Listening Test 1

NarratorPart 1. You will hear a woman phoning a martial arts centre to ask about classes. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5.

NarratorNow listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.

DanGood morning, Riverside Martial Arts Centre, Dan speaking. How can I help?

LucyOh, hello. I'm interested in joining one of your classes, and I wondered if you could give me some information.

DanOf course. I'll fill in an enquiry form for you as we go, if that's OK. Could I start with your name?

LucyYes, it's Lucy Gillam.

DanIs that G-I-L-L-U-M?

LucyNearly. It's G-I-L-L-A-M.

DanThanks. And are you looking for a class for yourself, or for a child? We run junior classes as well.

LucyIt's for me. I've never done any martial arts before, so I'd need a beginners' class.

DanNo problem. Did you have a particular martial art in mind?

LucyWell, a friend of mine does karate here and she really enjoys it, so I was thinking about that.

DanI'm afraid our adult beginners' karate class is completely full at the moment, and there's a waiting list of about two months. But we've just started a new beginners' class in judo, and there are still a few places left in that.

LucyJudo... I don't know much about it, but I'm happy to give it a try. When is it?

DanThere's one on Tuesday evenings and one on Thursdays. The Tuesday group is for teenagers, though, so for you it would be the Thursday class.

LucyThat's fine. What time does it start?

DanIt used to start at seven, but we've moved it to half past seven, because a lot of people found it hard to get here straight from work.

LucySeven thirty suits me better anyway. And is it in the main hall?

DanNot quite. When you come in through the main entrance, you'll see the reception desk. The judo classes are held in the Garden Hall, which is at the back of the building. It's called that because it looks out over a small garden.

LucyRight, I'm sure I'll find it.

NarratorBefore you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to 10.

NarratorNow listen and answer questions 6 to 10.

LucyCould you tell me how much the classes cost?

DanYes. Membership is normally sixty pounds a month, which covers one class a week. But at the moment we have an offer for new members, so your first month would be forty-five pounds. After that it goes back to the normal price.

LucyThat sounds reasonable. Do I need to buy any special equipment?

DanEventually you'll need a judo suit, which is called a judogi, but you don't have to buy one straight away. We can lend you one for the first three weeks, and after that you can decide whether you want to carry on.

LucyOh, that's helpful. So what should I bring to the first class?

DanJust a towel and a bottle of water. And it's a good idea to wear loose trousers when you arrive. You'll change into the judogi for the class itself, but you'll need something comfortable for the warm-up. Not jeans, please, because they're too stiff.

LucyOK. Is there anything I need to do before I start?

DanYes, there's a health form that everyone has to fill in. It just asks about any injuries or medical conditions, so the instructor is aware of them. You can download it from our website, or you can complete it when you get here, but please arrive ten minutes early if you're going to do that.

LucyI'll download it. One last thing. Is there anywhere to park?

DanThere's no car park at the centre itself, I'm afraid. Most people use the one behind the supermarket. It's free after six o'clock, and it's only a two-minute walk from here.

LucyGreat. Thanks very much for your help.

DanYou're welcome. We'll see you on Thursday, then.

NarratorThat is the end of Part 1. You now have one minute to check your answers to Part 1.

NarratorPart 2. You will hear a guide talking to a group of visitors on a ferry to Holm Island. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.

NarratorNow listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

GuideGood morning, everyone, and welcome aboard. We'll be arriving at Holm Island in about fifteen minutes, so I'd like to give you some information before we land. First of all, a word about getting back to the mainland. The last ferry of the day leaves the island at a quarter past five. Some of you may have an older leaflet that says half past five, but that's no longer correct, so please make sure you're at the harbour in good time. The ferries run however many passengers there are, but in very rough weather a crossing can be cancelled altogether, and if that happens, an announcement will be made in the visitor centre.

GuideNow, there are a few rules on the island. Dogs are welcome, as long as you keep them on a lead. You're also free to walk wherever you like, so you don't have to stay on the paths, although I'd ask you to keep well away from the cliff edges. The one thing we do ask is that you don't give any food to the birds, even the gulls, who'll try very hard to persuade you! Feeding them makes them dependent on visitors, and it isn't good for their health.

GuideYou'll probably see some of our ponies during your visit. A lot of people assume they've lived wild here for centuries, but in fact they were brought over only twelve years ago. They graze on the grassland, which keeps the coarse grasses down and allows the wild flowers to grow, so they're really an important part of our conservation work.

GuideFinally, you'll notice that the northern part of the island is closed between April and the end of June. That's not because of the path, since the repairs to that were finished last year. It's because Arctic terns nest on the ground there, and they're very easily disturbed.

NarratorBefore you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.

NarratorNow listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

GuideRight, if you have a look at the map, I'll show you where everything is. We'll be landing at the harbour, at the bottom of the map. As you walk off the ferry, you'll see two buildings. The one on your left is a storage building, which isn't open to the public, but the one on your right is the visitor centre, and that's where you'll find toilets, maps and information about guided walks.

GuideFrom the harbour, the main path goes straight up the middle of the island towards the lake. Many people think the café must be the building on the western side of the lake, but that's actually the warden's house. The café is on the opposite side, on the eastern shore, and it has a lovely view across the water.

GuideIf you're interested in birds, there's a bird hide on the west coast. To get there, take the left-hand path where the main path divides, just before the lake, and follow it all the way to the sea. The hide looks out over the rocks, where you can often see seals as well.

GuideFor those of you who've brought your own lunch, there's a picnic area beyond the café, in the north-east corner of the island, not far from the cliffs. There are tables there, and it's sheltered from the wind.

GuideUp in the north-west corner of the island, you'll find the ruins of a medieval chapel. Not much of it is left, but it's a very peaceful spot.

GuideAnd finally, the main path ends at the lighthouse, at the very top of the island. Just before you reach the lighthouse, right beside the path, there's a small shop that sells drinks, postcards and souvenirs, so you can take something home to remember your visit.

NarratorThat is the end of Part 2. You now have one minute to check your answers to Part 2.

NarratorPart 3. You will hear two students, Maya and Tom, discussing a presentation they are preparing on noise in cities. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.

NarratorNow listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.

TomSo, Maya, shall we go through the results of our survey before we decide on the slides?

MayaGood idea. Well, the first thing is that traffic came out as the biggest source of noise that people complained about, which is exactly what we'd predicted.

TomYes, no surprises there. And nearly everyone said they'd made a complaint about noise at some point, either to a neighbour or to the council.

MayaRight. What I didn't expect, though, was the age difference. I'd assumed older people would be the ones who were most bothered by noise, but it was actually the under-twenty-fives who gave the highest scores for annoyance.

TomI know. I wonder if it's because they're more likely to live in shared houses in busy areas. Anyway, the other thing that really struck me was how little people knew about the effects on health. Over seventy per cent had no idea that long-term exposure to noise can raise your blood pressure.

MayaThat was a shock. Whereas the people near the airport complained a lot, which wasn't surprising at all.

TomNo. Now, about the presentation itself. When we practised it yesterday, the introduction took almost four minutes.

MayaThat's far too long for a fifteen-minute talk. Let's get it down to two minutes at the most.

TomAgreed. And what about adding a short video? I found one showing the noise levels on a busy street.

MayaI'd love to, but the speakers in that seminar room are terrible. Remember last term? I don't think it's worth the risk.

TomFair enough. But how about a live demonstration instead? We could borrow a sound meter from the lab and measure the noise in the room while everyone's talking.

MayaOh, that would really get people's attention. Let's do that. Do you think we've got too many slides, by the way?

TomThere are fifteen, but most of them just have one chart, so I think they're fine as they are. And Dr Harris said she didn't want any paper handouts this year, so we won't bother with those.

NarratorBefore you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.

NarratorNow listen and answer questions 25 to 30.

MayaOK, so now we need to decide what to do with all our sources. Let's start with the city council's noise map.

TomThe trouble is, I'm not sure how up to date it is. Some of the figures look much lower than I'd expect for the city centre.

MayaThen we'd better go back and check the figures again before we use it.

TomYes. What about the hospital study on sleep? That was really interesting. The patients in the quieter wards recovered faster.

MayaI think that should be at the centre of the presentation. It's the strongest piece of evidence we've got, so let's make it our main example.

TomGood. And what about the interviews we did with café owners?

MayaWe only managed to talk to three of them, didn't we? I don't think we can draw any conclusions from that. I'd leave them out completely.

TomOK. Then there's the article about the quiet zones in Paris.

MayaI really liked that, because it shows what a city can actually do about the problem. It would be a good positive note to finish on.

TomSo we'll put it in the conclusion. What about the data from the phone app?

MayaThe readings from the app are a bit unreliable on their own, so I think we should put them side by side with the official measurements and see whether they match.

TomThat makes sense. And lastly, the experiment at the primary school, where the children did tests with and without background noise.

MayaIt's a nice idea, but it was quite small. Let's just mention it in passing, rather than going into detail.

TomFine. I think we've got a plan.

NarratorThat is the end of Part 3. You now have one minute to check your answers to Part 3.

NarratorPart 4. You will hear a lecturer giving a talk about concrete made by the ancient Romans. You now have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

NarratorNow listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

LecturerGood afternoon, everyone. Today I'm going to talk about a building material that has puzzled engineers for a very long time, and that's Roman concrete.

LecturerThe Romans were using concrete by the second century BC, and they carried on building with it for around six hundred years. Many of their structures are still standing today. The most famous example is probably the Pantheon in Rome. Its dome was completed nearly nineteen hundred years ago, and it's still the largest dome in the world made of concrete without any steel reinforcement. Compare that with modern concrete, which often begins to crack after about fifty years, and you can see why scientists have been so keen to find out how the Romans did it.

LecturerLet's start with the ingredients. The basic recipe was lime, water and volcanic ash. The best ash came from the area around the Bay of Naples, near a town called Pozzuoli. To this mixture, the builders added pieces of rock or broken brick, which made up the bulk of the material.

LecturerNow, for a long time, the durability of Roman concrete was explained simply by the volcanic ash, which reacts with lime to form very stable compounds. But a few years ago, researchers took a closer look at something that had been largely ignored: small white lumps of lime that are found all through Roman concrete. These had always been seen as evidence of poor mixing, in other words, of careless work. The researchers argued that the lumps were actually there on purpose. They believe the Romans used quicklime, rather than lime that had already been combined with water. This is a technique known as hot mixing, because the chemical reaction produces a great deal of heat. And the important point is what happens later. When a crack forms and water gets in, it dissolves calcium from the lumps. The calcium then crystallises again and fills the crack. So, in effect, the concrete is able to repair itself.

LecturerSomething even more remarkable happens in the sea. The Romans built harbours using concrete that was poured directly into seawater. Seawater is very damaging to modern concrete, but in Roman harbour walls it seems to have had the opposite effect. Over time, it actually made the material stronger, because the reaction between the seawater and the volcanic ash led to the growth of a rare mineral inside the concrete, which bound it together.

LecturerSo why don't we simply go back to using Roman concrete today? Well, there are some serious disadvantages. The main one is time. Modern concrete hardens in a matter of days, but the Roman version takes months to reach its full strength, and that simply isn't practical for most building projects. It's also weaker under pressure, which means it isn't suitable for tall buildings.

LecturerHowever, there's one area where Roman techniques could make a big difference, and that's the environment. Producing cement is responsible for around eight per cent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, mainly because the raw materials have to be heated to around fourteen hundred degrees. The Roman method works at much lower temperatures, so it needs far less fuel. Researchers are now developing new kinds of concrete that combine modern strength with the Roman ability to heal, and they could be used for structures where a long life matters more than speed of construction, such as sea walls and bridges.

NarratorThat is the end of the Listening test. You now have two minutes to check your answers.