(Section 1: You will hear a conversation about applying to a nursery school.

First, you will have some time to look at questions 1 to 10. [20 seconds]. Now,
listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 10.)

Manager: Good afternoon. This is Harmony Nursery School in Preston. How can
we be of help?
Parent: Hello. I'd like to enrol my son in your nursery school this autumn. Will it
be possible?
Manager: Absolutely. We'll need a few details from you, though. Are you a parent
or a legal guardian?
Parent: I'm the boy's mother.
Manager: I see. May I have your full name, please?
Parent: It's Meredith Scott.
Manager: And could you also specify your son's full name?
Parent: It's Samuel Scott.
Manager: All right. Our nursery school works with children of different ages.
They range between 2 and 5 years old. How old is your boy?
Parent: He's 2 years old at the moment. But he'll be 3 years old when he enrols.
Manager: Thank you for mentioning this. I'll note down his age as 3 years old
right from the start then.
Parent: My son loves being around other kids. He can't wait to join.
Manager: He certainly won't be disappointed. May we have your address?
Parent: Sure. It's 42 St Maurice Road – that's St M-A-U-R-I-C-E Road – Preston.
Manager: And what phone number can we use to reach you?
Parent: You can call me at (078) 7378 3066.
Manager: Splendid. Let us now discuss when you want your son to visit our
nursery school.
Parent: Tuesdays and Fridays would be ideal in our case.
Manager: Let's see. Tuesdays are certainly going to be available. But unfortunately
I can't say the same about Fridays. Many parents prefer this day, and our nursery
school is full on Fridays as a result. Could Thursdays be a viable alternative for
you?
Parent: I would have to reschedule a few appointments at work. But I can't see why
Thursdays wouldn't work.
Manager: Very well. What drop-off and pick-up times will you specify? We do our
best to cater to the needs of working parents. That's why we open early at 7 AM
and close late at 7 PM.
Parent: My work is somewhat far from where your nursery school is. So I'll drop
my son off at around 8 AM and pick him up at around 6 PM. This will give me
enough time to get to and from work without any haste.
Manager: Understood. Let us now decide on the group that your boy will attend.
There are two major groups in our nursery school: Blue and Yellow. And both of
these groups are age-based. The Blue group consists of kids who are 2 and 3 years
old. And the Yellow group is comprised of children aged between 4 and 5 years
old.
Parent: My son seems rather advanced for his age. He can already read and recite
simple things.
Manager: Perhaps we're better off enrolling your boy in the Yellow group then. We
will simply reassign your son to the Blue group if any issues occur.
Parent: Whichever works best for my boy, I guess.
Manager: There's also the question of meals to discuss. Our nursery school
provides three meals in total: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Eventually, though,
every child eats only those meals that their parents specify. Which ones would you
like us to serve to your son?
Parent: He'll certainly need lunch and dinner. As for breakfast, I don't think it will
be necessary. I always make sure my son eats a solid breakfast at home.
Manager: I see your point. We also require all parents to be completely transparent
about the health conditions of their children. Does your boy have any conditions
that we must be aware of?
Parent: My son is very sensitive to gluten and lactose. So I'll appreciate it if the
foods containing them aren't present in his meals.
Manager: We totally understand. Many of our kids are struggling with the same
issue, and we have a special menu for them.
Parent: This is really nice of you. I've heard that many other nursery schools
simply don't care.
Manager: Sadly, you're right. Speaking of caring, we'll also need you to mention
who will be the emergency contact for your child.
Parent: What do you mean by that?
Manager: We require this information for when we need to reach a child's parent or
legal guardian urgently – but can't. In cases like this, we call the emergency
contact, usually a friend or a family member recorded in advance.
Parent: Please, note down my friend's contact details then. Her name is
Courtney Heath – that's Courtney H-E-A-T-H. And her phone number is (078)
8161 9786.
Manager: Got it. Am I correct in assuming that she lives in Preston?
Parent: Precisely. She's my friend and colleague. We live nearby and we work for
the same travel agency.
Manager: Perfect. Perhaps there's something you'd like to me to clarify?
Parent: Yes, actually. How much will I have to pay for every term?
Manager: Given the number of days and hours that you've defined, we'll charge
you £480.
Parent: All right. Will I have to pay the entire sum of money up front?
Manager: Not at all. You can opt for either monthly payments or pay the whole
sum at the end of each term. Our nursery school gives a 10% discount to parents
who choose to pay monthly, though.
Parent: Paying every term won't be a convenient option for me. So I'll go with
monthly payments.
Manager: This will certainly be convenient for us too. Do you have any other
questions at this point?
Parent: Not that I can think of. Thank you for your help, though.
Manager: You're all set then. And you're very welcome.
Parent: Have a nice day. Bye.
Manager: Likewise. Goodbye.

(Section 2: You will hear a radio presenter discussing a topic on a radio

Radio presenter:
Hello and welcome to today’s program. Last week we talked about everything you
need to know before buying a new car, and today, we’re looking at caravans. Now
caravans, or trailers as they’re called in the USA, are mobile homes that are towed
behind cars. They are popular with holidaymakers who prefer self-catering
holidays as they can sleep, cook and socialize in the caravan, then hook it up to the
car and move easily to the next destination.
Nowadays, caravans are mainly used in North America, Europe
and Australia but they originated in travelling Gypsy communities that used
horses to pull the caravans.
Caravans vary from very basic models, which may be little more than a tent on
wheels, to high-end models, which contain several rooms with furniture, kitchens
with ovens, and bathrooms and showers.
We can divide modern caravans into two main types: recreational vehicles
and mobile homes.
Let’s look at the four main types on offer to customers. First of all, there is the
‘travel trailer’. This is a lightweight caravan that can be towed by a large car or a
small truck. Most weigh less than 1400kg and are made of fibreglass. These
caravans are most popular with tourists and can be parked on caravan sites and
connected to electricity and water supplies.
The next main type is the ‘fifth wheel trailer’. These caravans are popular with
full-time recreational vehicle enthusiasts, who often live in them for several
months in one place. These are much larger vehicles than the ‘travel trailers’ and
are more popular in the United States and Canada than in Europe or other parts of
the world, simply because the roads are wider there.
Next, we come to ‘off-road trailers’. These are designed
to handle rough terrain and are popular with travellers who want to
explore remote locations off of main roads. These vehicles have large tyres, and
are well equipped with tents, sleeping bags, vehicle repairs kits and first aid boxes
as standard.
Finally, there is the ‘double-decker trailer’. As you might expect, these are double
the height of normal caravans. When they are travelling on the road, they are the
same height as an average caravan but once parked, they can be extended to double
height to make room for additional sleeping areas up above. These vehicles are
often used on film sets as dressing rooms for actors.
Now let’s move on to…

(Section 3: You will hear a conversation between two students who are
discussing a school presentation. First, you will have some time to look at
questions 21 to 32 [20 seconds]. Listen carefully and answer questions 21 to
32.)

J=John
M=Mary
J: Hi, Mary. Have you finished your presentation yet?
M: Hi John. Yes, nearly, I’ve just got a few more slides to add, but it’s mostly
ready.
J: Oh, well done. You’ll have no problem meeting the deadline, then. What
subject did you chose?
M: Well, I searched for a topic for ages but finally decided on the history of
chocolate.
J: (surprised) Really? Chocolate? I didn’t know it had a history.
M: Yes, chocolate. It has an amazing story.
J: (sarcastically) Sounds captivating!
M: Actually, it’s not as boring as you might think. I bet there are lots of things you
don’t know about chocolate.
J: Hmm, maybe. Go on then. Like what?
M: The Mayans of Central America are believed to be the first to have discovered
cacao as early as 900 AD.
J: Oh, really? Well, it’s true, I didn’t know that.
M: Yes. Plus, the Mayans were the first to make chocolate. But Mayan chocolate
was very different than the chocolate we know today. It was a liquid made
from crushed cacao beans, chili peppers, and water. There was no sugar in Central
America. They poured the liquid from one cup to another until a frothy foam
appeared on top.
J: Hang on. Are you planning to tell me the entire history from A to Z?
M: Well, actually, if you don’t mind listening, it would be good practice for me. I
always get nervous for presentations and my tutor said I should practice with a
friend beforehand.
J: OK, fine. Go on then. I’ll listen to your presentation. So tell me, where did the
word ‘chocolate’ come from? Is it a Mayan word?
M: Yes, that’s right. It comes from a Mayan word that means ‘bitter water’. It may
have been bitter water, but it was held in such high esteem that Mayans called it
“the food of the gods”. Cacao was so important to the Mayans that images of cacao
pods were painted on the walls of stone temples and Mayan artefacts have been
found that show kings and Mayan gods drinking chocolate. Cacao was
often consumed during religious ceremonies and marriage celebrations.
J: So, was it only important to Mayans who could enjoy cocoa?
M: Not at all. All Mayans could enjoy cacao, regardless of their social
status. People would enjoy it the same way we enjoy coffee today.
J: Hmm. I’m surprised it was so popular if it tasted bitter. You said they didn’t use
sugar.
M: Well, cacao was highly valued for its healing and medicinal properties. So it
was almost like a medicine.
J: I see.
M: And also, cacao quickly became the force of the Aztec economy.
The demand for the cacao bean created a huge network of trade routes throughout
the region. When the Aztecs conquered the Mayans, they were forced to pay taxes
to the Aztecs. These taxes were paid in cacao.
J: What did the Aztecs use cocoa beans for? Did they trade with them? Cook with
them?
M: Well, cacao beans were very valuable. The Aztecs used them as money. They
paid for food, clothes, taxes, gifts, and offerings to their gods using cacao beans.
Having a pocket full of beans was like having a wallet full of cash. As far as the
Aztecs were concerned, money really did grow on trees.
J: Ha ha. I wish money grew on trees…
M: Yep. Me, too.

(Section 4: You will hear a lecturer and a librarian giving an explanation on

J=Jack
D=Denise
J: Hello everyone. Welcome to today’s lecture on the subject of how to do research
in the university library. This is one in a series of lectures organized by Student
Services and the Student Union for new students during orientation week to help
them get the most out of their university experience. Obviously, library research is
a very important subject for you all. Library research is the key to success at
university, and many students have difficulty with it at first. It is my pleasure to
welcome Denise Jones to the stage. Denise is a librarian here at the
university. Denise is working with the Student Ambassadors team this week but
has made time in her busy schedule to talk to us today. Welcome, Denise.
D: Thank you very much, Jack. It’s a pleasure to be here with you all today. Now,
as Jack mentioned, having the skills to use the library for research is essential for
students. The library has a vast bank of books, journals and online resources for
students to use but all too often they don’t know what’s available or how to find
the materials.
Most students are working under serious time constraints when they are asked to
research and write an assignment. When you are short of time, it is important to
know how to access information quickly and this will help you do your research in
a library more efficiently. So, first of all you should research your topic by doing
some background reading. A quick look at some basic information about your
chosen topic will tell you the range of information available.
A quick way to start is to simply look up the topic in an encyclopedia to find the
basic information you need to get started on your research, such as dates and
events, just to get an overview of your subject.
If your first exploratory research efforts didn’t yield much information, think about
narrowing down your topic, or expanding it. This becomes more important if you
have serious time constraints: if it is difficult to find broad background information
on your topic, how will you find in-depth facts if you have only 2 or 3 weeks to
research and write about your topic?
Now, once you are ready to find resources you have several options. First of all,
you could use the Library of Congress Subject Headings to look up keywords that
apply to your topic.
A good option is to use your library’s inter-library loan system. If we don’t have a
book in stock, we can check to see if it’s available in another library and use the
inter-library loan service to request the book.
Another good tip is to ask if the library has access to SAGE. This software allows
students to search for sources on your topic. The search results include
government documents, magazines and journals.
Finally, you can ask the reference librarian for help to get you started. Tell the
librarian what you have already searched for and what search terms you used.
However, don’t expect the reference librarian to do your research for you. He or
she can help direct you to the resources and relevant information you need but it’s
up to you to extract the information.
That’s all the advice for today. Remember, if you missed anything from today’s
lecture, you can look up the PowerPoint slides on the Student Portal. Best of luck
with your studies …