Listening 2026-05 Test 20

Part 1. You will hear a woman called Jan, telephoning a man about booking a place on a residential workshop. First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5. Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5. Hello, Creative Centre. Hello there. I'm phoning to book a place on your next two-day drama workshop. Okay, let me just check. Yes, we've still got room on that course. Great. Can I have your four name? Yes, it's Jan Cresswick, that's C-R-E-S-W-I-C-K. Thanks Jan, and are you coming on your own? Yes. And have you done any of our courses before? Yes, I did one a couple of years ago. Great, so you may be on our computer records. Which course did you do? The writing for the theatre course? Okay. Right, yes, here we are. Oh, so that's 20 Gregory Avenue. A Gregory Place, actually. Okay, I'll correct that on the computer. And can I ask if you work? Yes, I want to be an actor, but I'm working as a waitress at the moment. After this course, who knows? Right, back to the paperwork. So, we're enrolling you on the two-day course that starts tomorrow, the 30th of May. Oh, sorry, no, on the 13th of June, I meant the one starting in two weeks. Is that still all right? Oh, that's fine. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions six to ten. Now, listen and answer questions six to ten. Can you tell me something about accommodation? Yes, and people usually come the evening before the course starts. The cost of the course includes accommodation for two nights. Well, I'll make sure I'm there in good time so I can meet the others that evening and settle in. Is 5.30 too early to arrive? No, that's fine. And you'll finish no later than five o'clock on the last day. Right. Okay. Right, just a few other things. Any dietary information we should know, all the food is provided and we use organic producers often as we can. Oh, that sounds great, but I don't eat anything that's made from milk. I know that can be difficult. Oh, it's not a problem. What about meat? Do you eat that? I don't eat much of it, but that's fine. You don't need to note that. Sure? Yes. Hey, I am really looking forward to this. Great. I don't know if you know this, but we may divide into two groups in the afternoon if we have more than 16 people on the course. If we do that, there'll be a choice of doing comic or what we call classic work. Oh, I'd always go with comedy. I'm much more interested in that. Now, how did you find out about this course? Was it the adverts in the Sunday newspaper? No. In fact, I looked for drama courses on the internet and I saw that you were doing one. When I read about it, I just thought, hey, why not? Okay. I saw that you send out some pre-course material. Yes. I don't have much time to read any of the books you're recommending, but I'd be grateful for your leaflet, the one you mentioned in your publicity. Sure. I'll put a copy in the post to you. Thanks a lot. I can't wait. That is the end of part one. You now have one minute to check your answers to part one. [BLANK_AUDIO] --- Part 2 You will hear a radio show host interviewing a man called Michael McKay, who is the director of a Canadian theater. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14. You will hear a radio show host interviewing a man called Michael McKay, who is the director of a Canadian theater. You will hear a radio show host interviewing a man called Michael McKay, who is the director of a Japanese theater. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14. Michael McKay, the executive director of the Canadian Festival Theatre, is here with us to talk about the season starting in June. Welcome. Thank you. We have an amazing season this year with some great deals for our clients. You know, we have a lot of regular theater goers who will be happy to know that we have some great specials for the upcoming season. For example, if you ordered two tickets to any play performed at the theater, you can get 50% off the price of the next play we put on. This replaces the special offer we had last season, which was for 50% off all performances on Mondays. It is good to get youth interested in theater, so many schools arrange class trips to our theater. This year we will send a special study guide to each class so the students can familiarize themselves with the play beforehand. Having some background information always makes the experience of watching the actors perform the play more enjoyable. Each guide has suggestions for classroom discussion after seeing the show, which teachers find useful for a follow-up activity. Also, we mustn't forget to bring a friend special for our senior citizens. On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, everyone over 60 can buy one ticket and get one free. The offer includes all the musicals plus the plays, so there is lots of choice. We also include $5 off any gift shop purchase for those clients who spend more than $30 there. So what would you say is the best play you have this year? Ha, all the plays are great, but the must see play is called something to say. It stars the amazing actor, Christopher Plunkett. This likely will be the last year we see him perform, as he has been on stage for over 60 years. Actually, for the first time he helped write this play, and it really is a commentary on his amazing career as an actor. You may have seen him in supporting roles and movies, but acting on stage is his first love. He has been in so many fantastic dramas. I can't think of him ever not being on stage. Before you hear the rest of the interview, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20. Now, let's talk about the season's musicals. The first one is called The Climb. Of course, the best part is that we have that really amazing singer, Justin MacDonald playing the part of the hero. It is an inspiring story of a man called Stephen, who starts working for a newspaper and a very junior job in the mail room. After many years and many promotions, he finally gets to the top position. He becomes editor and chief of the newspaper. Then we have that wonderful classic that we show every two years because it is so popular, the Voyagers. It is a wonderful story of a Canadian farming family in the late 1800s and how they settled that land near Kingston, Ontario. The musical gives a good description of the times, the struggles and the way of life in that period. The next musical, Joey Brown, is a comical story of a piano player who writes songs for kids' TV shows. However, he ends up having a terrible time when he gets a new boss who always criticizes him and makes his life difficult. Poor Joey has to learn how to win over the boss. The show has a couple of funny twists and a surprise ending. In Main Street, Karen Hyne stars in the true story of a young woman whose dream is to compete in the Olympics. She has such a powerful actress in this role. It is about a gymnast who is crushed when, during a practice session, she breaks her ankle just one week before the games. Now for Millie and Mike, what a story this is. Stephanie James and Peter Dumas are only ten years old, but they star in the musical as the twins Millie and Mike. They have a wonderful upbringing with their grandmother who teaches them life's lessons through song. The final must see is so whimsical. In windswept, a land of imaginary creatures, the flowers and trees dance and the enchanted animals talk. It is delightful, and we even have a very talented actor who is amazing as he travels with us through the world of make-believe. Kids love this one. The music is fun, and their imagination goes wild. Michael, that all sounds wonderful. Now tell me about the restaurants and the theater district. That is the end of part two. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part two. Part three. You will hear an engineering student called Kathy discussing a piece of work with her tutor. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26. --- Section 3 - You will hear a librarian called Adam Smith talking to the students about how to use the facilities in the library. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26. Welcome! Please come in and gather over here around the tables. My name is Adam Smith and I'm the librarian here. I'll show you around today and explain how to use these facilities. Hopefully, when I'm done with it, you'll know the ropes, and please feel free to let me know of any questions or concerns that you may have. Now we're at the gate of the library. Upon entering into the door, you'll find that the rest rooms are on your left-hand side, and opposite them is a photocopy room. Many of you are wondering about the check-in and check-out process. What you have to do is go to the circulation desk, which is to the east of the photocopy room. The reading room is a really large area in the center of the library, just to the north of the circulation desk. I'm sure you won't miss it. If you're here to do research, this is where you should bring books to look through. However, if you're here to do any group projects or other interactive activities, I advise you to use one of the study rooms, which are just to the east of the reading room. Moving on to the southeast corner, we have the Periodical Section, just next to the study rooms. We have a collection of different newspapers and magazines in this section. You can get last week's weather reports, or all the top stories five years ago. Our periodicals can be traced back 20 years to the time when our school library was built. Ah, our first question, yes. Can we check out magazines from the library? I'm sorry, but you cannot take any periodicals out of the library. You're welcome to read them for as long as you want while you're here, but you cannot check them out. I wonder if there is any place where we can get some food in the library. Do we have a store here? Of course. The food service center is just meters away from the study rooms. It's on the northeast corner as you look at the map. The food service center offers different kinds of snacks, though it's not big. Well, moving on along to the west, you will find the Video Resource Center on your right hand. We have educational videos and documentaries, as well as major motion pictures. We ask that you pay attention to the tag on the video that you pick up. As many of our documentaries are for onsite viewing only and may not be taken out of the library. To the west of the Video Resource Center is our satellite TV station. Here we stream the news from Channel 19 for most of the day. How many channels does it have? It does have nearly 200 channels, but we generally will give top priority to channels with some big events. Like presidential addresses or other breaking news. During the coverage of the presidential debate, students will take a break from studying and flock to watch it. Last, but perhaps most important is the inquiry desk. It's just on the left hand side when you walk into the library. So it's impossible to miss it. If you have any questions about how to use equipment or where to find something, come and ask the assistant. Don't be shy, because that's what they're here for. Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30. Speaking of questions, one of the questions we get asked is how to actually check out a book once a student has picked one out. If it's a fiction or non-fiction book, look for the pink and yellow checkout card inside the back cover of the book. You can also find information about the book on these cards, including its publishing date, genre, ISBN, and a log of dates it's been checked out before. Present this card to me or any library assistant, and we'll stamp it, and then the book can be kept for three weeks. You can find general information on a field of study by using one of our subject guides. We have them on paper here, but any of our computers will allow you to search within fields as well. What if the library doesn't have a resource we're looking for? Great question. I'm going to address that. Our library is a network with a number of other universities in the area. So if there is something you're looking for and it's available somewhere in the area, we'll be able to get it for you. However, there are universities which are not part of the network, so we do not share resources with them. If you want more information about the library and its resources, you'll find it in a labeled blue folder on my desk in the Enquiry section. Okay, so that's a lot of information all at once, and I don't expect you to remember it all. The most important thing is please be respectful of the staff, and if you need help with anything at all, come and ask me or one of the assistants. All right. Any questions? That is the end of section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section four. Now turn to section four. Now turn to Section 3. Section 3. You will hear two archaeology students called May and Thomas talking about the excavations they have been involved in. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions to questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25. You will hear three questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25. Hi Thomas, did you have a good time in Turkey? Hi May, I had a great time but I have to say although I've always been keen on being an archaeologist. Before I went on an excavation, I used to find some of the things we did in class totally mystifying. Me too. Before I did my trip to Egypt, I was often irritated at not being able to picture exactly what the lecturers meant. They were always so excited about everything. Yeah, we did a lot of practical stuff on the excavation which I really needed. Was it harder than you expected? Yes, mostly. I learned a lot more about the rules of archaeology. I was really taken aback by how precise you have to be with your data collection and recording. I took loads of photographs and they proved very useful and the drawing went well too. Yes, I think I'm quite good with the camera. I'm minding about the recording though. I had no idea it would take so much time. Did you find anything particularly interesting when you were digging? I did actually. I had to dig a trench in part of the site. Interestingly, there weren't any bits of pottery there like you would expect to find but I did get out some pieces of cloth and what looked like one or two silver beads. But our team leaders said that they weren't. They were probably lead weights for weaving. What about you? I didn't find anything myself but quite a few of the other students did. What I enjoyed was trying to identify what crops the people who had once lived in the area had grown. They seemed to have had a much better diet than I expected. Fish and wheat as well as oats, honey and fruit. Lots of different things. Yes, it's amazing isn't it? And from measuring the bones in one of the sites, we found that the people were actually taller and had better teeth than the people who live in the area today. Probably due to less carbohydrates. How were the people you had to work with? My team was great. They were made up of people, my age from all over the world. It was good to work with them. Lots of fun and they taught me a lot. It was tough for us all though getting up at dawn every day and being out until late afternoon. Oh, that's true enough. We were all exhausted and I'd like to have an international team next time. Mine was mainly made up of English and Americans. I enjoyed the field school, but everyone was much more experienced and older than I was. It was a bit scary. Before you hear. Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30. You know there's going to be a question about the excavation projects in our test next week. Should we just run through it for practice? Good idea. Our team leader was very strict about following the right procedure. He used to say, "Never excavate anything if you're not sure it's worth excavating." Now, I think that when you've decided where to excavate, you go to the site hut and get whatever tools you need. Then clean the area so you know exactly how big it's going to be. OK, and you need to make sure you can remember what the site looks like before you begin digging. I think photos are probably best for that rather than drawings at this stage. I agree. You then attach them to a record sheet which you get from the team leader remembering to put in the site code, unit number and time. So much red tape. You seem to spend half the time marking rather than digging. That's true. I think you then have to draw up a detailed plan of where you're digging and then measure the limits. And this is all before you actually start digging. OK, so far so good. Now you can start with the trowel, but first you have to get soil samples and you keep them for further analysis. Anything that you don't think is useful, you leave in place on the site. Yes, and if you make any finds that is any object you retrieve, including animal bones, stone as well as artifacts, they should all be registered and labeled. And then you put them in a plastic bag and return them to the site hut. That's right. And remember to leave the tools and site hut as you would expect to find them. Yeah, looks like we've learned something after all. That is the end of section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Part 3. You will hear two first-year students, Rosie and Martin discuss in a project about sports shoes they are working on. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26. you Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26. Okay Martin, before we plan our presentation for the project, let's discuss what we've done so far. Okay Rosie, when the tutor gave us the theme of sports shoes to base our project on, I was not all that interested, but I'm starting to get into it. I've pretty much finished the research stage. Me too. At first I had no idea what to write for the essay, so I asked some senior students for advice and they gave me some websites to look at, where I found some articles on sports shoes and got some ideas. Yes, I searched for pictures of sports shoes online and applied them in my research. It's beneficial. Right. According to the project's requirements, we have to find an example for the research and I've just completed this part. What example do you use? You said you'd like to borrow a sample from the tutor. That was my first thought, but I realised maybe the tutor wanted us to do our own thing, not copy. Then I cut off my old sports shoes and separated them into different parts so that I could make a careful study of the internal structure. It's a good idea. Then I drew a diagram which could show precisely each part of the shoes. Through the research I've found that sports shoes nowadays have significantly improved. What do you mean? For example, designers these days use better raw materials, which are not only durable, but also make the skin of feet breathe more easily. Moreover, they also take into account the factor of foot shape. But they've ignored the foot movement, which is essential for sports people. Interesting. I think I can add this to the essay. Okay, given that you've got most ideas for the essay so far, I think you can mainly finish the written sections of the project and I can take care of every detail of the presentation. Does this appeal to you? I'm okay with that. I prefer written work to give in a presentation. That's good. What do we need to do next? Well, according to the plan, we will give a presentation next Wednesday. And before that, we'll have to finish the questionnaire, left by the tutor. And I think we can handle it this weekend. Okay. Do we have to do some face-to-face interviews? The tutor said that would be for the next assignment, not this one. Okay. Then about the presentation. I remember in the last tutorial, the tutor advised us to use some slides to make the presentation more attractive. But I'll also need a whiteboard, because I like writing or drawing when necessary. We can ask our tutor for help. He might have one, and can lend it to us. Right. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 27-30. Now listen and answer questions 27-30. While Martin, let's go through the draft of the essay together and see whether there are any changes we have to make. Okay, Rosie, I think the summary gives a brief and precise description of the project's main ideas. Where will it go? I'd like to put it at the end of the essay. What do you think? Good idea. And I think the result part describes in detail what the research has achieved. But I'm wondering whether it should go directly behind the part of the research, as they are closely related. Yes, I think that'd be better. I'll move this part. Then, the conclusion, I'm wondering whether I've used too many technical terms, which other students might struggle with. You're right. Not everyone will be familiar with the subject. So I think we could replace them with straightforward explanations. I agree. Lastly, the discussion. I like this part, as it presents a series of questions that we can talk about with other students after the presentation. Yes, but I think the questions look messy, and need to be better sequenced. Maybe we could arrange them in a list. Okay, that'd be better. All right. That's all about the essay. Now let's talk about the presentation. That is the end of part three. You now have half a minute to check your answers to part three. --- You will hear part of a lecture about native citrus plants in Australia, known as "Lemon Mertle". First, you have some time to look at questions 31-40. Pause the audio for one minute. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31-40. Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we're going to explore a few remarkable native citrus species found in Australia, which are not only important ecologically but also increasingly popular in culinary and commercial industries. Let's begin with one of the most well-known examples, "Lemon Mertle". This evergreen tree, native to the subtropical rainforests of Queensland, is widely appreciated for its strong lemon aroma. People often use lemon-mertle in cooking, but one of its more traditional applications is steeping the leaves to create herbal tea. Aside from its pleasant flavour, it's also believed to have antimicrobial properties, which makes it popular in natural remedies. Now, lemon-mertle isn't the only citrus-like tree found in Australia. Although desert lemon trees resemble other native citrus types, they won't develop properly unless there is consistent and sufficient rain available. This need-for-regular water supply makes them more challenging to grow in areas prone to long-dry spells, despite their names suggesting otherwise. Another fascinating species is the finger lime, sometimes referred to as citrus caviar due to its tiny bead-like juice vesicles. These are often used in gourmet dishes. However, finger lime trees, known for their culinary appeal, often struggle in wet climates where fungal and bacterial diseases tend to spread quickly. This sensitivity has made commercial cultivation a bit risky, especially in regions with poor drainage or unpredictable weather. When it comes to cultivation practices, timing is everything. Farmers usually begin planting during the spring months, as unexpected frost later in the year can severely damage young trees. This seasonal strategy helps to maximize growth while avoiding environmental stresses that could affect survival rates. Speaking of safety, it's also important to mention that not every part of these trees is edible. While generally safe, certain areas of the plant, especially the leaves, can be considered slightly toxic when eaten in significant amounts. For this reason, growers and chefs alike must take precautions when handling or preparing these native ingredients. As for processing, there's more than one way to use the harvest. In some recipes, the dried form, commonly referred to as a powder, is preferred over using the fully ripened fruit. This allows the flavor to be preserved and used in spice blends, marinades, or even herbal teas. From a geographical standpoint, distribution of these plants varies depending on species. These plants are naturally found in extremely dry ecosystems, with the desert landscape being one of their most common habitats. Their resilience to harsh conditions has made them well suited for outback environments, although they still need proper care. Even so, not all environments are equal. Ideal growth occurs in consistently hot and humid environments, particularly in tropical zones where temperatures remain stable throughout the year. This is why some commercial farms are now being established further north, where these conditions are more reliable year round. Beyond function, some species are valued for aesthetics. Chefs often enhance the look of seafood dishes by adding colourful citrus zest, especially when presenting grilled fish to guests. This decorative touch adds both flavor and visual appeal, making native citrus a favourite in high-end cuisine. However, cultivation is not without its challenges. Pests pose a significant challenge to these trees, with certain species of insects like borers and mites causing serious leaf damage. Farmers often need to monitor their orchards closely, and use eco-friendly pest control methods to maintain healthy crops. That brings us to the end of our overview. As you can see, Australia's native citrus species offer a mix of culinary richness, ecological uniqueness, and agricultural complexity. That is the end of part four. First, a bit of background. In recent years people have been trying to exploit a number of different renewable forms of energy. One of these is wind power. Electricity can be generated from wind power by turbines, and at present large numbers of these tall wind turbines are being erected in what are called wind farms. And the government is backing these as part of its moves towards sustainable energy production. And wind farms can be a problem for birds, because they can fly into the turbines and injure themselves. So wildlife experts have been doing a number of studies recently, trying to monitor the effects of wind farms on bird populations and suggest solutions. And that's what I'm going to look at today. Now before I look in detail at specific studies of different birds, I want to make some general points. It has been established that the species in greatest danger from the turbines are those which, irrespective of their feeding or patterns of migration, collect together in significant numbers, either on the coast or inland. And as well as that, birds are often vulnerable when they're setting off on long sea migrations, or when they're flying below cloud. So in my opinion, efforts should be made to cite new wind farms responsibly, and that means avoiding low lying areas and narrow valleys between mountains or hills. Now I'd like to look at some specific studies. Firstly, a project looking at one particular species of bird, the Vulture. This investigation mainly focused on how high the birds fly, and the correlation between this and weather conditions. One of the weather features they were looking at was wind speed. And as well as that, another thing they considered to do with the weather was the amount of cloud. Now what emerged from this study was that these vultures tend to fly lower at times when the wind is very strong. And of course, this means that more birds are in danger of flying straight into the turbines. Now the project team suggests that to deal with this problem a fixed camera should be set up to film any birds in flight near the turbines, so that if necessary, the turbines can be switched off. Another survey looked at the nighttime or nocturnal habits of several species of birds. This study actually had a slightly wider scope. It looked at risks to these birds near other installations, not just wind farms. These were mainly airports, which for obvious reasons tend to cause problems for birds. But the study also looked at what happened near tall structures, such as radio transmitters. In the past, the most usual means of tracking the movements of birds at night were radar and thermal imaging. Now the problem was that these methods were expensive, because someone had to control the devices all through the night, and in addition to this they weren't really reliable, so the researchers looked for an alternative that didn't need human intervention. And what they proposed as a priority was to create alarm systems that switch on whenever a bird passes a certain point, alerting monitors so that action can be taken. And then their second proposal was that finding should be processed to generate computer models, which can be used by wind farm planners, and anyone else with an interest in reducing the number of collisions.