Audioscripts Listening Practice Test 12

SECTION 1

AGENT: Hello, Elite Travel, this is Emily speaking, how may I assist you today?

CUSTOMER: Hi, I have a group visit to plan, and I wonder whether you could help me decide on which hotel to book. I have narrowed it down to either the Winchester, the Royal Hotel, or the Star Hotel. I am wondering if you have a recommendation.

AGENT: I would be happy to help! Those three are excellent choices. If everyone is booking hotel rooms independently, an easy way to do it is online booking. The Star Hotel offers online bookings at no additional charge.

CUSTOMER: It sounds fine!

AGENT: Yeah, and you can even book the gorgeous sea view rooms (Q1) if you act quickly.

CUSTOMER: Hm, I will consider that. It would be great since we are mostly first-time visitors to the area to get a nice view of the water. Now, are there handicap accessible rooms?

AGENT: Yes, all three options have access for the physically disabled (Q2).

CUSTOMER: Great. I should also mention that we will be on a tight schedule, so we won’t have much time to go out for meals. Which of these hotels serve food?

AGENT: There is a limited continental breakfast menu at the Star and at the Winchester. For a full restaurant and room service, the Royal Hotel is your best bet (Q3).

CUSTOMER: Oh wonderful! Could you tell me more about the restaurant?

AGENT: Absolutely. In the morning there is a gourmet buffet or a la carte item, and after 11 a.m. lunch is served in the dining room. Dinners are in a nice, low-key but high quality setting in the hotel’s private dining room (Q4) and Fridays feature the house jazz band.

CUSTOMER: How lovely! Is there a group discount?

AGENT: No, sorry. Not at the Royal hotel. Let me check on the others, though. Could I place you on hold for just a second?

CUSTOMER: Sure, thanks.

AGENT: It looks like there is one at the Winchester – 15% off when you book 8 or more rooms (Q5).

CUSTOMER: Really? Sold! We’ll book at the Winchester. Wait – is it suitable for children though? We’ll have a few little ones in our group, and it would be great to have a way to keep them occupied.

AGENT: Yes. In fact, it has a play place (Q6) that kids just love, with slides, and swings and everything. Definitely a good hotel to bring the kids.

CUSTOMER: Okay, great.

CUSTOMER: So now I know where we’ll be staying, what next? Should I go ahead and book transportation and assign rooms and everything?

AGENT: Well, for now, there are only a few things for you to take care of. We will hold a block of rooms for you as soon as you send a deposit (Q7). I recommend booking as soon as possible, so you probably want to send the invitations (Q8) as soon as you know how many rooms to hold.

CUSTOMER: Oh, right. Okay, I’ll send the invitations and put down the deposit. Is there anything else I should take care of?

AGENT: Great! And don’t worry about this now, but sometime before you arrive do let US know if you’ll be requiring our transport (Q9) service to and from the airport.

CUSTOMER: I’ll make sure to let you know. Does that incur a service charge? Or perhaps a tip, or some presents to show our gratitude for the personal car service?

AGENT: Oh, don’t worry about it. It is a free service, so if you would like to tip you are welcome to do so, but hotel drivers do not accept gifts (Q10).

CUSTOMER: Thanks for your help!

AGENT: My pleasure. Enjoy your stay at the Winchester!

SECTION 2

Ladies and Gentlemen of Durham, start your engines! Skip Gordon here inviting you to the eleventh annual Durham County Car Exhibition! That’s right, it’s that time of year again! Mark your calendars – the pre-opening event kicks off on the 18th, and the exhibition officially opens to the public on Saturday, March 19th (Q11). Take it from me – you won’t want to miss Durham’s most attended public event of the year 5 times running. You don’t have to be a motor head to appreciate the finest cars both new and old in existence today, but it helps! Be one of the 70,000 (Q12) people to see everything from big rig monster trucks to good old fashion classic hot rods.

Get your tickets now! Admission is £10 for adults and £5 (Q13) for children during off-peak times, and £20 for adults and £10 for children and senior citizens on weekends and for full-day passes.

Come see vintage classics, bid in the auctions, and even test out a few on the Winner’s Circle Racetrack. An insider tip – weekends are the exact time when all of the best attractions take place, but to avoid Saturday crowds join us this Sunday (Q14). You’ll see me – Skip Gordon – and all your friends from WKXP there this Sunday at our very own booth, so stop by and say hi and you might just win a prize of your own.

A new attraction this year will be the addition of a new car category – electricity (Q15), namely the electric car class. See displays from Toyota, Honda, and – you guessed it – Tesla! Watch as the first generation of fully electric cars compete on style, ride, and watch the main entertainment as there’s going to be a fabulous show of racing car (Q16) to see who takes home fastest battery powered car. While not typically known for their speed, this new class is guaranteed to surprise you.

Get tickets before they sell out! Last year’s tickets sold out fast, so we upped the attendance this year. That’s right, more seats! But don’t wait – act now and save! (Q17) That’s right – if you buy your tickets before this Friday, you’ll get two for the price of one. That’s right, TWO for the price of one!

And don’t worry kids, just like last year, there’s something specially for you! Wreak havoc on the road with the Kids Krazy Cars ride, and then Race around the Tiny Tykes Track in your favorite child-sized race car (Q18). Meanwhile Mom and Dad can take a spin in a ride a bit more than their size. We’re rolling out a massive dirt track so you can get behind the wheel and test drive something a little more adventurous. Put the pedal to the metal in a 4 by 4 SUV (Q19) as you go over bumps and navigate through twists and turns – you’ll want to buckle up!

You heard it here – act now to get in on the fun at thé Durham County Car Show before it’s too late. Come for prizes, good prices, and good old fashioned family fun. We had a lucky draw for a NEW car last year (Q20), but this year our main event is the Monster Truck Rally, where one lucky fan will win a chance experience the thrill from behind the wheel – well, next to the wheel as they ride with legendary driver Smash Tate! Feel the speed first hand and talk to a living legend in a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

For tickets, go online to www.durhamcountycars.com, or call 1-888-CAR-SHOW now. We’ll see you there! And always remember to buckle up!

SECTION 3

STUDENT: Hi, Professor Jamison, I was hoping we could talk this week about choosing courses for next semester.

TUTOR: That sounds great! Any idea yet what you would like to take?

STUDENT: Well, I was hoping you could kind of tell me. There are so many to choose from. I don’t even know where to start!

TUTOR: Sure. Well, first thing’s first. Do you know what you will major in? It is important to take courses that are relevant to your career path (Q21).

STUDENT: Well, I think I want to major in Biology. I want to go to medical school, so it seems like it would make sense.

TUTOR: I agree – if you like Biology, it is definitely a good idea to focus on that since so many of thè requirements overlap.

STUDENT: Okay, so I should take a few Biology classes then?

TUTOR: Yes. Let’s start there. You should pick one or two Biology classes. Not just any Biology classes, though! If possible, read online or talk to senior fellows and find out about the structure of the courses (Q22). You don’t want to end up signing up for two classes that require labs in the same semester – you’ll spend so much time in the Biology Department that you won’t see the light of day.

STUDENT: Oh right, good idea. I heard labs can be as long as 4 hours.

TUTOR: That is true. And another thing – make sure the topic is either relevant to your major, or something you are interested in learning about (Q23). It sounds obvious, but do not just take a class because you heard it was easy, or because it does not require attendance.

STUDENT: Of course not. Though it would be really nice to have at least one class, that’s a little bit less rigorous than the ones I’m taking this semester. I barely sleep as it is with all this studying.

TUTOR: That may have more to do with your study habits, though I don’t disagree that your schedule is really difficult this semester.

TUTOR: So any idea which Biology classes you may decide on for next semester?

STUDENT: Well, I was thinking of taking Human Physiology – it sounds relevant and interesting.

TUTOR: I think it is an interesting class, but I would recommend against it. You are already in Human Anatomy, which also covers Physiology so it would be repetitive, and probably not the best use of your time (Q24).

STUDENT: If I already know some of the stuff, I could take it to boost my GPA a little bit.

TUTOR: Um, you could maybe do that, except the professor that teaches it is famous for giving out the fewest A’s of any professor.

STUDENT: Oh wow. Never mind.

TUTOR: Now, changing subjects, have you decided yet on your research topic?

STUDENT: Well, I actually decided. I don’t want to do a research paper. I’m going to do a dissertation instead. I think I will much more enjoy coming up with a thesis and finding all the details to support it (Q25).

TUTOR: I see. Didn’t you already do some of the research though? What happened to that?

STUDENT: Well, I started doing research. Then the more data I collected, the more complicated things got (Q26). I realised I would have to take a lot more steps to randomise the sample, and then I realised I would need to control for more factors.

TUTOR: I see. What kind of data collection did you do?

STUDENT: I interviewed employees at the water treatment facility after Professor Dickinson recommended it (Q27).

TUTOR: I understand. Well, the research paper could be much more outside work, but it may be worth it if that is what you are interested in.

STUDENT: No, I am a lot happier just doing the dissertation.

TUTOR: That’s fine with me. Just remember, you need to finish your first draft and send it in soon. It’s already the middle of February!

STUDENT: Oh wow, it is, isn’t it? I just have to finish it by the end of March (Q28), right?

TUTOR: Yep, but don’t forget! The date will really sneak up on you.

STUDENT: OK, I’ll make sure to set reminders in my calendar. And who do I talk to about registering my dissertation?

TUTOR: You should go to the Department Office, and then talk to the secretary (Q29).

STUDENT : I thought I needed to talk to the Department Head.

TUTOR: Not for registering. If you need help developing your dissertation, that’s when you should go to the Department Head.

STUDENT: Oh, I see. And who would I see about getting access to the database of past research on my topic?

TUTOR: That you can find in the computer (Q30) lab, specifically in the office – you’ll have to ask a lab technician to give you access.

STUDENT: Okay. Well, I’ll go ahead and get started on that then. Thanks!

SECTION 4

Good morning, everyone. In today’s lecture, I’m going to talk about the role of sleep in humans and animals. Of all the biological processes in the animal kingdom, sleep is perhaps the most important. A human can survive for almost two weeks without eating, but did you know that one week without sleep can be fatal? It’s even worse for animals, especially for those who must avoid predators. Without sleep, an animal is much less capable of avoiding an attack (Q31) – this is the case for all animals, whether they are reptiles, mammals (Q32) or fish. Let us look now at how different animals sleep, reasons for their ways of rest, and the potential problems they might encounter.

In marine life, sleep must be balanced with breathing. For example, the dolphin must float to the surface as it sleeps in order to breathe (Q33). Like other large sea mammals, they keep one eye open and one half of the brain awake at all times to maintain some amount of consciousness required to breathe and to watch out for possible threats. They sleep with only one brain hemisphere in slow-wave sleep.

Birds also have unusual sleeping patterns, mostly due to being constantly on edge (Q34) in the presence of numerous predators. They usually sleep quite lightly -for example, Swainson’s Thrush, also called Olive-backed Thrush, is a medium-sized thrush that takes hundreds of naps during the day, each of which lasts just a few seconds. While migrating, migratory birds tend to function well on micronaps.

Horses, on the other hand, do most of their sleeping standing up. Scientists think that horses develop their habit of sleeping upright as a defense mechanism, a way of protecting themselves against predators, and a standing position keeps a horse in a constant state of readiness to race away if danger should approach.

Also, horses do occasionally take short naps lying down. Horses are heavy animals with big muscles, but their bones (Q35) are surprisingly delicate, so lying in one position for a long time could well injure a horse. Just like humans, animals can also have sleeping problems (Q36). Dr. John Hedricks and Adrian Morrison from the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, determined that certain diseases were primarily associated with the sleep states in animals. In their research they emphasised that because so much in this area still remains unclear, animal models were very important for studies of sleep disorders. The physiology of sleep in animals is similar to that of humans.

But why do we humans sleep? Researchers and scientists believe it helps us organise our memories (Q37) of the day – that sleep acts as a kind of filing system for the brain. Without it, our thoughts become disorderly and confused, which leads to increased likelihood of accidents and a tendency to say and do bizarre things. Researchers also believe that sleep plays a key role in learning (Q38). We sleep so that the brain can integrate new knowledge and form new associations. Because of the similar sleeping pattern to that of humans, rats (Q39) are often studied in order to increase our knowledge of human physiology. In one study, rats were kept awake for almost two weeks, and their behavior was observed. Researchers found the sleep-deprived rats could hardly remember anything of what they had been taught that day. For example, one rat had been taught to recognise pictures of various Parisian landmarks in order to receive food – pressing a button below a picture of the Louvre would result in food being released and so forth. However, when deprived of sleep, they would press buttons seemingly at random.

In addition to rats, the fruit fly, a small insect that feeds and breeds on spoiled fruit, also has been used as a model organism and thousands of scientists around the world work on it. But why was the fruit fly chosen to be studied? It was for practical reasons. The most important one is that the relationship between fly and human genes is so close that the sequences of newly discovered human genes, including genes that show a susceptibility, can often be matched against their fly counterparts. This provides an indication of the function of the human gene and could help in the development of effective drugs to help people with sleeping disorders. Therefore, many scientists today choose to study the genetic structure (Q40) of the fruit fly, which could make a particularly important contribution to the understanding of developmental processes in humans.

In conclusion, sleep is a necessary part of life not just for humans, but for the entire animal kingdom. Now, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have…

Listening Practice Test 12