Transcription
Now turn to section one. Section one. You will hear a male student talking to a union representative about placing an advertisement to sell a laptop. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5.
Now the test will begin. You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.
>> Hi, I'm Debbie. How can I help?
>> Hi, my name's David. I'm just looking to place an advertisement on the main union notice board to sell a laptop and a few accessories if that's possible.
>> Sure, that's not a problem. I take it you are a member of the students union.
>> Yes, I am.
>> Right, then I'll just get a form up and as there is no one around and it looks as if it's going to be quiet for a while, I'll just type the details straight into the computer for you.
>> Thanks very much.
>> No problem. Shall we just title it laptop for sale?
>> Yeah. Okay.
>> Can you describe it generally?
>> Oh, well, it's in very good condition. In fact, it's hardly been used.
>> Why are you selling it, if I may ask?
>> Well, I've got another one which is much lighter, and I don't really need to.
>> I see. What weight is the one you're selling?
>> It's uh 3.5 kg.
>> That is heavy these days. Can you give more details about the one you want to sell? Right. Uh, well, it's an Algro and it's got all the latest programs.
>> Okay. What about the memory?
>> The memory is only 0.5 GB.
>> And what about the screen size and the other features?
>> Oh, well, uh, the the screen is, uh, let's see, it's, uh, 37.5 cm with a a standard size keyboard and a touchpad, but I've got a cordless mouse that I can put in with it if necessary. Well, some people don't like using a touchpad.
>> What about ports or holes for attaching things to the laptop?
>> It's got two ports.
>> More modern laptops have more than two ports for all the extra attachments.
>> They do. Uh let's see uh what else is important. Uh oh yeah the uh the battery lasts for 2 and 1/2 hours which is okay but not enough for long train journeys. Uh but one thing is that it's not wireless.
>> Right. Okay. Not wireless.
Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to 10. Now listen and answer questions six to 10.
>> Anything else I can put on the advertisement?
>> There's a webcam built at the top of the screen and uh I can throw in a printer, a scanner, and headphones which I I got with it in a special deal. It also comes with its own case for carrying it around. Actually, the case is quite smart. I'm hoping these things will help it sell.
>> They should do, right? I think I've got all that. How much do you want for it?
>> That I'm not sure about. Uh, it's worth about £900 to £1,000 new.
>> Yeah, but you won't get that much if it's used. And even if it's in good condition.
>> What about £500?
>> I doubt if you'd get as much as that. more like £200 or £300. If you look at the notice board, there is one on there which is comparable to yours and it's not more than about £250. I think
>> as little as that,
>> I'm afraid so. Shall we say £300?
>> Okay, put that.
>> Can I take some contact details for the advert?
>> The name's David Bristo. B R I S T O W.
>> Yes, that's it. And uh a mobile or email?
>> Both if you want.
>> It's d i b_7791hotmail.com.
>> Okay. And the mobile
>> that's 098754233 87.
>> That's it. If you send the picture, I'll add it and print it out and stick it up for you.
>> Okay. I can get that to you today.
>> Right. I'll type in here advert placed the 22nd of October. Fine. And good luck with the sale.
>> Thanks. That is the end of section one. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to section two. You will hear a trainer giving a talk to people who want to learn outdoor survival skills. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.
Now listen and answer questions 11 to 16.
>> Good morning everyone and welcome to our outdoor survival program. As you know this week you'll be learning some of the basic information and skills you need to look after yourself independently in the outdoors. These first two days will be based here in the classroom and then we'll be taking a camping trip to put into practice some of the things you've learned. I'm going to start off with the topic of food. And to start with, I'll describe just two methods which we'll be putting into practice at our camp and which make use of natural resources. the steam pit and the bamboo pot. I've got two posters here to make things clearer. And I'll start with the steam pit here. To make this, you'll need some dry sticks, some grass, some loose earth, and some stones. And for this week only, some matches. The first thing you do is to dig a shallow pit in the place you've chosen to do your cooking. Let's say about 25 cm deep and 30 cm wide. Your sticks have to be a bit wider than the pit because you have to put a line of them along the top from one end of the pit to the other. Before setting light to these, you take some large stones and arrange them on top. Then you start the fire and wait till the wooden platform burns through and the stones fall into the pit. At this point, brush away any pieces of hot ash from the stones. You can use a handful of grass and then take another stick and push it down into the center of the pit between the stones. After that, you cover the whole pit with a thick layer of grass. And then you can put your food on it wrapped in more pieces of grass like parcels. Finally, cover the whole thing with earth. You have to pat it firmly to seal the pit. Then all you have to do is take the stick out and pour a bit of water into the opening that it leaves. It should take about 4 hours for your food to cook as it cooks slowly in the steam that's created inside the pit.
Now you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.
So simple but effective. The other method you're going to practice this week is the bamboo oven. Now, the steam pit is ideal in certain conditions because the heat is below ground level. For example, if there's a strong wind and you're afraid a fire might spread. But when it's safe to have an open fire, you can use the bamboo oven method. You get a length of bamboo, which as you probably know is hollow and consists of a number of individual sections with a wall in between. You use a sharp stick to make a hole in each of the dividing walls apart from the end one. Then you lean the bamboo over a fire with the top propped up by a forked stick and the bottom sitting on the ground. You pour enough water in the top to fill the bottom section and then light a fire underneath that section to heat the water. Then you put your food inside the top section and the steam coming up the bamboo through the holes you made cooks it. I'm going to move on now to food itself and talk about some of the wild plants you might cook. I'm going to begin with fungi. That's mushrooms and toads. I'm sure you'll be aware that some of these are edible and they're delicious, but some of them are highly poisonous. Now, whether they're poisonous or not, all fungi that you find in the wild should be cooked before eating because that helps to destroy any compounds in them that might be mildly toxic. But be aware that any amount of cooking won't make poisonous varieties any safer to eat. Unless you can definitely identify a fungus, you should never eat it. It's not worth the risk. And you need to be really sure because some fungi that are poisonous are very similar in appearance to certain edible varieties. They can easily be mistaken for each other. So, having said all that, fungi are delicious when they're freshly picked. And although they are only moderately nutritious, they do contain minerals which the body needs. I'll move on now to leafy plants which are generally
That is the end of part two. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to section three. Section three. You will hear three students discussing a program of activities for new students at a college. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.
now. Listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.
>> So, you were both on last year's orientation course then. How did it go?
>> I loved it. The activities were well organized and I met people from all over the world. Yes, it was useful.
>> And you think I should sign up for this year's course?
>> Yes, definitely. Apart from being fun, it really does prepare you for all the things you have to do in your first couple of weeks. In fact, one of the most useful things was chatting to people who'd already been there for a year, so-called senior students. They'd been on the orientation course the year before last and recommended it to us. Oh, and there was a great atmosphere at the formal dinner, too. It was so colorful with people in their traditional dress from Asia, Africa, South America. It was one of the high points of the whole week.
>> That was right at the end. Of course, the first thing they did on the Monday was take us on a guided tour of the students union.
>> And after that, they took us around the city center, showing us things like the bus station, the main shops,
>> and the best pubs.
>> Right. So, it was very worthwhile.
>> Yes. Though maybe they could have taken us to a better nightclub. The music at the place we went to was lousy.
>> That's a matter of taste, surely. Well, anyway, the next day they showed us around everything on the campus.
>> And believe me, it was everything. We must have walked miles. I could have done with less information on every building in sight, given that I'll probably never need to go into half of them, and a bit more on places everyone's likely to use at some time or other, like the sports block, the health center, the bicycling car parks. Which reminds me, there was an afternoon session on how to drive in this country, which seemed to me a bit weird, you know, for a university course.
>> I suppose it's because there have been accidents involving students who aren't used to people driving on the left. I was there, actually.
>> How was it?
>> Well, I must say I was a bit disappointed. There were some useful driving tips, but it might have been more helpful if it had included stuff for pedestrians. How to avoid getting run over, for example.
>> You didn't go to the session on safety, then.
>> No.
>> Well, apparently that dealt with road safety for pedestrians along with lots of other aspects. Of course, I wasn't there myself, but that might be something worth going to. Julia,
before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30.
>> I like the sound of the whole thing. Tell me, what's the accommodation like? Do you have a room to yourself or do you have to share? What do you have to take with you for the orientation course? You'll have an individual room in one of the halls of residence. That'll be a different hall from the one you're booked into for the year, but they're both on the campus, so you won't have far to go.
>> And you won't have to take much with you. The room will have chairs, table, wardrobe, bed, mattress, blankets, sheets, and so on.
>> Take a warm coat or jacket, though. It may well rain and it's unlikely to reach even 20° in late September,
>> but it shouldn't drop below about 10, at least during the day, which is something, I suppose,
>> right now. I know they can't do much about the weather, but did you have the feeling that they were looking after you on the course?
>> Yes, we did. There were some little touches that showed they'd thought about what it was like to be starting a course of study abroad, such as, well, it's just a small example, but they gave us free email access to contact people at home. 30 minutes if I remember correctly.
>> Actually, I think it was 20.
>> Yes, you're right. I was on for over half an hour and paid for an extra 10 or 15 minutes. Not that it was much. Emails don't take long to write anyway.
>> No, they don't. So, just one more thing, the timetable. When does the course actually start and finish?
>> Well, a lot of people get there on the Sunday, though you'd have to find a room for an extra night as the course accommodation is only booked from the Monday when things get going.
>> Then they'll keep you busy all week until the dinner on the Friday and that's it, is it?
>> Yes. There's nothing after that. though most people stay over till Saturday, partly to recover from the party, but also because they can then move straight into their permanent rooms.
>> I think I'll do that. Well, thanks a lot for all your advice. I'm sure I'll enjoy the course. I wish I could go on this year's two.
That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now it turns to part four. Part four. You are going to hear a lecture on ecology. First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 35.
Now listen to the tape and answer the questions 31 to 35.
>> Good afternoon. I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Kerry who will talk about the program in restoration ecology. Thanks Chris. A lot of people think that human beings can do whatever they want to the environment. But as Aldo Leopold taught, land is a system of interdependent parts which should be regarded as a community and not a commodity. Well, that idea has influenced what we teach here in our program where students come from all over the world to learn about restoring native plant communities back into an ecologically natural state. This field is therefore a combination of formal science with practical applications and that is quite attractive to many people. We have students for example from many different nations who come just to take part in this unique program. Our location is also quite unique. We have the world's oldest restored native plant community in Curtis Prairie at the Wisconsin Arboritum. Some say that this is proof that the science of restoration ecology was birthed in Wisconsin. Well, that may be oversimplified, but our reputation is strong. But students don't have to study prairies only. One student, Edmund Mukala from the Congo, came to study restoring ancient wetlands in the Congo using knowledge gained from historic samples of the soil seedbank. Not all the seeds survived, but some can remain dormant for many years. Mr. Mukcala wanted to find out what type of community would be most similar to that ancient seed bankank. He has recently returned to the Congo and is now cooperating with the government to implement his findings.
Now look at questions 36 to 40. As the talk continues, answer questions 36 to 40.
So the only prerequisite for doing research here is that it is a native plant community. That means not just prairies, but wetlands, woodlands, savas, and other environments. We're proud of the diversity of research topics in our program. and we continue to grow. This year we have 32 new students from eight different countries. When students first arrive, they begin rigid coursework in statistics, ecology, plant identification, and the theory of landscape change. Then they take part in internships at local conservation agencies such as the arboritum, the nature conservancy, the parks department, and others. We find internships to be crucial in helping students apply the knowledge they have gained in the classroom. And we're proud to say that since the beginning, we have graduated 277 students with master degrees from our programs and 122 students with PhDs. Some have gone on to bigger and better things. One graduate is now the director of the Worldwide Fund for Nature in China. Another is the director of parks development in California. and others now lead their own research departments in universities around the world.
That is the end of part four. You now have half a minute to check your answers.