Ielts Listening Recent Actual Test Vol 3

Test 1

Section 1:

Reception:          Good afternoon, you’re through to reception at The Island Hotel in Crete, how may I help you today?

Mr Schiffer:       Yes, hello there, I’m hoping to book a double (Example) room for my wife and myself for about two weeks from the 25th April of this year. Firstly, could you tell me whether it’s particularly hot during this time?

Reception:          Yes, of course Sir, during late April and early May, the daytime temperature shouldn’t exceed 19 (Q1) degrees Celsius, but the weather has been rather erratic and difficult to predict in recent years, so I am unable to say for certain.

Mr Schiffer:       Okay, that sounds good, my wife doesn’t like going outside when it’s very hot! I haven’t booked flights yet, but I must say that I’m unfamiliar with Crete and its transport system. Does the hotel provide an airport shuttle service?

Reception:          Yes Sir, we provide a complementary airport pick-up service for all our guests. It takes about 40 minutes (Q2) to get here from the airport, but it’s at least 60 minutes at rush hours and you will be provided with a fully airconditioned shuttle bus.

Mr Schiffer:       Okay, excellent. In that case, do you have any rooms available for the dates I gave you?

Reception:          I shall have a look on the system now for you Sir, bear with me just a moment, [brief pause] Yes Sir, I can see now that we have several rooms available. Would you prefer a garden view or a sea view?

Mr Schiffer:       Well, ideally I would like a sea-view room with a balcony, but of course that depends on the difference in price.

Reception:          Not to worry Sir, all of our standard double rooms have en-suite facilities and a balcony (Q3). If you would like one of our sea-view rooms, there is a premium of €60 per night.

Mr Schiffer:       Okay, so could you tell me the total nightly rate for a standard double room with a sea view?

Reception:          Yes, of course Sir, for the spring months, our rate is €216 per night. For 14 nights, altogether this will come to €3,024.

Mr Schiffer:       Perfect. I also read on your website that the hotel has gym and spa facilities. Are there any other facilities on offer?

Reception:          Yes, we have a large outdoor infinity pool overlooking the ocean, with luxury sun beds and a poolside bar. We also have 3 full-sized tennis courts (Q4), where we run a popular doubles tournament, with the winner receiving 2 all-inclusive spa day vouchers.

Mr Schiffer:       Goodness, I shall have to brush up on my tennis skills!

Mr Schiffer:       Are there any other activities organised by the hotel that we can partake in? It’s just that it’s our wedding anniversary on the 30th of June, and I would like to provide my wife with the perfect romantic getaway.

Reception:          I can assure you, Sir, that your wife won’t be disappointed. Ours is a 5-star resort which is renowned for its luxury and beauty. In terms of activities, the hotel provides thrice weekly entertainment. On Tuesdays, guests will take a mini bus and partake in learning to cook succulent fish dishes (Q5) with our Michelin starred chef, Enrique. The class will take place in a beautiful valley deep in the Cretan hills, where guests will be treated to an intimate piano (Q6) performance by our in-house concert pianist, Pedro. On Wednesdays, a select number of guests will be fortunate enough to explore the mountains by helicopter (Q7), before being transported to a tropical Cretan garden (Q8) by shuttle bus. Finally, on Thursdays after a fancy dinner, we provide a spectacular fireworks (Q9) display, which guests can view from the comfort of a cable car (Q10).

Mr Schiffer:       Oh wow, that all sounds absolutely wonderful! I shall book the room now, and then I need to look at flights so as not to become extortionate. Would you like to take my details now or later? [fade out]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section 2:

BarterOnlineUK is a young, up and coming website in the United Kingdom where users can ‘buy’ new and used goods; however, instead of paying with money, registered users instead exchange their purchase for an item of similar value. This part is perhaps the most complicated, as the registered users themselves must mutually decide on an appropriate value, with value either being the recommended retail price (RRP), or simply how much they believe the item to be worth. The website has been founded by a group of four friends in the north of England. Originally they exchanged their belongings among family members. They frequently found themselves swapping (swapping: trao đổi) their belongings when they no longer had any use for them. They live by the motto ‘one person’s trash is another person’s treasure’, and hate to throw things away. As more and more people caught wind of the idea and wanted to participate in the exchanges, the group decided that the idea had the potential to become a successful business venture (mạo hiểm, may rủi), and so it did.

BarterOnlineUK is a start-up online business, which took 3 months to set up and has now been running for around half a year. Despite only being founded a short time ago, the website has already garnered (thu được) about 1,500 registered users, with 500 more than expected, a huge achievement for the founders. Some of the users are registered in the United Kingdom and Canada, with the majority from the Republic of Ireland. In order to become a registered member, users must first fill in their personal details followed by their credit or debit card details, which will be used to take payment of a monthly fee of £5. As long as this fee is paid, users will be able to perform an unlimited number of online exchanges.

A multitude (vô số) of items are sold on the website, such as textbooks, soft toys, and tools, however books for children and computer games are by far selected most. The exchange process itself is not as complicated as it might seem, users can enter their preferences for what they would like to receive, and also explicitly (rõ ràng) state what they would like to give away, and the website will automatically pair up suitable users. If, however, a user doesn’t want to give anything away, but would simply like to buy something, BarterOnlineUK does support a secure online payment system where users can perform a normal monetary transaction. Despite this, the founding group strongly discourages the use of the online payment system, clearly stating that this goes against the intended ethos (tập quán, phong tục, đặc tính) of the company.      (intended: đặc tính, dự định, chủ tâm, cố ý)

Although bartering (đổi chác) is an age-old process, many of the website’s users are unsure how to decide which of their own items to exchange. It often helps to order items by popularity using the ‘filter’ button provided, this will tell the website to find out popular items for users’ convenience. To this, the founding members say just put everything you don’t want on there, different people have different tastes, and you never know what they might be looking for! In order to aid (giúp đỡ, viện trợ) registered users in their exchanges, and to provide them with assurance, the founders recently added a new feature whereby on completion of an exchange, users will be encouraged to provide each other with feedback. This feedback will include criteria such as the quality of the item as compared with how it was advertised, the ease of communication with the seller, the speed at which the item was delivered, and so on. The friends believe that using this method, users will have a more transparent

 

 

 

 

 

Section 3:

Tom:                                  Professor Tomlinson, may Annie and I please quickly ask you a few questions about the reflective (báo cáo) journal assignment? It’s just that we’re a bit confused as to what you want US to include and discuss.

Tomlinson:        Yes of course, what are you having trouble with?

Annie:                               Well, everything really. To start with, what should be included first in the reflective journal? Perhaps suggestions from others?

Prof. Tomlinson:       No no, firstly you should include the study goals you set yourself at the beginning of the module (Q21). This section should have been discussed in some detail towards the beginning of the course by Professor May. You should be able to find her suggestions on the slides she has provided the class online.

Annie:                               Okay, thank you, Professor. Could I also trouble you to take a brief look at my bibliography (thư mục) and footnotes (ghi chú) ? I feel like they’re missing something; most of our friends’ bibliographies are longer.

Prof. Tomlinson:       Well, looking at this Annie, I can see that you have used a wide range of resources, which shows that you have made effective use of communication technology (Q22). As far as I can tell, you need not make any changes to this, although you might want to double check that your referencing complies with the Harvard Referencing Style regulations.

Annie:               Oh I’m very surprised you’ve said that! Thank you, now I can set my mind at ease. Tom, you said you wanted to ask the Professor about the achievements section?

Ease: bình thản, khoan khoái, dễ chịu.

Tom:                      Ah yes, Professor, in the assignment guidelines, we are asked to introduce and elaborate on our biggest achievement in the past, saying which skills we learnt in the process, and how these skills can be transferred to various different future careers. The only problem is that I don’t know what my greatest achievement actually is. I’ve only ever worked as a waiter in a hotel restaurant during the summer holidays from university.

Prof. Tomlinson:       If you worked as a waiter in a hotel restaurant, you’re bound (hạn chế, nhất định) to have worked with other waiters as part of a team. Would you say that during your time as a waiter, you developed any leadership skills?

Tom:   Yes, well I suppose I was asked to become the team leader of the food and beverage department (Q23). But that’s hardly an achievement.

 

 

 

Prof. Tomlinson:       You might not think so, but if you write that you were offered the position of the team leader, it shows a lot more about your character, for example that you’re charismatic and work well in a high-pressure situation.

Tom:                      I never would have thought to write that down, thank you! I guess I should start listening to others more often (Q24)! Annie, do you have any more questions or are you ready to go back to the library?

Annie:               Yeah, 1 think I’ve got everything I need. Thank you very much, Professor Tomlinson!

[Tom and Annie alone]

Tom:                      That was really helpful. I’m actually starting to look forward to writing this now (Q25), and it should be a really useful exercise to prepare us for writing CVs and applying for jobs. It’s shocking how bad I am at identifying my strengths and weaknesses. Professor Tomlinson has shown me that I definitely need to start displaying some self-awareness! (Q26)

Annie:                   Yeah, Tom, you really do. You’re always so modest (khiêm tốn)! Modesty is great until it comes to applying for jobs!

Annie:                   Oh no! I forgot to ask the professor about the section on identifying the skills gained through different activities, do you remember? When it asks you, for example, whether writing an essay develops your study skills or your independent learning and so on?

Tom:   Oh goodness, we really should have asked him that. I’ve been having trouble with it too. It just seems like such a pointless task. What do you reckon the answers are?

Pointless: đoán – reckon: đoán

Annie:                   Hmm… I think writing an essay might be a way of identifying and resolving a problem, because you have to state the problem in the introduction and then solve it (Q27). I’m not so sure about taking exams… I thought they were supposed to develop lots of different skill sets. If I really had to choose, I’d say that taking exams enables you to become more confident in yourself (Q28)… do you agree?

Tom:                      Maybe, I really don’t know either. What do you think about the last two? Making class notes and presentation notes?

Annie:                   Oh it’s so difficult! I think making class notes has to be a way of becoming a more independent learner (Q29) because you yourself decide what the important information is and learn it. That reminds me, I find taking presentation notes is a disaster (Q30)! The professors speak much too quickly, and I write much too slowly, [fade out]

 

 

Section 4:

Welcome back to my series of short lectures on apes. Today we will examine recent and historical breakthroughs on the behaviour of chimpanzees, otherwise known as chimps.

The word ‘chimpanzee’ is an umbrella term for two different species of apes in the genus Pan, which are the Common Chimpanzee, or Pan Troglodytes, found in West and Central Africa, and the Bonobo, or Pan Paniscus, which are found in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Chimpanzees belong to the Hominidae family, together with gorillas, orangutans and indeed humans. Current research tells us that the chimps broke away from the human branch of the Hominidae family approximately six million years ago, and remain the closest living relative to humans to this day. More modern researches into chimpanzees have centred on their behavioural characteristics, once all biological and genetic (Q31) factors have been ruled out. In this way, scientists have unearthed an unfathomable amount of similarities between human and chimpanzee behaviour. Although much of this research has taken place through observation of captive chimps, the results are widely seen as an authoritative reflection of chimps living in the wild. Chimps live in large so-called communities comprised of many male and female members, with the social hierarchy determined by an individual chimp’s position and influence. Through such research, scientists have found that chimps learn and adapt through observation (Q32) of others’ behaviour. Once in power, the alpha male is often seen to alter its body language in order to retain power, for example he might puff himself up in order to intimidate others, while lower-ranking chimps are noted to behave more submissively and holding out their hands while granting. Female chimpanzees also have a distinct social hierarchy, with high social standing inherited by children. It is not unheard of for dominant females within a community to unite and overthrow the alpha male, backing another in his place.

James Diamond, in his book The Third Chimpanzee suggests that chimps should now be reclassified in the genus Homo, instead of Pan, and there are many arguments still in favour of this. Male common chimpanzees are on average 1.7 metres in height, weighing 70kg, with their female counterparts being somewhat smaller. By comparison, the Bonobo is slightly shorter and lighter, but with longer arms and legs; however, both species walk on all fours, and climb trees with great ease. Jane Goodall made a groundbreaking discovery in 1960, when she observed the use of tools (Q33) among chimpanzees, including digging for termites with large sticks. A recent study claimed to reveal that common chimpanzees in Senegal have been using spears sharpened with their teeth to hunt; however these reports remain unsubstantiated. Researchers have witnessed such tools, namely rocks, being used by chimps to open (Q34) coconut shells and indeed crushing nuts with stone (Q35) hammers. As scientific technology has developed, so too has our knowledge of the sheer extent of the chimp’s intelligence. Research has now shown that chimps have the capability to learn and use symbols (Q36), and understand aspects of the human language, including syntax as well as numerical sequences.

As I mentioned earlier, the umbrella term ‘chimpanzee’ is comprised of the common chimpanzee and the bonobo. These two sub-species are divided along the Congo River, with the common chimps living on one side, and the bonobos living on the opposite side of the river (Q37). Over the past few decades, both of these sub-species have witnessed an alarming decrease in population density (Q38), with animal activists now working harder than ever to protect those remaining and encourage procreation.

In addition, next week’s episode will focus more closely on how chimpanzees in captivity are able to learn things through imitating the behaviour of humans (Q39), as well as how chimpanzees’ behaviours have developed over many generations. (Q40)

Thank you very much for attending this evening’s lecture. I hope you found it intellectually stimulating, and I look forward to seeing you again next week. Goodnight!

 

Test 2

Section 1:

Events Coordinator:              Good morning, you’re through to the events coordinator at the Birmingham City Council, how may I help you?

Julie:                          Hello there, my husband and I are interested in purchasing (Example) tickets to the automobile exhibition, but I couldn’t find many details about it on your website, and I was wondering whether you could provide me with some more information. Does it open in June?

Events Coordinator:              Yes, of course, Madam. The exhibition will take place during July (Q1), and will showcase the history of automobiles from the very first commercial car in the late 1800s all the way through to the present day.

Julie:                          Is the exhibition open for the duration of July?

Events Coordinator:              No, Madam, the exhibition will last 3 days (Q2), from the 1st of July to the 3rd of July, and then the cars will be taken to another exhibition.

Julie:                          Okay. Does the exhibition focus on a certain manufacturer?

Coordinator:        No, it will showcase a wide range of manufacturers.

Julie:                          Wonderful! I’m ever so fed up of going to these shows and only seeing one manufacturer. Are there any opportunities to sit in or even drive the cars?

Events Coordinator:              There will be many opportunities for you to sit in the cars; however, some of the cars will only be available to observe. We are yet to be told whether any of the antique cars will be available to drive, however there will certainly be an opportunity to test driving (Q3) some of the more modern cars on a purpose-built track.

Julie:                          That sounds like great fun! I mustn’t forget to bring my camera, or my husband will never forgive me!

Events Coordinator:              I’m afraid to say that cameras (Q4) are actually strictly not allowed to bring into the exhibition. There will however be a section where a professional photographer will be available to take photos of you sitting in a car in period clothing.

Julie:                          Well, that sounds like it could he fun, but I assume the photos won't be tree.

Events Coordinator:              On the contrary, one free photograph is included within every ticket, hut each photo alter this will cost £5.

Julie:                          That's a nice surprise, not many things are free anymore. I've been asking around about the ticket prices, but 1 haven’t yet had a definite answer. Is it correct that the tickets are £ 100 whether you buy them now or on arrival?

Events Coordinator:              I’m afraid not. If you buy the ticket in advance the price is £110 (Q5), but it’s £165 on the door.

Julie:                          Oh goodness! I suppose I’d best pay for them now then. Is it possible to buy tickets from you now over the phone?

Events Coordinator:              Yes, of course, Madam. I’ll transfer you to the Box Office Manager, Mark Edgeworth (Q6), that’s E-D-G-E-W-O-R-T-H, and he will probably need to take your credit card details and some personal details.

Julie:                          Yes, that’s fine. Before you transfer me, I just need to ask a few more questions. Will the exhibition be held in the Birmingham Exhibition Centre? I think that’s where I went last time.

Events Coordinator:              No, Madam, the Birmingham Exhibition Centre is currently undergoing some renovations, so this year all exhibitions will be held in the Summer (Q7) Palace.

Julie:                          Summer Palace? I’m not entirely sure where that is.

Events Coordinator:              Well, it’s not too far from city centre (Q8). Once you’re in the centre, you should be able to find signs for the palace. If not, most people in Birmingham will be able to direct you.

Julie:                          Hmm...neither my husband nor I am particularly good with directions. Is there anywhere I can find this information on the Internet?

Events Coordinator:              Our website will give you an address. Perhaps you could visit www.directions.com (Q9) for more detailed information, and they should be able to provide you with step-by-step instructions.

Julie:   Okay and is this the best way to contact you, by phone?

Events Coordinator:              I think the most convenient way to contact US is enquiring online, which is much simpler than having to dial various different numbers to reach the right person! Unless you have any more questions, I’ll transfer you now.

Julie:                          No, that’s great! Thank you for your help.

 

 

 

Section 2:

Hello, and welcome to the home page for the Healthy Hearing Medical Clinic and Surgery, where we’d like to share a little more information about the services we provide and more.

Our hospital is one of the leading specialised hospitals in the United Kingdom, attracting the very best healthcare professionals from around the globe. Not only are we a leading medical practice, but we are also the only hospital in the United Kingdom dedicated entirely to the treatment of, and research into the curing of hearing loss. Our facilities and staff here are renowned across Europe, attracting thousands of patients a year. Our consultations can number anything up to 11,000 patients a year, however we aim to treat around 5,000 patients a year so as to maintain and ensure the quality of our services (Q11). Our patients are guaranteed the highest standard of care, as well as the use of our first class facilities. All patients requiring overnight treatment are provided with their own private room with en-suite facilities, as well as a state-of-the-art entertainment centre, which includes a flat screen LCD television and Playstation.

Appointments with our healthcare professionals can be made at any time during the week, with female doctors available between 8 am and 11 am (Q12). If you need to see a doctor outside of these times, please visit the ‘Out of Hours’ page of our website for more information. Our doctors are all trained to an exceptionally high standard, and practice a vast array of specialties: Mr Robert is a fully qualified ear and throat specialist, Mr Edwards is a pediatric hearing specialist, while Mr Green specialises in reversing hearing loss (Q13). For more details about our people, please visit the ‘Staff Members’ page on our website.

During a consultation, doctors will sometimes decide medication is required, for which patients should receive a prescription. There are several pharmacies within the city; however we recommend that patients use the pharmacy housed within our health care facility (Q14). Our in-house pharmacy is well-stocked at all times, our products are competitively priced, and our pharmacists are on hand to help and advise from 8 am until 10 pm from Monday to Saturday, and from 9 am until 12 pm on Sundays. If you require any help outside of these hours, please see our ‘Out of Hours’ page on the website.

Since the Healthy Hearing Medical Clinic and Surgery also functions as a teaching hospital, we aim to provide our students with every opportunity to expose themselves to medicine in practice. Therefore we would like to encourage our patients to give their consent for a medical student to attend their consultations (Q15). If our patients are not comfortable with this, there will be a form at reception where patients will be able to opt out.

Now, please look at the map I’ve given you of the Healthy Hearing Medical Clinic and Surgery. For those not familiar with our practice, reception can be found through the main door at the end of the corridor (Q16). If your consultation is booked with Mr Green, you need to go through the main door and turn right by the nurses’ desk, and his office is at the end of the corridor on your left-hand side (Q17). If you need to alter any of your personal details, please visit our secretary at the Office for Medical Records, which you will find next to the therapy room (Q18). If you’re awaiting surgery, please first check in with reception, before taking the first door on the right after you enter the clinic. (Q19)

Finally, in the event that you feel disappointed with any of the services we have provided, or have any further questions, please locate our Manager’s Office, which can be found near the Office for Medical Records and between two closets. (Q20)

If you have any more questions about the Healthy Hearing Medical Clinic and Surgery, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01256 111 111. [fade out] 

 

Section 3:

Jim:        Jane, what did you think of ProfcMor Morgnn’s lecture? I don’t know about MW. but I find It incredibly dillicull to believe that light Influences the environment as much as he says. I VC never seen any journal articles, websites or anything that verifies his argument Il’s stupid.

Jane:      On the contrary. I’ve seen a great deal of research supporting his argument from a wide range of renowned scientists. Have you looked at the recommended textbook listed on the course outline given to US at the beginning of the semester? All the information IS in there, perhaps you ve just been looking in the wrong places.

Jim:        I never look at the course outlines, 1 have so many loose sheets ol paper I tend to lose anything I'm given by the end of the day. What’s the textbook they recommend, and where can I get it from? I should probably go buy it soon; I m already behind in the course.

Jane:      Yeah, you definitely should buy it, and our grades are more important this year! It’s called ‘The Influence of Light on the Environment’. You should be able to find it in the bookshop on campus. If not, they’ll order it within two weeks. In the meantime, you should read up on Ken Simpson’s work, he argues that in order to protect natural habitats, governments should endeavor to turn off lights in cities at night. (Q21)

Jim:        Well that’s controversial; I doubt any government would be willing to do that any time soon. I imagine roads would become quite dangerous without street lighting. For this issue, Dave Kepler suggests they could just replace the existing lights with more environmentally friendly bulbs (Q22). They could even install solar-powered lights; that way, roads will be more eco-friendly while maintaining safety. Although I guess they wouldn’t be particularly effective in colder countries, especially during the winter.

Jane:      That’s quite a good idea actually. The price of solar power is supposed to be on par with electricity within the next few decades, and it was on the news this morning. I’ve also heard that, according to Sharon Grey, in countries with more sunlight, insect-eating animals tend to be smaller in size (Q23). Since there are fewer insects, and the remaining insects produced a smaller number of eggs.

Jim:        Yeah, I think I read somewhere that sunlight also has a negative effect on the quality of water, but I’m not sure I believe it. In many hot countries, particularly developing countries, there is a lot of water pollution caused by factories rather than sunlight. Nevertheless, Maria Jackson says that in direct sunlight, the surface of the water becomes more translucent, therefore it affects the amount of sunlight that aquatic insects can absorb (Q24). Not much research has been undertaken to prove Jackson’s theory, but it seems to have been widely accepted anyway.

Jane:      I’ve never heard of that. I’ll have to look it up on Google. The only other theory I’ve studied is Barbara Swallow’s study on how declined insect population adversely affects the frog population (Q25). Not that I’m complaining… I hate insects, especially spiders.

Jim:        You have arachnophobia? I never would have guessed. Didn’t your brother have a pet black widow spider?

Jane:      Yes, he did, and I hated it. It escaped from its cage once and we never found it. I had nightmares for months.

Jane:      Okay, now I’m getting goose bumps, let’s change the subject. What’s your stance on natural and artificial light?

Jim:     Honestly, I’m not sure it makes much difference which one you use; species will die out either way (Q26). I think the real argument we should consider is global warming and protection or replacement of finite fuels. Solar power provides us with an incredible opportunity to replace electricity, and governments should definitely increase spending on research in this field. The theories discussed in our lectures, like Simpson’s and Grey’s, are so vague and lack proof, so I don’t understand why we even study them. (Q27)

Jane:      I see what you mean. I don’t like learning unsupported theories for exams, and I’d rather spend my time learning something else. For example, I’d be much more interested in studying the animals in safari parks than researching migratory birds, particularly the effect of tourists on the quality of life of animals (Q28). As we know, every year thousands of visitors will drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals.

Jim:        Yeah, that would be really interesting! Especially those animals living in more tropical countries, like Borneo (Q29). Following on from that, I want to study how bringing animals over from foreign countries to put in our zoos affects their life expectancy (Q30). For example, do you remember when China sent pandas to Edinburgh Zoo? Apparently one of the pandas became depressed, but it was never explained why. To me, obviously, you can’t take an animal out of its natural habitat and put it in a cage on the other side of the world. It just doesn’t work… [fade out]

 

Section 4

Great Britain is often hailed as the home of football, with talented players travelling from far and wide to play for teams in the English Premier League – one of the most popular football leagues on the planet. Today we are going to take a look back to the 19th century Great Britain in an attempt to trace the evolution of ‘the beautiful game’ as it is now known.

Prior to the 19th century, the game featured a wide variety of local and regional adaptations, which were later smartened up and made more uniform to create our modern-day sports of association football, rugby football, and Ireland’s Gaelic football. Even up to the mid-19th century, Shrovetide football or ‘mob football’ was still widely practiced. According to the rules of mob football, there were no rules… a player could legally use any means whatsoever to obtain the ball, such as kicking, punching, biting and gouging, with the only exceptions being murder and manslaughter. These games may be regarded as the ancestors of modem codes of football, and by comparison with later models of football, they were chaotic and had few cooperation. Towards the latter end of the 19th century and moving into the early part of the 20th century, however, there appeared a new found emphasis on moral values in football (Q31). Perhaps a more modern example of this can be seen in John Terry’s suspension as England captain following reports of his infidelity to his wife. Furthermore, as mob football died away, there grew a greater concern for players’ health and general well-being, with many clubs affording their top players access to frequent medical check-ups and treatment (Q32). Despite the presence of Great Britain’s unique state-funded National Health Service, football clubs are still seen today providing team members with State-of-the-art healthcare facilities, with the top clubs even housing their own specialist doctors and physicians.

Today, football is a key feature of school children’s day-to-day education, particularly for boys. With the help of football associations, all schools in the UK are boasting their own football teams. This mainly comes as a result of pressure put on schools and the government by concerned parents (Q33), who felt that football education taught their children valuable lessons and indeed vital life skills, such as teamwork and the drive to succeed. Nowadays, many of the UK’s top football clubs provide training facilities and outreach programmes in an attempt to educate the nation’s aspiring youths.

As I previously mentioned, it was only during the 19th century that football in its uniform concept truly began to emerge, with footballers previously playing according to their own versions (Q34) of the rules. However, it was not until the early 20th century that different players actually began to play according to these standardised rules. Prior to the 19th century, football was played by all the major English public schools including the likes of Eton College, Winchester College, and Harrow. In 1848 there was a meeting at Cambridge University in an attempt to lay down the laws of football. Present at the meeting were representatives of each of these major public schools, whom each brought a copy of the rules enforced by their own individual school’s rules of football. The result of the meeting was what is now known as the ‘Cambridge Rules’, thereby uniting the rules from across the country (Q35) into one simple document. However, the Cambridge Rules were not liked by all, and a new set of rules, ‘Thring’s Rules’ compounded in the book ‘The Simplest Game’ became common place among dissenters.

Across the country, improvements in infrastructure and public transport (Q36) had a knock on effect of dramatically increasing attendance to football games. Football quickly became a social (Q37) event where spectators would meet friends, drink tea and chat about the good old days. As football became more and more popular, it was decided that more money should be invested in maintaining the quality of pitches amongst other things, and there was even talk of installing seating for spectators. However, the question of who was to foot the bill quickly became a divisive issue, with many believing that the government should fund football’s development as a national sport. But in the end, the onus fell upon Britain’s local and regional football clubs for the funding (Q38) and development of the football association. They became responsible for the upkeep of football grounds, began to pay their best players a small salary, and organised competitions (Q39) against other local and regional teams. And there began England’s Football Association, or the FA, as we know it in its current form, the governing body of football in England. As the FA continued to grow and accumulate greater wealth, it was able to attract more and more talented young men from across the country, before finally accepting professional (Q40) talent in the early 20th century. Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams, while billions more watch the game on television or on the Internet, [fade out]

 

Test 3

Section 1:

OLIVIA:     Hi Zach! 1 heard you passed your driving test! Congratulations!

ZACH:         Thanks Olivia! 1 passed just last week. It feels great to be independent and driving on my own!

OLIVIA       I really want to take driving lessons, but I haven’t been able to find a driving school that will give lessons during the weekends (Example) so that I don’t have to miss any classes at college.

ZACH:          The driving school that I used was brilliant and really flexible with their teaching hours. It’s really close to school. The address is 67 King’s (Q1) Road – that’s 67-KING-apostrophe-S Road.

OLIVIA:      Oh that’s perfect! I don’t like the idea of driving around busy streets. Did your teacher make you drive in urban areas or did he mainly teach you on roads in the countryside?

ZACH:          My teacher said that I had to learn on both in order to become a good and experienced driver. We would start in the city centre and then drive north (Q2) above the city.

OLIVIA:      He sounds like a good teacher. Would you mind giving me his contact details so I can ask him for lessons?

ZACH:          Of course! My mother’s friend Daniel Smith referred me to him. His name is Allen Sutcliffe.

OLIVIA:      Could you spell the surname please?

ZACH:          S-U-T-C-L-I-double F-E. (Q3)

OLIVIA:      Thanks for helping me out, I’ll give him a call tomorrow. I don’t know if I should learn in a manual or automatic car. How do I decide?

ZACH:          I wasn’t sure which type of car to learn in either. In the end I chose to learn in a manual car because once you’ve learnt how to drive manually you can drive automatic as well. Most cars on the road are automatic (Q4) nowadays.

OLIVIA:      OK, I think I’ll learn with a manual car too then. Hopefully the teacher will be able to give me lessons in the evenings after school!

ZACH:          It would be much better if you take the lessons during the day (Q5). It will be far easier for you to learn when there is enough daylight to clearly see everything going on around you. But you need to be an experienced driver to drive safely at night.

OLIVIA:      How frustrating! I was hoping I wouldn’t have to take lessons during the weekends’. You're right though, safety comes first!

ZACH:          Speaking of safety, you should wait until summer to start learning! It’s really difficult and dangerous to drive in the wind and rain as a learner so you should definitely wait until the weather (Q6) is sunny and dry.

OLIVIA:      OK, that's perfect, actually! It will give me some time to save up some money to pay for the lessons.

ZACH:          Tell me about it! I had to work for months before I had enough money saved up! It was worth all the work when I finally got my driving license (Q7) though!

OLIVIA:      The whole process is so expensive! How much did it cost you in the end?

ZACH:          Well, each half hour lesson cost $30 and then the final test cost $50 (Q8). In total it cost me about $300.

OLIVIA:      Gosh, it’s pretty expensive! How did you find the test? Was it really difficult?

ZACH:          No, it wasn’t too bad, and the man was really calm and friendly. I knew that I would have to perform two parking manoeuvres during the test, so I practised them a lot beforehand and that really helped! The test used to last 40 minutes, but it changed a bit. For the first 20 minutes of the test he gave me directions and I had to just drive around and then the last 10 minutes was for demonstrating the manoeuvres, so the test is 30 (Q9) minutes in total.

OLIVIA:      OK, great, I’ll remember that! Do you have any more advice?

ZACH:          It’s really good to practise driving a lot outside of driving lessons as well. Whenever my parents were running errands on the weekends I would offer to drive them. My driving teacher also told me to buy a notebook to write down everything that I’ve learnt in it like a diary. (Q10)

OLIVIA:      Haha, that sounds boring, but I’ll do it if it helps.

ZACH:          I found it really useful! Before my test I read through everything 1 had written down and it reminded me ol a lot of things that I  had forgotten about! It’s really helpful for the theory test as well because there’s so much information to remember for it.

OLIVIA:      That’s great, Zach! Thanks for your help!

ZACH:          No problem, see you at school!                                              OLIVIA:            Bye!

Section 2:

Good morning, everybody and welcome to Mount Rushmore! To start your visit I’m just going to give you a brief account of the history of the memorial before letting you roam about on your own. I won’t keep you long. OK?

Mount Rushmore is South Dakota’s top tourist attraction and features the heads of four United States Presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each head is 18 metres tall, which is taller than the heights of eleven people combined! The sculptor initially wanted to depict the presidents from head to waist, but due to a lack of funding the construction had to stop before this vision could be realised. In total it cost the government $ 1 million (Q11) to sculpt the heads at Mount Rushmore.

Before the construction of the presidents’ heads, the mountain was just bare rock and forest attracting only a few hikers a year. The new carving at Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of presidential greatness and has appeared in works of fiction and other popular works. The sculpture has also worked perfectly as a way to develop tourism (Q12), which was its intended purpose, and now attracts over two million people a year.

The original plan was to carve the Presidents’ faces into the granite pillars known as ‘The Needles’, however the sculptor soon realised that these rocks were too eroded and delicate to support such a large sculpture. Instead he chose to locate the carving at Mount Rushmore due to its grand appearance and brightly lit rock faces that experience maximum exposure to sunlight throughout the day as a result of the south-east (Q13) orientation. Upon seeing Mount Rushmore, the sculptor declared ‘America will march along that skyline.’

The name of Mount Rushmore also has an interesting history. The location was originally known as the Six Grandfathers, however during an expedition in 1885 the mountain was renamed after Charles E. Rushmore, a prominent New York lawyer (Q14) who joked that his annual treks to the mountain had earned him the right to have it named after him. Forty years after the mountain was renamed, Charles E. Rushmore donated $5,000 towards the sculpting of the president’s heads -the largest single contribution. In 1927 the construction work started and seven (Q15) years later was complete with no fatalities.

So that’s the history for you. If you’d like any more information, please feel free to ask me questions, or you can soak up the information from our fantastic guide book.

Now I’m going to give you a plan of the site and I’d just like to point out where everything is so that you can explore everything for yourself. We’re currently standing at the entrance, which is marked with the arrow on the map. If you follow the trail up to our left, you will find the information centre (Q16). There’s a great photo booth there where you can have your photograph taken with Mount Rushmore in the background for a fee of only $10 – what a great souvenir! In front of us is the refreshment centre where you can help yourselves to coffee, locally grown tea and a delicious selection of cold drinks and biscuits (Q17). Be sure to stay hydrated as it can get really hot up here! To our right not far up the trail is the gift shop (Q18). Here we sell copies of the guide book and it’s also the perfect place to pick up some small souvenirs for yourself, your family and friends. Now further up the trail behind the gift shop is a big stone building with a workshop (Q19). This is where all of our souvenirs are made by hand, which you can purchase in the gift shop like I said before. Some are even carved from pieces of rock taken from Mount Rushmore itself! If you carry on walking up the trail past the workshop you’ll find our state of the art visitor centre where you can find maps of the walking trails here at Mount Rushmore (Q20). Now for the real treat! After you have walked past the visitor centre, you can follow the trail up to the left, which will take you to our wooden shelter. From here you will have the best view of Mount Rushmore that there is – an experience not be forgotten! Right, if anyone wants a guided tour then I’m starting at the information centre. If you’d like to follow me, this way please. 

Section 3:

CHARLOTTE:     Excuse me, Dr Twain. May I speak with you for a minute?

DR TWAIN:          Of course, please come in.

CHARLOTTE:     I’m Charlotte York. I’m considering taking your course in Tourism.

DR TWAIN:          Right. Well, Charlotte, how can I help you?

CHARLOTTE:     I have been considering studying Tourism, however, it is such an important decision that I would like to seek some advice about it first. Would you mind answering some of my questions?

DR TWAIN:          Absolutely, fire away!

CHARLOTTE:     Well I have been discussing courses with my parents and they are concerned that 1 will not be able to get a well-paid job with a degree in Tourism. The reason that 1 want to study the course is that I have a great interest in the subject and I think I would really enjoy it. 1 believe the only way that I will enjoy my life is if I enjoy my career. Happiness is far more important than money, don’t you think?

DR TWAIN:          Absolutely. I would much rather be happy and poor rather than rich and miserable. Money cannot buy you happiness.

CHARLOTTE:     I’m glad you agree.

DR TWAIN:          You needn’t worry about money, Charlotte. A large part of the Tourism course is dedicated to teaching students how to manage finances, a skill that you can apply to your everyday life as well. I would also recommend that you take a sideline course in time management, as this can be incredibly useful in efficiently planning your workload. Efficiency is the key to success!

CHARLOTTE:     I’ll remember that.

DR TWAIN:          Now I have found that some students have natural talents that really help them to succeed in the course. Communication skills, for example, can be very beneficial. Do you have any strengths?

DR TWAIN:          Maths was always my favourite subject at school so I really enjoy solving mathematical problems, however I find statistics quite difficult. 1 have always been very capable andself- sufficient. 1 have a lot of confidence in my abilities and will take the initiative in situations without needing to depend on anyone else for their help.

CHARLOTTE:     That’s a really great quality to have and will be particularly useful if you choose to study Tourism.

DR TWAIN:          That’s great.

CHARLOTTE:     I would recommend that you spend some of your time researching the course. A lot of people who are uneducated on the subject claim that Tourism is a shrinking industry and that it will become irrelevant in the future. If you study the published research however, you will see that the truth is quite the opposite. The industry has, in fact, grown significantly as people have developed an ever-increasing interest in culture and travel. Have you compared the university course with a polytechnic?

DR TWAIN:          Yes, I have. I was interested in studying the course in modules. However, the university doesn’t offer that option. I don’t have enough funds to be able to attend an expensive university, so I was relieved to see that the course is quite affordable. I also considered attending a summer school instead of university to save money and so that I could work during the rest of the year, but I really wanted the university experience.

DR TWAIN:          I think that university would suit you well.

 DR TWAIN:         Now, what about the courses? Are you interested in any of the other subjects on offer?

MELANIE:             I have looked at a few. I was interested in Travel and Business as it sounds similar to Tourism.

 DR TWAIN:         That is really worth learning, however, be aware that it is difficult and will demand a lot of your time.

MELANIE:             OK. that's good to know.

 DR TWAIN:         You might find that Japanese is an interesting course and it will teach you valuable skills in speaking the language. Personally, it’s not bad and could be of some help, but not that much.

MELANIE:             OK, Japanese, got that...What about Medical Care?

DR TWAIN:          Well, if you have time, the course will teach you a lot about curing diseases and illnesses, or dealing with injuries outside, although it’s not essential.

CHARLOTTE:     So, OK, if it’s useful. I’ll take it.

 DR TWAIN:         If you enjoy using technology and are worried about fulfilling the entry requirements, computing is very relaxed about the skills that applicants must possess.

CHARLOTTE:     I’m terrible with computers so I’m not sure that I would enjoy that course. How about Public Relations?

DR TWAIN:          Yes, I would recommend that course. It would be related to entering the Tourism industry as it will educate you on how to approach clients and develop associations with them.

CHARLOTTE:     That’s great! Thank you so much for your help!

 

Section 4:

Welcome class to your very first lecture in this series on Business in the Modern World conducted by myself. Dr Toby Bennett. Today we will be looking into the practice of company outsourcing, using TCP Technologies as a case study. Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this practice, I will give you a summative definition: company outsourcing involves the contracting of various business activities by one company to another. This practice will sometimes occur from a western company to a party based in a third world country, the rationale being to make significant financial savings on lower international labour rates and to potentially increase quality.

Now, our case study for today is TCP Technologies - a party located in India that receives outsourced tasks from western companies. The manager of TCP Technologies is a man called Manjeet Khanna who has personally developed a series of aims and philosophies by which the company is expected to operate. He claims that the most important of these philosophies is to create a workplace where each individual member has the opportunity to contribute their opinion to the operations of the company. That is to say that he found it important to develop a democratic environment.

As a means of ensuring quality from every individual at TCP Technologies, a grading system has been developed that encourages an ethos of hard work and recognises accomplishment. This grading of individuals is based upon a series of factors such as turnover, hours worked and efficiency. Every month Khanna publishes the grades on an internal website where staff can access not only their own grades, but also compare it to others. A spirit of playful competitiveness has developed through this method, which has resulted in increased efficiency and turnover across the company.

 

Khanna also saw it as essential to develop a culturally diverse group of employees as a means of presenting a multi-faceted image that would appeal to a host of potential employees from across the globe. This cultural openness has not only increased the quantity of incoming contracted opportunities by 7%, but has also benefitted the company itself significantly. A level of transparency now exists that had not before been apparent. According to questionnaires carried out recently, these newly introduced measures have significantly increased the rate of staff satisfaction, which has subsequently led to an increase of 32% in the company's income.

These figures are truly admirable and serve as a testament to the measures that Khanna has introduced to the workplace at TCP Technologies. In a recent interview published by the Economist, he declared, ‘The figures speak for themselves - my system works!’ When asked if he had any advice for companies on methods they could employ to streamline workflow and increase turnover, he replied, “It’s simple, really. A company must see itself not as one entity comprised of nameless components, but instead as a living organism composed of cells, each one essential to the functioning of the whole. I suggest that the motto by which your management operates will be “employee first”

Many benefits have been reaped from the aforementioned changes in management style, such as a significant decrease in staff turnover. This improvement alone has solved many problems that had before stunted the growth of the company. A lot of these improvements came from the realisation that the solution does not have to be produced internally, but can come from any other company. The grading system also immeasurably enhanced the dynamics of the company. The fact that this measuring system is solely produced for staff members and inaccessible by management means that it cannot be used as a judging criterion for promotion. It has proven itself a relaxed and informal means of stimulating workflow.

When asked about specific features of his managing style, Khanna mentioned that it is important for him to respond personally to any complaints filed by staff members. Having found the existing complaints process slow and ineffective, he introduced a new online system that created a direct line of communication between Khanna and all employees of the company. The complaint form, dubbed by Khanna as a ticket, eradicates the middleman, is easily accessible to all employees online and has an interface that can be instinctively navigated. Any staff-related complaint, such as those relating to air conditioning and food quality, can be submitted directly to Khanna via this online system. Entitlement 10 vacation is also a popular issue discussed through this forum. The main benefit of using this system is that staff must include their personal details on the ticket before they are able to submit it. In the past, anonymous complaints had been at the root of much confusion and caused many wasted work hours, so the new system has put a ban on this form of complaint.

That wraps up the lecture for today. Please remember that attendance is Ị mandatory... (fade out)

Test 4

Section 1:

Manager:     Hi there, welcome to the .lob Centre. How can I help?

Lauren:         Good morning. I'm here to enquire as to whether you have any jobs available al the moment?

Manager:     Yes, we have several available. What kind of job is it that you’re looking for?

Lauren:         Well, um. I’ll take any part-time jobs I can get. I’m really strapped for cash at the moment.

Manager:     Okay, bear with me while I have a browse on our system. [Pause] Here we are. We have three vacancies at the moment, all involving quite different roles.

Lauren:         That sounds promising. What are they?

Manager:     The first one is for a post as a receptionist. It says here that experience in reception or general administration is preferred, but not essential. Have you worked on a reception desk previously?

Lauren:         No, I haven’t. I had a baby quite young, and so I have very little work experience. Could you tell me a few more details?

Manager:     Yes, of course. The job will be to mainly provide quality customer service both over the phone and in person. When customers are waiting you will be expected to provide them with refreshments and ensure they have a first-rate experience.

Lauren:         I think I could manage that, and I’m a very friendly person!

Manager:     That’s great.

Lauren:         Do you have any information about the hours involved?

Manager:     It says here that you will be expected to work several early mornings, 4 days a week.

Lauren:         Any other requirements?

Manager:     Yeah, you’ll have to go through a couple of weeks of unpaid training before qualifying for the post.

Lauren:         Hmm, I don’t know if I would be able to fully commit to that. Did you say it’s 4 days per week?

Manager:     Yeah, it says here 4 days a week, with another day off per week when requested in advance. It also explicitly states that at least one of your working days must fall on a weekend.

Lauren:         I'll have to think about that and talk to my babysitter.

Lauren:         Are there any other roles beginning later in the day?

Manager:     Yes, there’s an advertisement here for a driver. It says you’ll need a clean and valid UK driver’s license, with absolutely no exception.

Lauren:         No problems there. 1 passed my test first time and have never received any points.

Manager:     It also explicitly states that you must be over twenty-five and have been driving for at least six years.

Lauren:         That sounds quite exciting. Is there any more information?

Manager:     Yep, it says here that working hours are flexible, and the employers are happy to work within your personal schedule since they employ multiple drivers.

Lauren:         That’s great.

Manager:     The employers ask for a commitment to either mornings 5 days per week, evenings 5 days per week, or three full working days per week.

Lauren:         I’m sure I can handle all that without a problem.

Manager:     As well as driving the employers to and from work, they will ask you to perform various duties on their behalf, such as collecting the grocery shopping, and picking their children up from school.

Lauren:         Do they need me to work a day on the weekend as well?

Manager:     No, it says here that they only require you to work on weekdays, not weekends.

Lauren:         That sounds interesting.

Manager:     Okay, there’s only one more left, another customer service-related post. It looks like it requires you to work short hours, quite late at night, so it might not be suitable for you. Do you want to hear about it anyway?

Lauren:         Yeah, can’t do any harm.

Manager:     Okay, so it’s a post for a cashier in a cinema in the centre of town. I'm sure you’ve been to the cinema a few times, so you can guess what kind of role it would be. They’re quite short and late shifts, between 17.30 and 22.30 most nights, with slightly longer shifts on Friday and Saturday nights.

Lauren:         Mmm, can you tell me what the job involves?

Manager:     Yes, sure. It says that you’ll be required to sell and dispense tickets, and provide refreshments. Also, they ask that you be quick on the computers since you'll also need to take bookings over the phone, but you’ll receive basic training for that.

Lauren:         Do they need me to work weekdays as well?

Manager:     Well, it says here that if you request at least a fortnight in advance, they will grant you a day off on Mondays, but never on a weekend.

Lauren:         Mmm. I'll think it over and let you know later. Thanks for all your help.

 

 

 

Section 2:

Thank you all for coming to my talk this evening it's nice to see so many people in the audience for those of you who don't know very much about connection let me start by giving you some background information about it.

Connection is a British organization that facilitates home stays all over the globe. This organization prides itself on matching tens of thousands of host families with guests every single year allowing travelers to discover a country's culture in a way like no other. Homestays are ideal for both travelers and homeowners enabling into cultural exchanges and the development of lifelong friendships while providing travelers with often discounted accommodation costs and host families with a steady income from the comfort of their own homes. The homestay experience is particularly popular with university exchange students looking for a more genuine insight into their country of choice and then on raw you build opportunity to develop their language skills. The homestay experience is truly unique and once in a lifetime and one that you will likely remember for the rest of your lives. It is important to note however that some people will find it difficult to adapt to the new country with many in during what is known as a culture shock. Connections advice for those suffering from culture shock is to go out and make as many friends as possible no matter how difficult you may find it. Friends are guaranteed to help you feel more integrated as part of the local society and show you some great places to hang out. At first it might seem extremely challenging to overcome the language barrier between you and your host family however you will find that you quickly overcome this and develop a very close and almost familial relationship. Many of our travelers have suggested that they have found discussing their hobbies and other interests with their host families is the best way to overcome many barriers. Since you are more likely to find something you share in common. For example you might find that you are both passionate about football and end up playing in the local field every week. One of our guests undertaking a home stay in a rural area of the U. K. told us that she and her host now take a tai chi class together upon a hill top at sunrise calling the experience absolutely breathtaking. After the first few weeks you will find your understanding of the people around you and that culture deepens by leaps and bounds and you will soon become one of the locals. Our hosts in over 140 countries turn the location into a culture time into experience and strangers into friends.

So how can you find out about applying for a home stay? the best way would be to visit connection’s website www.connection.com and contact one of their friendly advisors for more information. Once you have confirmed your interest in the service, we would strongly advise that you remain in close contact with the registration office, which will send you several emails keeping you up- to-date with potential matches in your country of choice. Once registered, Connection will require you to send various documents, and will act as an intermediary between you and the host family prior to final confirmation and payment. During this stage, Connection will ask you to provide two photos, one for the host family, and the other for our own records. Please ensure that you sign the back of each photo. Due to the nature of the service Connection provides, security is an absolute must, and they will ask you to send in photocopies of your passport, birth certificate, and a bank statement as confirmation of your identity. On receipt of these documents, the official process will begin and your bank account will be debited for the initial deposit of £200. If you haven’t received any acknowledgement confirming receipt of these documents from us within seven working days, please contact the main office. As I mentioned before, due to the nature of the organisation, Connection operates a meticulous screening process, and all applicants will undergo an interview in our head office in London, with exceptions made in extreme circumstances. After your interview, it may take us several weeks to carry out the decision process, so please be patient with US. If you would like a fast-track service, please indicate this on your application and we will notify you of the additional charges. Finally, once we have come to a result about your application, you will receive a decision in the post. If you do not receive an offer of placement, we will refund your deposit within 7 working days.

Section 3:

Professor:     For next week. I’d like you to undertake a piece of research in preparation for writing your final essay. In order to gain top marks, you must include a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Are there any questions?

Douglas:         Yes, Professor, I have a question. We haven't yet covered how to undertake this sort of research in much depth, and I’m a little unsure of what you ¡want us to do. In telling us to include primary sources, do you mean you want us to design and distribute a questionnaire, analysing the results?

Professor:     You could design a questionnaire, but you’ll soon find that distributing a questionnaire on such a large scale is somewhat troublesome. We couldn’t possibly expect you to do it effectively as an individual university student without the necessary resources. No, ideally I would like you to form one or two focus groups, and interview them. This will provide you with a more qualitative approach. If your strengths lie in mathematics, please by all means take a more quantitative approach, but this will be more strenuous and time consuming, and isn’t entirely necessary for the purpose of this study.

Jane:                 Professor, you haven't told us what our project is about Do we get to choose our own topic based on the previous study?

Professor:     No, I’m afraid not. This will be a strictly Australian study however, you can choose which angle you'd like to take, so long as it remains within the realm ol anthropology Does anyone have any questions specifically about the formation of the focus groups? I’ve had several emails about this, and I’d like to address It now.

Douglas:         My study is related to growing up in Australia, and the question of nature versus nurture. I’ve gathered more than two hundred school children who would be happy to participate in a focus group Do you think we’ll need to include that many participants in a focus group?

Professor:     Blimey. Douglas, well done for finding that many willing children, but you definitely don't need that many for the study you’re going to undertake. I'd say you need no more than five children per group, and no more than three groups, so fifteen children altogether. You definitely need to control the group size in order to generate a meaningful dialogue.

Douglas:         OK, if it*s useful. I'll try and do it...

Professor:     t appreciate your enthusiasm for the project, but there are plenty of different ways to gather data, and I’m sure that if you look hard enough, you’ll find someone who has conducted almost the exact same research in the past. My advice for you is don’t be too ambitious, and try to include as much information about various people or sectors.

Jane:                 For those who haven’t ever collected original data before, what do you suggest we do?

Professor:     I would suggest that you read accounts from other people who have undertaken such research to see what advice they can give. I would also encourage you to read Chapter Eight in the course textbook, which should give you a good introduction to collecting data. Moreover, you should try to practice using the data table provided in your course handbook. By now you should have read at least six or seven books giving quite detailed instruction on how to go about collecting data.

Douglas:         Professor, I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m having trouble reading the books. I had a really big assignment for another course and I’ve been spending all my time on that. Jane, have you read all the books the professor mentioned?

Jane:                 Well, my trouble is getting hold of the books. I’ve been to the library several times, but all the books are out.

Professor:     Sounds like you should have started borrowing books a bit earlier

Jane:                 Yes. I should have. But I got several ones from my friend a couple of days ago. I just skimmed through them, and don’t remember a lol of the information.

Jane:                 But now let’s look at these things. We’ll need to start thinking about which ones we’ll definitely want to do for the project.

Douglas:         Okay. The first one here is the final report

Jane:                 If you like, we can work together on the research and data- collection side of the project and doing the final write-up?

Douglas:         Cool. That sounds good. I’m not sure how much I’d be able to contribute considering 1 haven’t had a chance to read the course material. But 1 should be able to prepare some sheets and a list of questions that can be used during the focus group sessions.

Jane:                 That sounds appropriate. I think so too.

Douglas:         Do you think we’ll need to write a letter to send to the participants, telling them the time and place for the interviews?

Jane:                 Positive. I can take care of that.

Douglas:         Well, that’s great.

Jane:                 I should also include a document for them to sign saying that they're happy to be voice- recorded.

Douglas:         Oh yes, of course. 1 forgot about the transcript. That21 likely be a big job, so let's do half each. I’ll do one of the groups and you can do the other. Okay?

Jane:                 Sounds like a plan!

 

 

Section 4:

Good morning everyone! Today I’m going to talk about the graphical symbol. A graphic symbol is a written symbol that is used to represent speech, such as those used in the Greek alphabet. The term ‘graphic symbol’ encompasses anything from the logographs used in Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, to ancient Chinese pictograms. Early symbols were based on pictographs and ideograms before they were developed into logographic writing systems. These systems are still in use in some non-literate cultures in Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. Indeed, elements of pictography are still found in modern Chinese characters, and it is often an interesting exercise to trace the origins of some Chinese characters. Pictographs remain in common commercial use today as signs, instructions, or statistical diagrams. Road signs and public toilet signs, and even flat-pack assembly instructions utilising pictures are considered pictographic.

Ancient graphic writing systems provide researchers with a wealth of knowledge about past civilisations. In 1799, one of the most important historical discoveries was made by accident when members of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt found a stone in Rosetta that exhibited three different scripts. The stone, now known as the Rosetta Stone, was studied in significant depth by scholars, and was first deciphered by Frenchman Jean-Franẹois Champollion in 1822. He was able to correctly determine the phonetic values of the symbols, and later research has confirmed his findings. In many of these symbols, lines are used to portray a multitude of meanings, and knowledge and understanding of these lines holds the key to comprehension of graphic writing systems.

A key moment in the history of communication was the invention of the camera obscura, or camera. Although the concept can be traced back to the fifth century B.c. Chinese philosopher Mo Ti, the first photographic image was ultimately created in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce. Photography, as it was later known, enables researchers to piece together and better understand history. Today, photography forms a huge part of everyday life and most publications contain a vast number of photographs. Photography is used in advertising, and is now becoming a way to increase awareness of existing world issues. For example, animal welfare charities are increasingly using photography to advertise animals that are at high risk of endangerment. Charity workers are sometimes flown to far-flung locations to document the suffering endured by high-risk animals in an attempt to raise human awareness of their consumption activities, and how they impact others. One recent high profile campaign was undertaken by attaching a camera to the foot of a bird, in order to obtain photographs of the animals in their natural habitats, and understand how often they come into contact with human waste. A soon-to-be-released documentary about the suffering of animals on Midway Island shows the full extent to which human consumption is harming animals thousands of miles away from US.

As photography continues to progress, with the use of drones now becoming somewhat commonplace, we should expect more and more objects to be included in the future, expanding the horizon of photography ever further. Indeed, the downward pressure on traditional media prices means that media companies are being forced to get creative on how to make a profit. Many have found that the answer to this lies in advertising, and companies are now willing to devote a large portion of their budgets to advertising in newspapers. By the same token, marketing has become an essential part of a company’s business model, often meaning the success or failure of a company. As a result, much time and money has been pumped into the development of effective branding, with attractive packaging playing a large role in this. However, many governments are now seen to be cracking down on marketing and packaging in an attempt to protect consumers from being misled. In particular, tobacco companies are now subject to ever increasing regulation. For example, in the United Kingdom, legislation is soon to pass preventing any form of branding or differentiation on cigarette packaging in efforts to curb the harmful effects of smoking.

Finally, one must not forget the fundamental role that graphic writing systems have had to play in mathematics. Graphs, icons, and diagrams often form the very basis of these branches of academia. Indeed, one needs to look no further than chemistry’s periodic table to see a perfect example of graphic writing systems in use today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Test 5

Section 1:

OPERATOR:     Hello, you have reached the complaints department. How can I help you?

JACK:                    Yes, hello there. I am phoning to make a complaint regarding a flight that 1 took with you recently.

OPERATOR:     OK. There are some details I will need to take from you first. May I have your name please?

JACK:                    Jack Dawson. That’s D-A-W-S-O-N.

OPERATOR:     And your address?

JACK:                    It’s 33 Hillcrest Road. That’s H-I-double-L-C-R-E-S-T.

OPERATOR:     33 Hillcrest Road. Is that in Exeter?

JACK:                    Yes.

OPERATOR:     And what is the postcode of the residence?

JACK:                    It’s AL698GQ.

OPERATOR:     Thank you. Do you have a telephone number?

JACK:                    Yes. The number at my office is 754688.

OPERATOR:     That’s good, and may I just take a home phone number for you in case of emergencies?

JACK:                    No problem. It’s 798662.

OPERATOR:     Are they both local numbers?

JACK:                    Yes.

OPERATOR:     OK great, thank you for your patience. Now what is the nature of your complaint?

JACK:                    I’m phoning to complain about a flight I took recently. I always take certain measures to ensure that I will be comfortable. For example, I always pay the additional cost for extra legroom and I always arrive punctually for the flight to make sure that I am seated beneath an air conditioner. Unfortunately I was disappointed to find that the air conditioning on the plane was broken, so 1 spent the entire flight in discomfort as it was too hot and the air was stuffy.

OPERATOR:     I see. I do apologise for this fault with the air conditioning. Now while I have you on the phone, would you mind answering a short questionnaire regarding your recent flight?

JACK:                    Sure.

OPERATOR:   OK, let's get started. What did you think of the food that was solved to you during the flight?

 

JACK:                    I thought that it was inexpensive and quite delicious However I was still very hungry afterwards as it was a very small portion and more of a snack. Providing a snack for lunch is not reasonable.

OPERATOR:     OK, I have noticed that down. What was your opinion of the quality of service that you received from our staff on-board?

JACK:                    The staff were very helpful, but each time 1 pressed the button to request service it took a long time for a staff member to arrive. I found this frustrating as there just weren’t enough staff on-board the flight to be able to serve all of the customers.

OPERATOR:     OK, that’s great. Thank you very much for answering those questions. Are there any other parts of your travel experience that you would like to comment on?

JACK:                    Yep. The process of moving through security was very quick and helped to make my travel experience stress-free.

OPERATOR:     Okay. Do you have any extra comments on the services you received during the flight?

JACK:                    Yes, I thought that the seats were very uncomfortable and looked very old. They were also in need of repair as the reclined feature on my chair was broken so I could not go to sleep for the whole flight. Luckily the entertainment facilities were very good so 1 was able to distract myself by watching movies.

OPERATOR:     Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of my questions, we would like to offer you some gifts as a goodwill gesture, with a 20% discount on the cost of your hotel stay. We also appreciate that international calls to your home country can be expensive and we are sure that you would like to keep your family updated on your travels, so please accept a phone card, which has a credit of £20.

JACK:                    Oh that’s really great. Thank you so much for the gifts!

OPERATOR:     No problem, we look forward to having you travel with us again soon! Have a fantastic vacation.

Jack:                      Thanks! Bye!             

 

 

 

Section 2:

Presenter:     Good morning, listeners! And welcome back to Star Radio! Today on the show we have a visitor from Yazoo Car Rental who is going to give US an insight into his company and into the public transport system! Welcome Jonathan!

Jonathan:        Thank you for having me. Yes, I would like to start by introducing my company Yazoo Car Rental. We are the cheapest and most reliable rental company in the city and have won multiple awards for the quality of our services. This success did not come easily, however, and it proved important that we stay fresh and are always thinking of ways to attract new customers. Our first attempt to do this was to offer a free gift with every car rental, which we were confident the customers would be very interested in. The offer of a free hoover with each rental, however, did not attract any new customers so we quite quickly stopped offering it.

In 2002, a new taxi company opened next door to US and we started losing a lot of business to them, so we introduced an offer that we hoped might compete with their service. We offered a new package where you could rent a car with a driver for a small extra fee. By introducing this offer, we found that all of our customers preferred to drive the cars themselves, so again this offer was unsuccessful in attracting more customers. Learning from these mistakes, we decided to offer a package service where the customer no longer had to come to our offices to pick up the rental car. Instead we could drop off and pick up the car anywhere in the city to make the customer’s experience a lot more stress free. This offer was very popular and increased our profits by 30%.

In order to attract a younger demographic, we updated the models of cars that we offered for rental. We began offering more trendy cars such as minis and smart cars that we thought might appeal to the younger crowd and we also purchased them in more fun colours like reds and greens. This offer attracted some new customers of a younger age group, however not as many as we hoped. Next I decided to offer our services at a discounted price on our website where it could be seen by thousands of people. I thought that this could be a great way to attract a number of new customers who would never have heard of us before and it worked fantastically well. Following the success of the discount offer, we had so many customers that it became necessary to open a new branch of the company in the centre of the city. The cost of renting offices in the city centre was very high, so we hoped that our profits would justify this expensive decision. We made enough profit to keep our city centre offices open, but we had hoped for a greater increase in customer numbers.

Jonathan:        Now for the second part of my talk, which is on the topic of public transport. There are many benefits to public transport, for example, the recent introduction of bus lanes has meant that buses are now unaffected by traffic jams and are able to stay on schedule. Unfortunately, as fewer and fewer people are taking the bus nowadays, the service has become quite inefficient. This reduction in passengers may be due to the stories in the newspaper about the dangers posed to pedestrian safety by the buses, however this is largely untrue as buses are responsible for far less pedestrian-related accidents than cars. I use the bus service often, as car petrol is so expensive nowadays that the bus is far more affordable. However, if I am in a rush I prefer to take a taxi as they tend to get you to your destination very quickly so you can remain punctual for your appointments. 1 also very much enjoy flying to my destinations, as the service is incredibly fast and the airports are always very easy to find. Personally, my favourite mode of transportation is the bus. Due to the lack of people using the service I have found that the buses are never overcrowded so there is always a seat available. They are also never dirty as they get cleaned regularly. However, I have found that sometimes the bus can be over a half hour behind schedule which can be very frustrating. There has been a lot of fluctuation in the price of bus tickets in the last couple of years. In the past, £1.80 for a ticket was enough to sustain the bus companies, however, as the price of fuel increased so did the ticket prices. Now the ticket prices are declining as the bus companies try to encourage more people to use their service again.

Well, that’s all from me today. Thank you for listening.

Section 3:

ALEXANDRA:   Excuse me, Dr Thompson. May I speak to you for a minute?

THOMPSON:     Of course. Please come in.

ALEXANDRA:   I’m Alexandra Jones. I'm studying Business here at the university and for my assignment I have to carry out a survey of people who own their own organisations. 1 heard that you are the founder of your own company, and I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about it

THOMPSON:     Yes, of course, please fire away.

ALEXANDRA:   OK great, we’ll get started! Did you encounter any problems whilst you were starting your company?

THOMPSON:     Actually it was not as hard as 1 anticipated. 1 started out with very clear objectives, so I knew exactly what 1 wanted my corporate identity to be. It was very difficult to find the correct premises as the property market in London is so competitive, but eventually I found the perfect site. The hardest part was structuring the business, as I had no formal temperature so I had to create it myself.

ALEXANDRA:   Yes. that is very impressive. Was it difficult dealing with statt?

THOMPSON:     It’s always tricky trying to satisfy a group of people with varying interests, however. 1 didn’t encounter many problems. 1 found it very important to make the staff feel appreciated, so 1 hosted a staff day where we could all introduce ourselves and get to know each other as individuals. 1 was also able to talk to them about the type of work that they would be doing and gave them the opportunity to share with me the issues they had with the allocation of the work.

ALEXANDRA:   OK. Did you hire a management team or did you take on the role of the manager?

THOMPSON:     Oh no, I already had enough tasks to take care of. I employed someone else to take on the role of the manager, however, he never consulted me before making decisions so I was forced to let him go and hire someone else.

ALEXANDRA:   And what did the other staff think of the new manager?

THOMPSON:     They had a great deal of respect for him. It definitely helped that I consulted with them before hiring him. They were surprised that he has been so successful in his role at the company, despite the longer meeting hours.

ALEXANDRA:   Since the company opened, has it had any great achievements?

THOMSON:        There are many aspects of the company that I am pleased with, however, there is one achievement of which I am particularly proud. I wanted a mural painted to brighten up our entrance area, so I decided it would be a great idea to invite the local primary school to create one for us. The youngsters had a great time and I know they were thrilled to be included.

ALEXANDRA:   Oh, that’s lovely.

ALEXANDR:       Have you encountered any major problems since you opened the company?

THOMPSON:     Yes, we arc always encountering issues with employment because it is very hard to find people who are qualified for the roles that we were offering, but unfortunately there is no solution to this. One of our administrators also recently left to go on maternity leave, which put US in a tricky situation, however, we have managed to find a temporary replacement for her. It’s also now approaching the period when we must carry out our financial training so I need to find a venue with enough space to hold everyone. It will be interesting trying to organise that event!

ALEXANDRA:   Oh gosh, I can imagine. I find it hard enough to organise myself.

THOMPSON:     Organisation is a difficult thing to master, but it is also essential for success! Whilst I was learning how to stay organised, I realised that the role of motivation is essential.

ALEXANDRA:   OK, that’s great!

THOMPSON:     I also suggest that you visit the library, as there is a section on culture that will have some very valuable material on how to develop your organisation skills.

ALEXANDRA:   OK, I’ll head to the library when we’re finished.

THOMPSON:     I think you will find it very useful. They also have a collection of documentaries on the subject of personal organisation and I suggest that you look up the literature on management of change. I personally found these sources incredibly useful. Articles are also a valuable resource and we have a whole collection of them in our university library. I advise that you look at Section 2 where you will find articles on the nature of volunteering          

ALEXANDRA:   That’s great, thank you so much for your help.

THOMPSON:     No problem.

 

 

 

Section 4:

Welcome class to your very first lecture in this series on Architecture conducted by myself, Dr Torben Dahl. Today we will be looking into the relationship between climate and architecture, where I will be giving you a critical overview of the main climate influences that shape the design of buildings. Throughout this lecture series we will be looking at the latest research into climatic design carryed out by experts in the field in addition to case studies and examples drawn from modernist practice both in cities and rural areas.

Now, acid rain is one of the climatic elements with the most devastating effects on our architecture.The chemicals in acid rain can cause paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and erosion of stone statues. Since the 1970s, our government has been making great effort to reduce the release of these chemicals into the atmosphere with positive results. Private organisations have also been raising awareness and funds and recently received a huge donation from the bank. It is interesting to look at the studies that have been carried out into the ellects of acid rain at varying altitudes. Research has shown that there are lower levels of acid in the damaging pollutants at higher altitudes, meaning that skyscrapers are much less vulnerable to the negative effects as they are exposed to acid rain with far lower levels of damaging pollutants.

Recently, the Alter Project was founded to carry out further research into acid rain. This project is directed towards studying the effects of acid rain on old traditional buildings of stone construction that are vulnerable to damage caused by acid rain. Masonry is particularly vulnerable as it is easily corroded and weakened by the acidic chemicals. It is imperative (đặc biệt) that we protect these buildings, as they are valuable examples of our history and culture.

Pollution is one of the main sources of concern in the present day. The construction industry contributes considerably as a source of pollution in its day-to-day processes of creating building materials such as concrete and glass, however, more new sustainable methods are being developed to counter this. A recent case study for this is Sky Tower, whose windows have been made from recycled glass to prevent pollution from the glass-making process.

Water is the most problematic element to be considered in construction. It is imperative that construction elements such as the insulation are fitted into the building in dry weather to prevent it from getting wet. This makes winter an undesirable season for construction as the heavy rainfall can have adverse effects on the building. Another climate type that has an enormous affect on buildings is humidity. Constructions made of steel and stone are largely unaffected by humidity, however, it can have a serious effect on wooden constructions if the timber has not been correctly treated. Moisture (Moisture: độ ẩm) from the air can condense (ngưng tụ) in the grain of the wood, which then swells and shrinks in proportion to the magnitude of change in its moisture content. This variation in size can have disastrous (tàn khốc, thảm khốc) consequences.

In areas of the world that are prone to earthquakes, certain design and environmental conditions are preferable for protecting buildings in the event of a tremor (rung chuyển, rung chấn). Engineers have come up with numerous building procedures to help minimise shaking in buildings. For example, tall buildings have height frictions (ma sát) and counterweights and multi-storey buildings have reinforced floors and walls. Ground conditions are a cause for worry in many constructions. I often the sod is of the wrong density to protect the foundations.

Luckily technology has now been developed that can help to minimise damage by earthquakes. Seismic sensors can give prior warning when an earthquake is about to happen so that preparations can be made to protect both the people and the buildings from harm. The movement of building structures can now also be measured and monitored over time by architects. It has been expressed by architects within the design community that it would be valuable to be given special courses for designing buildings within earthquake zones. Guidelines are also expected to be produced by the government in the near future that will give architects a universal checklist to follow. That wraps up the lecture for today. Please remember that attendance is mandatory (bắt buộc) ... [fade out]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Test 6

Section 1:

Agent:      Hello, thank you for calling Iris Rentals. How can I help you?

Client:      Yes, hello there. I’m ringing just to make enquiries about renting a new property and I came across a listing on your website that I’m interested in.

Agent:      Oh yes.

Client:      I’d like to find out a few more details, if I may.

Agent:      Yes, of course. Can I take your name?

Client:      It’s Mary Collins.

Agent: Okay, Mary. I’m just searching our system for the property details.

Is there any information in particular that you were wanting?

Client:      Does the house have a gym?

Agent:      No, the house doesn’t have a gym, however the house has a large swimming pool, which will be great for exercise and really refreshing during the summer.

Client:      Oh wow, that sounds lovely. What is the general layout of the house?

Agent:      This house is rather unusual as the living room is located upstairs with the bedrooms, and downstairs at ground floor is the dining room, which has a lovely view out over the swimming pool.

Client:      Does the house come with a car parking space on the street?

Agent:      Oh, there’s no need for that. The house comes with a big garage where you can park your cars and there’s also a lot of room for storage. It’s attached to the house through a door in the kitchen.

Client:      Oh, that’s perfect, it’ll make it far easier to carry my food shopping into the house.

Agent:      Oh yes, absolutely. You actually don’t even need to take your car to do the shopping as the local supermarket is just down the street. You can walk the distance easily.

Client:      Really? How convenient! Is there anywhere near to the house where I can take my children to play?

Agent:      Unfortunately there aren’t any playgrounds nearby, but there is a park near the supermarket that would be great for taking your children for a walk. It would aho be a great place for you to meet your neighbours.

Client:      Yes. that's true. I love taking long walk 1 in the park I'm sure there will Ik a playground at the local school anyway.

Agent:      Yes. absolutely, the conununity has its own primary school and there is a secondary school in the neighbouring community, so there are plenty of resources nearby for your children  education.

Client:      Ok. great. What are the rental costs for the property?

Agent:      The monthly rent is $980, which is very reasonable considering the size of the house and the amenities that it has to offer

Client:      Does that figure include maintenance fees and bills?

Agent:      The bills are not included in that figure, but it does include any maintenance fees for the garden.

Client:      That sounds like a very reasonable price. We were hoping to move in on the 20th of April. Will the house be vacant for that date?

Agent:      The current tenants of the property are due to leave on the 20th. but the cleaners will need a few days to make sure that the house is clean and tidy. This would make the house officially available on the 23,d April.

Client:      Well everything about the house sounds perfect...exactly what I’m looking for. What date would it be possible to view the property?

Agent:      I have arranged for the tenant to leave the property on Friday so 1 can show the house to prospective renters. Would you be able to make that day?

Client:      Yes, I’m sure I could come on my lunch break. Would I o’clock be OK?

Agent:      Tm afraid that 1 have a meeting at 12.30, so 1 won’t be able to make that time. 1 have available appointments at 10.15 and 3.

Client:      OK, in that case can we schedule the appointment for 10.15?

Agent:      No problem, I’ll book it into my schedule. If you wouldn’t mind arriving 5 minutes early that would be great, just so we can get started on time.

Client:      Sure. What is the address?

Agent:      The postcode is GA5XER and the house is number 8 on Spring Street. It’s the second right off of Bath Street

Client:      OK. that’s great.

Agent:      Do you have any more questions?

Client:      Nope...thank you for your help.

Agent:      No problem. See you on Friday. Hye!

 

 

 

 

 

Section 2:

Good morning everybody and welcome to the Australian Wild Zoo. 1 would like to start by introducing you to the new features that we have added to our zoo in the recent renovation. Being the only zoo in the area, we receive thousands if visitors a year. We found that this huge footfall was too demanding for the facilities that we were able to provide, and so we decided to expand ourselves in order to give every visitor a brilliant and exciting experience. We initially intended to build a new dog-walking area, however we felt that the zoo should cater only to exotic animals. During our previous renovation we expanded the exhibition centre and so we felt that this time the zoo would benefit most from introducing a new batch of animals, so visitors can now see a whole range of new additions at the Australian Wild Zoo, including lions and bears.

With this huge improvement to our facilities, we also found it necessary to change our regulations, which we put into action in June. We now allow visitors access to the zoo during weekdays and, as some of our newly added animals are nocturnal, guests may also now visit the animals late at night. Unfortunately some visitors had started feeding the animals during these late night viewing times, which disrupted their feeding pattern and as a result we had to ban food in the viewing areas. One of our most exciting additions to the zoo is our native kangaroo, who we have named Frisbee. For a fee of just $5, visitors can have their photo taken with him and have it printed onto a selection of items such as key rings and mugs.

At first, visitors were also allowed to feed Frisbee items that we provided, such as carrots and leaves, however some guests started feeding him hamburgers and chips so we were forced to forbid visitors from feeding him. As kangaroos are such calm animals, Frisbee isn’t disturbed by the noises and shouting of visitors at the zoo, which has helped him to settle in at his new home very quickly.

The pye-dog zone has been permanently closed throughout the winter period to allow the dogs to hibernate as they would in their natural habitat. We were very excited to be reopening the zone, however unfortunately we have been forced to close it temporarily as the result of a broken fence, which will take about one week to fix. We were intending to renovate the zone with the other constructions that we were undertaking, but unfortunately we did not have sufficient funds. We understand that this temporary closure may disappoint our visitors, and so we have decided to offer a discounted price on our tickets for the next week. If you ask at the reception desk, they will happily direct you to the photo shop where you can purchase the ticket. The ticket will also entitle you to a 10% discount off any item in our gift shop where we sell a range of items including postcards and fluffy toys.

 

Now we’re currently standing at the gate, which is marked with the arrow on the map. Now if any of you need to visit the toilets before we get started, they're right here to our left. Out to the east, just across the grass, there is the bird hide where we have over one hundred species of birds for you to watch. We even have an interactive zone where you can feed them with seed and take photographs with our parrots! What a great souvenir to remember your trip! And up the path to the north, if you look in front of you now, there is the pye-dog zone. Although it is closed, if any of the dogs are playing outside, you will be able to see them through the fence. And then let’s pass by the refuge. This area is a sheltered part for Brolga watchers who can use it to spy through binoculars. And after that, I suggest that you all visit the rest area for some cold drinks and snacks as it is very hot outside. It is just at the northwest corner of the zoo. After that you could cut across the path to the large rectangular hut where you will be able to see our new addition of fierce lions. The mother has just had cubs, so it is really quite a rare thing to see! And around to the west, for those of you who want to visit Frisbee, our native kangaroo, he is in the circular shaped hut just up the path to the left. Don’t forget to have your photo taken with him! Now, as I mentioned before, you can purchase your discounted tickets at the photo shop and this is also where you will come to collect any photos you have had taken at the zoo during your visit. The photo shop is located at the southwest corner of the zoo. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your visit.

 

Section 3:

JONES:                  Hello, Mr Thompson. May I speak to you for a minute?

THOMPSON:      Of course. Please come in.

JONES:                  I’m Alexandra Jones. I'm studying Sustainability here at the university and I heard about the summer course that you offer every year. I was considering joining the course and wanted to ask you some questions about it.

THOMPSON:      Yes, of course, please fire away.

JONES:                  Has the course been effective in improving the environment?

THOMPSON:      Yes, absolutely. We have seen great results. Last year we planted a small field of trees and we have been measuring their oxygen outputs to see the benefits that they have provided to the environment. Since we were regulated by law last month, we are now able to hugely enhance our efforts. Our current goal is to introduce a lot more tree species to the plot so that we can establish a complex habitat and compare the benefits of each species. In order to do this we need to get a lot more students involved in the project, so I am very pleased to hear about your interest.

JONES:                  Well, the project sounds fascinating. I would definitely like to be involved.

THOMPSON:      Absolutely. Over the years we have received funding from private investors and from selling shares, but the biggest improvement in our research came from a government fund that we received in the first year. This has greatly improved the organisation and we have since won prizes for our research.

JONES:                  Wow, how impressive!

THOMPSON:                 Yes, it is of the an most importance to our organisation that we find a way to repair the terrible damage that has been done to the environment by the human species. This is no small undertaking and our resources still need management, but from reports taken of our studies we have found that teachers and students have greatly benefitted from field trips to the tree plantation.

JONES:                  Yes, I visited the plantation myself on a field trip two years ago and I found myself greatly impressed by it

THOMPSON:      We have received a lot of feedback from visiting groups telling us how impressed teachers, researchers and students alike have been during their visits. Due to the educational facilities that we have carefully structured, I know that the visits are useful and engaging for students and that their experience is particularly special.

JONES:                  So what is the particular focus of the organisation and the reports that it provides?

THOMPSON:      I am personally very interested in soil erosion, so I knew that I definitely wanted to focus some of the report on this area. Before I set up the organisation, 1 looked up information on what areas were currently being researched and I found that there were already studies into air pollution and water pollution. I obviously wanted to find a unique area to research and so these were no good. I was tempted to look into the background of overgrazing, but the impacts of forest exploitation are far more devastating and very little research has been carried out on this subject, so I decided that this should also form some focus for the report.

JONES:              Yes, that makes sense. What have you found to be the greatest benefits of the activities carried out by the organisation?

THOMPSON:      I have found that the greatest benefits are not the ones that anyone can learn from a book, like how to collect data,but more importantly are life lessons that one can gain only from experience. Students who have partaken in the summer course have massively enhanced their confidence, which will prove invaluable for the rest of their lifetime. The people who partake in the summer course already know the importance of environmental protection, so it is not important that we spend time teaching them this. Students instead benefit from learning the importance of punctuality, as each day they have to wake up early to make sure that they are not late for their practical experience sessions.

JONES:                  If I decide to attend the summer course, what will I be doing for the rest of the time when no activities are going on?

THOMPSON:      Well, we unfortunately don’t yet have a library on site, so you would be unable to read reference books although you are obviously welcome to bring some books of your own with you. We offer a range of fun hobbies, such as games and painting, for students to participate in outside of their classes so you could participate in one of these activities. We do not offer tutorials outside of the scheduled classes, however you are free to interview teachers and ask them any questions you may have about the research.

JONES:                  Well, the course sounds fantastic. I would definitely like to participate during the summer. Thank you so much for your help.

THOMPSON:      No problem at all, here is a form with all of the details. 1 look forward to seeing you there.

Section 4:

Good morning. In the last few lectures I’ve been talking about the history of technology in the modem world. But today 1 want to use Roberts as our case study, which is a company that develops complex camera technology for a range of industries and disciplines. Since the camera was invented in 1816, it has changed and improved dramatically with cameras now in existence that can fit on the head of a pin. The company has been founded on a series of principals by which the company operates in its day-to-day business, the most important of these being to enhance the present development of camera technology.

Roberts has a philosophy pioneering and innovation, having been responsible for the invention of numerous technologies since it was founded by Dwayne Roberts in 1957. It has achieved many of its aims over the years, but its principal and founding aim persists through time, which is to explore new facts and imagine the unimaginable.

The cameras produced by Roberts have a multitude of potential applications that are currently being explored. One of these is an anti-gravity camera that they aim to attach to a space satellite from where it will record live, high-definition video and provide fascinating new views of planet earth. It could also prove useful in exploring other planets by providing researchers with never before seen images of the universe. Roberts are also experimenting with attaching the cameras to small drones that will fly through the rainforest in search of plants that could be used to develop future medicine. The camera also has the potential ito be used on the roads. As it is 20% cheaper than the speed cameras that are currently in operation, this means that more of them could be distributed across the road network where they can control traffic by making sure that all cars abide by the speed regulations.

Despite this diverse range of potential applications, the cameras are presently used tor very different, more domestic purposes. Roberts’ cameras are presently used as nanny-cams, which allow parents to watch their nannies to ensure that they are responsibly attending to the children that they have been employed to care for. These cameras give parents peace of mind and more control over their child’s welfare whilst they are at work or otherwise occupied. The highest sales of the company are in toys that have the cameras hidden within them. This clever idea means that the cameras are camouflaged from view and do not look out of place in the child’s nursery. The toys are also very robust, so children can play with them without damaging them in the process. The toys are designed to look like animals and come in a range of shapes, sizes and colours as well as different animal species such as monkeys and bears. These toys are incredibly popular and can be bought in any toy store for only $20. Always eager to be constantly improving their products, Roberts are now working on a product that will change the way people see photography. This new contraption is a mini camera that is built into eyewear such as glasses and sunglasses where it can capture the world as you see it. Holiday makers and tourists no longer have to carry a big, heavy camera around with them on their travels! They can instead purchase a set of eyewear with the built-in camera, which will capture the moment with a simple tap.

Roberts are also developing a model of this tiny camera for use during medical procedures and operations. The camera will be used during non-invasive keyhole surgeries to enable the surgeon to see what they are doing inside the body without having to make a large incision. This innovative application for the camera could make surgeries a lot faster and the saved time and energy will also make it far more efficient. As the patient will no longer have to undergo a large incision for their surgery, it also means that their recovery will be much faster with a greatly reduced chance of post-op infection.

If any of you have an interest in working in this field of technological invention, Roberts is a very diverse and fast-growing company that would be a fantastic internship opportunity. Every year they organise a series of competitions where entrants stand the chance of winning a place in their internship programme, so I would suggest that all of you enter.

That wraps up the lecture for today. Please remember that attendance is mandatory... [fade out]