Audioscripts Listening Practice Test 20

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?

Events 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 be fun, but I assume the photos won’t be free.

Events Coordinator: On the contrary, one free photograph is included within every ticket, but each photo after 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 I 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 (Q10), 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 Professor Morgan’s lecture? I don’t know about you, but I find it incredibly difficult to believe that light influences the environment as much as he says. I’ve never seen any journal articles, websites or anything that verifies his argument. It’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, I have so many loose sheets of 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]

Listening Practice Test 20