IELTS LISTENING TEST 16

SECTION 1 MAN: Hello? WOMAN: Hi, good morning, this is Talia from Parrot Bay Travel Agency. Is Robert Goddard (Example) there? MAN: Yes, speaking. WOMAN: I’m so sorry that I made such an early phone call, and I’m calling to ask a few questions about your most recent vacation – could I have five minutes of your time? MAN: Sure thing. WOMAN: Great, thanks. Now, I see here that you visited Melbourne. Was this your first visit to Melbourne? MAN: No (Q1), I have actually been there twice before. WOMAN: I see. Now, what would you say was your favorite part about Melbourne? MAN: Well, I did like seeing the exotic wildlife, and there are great sites to see, but I have to say I was most impressed by the amazing weather (Q2). WOMAN: Yeah, the weather there is amazing. Which of the sites listed as part of our official tour did you see, and of those, which was your favorite? MAN: First I saw the theatre, which was beautifully designed. It was not nearly as cool as the Town Hall (Q3) though – the building is a huge part of Melbourne’s history. Definitely my favourite. I saw the aquarium too, but wasn’t too impressed. WOMAN: I see. Yes, people often have great reviews of Town Hall. Now I would like to ask you about your dining experience. Did you enjoy the food there? MAN: Absolutely -I loved it! WOMAN: I’m glad to hear it. Could you tell me a little bit about what you most enjoyed about the food? MAN: Being such an international city, I loved the variety (Q4) – I could find any type of food I wanted. Whether I wanted seafood, burgers, or anything else, you name it and they had it. WOMAN: Did you drive to Melbourne? MAN: No, I flew. I thought about going by train, but in the interest of time I decided to go by plane (Q5). WOMAN: Right, I see. WOMAN: And would you mind telling me whether you are under 20, between the ages of 20 and 40, or older than 40? MAN: Er, it would be nice if I were still under 20. My vacation probably would have been quite different. Actually though, I just turned 41 last week (Q6). WOMAN: Oh, happy birthday! So did you treat yourself and fly first class? MAN: Ha! No way. I would love to have a budget that high. I’m more in the mid-range (Q7) income level. I wasn’t always though – I spent much of my life in a low-income household. WOMAN: I see. That answers my next question then, of income level. And what was the purpose of this visit? MAN: I had to go there on business a lot before and decided I would go there for tourism (Q8) this time. WOMAN: I see. And what is your occupation? MAN: I am mainly a computer programmer (Q9). I also write for a travel magazine on the side, which is why I visited Melbourne before, but it’s not my main source of income. WOMAN: I see. Wow, it sounds like you work a lot! MAN: Yes, I am very busy, which is exactly why I took a nice week-long vacation to Melbourne. WOMAN: I completely agree. Would you care to comment on your accommodation? MAN: My hotel was good value (Q10). Staying in the city can get really expensive, so it was nice to find such a good price for the location and quality. I’m glad I didn’t end up in some cheap motel in the middle of nowhere. WOMAN: I’m glad you didn’t either. Well, thank you for taking part in our survey, and I’m glad you enjoyed your vacation! MAN: No problem. Take care!

SECTION 2 TUTOR: Hi, Mark. Hi, Gina. What can I help you with? MARK: So we were hoping you could help us with this extracurricular project. TUTOR: Sure – what is the topic? GINA: Attending business school. TUTOR: This sounds like a great idea. So you’re going to explain the requirements for getting into business school? MARK: Not exactly. It will be more broadly about the experience – the academics, accommodation, and social experience that comes with being a part of the business school (Q11). TUTOR: I see. So would your audience be the general public? GINA: Well, we would probably want more to focus on members of the institution – we would especially like to reach individual applicants to the business school (Q12). TUTOR: I see. Now what form will this information be? You could give a talk to all the summer courses – all you would need is permission from the course director. Or you could pass out information outside the student union. MARK: Those are both good ideas. What about sending out pamphlets in the mail? TUTOR: Most college students never check their mail. Maybe you could make a video and show it on campus? GINA: That’s a great idea. We’ll do the video (Q13). TUTOR: Great. And as members of the business school, do you have an incentive to attract new students? If so, this idea is a great way to do that. MARK: No, the idea actually came about because of how much students like us worry about their studies (Q14). GINA: Yeah – when I got into business school, there were a lot of things I had not prepared for, so the video would cover a lot of things Mark and I wish we had known upon entering business school. TUTOR: Right. TUTOR: What would you talk about first? MARK: The first and probably most important section would be academics. TUTOR: Good idea. So would you provide guidance on what courses to take? GINA: We want to focus especially on the approaches professors take – their teaching methods (Q15). It is far different than what students are used to in high school, and even in liberal arts college. TUTOR: Good idea. And how long do you think you would spend explaining academics? MARK: We’ll probably spend 7 minutes on it. GINA: We also have some ideas for talking about housing, food options, and stuff like that. We’re not really sure how to tie it all together though. TUTOR: I think it would be suitable to title that section accommodation (Q16) – what do you think? MARK: That could work. We’ll definitely describe the different dining options at the cafeteria, and then walk students through flats and the grueling process of finding one near the business school campus. GINA: Okay – so we would cover specifics on the cafeteria, as well as flats (Q17)? MARK: I think those are both helpful. We could spend about 6 minutes on accommodation, and be sure to touch on those specifically. TUTOR: Great. Is there anything else you would talk about? GINA: We definitely want to go over the social aspect of attending school here. TUTOR: Of course. I think it’s good to have a little fun once in a while when you’re working so hard in school. MARK: I think we are going to introduce new students to the disco (Q18) that so many upperclassmen know and love. Maybe we’ll include a few other places too, but that’s the main one. GINA: We’re also going to invite students to the international evening (Q19) taking place in the first week of school as a great chance for our large international student population to meet a lot of other new students. TUTOR: It can definitely be hard to meet people as an international student. I think that is a great idea. You may want to spend slightly longer on this section than the other two. MARK: Hm… How about 8 minutes? GINA: That sounds reasonable. So overall, the introduction should take 3 minutes, and then the conclusion should take 4, giving us a total of 28 minutes. TUTOR: I wouldn’t rush your introduction. Maybe give it between 4 and 6 minutes. The conclusion, though, can be shorter since it’s just a quick refresher of each of the topics. Give that not more than 2 minutes (Q20). MARK: Okay. So in total the video should take about the same time, just more intro and less conclusion? TUTOR: Precisely. GINA: Alright – we are going to get to work on our video. Thanks for your help!

SECTION 3 You will hear three students, Steve, David, and Susan, discussing the different courses they attend. Susan: Well gentlemen, we’ve almost finished our second semester at this university. What do you think of all the courses we attend? David: On the whole, I’d say they’re quite good, apart from Social History, which I find to be a little too inexact. Steve: Yes, the lecturer’s style is also very very dull. Susan: I certainly agree with you there, although I would say that the textbook is more interesting. ‘Welfare State (Q21)’. The subtitle says, ‘An examination of social development in the 20th century.’ David: Yes, ‘Welfare State’ is a good book, but look how many pages it has. 458! Steve: I agree. It’s just too long to be easily read. Far too long (Q22), although it’s certainly well written in parts. David: Yes, and if you compare it to the textbook for Cultural Studies—what’s it called? Susan: ‘Inner Views’, I think. David: No, that’s the book for Media Studies, and we finished that subject last semester. The book you’re thinking of is ‘In Perspective’ (Q23). Susan: Sorry, you’re right. ‘In Perspective’. And the subtitle says, ‘A comparison of social groups.’ Somewhat interesting, wouldn’t you say? David: Well, mildly so, as is the subject, dealing as it does with such a wide variety of issues, but the book itself certainly oversimplifies (Q24) a very complex subject. Steve: I agree. I also got annoyed at its constant oversimplification. Life is more complicated than what it suggests. Susan: Yes, but what you call ‘oversimplifying’ may well be considered ‘clarifying’. Look at this other textbook, ‘Government in Action’. Some may say that it also oversimplifies, but it must do so in order to present a coherent picture of an equally complex subject. David: ‘Government in Action’? Which subject…? Susan: It’s the textbook for ‘Political Theory’ (Q25). Steve: Oh, I hate politics. That’s why I don’t like the ‘Active Leadership’ subject, either. And most of the stuff in that ‘Political Theory’ textbook is based on the American system. You see, it’s written by Americans, so it’s not even relevant (Q26) to us here. David: I’d agree with you there — it’s not relevant to us at all, since our government uses the Westminster system. Susan: Yes, I suppose that is a problem. Susan: Well, it seems we all have certain criticisms about the textbooks we’re using, but at the same time, we all like some elements, at least, of the subjects we’re studying. What’s your favourite subject, David? David: I’m not sure. I like Political Theory, but… Steve: Cultural Studies is by far the best (Q27), even better than Political Theory, which I also like, but just not as much. David: Why do you say that, Steve? I was thinking, perhaps, Social History is worth considering as best. Steve: Social History is good, but I made my choice because the subject is relevant to this modern society. David: But so is Social History, and I like the historical element, which the other subjects lack (Q28). Even Political Theory examines history only briefly, and in a very narrow way, so I’d say Social History is the most rewarding for me. What about you, Susan? Susan: I think Social History is certainly very good, but Political Theory is, in fact, the best (Q29), since basically, every human system boils down to politics. So, despite a certain irrelevancy in the details, the basic message remains as relevant as ever. David: Oh Susan, you can’t be serious. Let’s ask Olive, again. She’s over there. Olive! Which subject do you think is the best? Olive: Ah, a difficult question. I’m very interested in culture, so Cultural Studies is certainly my cup of tea, but I’m politically active also, and hope to pursue this as a career, so Political Theory would be the one I’d pick (Q30). David: I don’t believe it. Even with that irrelevant textbook? Susan: Don’t listen to him, Olive; you have a right to your own opinion.

SECTION 4 Good afternoon. In the last few lectures we’ve been covering the social and political pressures that influenced the rise of the rebellion of 1679. Today I would like to focus on the Pleasanton Town Market. Now, why are we talking all about some market? It’s not like it was the first market ever, or even a particularly large market. The Pleasanton Town Market is important because it is often mentioned in the literature found in the library (Q31). If you have ever been there, you have probably seen all of the handcrafted items sold there now. But what was originally bought and sold in the town market? In the beginning, the market sold products such as meats, furs, and simple tools. Over time, though, it became known as the place to find quality livestock (Q32). People came from all over the world to find the biggest and best cows, pigs, and chickens. In fact, the profits from the Town Market became the savior of a plummeting economy during a time of much turmoil. Not to be confused with the reconstruction era, a period of rapid development came about in the 1660s as a result of the market’s vendors contributing their profits to building up much needed public facilities and defense (Q33), which would later make a huge impact on the outcome of the war. For many years, the market flourished and began to draw in large tourism crowds in addition to the throngs of livestock customers. However, as revolutions in farming came about, more people moved to farms far from the city centre. Customers grew more and more reluctant to travel all the way to the town centre for their meats when they could easily choose to buy from local farmers near them for a fraction of the price (Q34). With such a fall in the profits of the town’s major profit generator, some quality town planning was needed. In the mayoral election of 1668, a young man of little fame just barely claimed the popular vote – none other than the now legendary John C. Wiley. Wiley’s first decision as mayor of Pleasanton was to deal with the quickly failing Town Market. The building with the large clock was a landmark that had symbolised growth in Pleasanton for a generation. Wiley decided to use the notoriety of the Town Market to set an example. During the historical Rotterdam Rebellion, Wiley gave all those involved lifetime prison sentences in the very same building (Q35). It stayed a prison for about 50 more years until they transported all remaining prisoners to other facilities and turned it into the historical monument today. Now that you know the basics of the history of the Pleasanton Town Market, I will introduce your next group project. I want you, to make a short film based on the real historical events that occurred in Pleasanton before and during the uprising. I will give you some class time to look through the library’s reference section, but you will be responsible for conducting further research outside of class. I suggest starting by looking for information on the market (Q36) itself. You’ll find plenty of information – in fact, some students complain that there is actually too much information on it. On your own time, you could find family members of old war veterans to conduct interviews (Q37). Sometimes they provide wonderful insight that you wouldn’t find in proper history books, but be careful – an interview that is riddled with bias is useless (Q38). I myself have some very old photographs (Q39) here that you are welcome to take a look at for some inspiration. I’m lucky enough to own this one of Jim Wiley himself! Very interesting to see, but does not provide enough information to add much to your film. Feel free to take this film into whatever direction you choose; You could even do a crime (Q40) thriller based on real outlaws. All you would have to do is look through the newspaper archives in the crime section during that time period. Try to get as much detail as you can, but you may end up having to draw your own conclusions. Okay, that’s enough from me, so let’s go on to…