, let's go on to... That is the end of part four. You now have one minute to check your answers to part four. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Hello. Today, there are nearly 2,000 seed banks in the world. Seed banks are places where seeds from millions of different plants are stored to keep them safe for the future. Today, I'd like to tell you a little bit about seed banks and how and why they're used. So, let's look at some history and we'll start an ancient Mesopotamia, around 8,000 BC. This was when the ancient Mesopotamian started to practice agriculture. They were the first to do so as far as we know. Every year, they would harvest their crops for food, but they also use some of these crops to make clothing. As well as this, they also collected the seeds so they would have crops for the following year or years. Thanks to archaeologists, we now know how these seeds were stored. When examining ancient settlements in Mesopotamia, archaeologists found the precious seeds underground, stored in baskets. After much examination, they concluded that in order to protect the seeds, they were combined with large quantities of ash from old fires before being buried. Archaeologists wanted to establish why seeds were buried underground and concluded the most likely threat was posed by animals who might have found them a good food source. Today, there are many more reasons why we need to protect the seeds and that's why we have sophisticated facilities like seed banks. Seed banks provided type of insurance against the very damaging effects that climate change is bringing to the natural world. Extreme weather events like floods can wipe out entire crops. Seed banks are also necessary because they can help to reduce the crop losses that can result of a disease occurs in a certain type of plant. Unfortunately too, seed banks allow scientists to discover how different plants can be used in the production of medicine. Many plants have healing properties that we are only just now beginning to understand and having banks of seeds means that we will, hopefully, always have them around to study and use. Scientists need to be able to identify the plants and maintain accurate records. For this reason, each farmer collected a genocide of special code which scientists around the world can recognize. The seeds need, of course, to be cleaned. There are many different ways of doing this, which every technique is used. This process occurs in an environmentally controlled room in which the temperature is kept constant. Furthermore, the humidity is strictly monitored to make sure it doesn't change too much. All of this helps to ensure the quality of the specimen. The seeds need then to be stored in a safe environment. To do this, scientists freeze the seeds at very low temperatures about minus 20 degrees Celsius. Then the scientists place these frozen seeds and specially designed airtight canisters. And they do this in order to protect the seeds from contamination, something we really don't want. One thing that might surprise you about seed banks is that they don't just contain edible plants. Scientists also include plants that are known to be poisonous and which can cause sickness. If these plants might one day be useful. Although governments have financed the setting up of some of these seed banks, they are expensive to run and many require ongoing donations from the public to help support them. Okay, let me now tell you. That is the end of part four. You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.