(Section 1: You will hear a conversation between a tour organizer and a tourist.

First, you
will have some time to look at questions 1 to 4 [20 seconds]. Now listen carefully and
answer questions 1 to 4.)

O = Organiser
T = Tourist
O: Good morning. How can I help you?
T: I heard that you run tours and trips to UK cities.
O: We do, yes, we run three per week. One of them is always at the weekend and the other two
are on Wednesdays.
T: Right. And what sort of places do you visit?
O: Well, we run trips to most UK cities, but we specialise in places of historic interest and we
also run a lot of gallery tours because visitors to the UK often request those specially. We’ve also
started offering city walking tours and they’re very popular during the summer.
T: OK, that sounds interesting. I enjoy that sort of thing. What do the tours cost?
O: Well, it varies depending on the trip – the further away trips and those with expensive entry
fees to galleries and sites tend to be more expensive, of course. But generally speaking, they
range from £5 - £15 per adult. We do also offer special prices if you want to book for a group
of 25 or more. In that case, we can give a discount on the cost of the tour.
T: Right. That’s good to know. I'll keep that in mind. And what about the times?
O: We have a fixed pattern of departure and return times. We leave from here at 9 sharp and
return again at 6.30. It’s a fairly long day but sometimes we travel for up to 3 hours depending
on which city we’re visiting, so we don’t like to cut the tours shorter than that.
T: OK. And if I want to book a place on a tour, how do I reserve a spot?
O: You have to come into the office and sign the registration sheet a minimum of 3 days before
the date of the tour so that we know we have enough people for the visit to go ahead. If there
aren’t enough people registered, we offer a full refund, of course.
(Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you will have some time to look at questions 5 to
10 [20 seconds]. Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.)
T: What trip do you have scheduled for next month?
O: Umm, let me have a look at the schedule. We haven’t had it printed up yet as we’re still
waiting to confirm a couple of dates, but I can give you the provisional list.
T: OK, that’s fine. I just want an idea of what’s available so I can start making some plans.
O: Right, well, let’s see then. The first one we have planned for next month is the Glasgow trip
on March 1st. That one’s only got 12 places available because we’re travelling by minibus rather
than by coach. It’s a day in the city with drop off at George Square and then an optional extra
tour of The Mackintosh House – it’s the former home of a well-known Scottish artist. Well
worth a visit.
T: Hmm, OK, that sounds like a possibility.
O: There’s a trip to St Andrews on 4th and for that one we’ll be taking a small coach so there are
34 spots available. And, let’s see… the optional extra is the University Tour.
T: OK, I’ve actually already seen that so that one doesn’t interest me.
O: After that on March 12th it’s the Edinburgh Tour with 28 spaces. That one’s always popular
because the extra option is the Portrait Gallery. Then, it’s Bristol on March 20th and the optional
extra is the Arnolfini Gallery. We're taking the medium-sized coach with 20 seats for that one.
T: Oh good. I’d like to go to Bristol. I’ve never been before.
O: And then the last one is to London on March 30th.
T: Ah, good. I was hoping for a London trip. Does it include time for shopping?
O: Yes, there’s a free afternoon scheduled so you can use it for shopping or sightseeing -
whatever you prefer. The optional visit is The Tower of London. If you’re keen to go, do book as
soon as you can because there are only 18 seats available on the minibus.
T: OK, I think I’ll book that straight away then.
O: Of course. I’ll help you with that now. Oh, by the way, if you want more information about
any of the trips have a look in the local newspaper because we advertise there.
T: OK.
O: Or you can also pop in or phone my secretary, Tom Roper – that’s R-o-p-e-r - and he will
give you more details.
T: Right. Got it. Thank you very much for your help.
O: You're very welcome I hope you enjoy the trips.
(Section 2: You will hear a tour guide giving an overview of the history of Beamish
Farming Village Museum. First, you will have some time to look at questions 11 to 15 [20
seconds]. Listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.)
G=Guide
G: Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us today. Welcome to the Beamish Farming
Village Museum. First of all, I’d like to give you a quick overview of the history of the museum
before you go off and have a look around on your own. So, if you look over here to your left, you
can see the river that runs right through the middle of the village. It was because of this natural
source of fresh water that this site was an obvious location for a farm. The woods just beyond the
river are another reason as they provided both fuel and shelter. In these ways, the site was
very suitable for the purposes of agriculture from an early time and in fact there is historical
evidence that a farm in some form or another has been located here since the early 16th
Century and the landowner at that time was a Mr John Snow. Local archives contain data on land
use from this time and it is noted that livestock was kept in the fields over here between the river
and the woods. Over 200 animals including pigs and chickens were kept here at the time the data
was recorded in 1721.
(Before you hear the rest of the talk, you will have some time to look at questions 16 to 20.
[20 seconds] Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20. )
G: Now, I'm going to give you a plan of the site and I’d just like to point out where everything is
and then you can just wander around for yourselves for the rest of the visit. I've already pointed
out the river, which is on the left, and you should be able to see that on your plan – it’s the
curved line. Now we're standing at the entrance where the arrow is at the bottom of your plan,
and immediately to our right is the ticket office. You won’t need to go there because you've got
yours but just past it are the toilets. Always useful to know where they are. To the left of us by
the entry gate is the gift shop. That’s where you can buy guidebooks and souvenirs. Now, if you
look straight ahead, you’ll see that all the buildings are arranged in a semicircle. The big
rectangular building right opposite at the far end of the site is the workshop. That's where the
farm machinery was repaired. The building to the right of the workshop is the store. It’s the big
building, slightly at an angle. Now, if you look again at the gift shop on our left, the building
next to that, the long building, is the engine room, and the one after that, the building with six
sides, is the café. Obviously, that’s a new building but you’ll be pleased to know though that they
do serve very nice old-fashioned teas and scones. So, I think that’s everything. As I said, you’re
free to wander around yourselves but if anyone would like to join me for a guided tour, I’ll be
starting from the engine room in ten minutes.

(Section 3: You will hear a conversation between a male professor and a female student.
First, you will have some time to look at questions 21 to 30 [20 seconds]. Listen carefully
and answer questions 21 to 30.)
D=Dr. Jones
M=Maria
M: Excuse me, Dr. Jones. Do you have time to have a quick word with me?
D: Of course. Please come in.
M: Thanks. I'm Maria Gove and I'm taking your course in Marketing.
D: OK. And how can I help you?
M: To be honest, I’m having difficulty with the second assignment that’s due in on Monday.
D: What sort of trouble are you having? Is the assignment question posing a problem for you?
M: Well, that's part of the problem but I'm also having trouble getting hold of the books. I've
been to the library several times and all the books are lent out.
D: Right, well it sounds like you should have started borrowing books a bit earlier.
M: Mmm, well I had a really important assignment to complete for another course and I've been
spending all my time on that. So, I was wondering whether I might be able to get an extension
and hand in your assignment at the end of the week instead.
D: I see. Well yes, it is possible, but extensions are normally given only for medical or
compassionate reasons. Otherwise, it's really a question of organizing your study time better.
We don't like giving extensions to students who simply didn't plan their workload properly. What
did you get for your first assignment?
M: I got 72%.
D: Yes, you did very well indeed, so obviously you can produce good work when you plan
properly.
M: I don't think I'll need too much extra time, as long as I can get hold of some of the important
references.
D: OK, well since you did so well in your first assignment, I'm prepared to give you an extra two
days for this one, so that'll mean you'll need to submit it on Wednesday 9 am rather than on
Monday.
M: Oh, thank you. I really appreciate it.
D: Now, what about the reading materials? Have you checked out the journal articles on the list?
M: Um, no, not yet. There were about 20 of them and I wasn't sure which ones would be the
most useful or important.
D: Well, they're all useful but I don't expect anyone to read all because a number of them deal
with the same issues. Let me give you some suggestions. The article by Anderson and Hawker is
really worth reading.
M: Right, I'll read that one.
D: You should also read the article by James but just look at the part in the research
methodology that explains how they did it.
M: OK, James, got that.
D: And if you have time, the one by Roland says very relevant things, although it's not
essential. Perhaps just read the introduction to get an overview.
M: And what about the one by Matthew?
D: Yeah, I wouldn't bother with that at this stage if I were you.
M: OK, I’ll leave that one for now. Someone told me the article by Cole is important. Should I
read that?
D: Well yes, in a way it is important but just look at the last part where he discusses the
research results. Umm, let’s see… lastly there's Franks. I can't think why I included that one on
the reading list. It could be of some help but not that much.
M: Right, thanks, this is useful advice. Can I also ask about the assignment?
D: Of course. What’s the problem there?
M: It's the graph on page 2 showing reasons why people shop at particular supermarkets. I've
got a photocopy but the reasons at the bottom are missing.
D: OK. Look at the first bar on the graph. So now that indicates the number of people who shop
in a particular supermarket because it’s close to their home. As you can see, that’s the most
frequent reason given.
M: I see. What about the next bar?
D: Bar 2 is to do with the people choosing supermarkets near their office or wherever they
work. So, that’s people who shop in their lunch break or after work. Now, let's look at bar
number 3. This one indicates the number of people who are influenced by the availability of
certain products. Sometimes it’s luxury items or brands from a particular country that attract
people. But equally it can be supermarket own brands that are sold for the lowest prices. Bar
number 4 refers to those customers who choose their supermarket according to the cost of their
shopping bill. So again, it could include shoppers looking for bargain prices but also those who
shop at the top end of the range.
M: OK, now what about bar 5?
D: Bar 5 shows those people who make their choice based on home delivery options being
available. Most of the big supermarkets offer that option now.
M: Oh, that’s interesting. I would have thought that would be important to more people than it
is.
D: Mmm, and Bar 6 is the number of people who choose a supermarket due to the hours its doors
are open. Many people prefer to shop at weekends or later in the evening these days.
M: Thank you very much for your time. That was really helpful.

(Section 4: You will hear a lecture discussing the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone
Park. First, you will have some time to look at questions 31 to 40 [20 seconds]. Listen
carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.)

L= Lecturer
L: Hello everyone. Welcome to this morning’s lecture on the subject of the reintroduction of
wolves to Yellowstone Park. This is one in a series of lectures organized for the university by the
Environmental Society. My name’s Brenda Johnston and I am an environmental scientist with
a particular interest in this initiative to regenerate Yellowstone Park.
One of the most exciting scientific findings of the past half-century has been the discovery of
trophic cascades. A trophic cascade is an ecological process that starts with an animal at the top
of the food chain and makes an impact on creatures at the bottom of the chain. A classic
example is what happened in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States when wolves
were reintroduced in 1995.
Now, we all know that wolves kill various species of animals, but perhaps we're not aware that
they also give life to many others. Before the wolves were reintroduced - they'd been absent for
70 years - the numbers of deer had increased in the Yellowstone Park because there had been no
bigger animals to hunt them. Those deer had reduced the vegetation there to almost nothing.
They had just grazed it away – eaten it. But as soon as the wolves arrived, things started to
change.
First, of course, the wolves killed some of the deer but that wasn't the major thing. Much more
importantly, they changed the behavior of the deer. The deer started avoiding certain parts of the
park - the places where they could be trapped most easily by the wolves - and immediately those
places started to regenerate. In some areas, the height of the trees increased by five times in just
six years.
And as soon as that happened, the birds started moving in. The number of songbirds started to
increase greatly. The number of beavers also started to increase because beavers like to eat the
trees. And the beavers-built dams in the rivers that provided habitats for ducks, fish and reptiles.
But here's where it gets really interesting. The wolves also changed the behavior of the rivers.
Because there were now trees and plants with strong roots holding the soil together, that
prevented soil erosion. The river narrowed. More pools formed. This was important for wildlife
habitats. The rivers changed in response to the wolves.
So, the wolves, small in number, transformed not just the ecosystem of the Yellowstone National
Park but also its physical geography.