IELTS LISTENING TEST 9

SECTION 1 Section 1. You will hear a woman who works in a furniture store taking a telephone order from a man. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. You will see that there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first. Good afternoon, MegaQuip. This is Sally speaking. How may I help you? Oh, hello. Um, I'd like to order some items from your catalogue. Yes, are you an existing customer? Uh, no, I've only just moved here from South Africa. But I picked up your winter catalogue in the city centre yesterday. Fine. The winter catalogue is our current one. As you're a new customer, I need to take a few details from you. The customer is using the winter catalogue, so winter has been written in the space. Now we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen, because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5. Good afternoon, MegaQuip. This is Sally speaking. How may I help you? Oh, hello. Um, I'd like to order some items from your catalogue. Yes, are you an existing customer? Uh, no, I've only just moved here from South Africa. But I picked up your winter catalogue in the city centre yesterday. Fine. The winter catalogue is our current one. As you're a new customer, I need to take a few details from you. Sure. Your name is? Oscar Greening. That's Oscar with a K. O-S-K-A-R? Yes. Greening. And your address? Um, York Terrace. Here in the city? Yes. What number? It's a flat. Number 52C. C. Got that. And would that be the same address for delivery? Um, no, actually. I'm out all day. But my neighbour can take delivery at number 5 York Avenue. It's just round the corner. Okay, fine. Number 5. I've got that. And will you be paying by debit card or credit card? Well, uh, I don't have any cards yet. I'll have some shortly, but I want these things this week, if possible. Could I come to the store and pay cash in advance? Well, I guess so. I'll make a note. I'm afraid that payment method doesn't entitle you to a discount. No, I didn't expect one for that. But what about my address? It says on the cover of the catalogue... Oh, yes, you're right. Of course, York Terrace is within the city, so you get free delivery and 5% discount on your order. Ah, good. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to 10. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. Now listen and answer questions 6 to 10. So, what would you like to order? You have our current catalogue, you say? Yes, I need three things for the room where I study. My office, I guess. The most urgent is a desk lamp. Is your catalogue number 664 in stock? 664? That's not Home Office. It's in the Living section of the catalogue. It is. I want a small one that clips onto the edge of the desk. Yes, no problem. In which colour? I'd like the greyish coloured one, please. Oh, you mean the shade we call Slate. Yes, it's a nice colour. And I wondered, could I get that when I come in to pay, rather than waiting for delivery? I really need to be able to read at night, and the lights in this flat are useless. Yes, I'm sure that'll be OK. I'll note down that customer will collect. What else did you want? Well, I need a chair which gives good support when I'm using my computer. I saw one in your Home Office section, and I think it would suit me. It's on page 45, item number, oh, um, 129. Yes. And it's fully adjustable, isn't it? Let me see. Height, yes. Back, yes. I'm not sure about the arms, though. Oh, that could be a problem. I'm very tall. What about 131 on the same page? That has adjustable arms, seat, everything. But can I get that in the same colour? I mean, the green, like the one it shows? Oh, they all come in the full range of colours. OK. So I'll go for 131 in green, then. Mm, I think you'll like that. My brother's very tall, and he uses one. We can make sure there's one on the delivery van to you early next week. Oh, good. Thanks. And so, lastly, I need a filing cabinet for my documents. A little filing cabinet with two drawers. OK. Two drawers. Do you want the ordinary one or the lockable one? It's an extra £20. Sorry, what's that? You can have it with a lock, which is more secure. Oh, yes, please. OK. So that's number 153. It doesn't by any chance come in slate, does it? Well, it's similar, but the commercial office furniture doesn't come in so many shades. So it's grey? That's right. Fine. That'll do. Now, about delivery, the two items will probably come at different times, as we have the chair in stock here, so our van will bring it, as I said. The filing cabinet will be coming direct from London, so today's the 29th of September, say not more than four days. That'll be delivered on or before the 3rd of October. You'll have them both within four days. That's fine. I'll drop in tomorrow morning to pay and get the lamp. Thanks for all your help. Thank you for your order. Let me know if we can do anything else for you. Thank you. I will. Bye. Bye. That is the end of section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

SECTION 2 You will hear a man taking a group of tourists around a museum site. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14. Welcome to Brampton Museum. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the museum first and then show you round. As you can see, Brampton is an open-air museum. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the 19th century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America, and there are several in Britain, all of which tell the history of a particular part of the country. Brampton focuses on life during the 19th century. The site was chosen because there were already some historic 19th-century buildings here, and others have been dismantled in different parts of the region and rebuilt on the site. This hadn't been attempted before in these parts, so we're very proud of what we have here. All of the buildings are filled with furniture, machinery and objects. You may be able to see these in other museums, but not in their original settings. What also sets Brampton apart from other museums is that the story of the exhibits is told not by labels, but by costumed staff like myself. I look after sheep, cows and hens, which are much the same as those you see on modern farms, but I use traditional methods to care for them. You will also be able to see a blacksmith and a printer, as well as other craftspeople. If you talk to them, you'll be able to find out what life was really like 150 years ago. Our programme of activities during the year has guided walks, an agricultural fair and all the other events you would expect a museum to have, but remember, here you experience them in the real surroundings. The site is divided into different areas. The main building contains our High Street, which is a street of 19th-century shops, offices and some homes. There's a stationer's shop, which sells a range of specially selected cards, prints and copies of Victorian stationery, all available for purchase by visitors. Upstairs, in the same building, a printer demonstrates the production of posters, business cards and advertising material. Across the street from the stationers is a clothes shop, and there's a baker's, where you can watch a demonstration of someone making bread, cakes and pastries. We also have a sweet shop, which has old-fashioned sweets for sale. Vintage trams travel along from one end of the street to the other, carrying visitors on their journey into the past. We will also be visiting the farm and taking a ride on a steam train. Of course, the main form of transport in those days was the horse, and you can watch horses being exercised in the old stables. This part of Britain was famous for coal mining, and on the site we have part of a mine which opened in 1860 and was worked for over a hundred years, before closing in 1963. Visitors can put on a hard hat and take a guided tour underground to see how coal was worked and to experience the working conditions in the early 1900s. Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20. Now, if you'd like to look at your map, we'll begin our tour. The site is a bit like a circle, with the railway going round the edge. You can see where we are now by the entrance, and we're going to start by walking to the high street. We'll go to the crossroads in the middle of the map and go straight on, making our way between two buildings on either side of the path. The larger one is an exhibition centre, but it's not open today, unfortunately. The other building is offices. The path leads directly to the high street building, which is at the opposite side of the site to the entrance. Here you're free to wander around and take a ride up and down on a tram. We'll then take the path which follows the railway line and crosses it to the farm. If you wish, you can have tea in the farmhouse, and there'll be time to look at the animals and the machinery. Then we cross the railway line again and visit our special attraction, which is the coal mine. It's just in front of us, here at the entrance. We'll return to the crossroads and walk through a small wooded area to the manor house. This is one of the original buildings on the site and belonged to a wealthy farmer. You can look round the house and gardens and talk to our guides who can tell you what it was like to live there. We will then follow a path which goes past the pond and will take us to the railway station, which is situated between the path and the railway line. Finally, we'll take the steam train back around the site, passing alongside the high street and the coal mine back to the entrance. So, if you'd like to follow me... That is the end of section two. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

SECTION 3 You will hear a conversation between two students, James and Kate, talking about their studies and part-time jobs. First, you'll have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25. Kate, I'm really busy at the moment trying to manage both my schoolwork and part-time job. Oh, James, that sounds like a lot to handle. Where do you work? I managed to get a job working in the local bakery, learning how to make bread and cakes. Since I'm studying business, it's really useful to experience at first hand how a shop is run and interact with the customers. Wow, it sounds really interesting. I'd love to come in and try the produce one day. Is it nearby? It's about 15 minutes away, which is frustrating because it's too far to walk from my house and I have to drive there. Despite the commute, my tutor recommended it to me as it's renowned in certain circles for being a very well-run and successful business. Is it a part of the Kingfisher Baker's chain? No, it's an independent family-run store, which is good because they're really supportive and eager to help me with the information I need. How do you find the theoretical aspect of the schoolwork? I find the practical work far more interesting, but my tutors are really enthusiastic and I get on well with my classmates, which makes the lessons a lot more enjoyable. Also, I recently found out that I can complete the theoretical aspect of the course within one year because of the practical experience I'm getting. Wow, that's great. I know, I was so relieved. I find the theory pretty hard to understand, so I was really worried about taking it for another year. Do you get assessed every term, or just once at the end of each academic year? No, there's an assessment every term, which is great because it really takes the pressure off. In the first term, it's really relaxed. You conduct your own experiments on your topic of choice, and then everyone in your class assesses each other as a practical exercise. It's just a shame that practical experience doesn't count towards the grades. Yes, that's true. Anyway, enough about me. What are you studying? Oh, I'm not sure what I want to study yet, but I've been making enquiries about the English language course. Do you know what career path you're interested in following? Since Spanish is my first language, I thought that studying English would be really beneficial if I decided to apply for a job in England. I really enjoy art and I'm very creative, but I don't think that becoming an artist is a very practical choice. I was thinking of using my passion for art in a different way, like working as a curator in an art exhibition, for example. Wow, that sounds really interesting. I think you'd be good at that. The problem is that the course is very expensive, as you have to buy materials yourself, and they don't offer any scholarships to cover expenses. I need to order a catalogue of the courses on offer so I can see if there are any other modules that might perhaps be cheaper to study. Luckily, the courses don't start until September, so at least you have plenty of time to get organised. I can't believe I have to wait until September. I'm already so excited about starting. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30. What other art-focused modules could you choose from? History of Art is my first choice, since there isn't so much expense involved. I think it would be really interesting, as they invite a number of guest lecturers from across the globe to speak on specialist subjects. That sounds great. What about Sculpture? Well, Sculpture looked like a really suitable option at first, since it's the easiest course. But again, the utensils and materials aren't provided, so you have to spend a lot of money on supplies. I'm also considering the option of Digital Painting. There isn't much reading involved, and the accommodation is located inside the studio, so you would never have to worry about commuting. Commuting is such an inconvenience, so that's definitely a big advantage. What do you think of Art Theory? That's definitely an option for me. There are no exams, as you get assessed on your coursework and research is conducted independently, so you can work from home, which is really convenient. The only other option is Photography, but I'm not so keen on that. Why not? I've just never really been interested in it, and I see it more as a medium for documentation rather than an art form. You're also required to buy one of those really expensive cameras with a digital display and micro-focus capabilities, which I can't afford. Well, let me know what course you decide on. I will. Thanks for talking it over with me. No problem. See you later. That is the end of Section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

SECTION 4 Now turn to Section 4. Section 4. You will hear a talk about a research project on the tiger shark. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40 on pages 7 and 8. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Good morning, everyone. Today I'm going to talk about the research project I've been involved in on the tiger shark. First of all, some background information. The tiger shark, also known as the leopard shark, is often thought to have got its name from its aggressive nature, but in actual fact it's called that because it has dark bands similar to those on a tiger's body. It is a huge creature, growing up to lengths of six and a half meters. It can be found just about everywhere throughout the world's temperate and tropical seas, but it is most often found along the coast rather than the open sea. In terms of feeding, tiger sharks tend to be most active at night and are solitary hunters. Their preferred prey includes other sharks, turtles, seabirds, and dolphins, to name but a few. However, it's not uncommon to find garbage in its stomach. This is because it tends to feed in areas such as harbors and river inlets where there is a lot of human activity. Now to the project itself. We are particularly interested in some studies that have been done in the Rain Island area. Observations here have shown that there is a large population of tiger sharks present in the summer during the turtle nesting season. However, during the winter months, the sharks disappear. So we decided to do some of our own research there. The first step was to tag a number of sharks so that we could follow their movements. To do this, we first needed to catch the sharks. Early in the morning, we baited lines with large bits of fish and set them in place. These lines were then checked every three or four hours. If no sharks were caught, the baits were replaced. Once a shark had been caught on one of the baited hooks, it was pulled in close to the boat and secured so that we could carry out a number of brief activities to aid our research. This usually took no more than about ten minutes and was carried out as carefully as possible to minimize any stress to the shark. Each of the tiger sharks that we caught was measured and fitted with an identification tag, and also a small amount of tissue was taken for genetic studies. For some larger sharks over three meters long, we also inserted into the belly a special acoustic tag capable of sending satellite signals, while on other large sharks we attached a camera to the dorsal fin to enable us to study the behavior and habitat use of the sharks. After this, the shark was released and we were able to follow its movements. So what was the purpose of all this tagging? Well, while we were already familiar with some aspects of the tiger shark's behavior and food sources, what we hoped to do in this project was to see exactly what factors affected the migration patterns of tiger sharks and whether it was, in fact, food, weather, and reproductive needs. These are some of our findings. On February 21st, a large female shark, whom we named Natalie, was attracted to our research boat at the northern tip of Rain Island and fitted with one of the satellite tags I've just mentioned. No transmissions were received from Natalie between April 2nd and April 29th, indicating that she didn't surface to feed during this period. The area in which she was last reported is very shallow, suggesting that she may have changed her feeding preferences during this period to focus on prey found on the seafloor. We also made a number of other discoveries, thanks to the various transmitters we used. It seems that tiger sharks move back and forth between the ocean floor and the surface quite often. This may help the sharks conserve energy while they swim, but it probably also helps them hunt, since this movement back and forth maximizes its chances of not being detected by its prey until the last minute. So far, our findings have not been conclusive. However, we have gained some very interesting insights into the behavior of tiger sharks and are now hoping to develop our research further. That is the end of Section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers.