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SECTION TEST - LISTENING
(Time: 30 minutes)
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Section 1
Script:
WOMAN: Good morning. How can I help you? MAN: Hello. I’m interested in renting a house somewhere in the town. WOMAN: Right. Could I have your name please? MAN: Yes, it’s Steven Godfrey. WOMAN: And tell me how many bedrooms you’re looking for. MAN: Well, we’d need four, because I’m going to share the house with three friends. WOMAN: Okay, there are several of that size on our books. They mostly belong to families who are working abroad at the moment. What about the location? MAN: It’d be nice to be central. WOMAN: That might be difficult, as most houses of that size are in the suburbs. Still, there are a few. What’s your upper limit for the rent? MAN: We’d like something around £500 a month, but we could go up to £600 if we have to. But we can’t go beyond that. WOMAN: Do you know how long you want to rent the house for? The minimum let is six months, as you probably realise. MAN: We’re at college here for two years, and we don’t want to have to move during that time if we can avoid it. WOMAN: Right. And how soon do you want to move in? All our let’s start on the first of the month. MAN: Well, as soon as possible, really, so that means September 1st. WOMAN: Okay, let me have a look at what we’ve got.... We have photographs of all the houses on our books, so you can get an idea of what they’re like. There’s this one in Oakington Avenue, at £550 a month. Combined living room and dining room, with a separate kitchen. It doesn’t have a garage, though you can park in the road. MAN: Ah, we’d prefer to have one, if possible. WOMAN: Right. Then have a look at this house, in Mead Street. It’s got a very large living room and kitchen, bathroom, cloakroom ... MAN: How much is it? WOMAN: That one’s 580. It’s very well furnished and equipped. It also has plenty of space for parking, and it’s available for a minimum of a year. Oh, and there’s a big garden. MAN: I don’t think we could cope with that, to be honest. We’ll be too busy to look after it. WOMAN: Okay. Then there’s this older house in Hamilton Road: living room, kitchen-diner, and it has a study. 550 a month. MAN: That looks rather nice. But whereabouts in Hamilton Road? WOMAN: Towards the western end. MAN: Oh, that’ll be very noisy. I know the area. WOMAN: Yes, it’s pretty lively. Some people like it, though. Well, what about this house in Devon Close? MAN: That looks lovely. WOMAN: There’s a big demand for houses in that area, so prices tend to be quite high. But this one hasn’t been decorated for a few years, which has kept the rent down a bit. It’s got a living room, dining room and small kitchen, and it’s 595 a month. I think it would suit you, from what you’ve said. MAN: It sounds fine. Complete the form and table below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. Rented Properties Customer's Requirements | Name: | Steven Godfrey | No. of bedrooms: | 4 | Preferred location: | in the (1)……… area of town | Maximum monthly rent: | £(2)……… | Length of let required: | (3)……… | Starting: | September 1st | Complete the table below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. Address | Rooms | Monthly rent | Problem | Oakington Avenue | living/dining room, separate kitchen | £550 | no (4)……… | Mead Street | large living room and kitchen, bathroom and a cloakroom | £580 | the (5)……… is too large | Hamilton Road | living room, kitchen- diner, and a (6)………… | £550 | too (7)……… | Devon Close | living room, dining room, small kitchen | £ (8)…… | none |
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noisy
garage
central
study
2 year/ 2 years
600
595
garden
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Script:
MAN: Why’s that part of town so popular? WOMAN: Well, there’s a big scheme to improve the district, and it’ll soon have the best facilities for miles around. MAN: What sort of thing? WOMAN: There’s a big sports centre under construction, which will be very impressive when it’s finished. In fact the swimming pools already opened, ahead of schedule, and it’s attracting a lot of people. MAN: What about cinemas: are there any in the area? WOMAN: The only one closed down last year, and it’s now in the process of being converted into a film museum. The local people are trying to get a new cinema added to the scheme. MAN: I think I heard something about a plan to replace the existing concert hall with a larger one. WOMAN: Ah, that’s due to start next year. MAN: Well it sounds an interesting area to live in. Could I go and see the house, please? WOMAN: Yes, of course.
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1. Which TWO facilities in the district of Devon Close are open to the public at the moment?
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Explain:
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Section 2
Script:
You will hear a speak to the group before volunteer preparing the town’s anniversary celebrations. And now for the preparation plans for the town's 250th anniversary celebrations. We are going to follow the same system we had last year, but with a few changes to increase the party spirit. First of all, this time we are going to make the concert on the beach open to everyone without charge. This is because we have been given money by the council for the celebration and also because last year we had so many problems with keeping people out who had not paid. And on top of this, people will not have to pay for refreshments either, as these are being donated. Right now, mmm, we are going to divide into four teams: the first one, the Beach Team, will be responsible for cleaning up the beach on the Saturday morning, picking up litter, bottles, plastic bags, wood and anything else that's lying around. Everyone is meeting at the Beach Shop at 8 am. It's an early start, but we want to give everywhere a good thorough clean. We have had permission from the council to close the beach to get it ready for the anniversary celebration on Sunday. The second team will be responsible for setting out seating in the square for the speeches and prize giving. Again an early start is preferable, but the vans with the seats can't be there until 9 am, so shall we say that everyone should meet at the Village Hall at 9.30? Starting then will allow extra time if the vans are late. Complete the table below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. Teams | Purpose | Meeting point | Time | Beach Team | pick up litter | Beach (1)……… | 8 am | Town Team | arrange (2)……… | Village Hall | (3)……… am |
Script:
Now the third team will be the judges. For each of the various competitions we will have three judges. On the whole, they will have had experience of judging before. There will be a boat race, a swimming competition and the best fancy dress. A cash prize will be given to the winner in each category and for the two runners-up there will be book-tokens. There is a sponsored mini-marathon and by the deadline lunch-time today we had 263 applicants with ages ranging from 15-60. That's 80 more than last year. Each entrant has paid a £20 registration fee to enter and all the profits will go to the local Children's Hospital to help fund much needed specialist apparatus. The fourth team consists of the wardens for the day itself. We are expecting at least 10,000 people if last year is anything to go by. The fields near the entrance to the beach can be used as car parks and we need wardens to help make sure the actual parking is more organized than last year, which was a mess. We also need someone to be in charge of the first-aid, which will be at the entrance to the beach. Finally, we need some volunteers for the clean-up. Last year we didn't do this very well and so the Council has agreed to provide large bags to collect all the recyclable material like glass and plastic etc., but we have to deal with the rest like left-over food ourselves. We don't want to leave piles of rotten food around or dangerous bottles. Choose the correct answer.
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1. What does the speaker say about the judges in the competitions?
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Explain:
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2. The winner in each of the competitions will
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Explain:
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3. The profits from the marathon will be given to the Children′s Hospital to help
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Explain:
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4. Wardens will be needed at the car park because
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Explain:
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5. Bags will be provided by the council
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Explain:
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Section 3
Script:
You will hear a tutor and two students discussing a business case study. TUTOR: Right. Jason and Karin, now I asked you to look at the case study for Box Telecom as part of your exam assessment. It’s interesting because they are in the middle of problems at the moment and I want you to track how they deal with them. Let’s start with you, Karin. Having read through the case study, can you just summarise what the problems were that Box Telecom had to take on board? KARIN: Um, yeah . . . Well of course what first came to their attention was that, despite a new advertising campaign, they were suffering from falling sales - and this is something that had many causes. On top of that immediate problem, what had also happened over the last two years was that, although they had invested in an expansion plan, they had to face up to increased competition. And, before they had a chance to get to grips with the effects of that, they were stalled by a strike and it was just when they were thinking about making a colossal investment in new machinery for their plants. So they were really in trouble. TUTOR: Yes. I think that’s fair. And Jason, you contacted the company, didn’t you? What did the company define as the reasons for these problems? JASON: Well, I think they’ve hit on the right things - it would be easy to say they had invested too heavily, or at the wrong time, but in fact the signs were good and what they were set back by was high interest rates. At the same time, their longer-term problems, which were affecting their market share, were eventually credited to poor training - and having looked at the details in their last report I think that’s right. Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Box Telecom | Problems: been affected by | • drop in (1) ……… | | • growing (2) ……… | | • delays due to a strike | Causes of problems: | • high (3) ……… | | • lack of good (4) ……… |
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training
interest rates/ rates of interest
competition
sales
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Script:
TUTOR: So, onto the larger issues then. Karin, what do you think the company will do?KARIN: Hmm . . . Well, obviously they have the choice of accepting the very favourable terms that another company - KMG Pic - have given them to buy them out. That would mean creating a new company with a new image. Or they could decide on a bolder move and offer some new shares if they wanted. But I think they’re much more cautious than that and expect they will start trying to find individuals who’d be prepared to back them with some of the capital they need. TUTOR: Well, you mustn’t always assume that dramatic problems require dramatic solutions. Sometimes there's a simple fix such as changing the guy at the top. If they truly are cautious, then I suspect they will seek to shut down some of their shops. But a more ambitious approach, and one which I think would have more chance of success, would be to alter how they’re running things - the management layers and the processes. So in your analysis try to think of all the options. Jason? JASON: Yes, it’s interesting because I’ve found it a really useful company to study. Us problems cross all types of industries and it’s lucky it’s so big - a smaller or even medium-sized company would have gone under by now. TUTOR: Ah well in fact, what I want you two to do is to go away when we've finished our discussion today and write a report. We've looked in general at the telecommunications market in the UK over the last few sessions and I want you to take Box Telecom as an example and suggest some ways in which they might overcome their problems. And outline the reasons why you think as you do but try and keep it intrinsic to the company rather than dragging in other examples. Is that OK, Karin? Choose a correct answer choice for each question/to complete each sentence below.
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1. What does Karin think the company will do?
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Explain:
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2. How does the tutor suggest the company can recover?
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Explain:
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3. The tutor wants Jason and Karin to produce a report which
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Explain:
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Script:
KARIN: Yes, I think I can do that. Personally I’ve got great hopes for it. I think it will recover. That advertising campaign they did was very strong and they're very innovative with their products - they set new trends. The company’s got to recover, don’t you think, Jason?JASON: Hmmm ... I'm not sure. I think it can bill it’s not a foregone conclusion unless they manage to attract the right level of investment. The company definitely needs a boost and to attract more highly skilled workers if their recovery is to be long-lasting. When I was talking to the marketing manager he said to me that he thinks the company had got a great management team - but he would say that, wouldn’t he? - but they are suffering from having to work with outdated production machinery and that could cost a lot to put right. TUTOR: Well, personally I think the stock market is to blame. I think they were expecting too much of the company and then inevitably it looked bad when it didn't perform. The market should have had more realistic expectations. And I disagree with you about the advertising campaign, Karin. That’s where they could do with some innovation - to get sales kick-started. Anyway, let’s see what you come up with . . . (fade) Which opinion does each person express about Box Telecom?
Section 4
Script:
Lecturer: The black bear, or Ursus americanus, has a wide range, inhabiting forested areas of North America, including Canada, the United States, and parts of northern Mexico. Black bears are omnivores, getting their nutrition from a wide variety of plants and animals. The particular foods any one bear eats depends on what’s available in the area where that bear lives, as well as on the season of the year. Generally speaking, plant foods make up 90 percent of the bear’s diet. The rest of its meals consist of animal foods such as insects and fish. Bears have a relatively long gestation period. Mating takes place in the spring or early summer, but bear cubs aren’t born until the following winter. Usually, two cubs are born at a time, although some litters may have as many as five cubs. Bear cubs are dependent on their mother and may stay with her for close to two years. Wild black bears can live as long as 25 years. They’ve lived for as long as 30 years or more in captivity.
Complete the chart with information about the black bear. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Range | Lives in (1)......... of North America | Diet | Ninety percent of diet consists of (2)......... Also eats (3)......... | Cubs | Baby bear cubs are born in (4)......... | Life span | Black bears live for about (5)......... in the wild. |
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twenty-five years / twenty five years / 25 years
insects/fish
forested area
plant foods
the winter
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Script:
Lecturer: Much of the black bear’s range coincides with the range of its close cousin, the grizzly bear. Although these bears are somewhat similar in appearance and habits, it isn’t difficult to tell the difference between them. Color isn’t necessarily a distinguishing characteristic, as both species of bears occur in a range of colors from almost blonde to dark brown or black. Many black bears, however, have a patch of fur on their chests that’s lighter in color than the rest of their fur. Grizzly bears don’t have this patch. Size isn’t always a distinguishing feature either, although grizzly bears are usually heavier, with an average weight of 225 kilos. Black bears average 140 kilos in weight. Grizzly bears spend time digging in the ground for roots and tubers that make up part of their diet. The large muscles they need for this give them a distinct shoulder hump. This hump is absent in black bears, which don’t do the same kind of digging. The shape of the face and ears is also different in each species of bear. Grizzly bears have a depression between the eyes and nose and short, round ears. Black bears, on the other hand, have a straighter profile and longer, more pointed ears. Grizzly bears are known for their fearsome long, sharp claws. Black bears have shorter claws, which are better suited for climbing trees.
Which characteristics fit black bears and which fit grizzly bears?
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1. Has a patch of light fur on its chest
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Explain:
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2. Weighs 225 kilos
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Explain:
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3. Has a shoulder hump
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Explain:
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4. Has pointed ears
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Explain:
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5. Has shorter claws
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Explain:
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| No. | Date | Right Score | Total Score |
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PARTNERS |
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NEWS |
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