Listening 2026-07 Test 10

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 four. College accommodation bureau, Darren speaking, how may I help you? Oh, good morning. I'm starting at the college in September and I need to find some accommodation. Right. Well, there are various options. The first one is to stay in college accommodation. That'd be a single room. How much would that cost? Well, it depends. For a standard room, you're looking at 3,276 pounds for the year. That's just for a room with wash basin. Or £3,834 if you want a non-sweet. That's with your own small bathroom. I see. That's more than I expected. It does include heating. That's quite a saving because energy costs can be high, especially in winter. Does it include meals as well? No. All our rooms are self catering now. There's a shared kitchen on each corridor where you can cook if you want to. Or there are plenty of places to eat out on campus. Okay. And you said that's the price for the whole year? Well, you pay annually, but actually it's for 36 weeks. It doesn't include holidays. You have to vacate the room then. Oh, I need somewhere to stay in the holidays. I can't afford to go home. The flights are too expensive. Well, there is another option. Several families who either work at the college or have children studying here offer visiting students a room in their homes. Oh. We call this arrangement home welcome. And we've still got a few places left at the moment. You pay £150 per week. And that includes breakfast, a packed lunch, and dinner as well as heating. Is there a contract? Do you have to stay for the whole year? No, it's flexible. It sounds really good, but I'm not sure. I really want to be a little more independent. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10 on page 2. Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10. What about finding somewhere to live off campus? Yes, you can rent a property in town privately. You might want to rent a room in a shared house. You'd have a room of your own and share the kitchen and bathroom with other students. What about if I don't want to share? You can get what we call a studio. They're often quite small, but they'll have everything you need. Right. How much would those two options cost? Well, prices vary depending on which part of town the property is in. Generally speaking, the cheapest is around £275 a month for each student. Oh, that's not too bad. Yes, but it can also be as high as £490 and then you'll have to pay all your other bills. What sort of amount would I be looking at for those? Well, last year students were paying on average about £43 per month each for gas and electricity. This year it'll probably be somewhere in the region of £48. That's a lot. Yes, they've gone up quite a bit and on top of that you have to pay for water and that'll probably be around £9. That didn't occur to me and I guess I'd have to pay for transportation too. That's right. Most of these properties are quite a long way from the college. Oh, it just gets worse and worse. What's the minimum contract on this type of accommodation? Six months. And you have to pay a deposit. But of course, you can stay there over the holidays. That's true. And you'd have to provide references. They want two from someone in this country. I see, but that's not a problem. If you do choose this option, we can't find the property for you. You'd have to go through the estate agent which manages the property for the owner. Right. Thanks. Well, I think I'd like to see what's available privately. Could you give me the estate agent details? That is the end of section one. You now have half a minute to check your answers. You You will hear a conversation between a commercial property-letting agent and a businessman who wants to move his business to new premises. First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6. Now we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen, because you will not hear the recording a second time. Carefully and answer questions 1 to 6. Good morning, Mr Rich, isn't it? That's right. Raymond Rich of ICT Industries. ICT Industries, just a moment while I put that on the form. Now you're looking for new office space, is that right? Yes, our present lease is due to expire soon. And as the company is expanding anyway, we need to find somewhere to move to. Do you prefer the suburbs, the city, or a commercial zone on the outskirts? Well, currently we're in a very pleasant suburb, but as I said, we've outgrown that building as we've got to move anyway. I think the city centre is where we want to be. Right in the heart of things. I see. Anywhere in particular? Yes, somewhere in the vicinity of the main transport centre, because I have a large staff, and car parking in the city is terribly expensive. I think it would be a good idea if we didn't use our cars at all. Exactly what size premises are you looking for? Good question. Something more than the 10,000 square metres we have at present should do it. Shall we say 12,000 square metres? That's probably about right. Yes, I think that would meet our needs. Just how many employees do you have to accommodate? Fourteen all, but only fourteen will have their own offices. The rest will be in open plan shared offices. Oh, I forgot to ask, do any of your employees have extra requirements? Will we need to consider people with disabilities? Yes. Actually, there is one in a wheelchair who'll need suitable access, and another who can walk just a few paces. She uses a mobility scooter, so we'd need to make sure all facilities, especially toilet facilities, were suitable and accessible, and we'd also need to be either on the ground floor, or to find a secure place by the lifts, or Mrs Jackson to park her scooter. I'll need to keep that in mind when I come up with the property for you to look at. Now, when are you thinking of moving? Well, our currently six buyers in August, so we'd like to have the move completed by then, of course. Well, there is a very suitable property that I have in mind, here in the city, but the owners want a lease signed by the end of this month, may. Oh, too early, I'm afraid. I'd be ready to sign up by the end of June, though. Shall we say, signed up by the first of July, and moved by the end of that month? Definitely. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions seven to ten. Well, I'll keep your requirements in mind, and let you know when something comes up. Wait a minute, there is a vacant office space on the tenth floor of this very building. Would you care to take a look? It has already just become available, but I haven't started marketing it yet because it's in need of a bit of a makeover. The floor area is about the right size. Good. Let's see it, then. Well, what do you think? Elevator access is great, and the lobby area is roomy enough for that disability vehicle you were telling me about. Oh, I don't know, there are too many small offices. Would we be able to take out a few of these walls and make bigger work areas? I don't see why not. Most of them are just partitions. Obviously load-bearing walls can't be touched, but there aren't many of those to worry about. What about kitchen and dining facilities? We like our staff to feel comfortable eating at work; if they go out for lunch, it often needs to extend lunch hours and last time. Come this way, this is the kitchen. Ooh, it's a bit pokey. We'd need to enlarge it somehow. What's behind the wall here? There's just a storeroom. You could take out that wall and expand into that space. Then what would we do for a storeroom? Oh, well, see that tiny office near the entrance? It has no external windows or natural light. It would make an ideal storeroom. Yes, you're right. The whole place is a bit dilapidated. Obviously in need of that redecoration you were talking about, and I don't just mean a coat of new paint. I think all the light fittings would have to be modernized. Those broken blinds have to be replaced, and this old blue carpet definitely has to go. I agree. That's something we can negotiate with the owner, but overall, do you think it would fit your requirements? Well, you haven't given me any indication of what the lease would cost, but before we get into that, what are the terms of the lease concerning length of tenancy? Well, generally in the city, lease is a never less than three years. Oh, I mean, we don't mind signing up for that period of time initially, but we don't necessarily want to have to move after that. We've been in our last place for ten years, you know. Well, the usual agreement is a three by three by two. That's a contract for three years with entitlement to extension three years, and then another two years after that. But let me speak to the owner first. And one more thing. We have to consider the time frame. Remember, my current lease is due to expire in August. Well, with reliable contractors, it shouldn't take more than a couple of months to do the necessary refit. That is the end of part one. You now have one minute to check your answers to part one. Practice 1. You will hear a lecture about the situation of wild animals, especially wild boar. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. You have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. You have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. You have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. You have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. You have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 10. Good morning. My name is Jim Robinson and today we're going to look at the control of wild animals, specifically wild boar. Now, boar have been natural inhabitants of Western Europe for thousands of years, but in recent years there has been a surge in boar activity that poses real threat. Boars are not currently on the protected animals list, which is perhaps why there has been a spike in their breeding activity. Boars are an indigenous species and are particularly plentiful in rural France and the Bavarian uplands of Germany. Boar hunting is a European tradition that goes back to Roman times and became particularly popular among courteers during the middle ages. Even during the 20th century, boar hunting was seen as an integral part of rural life. The decline in boar hunting has obviously led to a rise in the boar populations of Europe and the situation has reached a critical point with boar posing a critical threat to the environment. Proponents of boar hunting cite this factor as a major reason why boar populations should be contained. Boar also pose a threat to humans too, with countless reports of people being injured during boar attacks. The origins of the wild boar have roots in Germanic and this perhaps explains their prevalence in Germany. The problems with the boar population, Germany have ramifications for the rest of Europe as boar packs migrate towards central and eastern Europe. One of the main issues that is of great concern is the transmission of diseases that infect other species. Dairy farmers in France are particularly concerned as many of them have seen their huts depleted by infections. The methods for containing boar populations have been looked at in great detail and numerous options are available. One is to encourage more boar hunting in wild regions such as mountains and forests. Hunters would be given licenses to hunt, either for food or sport. Of course, boar do pose a threat to human life, so this possibility must be looked at with caution. One method that must be ruled out is poison, as legislation has been introduced prohibiting this. Such methods were tried with rabbits in the 1960s and this had a disastrous impact on the food chain. The introduction of natural predators into the ecosystem is also an option that can't be considered. The only known predators of boar in the world are wild cats, like lions and tigers. Obviously, there's no way such animals can be allowed to roam the mountains and forests of Europe. Given the threat that boars pose to humans, it is imperative that forest-welling boar are kept well away from people in cities. This is absolutely essential as human safety must be the main priority of policymakers. By the 11th century, boars in several European countries were becoming increasingly rare in Great Britain. King Charles attempted to reintroduce boars in the new forest area of the country, yet the entire population was almost wiped out during the battles of the English Civil War, when roaming soldiers hunted them for food. During the 1980s, wild boar rearing was encouraged and boar populations began to rise again. By the 1990s, there was a huge rise in the number of boar across England. To enlarge part to the species no longer forced to live in captivity, many boar have broken free from farms across England and are breeding at a rapid rate. Aside from their environmental threats, boars also pose a problem for farmers growing crops and vegetables. Other species such as red deer are a threat to farm produce like grain and potatoes, but boars certainly present the most serious risk. The damage done to the farming industry is estimated to cost millions of pounds and insurance payments as a result of this have spiked in the last decade. Red deer are predominantly confined to forest areas and it is unusual to see them outside their habitats during the summer months. However, as the weather gets colder, they can be seen looking for food around local villages and fields. Red deer have their origins in Asia and a ruminant species which means they have a stomach that consists of four compartments much like cows. They are slaughtered for food and their meat is sold as venison and is increasingly popular among consumers. There are nine subspecies of red deer with three of them on the endangered species list. The deer population doesn't pose the same threat as the boar population, but it certainly needs to be addressed. Forest areas are their main habitats and they are now breeding at a much higher rate than in previous years. Of course, deer are an important part of the food chain and are an important part of the hunting traditions of the UK, so it is important that their population is kept stable for this reason. Though the real concern is the problems that deer present for farmers who have seen their crops suffer in devastating ways. Protection needs to be offered and many farmers report building large perimeter fences around their fields to keep deer out which cost them a huge amount of money. Government funding is so far inadequate to offer the protection farmers need, but ways are being looked at to provide subsidies through other means. That is the end of practice one. You now have half a minute to check your answers. You --- Part 2. You will hear a man talking to a group of people about the Melbourne Zoo. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15. Good day everyone. Welcome to the Melbourne Zoo. My name is Mark and I'd like to welcome you today. If you have a moment, I'd like to give you some information about our zoo before you enter. Please feel free to ask me any questions at the end of my talk. As you know, it's November now and that means longer days. I have some good news for you. Anyone who hates getting up early in the morning can now enter the zoo after dinner. Because of the time of year, we are offering a 2 hour mini tour after 7pm. Seeing the animals at a different time of day will be a fascinating experience for many of you and I encourage you to sign up. Unfortunately, due to a fire last month, we no longer allow bonfire nights. By the way, we have been planning 2 parties for Christmas next month. We'll post the details on our website. It should be a lot of fun. So let me tell you a little about our residents here at the zoo. Despite what was recently reported in the media, the most popular animal around here is not the kangaroo or even the sheep dog. No, our star animal here is without doubt the koala. They are sedentary creatures and can sleep for up to 20 hours a day, so you'll have to keep an eye out for them. You should be able to spot some of them in the treetops hiding behind branches. But if you're lucky, you might see one run across your path. Of course, we do have kangaroos. They are truly fascinating creatures. It might interest you to know that they are the only large animals that use hopping as a means of locomotion. They are generally very friendly. And while we have no problems with people feeding them, we always tell our guests that it's important to stand with an upright posture when giving them food. The kangaroos may interpret you bending over as a sign of aggression. So please be careful. Also, no matter how cute the babies are, any physical contact should be avoided. The adults are quite protective of their young while they are still in the pouch. So please refrain from the urge to give them a pat. They aren't greedy animals and will generally stop eating once they are full. So if you have some extra food, you might need to find another one to feed. As you may have heard, our wild dog pen is temporarily closed, but it should reopen soon. You'll be happy to know that our dogs are all fine and in good health. And I think they are quite excited about their new home. Right now, we are fixing the fences. They are wild animals, after all, and we need to consider public safety before opening the exhibit. But please come back to see them when we are finished. Speaking of return visits, if you enjoy our zoo and want to come back, you may be interested in getting a discount ticket. We are used to sell them at the entrance of the zoo as well as on our website. But the website is currently under maintenance. So the coupons are available only at the cafe near the gift shop for this year. So if you are interested, make your way over there once you are ready. Be informed, there are a lot of tourists around today. So the earlier, the better. Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20. Now listen carefully and answer questions 16 to 20. Now, if I can bring your attention to the map of our zoo, I'll provide a brief description of the grounds so that no one gets lost. If you'd like to see some of our animals up close, then you should visit one of our shows in the arena. We have a show every half hour. So you're sure to see something. We are at the entrance. To get there, cross the bridge and go straight to the end of the path, and you'll find it to your right. For those who are looking for a quieter place to learn about the history of our zoo, in the north of the zoo, we have an educational hold ready for you. It's easy to find, just to the west of the toilets. With such beautiful weather right now, I know many of you would love to spend the afternoon having a picnic. There is a great spot for you in the zoo. It's the area surrounding the Botanic Garden, and it's also facing the river. The view is fantastic there. Some of you may recall that our photo printing site was in the north-eastern corner of the zoo. It has now been moved to the building next to the bridge. Finally, I'm sure you've noticed that it's quite warm today. If you're not up for walking, don't worry. We have bike sheds at different locations across the zoo, and the bikes are free for our guests, so just grab one and take it for a ride. Once you've got your bike, it's only a five minute ride to the gift shop, and the exit is just beside it. You can't miss it. Please note that cycling is only permitted on the designated paths. Alright, that is the end of my talk. I hope you have a great time visiting all the animals. Like as many pictures as you like, and don't forget to share them with your friends. Now, does anyone have any questions? That is the end of part two. You now have 30 seconds. [BLANK_AUDIO] --- You will hear two teachers called Andrew and Sarah discussing how to prepare students for a geology field trip. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25. Hi Sarah, it's great that we've got some free time this afternoon to decide what advice to give when we talk to the students on the geology field trip to Iceland. Hi Andrew, yes. I've already jotted down a few ideas about the issues that come up on these trips. We should include something about existing rules and laws that apply like the country code. Or the mountain code? Yes, the country code's mainly just common sense. So let's include the mountain one. That's what they need to know about for geology. Then there are similar guidelines for caving but they won't need those in the part of Iceland we're going to. Okay. Right, let's think about when they're on site in looking after the environment. I don't mean not dropping litter, that's obvious or like closing gates. But what about not scaring birds or damaging rare plant life? Actually, what I think happens is that they all become so focused on what they're doing that they forget about other things around them. It's not intentional damage. And we have to include something about collecting samples. That's vital for geology students. Yeah, there's quite a list of rules about that. For example, only take my new samples and only if necessary. Yes, that's the golden rule. That has to come first and then I guess never take a fossil away from the area. And when you do disturb an area to take a sample, make sure you leave it as you found it. Okay. And there's something we still have to find out about. Isn't there something about how you could never take a sample from a wall? You mean a man made wall or something like a natural rock face? A wall, like of a building. Don't you just have to get permission from the owner? But I'm not sure to be honest, so we need to check that. Another really important thing is advice on safety, especially as a lot of our trips are along the coast. Yes, well you can usually hear if any large boulders start to tumble down a cliff. And you realise you're on soft sand when you start sinking. But when people are working on the sea shore, they often fail to notice that the tides come in and they're cut off by water. That's what we should make a point about. Okay. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30. Before we do anything else, could we just talk about the reading packs we put together for the students to read before they go on the field trip to Iceland? Absolutely. They'll need to do most of the reading beforehand because there won't be time while we're away and there's a lot of technical data. That's certainly the case in the pack called geothermal fields. Does that cover industrial uses of geothermal energy? No, it deals with harnessing the heat generated from the earth in geothermal areas to grow vegetables for local consumption. They'll need to understand the geological characteristics that make this possible. Right. The reading pack called the hotspot will help them understand how Iceland differs from other islands formed at the same time, like Bermuda and the Canary Islands. It's the existence of the hotspot that explains the rock formations of this island and makes it unlike any of the others. Now I definitely think they should read the pack about glaciers. They need to be aware that although the icing glaciers up in the mountains can stay frozen for thousands of years, if anything happens to make the glaciers melt suddenly, the water produced pours down the valleys and it can mean that whole villages suddenly have to be evacuated. Right. Then the basalt rock pack shows how Iceland's landscape, like many other islands, has been molded over millions of years by lava flows from volcanic eruptions, especially the area in the northwest of the island. And lastly, reading about geothermal power plants will inform them Iceland's plans to stop using energy derived from carbon in the future. Heat and electricity will come from sustainable sources which won't cause any pollution. I think that'll be all the reading they'll have time for. That is the end of part three. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part three. You Part 3. You will hear two students called Jen and Rob discussing a project they are about to start working on. First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24. Hi Jen. Hi Rob. We need to look at this project we're doing together in forensic linguistics. Sure. The first thing we have to do is define forensic linguistics. I thought we could say something like linguistics involves the analysis of language and forensic refers to using scientific techniques to solve crimes. So forensic linguistics involves analyzing people's use of language to find out whether they've committed a crime. What do you think of that as a definition? Sounds okay. I looked it up in my dictionary and I got something similar. Then we can add something about what forensic linguists actually do to back it up. You know, like analysing documents to find out who wrote them. Good point. Let's do that. What about the actual project? I'm glad we chose voice identification as the topic. Yeah. We've been given a voice recording of a possible suspect, not a real suspect, of course. So we've got to listen to the recording and analyse their voice. Should be okay. Well, I've already listened to the recording and I can't even tell if it's a man or a woman, but I guess that doesn't matter. The accents are local one, though I'm not sure how that will affect anything. Where we're really going to get in trouble is that the recording is very unclear. I'm sure they've done that to test us. Well, they weren't going to make it easy. We have to analyse the voice sample with that spectrograph instrument, don't we? Learning what to do with it is the only thing that really concerns me about this project. It'll be fine. I guess so. And then we have to interview the suspect and make our own recording face to face and decide if it's the same person as on the original recording, right? Yes. It's not an exact science, but it's usually pretty accurate. You can often tell even when they've got a cold, it's the same person, but they might do something like speaking with another accent because the tutor suggests they do that just to test us. So let's get on with it then. Oh, and don't start your usual self-doubt about whether you can do the work or not. You usually do okay in the end. I reckon that as long as we focus on the main points of the assignment, we can think about the finer details later. My problem is creating things to worry about before I've even started. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30. We'll have to do some background reading first. I'll go to the library later and get what we need. Okay. I've already looked at forensics today and it didn't say much about voice identification, so we needn't bother with that one. Language and crime looks a bit more promising, doesn't it? I've got that out of the library already, so we don't need to worry about borrowing that. Research methods in forensic linguistics. I guess we ought to borrow that and voice identification will be a useful one. I'll borrow that from our classmate George. He won't need it for his project, but we should get out modern forensic techniques. We need all the help we can get on that subject. Okay, that's that sorted out. Now onto the practical stuff. I'm not sure about how we're going to record the voices. I'm not too good on the technical side of things. Me neither. We'd better work out what we're doing. At least we get more than one opportunity to speak to the person playing the suspect. I just hope whoever it is won't make the task too tricky. I'm sure they won't be too hard on us. And as long as we do our research properly, it shouldn't be too hard to do the rest of it. I'm more worried about fitting in the writing up. I know. We've got loads of other assignments to finish as well. Now Rob, let's decide how we're going to split the writing between us. Are you any good at introductions? They always seem to let me down. Okay, leave that to me. Are you okay to do the literature review then? Maybe we should split that part. I don't mind writing the methodology section if you feel comfortable doing the discussion and conclusions. Okay. And we can do the analysis between us as well. Great. Let's get started. That is the end of part three. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part three. you You Hi, Jen. Hi, Rob. We need to look at this project we're doing together in forensic linguistics. Sure. The first thing we have to do is define forensic linguistics. I thought we could say something like linguistics involves the analysis of language. And forensic refers to using scientific techniques to solve crimes. So forensic linguistics involves analysing people's use of language to find out whether they've committed to crime. What do you think of that as a definition? Sounds okay. I looked it up in my dictionary and I got something similar. Then we can add something about what forensic linguists actually do to back it up. You know, like analysing documents to find out who wrote them. Good point. Let's do that. What about the actual project? I'm glad we chose voice identification as the topic. Yeah. We've been given a voice recording of a possible suspect, not a real suspect, of course. So we've got to listen to the recording and analyse their voice. Should be okay? Well, I've already listened to the recording and I can't even tell if it's a man or a woman, but I guess that doesn't matter. The accents are local one, though I'm not sure how that will affect anything. Where we're really going to get in trouble is that the recording is very unclear. I'm sure they've done that to test us. Well, they weren't going to make it easy. We have to analyse the voice sample with that spectrograph instrument, don't we? Learning what to do with it is the only thing that really concerns me about this project. It'll be fine. Hmm, I guess so. And then we have to interview the suspect and make our own recording face to face and decide if it's the same person as on the original recording, right? Yes, it's not an exact science, but it's usually pretty accurate. You can often tell even when they've got a cold, it's the same person, but they might do something like speaking with another accent because the tutor suggests they do that just to test us. So let's get on with it then. Oh, and don't start your usual self-doubt about whether you can do the work or not. You usually do okay in the end. I reckon that as long as we focus on the main points of the assignment, we can think about the finer details later. My problem is creating things to worry about before I've even started. We'll have to do some background reading first. I'll go to the library later and get what we need. Okay. I've already looked at forensics today and it didn't say much about voice identification, so we needn't bother with that one. Language and crime looks a bit more promising, doesn't it? I've got that out of the library already, so we don't need to worry about borrowing that. Research methods in forensic linguistics. I guess we ought to borrow that and voice identification will be a useful one. I'll borrow that from our classmate, George. He won't need it for his project, but we should get out modern forensic techniques. We need all the help we can get on that subject. Okay, that's that sorted out. Now onto the practical stuff. I'm not sure about how we're going to record the voices. I'm not too good on the technical side of things. Me neither. We'd better work out what we're doing. At least we get more than one opportunity to speak to the person playing the suspect. I just hope whoever it is won't make the task too tricky. I'm sure they won't be too hard on us. And as long as we do our research properly, it shouldn't be too hard to do the rest of it. I'm more worried about fitting in the writing up. I know. We've got loads of other assignments to finish as well. Now Rob, let's decide how we're going to split the writing between us. Are you any good at introductions? They always seem to let me down. Okay, leave that to me. Are you okay to do the literature review then? Maybe we should split that part. I don't mind writing the methodology section if you feel comfortable doing the discussion and conclusions. Okay, and we can do the analysis between us as well. Great, let's get started. That is the end of part three. 3. You will hear two students called Jack and Kate discussing a program organized by their university in which mentors give advice about careers. First, you have some time to look at questions 21-26 on page 5. 1-26 on page 5. You will hear two students called Jack and Kate discussing a program organized by their university in which mentors give advice. 2-26 on page 5. Now listen carefully and answer a questions 21-26. I think the career mentoring program is a great idea, don't you Kate? It's really useful the way it puts language students like us. In touch with someone who already works in the profession we'd like to join after we graduate. Yes, it's been one of the most useful things we've done this year I think. How did you first learn about the program? Well, I read about what was involved online after someone on my course recommended it and decided to go for it. How about you, Jack? Yeah, a friend in my tutorial group mentioned it and the tutor agreed it could be helpful for all of us. I don't remember seeing you at the first meeting at the beginning of this year's program. You know, when we were told who our mentors would be and how to make the most of the contact with them. I was at that meeting, though I arrived a bit late. It was a nuisance for me that it was held so far from the centre of the campus. I know, I ended up missing half of my Spanish translation class later that afternoon, but at least I found it all relevant. Hmm, most people seem to say they benefited from it. True, I wonder why the mentors took on this role and whether they felt they got something out of working with us over the course of the year. It can't have been easy for them to combine mentoring with their busy work lives. Hmm, I hope they found it a worthwhile experience. I heard that the majority of them agreed to become mentors because they wanted to give something back to the university, having studied here themselves. That's interesting. I just assumed they wanted to get young graduates into the careers they'd chosen to opt for. So how did you mainly make contact with your mentor? By talking online, actually, it worked pretty well. It was good to be able to see my mentor even though he lives at the other end of the country. What about you? We intended to do that, but it didn't work very well, so we just emailed each other every week or so. I preferred that because it gave me time to consider her questions more carefully, instead of having to answer immediately. My first contact with my mentor was interesting, but quite difficult. Was it because you weren't sure what you wanted to get out of the program? That's what I found hard at first. That was okay for me, and my mentor understood my situation because he'd done the same course as me. It was just that I misunderstood one of his questions and gave some idiotic answer. Things got much better as I got used to the process. So on the whole, did your mentor make you change your plans at all? Not really. Did yours? Well, she supported my choice of dissertation topic, but she made me reconsider my intention to get a job in France next year. I've also decided to do some different modules next term, but that wasn't really because of anything she said. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27-30 on page 6. Now listen and answer a questions 27-30. So what did you actually discuss with your mentor? Mine helped me a lot with presenting my CV. We also worked on doing well in interviews. We did, too. I mean about the interviews rather than the CV. I'd made a five-year plan already, but my mentor had some very helpful advice about what to go for in terms of what Master's degree to consider doing after I graduate. I don't think I'll do a post-grad course, and one of the most useful things we did was an exercise to identify what I'm good at, and where I have gaps in terms of what I want to achieve long term. My mentor started off by making me think about that, too. I found it quite revealing. So would you suggest they do things differently with a mentoring program next year? Someone suggested starting with a face-to-face meeting between all the mentors and students, but I don't think that's necessary. The meeting we had just for students only was good for letting us know what to expect, I thought. Absolutely. I think I'd have liked the program to kick off at the beginning of the academic year, rather than in the middle, though. Fair enough. I think they did a good job of matching mentors to students, but perhaps they needed a bit more training for the mentors. Mine was good, but not everyone's was. Definitely. But it didn't seem to matter that some had two or three students, while others only had one. Okay. Well, what should we do now? That is the end of section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. --- section 4. You will hear a talk on research into music. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. you Now, listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Today we are going to delve into the fascinating history of music in Britain and the evolution that it experienced throughout the duration of the 18th and 19th centuries. During the second half of the 18th century, Britain experienced an industrial revolution during which its manufacturing industry underwent a major transition from hand production methods to the use of machinery. This sudden boom in the industry grew thousands of people into the cities, where they knew they'd be able to find jobs in the factories, working with or maintaining the machinery. This sudden influx of people into the cities did not just come from the surrounding countryside, but also from other poorer nations in search of a better life. Between 1800 and 1900, the population of England increased by four times. This mass immigration from different nations and areas of the country resulted in a variety of cultural influences, meeting and mixing to form a new, more diverse culture. With this new culture came a new style of music. Prior to the industrial revolution, music had originally been risen to reflect the hard labor-intensive life in all kinds of industries when all work had to be done by hand. Most people resided in small rural communities where their lives revolved around farming. Life for the average person was difficult, as incomes were a meager, and malnourishment and disease were common. Despite the difference in nationalities of the people and the variety of musical genres, all of the music shared one common language, English. As many were unable to write, the songs were a means for the people to give voice to their experiences and feelings about their hard and laborious jobs. Most of the music written by the workers during this period has been lost as a result of illiteracy and the wear of time. Now, you may be asking yourselves how these small musical works were formed. The roots of most of these groups can mostly be traced back to the younger members of the working classes, who were perhaps rebelling against the inferiority of their living and working conditions compared to those of the upper classes. Young performers would often leave these musical trends, usually possessing a great talent for singing or playing, particular handmade instruments. As time progressed into the 19th century, these musical groups had gained much notoriety and would hold small performances in the street for all to watch. It was perhaps their blind optimism and rebellious spirit that led them to become so popular with their audiences, which were usually made up of the poorest of the poor. Despite efforts by the upper classes to put an end to these musical traditions, they continued to gain popularity and flourish. By the late 1870s they had evolved past the barrier of the social echelons and gained access to the middle class. Performances were held in proper establishment such as village halls, and some were even ticketed, with audiences paying a fee for the privilege of watching. Music produced by these groups were better recorded, and some is still preserved today in museums. The music of these groups may not exist in the present day, but its influences are still clear if you look closely enough. In classical culture, for example, many of the themes and theatrical performances are still based on the lives and experiences of the working classes, both prior to and following the Industrial Revolution. The novel entitled "Lame is Arab" by Victor Hugo, for example, is a novel about the French working classes, and is still widely popular today. The original recordings of the music risen during these periods are now hugely valuable due to the demand from avid collectors and enthusiastic fans. Many of these recordings are publicly owned and displayed in museum exhibits. However, a selection are still privately owned and occasionally appear for sale in auctions, often reaching prices in the hundreds of thousands. Well, that just about wraps the lecture up for today, so if anyone has any questions, that is the end of section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Thank you. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO]