Lesson 1

Exercise 1
1. Select
2. 27.01.1973
3. 15-Riverside
4. 2 weeks
5. 616295
6. engineer
7. mother
8. 2,000
9. month
10. internet

PIETER: Good morning. I’d like to open a bank account, please.​

WOMAN: Certainly. If you’d like to take a seat. I’ll just get some details from you. It
won’t take long.​
PIETER: Thanks.​
WOMAN: Is it a current account or a deposit account you wanted?​
PIETER: A current account.​
WOMAN: Right. I’ve got the application form here then. We have different types - I
see you’ve got our leaflet there.​
PIETER: I’ve decided on the one called ‘Select’.​
WOMAN: Right, that’s fine, so, first of all, can I have your full name, please?​
PIETER: Yes, it’s Pieter Henes. That’s P-I-E-T-E-R.​
WOMAN: Is it H-E-double N-E-S?​
PIETER: Uh, only one N actually. It’s a less common spelling of the name.​
WOMAN: Oh, right. OK. And what’s your date of birth, please?​
PIETER: The twenty-seventh of the first, nineteen seventy-three.​
WOMAN: Right. And will this be a joint account?​
PIETER: No, just myself.​
WOMAN: OK, fine. And where are you living, Mr Henes?​
PIETER: 15-Riverside.​
WOMAN: Is that all one word?​
PIETER: Yes.​
WOMAN: Exeter?​
PIETER: Yes.​
WOMAN: How long have you been at your present address? Er, is it more than two
years?​
PIETER: Ah, just two weeks actually. I only arrived in the country a month ago. I’m
from Holland.​
WOMAN: Oh, that's fine. But we normally ask for a previous address in that ease.​
PIETER: Oh yes, well, it’s Rielsdorf 2. That’s R-I-E-L-S-D-O-R-F 2, Utrecht.​
WOMAN: Holland. OK. Thank you. Do you have a daytime telephone number?​
PIETER: Yes. I think the number at my office is six-oh-six-two-nine-five, Um, just a
minute, I’d better check. Oh, no sorry, six-one-six. I’m not used to it yet. Would you
like my home number too?​
WOMAN: Yes, please.​
PIETER: It’s seven-nine-six-four-three-one.​
WOMAN: Are they both local numbers?​
PIETER: Yes.
WOMAN: Right. And your occupation?​
PIETER: Well, I’m in Britain as a project manager, but that’s not my main job. I’m an
engineer by profession.​
WOMAN: I see. I think I’ll put that then. It’s shorter! Now we usually ask for a piece
of information which we can use to check your identity, for security reasons. You
know, if you phone us.​
PIETER: Like, erm, my wife’s first name?​
WOMAN: Mother ’s might be better. It’s less likely to be known.​
PIETER: OK. Hers is Siti.​
WOMAN: Siti?​
PIETER: Yes, S-I-T-I. It’s Indonesian.​
WOMAN: Fine. And how much would you like to open your account with? We
usually ask for a minimum sum of £50. That’s about €75.​
PIETER: Well. I’m going to transfer €2.000 from my Dutch account, just till I get
paid. In fact, I wanted to ask you about that. What’s the best way to do it​
WOMAN: It depends, which bank you’re with.​
PIETER: It’s the Fransen Bank in Utrecht.​
WOMAN: OK, fine. I’ll check that in a minute. If we have links with them we can do
a direct transfer. But it’s not a big problem either way. Um, let’s see. How often
would you like to receive statements?​
PIETER: I haven’t really thought. Um, what’s the usual thing?​
WOMAN: It’s up to you. Some people like them weekly.​
PIETER: Oh, no, that’s too often. Can I have them sent, um, once a month?​
WOMAN: Yes, that’s fine. Is there anything else?​
PIETER: I was thinking of registering for your internet service at some stage.​
WOMAN: Oh, yes. Would you like me to send you information about that?​
PIETER: Please, yes.​
WOMAN: And would you like to receive information about the bank’s other services
- insurance, loans, anything like that?​
PIETER: Hmm, I don’t think so, thanks.​
WOMAN: That’s OK then. And one last thing, if you agree …
Exercise 2
1. 27 bank road
2. 730453
3. sable
4. northern star
5. stolen
6. Paynter
7. brother in law
8. to work
9. red flag
10. 450

Woman: Hello… motor insurance department…

Man: Oh hello… I’d like to ask about insurance for my car.
Woman: Yes, of course. I’ll just take a few details. What’s your name?
Man: Patrick Jones.
Woman: And your address?
Man: It’s 27 Bank Road.
Woman: 27 Bank Road. Is that in Greendale?
Man: Yes.
Woman: And what’s your daytime phone number?
Man: My work number is 730453.
Woman: And could I ask what your occupation is?
Man: Dentist.
Woman: OK… now a few details about your car… What size is the engine?
Man: It’s 1200 ccs.
Woman: Thank you … and the make and model?
Man: It’s a Hewton Sable.
Woman: Could you spell the model name, please?
Man: Yes… S-A-B-L-E.
Woman: Ah yes … thanks. And when was it made?
Man: 1997.
Woman: Lovely … right… I presume you’ve had a previous insurer?
Man: Yes.
Woman: Right … we need to know the name of the company.
Man: Yes… it was Northern Star.
Woman: Thank you, and have you made any insurance claims in the last five years?
Man: Yes… one in 1999.
Woman: And what was the problem?
Man: It was stolen… but…
Woman: That’s fine, Mr. Jones … that’s all we need to know at the moment…
Woman: And will there be any other named drivers?
Man: Just the one…
Woman: And his name?
Man: Simon Paynter.
Woman: Could you spell the surname, please?
Man: P-A-Y-N-T-E-R.
Woman: OK thank you … And what relationship is he to you?
Man: He’s my brother-in-law.
Woman: And what will you or Mr. Paynter be using the car for?
Man: Well… mainly for social use…
Woman: Social use (murmuring). Will you be using it to travel to work?
Man: Yes… sometimes.
Woman: Anything else?
Man: No. That’s it…
Woman: And finally… when would you like to start the insurance?
Man: I’ll need it from the 31st of January.
Woman: Right … Mr. Jones … I’m getting a couple of quotes coming up on the
computer now… and the best bet looks like being with a company called Red Flag.
Man: Yeah.
Woman: And that comes out at $450 per year.
Man: Well… that seems OK… it’s quite a bit lower than I’ve been paying up to now…
Woman: Great… So would you like me to go ahead with that?
Man: Sure… why not?
Woman: How would you like to pay?
Man: I’ll pay by credit card.
Woman: OK, I’ll process that for you.
Man: Thank you.
Woman: You're welcome, Mr. Jones. Your insurance will start on the 31st of January.
Man: Great, thank you again.
Woman: Have a great day!
Exercise 3
1 temporary
2 waiters)
3 day off
4 break
5 meal
6 jacket
7 28 June /28th June
8 Urwin
9 12.00 / noon / mid-day
10 reference

Woman: Hello, West Bay Hotel. Can I help you?

Man: Oh, good morning. I’m ringing about your advertisement in the Evening
Gazette.
Woman: Is that the one for temporary staff?
Man: That’s right.
Woman: Yes. I’m afraid the person who’s dealing with that isn’t in today, but I can
give you the main details if you like.
Man: Yes, please. Could you tell me what kind of staff you are looking for?
Woman: We’re looking for waiters at the moment. There was one post for a cook,
but that’s already been taken.
Man: Oh right. Erm, what are the hours of work?
Woman: There are two different shifts – there’s a day shift from 7 to 2 and a late
shift from 4 till 11.
Man: And can people choose which one they want to do?
Woman: Not normally, because everyone would choose the day shift I suppose. You
alternate from one week to another.
Man: Okay. I’m just writing all this down. What about time off?
Woman: You get one day off and I think you can negotiate which one you want, it’s
more or less up to you. But it has to be the same one every week.
Man: Do you know what the rates of pay are?
Woman: Yes, I’ve got them here. You get £5.50 an hour, and that includes a break.
Man: Do I have to go home to eat or …
Woman: You don’t have to. You can get a meal in the hotel if you want to, and
there’s no charge for it so you might as well.
Man: Oh good. Yes, so let’s see. I’d get er, two hundred and twenty-one, no, two
hundred and thirty-one pounds a week?
Woman: You’d also get tips – our guests tend to be quite generous.
Man: Erm, is there a uniform? What about clothes?
Woman: Yes, I forgot to mention that. You need to wear a white shirt, just a plain
one, and dark trousers. You know, not green or anything like that. And we don’t
supply those.
Man: That’s okay, I’ve got trousers, I’d just have to buy a couple of shirts. What
about anything else? Do I need a waistcoat or anything?
Woman: You have to wear a jacket, but the hotel lends you that.
Man: I see. Er, one last thing – I don’t know what the starting date is.
Woman: Just a minute, I think it’s some time around the end of June. Yes, the 28th,
in time for the summer.
Man: That’s great. I’m available from the 10th.
Woman: Oh good. Well, if you can call again you need to speak to the Service
Manager. Her name’s Jane Urwin, that’s U-R-W-I-N, and she’ll probably arrange to
meet you.
Man: Okay. And when’s the best time to ring?
Woman: Could you call tomorrow? Um, she usually starts checking the rooms at
midday, so before then if you can, so she’ll have more time to chat. I’ll just give you
her number because she’s got a direct line.
Man: Thanks.
Woman: It’s 832 double-0 9.
Man: 823 double-0 9?
Woman: No, 832.
Man: Oh, okay. Yes, I’ll do that.
Woman: And by the way, she will ask you for a reference, so you might like to be
thinking about that. You know, just someone who knows you and can vouch for you.
Man: Yes, no problem. Well, thanks very much for your help.
Woman: You’re welcome. Bye.
Man: Bye.
Homework

1​ Bhatt
2​ 31 March/Mar 31/31st March/March 31
3​ nursing
4​ 2
5​ meat
6​ bedsit
7​ theatre/theater
8​ mature/older
9​ town
10​ shared

Man: Good morning. Can I help you?

Woman: Yes. I’ve just been accepted on a course at the university and I’d like to try
and arrange accommodation in the hall of residence.

Man: Yes, certainly. Please sit down. What I’ll do is fill in a form with you to find out
a little more about your preferences and so forth.

Woman: Thank you.

Man: So first of all, can I take your name?

Woman: It’s Anu Bhatt.

Man: Could you spell your name, please?

Woman: Yes. A-N-U … B-H-A double T.

Man: Thanks, and could I ask your date of birth?

Woman: 31 March 1972.

Man: Thank you. And where are you from?

Woman: India.

Man: Oh right. And what will you be studying?

Woman: I’m doing a course in nursing.

Man: Right, thank you. And how long would you want to stay in hall, do you think?

Woman: Well, it’ll take three years but I’d only like to stay in hall for two. I’d like to
think about living outside for the third year.

Man: Fine. And what did you have in mind for catering? Do you want to cook for
yourself or have all your meals provided, that’s full board?

Woman: Is there something in between?

Man: Yes. You can just have evening meal provided, which is half board.

Woman: That’s what I’d prefer.

Man: Yes, a lot of students opt for that. Now, with that in mind, do you have any
special diet, anything we should know about?

Woman: Yes, I don’t take red meat.

Man: No red meat.

Man: Now, thinking about the room itself, we have a number of options. You can
have a single study bedroom or you can have a shared one. These are both what we
call simple rooms. The other alternative is to opt for a single bedsit which actually
has more space and better facilities. There’s about £20 a week difference between
them.

Woman: Well, actually my grant is quite generous and I think the bedsit sounds the
best option.
Man: Lovely. I’ll put you down for that and we’ll see what availability is like. Now
can I ask some other personal details which we like to have on record?

Woman: Yes, of course.

Man: I wonder if you could let us know what your interests are. This might help us
get a closer match for placing you in a particular hall.

Woman: Ummm. Well, I love the theatre.

Man: Right.

Woman: And I enjoy sports, particularly badminton.

Man: That’s worth knowing. Now, what we finish with on the form is really a list
from you of what your priorities are in choosing a hall and we’ll do our best to take
these into account.

Woman: Well, the first thing is I’d prefer a hall where there are other mature
students, if possible.

Man: Yes, we do have halls which tend to cater for slightly older students.

Woman: Ummm and I’d prefer to be out of town.

Man: That’s actually very good for you because we tend to have more vacancies in
out-of-town halls.

Woman: Lucky!

Man: Yes. Anything else?

Woman: Well, I would like somewhere with a shared area, a TV room for example,
or something like that. It’s a good way to socialise.

Man: It certainly is.

Woman: That’s it.

Man: Now, we just need a contact telephone number for you.

Woman: Sure, I’ll just find it. It’s double 67549.

Man: Great, so we’ll be in contact with you as soon as possible …

Lesson 2

Exercise 1

1.​ 8
2.​ (in/on) Tamer
3.​ green button
4.​ library
5.​ educational department
6.​ castles
7.​ old clothes
8.​ bottle tops
9.​ Undersea worlds
10.​Silver paper

MAN
Good morning, Synmouth Museum. Can I help you?
WOMAN
Oh yes. Good morning. I'm interested in the children's workshops and I'd like a little
more information, please.
MAN
Do you mean the Art and Craft workshops?
WOMAN
Yes. A friend of a friend mentioned them - the children do painting and make
models and so forth.
MAN
Yes, of course. Um, where to begin? First of all, as you probably know, they run
every Saturday.
WOMAN
Fine. And what about ages?
MAN
Well, all ages from five upwards are welcome, though we do ask that children
below eight years of age are accompanied by an adult.
WOMAN
Fine. That wouldn't be a problem. What about cost?
MAN
Well, I think you'll find them very reasonable. It's £2.50 a child, with 80 pence off
for two or more children from the same family.
WOMAN
Oh yes, very reasonable. And are they held in the main museum?
MAN
Not exactly. They're nearby.
WOMAN
Could you give me the full address? I don't know the area very well.
MAN
Yes, it's Winter House.
WOMAN
Right.
MAN
And that's in Tamer Street.
WOMAN
Could you spell that please?
MAN
Yes, T-A-M-E-R Street.
WOMAN
Lovely.
MAN
And I do need to tell you that there's a security entrance, so you need to press the
green button for someone to let you in. Don't press the red button please, but don't
worry, it's all clearly labelled.
WOMAN
OK. And one more question - is parking available nearby? We're driving in from out
of town.
MAN
Your best bet is to leave your car at the back of the library - on a Saturday morning
there are plenty-of spaces there. It's right next door to the museum.
WOMAN
And can I ask about booking places?
MAN
Yes, and I must tell you, you really should book by calling the education department
here.
WOMAN
Oh, I'm sorry, should I have rung them instead of the main museum number?
MAN
No, that's fine this time, please don't worry. But for future reference, I'll give you the
direct number. It's two hundred-seven-six-five.
WOMAN
Great, I've got that.
MAN
But I'm very happy to give you information about the next two workshops. On
Saturday the 16th there's Building Castles.
WOMAN
Oh, sounds great!
MAN
This involves quite a bit of glue, so just make sure the kids are in old clothes.
WOMAN
I know, ones I don't mind getting mucky.
MAN
Exactly. And if possible, could you bring along bottle tops which the children might
be able to use in the models, you know, as decoration?
WOMAN
We'll certainly try to find some for you.
MAN
Then the following week ...
WOMAN
That'll be the 23rd, won't it?
MAN
Yes, that's right. On that day, it's what we call Undersea Worlds. This is where they
make scenes with fishes, underground caverns and so on.
WOMAN
Is that likely to get very dirty? Lots of paint splashes?
MAN
Not really, so we don't recommend any special clothes for that one. But if you could
search out some silver paper to bring along to use in the sessions, you know, it's
shiny - it looks like water, that'd be great.
WOMAN
Yes, of course. We'll see what we can come up with. Well, thank you ever so much
for all your help. The sessions sound really good and I'll certainly book up for the
next two.
MAN
Lovely. Thanks very much for ringing.
WOMAN
Bye.
MAN
Bye-bye.
Exercise 2

1 Pargetter

2 East

3 library

4 morning/mornings

5 postbox

6 prices

7 glass

8 cooker

9 week

10 fence

Mr. Thorndyke: Thorndyke’s.

Ms Pargetter: Good morning. Is that Mr Thorndyke?

Mr. Thorndyke: Speaking. How can I help?

Ms Pargetter: I’ve got quite a few things which need painting and fixing in the
flat and I wonder whether you’d be able to do the work.

Mr. Thorndyke: I’m sure I’d be able to help but let me take down a few
details.

Ms Pargetter: Yes, of course.

Mr. Thorndyke: Well, firstly, how did you hear about us?

Ms Pargetter: It was my friend May Hamoton… you did some excellent work
for her a couple of years ago. Do you remember?

Mr. Thorndyke: Oh, yes, that was in West Park Flats, lovely lady.

Ms Pargetter: Yes, she is.

Mr. Thorndyke: And what’s your name, please?

Ms Pargetter: It’s Edith Pargetter [1].

Mr. Thorndyke: Edith… can you spell your surname, please?

Ms Pargetter: It’s P-A-R-G-E-double T-E-R [1].

Mr. Thorndyke: Double T, right. And do you live in West Park Flats as well?

Ms Pargetter: No, actually it’s East Park, Flat 4 [2].

Mr. Thorndyke: Oh, right, that’s over the road, I seem to remember – quite
difficult to get to.

Ms Pargetter: Yes, it’s at the back of the library [3].

Mr. Thorndyke: Right, I know. And what’s your phone number?

Ms Pargetter: 875934 but I’m out a great deal in the afternoons and
evenings.

Mr. Thorndyke: So would the best time to ring you be in the morning? [4]

Ms Pargetter: Yes [4].

Mr. Thorndyke: Fine. I’ve made a note of that. Can I just ask, I’ll be in a van
and I know parking’s rather difficult round your flats. Where would you
recommend?

Ms Pargetter: Well, I always tell people in larger vehicles to park by the

postbox on the other side of the road from the entrance [5].

Mr. Thorndyke: Good, thanks.

Ms Pargetter: And will you be able to give me a full itemised quote?

Mr. Thorndyke: Oh. yes. I’ll list all the jobs separately with individual prices
[6].

Ms Pargetter: That’d be a great help.

Mr. Thorndyke: No problem. Now, what would you like me to do?

Ms Pargetter: Firstly and most urgently is in the kitchen. With all the weather
damage, the glass in the door has cracked and I’d need that fixing [7].

Mr. Thorndyke: I presume you mean replacing?

Ms Pargetter: Oh, yes. And as soon as possible…

Mr. Thorndyke: What I’ll do is come round tomorrow morning and do that
immediately.

Ms Pargetter: Thank you so much. The other things aren’t so urgent but…

Mr. Thorndyke: Now, I’ll make a note of everything you want doing.

Ms Pargetter: Well, in the kitchen I’d like some painting doing.

Mr. Thorndyke: All the kitchen walls?

Ms Pargetter: Just the area over the cooker [8]. It’s very greasy…

Mr. Thorndyke: Right… it does tend to get that way!

Ms Pargetter: Yes!

Mr. Thorndyke: Well, if you want a proper job done what I’d need to do is
strip the old paint and plaster it about a week before I paint it [9].

Ms Pargetter: Of course. Now, May tells me you also do work in the garden.

Mr. Thorndyke: That’s right.

Ms Pargetter: Well, I’d like you to replace a fence.

Mr. Thorndyke: Just one?

Ms Pargetter: Yes, at the far end [10].

Mr. Thorndyke: Fine. Shouldn’t be a problem.

Ms Pargetter: And that’s the lot.

Mr. Thorndyke: Fine. Yeah, as I say I can come round tomorrow morning to
look over things with you.

Ms Pargetter: That’s great, thank you.

Mr. Thorndyke: So, I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow at…
Exercise 3

1.​ (a) Keep-fit (studio)

2.​ swimming
3.​ yoga (classes)
4.​ (a) salad bar
5.​ 500
6.​ 1
7.​ 10/10:00 (am), 4:30 (pm)
8.​ 180
9.​ assessment
10.​Kynchley

WOMAN: Good morning, oh sorry, it's gone 12, I'll start again, good afternoon,
Kingswell Sports Club, how can I help you?

MAN: Oh, good afternoon. I was wondering if you could give me some information
about membership and facilities.
WOMAN: Of course. What would you like to know?
MAN: Do you have tennis courts, for example?
WOMAN: No, I'm afraid we don't. We're primarily a golf club.

MAN: What about football? I heard you had a team.

WOMAN: No, I'm sorry. Perhaps you're thinking about "Fresham Sports Centre".
MAN: Oh, right. I know it. I've played badminton there.
WOMAN: Have you? They've got a lot of facilities we don't have and vice versa. We
do have a keep-fit studio, which is very popular with members, and then as well as
that there's swimming, of course.
MAN: That's good. I like to swim every day.
WOMAN: We have a range of classes too.
MAN: Do you have judo classes? I'm keen to learn.
WOMAN: Well, at the moment we offer kick-boxing. We're planning to add judo
and stretch classes soon. We're currently running a range of yoga classes, too.

MAN: What about relaxing after exercise? I assume you have a restaurant or
something.
WOMAN: At the moment, we've got a salad bar which is very popular. We'll also
have a fully-licensed restaurant by the end of the year.
MAN: Sounds good!
WOMAN: What kind of membership are you interested in?
MAN: Um I'm not really sure. What are the options?
WOMAN: Well, there are three different membership schemes.
MAN: I see. What's the difference?
WOMAN: Well, the first one's called Gold, and you can use all the facilities at any
time of the day or week. You can also join in as many classes as you like for free.
MAN: That sounds good. Is it very expensive?
WOMAN: Well, you pay a £250 joining fee and then it's £450 - oh no, I'm sorry, it's
just gone up by £50, sorry about that - it's now £500 for the annual subscription
fee.
MAN: Right, got that. And what's the next type?
WOMAN: Well, that's Silver - it's the same as Gold except you have to pay a small
fee of £1.00 per lesson for any you do and you can only use the centre at certain
times.
MAN: I see. So when exactly?
WOMAN: You can only use the facilities between 10 am and 4.30 pm.
MAN: So I couldn't use the pool at 8 in the morning or evening, then?
WOMAN: That's right.
MAN: OK. And the price for that? Is the joining fee the same as for Gold?
WOMAN: Actually, it's slightly less than the £250 - it's £225, but the annual fee is
only £300. Does that sound more like what you want?
MAN: Well, it's still rather more expensive than I thought. I'm a student here in
England and I'm only here for six months.
WOMAN: Ah, then the Bronze scheme would probably suit you best.
MAN: How is that different?
WOMAN: Well, some of the facilities have restricted use.
MAN: And do I have to pay for classes?
WOMAN: Yes, it's £3 for each class you join.
MAN: I see. And what are the hours then?
WOMAN: Between 10.30 and 3.30 weekdays only and you pay a £50 joining fee.
The annual fee is £180 - it works out at £15 a month, so that would be quite a lot
cheaper.
MAN: Oh, that should be all right. I could come in my free periods. What do I have
to do if I want to join?
WOMAN: Well, we book you in for an assessment with an instructor, who will
show you how to use all the equipment. If you want to organise a trial session and
look around the centre, you'll need to speak to David Kynchley.
MAN: Could you spell that, please?
WOMAN: David K-Y-N-C-H-L-E-Y. I'll give you his direct line number. It's
oh-four-five-eight-nine-five-three-double one.
MAN: Thanks.
WOMAN: Thank you for calling Kingswell Sports Club.
Homework

1 300
2 Sunshade​
3 Balcony
4 Forest/forests
5 319
6 10,000
7 Relative
8 Missed
9 Item
10 Ludlow

Man: Greek Island Holidays, can I help you?

Woman: Yes, I hope so. I have a friend who’s just come back from Corfu and she’s
recommended some apartments in Arilas. She thought they might be on your list.
Man: Arilas, Arilas, let me see. Can you give me the names?
Woman: Yes, the first’s Rose Garden Apartments. I’d like to go with another friend in
the last week of October.
Man: Well, we’ve got a lovely studio flat available at that time. I’m sure you’d enjoy
the entertainment programme there too, with Greek dancing in the restaurant.
Woman: And the cost for each of us?
Man: £219.
Woman: That sounds very reasonable! I’m just jotting down some notes. Now the
second one she mentioned was called Blue Bay.
Man: Blue Bay? Yes, in fact, that’s very popular and it has some special features.
Woman: Really?
Man: The main attraction is the large swimming pool with salt water.
Woman: Much healthier, I understand.
Man: That’s right. And it isn’t far from the beach, either – only 300 metres, and only
around half a kilometre to some shops, so you don’t have to be too energetic.
Woman: Is it much more expensive than the first one?
Man: Let me just check. I think at the time you want to go it’s around £260 – no
£275 to be exact.
Woman: Right, I’ve got that. Now there are just two more apartments to ask you
about. Um, I can’t read my own writing! Something to do with sun … Sunshine, is it?
Man: I think you meant the Sunshade Apartments. They’re on a mountainside.
Woman: Any special features?
Man: Yes, each room has its own sun terrace and there are shared barbecue
facilities.
Woman: Sounds lovely!
Man: Yes, it is rather well-equipped. It also provides water sports – it has its own
beach. There are facilities for water-skiing.
Woman: Any kite-surfing? My friend’s quite keen.
Man: Not at the hotel but I’m sure you’ll find some in Arilas. There’s also satellite TV
in the apartments.
Woman: And how much is that one?
Man: £490 with two sharing.
Woman: You mean £245 each?
Man: I’m afraid not! Each person has to pay that amount and there must be at least
two in an apartment.
Woman: I don’t think that would be within our budget, unfortunately. And the last
one sounds a bit expensive too – the Grand!
Man: Actually it’s quite reasonable. It’s an older style house with Greek paintings in
every room, and a balcony outside.
Woman: Sounds nice. What are the views like?
Man: Well, there are forests all round and they hide a supermarket just down the
road, so that’s very useful for all your shopping needs. There’s a disco in the area
too.
Woman: And the price?
Man: £319 at that time, but if you leave it till November it goes down by 40%.
Woman: Too late, I’m afraid.
Man: Well, why don’t I send you a brochure with full details, Ms …?
Woman: Nash. But don’t worry about that. I’m coming to Upminster soon and I’ll
call and get one. I just wanted to get an idea first.
Man: Well, that’s fine. We’ve got plenty here when you come.
Woman: If you’ve got a minute, could I just check a couple of points about
insurance? I got one policy through the post but I’d like to see if yours is better.
Man: Fine. What would you like to know?
Woman: Well, the one I’ve got has benefits and then the maximum amount you can
claim. Is that like yours?
Man: Yes, that’s how most of them are.
Woman: Well, the first thing is cancellation. If the holiday’s cancelled on the policy
I’ve got, you can claim £8,000.
Man: We can improve on that, Ms. Nash. For Greek Island holidays, our maximum is
£10,000.
Woman: That’s good – of course, our holiday won’t even cost £1,000 together!
Man: It’s still sensible to have good cover. Now, if you go to hospital, we allow
£600.
Woman: Yes, mine’s similar.
Man: And we also allow a relative to travel to your holiday resort.
Woman: My policy just says their representative will help you.
Man: You can see there’s another difference there. And what happens if you don’t
get on the plane?
Woman: Nothing, as far as I can see on this form.
Man: Don’t you have missed departure?
Woman: No, I’ll just jot that down.
Man: We pay up to £1,000 for that, depending on the reason. And we’re particularly
generous about loss of personal belongings – up to £3,000, but not more than
£500 for a single item.
Woman: Then I’d better not take my laptop!
Man: Not unless you insure it separately.
Woman: OK – thanks very much for your time you’ve really been helpful. Can I get
back to you? Your name is?
Man: Ben Ludlow. That’s L-U-D-L-O-W. I’m the Assistant Manager here. I’ll give
you my number. It’s 081260 543216.
Woman: But didn’t I phone 081260 567294? That’s what I’ve got on the paper.
Man: That’s the main switchboard. I’ve given you my direct line.
Woman: Right, thank you …
Lesson 3
Exercise 1

1. C
2. C
3. B
4. B
5. A

SALLY:Peter, there you [Link]'ve been [Link] kept you so long?

PETER:I'm sorry I'm so late, [Link] you been waiting long?
SALLY:Oh, half an hour, but it doesn't matter.I've had a coffee, and I've been reading
this guidebook for tourists.
ANNOUNCER:Sally has been waiting half an hour for peter, so, c, has been
[Link], we shall [Link] should answer the questions as you listen, because
you will not hear the recording a second [Link] carefully and answer questions
1 to 5.
SALLY:Peter, there you [Link]'ve been [Link] kept you so long?
PETER:I'm sorry I'm so late, [Link] you been waiting long?
SALLY:Oh, half an hour, but it doesn't matter.I've had a coffee, and I've been reading
this guidebook for [Link] [Link]. You look very hot and [Link]
would you like to drink?
PETER:I'd love a really chilled mineral water or [Link]. Will you have
another coffee?
SALLY:Yes, I [Link] waitress will be back in a [Link] were you so late?Did
something happen?
PETER:Yes, you know, I went to the bank to cash some traveler's [Link],
the exchange rate was looking healthy, but when I went to the teller, they told me
the computer system was temporarily down, so they couldn't do any
[Link] said the problem would be fixed in a few minutes, so I
[Link] then I started talking to another guy in the bank, and I forgot the time.
SALLY:Ha ha, really?Someone you met in the bank?Does he work there?
PETER:No, he was a tourist from New [Link] name's [Link] he's been here for
a week, but he's moving on to Germany [Link]'s an architect, and he's
spending four weeks traveling around [Link] like us, yeah, just like [Link] told
me the names of some places where we should [Link] food and not too
expensive, he [Link], and he also gave me this map of the bus [Link] said he
didn't need it anymore.
SALLY:That's [Link] he's moving on [Link], here's the [Link]'s
[Link]. Do you want anything to eat, or should we just have a drink?
PETER:Well, I'm hungry, and we've got a lot of sightseeing to do, so let's just have a
snack and a drink.
SALLY:Sounds good to me.
ANNOUNCER:Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to
look at questions 6 to [Link] listen and answer questions 6 to 10.
PETER:Well, let's decide what we'll see today.I guess the best place to start is the
Cathedral, and then the [Link]. What are the opening times for those two?
SALLY:Well, according to this guidebook, the Cathedral is only open from 9:30 in
the morning until [Link], oh, no, hang [Link]'s the Cathedral [Link]. The
Cathedral itself is open morning and [Link] Castle is just open from 1
to 5, so we can't go there until after [Link]. I really want to spend some time in
the art gallery, because they've got this wonderful painting by Rembrandt that I've
always wanted to see.
PETER:Um. What else should we see?
SALLY:Well, the guidebook says the Botanical Gardens are worth spending some
time [Link] they're open all day from 8 to 6, so we can go there [Link]. I'd
like to go to the markets near the river too, but oh, no, wait, that's only in the
mornings too.
PETER:As well as today and tomorrow, we can see some other places on Monday,
you [Link] I don't think the markets will be open [Link] only open on
Thursdays, so we've missed them for this [Link] we should go to the
Cathedral today, because it's Sunday tomorrow, and even though it's open every
day, it might be more difficult to get in tomorrow because of the church services.
SALLY:Hmm. That's [Link] the art gallery isn't open on Sundays at all, so we'll
have to go there [Link]. The Castle is open every day except Mondays, so
we're OK [Link] the gardens of course only close at night.
PETER:Are all these places free, or do we have to pay to go in?Uh uh. What does
the guidebook say?
SALLY:I think there's a charge for all of them, except the botanical [Link].
Oh, and the markets of course you don't pay to go in.
PETER:OK, well it looks like our plan is [Link]'ll go to see the painting you like
first, the Rembrandt, uh, then have lunch, and go on to the Castle after that, and
then the Cathedral.
SALLY:OK, it says here that the roof of the Cathedral is really beautiful.
PETER:Is that right?What I really want to do at the Cathedral is climb the [Link]
view is supposed to be spectacular.
SALLY:OK, well, that'll be more than enough for [Link] tomorrow, let's go to
the botanical gardens and have a [Link], I want to sit by the river and watch
the [Link] city is famous for them.
Exercise 2

1.​ C
2.​ B
3.​ A
4.​ C
5.​ B
6.​ C
7.​ A
8.​ B
9.​ B
10.​A

So the counselling services we offer deal with any problems arising from your
studies or in your life outside the university. Let’s take academic counselling. If
you’re confused about subjects or how to combine them in your degree, then we
can advise you and discuss the career you are aiming for, so that you can see it all in
context. We can also chase up your tutor if you’re not getting proper feedback on
how you are getting on in your subject. Besides help with academic problems, you
may also need personal counselling: if you think you’re already under stress, well,
just wait till classes begin next week. You’ll have to start adjusting to teaching and
learning methods that may be unfamiliar to you, as well as the mounting pressure
as the deadline for that first assignment creeps up on you. And of course, you have
to cope with all this without your usual social network – you know, the social
contacts family and friends you could normally rely on for help. All of this causes
anxiety. Studying overseas can trigger a personal crisis – you may have left a lot of
what you might call ‘unfinished business’ back in your own country, or you may
have interrupted personal relationships or even sometimes have broken them off to
come overseas, and so the student often feels lonely, unhappy, unmotivated and
unable to concentrate on studying. Or there may be otherthings bothering you. Our
resident chaplain can offer you spiritual guidance if that’s what you want, or we can
put you in touch with community groups that can provide you with social contacts
and friendship. What aboutexam stress? It affects nearly everyone to some extent,
but especially overseas students like yourselves. There may be a huge amountof
family pressure on you to succeed, and if you fail a subject or drop out of a course
because it’s too difficult then your self-esteem can suffer. But it’snot the end of the
world if you don’t pass an exam – I had to resit First Year Anthropology, so I can
certainly offer you a sympathetic ear! Anyway, exam failure can lead to worrying
changes in the way you normally behave. You may also be off your food, or you may
have dietary problems because the local food is not to your liking and upsets you,
and this can affect your health and studies. Glenda Roberts is our dietician in the
Health Service and we can put you on to [Link] we all have money problems,
don’t we? But remember, full-time students can get a low-interest loan of up to six
hundred dollars to buy books and for similar study-related expenses. That’s right,
and you can get double that amount if you can’t afford an item of equipment you
need for your course – a musical instrument, for example. And it doesn’t stop there.
When you move into a flat, starting-up expenses, including furniture for it, can be
covered by a loan through the Welfare Service – see Jill Freeman for details. Can we
help you? Well, last academic year, in spite of staff cuts, we counselled two
hundred and forty international students for a total of twenty-six hundred hours
counselling, and, finally we won all but just one of the twelve appeals that we
launched on behalf of students. Not too bad for an understaffed service, don’t you
think? That’s all from me. Thank you
Exercise 3

11. C
12. E
13. references
14. country
15. weather
16. C
17. C
18. A
19. B
20. C

MAN: As I said earlier, there is I think at Rexford an excellent combination of

physical and geographical advantages - as well as having a rural setting and still
being close to central London, something that will certainly be of interest to you is
that Rexford is just 35 minutes from London Airport. At Rexford we have a strong
research capability. We came 7th out of 101 universities in last year's research
assessment, carried out by a government body and did particularly well in your
particular subjects, engineering and science. Actually we got a top research grade
of five for engineering, geography and computer sciences. One further point - and I
know from talking to you individually that a number of you may be looking for some
experience in industry after the course - is that all our science and engineering
research departments have unusually close relationships with industry in the area.

Anyway that's enough sales talk from me ... I'll just take a sip of this coffee that's
just arrived, thank you, and then I'll say something about what actually happens
when you apply.
Right ... Now if you do decide to make an application, what you do is send it directly
to me in my department. I will then immediately send confirmation and the
application process begins. Er ... I'd like to say at this point that you shouldn't worry
if this process doesn't work all that quickly - I mean occasionally there are postal
problems, but most often the hold-up is caused by references - the people you give
as referees, shall we say, take their time to reply. Anyway, it's absolutely normal for
this process to take three to four months. What I do in this period is keep in touch
with you and reassure you that things are moving along.
One of the ways we've devised to help you decide about applying as well as later
when you've been accepted ... hopefully ... is to put you in contact with, if possible, a
student from your own country who is at present studying with us. What you can
do is phone them up - we will, of course, liaise between you - and discuss your
concerns with them. That way you can get an objective opinion of what you can
expect if you come to live and study at Rexford - not only the academic atmosphere
but important details like what the leisure facilities are like and whether the English
weather and food are really as awful as everybody says!

If you decide you can face it, the contact can also help you just before you leave,
with tips on what to pack and that sort of thing. At the moment I think we've got
two second-year students and one postgraduate from this country.

Now to move on to the other concerns you expressed earlier. At a UK university - as

I'm sure you know - you will be in an environment where independent learning is
the norm, which takes most students a while to adjust to, and at a time when you
will be separated from your normal surroundings and, in most eases, your family.
This can be a difficult time. But remember that something like 25% of our student
body are international students like yourselves, and that there are several
organisations in the university and city whose main purpose is to offer help and
ensure that your time with us is enjoyable and useful.

One or two of you touched on the subject of accommodation earlier. So I'll just add
a few points: it is the University's policy to give priority in the allocation of residence
places to three categories, and those are: visiting students, exchange students and
new postgraduate students. However, demand exceeds supply, so there is still a
need to put your name down early for campus accommodation, particularly if your
family is accompanying you. This means that the earlier you decide whether you
want to study with us ... and so get the procedure moving, the better it will be for
everybody. Yes?

WOMAN: What if you would prefer to live outside the university?

MAN: If you're planning to live off-campus, you've got to sort things out even
earlier.
As with everything in short supply, the good accommodation gets sccnapped up
months before the beginning of term - in other words if you're starting in October
you need to he thinking about it in June or at the very latest July. So you do need to
think very carefully about what you need, how much you can afford to pay, well in
advance. What you can't do is leave it until a few days before the start of term. The
agencies in town are pretty good - it's just a matter of contacting them in good time.
Of course, we have a full-time accommodation officer available to help all students.
She'll get in touch with you when you're accepted - she's got plenty of contacts in
the town and will deal with the agencies on your behalf.

One or two of you asked me earlier about your level of spoken English. Obviously
most of you have already achieved a lot - I wish I could speak your language half as
well. Having said that though, I'm afraid the lecturers will make little or no
allowance for the presence of non-native speakers in the audience. So anything you
can do to improve your spoken English - even beyond the pretty high levels most of
you have already reached - will help make your stay with us that bit more fun for
you. Some extra practice before you arrive is worth more than ... for example private
lessons afterwards, when you won't really have time. Oh ... and one last thing
before I invite further questions: it's very important that you...
Homework

21. A
22. B
23. C
24. A
25. B
26. A
27. C
28. B
29. B
30. B

ANNOUNCER:Section [Link]'ll hear a conversation in a university student services

[Link] you have some time to look at questions 21 to [Link] listen carefully and
answer questions 21 to 25.
OFFICER:Hello, um, I'm Dawn Matthews.
STUDENT:Yes, hello.I've been referred to you because I'm enquiring about the
refresher courses that you run.I'd like to find out a bit more about them.
OFFICER:OK, well we run quite a few different short courses for students who are
either returning to study or studying [Link], tell me about your situation.
STUDENT:Well, I think that I really need some help in preparing for the coming
semester, uh, especially to build up my confidence a bit, and help me study
effectively, because you see I've been out in the workforce for nearly 12 years
[Link] it really is a long time since I was last a student.
OFFICER:Ha, yes, it can seem like a long time, can't it?Um. Well, let me start by
telling you what courses we have that might suit [Link] you an undergraduate or a
postgraduate?Arts or sciences?
STUDENT:Undergraduate, and I'm in the Business faculty.
OFFICER:Right [Link]. First of all, there's our intensive 'Study for Success' seminar
on the 1st and 2nd of February.
STUDENT:Hmm.
OFFICER:It's aimed at students like you who are uncertain about what to expect at
college, and looks at a fairly wide range of approaches to university [Link]
motivate you to begin your study, and build on your own learning strategies.
STUDENT:[Link] sounds [Link]. What are some of the strategies that are
presented?
OFFICER:Well, we try to cover all aspects of [Link] of the strategies in writing
for example would be improving your planning for [Link] your thinking
and building some techniques to help you write more [Link] reading, there'll
be sessions aimed at getting into the habit of analyzing material as you read [Link]
tips to help you record and remember what you've [Link] really is very important to
begin reading confidently right from the [Link]'s also advice on how to
get the most from your [Link] practice in giving confident presentations, as
well as how to prepare for exams.
STUDENT:What about the motivational side of things?
OFFICER:Ah, well, there's a range of motivational exercises that we [Link] help the
students feel positive and enthusiastic about their [Link] process of learning and
exploring a subject can lead to a whole new way of looking at the [Link] the
study skills and techniques that you build up can be applied in all sorts of different
ways.
ANNOUNCER:Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to
look at questions 26 to [Link] listen and answer questions 26 to 30.
STUDENT:Actually, I'm very excited about the whole thing of taking up studying
again, but you know, I'm a little nervous about whether I'll manage to get
everything done.I suppose it's the same for all mature students?
OFFICER:Of course, it is.
STUDENT:Ha, ha.
OFFICER:Two of the key components of the course are time management and
overcoming [Link] discover that once they learn to plan their days,
all the work can be accomplished, and there'll still be time for leisure.
STUDENT:Is there an enrollment fee?
OFFICER:Well, um oh, just a [Link]'s [Link], the cost is £30 which includes all
course materials and morning [Link] have to arrange your own lunch.
STUDENT:[Link], that wouldn't be a [Link]. I already make sandwiches
for my 3 kids and my wife and myself every [Link]. I won't have to change my
routine.
OFFICER:[Link] I need to tell you that this is a very popular course, and it's
essential that you book well ahead of [Link] fact, the course convenor tells me that
there are only 5 places left.
STUDENT:Um. What other course might be good for me?
OFFICER:There is one other that you could benefit [Link]'s simply called 'Learning
Skills for University Study', and is on three consecutive mornings, starting on a
Monday, from 9 to [Link] costs £[Link] is aimed at upgrading the study skills
most school leavers have, and help them cope with the increased demands of
university [Link] focuses mainly on making students more responsible for their
own success.
STUDENT:What sort of things are covered in this course?
OFFICER:Well, basically, it's more advanced thinking, note taking, reading and
writing [Link] also some input about stress management.
STUDENT:Hmm, I think I'd be better off starting from the basics, and looking at all
the strategies, don't you?
OFFICER:Yes, from what you've told me, I think that's more in line with your
situation.
STUDENT:Alright then, um, can I book a place on the 'Study for Success' seminar
course now?
OFFICER:Yes, let me just get out a registration form and take down your details.
ANNOUNCER:That is the end of section [Link] now have half a minute to check your
answers. Now turn to section 4
Lesson 4
Exercise 1

11. C
12. A
13. C
14. H
15. F
16. B
17. D
18. field
19. footbridge
20. viewpoint

ANNOUNCER:Section 2, you will hear a guide giving visitors to a country house

information about the house and [Link], you have some time to look at
questions 11 to [Link] listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 13.
SPEAKER:Welcome everybody to the lovely house and gardens of Rosewood, once
the home of the famous writer Sebastian [Link] bought the house in 1902,
although he had first seen it two years [Link] that time, the owners let it out to a
tenant, because George was too slow making up his mind to buy [Link] it came
back on the market, there was no hesitation, and he bought it [Link]
9,300 pounds, even though the house had no bathroom, no running water upstairs,
and no [Link] he came here, he'd been married for 10 [Link] that
time, he'd become one of the most famous writers in the English speaking [Link]
professional success was [Link] his personal life wasn't as [Link]
was no longer on speaking terms with his brother, and had been devastated by the
death at the age of 7 of his elder daughter [Link] to Rosewood allowed
the family to start a new [Link] regarded Rosewood as a pure example of a
traditional country house of this part of England, and did some of his most
successful writing [Link] house and its grounds became the family haven, and
their escape to privacy and [Link] walls and the mullioned windows were built
of the local [Link] tiles on the roofs and the bricks of the chimney stack
were baked from local clay, and the wooden structures inside came from oak trees
which grow around here.
ANNOUNCER:Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at
questions 14 to [Link] listen and answer questions 14 to 20.
SPEAKER:Now, please look at the map I've given you of the house and
[Link]'re here, at the information [Link] the path marked with the
arrow, and the first area you come to is the Orchard on your [Link] you go further
down the path, there's the kitchen garden on the right, and as you go round the first
sharp corner, you will find to your left an area where different types of pear tree
have been [Link] well as some lovely flowers, and this is known as Pear Alley,
designed by George [Link] to this is the greenhouse, where some exotic
plants and fruits are [Link] the path round the second corner, and on your
right you will see the entrance to the Mulberry Garden, with its 500 year old
[Link] the Mulberry Garden, follow the path until you reach the front of the
house.I suggest you spend a good hour wandering around this lovely building.A
guide takes visitor groups round every two [Link] you would like to purchase any
of George's books or other souvenirs, then leave the house by the side entrance,
where you will find our shop, which is situated between the house and the garage,
which contains the magnificent old Rolls-Royce car which used to belong to
George.I expect by this time you may also be in need of a rest and some
[Link] visitors are, so why don't you visit the tea room on the far side of
the garage?If you have time, there is a lovely walk down towards the River
[Link] me, this is the best part of the [Link] isn't on the [Link] it is all
clearly [Link] cross the field, which spreads along the banks of the [Link]
spring, this area is well worth a [Link] a minute or two watching the water
pass by underneath, as you cross the footbridge, and then continue along the river
walk through the [Link] a hot summer's day, the trees along this path
provide welcome [Link], you come to the watermill, which used to
provide the electricity for the house, only about four hours every evening, in
George's [Link] finally, for those of you who would like to see stunning views of
the surrounding countryside, and who are a little bit more energetic, when you
return from the mill, take the first turning on your left, and climb up to the
[Link] won't regret [Link] your visit.

ANNOUNCER:That is the end of section [Link] now have half a minute to check your
answers.
Exercise 2

11 C
12 B
13 A
14 B
15 car park
16 rose garden
17 café
18 cycling
19 biology lesson
20 viewing shelter

Welcome to all of you…can everybody see and hear me?…Good… I’m Sally, your
guide for this tour of the Bicentennial Park… I hope that you’re all wearing your
most comfortable shoes and that you can keep up the pace. So let’s get under way
on our tour around this wonderful park.

I’ll start today with some general background information. There used to be a lot of
factories in this area until the 1960s. Creating the park required the demolition of
lots of derelict buildings on the site, so most of the exciting park space all around
you was originally warehouses and storehouses.

The idea of building a public park here was first discussed when a property
developer proposed a high-rise housing development, but the local community
wasn’t happy. If the land was to be cleaned up, they wanted to use the site for
recreation. Residents wanted open space for outdoor activities, rather than housing
or even an indoor sports complex.

Now to the Bicentennial Park itself. It has two areas, a nature reserve and a formal
park with man-made features and gardens. The tall blue-and-white building in
front of us is called The Tower and is the centre point for the formal gardens. It
stands twelve metres high, so follow me up the stairs to where we can take
advantage of the fantastic views.
Well, here we are at the top of The Tower, and we’re going to look at the view from
each direction. Out to the east, the large buildings about a kilometre away are on
the Olympic site. There’s an indoor arena for gymnastics, a stadium for track and
field and a swimming pool for races and synchronised swimming and also diving. If
you look carefully down there, you can see the train lines. The Olympic site has its
own station to encourage the use of public transport. There is also a car park, but it
only holds a limited number of cars.

The formal park has some specially-created water features. If you look out here to
the south, you can see a circular ornamental pond.

And around to the west, you can relax and sit on a bench to smell the flowers in the
rose garden, and finally up to the north, if you look in front of you now, there’s a lake
with a small island in the centre, you can hire rowing boats at the boat shed, which
you can’t see from here, but if you look through the trees, you can see the café,
which has lovely views across the water. OK, let’s climb down now. We will go now
and have a look at the nature reserve section of the park, which has opened up
natural wetland to the public.

The Mangroves have been made more accessible to visitors by the boardwalk built
during the park’s upgrade. You’d think that people would come here to look at the
unusual plant life of the area, but in fact it’s more often used for cycling and is very
popular with the local clubs.

This is the far end of the park and over there you can see the Frog Pond, a natural
feature here long before the park was designed. Just next to it we have our outdoor
classroom, a favourite spot for school parties. The area is now most often used by
primary schools for biology lessons.

And finally let’s pass by the Waterbird Refuge. This area is in a sheltered part of the
estuary, that’s why the park’s viewing shelter is a favourite spot for bird watchers
who can use it to spy through binoculars. You can watch a variety of water birds, but
most visitors expect to see black swans when they come to the shelter. You might
spot one yourself right now!

Well, here we are back at our starting point, the Visitor Centre.
Exercise 3

11. B​
12.A​
13. B​
14. C​
15. A​
16. F​
17. H​
18. B​
19. D​
20. C

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you’re awaiting surgery, please first check in with reception, before taking the first
door on the right after you enter the clinic.
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.
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.
Homework

11 B
12 A
13 E
14 C
15 D

Thank you all for coming to our community meeting.

As you know, we are excited to unveil our improvement plan as we look forward to
the influx of tourists in the summer months.
I’ll start with a quick overview of the main points of interest in the area for anyone
who may not quite know his or her way around yet, and then I’ll get into the
improvements made.
First off is my favorite, the Science Museum, which is on the corner of Saint George
Road.
If you have not visited it yet, I encourage you to go before the busy season.
It is absolutely spectacular - there is even a flight simulator you can try out!
Just west of the Science Museum is the National History Museum.
It’s a site not to be missed as well, with each floor devoted to a different era in our
nation’s history.
There are special exhibits for children with interactive games and fun history
lessons, too.
If you’re looking for parking, it is available on the intersection of Queen Street and
South King Street in the Car Park.
Standard hourly and daily rates do apply.
The best place for souvenirs is the Shopping Mall, though it gets extremely busy
during peak times.
You can get there from the tube, or the entrance on Timber Road, just south of
Cornwell Road.
This area has students everywhere, usually from the Primary School across the
street from the Shopping Mall.
Classes often take field trips and engage in guided tours through the area.
So that’s the overview of the main sites and hopefully by now I’ve given you a
general idea of the area.
Now I’m going to outline the improvements we have made in our efforts to make
the experience even better for each and every one of our visitors.
You probably noticed when you first drove into the Car Park this morning, that there
is now additional signage to help avoid confusion.
The directions were not entirely clear at first, so we have increased the number of
one-way signs indicating the correct direction of traffic flow.
Not far from there, in line with our mission of giving back to the community, we
constructed a brand new playground for the Primary School.
It is really something to be excited for - the equipment is state-of-the-art and
includes swings, a small climbing wall, and even an obstacle course.
Now we’ll head north and take a look at the Science Museum.
In response to our feedback from past visitors to the museum, there is now free
information available outlining not only upcoming IMAX showings, but also natural
wonders like meteor showers, eclipses, and other cool natural events.
The Science Museum isn’t the only Museum improving the experience of its visitors.
The National History Museum has added an entire new wing to its facility to
accommodate the large crowds of people gathering to see the Civil War exhibit,
inventions timeline exhibit, and other wonderful sections of the museum.
The increase in space will definitely give a more calm, comfortable experience for
visitors.
And finally, remember when there was actually a line at the mall entrance from the
Tube Station?
It was terrible trying to get anywhere from the Tube because foot traffic got so
backed up sometimes.
We have addressed that by adding another entry point into the mall from the other
end of the platform to disperse the crowd.
So those are the major improvements we have made.
Clearly having too many people that want to visit and enjoy what our community
has to offer the public is a good problem to have, and I am confident that we have
made the changes necessary to accommodate the growing interest in the area.
As always, we welcome any questions, comments, or concerns about the new
improvements plan.
In a few minutes I will open up the floor for questions but you can also contact me
or any other board member by email or through the city website.
Thank you for coming, and I now encourage you to stay for the Questions and
Answers panel occurring between now and 10.30...
Lesson 5
Exercise 1

31.​C​

32.​D​

33.​B​

34.​F​

35.​A​

36.​E​

37.​Individual​

38.​Core group​

39.​Options​

40.​Final decision​
Exercise 2

31.​(Natural) decay​

32.​Standard of living​

33.​2​

34.​Earthquakes​

35.​Volcanic zones​

36.​Steam (vents)​

37.​Transient​

38.​Steam​

39.​(Local) substation​

40.​Cooling tower​
Exercise 3

21 C
22 A
23 B
24 C
25 C
26 ensure
27 deposited
28 display
29 distribute
30 reward

Frank:

Hi, Nicole. As you know, we’ve got to decide on the best ways this university can
reduce its waste. You inspected the eastern campus, and I did the western buildings.
Did you do all the interviews as well?

Nicole:

Yes, I interviewed all the staff, who made some good observations, and I
interviewed some of the students. The students said little that was interesting.
They don’t seem to care that much. It was the cleaners, surprisingly, who revealed
the most relevant facts.

Frank:

That’s not surprising to me. They empty all the bins, so they see the waste first-
hand, whereas the staff just throw things away without thinking. What item was
most commonly disposed of?

Nicole:

Well, it really depended on where I interviewed. In the cafeteria precinct, obviously

paper plates and cups were thrown away all over the place. There was almost no
attempt at recycling. However, across the university in general, it was paper copying
that filled up most bins, far more than plastic, or other forms of waste.

Frank:

Do people care about this, then?

Nicole:
Well, some do, if you can believe them. I must have interviewed about 30% of
customers in the cafeteria, and the results were mixed. Out of all the people I
interviewed, well over half, maybe about 55% of them, were quite honest about it,
telling me that they had little concern. The other fraction, 45%, were more troubled.

Frank:

Yes, but do they do anything about it?

Nicole:

Surprisingly, quite a significant percentage do do something, even if they aren’t

particularly concerned. I mean, small things. About 10% bring their own cups to the
cafeteria, for example, and at least one third said they use recycling bins, so, in total,
it’s an equal split between those who do something, or those who don’t.

Frank:

So why do so many people remain inactive, particularly over an issue they should
care about more?

Nicole:

I think they do care, and many of them are prepared to do something. Obviously,
there’s an element of laziness, but I’d say that it’s relatively small. If they knew what
to do, and if stringent systems existed, or if the importance of this was made clearer
to them, I’m sure you’d see a much larger percentage of people actively working
towards helping our environment.

Frank:

Well, there’s cause for optimism, at least.

Frank:

Clearly then, there’s a significant waste of paper here at this university, so I’ve
worked out one practical suggestion which could help reduce it —specifically, the
waste from the excess photocopying.

Nicole:

Let me hear it, then.

Frank:
Ah obviously, for a start, we’ve got to ensure that people, including the staff,
without exception, copy both sides of a page. We can’t tolerate single-sided
copying. It’s just far too wasteful.

Nicole:

Absolutely. Just more trees being chopped down.

Frank:

But as people are doing copying, there may be adjustments, and practice copying,
producing singlesided copies or blank pages not wanted and not intended for use.
These need to be deposited into a tray for intended recycling —you know, for
recopying onto the blank side of the page.

Nicole:

But people don’t usually do that. I’m afraid it’s just human nature. No matter how
unimportant the copying is, they prefer to use fresh paper.

Frank:

Yeah, I agree with you, which is why you need to display these papers right in front
of everyone, with a clear sign, ‘Please Reuse’, to make it easy for them to do so.

Nicole:

They still won’t do it.

Frank:

I know. That’s why you take some of these papers, and regularly stack them inside
the copier, in a special tray, once a day—say, in the morning.

Nicole:

Well, that’s getting better, making it easier for them to use the paper, but still, I’m
afraid many won’t.

Frank:

That’s why you allow everyone to select this tray when copying. You distribute
numbers or codes to every person, giving them special access to this recycling tray.
Every time they use papers from this, it’s tallied up to their account.
Nicole:

I know I’m sounding a bit negative ... or even cynical here ... but why should they
bother using that tray?

Frank:

Because the person who does the most copying from this recycling tray gets, say, a
cinema pass, or lottery ticket, or some other sort of reward.

Nicole:

Ah, right! Now that’s a system which might just work. Let’s trial it in the office and
see what happens.
Homework

31.​Designers​

32.​Materials​

33.​Fishing​

34.​Waste​

35.​Manufacturing​

36.​Information​

37.​Single use​

38.​Value​

39.​Cereal boxes​

40.​40,000​
Lesson 6
Exercise 1

1.​ B​

2.​ D​

3.​ B, D, E​

4.​ C​

5.​ B​

6.​ 14 April​

7.​ Opposite rainforest park​

8.​ Bush walking​

9.​ (Venomous) snakes​

10.​(Irritation) plants​

ANNOUNCER: In this section, you will hear a conversation between David and
Claudia about their holiday trip. First, you have some time to read questions 1 to 5.
Now listen to the conversation and answer question 1 to 5.

DAVID: Well Claudia, our first semester at university is almost over. I can’t wait for
the holidays.

CLAUDIA: Me too. Why don’t we go somewhere far away and forget about lectures
and essays and all that hard work.

DAVID: Sounds good to me. How about if we go to the coast? It would be great to
do some swimming and surfing.
CLAUDIA: The coast would be good. But let's look at our other options. There are
the mountains. They're nice and cool at this time of year. There's also the desert,
which I really enjoyed last year.

DAVID: What about going to Sydney? I've never been there and they say it's a great
city to visit.

CLAUDIA: I agree Sydney would be good, but there are too many tourists there at
this time of year. And I'd rather get away from buildings and cars. I vote for the
mountains.

DAVID: All right, then, let's do that. Now we have to decide where we're going to
stay and how we're going to get there. Any suggestions?

CLAUDIA: Well, for places to stay, there are the usual places: motels, hotels, and
youth hostels. We can go camping, too.

DAVID: I'm afraid I'm not a very good camper. I tend to feel a bit frightened sleeping
outdoors.

CLAUDIA: All right. We'll forget about camping. So what do you prefer?

DAVID: Well, since neither of us has a lot of money, I don't think a hotel or motel
would be possible. How about a youth hostel?

CLAUDIA: Oh, I'd rather not go to a youth hostel. They're cramped and noisy and
the person in the bed next to you might be a snorer. No, I think we should find a
small holiday house to rent. And if we get a few more friends to join us, it will he
really cheap.

DAVID: Ok. You know it’s the first time for me to travel to the mountains. What do
you suggest to take? Mosquito net I guess.

CLAUDIA: Mosquito net is useful, but I don’t want to add more weight to our
luggage. So the insect repellent can do I think. Besides, aspirins are necessary and
some cold cure in case we feel sick or something like this.
DAVID: Do you think we need binoculars and a camera?

CLAUDIA: Well, it would be a good idea to take binoculars, adds to a camera I’m
not very for it. I’d rather record the scenes in my mind.

DAVID: You’re right. What about the money? How much do you think is enough and
how we should take it?

CLAUDIA: I’ve learned from a friend about the cost. He told me that they spent
about $480 for one week tour, so I think $500 would be enough. We may need over
$ 300 for the house. Have you got any traveler’s checks?

DAVID: No, I haven’t, but I’ve got a credit card and a saving card.

CLAUDIA: Then, take the credit card with us. It would be more convenient to pay
the house fee with a credit card.

ANNOUNCER: Before the rest of the conversation, you have some time to read
questions 6 to 10. Now listen carefully to the rest of the conversation and answer
questions 6 to 10.

DAVID: Oh, I nearly forgot the date. How long will we have before we have to be
back here on campus.

CLAUDIA: Under a week, I think. We’ll leave on 14th of April and come back on the
21st because you know we start to study on the 22nd.

DAVID: Do you know the definite locations of some holiday houses? I suppose it
would be nice if we booked in advance.

CLAUDIA: Yes, look at this brochure here. It says that there are several holiday
houses near the mountains. I prefer the one near the woods. It’s situated right
across the road from the rain forest park.

DAVID: Hmm, that sounds good. We can easily go to the rain forest park then. Do
you know what else we can do there besides visiting the park?
CLAUDIA: I know that many people go there for bushwalking, but you need a good
pair of walking boots, of course.

DAVID: Are there any dangers in the bushes? I’m a little frightened.

CLAUDIA: In fact, there’s no need to be nervous of the bushes. Provided that you
treat it with respect and common sense. Most of the animals and wildlife are gentle
and harmless. There are venomous snakes to be aware of but really they’re much
more frightened of you than you are of them. The other thing is that certain plants
can cause irritation if you touch them with bare skin.

DAVID: I see. Well, I can’t wait for the coming holiday.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of section 1. You now have half a minute to check
your answers.
Exercise 2

21.​C​

22.​B​

23.​B​

24.​Role models​

25.​Minority of people​

26.​Reality/real​

27.​70​

28.​Public​

29.​Shopping mall​

30.​Multiple choice (questions)​

ANNOUNCER: In this section, you will hear two students discussing a survey they
have to write as an assignment. First, you have some time to read questions 21 to
30. Now, listen to the conversation and answer questions 21 to 30.

Anna: How is your market research project going George?

George: Very well, actually Anna. I’ve got the results of the survey back and so now
I have to draw some conclusions from the information I’ve collected.

Anna: That’s good. I’m still writing my questionnaire. In fact, I’m starting to panic, as
the project deadline is in two weeks and I don’t seem to be making any progress at
all.
George: What is your topic?

Anna: Forms of transportation in the city. What about you?

George: I’ve been finding out people’s attitudes to the amount of violence on
television.

Anna: That’s interesting. What do your results show?

George: Well, as I said, I haven’t finished writing my conclusion yet, but it seems
most people think there is a problem. Unfortunately, there is no real agreement on
the action that needs to be taken. Nearly everyone surveyed said that there was too
much violence on TV. A lot of people complained that American police serials and
Chinese kung-fu films are particularly violent. The main objection seems to be that
although a lot of people get shot, stabbed, decapitated, and so on. Films never
show the consequences of this violence. Although people die and get horribly
injured, nobody seems to suffer or live with the injuries. Any children watching
might take the heroes of these programs as role models, and copy their behaviour.

Anna: So, what did most people suggest should be done?

George: A lot of people were concerned about how these films affect children. They
are particularly worried that children will try to behave like the stars. The survey
shows that violent programs should be broadcast after 10:00 p.m., when most
children are already in bed. There is also a significant minority of people who feel
that violent films should be banned altogether.

Anna: Or how did people feel about the violence on news broadcasts?

George: Most of the responses I have looked at have felt that violence on news
broadcasts is more acceptable as it’s real. Although it’s unpleasant, it is important
to keep in touch with reality. Still many people thought that it would be better to
restrict violent scenes to late viewing.

Anna: Your survey sounds very good. How many people filled it in?
George: I gave out 120 and I got to 70 back.

Anna: That’s a very high rate of return. Who did you give your questionnaires to?

George: I gave a copy to every student in my hall of residence and a few to friends
from other colleges.

Anna: Don’t you think that it will influence your results?

George: How do you mean?

Anna: The people in your hall of residents are all about the same age. They’re all
students and from similar backgrounds. Therefore, it is likely that they will have
similar opinions. Your results represent student opinion, not public opinion.

George: So how are you going to do your research?

Anna: Well, I’m going to interview my respondents in the shopping mall. What I’ll
do is ask people if they have five minutes to spare to answer a few questions. If they
agree, I will ask them some multiple-choice questions, and tick off their answers on
my sheet.

George: Isn’t it very difficult to ask meaningful questions using multiple choices.

Anna: Yes, it is. The secret to writing a successful survey is to write simple
multiple-choice questions that target the information you’re looking for. There, it’s
better to write a lot of short specific questions than longer general ones.

George: So that’s why it is taking you so long to write?

Anna: Yeah, but I hope I’ll be ready to start interviewing at the weekend.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check
your answers.
Exercise 3

11.​( Town) council​

12.​Every 6 months​

13.​Interactive classroom​

14.​3 hours​

15.​2 pm​

Now turn to section 2. Section 2. You will hear a man giving an information talk at
an adult education centre. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15.
Now listen carefully to the information talk and answer questions 11 to 15.

Good evening everyone and thanks for coming to this information evening at the
Adult Education Centre. My name is Mike and I'll be speaking to you for a short
while before you can go and explore the various departments that we have here.
The centre was founded 50 years ago by the Town Council in order to help people
who had failed to get a proper education when they were children. The idea today
is a little different. We can give people the chance to study what they missed at
school for whatever reason, but we can also just give them training in everyday
skills or just allow them to extend themselves.

The teachers in the centre are fully qualified and their teaching is appraised every
six months by inspectors from the Ministry of Education. Our teachers have the
latest teaching aids and accessories, from interactive whiteboards to computer labs
with the most up-to-date technology. All our teachers undergo special training and
all their lessons can be found online at what we call the Interactive Classroom,
which is accessible by all registered students. All notes, videos and worksheets can
be found there, so if you miss a lesson, you can catch up on your computer at home.
As well as just finding the resources, you can be in direct contact with your teacher.
Naturally, he or she cannot be online all day, but every teacher has two online
tutorial sessions of three hours each when they are available to chat. They can, of
course, be in demand, so they are limited to four students at any one time, and
students can only interact with their teacher for a maximum of ten minutes. If the
teacher is free, though, students may continue to chat for longer.

Naturally, we also have a normal website. This has details of all our courses,
teachers, fees and timetables. All courses can be booked and paid for online,
although you'll need, of course, to supply credit card or bank account details. If you
don't want to book online, you'll need to come to our main centre on Langdon Street
between the hours of 10am and 2pm, which are the hours that our administration
section is open to the general public.
Homework

11.​Full-time students​

12.​Part-time students​

13.​Distance learners​

14.​Make an appointment​

15.​( Your) ID card​

16.​Economics​

17.​French literature​

18.​The new restaurant​

19.​150​

20.​National newspapers​

Good morning. My name is Mandy and I am going to tell you a little about the John
R Jones Memorial Library here at Blackwater College. We regard the library as a
gateway to the resources that you as students at the college may need. The
majority of you are fulltime students – you may find you spend a lot time here. Even
those of you who are part students will no doubt require the services too. I hope
that by the end of this short talk you will know the services the library has to offer,
including the website. And how to get any further help you may need. Sorry, I
forgot there may be a few distance learners on the tour today. I’ll explain about the
online facilities and borrowing by post scheme a little later on. This is the main site
of the library, but we also have the Rivergate Library. The Rivergate building houses
the Geography resources, that is the book collections and the journal collection as
well as the map collection. The hours and days of opening of the Rivergate
collection are the same as this building except that it is closed on chrismas and New
Year’s Day. The Fieldhouse Library contains a specialist collection of local history
and if you want to visit it you will need to make pointman Those two facilities are
the only exceptions to the rule that all the Blackwater College libraries are open 24
hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. However, to gain access to the
facilities you must have your ID Card- no ID card, no entry. We have heard all the
stories and experience and we don’t accept any of them. Just remember your ID
card.

Now I must apologize for the mess you can see around you today. Libraries should
be quiet places, but unfortunately this is not currently the case here. This new
building has been here for only two months, and as a result we have not quite
finished moving in! So far, we have moved most of the book and journal collections
from the old library into this new building. There are two exceptions: we are
currently moving the Economics collection here, which should be installed by
tomorrow, and we will be moving the French Literature collection into this building
next week. But, as you can see, we are still building the new restaurant. We will
finish it, we hope, very shortly. We have finished the cafe, however, and students
can use it during the library opening hours. We have recently installed 150
computer places and we will be adding another 100 shortly, so that there will be
plenty for everybody very soon. Very shortly this library will be one of the finest in
this part of the country. Don’t forget that the library isn’t just about academic books.
In addition to the books and journals there is a wide range of national newspapers
available from the librarians on request. I’d like to mention the different ways you
can get help in using our resources. Don’t forget our website at [Link].
There are the full catalogues, and journal access is available if you have your
password and ID number. Now, any questions?
Lesson 7
Exercise 1

21. A
22. C
23. B
24. C
25. B
26. interests (and) style (in either order)
27. visuals
28. range
29. source(s)
30. content

Olivia: Hi, Joey. How are you doing? I heard you were sick.
Joey: Oh, hi, Olivia. Yeah, I had a virus last week, and I missed a whole pile of
lectures, like the first one on the Great Books in Literature where Dr Castle gave us
all the information about the semester project.
Olivia: I can give you copies of the handouts, I’ve got them right here.
Joey: That’s OK. I already collected the handouts but I’m not very clear about all the
details… I know we each have to choose an individual author… I think I’m going to do
Carlos Castaneda… I’m really interested in South American literature.
Olivia: Have you checked if he’s on the list that Dr Castle gave us? We can’t just
choose anyone.
Joey: Yeah. I checked, it’s OK. Who did you choose?
Olivia: Well, I was thinking of choosing Ernest Hemingway, but then I thought no,
I’ll do a British author not an American one, so I chose Emily Bronte.
Joey: OK… and first of all it says we have to read a biography of our author. I guess
it’s OK if we just look up information about him on the Internet?
Olivia: No, it’s got to be a full-length book. I think the minimum length is 250 pages.
There’s a list of biographies, didn’t you get that?
Joey: Oh right, I didn’t realise we had to stick with that. So what do we have to do
when we’ve read the biography?
Olivia: Well, then we have to choose one work by the writer… again it’s got to be
something quite long, we can’t just read a short story.
Joey: But I guess a collection of short stories would be OK?
Olivia: Yes, or even a collection of poems they said, but I think most people are
doing novels. I’m going to do Wuthering Heights, I’ve read it before but I really want
to read it again now I’ve found out more about the writer.
Joey: And then the video… we have to make a short video about our author and
about the book. How long has it got to be?
Olivia: A minute.
Joey: What? Like, sixty seconds? And we gotta give all the important information
about their life and the book we choose…
Olivia: Well you can’t do everything… I wrote it down somewhere… yes, Dr Castle
said we had to “find or write a short passage that helps to explain the author’s
passion for writing, why they’re a writer”. So, we can back this up with reference to
important events in the writer’s life if they’re relevant, but it’s up to us really. The
video is meant to portray the essence of the writer’s life and the piece of writing we
choose.
Joey: So when we read the biography, we have to think about what kind of person
our writer is…
Olivia: Yes, and the historical context and so on. So for my writer, Emily Bronte, the
biography gave a really strong impression of the place where she lived and the
countryside around.
Joey: Right, I’m beginning to get the idea.
Joey: Er, can I check the other requirements with you?
Olivia: Sure.
Joey: The handout said after we’d read the biography, we had to read the work we’d
chosen by our author and choose a passage that’s typical in some way that typifies
the author’s interests and style.
Olivia: Yes, but at the same time it has to relate to the biographical extract you
choose… there’s gotta be some sort of theme linking them.
Joey: OK. I’m with you…
Olivia: And then you have to think about the video.
Joey: So are we meant to dramatise the scene we choose?
Olivia: I guess we could, but there’s not a lot of time for that… I think it’s more how
we can use things like sound effects to create the atmosphere, the feeling we want.
Joey: And presumably visuals as well?
Olivia: Yeah, of course – I mean, I suppose that’s the whole point of making a video –
but whatever we use has to be historically in keeping with the author. We can use
things like digital image processing to do it all.
Joey: So we can use any computer software we want?
Olivia: Sure. And it’s important that we use a range – not just one software program.
That’s actually one of the things we’re assessed on.
Joey: OK.
Olivia: Oh, and something else that’s apparently really important is to keep track of
the materials we use and to acknowledge them.
Joey: Including stuff we download off the Internet presumably?
Olivia: Yeah, so our video has to list all the material used with details of the source
in a bibliography at the end.
Joey: OK… And you were talking about assessment of the project – did they give us
the criteria? I couldn’t find anything on the handout.
Olivia: Sure. He gave us them in the lecture. Let’s see… you get 25 percent just for
getting all the components done – that’s both sets of reading, and the video. Then
the second part is actually how successful we are at getting the essence of the
work, they call that ‘content’ and that counts for 50 percent. Then the last 25
percent is on the video itself, the artistic and technical side.
Joey: Great! Well, that sounds like a lot of work, but a whole lot better than just
handing in a paper. Thanks a lot, Olivia!

Olivia: You’re welcome.

Exercise 2

21.​B​

22.​C​

23.​A​

24.​A​

25.​B​

26.​E​

27.​B​

28.​C​

29.​G​

30.​D

SECTION 3
(A=Anna; C=Chris)

A: Hi Chris! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be revising
for your finals in the library?

C: Yeah, well I decided it was time for a break. I really wasn’t being very productive
so thought I’d come and have a coffee and some fresh air to see if that’d help. What
are you doing with all those prospectuses?

A: Well I’m trying to decide which university to apply to for my MA in Music. The
choice is really overwhelming!
C: Well that certainly is a big pile of prospectuses. Maybe talking about it will help
you at least narrow it down? I’ve got some time, and to be honest, it’ll be a welcome
distraction from my dissertation.

A: Great! Thanks Chris. So far, the universities that appeal the most are The
Academy in London, Leeds Conservatory of Contemporary Music and The Henry
Music Institute, which is also in London.

C: I’m not an expert but wouldn’t The Henry Music Institute be the best as it’s the
one that everyone’s heard of?

A: Well … yes and no. Leeds Conservatory of Contemporary Music is also pretty
famous and although The Academy in London is less well-known, they’ve got some
excellent modules on offer.

C: But still, it’s always good to have a well-known name on your CV, even if Leeds
Conservatory of Contemporary Music and The Academy in London are good… What
about the entry requirements? That might help you to make a decision.

A: Well, funny you should say that as I was just looking at them. The Academy in
London requires an audition as does The Henry Music Institute.

C: Leeds Conservatory of Contemporary Music doesn’t?

A: No, they want candidates to compose a piece of music instead, before attending
an interview.

C: Don’t the others require you to do that? Compose, that is?

A: No, the others ask you to write an assignment stating why you want to join the
course first of all, but if I pass that stage then I’ll also have to attend a face-to-face
interview like the other two places with the head of school. Assuming that goes OK,
then I’ll be accepted onto the course.

C: Right. Sounds tough!

A: I know, but I suppose it’s for a Master’s degree so I wasn’t expecting it to be easy.
C: What about the fees? Are they all the same?

A: Well, surprisingly, the fee structures are very different.

C: Why’s that?

A: I really don’t know, but, for example, The Henry Music Institute is the most
expensive at £8,000 a year, next comes The Academy in London and the cheapest
is Leeds Conservatory of Contemporary Music.

C: Mmm… How much are they exactly?

A: Well, for a full-time course lasting one year it’s 7,000 pounds at The Academy in
London and 6,000 pounds at Leeds Conservatory of Contemporary Music.

C: OK. Well, what other expenses do you have to take into consideration, like train
fares for example? If you’re going to be travelling home and back during the
holidays, that’s got to be a factor.

A: I’m not worried about that, though insurance is an added cost as I’ll need to make
sure my instrument is covered. However, all of them require me to send in a check
for the charges for applying before they’ll process my application.

C: Is that normal?

A: Apparently …

C: Can I have a look?

A: Yes, of course. Here you are.

C: Ummm.

A: What is it?

C: Well, I think you might have a problem.

A: Why? What is it?

C: Well it says here that the deadline is January the 9th. That’s next week.

A: Where? Let me see… you’re right! Which prospectus is this?

C: The Henry Music Institute …

A: Oh no! What am I going to do?

C: Make your decision now?

A: Is the closing date the same for all of them?

C: Let’s check… Look here, Leeds Conservatory of Contemporary Music is on the

19th but The Academy in London isn’t until the 30th of this month.

A: Ok, I’d better hurry up and make a decision.

A: Right, now, apart from those three colleges I also wanted to have a quick flick
through Northdown College’s and the one from The James Academy of Music.

C: Look here it is, facilities at Northdown College.

A: What does it say?

C: Well, it has a library with a dedicated historical research section that’s world
famous.

A: That’s all very interesting, but it’s not going to make me go there.

C: OK, The Academy in London has four campuses all around central London. They
all have large common rooms and there’s one 24 hour cafeteria at the biggest site.

A: That’s nice, but for me the most important thing is somewhere to practice.
C: Yes, of course.

A: Right, now where did I see it… OK, here it is. Look, now this is good. Leeds
Conservatory of Contemporary Music has over 100 teaching and practice studios.
What a luxury! Here there are only ten and it’s really difficult to find one empty so I
often have to play in the gardens.

C: Oh dear!

A: Anyway, that’s the past and this place looks great!

C: Well what about The Henry Music Institute? Look, there’s a new suite with the
latest that technology has to offer and a small museum dedicated to the history of
music. That’s really impressive!

A: I don’t think I’m really that interested in using computer while making music, so
that’s not a selling point really. But look, this place is interesting. The James
Academy of Music. It comes recommended by lots of people in the music industry,
and all of its courses have a business element though as well as having a
professional studio for recording albums.

C: Wow! That sounds really cutting-edge. So are you any closer to making a
decision now?
Exercise 3

16 E

17 G

18 C

19 D

20 A

Thank you all for coming to our community meeting.

As you know, we are excited to unveil our improvement plan as we look forward to
the influx of tourists in the summer months.

I’ll start with a quick overview of the main points of interest in the area for anyone
who may not quite know his or her way around yet, and then I’ll get into the
improvements made.

First off is my favorite, the Science Museum, which is on the corner of Saint George
Road.

If you have not visited it yet, I encourage you to go before the busy season.

It is absolutely spectacular - there is even a flight simulator you can try out!

Just west of the Science Museum is the National History Museum.

It’s a site not to be missed as well, with each floor devoted to a different era in our
nation’s history.

There are special exhibits for children with interactive games and fun history
lessons, too.

If you’re looking for parking, it is available on the intersection of Queen Street and
South King Street in the Car Park.

Standard hourly and daily rates do apply.

The best place for souvenirs is the Shopping Mall, though it gets extremely busy
during peak times.
You can get there from the tube, or the entrance on Timber Road, just south of
Cornwell Road.

This area has students everywhere, usually from the Primary School across the
street from the Shopping Mall.

Classes often take field trips and engage in guided tours through the area.

So that’s the overview of the main sites and hopefully by now I’ve given you a
general idea of the area.

Now I’m going to outline the improvements we have made in our efforts to make
the experience even better for each and every one of our visitors.

You probably noticed when you first drove into the Car Park this morning, that there
is now additional signage to help avoid confusion.

The directions were not entirely clear at first, so we have increased the number of
one-way signs indicating the correct direction of traffic flow.

Not far from there, in line with our mission of giving back to the community, we
constructed a brand new playground for the Primary School.

It is really something to be excited for - the equipment is state-of-the-art and

includes swings, a small climbing wall, and even an obstacle course.

Now we’ll head north and take a look at the Science Museum.

In response to our feedback from past visitors to the museum, there is now free
information available outlining not only upcoming IMAX showings, but also natural
wonders like meteor showers, eclipses, and other cool natural events.

The Science Museum isn’t the only Museum improving the experience of its visitors.

The National History Museum has added an entire new wing to its facility to
accommodate the large crowds of people gathering to see the Civil War exhibit,
inventions timeline exhibit, and other wonderful sections of the museum.

The increase in space will definitely give a more calm, comfortable experience for
visitors.

And finally, remember when there was actually a line at the mall entrance from the
Tube Station?
It was terrible trying to get anywhere from the Tube because foot traffic got so
backed up sometimes.

We have addressed that by adding another entry point into the mall from the other
end of the platform to disperse the crowd.

So those are the major improvements we have made.

Clearly having too many people that want to visit and enjoy what our community
has to offer the public is a good problem to have, and I am confident that we have
made the changes necessary to accommodate the growing interest in the area.

As always, we welcome any questions, comments, or concerns about the new

improvements plan.

In a few minutes I will open up the floor for questions but you can also contact me
or any other board member by email or through the city website.

Thank you for coming, and I now encourage you to stay for the Questions and
Answers panel occurring between now and 10.30...
Homework

11 A
12 A
13 A
14 C
15 A
16 C
17 B
18 C
19 B
20 A

As many of you here today have worked in the hotel industry for some time, I'm
sure you have experienced the problem of high staff turnover in your hotels.

Every hotel relies on having loyal and experienced members of staff who make sure
that everything runs smoothly.

If staff are constantly changing, it can make life difficult for everyone.

But why do staff leave frequently in many hotels?

Of course, many hotel jobs, such as cleaning, are low-skilled and are not well-paid.

A lot of managers think it's this and the long hours that are the main causes of high
staff turnover - but what they don't realise is that it's the lack of training in many
hotel jobs which is a huge factor.

So, what kind of problems does a high turnover of staff cause?

Well, having to recruit new staff all the time can be very time-consuming, and
managers may have to cover some duties while waiting for new staff to arrive.

This means they don't have time to think about less immediate problems such as
how to improve their service.

When staff leave, it can also severely affect the colleagues they leave behind.

It has a negative effect on remaining staff, who may start to feel that they too
should be thinking about leaving.

So, what can be done to change this situation?

Firstly, managers should stop making basic errors which leave their staff feeling
upset and resentful.

When organising shifts, for example, make sure you never give certain staff
preferential treatment.

All staff should be given some choice about when they work, and everyone should
have to work some evening and weekend shifts.

If you treat staff fairly, they'll be more likely to step in and help when extra staff are
needed.

Keeping staff happy has other tangible benefits for the business.

Take the Dunwich Hotel as an example.

It had been experiencing a problem with staff complaints and in order to deal with
this, invested in staff training and improved staff conditions.

Not only did the level of complaints fall, but they also noticed a significant increase
in the amount each customer spent during their stay.

They have now introduced a customer loyalty scheme which is going really well.

Now I'd like to look at some ways you can reduce staff turnover in your hotels, and
I'll do this by giving some examples of hotels where I've done some training
recently.

The Sun Club received feedback which showed that staff thought managers didn't
value their opinions.

They weren't made to feel they were partners who were contributing to the success
of the business as a whole.

This situation has changed.

Junior staff at all levels are regularly invited to meetings where their ideas are
welcomed.

A year ago, The Portland recognised the need to invest in staff retention.

Their first step was to introduce a scheme for recognising talent amongst their
employees.
The hope is that organising training for individuals with management potential will
encourage them to stay with the business.

At Bluewater, managers decided to recognise 50 high achievers from across the

company's huge hotel chain.

As a reward, they're sent on an all-expenses-paid trip abroad every year.

Fun is an important element in the trips, but there's also the opportunity to learn
something useful.

This year's trip included a visit to a brewery, where staff learned about the new
beer that would be served in the hotel.

Pentlow Hotels identified that retention of junior reception staff was an issue.

In order to encourage them to see that working in a hotel could be worthwhile and
rewarding, with good prospects, they introduced a management programme.

These staff were given additional responsibilities and the chance to work in various
roles in the hotel.

Green Planet wanted to be seen as a caring employer.

To make life easier for staff, many of whom had childcare responsibilities, the hotel
began issuing vouchers to help cover the cost of childcare.

Louise Marsh at The Amesbury has one of the best staff retention rates in the
business.

Since she joined the company, she has made a huge effort to achieve this by
creating a co-operative and supportive environment.

For her, the staff are part of a large family where everyone is valued.

OK, now I'd like to …

 Lesson 8

Section 1

1.​ Anthony
2.​ 1st June
3.​ University Hall
4.​ Health for Life
5.​ September 2006
6.​ In the distance
7.​ For driving
8.​ The full frame
9.​ They are strong
10.​In/by cash

Section 2

11.​C
12.​A
13.​The Main Gateway
14.​The sixteen flower beds
15.​A /The raised pond
16.​A /The Mosque
17.​C
18.​River
19.​Supply tanks
20.​Fountains
Section 3

21.​B
22.​C
23.​A
24.​B
25.​B
26.​C
27.​B
28.​A
29.​C
30.​A

Section 4

31.​Rules
32.​Speed
33.​Conversation
34.​Grandmother
35.​Us and we
36.​Repeat
37.​Space out
38.​Football pitch
39.​First sentence
40.​Reading (it) aloud
SECTION 1
You will hear a conversation between an optometrist and a patient who has come
for an eye test.

Optometrist: Good morning, can I help you?

Simon Lee: Yes. I’m here for an appointment at ten o’clock with the optometrist . I’m
a little early. I know it’s only ten to ten.

Optometrist: Are you Simon Lee?

Simon Lee: Yes, I am.

Optometrist: I’m Rachel White, the optometrist here today. Come in and take a seat.

Simon Lee: Thanks.

Optometrist: Before we test your eyes, I just need to get a few details from you. So,
Simon, what’s your full name?

Simon Lee: Simon Anthony — that’s A-N-T-H-O-N• Y. And my family name is Lee:
L double E.

Optometrist: And your date of birth, Simon?

Simon Lee: The 1st of June, 1989.

Optometrist: The 21st of June.

Simon Lee: No. The first of June.

Optometrist: Whoops… sony! 1989 – ah, same year my son was bom! What’s your
current address?

Simon Lee: I’m living at a hall of residence .

Optometrist: Which one?

Simon Lee: At University Hall, not far from here, in Adams terrace .

Optometrist: University Hall… And do you have any medical insurance ?

Simon Lee: Yes, I’m fully covered

Optometrist: And who are you insured with?

Simon Lee: I’m with ’Health for life’.

Optometrist: Healthy Life.

Simon Lee: No. People always get that wrong. It’s Health for Life. They’re part of
some big insurance company .

Optometrist: Good! Now, Simon. Have you ever had your eyes tested before?

Simon Lee: Yes, once. But not recently. It was when I was still at school.

Optometrist: So roughly when would that have been?

Simon Lee: Probably around September 2007. No, on second thoughts, it must’ve
been the year before – September 2006. And my eyesight was fine then.

Optometrist: But you’re having a little difficulty now, are you?

Simon Lee: Well, yes … since I started at university, I’ve been having difficulty with
distance vision. I can’t always see things in the distance.

Optometrist: Well, let’s have a look. Now I’m just going to cover your left eye. Can
you read the top line?

Simon Lee: Yes. R… B… Q… S…

Optometrist: Well, Simon. Your eyes have obviously got a little worse since your
last test and I think you’re going to need to wear glasses … er… not all the time and
… not so much for reading or close work but definitely for driving.

Simon Lee: Right. Yes. I thought that was probably the case.

Optometrist: So now you need to choose some frames. There’s a wide range to
choose from, as you can see.

Simon Lee: Can you give me some idea of the difference in cost? I quite liked the
idea of some frameless glasses.

Optometrist: Mm… Did you? Well, the prices vary enormously , like everything, but
the frameless ones are the most expensive. The cheapest are the ones with the full
frame.

Simon Lee: Mm, perhaps I’d better go for those.

Optometrist: Or why not try these ones with the half frame?

Simon Lee: They’re not too bad.

Optometrist: Yes. They look quite nice and they’re strong far less likely to break than
the frameless ones.

Simon Lee: Oh, that’s a good point. OK, I think I’ll take those ones.

Optometrist: If you pop back next Monday, I should have them ready for you. And
you can pay for them when you pick them up.

Simon Lee: Thanks very much. Can I pay by credit card?

Optometrist: You can, but there will be a slight charge if you do that.

Simon Lee: Right. I’ll pay by cash then, if you don’t mind.
Optometrist: No problem. Cash, credit card, debit card. All the same to us. See you
on Monday.

SECTION 2
You will hear an extract from an audio guide to the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is the most popular tourist attraction in India. It is also one of the
most spectacular buildings of the world, and is considered as a symbol of love. But
how many people realise that it was actually built as a tomb or burial place for the
Emperor’s wife?

The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan to commemorate his
beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal when she died, and, although this was not his original
intention, for he had planned to build a black marble tomb for himself, they both lie
side by side in the tomb today. Emperor Shahjahan’s two greatest passions were
architecture and jewellery and both are represented here in all their splendor .

The most skilled architects and craftsmen came from across India and countries as
far away as Persia and Turkey. Much of the structure was built in white marble that
was carried by a thousand elephants all the way from the Indian region of
Rajasthan some 300km away. Crystal and jade came from China, sapphires from Sri
Lanka and turquoise from Tibet.

But there’s a lot more to the Taj Mahal than just the tomb, so let’s have a look at the
overall plan before we take a walk through the magnificent gardens. Your tour
begins here at the point marked with an X on the plan. This is known as The Main
Gateway. Walk through the gate and you come into an magnificent garden. There
are two marble canals studded with fountains, which cross in the centre of the
garden, dividing it into four equal squares. Each of these four quarters is then
subdivided into flower beds. So there are 16 flower beds altogether. The tomb
stands majestically at the north end, not in the centre as you might have expected
Instead, at the centre of the garden, halfway between the tomb and the gateway ,
there’s a raised pond which provides a reflection of the Taj Mahal. It’s a magnificent
sight. On either side of the tomb there are buildings made of red sandstone . The
one to the west – to the left on our plan – is a mosque. It faces towards Mecca and
is used for prayer. On the east side of the Teg is a building known as the Rest
House. It’s like the twin of the mosque, but because it faces away from Mecca, it
was never used for prayer .

Many people have asked what the Rest House was for. Was it a place for pilgrims
to stay? Was it a meeting hall of some kind? Perhaps the most likely answer to this
question is that its purpose is purely aesthetic, to act as a visual balance for the
mosque and to preserve the symmetry of the design of the whole complex.

Let’s have a look at some of the engineering features of the garden. For one thing,
they require a constant supply of running water. When it was built, water was
drawn from the river manually , using an elaborate rope and bucket system, pulled
by a team of bullocks. The water was then brought through a broad water channel
and held in a number of supply tanks. These tanks were at varying heights off the
ground and were ingeniously designed to store the very large amounts of water
required. Using an elaborate system of underground pipes, the water was then
distributed from the supply tanks to each of the fountains. To ensure that the water
pressure was the same throughout the garden, there was a copper pot under each
fountain connected to the water supply. It was undoubtedly a brilliant system.

SECTION 3
You will hear a tutor and two students discussing the crop rice.

Tutor Good morning, everyone. So ... following on from our tutorial on European
agriculture last week, Daisy and Erik are going to talk about the most commonly
grown crop in Asia, which is, of course, rice. Erik, can you tell us what you’ve been
working on?

Erik Yes, sure ... We’ve been looking at the role of rice in a number of countries, how
it’s grown, ways of increasing production. As I’m sure you know, rice is the staple
diet throughout Asia and, in fact, 90 per cent of the world’s rice is grown and eaten
there. Daisy’s got some background on that.

Daisy Um ... well, rice was originally a wild plant which started out in the tropical
regions of Asia, but there are literally hundreds of varieties today and each with
different qualities. For instance, one will survive floods, while another will grow in
relatively dry conditions. A third has a really lovely smell. But wherever it grows,
rice needs a lot of water.

Tutor What do you mean by‘a lot’?

Erik Well, it takes about 5,000 litres to get a kilogram of rice. This can be supplied
either naturally or by irrigation. And as most rice­growing countries suffer from
unpredictable weather, including drought - water management really is the key.

Daisy Research has become so important now that each rice-growing country in
Asia has its own research institute, whether we’re talking about Japan, China or
Bangladesh ... and they’re all co-ordinated by a group in the Philippines called the
International Rice Research Institute.

Tutor Interesting.

Daisy Bangladesh, for instance, has been successfully using different rice varieties
and fertilizers for 30 years. But because it’s such a flat, delta country, it’s very
difficult for the water to drain away after the monsoon season, so they need to find
special rice crops that can survive the floods. And with global warming, the
situation is more urgent than ever.

Erik Now I’d like to move on to our comparative study. As you can imagine, China is
the world’s biggest rice producing country. Collectively the Chinese people
probably eat more than three billion bowls of rice every day!

Tutor Quite a statistic!

Erik And of course, rice plays an important cultural role too.

Daisy We then compared China to Thailand. You know, even though Thailand only
has about 64 million people, it is the world’s number one exporter of rice. Not China
as you might imagine.

Tutor Is that so?

Erik Yes. They send their rice everywhere ... in particular to Europe, as well as Africa
and the Middle East. Apparently the fact that ‘jasmine rice’ is growing in popularity
is one reason why Thailand’s rice export industry is doing so well. People want
something a bit different.

Daisy And, of course, Thailand is well suited to rice growing-good climatic

conditions, and lots of fresh water.

Erik Going back to China for a minute, we should mention that at the rice research
institute in Hangzhou they are working on ways of improving rice yields, using less
water.

Tutor By yields you mean ... the amount they can grow?

Erik Yes. They’re trying to find ways to get more rice from less land, improve the
taste, but also have other things in it besides carbohydrates so that it’s healthier -
better for you.

Tutor Good idea, considering it’s the staple food.

Erik And then you’ve got Japan, which is totally self-sufficient when it comes to rice.
This is basically because they have a high tariff on imported rice, so everyone buys
the home­grown product. And they don’t export much.

Daisy Yes, but you know, even though rice is a kind of sacred crop there,
consumption is only half what it was in the 1960s. This trend isn’t evident in
Thailand or China.

Tutor Interesting that you mentioned how rice is almost sacred in Japan. Because I
believe in Thailand it also plays an important cultural role.

Daisy Absolutely! They have the ‘royal ploughing ceremony’ every year, which the
King always attends and he actually scatters a new stock of seed to the farmers,
who pour into Bangkok for the event.

Tutor What about the global interest in organic farming? Is there such a thing as
organically grown rice?
Erik Yes - indeed. And the Japanese are getting quite a taste for it. apparently.
There’s an experimental farm near the city of Akita in the Japanese rice belt -
famous for its Sake, by the way - which has pioneered organic rice production, and
now it’s sold all across the country. It’s a bit like the recent popularity of jasmine rice
in Thailand, but that’s for the export market, of course.

Tutor Interesting how attitudes change, isn’t it?

SECTION 4
You will hear part of a lecture about writing for radio.

Lecturer We’re going to move on today to look at some of the key principles of
writing for radio.

Of course the main thing that you have to remember is that a radio script is not
written to be read, but to be spoken and heard. Now putting this into practice is
more difficult than it seems because writing as we speak involves abandoning many
of the normal ‘rules’ of writing that have been taught to us from an early age. This is
because we need to concentrate on how the piece sounds. Written words convey
information, but they don’t convey the full meaning of what you want to say... they
don’t tell you what to emphasise, what speed something should be read at, or
where the pauses should come, so these have to be indicated in a script.

Whatever is said on radio - whether it’s a link to a magazine programme, a film

review, or even a voice piece in the news - needs to sound as if it is coming from the
mind of the speaker - almost like part of a conversation - rather than something
that is being read.

Before you begin to write, it’s a good idea to know who you’re talking to, to visualise
a typical member of the radio station’s audience. If you’re writing a film review for a
local audience, for example, think about how you would tell your grandmother
about the film, or if you’re reviewing a pop concert, think about how you would tell
your friend about the band.
The words have much more impact if each person feels they are being spoken to
directly. So your tone needs to be informal - rather than using impersonal words like
‘listeners’ or ‘the audience’, you can make it more informal... include them in what
you’re saying by referring to ‘us’ and ‘we’.

Once you know who you’re talking to, the next thing is to work out what you’re
going to say. Don’t forget that the person listening to you has no opportunity to ask
questions, and in the same way, you can’t repeat what you’ve just said. For these
reasons it’s important that your script is logical and progresses smoothly.

Too many facts too close together will cause confusion, so space them out evenly.
The best scripts allow listeners to visualise what you’re describing. For example,
instead of giving the physical dimensions of a field, describe it as being the size of,
say, a football pitch: if you’re talking about a tall building, relate it to - perhaps - a
ten-storey block of flats.

Now, all scripts need something that will grab the attention of the listener. You
need something that will make them say, ‘Hey, I want to stop and listen to this.’ So
the first sentence has to do this for you ... it needs to be intriguing, interesting - and
then it needs to be backed up by a second sentence that explains what you’re
talking about. The last sentence should also give your listeners food for thought
and can be in the form of a question, or a statement that sums up the item.

After you’ve finished your script you need to polish it up and the most effective
method of doing this is by reading it aloud. This also helps you to avoid tongue
twisters or words that you might find awkward to pronounce.
 Extra test 1

Part 1: Question 1 - 10 Part 3: Question 21 - 30

1C 21614
2-3C,E 2214:00/2:00 pm/2pm
4smoking 23extend thesis deadline
5laundry 24reading materials
6quiet 25A
7non-parking 26F
8party 27E
96:00 am/6:00 28D
10front door key 29
30A,D
Part 2: Question 11 - 20
116 Part 4: Question 31 - 40
1220 31shooting star
13Venue 32solar
14court 4 33meteor showers
15Sunday afternoons 341833
16Coach 35comets
17Paul Bhatt 36fireball
18barbecue (dinner) 37white
19MVP 38thunderstones
20confirm letter 39June 30
4065 million/65,000,000
SECTION 1
You will hear a conversation about accommodation rules.

Advisor: Good morning, everyone. I’m your accommodation advisor.

Well, firstly welcome to Thomas House which is one of the most popular
accommodations in our university. I will give you an introduction about the house
and answer your questions. As you know, the building was constructed in the
middle of the 18th century and was used by the family of Thomas. That’s of course
how the house and university got his name. We repaired it and added some new
and modern facilities last year.

Student: Excuse me, advisor.

Advisor: Yes?

Student: What kind of facilities are there in Thomas House?

Advisor: There are three floors. A front fall and a dining room are on the ground
floor.

Student: Does the house have a garden?

Advisor: Of course.

Student: And a garage?

Advisor: No, we don’t provide parking lot to students.

Student: OK.

Advisor: A small Gym with some new equipment is on the second floor.

Student: Does it have a computer room?

Advisor: No. I mean a leisure room on the second floor and you can find a
comfortable lounge with big balcony on the same floor.
Student: How about bedroom and bathroom?

Advisor: They are both on the top.

Student: How many students are there in one flat?

Advisor: Four to six.

Student: I wonder if I have to share a bathroom with others.

Advisor: No. We provide every student a bedroom and bathroom.

Student: Great.

Advisor: There are some rules in Thomas House. Firstly, smoking is not allowed in
both your bedroom and bathroom.

Student: Does the house have a smoking section ?

Advisor: No. You can smoke on balcony or outside the house.

Student: Advisor, is there a laundry in the house?

Advisor: Of course. Laundry room is located on the right corner of the second floor.

Student: Sure.

Advisor: But please do not use it after 11 o'clock .

Student: Is it free to us?

Advisor: In fact, you don’t need to pay any bills which are included in your
accommodation fee. But you have to pay laundry fee.

Student: How much?

Advisor: We offer two coin-coin-operated washing machines. The large one is two
pounds fifty and the small one is one pound sixty.

Student: If the lounge has a time restriction?

Advisor: Definitely. We ask all students to keep quiet and do not make noise after
11 o’clock.

Student: We know there is a backyard in the house.

Advisor: Yes.

Student: If we can park our car there?

Advisor: No. We do not allow parking in our yard.

Student: OK. Could we invite some friends to hold a party in the garden or lounge?

Advisor: We only allow party on weekends.

Student: Fine.

Advisor: The last rule is to pay attention to the opening time of the Front Hall. The
door is locked at 11 p.m. and opened again at 6 a.m. in the next morning.
Remember to take the front door key when you go out early or come back late.

Student: How could we get the front door key?

Advisor: You can go to residents office building and get your key in Room 101.

Student: Sure.

Advisor: Well, any questions?

SECTION 2
You will hear an introduction about sports matches.

Good morning everyone. I am Mary White, the secretary of the Exciting Sports Club.
Welcome to attend matches arrangement meeting. I know you are looking forward
to a great season. Now I’d like to give you a short introduction to our arrangement in
this season.

This season we still have two competitions. One is tennis and the other is soccer.
Let’s start with tennis. There will be six teams competition. We hope the players’
ages are between 16 and 22 years old. While the number of soccer teams is only
four in this season. Because we hope all players’ ages are no more than 20 years
old. Now, in this new season there are some changes. The first one is the venue. We
will arrange all our matches for both the tennis and soccer competitions in Magic
Park instead of Darry Park which was used last year. Tennis matches will be
arranged on court 2 and court 4 will hold soccer matches.

On our match schedule, all tennis matches will be played on Sunday afternoons. All
matches will begin at 2 o'clock. Soccer matches in this season will be played at 7
o’clock on Saturday evenings. The joining fee is still 30 pounds including a new
sport gear. We still offer a week of training session before formal match for our new
players. There are two training session at 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on next Friday and
Saturday afternoon. The fee is only 12 pounds . Now I’d like to introduce the coach
of each training session. George Hansen who has been supervised the tennis teams
for over four years will still be coach this season. While, we will invite a good soccer
coach who has enough patience and professional skills to work as this season
soccer coach. His name is Paul Bhatt.

In addition, we offer some activities to thank all players. Please look at your
brochure. There are some activities and their time arrangements. At beginning we
hope to start the season with a barbecue dinner on next Saturday in Magic Park. I
do really hope all players will go there to enjoy the dinner and you may invite your
relatives and friends. Of course they have to pay a listed fee with just 5 pounds.

And then, after the final match in this season, we will vote this season’s MVP (the
most valuable player). The two players from tennis team and soccer team will gain
an honor and a prize from our sports centre. This season we hope all players can
send a confirm letter to us to ensure our match arrangement. So please write to us
before the deadline – it is on Thursday, 18th April. Our secretary – David Black – is
in charge of collecting fees and your letters in this season. His room number is 214
and his phone is 332567.

SECTION 3
You will hear a conversation about student thesis.

(knock at door)

Assistant: Come in please.

Man: Good afternoon. Oh, I am sorry. Is it Professor Lee’s office room?

Assistant: No. It is room 640 . His new room number is 614 on the right of this
corridor.

Man: Thanks a lot.

Assistant: You are welcome.

(knock at door)

Professor Lee: Come in please.

Man: Good afternoon, Professor Lee.

Professor Lee: Good afternoon. Come in please. I remember our tutorial time is at
two o’clock. right?

Man: Really? Oh, I am so sorry. I remember it is at half past one.

So, I… I go to common room to wait for 30 minutes OK?

Professor Lee: No, no. I am free now. Let’s begin.

Man: I am so sorry.
Professor Lee: That doesn’t matter. So, how about your work?

Man: In fact, Professor Lee, can I get an extension of time to hand in my work? I
mean I hope to extend my thesis deadline.

Professor Lee: James, you know extension is usually given only for medical or
accident reasons. So what’s your problem? You have a good beginning with your
draft. Isn’t it right?

Man: Yes. While, I… I’m having too many reading materials to read. Too many?

Professor Lee: How many?

Man: Besides academic journals I have about 15 books to read next month. I don’t
think I can finish them.

Professor Lee: Oh, darling, you do not need to read them all.

Man: What do you mean?

Professor Lee: I mean you can choose some parts of these books which can help
your work.

Man: Really? Could you give me some suggestions?

Professor Lee: Sure.

(5 seconds pause)

Professor Lee: Do you bring your reference book list?

Man: Yes. I take it.

Professor Lee: Let’s see. First, the book by Bayer, I think it is really worth reading.

Man: Read it all?

Professor Lee: Yes. The topic of the book is nearly the same field with you.

Man: OK… I’ll read Bayer’s book.

Professor Lee: The next author is Oliver.

Man: I heard that his argument is very strong. But the book is a little difficult .

Professor Lee: You are right. But I still recommend you to know about his argument
which will give you a lot of help.

Man: Fine. Do you think I should read Billy’s book?

Professor Lee: About Billy, I have to say his work is very good, especially his
research method, but you do not need to read it now.

Man: Right. The last author is Andrew. How about his book?

Professor Lee: In my opinion , the one by Andrew says the research findings – I
mean his last part is very excellent, clear and persuasive .

Man: I agree with you. I am reading the book now.

Professor Lee: Great.

Man: How about others?

Professor Lee: I suggest you finish these books next month and then we will talk
about others, OK?

Man: OK.

Professor Lee: Have you begun your research work?

Man: Yes.
Professor Lee: How are things going?

Man: That’s OK, except the research method .

Professor Lee: What’s wrong with the method?

Man: I have made some interviews.

Professor Lee: Yes.

Man: But I found that they couldn’t give me the data I need.

Professor Lee: Who are the interviewees?

Man: Some are our classmates and others are schoolmates.

Professor Lee: Oh, no. James. It’s better for you to interview some professionals.

Man: Do you think it is better for me to change another research method such as
questionnaire?

Professor Lee: I don’t think you will have enough time to design it and then analyze
your research data. That will waste you a lot of time.

Man: You are right.

Professor Lee: And pay attention to your reference .

Man: Reference books?

Professor Lee: No. I mean you should make clearly about what reference books you
read and then write them after your thesis.

Man: OK. I will make them clear.

Professor Lee: Fine. I hope to see your work quickly.

Man: I hope too. Thanks for your help, Professor Lee.

Professor Lee: That’s OK. See you next time.

Man: See you.

SECTION 4
You will hear a conversation about astronomy.

Woman: This is “Magic Time” from the BBC. I am Faith. In today’s programme we
invite a professor of astronomy. Welcome Lewis.

Man: Thanks a lot, Faith.

Woman: What magic information will you introduce to us?

Man: We all know the Leonids in August are coming, so today let’s talk about
meteors.

Woman: Good topic. At one time or another, almost everyone has glimpsed a swift
little streak of light dashing across the night sky. Nearly everyone makes wishes
when they see them and blame both good and bad luck on their presence.

Man: Yes. These sudden celestial visitors are meteors. We often call it “shooting
star”. The glowing trails are caused by the incineration of a piece of celestial debris
entering our atmosphere.

Woman: Many meteors are quick flashes, but some last long enough for us to track
their brief course across the sky.

Man: Right. Now and then, a meteor truly will light up the night, blazing brighter
than Venus – although rarely, even brighter than the Moon – leaving in its wake a
dimly glowing trail that may persist for minutes.

Woman: Lewis, can we see some meteors every night in one year?
Man: Yes. Under a dark sky, any observer can expect to see between two and seven
meteors each hour any night of the year. These are sporadic meteors.

Woman: Sporadic meteors?

Man: Yes. Their source bodies –meteoroids – are part of the dusty background of the
inner solar system . Several times during the year, Earth encounters swarms of
small particles that greatly increase the number of meteors. The result is a meteor
shower, during which observers may see dozens of meteors every hour.
Concentrations of material within the swarms may produce better-than-average
displays in some years, with rates of hundreds per hour. And we’re treated to a truly
amazing display in which thousands of visible meteors can be seen for a brief
period. The phenomenon is called meteor storms which are more magnificent than
meteor showers.

Woman: Ah ha! That’s wonderful!

Man: Definitely. The meteors that appear during a meteor shower seem to come
from one point in, the sky. This illusion is an effect of perspective, just as a roadway
seems to converge in the distance. Usually, meteor showers get the name of the
constellation from which the meteors appear to radiate. Such as during the Perseid
shower in August, meteors seem to streak from a point in the constellation Perseus.

Woman: When is the biggest meteor storm?

Man: According to records, in 1833 a storm of 60,000 meteors an hour shocked the
world.

Woman: 60,000? That’s unbelievable!

Man: By the 1860s , scientists had known that many meteor showers were annual –
including the normally placid Leonids, which produced the big storm – and that they
were somehow related to comets.

Woman: Really?
Man: Yes. But most of the meteors people have seen during one of the annual
showers arise from fluffy particles not much larger than sand grains. As a particle
enters Earth’s atmosphere, it collides with gas atoms and molecules. The particle
becomes wrapped in a glowing sheath of hearted air and vaporized material boiled
off its own surface.

(5 seconds pause)

Woman: Whether meteor is very near to us when it appears?

Man: No. In fact, it is an illusion. However even well-trained professionals can be

fooled. Such as airline pilots have swerved to avoid meteors that were actually
160Km away. A meteor that appears brighter than any of the stars and planets is a
fireball.

Woman: Fireball? That’s so interesting

Man: Yeah. Most meteors are seen 80-120 kilometres above the ground.
Sometimes, someone will claim to see a viable land on a hilltop, but in fact a real
fireball first appears at a height of about 125Km and loses its brightness while still
at least 20 kilometres above the ground.

Woman: Yes. What colours do meteors have?

Man: Usually, most meteors look white. but some also appear blue, green, yellow,
orange, or even red.

Woman: What will happen if a meteoroid gets to the surface of the Earth without
being completely vaporised?

Man: It will be meteorite.

Woman: I heard meteorites were long ago thought to be cast down as gifts from
angels.

Man: Yes. And others thought the gods were displaying their anger.
Woman: Really?

Man: As late as the 17th Century, many believed they fell from thunderstorms (they
were nicknamed “thunderstones”). Many scientists didn’t believe the accounts of
people who claim to have seen meteors and some experts were skeptical that
stones could fall from the clouds or the heaven.

Woman: Yes.

Man: One of the most significant meteorite events in recent history destroyed
hundreds of square miles of forest in Siberia on June the 30th 1908. According to
local witnesses a ball of fire streaked through the sky and seemed to enter the
atmosphere at an oblique angle. It exploded, sending out hot winds and loud noises
and shaking the ground enough to break windows in nearby villages. Small
particles blown into the atmosphere lit the night sky for several days.

Woman: So, nowadays, the prevailing theory holds that a meteor exploded just
above the surface?

Man: Yes. Most impact craters and basins larger than the Meteor Crater are heavily
worn away or have been buried by rocks and dirt as the earth’s surface changed. At
present, Chicxulub Basin centered in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is the largest one.
The diameter of basin is around 300 kilometres. Rock samples obtained by drilling
into the basin show that an asteroid struck the earth there about sixty five million
years ago.

Woman: Does that the same period with the dinosaurs disappeared?

Man: That’s right. Many scientists believe this debris caused climate

changes which made the dinosaurs not survive.

Woman: We do really hope that will never happen again.

Man: Right.

Woman: OK. Thanks for watching today’s programme. See you next week.
Extra test 2

Part 1: Questions 1 - 10

1.​ Reception Assistant

2.​ Driving License
3.​ Heavy Lifting
4.​ Meals
5.​ Certificate
6.​ Staff Uniform
7.​ Personal Information Form
8.​ Questionnaire
9.​ Role-Play Activities
10.​Video

Part 2: Questions 11 - 20​

11. Temporary Visitor​
12. Allergies​
13. Current Medication​
14. Registration Card​
15. C​
16. B​
17. A​
18. B​
19. B​
20. C

Part 3: Questions 21 - 30​

21. Beeswax​
22. Avocado Pear​
23. 200 Billion​
24. [Missing Answer]​
25. A, D​
26. F​
27. D​
28. E​
29. B​
30. B
Part 4: Questions 31 - 40​
31. Millennium​
32. River Thames​
33. 3.5 Million​
34. British Airways​
35. 135 Meters​
36. Tension Piles​
37. A-Frame​
38. Rim​
39. Passenger Capsules​
40. Boarding Platform
SECTION 1

Agent: Good morning. May I help you?

Student: Oh, good morning. Is this the Student Job Centre?

Agent: Oh, yes.

Student: Urn… I was wondering if perhaps you could tell me a bit about the job, you
know, the Hotel Recruitment Program that offers a range of work at the hotels in
the area.

Agent: Of course, take a seat, please. I’ll take you through some of what we have on
offer.

Student: Thank you so much. Oh, wait a second and I’ll get my pen.

Agent: OK. The first job is Reception Assistant at the Parkview Hotel. The Parkview
Hotel has quite an international flavour, so you’ll need to speak at least two
foreign languages.

Student: Sure, I can speak fluent French and Spanish, so that’s no problem.

Agent: Good. And many guests, of course, travel by car, and you may have to take
their vehicles around to the car park, so you will need to have a valid driving license,
and you will not be allowed to do the job if you haven’t.

Student: OK, I got that.

Agent: Right. And they also say that basic computer skills such as word processing
would be an advantage, although this isn’t a requirement.

Student: Well, I just got my Computer Skills certificate , so I have no worries about
that.
Agent: This is quite a varied job, and in fact I should point out that at certain times
of the day it would involve heavy lifting when guests’ luggage arrives or perhaps
deliveries come in. Is that OK for you?

Student: Well, it’s hard to say at this moment. But I’ll bear that in mind when
deciding whether to apply for this post.

Agent: Sure. Another job is general assistant at the Lakeside Hotel. To be honest,
the pay is rather low, but there are compensatory factors, for example, the hotel will
provide you with all your meals while you’re working, and they will also train you in
all the aspects of the job and then issue you with a certificate , which, of course,
could be very valuable to you in the future.

Student: Oh, that sounds great.

Agent: Now… the third job on offer is Catering Assistant at Hotel 98 smart new
premises . As you know, this hotel is popular with exclusive travelers and so you’ll
need to wear the distinctive staff uniform – which you’re provided with. Don’t
consider this job unless you’re fairly flexible about when you work, as the hotel will
require you to work nights for this job, and you will need to travel to and from the
hotel, as it’s situated just outside the city.

Student: Well. I’m afraid I can’t manage that because of the lectures.

Agent: OK, I get the picture. So, which one will you prefer, Reception Assistant at
the Parkview Hotel or General Assistant at the Lakeside Hotel?

Student: Well, I guess I still couldnt make up my mind right now. Can I have a few
days to think about and go back to you later?

Agent: That’s no problem. And there are a few things I need to clarify with you.

If you would like to apply for one of these jobs, you will need to follow the
recruitment process.

Student: Mum…
Agent: So the first thing you’ll need to do is to fill in one of these – a personal
information form. It’s pretty straightforward and should only take you a few
minutes. Once you’ve done that and handed it in, we’ll give you a questionnaire
about your skills. We then look through the information about you, and pass on our
recommendations to the relevant hotel.

Student: Yes, sure.

Agent: You will then proceed to the next step of the process and attend a general
course of training. This is designed to be helpful and realistic, so an important part
of the course is role-play activities.

Student: That sounds interesting.

Agent: Yes, indeed. And after that, the final step is that you will be contacted by the
hotel you’re going to work for, and they’ll post you a video about themselves and
the work involved . Watching this will constitute further and specific training for
your job.

Student: Oh, yes. I think I’m very clear now. Thank you for helping me.

Agent: It’s a pleasure. Bye.

Student: Bye.

SECTION 2
Good morning, everyone. I’m John Smith, the General practitioner of London Fields
Medical Centre, and I’m very glad to give you a brief introduction about our practice
and some suggestions about how to see a doctor here.

Our receptionists are usually the first point of contact and are here to help you. They
have a lot of information to hand and in most cases will be able to help you with
your inquiry , ensuring you see the most appropriate clinician .

OK, right, well the first thing to do is to register. We can only accept new patients
who live in our practice catchment area. To register with us you will need 2 proofs
of address such as bank statements or tenancy agreements plus 1 form of ID such
as passport or drivers’ license.

If you are foreign nationals, then you’ll have to register as a temporary visitor. Then,
fill in this form. It’s a medical history form. You have to give details of any illnesses
you have had. Then you also need to write down if you’ve got any allergies , OK?
This as well as that, we need to know if you’ve had any operations … and last of all,
you have to give full details of current medication you may be on. This as well as
that, you need to fill in this registration card – this is for your personal details, thats
your full name, address and telephone numbers. Okay? And we also need to make
an appointment for you to see the doctor for a new patient health check. It’ll just
take about 15 minutes, thats all. It’s just a basic checkup really.

OK, then, let me tell you something about the health centre. We have 5 GPs here –
general practitioners . We also have a practice nurse who looks after minor injuries .
She can also administer some treatments . We also have a chiro product . That’s a
foot specialist. She’s private which means you have to pay for the service, unless
you’re over 65.

If you want to see a doctor, you have to make an appointment first. Please call our
main switchboard number on 0207 9 23 8 100 to book an appointment at either our
main practice or one of our branch surgeries. You can also email for an appointment
on London Fields medical@[Link]. Urgent cases are seen on the day. If your
condition is non-urgent, you can expect to see a GP within two working days,
though you may have to wait longer if you want to see a particular GP.

If it’s an emergency , you’d better come straight here to the Centre, one of the
doctors can usually see you, or you can go to the emergency department at the
hospital in town. If you are very sick, you can ask for a home visit as well. On Friday
afternoons we have an open surgery which means you can come along and just
wait to see a doctor, but you may have to wait for several hours, so it’s much better
to make an appointment and come at the specified time.

Usually when you see a doctor you’ll be given a prescription for medicine which you
need to take. Or you can choose to go to a pharmacist in a chemist’s shop. If the
doctor decides that you will need the medication for a long time, you will be given a
repeat prescription form. This allows you to get a further supply without seeing the
doctor again. You simply leave the repeat form here a few days before you need it.
Then you pick up the medication at the chemists.

Oh, you may wonder how much this all costs? Well, there is no charge for seeing a
doctor – you can make an appointment anytime to see one of our doctors and it will
not cost you anything for the consultation. However, you need to pay for the
prescription and the cost varies with the medicine, but its usually just a few pounds.
Nevertheless, in some situations, such as pregnancy, the prescription is then free.

All right, do you have any other questions?

SECTION 3

Professor: Until recently, we knew almost nothing about how important bees are in
maintaining natural diversity. Now we know more about them. We know, for
example, that bees fall into two categories: wild bees and domesticated honeybees.
A main reason for the domestication of bees has always been the production of
honey and beeswax. We also know that honeybees are the dominant pollinators. In
addition to bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, flies and beetles , as many as 1,500
species of birds and mammals serve as pollinators. Many crops of commercial
importance such as almond, cherry, avocado pear, watermelon , cucumber, rely on
pollination by insects, and of these insects, bees are by far the most important.
Animals and insects provide pollination services for over three-quarters of the
staple crop plants and for 80% of all flowering plants in the world. The economic
value of animal pollination to world agriculture has been estimated to be 200 billion
US dollars per year. Pollination is one of nature’s services to farmers. So think about
this: if you eliminated the pollinators, it would take the food right out of our mouths.
We biologists never imagined we’d see the day when wild plants or crops suffered
from pollinator scarcity. But, unfortunately, that day has come. In fact, farmers in
Mexico and the U.S. are suffering the worst pollinator crisis in history. So… what
happened? Any ideas? Alicia?

Alicia: Is it…um… because of natural enemies? I read something about a kind of

parasite that’s killed lots of bees.
Professor: It’s true. An outbreak of parasitic mites has caused a steep decline in
North American populations of honeybees. But parasites aren’t the only factor.

Alicia: What about the pesticides used on farms? All those chemicals must have an
effect.

Professor: Most definitely, yes. Pesticides are a major factor. Both wild and
domesticated bees are in serious trouble because of pesticides. In California, farm
chemicals are killing around 10% of all the honeybee colonies. Agriculture in
general is part of the problem. Another example is the monarch butterfly. Millions
of monarchs from all over the U.S. and southern Canada fly south every year in late
summer. The monarch is the only butterfly that returns to a specific site year after
year. Unfortunately, the herbicides used in their milkweed in the Great Plains are
taking a toll on monarchs, and fewer of them are reaching their winter grounds in
Mexico. In a recent field study at Cornell University in the U.S., it was found that
monarch butterfly caterpillars eating com toxic pollen blown on to milkweed plants
near com fields had suffered significant adverse effects leading to death of nearly
20% of the caterpillars.

Alicia: Wow, 20%, thats so tragic!

Professor: And it’s more than that. There are over 1,500 species of butterflies in the
Indian subcontinent, but their population is dwindling because of environmental
changes. Many manmade environmental changes like deforestation, extension of
farming and unrestricted urbanization are threatening some species of butterflies to
extinction by destruction or disturbance of their larval as well as adult food plants,
feeding grounds and shelters. Many of the most spectacular and endangered
species have various levels of protection under local legislation. However, there is a
major trade in the spectacular tropical species for incorporation in ornaments and
souvenirs. The international demand for insects is greater than most people realize.

Alicia: Yes, indeed. I once read an article about another important pollinator – the
long-nosed bat. These amazing animals feed on cactus flowers. But they are having
a tough time, too. Some desert ranchers mistake them for vampire bats, and they’ve
tried to poison them, or dynamite the caves where they roost.
Professor: Yes, we must recognize that pollination is not a free service, and that
investment and stewardship are required to protect and sustain it, so what can be
done about this situation?

Alicia: Well, wildlife farming, you know, based on sustainable exploiting wild
creatures, can help to save endangered species like butterflies and their habitats.
Besides, gardeners, orchard growers, farmers and urban dwellers can switch to
more pollinator-friendly organic methods of cultivation to reduce wildlife exposures
to insecticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Professor: That’s rightl Actually, the focus of beekeeping needs to change from
conventional honey production to crop pollination.

SECTION 4

The London Eye

Today I want to focus on some of the major sights that attract tourists to cities, and I
am going to begin with the London Eye. The London Eye is London’s newest major
tourist attraction. It is a huge wheel designed to celebrate the Millennium year
2000, so it’s also known as the Millennium Wheel. It stands at Millennium Pier, on
the South Bank of the River Thames, close to the south end of Westminster Bridge,
and within an easy walk of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Though it looks
like a huge Ferris wheel, the London Eye is no fairground thrill- ride, but a slow and
stately way to experience London in a unique way. The London Eye is the UK’s most
popular paid for visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year.

The Eye was built between 1998 and 2000. It seems remarkable that a site that has
so quickly become a symbol of modem London has been around for such a short
time! It took fully seven years from start of the design process to create the Eye. It
was intended to stand for only a few years, but it proved to be such a popular
attraction that the decision was made to make the wheel a permanent feature of the
London landscape. The Eye was referred by British Airways, and for several years
after opening it was referred to as the British Airways Millennium Wheel. Today the
London Eye is under the ownership of the London Eye Company, a subsidiary of
Merlin Entertainments Group Company.
Constructing The Merlin Entertainments London Eye was a massive challenge. It’s
the tallest cantilevered observation wheel in the world, rising high above the
London skyline at 135 metres. It was a piece of daring innovation and revolutionary
design which combined the best of British design, architecture and engineering with
an exceptional team of experts.

So, how is that great wheel held up? How did it get there? The starting point was,
of course, the ground, and while parts of the wheel itself were still being
constructed in various countries, tension piles were being driven into the ground
beside the River Thames. This was the first step, and once these were securely in
place, a base cap was installed over them as a kind of lock, with two giant blimps
pointing up, onto which a frame was attached , like a giant letter. The wheel was
supported on huge A-frame legs, made up of 2,200 tonnes of concrete on 44
concrete piles set 33 meters deep in the earth. All this took many months and
incredible effort, but meant that the spindle could be installed, around which the
great wheel would turn. The spindle itself was too large to cast as a single piece so
instead was produced in eight smaller sections. Now the project really was in
business, and the vast rim with spokes like an outsized bicycle wheel could be
brought in. 64 spoke cables, which are similar to bicycle spokes, hold the rim tight
to the central spindle. And the view was enhanced by the capsule design; unlike
traditional ferris wheel designs that you might see at a local fairground, the
passenger capsules were not suspended under the wheel, they were set within a
circular mounting ring attached to the outside surface of the wheel. What this
means in practice is that travelers within the capsule have a full 360 degree
panoramic view, unhindered by spokes of wheel struts. And the last thing to be
built is the first thing the visitor encounters, the boarding platform laid down
underneath. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers; the rotation
rate is slow enough to allow passengers to walk on and off the moving capsules at
ground level. It is, however, stopped to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to
embark and disembark safely.