PART 1 QUESTIONS 1 – 10
This is the Listening Section. Please play the audio by clicking the Play button.
PART 1:
You will hear a conversation between a receptionist and a new student about the class schedule.
Before you listen, you have 30 seconds to read questions 1 to 4.
Receptionist: Good evening. How may I help you?
Amal: My name’s Amal Nouri. I’m a new teacher.
Receptionist: Nice to meet you, Amal.
You’re teaching Arabic, aren’t you?
Amal: Spanish, actually. I’m from Argentina. My relatives moved there a long time ago. You’d be surprised how big the Arab community is in Latin America.
Receptionist: But Spanish isn’t on tonight- it’s tomorrow, Wednesday.
Amal: I know. I just thought I’d introduce myself. When I came for my interview, I only met the principal.
Receptionist: Mr Andrews?
Amal: Yes, Trevor Andrews. I must say he made me feel welcome, especially since he speaks Spanish himself.
Receptionist: Trevor’s a lovely guy. We’re going to miss him when he leaves at the end of the term.
Amal: Oh, why’s he leaving? Has he found another job?
Receptionist: (1) No, he’s retiring. He wants to spend more time with his grandchildren.
Amal: Right. He did mention them to me.
Receptionist: Did Trevor also mention that he likes to sit in on new teachers’ classes- just for a few minutes?
Amal: Umm…
Receptionist: It’s the policy of the college that new teachers are observed either by Trevor or by the vice-principal. I’m sure it’s in your contract.
Amal: Probably.
Receptionist: Don’t worry, it’s all quite informal- you won’t need to submit a lesson plan. (2) In general, student feedback at the end of the term is taken more seriously.
Amal: I see.
Receptionist: One more piece of advice, Amal. (3) Don’t be upset about the fact that you’ll start the term with fifteen students, but end up with five. That’s just what happens with evening classes. People sign up for things without really knowing what’s involved, or something else comes up on that night. (3) The high dropout rate is no reflection of your teaching.
Amal: Thanks for the tip.
Anyway, the real reason I’m here, tonight, is that I’d like to enroll in a class. I saw in the contract that (4) teachers can take one class themselves, paying only 10% of tuition, which seems a pretty good deal.
Receptionist: Indeed. When I was teaching Keyboarding Skills, I did Korean and Car Maintenance.
However, for a few courses, like Life Drawing, where students have to pay for a model, or Cooking with Seafood, where the ingredients are expensive, I’m afraid teachers can’t pay only (4) 10%- they have to pay the full fee.
Narrator: Before you listen to the rest of the conversation, you have 30 seconds to read questions 5 to 10.
Receptionist: So, Amal, what would we like to do?
Amal: I’m interested in Sally Burton’s class called ‘Working with (5) Wool’. I read about her in the local paper.
Receptionist: Yes, she’s very popular.
Amal: She made those amazing sculptures near the Town Hall. I’d no idea that (5) wool could be ised in such huge artworks. I’d always thought of it just in clothing or carpets.
Receptionist: Unfortunately, Sally’s class is full. You see, she holds it in her studio, so she only accepts (6) seven students. And, we’ve already had (6) seven enrollments. I could put you on the waiting list.
Amal: It’s all right. My second choice was Watercolour Painting on (7) Tuesdays and Fridays. Yikes! There’s a class tonight.
Receptionist: Kostia’s class is also popular, but someone’s just cancelled, so there is a place for you.
Amal: Great.
Receptionist: For the first few nights, he’s in Room 14, but later in the term, when it’s lighter in the evening, he takes his class on excursions to the (8) river. There were some gorgeous paintings of the (8) river in our end-of-term (9) exhibition last year.
Amal: Sound good.
By the way, where will my class be, tomorrow?
Receptionist: I’m not sure yet. We’ve had to make a few changes, but I’ll give you a call or send you a text when I know.
Amal: OK.
Receptionist: Ah… I don’t think I’ve got your phone number.
Amal: (10) It’s 0212 064 993.
Receptionist: Double nine three or double five three?
Amal: Double nine three.
Receptionist: Thanks.
Lovely to meet you, Amal. I hope you’ll enjoy your time with us.
Narrator: Now you have 30 seconds to check your answers.
That is the end of Part 1.
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PART 2:
Voluntary Guiding.
You will hear a woman talking to voluntary guides at an art gallery.
Before you listen, you have 30 seconds to read questions 11 to 14.
Wendy
McEwen: Good morning. (11) I’m Wendy McEwen. Please call me Wendy. I train volunteers at the gallery, and it’s my great pleasure to meet you today.
To begin, I’d like to quote from a speech made in 1882 by (12) our first director, Eliezer Montefiore. He said, ‘The Australian public should be afforded every facility to avail themselves of the educational and civilising influence engendered by an exhibition of works, bought at the public expense.’ We now live in a world where the notion of civilisation is seldom discussed, so let me mentions some of its synonyms: enlightenment, refinement, and comformity with the standards of a highly developed society. In my view, this is what the creation and enjoyment of art can do for the public- comform, refine, and enlighten.
The idea of civilisation may be unfashionable, but an interest in different civilisations has certainly grown. Australian art is well represented in our collection- we have some wonderful paintings by Grace Cossington Smith and Arthur Boyd- but there are Asian and European works to rival those abroad. In fact, (13) the single most expensive purchase this gallery has ever made was a 16.2-million-dollar landscape, painted in 1888, by Paul Cezanne. Visitor will ask you for this figure, just as they’ll be curious about Cezanne’s career as a banker in France and his time with his lover in Tahiti. (14) Sometimes, it seems the public is more interested in trivia than in art, so it’s your job to inform about the techniques of production, the themes an artwork deals with, as well as the culture from which it came. Elevate cultural discourse rather than stoop to the level of the popular press. Bear in mind those words of Eliezer Montefiore.
Narrator: Before you listen to the rest of the talk, you have 30 seconds to read questions 15 to 20.
Wendy
McEwen: While guides are diverse, guiding is systematic. By this I mean, we adhere to (15) standardised delivery whether tours be for viewers on Saturday morning, for school groups, or for VIPs. (15) Standardised delivery means that guides give the public virtually the same information about the same artworks. Sure, we all have our personal styles, but the content needs to be the same. To that end, guides are tested on information before taking their first tour.
Guides also have to keep an eye on the clock. Guided tours last (16) one hour. Since the building is large, part of that time is taken up in walking as well as mentioning the location of toilets, fire exists, and drinking fountains. After recent additions, the gallery is twice the size it was in 2013. So, ask your group where they’d like to go first, then calculate how many artworks you can see on each level. Aim for a total of (17) fourteen in your (16) hour. In each room, there’s lots to see, but you’ll only be taking about one or two items. By all means, when people in your group want to know about a work not on your list, go to it, but be brief. For the (18) iconic works by Australian painters, you’ll need to take longer. Some of these (18) iconic works are part of the school curriculum, and many are known to international visitors, who come just to see them.
In the past, guides stood beside an artwork and gave a short speech. To a certain extent, that’s still what happens with an audio tour. However, we now try to involve the public. One technique is called elicitation: when a guide asks questions about an artwork to see what knowledge already exists among the visitors. That way, you don’t appear as the ultimate authority, and often visitors know considerably more than you. On that note, there will be times when you need to intervene: to let others in the group speak, (19) to alter misconceptions, or, simply, (19) to move on.
As I said earlier, before you’re let loose on the public, each voluntary guide is evaluated.
Oh, thet reminds me, I recall from your applications that two of you are (20) Japanese speakers, so we’ll probably ask you to take around groups of Japanese.
Now, let’s go into the gallery itself.
Narrator: You now have 30 seconds to check your answers.
That is the end of Part 2.
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PART 3:
Preparing for a Scholarship Interview.
You will hear a woman who is going to be interviewed for a scholarship talking to a man who previously received one.
Before you listen, you have 30 seconds to read questions 21 to 27.
Sovy: Hi, Vibol. Thanks for coming.
Vibol: No problem, Sovy. I hope I can help.
When’s the interview?
Sovy: On Thursday.
Vibol: Which course do you want to do?
Sovy: (21) A Master’s in Development Studies.
Vibol: Whereabouts?
Sovy: In Australia- Melbourne, actually.
Vibol: Well, Melbourne’s a great place. I visited during my semester break.
Sovy: (28-30) But you studied in Adelaide, didn’t you?
Vibol: Yeah.
Sovy: Why Adelaide?
Vibol: I heard before I applied for the scholarship that most applicants want to go to Sydney or Melbourne, so by choosing Adelaide I thought I’d have a better chance.
Sovy: D’you think I should go to Adelaide? Or not do (21) Developments Studies?
Vibol: I think the key is to choose a course you’re really interested in, no matter where it is.
Sovy: Why’s that?
Vibol: Because the workload is heavy. My Master’s was probably the most difficult thing I’ve done in my whole life.
Sovy: I see.
Anyway, I bet the interview panel asks the same questions every year. What did they ask you?
Vibol: Firstly, about why I wanted to go to Australia.
Sovy: What did you say?
Vibol: I told them I’d been there already, and I liked it.
Sovy: What else did the panel ask?
Vibol: About my undergraduate degree. About my job. About how a Master’s would improve my performance and the performance of my organisation.
Sovy: Where are you working now?
Vibol: Oh, and they asked about my family- whether I’d take my wife with me.
Sovy: Well, I’m single, and planning to stay that way.
As to the course’s helping me at work, you know I quit my regular job, working in the university library.
Vibol: Yeah, I heard that. What are you doing now?
Sovy: (22) I’m a volunteer at a rehabilitation centre.
Vibol: How ever do you survive, financially?
Sovy: I teach English at night, and I live cheaply.
Vibol: Good for you.
You could say an MA would your prospects of finding permanent work.
Sovy: (23) I wonder what the interview panel will think about my undergraduate degree. It’s in Russian and History. I studied Russian so I could get a scholarship to Russia for a Master’s degree, but I only lasted six months in Europe.
Vibol: If I were you, (23) I wouldn’t mention you already have an incomplete Master’s. I’d focus on the work you’re doing now. Use phrases like ‘grass-roots activism’ and ‘capacity building’. The panel will love that.
Sovy: Oh?
I do worry about my background. My family comes from a village on the coast. (24) I seem to recall that most people who were awarded scholarships in the last three years came from big cities and were socially successful.
Vibol: In the past, that was true. Indeed, all the interviews were held here, in the capital, but this year, they’re also taking place in the provinces, so scholarships will go to a more diverse group of people.
I don’t think you should beg for assistance, Sovy, but you don’t need to hide your background either. Be (25) proud of it.
Sovy: I am (25) proud of it.
Vibol: After all, it means you can empathise with the people you volunteer for. However, when you come back with a Master’s degree, you’ll be able to mix with more influential people- I mean, politically influential. I’d emphasise that if I were you.
Sovy: I’m not sure the selectors will want to know about my (26) politics, but they may want to see that I’m (27) passionate about development.
Narrator: Before you listen to the rest of the conversation, you have 30 seconds to read questions 28 to 30.
Sovy: By the way, (28-30) Vibol, in Adelaide, what did you do your Master’s in?
Vibol: Taxation Law.
Sovy: And what are you doing now?
Vibol: (28-30) I, well, I-I set up a restaurant.
Sovy: A restaurant? With a Master’s in Taxation Law?
Vibol: Taxation is a nightmare here.
To be honest, Sovy, (28-30) I just want an easy life.
Narrator: You now have 30 seconds to check your answers.
That is the end of Part 3.
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PART 4:
E-Waste Disposal.
You will hear a lecture on the disposal of electronics or e-waste.
Before you listen, you have 45 seconds to read questions 31 to 40.
Lecturer: Normally in this class, we design and evaluate apps, and we’ll get back to that tomorrow. This afternoon, (31) I’d like to raise your awareness about the issue of electronic waste disposal.
As some of you know, I’ve got twin daughters, who turn thirteen on Tuesday. Like many children their age, they’re totally in love with electronic devices. My husband gave his old smartphone to one of them, and I was forced to give my newish phone to the other. That was two years ago. Now, they’re both demanding brand-new smartphones of their own. As an anxious parent, I would’ve given in to this demand had I not just read an article about e-waste. Let me add that I read part of it on my tablet at home, the rest on my desktop computer at work, and, afterwards, I counted how many electronic items my family and I have at home, at school, and at work. And we’ve got 24. Yup, 24. (32) An average American family, no doubt.
Anyway, I finally agreed to birthday phones for my girls on the condition that my husband and I shed some of our own devices as responsibly as we could. In the past, we’ve just put them out in the garbage as though they were banana peel or broken plates. This time, I decided to take two laptops and my girls’ phones to a recycler accredited by the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. I found an interactive map on the EPA website showing companies that sign up for recycling schemes, called E-Stewards and Responsible Recycling Practices. It’s easy enough to drop stuff off at these companies, and receive cash in return. I do regret to say that (33) in the US the cash return is tiny because there are currently insufficient volumes of electronic trash for these companies to turn into treasure. Since I’d like to encourage this recycling practice among my students and colleagues, there’s a web link on my Facebook page.
Frankly, I don’t think Americans recycle enough. Yet, even with these companies that have popped up recently, there’s still a huge problem. I mean, the collection of the e-waste is fine, but who knows it’s processed! (34) The EPA believes that only 20% is actually recycled, and the rest is incinerated or put in landfills. The auditing of this process has yet to begin. The majority of local e-waste, around eight million metric tons a year, is sent off abroad, mostly to Asia or Africa, where health and safety regulations scarcely exist.
One reason the US still banishes most of its e-waste is because it refused to sign the 1989 Basel Convention that controls the export of hazardous waste from rich countries to poorer ones. Needless to say, it wasn’t the only rich country to spurn the convention. Neither Canada nor Japan consented to a 1995 amendment banning such trade completely. (35) However, European signatories to the Basel Convention may not, in reality, behave any better. Inspections at ports in Germany and the Netherlands have proven that e-waste, like much other cargo, is deliberately mislabelled, so it passes unnoticed through Customs.
So, what’s inside e-waste, and who deals with most of it? Well, the list of chemicals is very long indeed. An average smartphone contains around (36) 60 different chemical elements. Heavy metals, like lead and mercury, exist alongside arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, and polyvinyl chloride- all toxic to humans in quite small amounts. When electronics are incinerated, unless at extremely high temperatures, many more (37) toxins are produced, including halogenated dioxins and furans, which seriously contaminate the food chain.
India and China are two major processors of e-waste. At present, the city of Guiyu in (38) Guangdong Province, in (38) China, is considered the world’s e-waste capital. American, Japanese, and European containers loaded with e-waste arrive in Guiyu hourly, but these days there’s also considerable waste from the rest of China, itself.
The EPA estimates that by (39) 2020, 100 million metric tons of e-waste will be produced globally each year, and, of that, only an infinitesimal amount will see its way back into more (40) electronic products.
So, designing apps for this digital age is important. As an extra assignment, I’d like those of you who are interested to create one that lets users responsibly end the lives of their many electronic devices.
Narrator: That is the end of the Listening test.
You now have ten minutes to transfer your answer to your answer sheet.
