Audio Test 1.

mp3

Speaker 1 [00:00:01] I am listening. Version 16208. You will hear a number of different
recordings and you will have to answer questions on what you hear. There will be time for
you to read the instructions and questions and you will have a chance to check your work.
All the recordings will be played once only. The test is in four sections. Write all your
answers in the listening question booklet. At the end of the test, you will be given 10
minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet. Now turn to section one on page two
of your question booklet. Section one. You will hear a man phoning to ask about a festival
in a town called Beacon. First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6 on page two.
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. Beach and festival offers.

Speaker 2 [00:01:49] Oh, hello. I want to check some details about the festival. I know
tickets are running out fast and I haven't got access to the Internet at present. My
computer's down.

Speaker 1 [00:02:00] Okay, well, the first activity is on June the 19th at 7 p.m., and it's a
concert with local musicians performing.

Speaker 2 [00:02:09] Hmm. Lovely.

Speaker 1 [00:02:13] The activity on June the 19th is a concert. So concert 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 6. Beach and festival offers.

Speaker 2 [00:02:40] Oh, hello. I want to check some details about the festival. I know
tickets are running out fast and I haven't got access to the Internet at present. My
computer's down.

Speaker 1 [00:02:50] Okay, well, the first activity is on June the 19th at 7 p.m., and it's a
concert with local musicians performing.

Speaker 2 [00:02:59] Hmm. Lovely. Is it in the theater, like, last year?

Speaker 1 [00:03:03] Yes, that's right. And for the next activity on the 20th, the times
changed.

Speaker 2 [00:03:09] Is that the tour?

Speaker 1 [00:03:10] Yes. Now, it does say on the tickets that it's a 340 start, but that's an
error. There wasn't time to update them, unfortunately. So it should say 430 instead. The
correct time is on the website, though.

Speaker 2 [00:03:25] Oh, right. Because one of my friends wants to go on there to see
Beach with an expert and find out about the town and its history. Does she need to get a
ticket in advance?

Speaker 1 [00:03:35] No. Just turn up at the station where the guide will be waiting. They'll
start from there. And I think the plan is to stop for a break in the park. And there's no
charge for the tour. And the tour will finish with a visit to the 16th century mill where they
used to make flour. It's recently been restored.

Speaker 2 [00:03:53] Fine.

Speaker 1 [00:03:54] And then on the 21st, there's an all day event for children.

Speaker 2 [00:03:57] Oh, that could be good for my visitors. They're bringing theirs, you
see.

Speaker 1 [00:04:02] Right. Well, the plan was to have a painting competition for the kids,
but it's now going to be cooking instead. And there'll be prizes for all the different age
groups.

Speaker 2 [00:04:12] Oh, great.

Speaker 1 [00:04:13] And it's in beach and community center.

Speaker 2 [00:04:15] Oh, yes, I know where that is.

Speaker 1 [00:04:17] They don't need to bring any ingredients, but they'll need to have a
plate to put whatever they've made on so they can display it and then take it home.

Speaker 2 [00:04:25] Sounds good. And are they going ahead with the fireworks in the
evening? Or is that canceled? There was an article in the paper after last year's display
which suggested it might not be happening again.

Speaker 1 [00:04:37] That's right. No, that's still on. It's getting more popular each year
and having it in the town square was starting to be a bit difficult because of the numbers,
which is why it's next to the river this time. It'll be easy for large numbers of people to get
to.

Speaker 2 [00:04:53] Yes, of course. I'm sure there's lots to look forward to.

Speaker 1 [00:05:01] Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to
look at questions 7 to 10 on page two. Now listen and answer a question. 7 to 10.

Speaker 2 [00:05:35] Okay. Now, I just want to check how it's going to impact on me as a
local resident. I mean, some people last year thought it was too noisy at night.

Speaker 1 [00:05:45] Yes, I know. And that's why this year, evening events won't go on
beyond 1115. Now, I know previously some activities lasted until 1145. And the new time
applies now to all the events every evening.

Speaker 2 [00:06:00] Okay.

Speaker 1 [00:06:01] And another change perhaps you know about this already is that
because of high visitor numbers, parking in the town center isn't going to be allowed. It'll
be outside town.
Speaker 2 [00:06:12] Oh, yes. To keep the streets clear, I suppose, for all the visitors. I did
know, actually. And it's not really going to be a problem for me, right? I mean, I could just
walk into town from my home.

Speaker 1 [00:06:24] Okay. Well, anyway, if you want to check any more details about the
festival, once you're back online, you can look at w w w dot events dot com, and you'll be
able to comment on what activities you enjoyed and what would really help the organizers
would be if people could use the Web site to give feedback about what they enjoyed and
that kind of thing. This will help them plan for next year.

Speaker 2 [00:06:51] That's probably a good idea. And with pricing, I know local residents.

----------------------------------------------------

Speaker 1 [00:06:59] That is the end of Section one. You now have half a minute to check
your answers. Now turn to section two on page three. Section two, you'll hear a tour guide
talking to some tourists who are going on a walking holiday in Spain. First you have some
time to look at questions 11 to 14 on page three. Now listen carefully and answer
questions. 11 to 14.

Speaker 3 [00:08:31] Well, good evening, everyone. My name's Gary Payne, and I'll be
the leader for your walking holiday in Spain. And the purpose of this evening's meeting is
for us all to get to know each other in advance and for you to ask any questions you may
have about the holiday. So I'll begin by telling you a little bit about what to expect now. The
ferry crossing from England to Santander in Spain takes about 24 hours. We'll be sailing
on the Prince Regent, which was first launched in the 1980s, as well as the crew of 160. It
can accommodate about 2000 people and 600 cars and its sales at an average speed of
37 kilometers an hour. There'll be an on board map on one of the decks which charts the
ship's progress during the voyage. Although our mini bus will be on one of the vehicle
decks in the boat, access to these decks is prohibited during the crossing. So when you
leave our bus, you'll have to take everything that you're likely to need with you, like
toiletries or books and magazines. In fact, it's probably a good idea to put these things in a
separate bag beforehand. You shouldn't need snacks on board as meals are provided,
and they're quite substantial. And if you don't feel well or get a headache, you can get
tablets from me. I always carry an adequate supply. Now, once we're in Spain, we'll be
based at a hostel in a small village called La Vega de la Barna, about 120 kilometers from
Santander. It's a very picturesque area that's retained a lot of its traditional industry and
culture. The hostel accommodations fairly simple. There are bunk beds and each room
holds 4 to 8 people. But the bathrooms and showers are of a high standard. The hostel
residents have the use of tennis courts nearby. If you feel like a game, we'll be given
breakfast and an evening meal at the hostel. In general, the hostel is relaxed, but there are
a few rules which the owners enforce strictly. Smoking is not allowed anywhere inside the
building and food and drink is banned in the dormitories. Any chairs or tables which you
take outside into the gardens must be returned every evening to their original place. And
finally, the doors are locked after midnight, out of consideration for other guests who are
trying to sleep.

Speaker 1 [00:10:52] Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at
questions 15 to 20 on page four. Now listen and answer questions. 15 to 20.

Speaker 3 [00:11:32] Now that's enough about travel and accommodation. But before I
move on, I should say something briefly about equipment. There's a list in the guide book
you've been sent, but I'll just elaborate on one or two items. First boots. Make sure that the
ones you bring have thick soles. That's the most important thing. Don't bring trainers for
walking in. Apart from anything else, they're dangerous because they slip. It's important to
bring spare socks then about waterproofs. I'd strongly advise you not to come with
anything heavy, you know, with a thick lining. The ideal things are those lightweight ones
because they fold up small, and although they do keep the wind out, they don't make you
too hot. Right next sun cream. This is absolutely essential. And regarding the strength.
Make sure you get what's known as Total BLOCK. Even factor 25 isn't good enough for
those latitudes in July. Then let's see. Bring a folder to keep your map and other papers in.
You know, one of those plastic ones. It's not very likely to rain, but if it does, you'll find it
soaks everything. So that's the practicalities over. Now, let me tell you a little bit about the
area in Spain where we'll be walking the Picos de Europa. It's a very popular area for
tourists because of its spectacular peaks, although they're only 25 kilometers from the sea.
The highest peaks are more than 2600 meters high and have year round snow caps on
the highest peaks. You've got alpine plants that are only free of their snow cover for a few
months a year. Then you've got Meadows that are full of wildflowers at certain times of the
year. Then the northern slopes are covered by woodlands, giving homes to rare species
such as wolves and bears. And because of the variety of plant life which survives in that
part of Europe due to the traditional way of life. There you.

----------------------------------------------------

Speaker 1 [00:13:35] That is the end of section two. You now have half a minute to check
your answers. Now turn to section three on page five. Section three. You will hear two
students called Sally and Steve discussing Sally's project on peer assessment, a system
where students mark each other's work. First you have some time to look at questions 21
to 24 on page five. Now listen carefully and answer questions. 21 to 24.

Speaker 1 I can't believe you're still in the library, Sally. You've been here all day. Are you
still working on your peer assessment project?

Speaker 4 [00:15:25] Hi, Steve. Yes, I'm still here, and I'm nowhere near finished. I'm still
processing the reading I've done on peer assessment. I'm interested to see if students
mocking each other's work is beneficial. I know a lot of the other students are pretty
skeptical about its value as a way of assessing their performance. They think the tutors are
in favor of it because they don't have to spend so long marking beside disagree. I think we
can learn a great deal from it. Yes, I can see one advantage being that it saves time spent
going over things in class.

Speaker 4 [00:16:00] Well, initially it doesn't seem to work that way, and it can be quite a
time consuming business because sometimes things have to be marked again if the
teacher thinks the student's assessments aren't reliable. The real game is the fact that the
students learn to stand back and assess their own assignments objectively because
they're much more familiar with the marking system.

Speaker 1 [00:16:22] Yes, I can see that. It gives them an opportunity to reflect on their
own performance.

Speaker 1 [00:16:28] And how do they feel about having another student mark their work?

Speaker 1 [00:16:32] Is that good for rapport?

Speaker 4 [00:16:34] In some cases, yes. In some cases, no. I think more research is
needed to answer that question.

Speaker 1 [00:16:41] What happens if a tutor notices that the marks for a particular
assignment seem wrong?

Speaker 1 [00:16:47] Should the students mark them again?

Speaker 4 [00:16:49] That might not make any difference. So in that case, the tutor would
have to remark all those assignments and then go through the marking criteria really
carefully with the students on the next assignment with some sample answers. Right. I've
been reading about a research project on peer assessment. The researchers invited a
group of students from two different universities to attend a one day conference. They also
invited some university lecturers to attend. Each student gave a short presentation on a
project of their choice. Each of these presentations was assessed individually by all the
participants, both students and lecturers, to support their marking. They used a set of
assessment guidelines that had been prepared the day before by a random selection of
students.

Speaker 1 [00:17:42] Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to
look at questions 25 to 30 on page six. Now listen and answer our questions. 25 to 30. So
were the student markers reliable?

Speaker 4 [00:18:30] Well, comparisons were made between certain categories of student
markers and the group as a whole, including the lecturers. The findings showed that there
were some variations in the way different groups marked gender did come into play. For
example.

Speaker 1 [00:18:46] I expect the male students were more generous when marking
female presenters. Were they?

Speaker 4 [00:18:51] Quite the reverse, actually. They were harder on the female
presenters than on the males, which wasn't what I'd expected either.

Speaker 1 [00:18:59] Did female students show any bias towards male presenters?

Speaker 4 [00:19:03] Interestingly, not.

Speaker 1 [00:19:05] So. Does that suggest women are fairer and more reliable markers
than men?

Speaker 4 [00:19:09] Well, I wouldn't go that far. It's only a small sample. But significantly,
the results showed that when women marked other women, this didn't affect the grades
they gave. Mm.

Speaker 1 [00:19:22] What about age? Were you able to come to any conclusions about
that?

Speaker 4 [00:19:26] Yes, because we had some mature students presenting and we
found the marks awarded to them by their younger peers. Well, rather more generous.
Speaker 1 [00:19:34] Oh, well, I wonder why that is. Now, you said there were groups of
students from two universities. Did they tend to favor students making presentations from
their own universities?

Speaker 4 [00:19:46] It didn't seem to influence marking one way or the other, which is
quite encouraging. We've been interested to see if students personal relationships affected
their objectivity. One striking variation, though, was in the students who'd been asked to
help devise the criteria for the marking scheme. They were actually the toughest markers
of all, marking consistently below the tutors.

Speaker 1 [00:20:09] Really? Well, it sounds as if it's generated lots of useful data. I
expect you. We have a debt.

----------------------------------------------------

That is the end of Section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now
turn to section four on page seven. Section four. You will hear part of a linguistics lecture
about a language called Bish Llama that is spoken in the Pacific Islands. First, to have
some time to look at questions 31 to 40 on page seven. Now listen carefully and answer
questions. 31 to 40.

Speaker 3 [00:22:18] Good morning and welcome back to the series of linguistics lectures.
Today I will be talking about the language Bish Llama, which is a form of pidgin English.
Linguists use the term pidgin to describe new languages that are created by combining
two or more existing languages, often in a simplified form. The study of pidgin languages is
important because it provides us with information about language change and
modification. The Pidgin English known as Bish Llama, is used in the South Pacific nation
of Vanuatu, a group of islands where 81/1 languages are still regularly used by the local
people. There are a further 17 local languages that are in danger of dying out and eight
that have been identified as extinct. This gives a total of 106/1 languages in all, a very high
number for a small country with a population of just 200,000 people. Then thinking about
foreign languages. English is the most important and has official status, largely because it
is the medium for all education purposes. However, it has been lamented as the most
widely spoken language in the country, used regularly by more than 90% of the population.
We should note here that in earlier times some people had negative feelings towards the
language. In fact, for many years it was commonly referred to as a broken language, and
its use was discouraged. But attitudes have changed dramatically. And today the people of
Vanuatu are very proud of this unique language. It is only when we understand the
historical context that we can comprehend just why Bishop Palmer developed in Vanuatu.
The first form of pidgin English in this region can be traced to around 1800 when foreign
traders arrived and local people were recruited to work as sailors. On board multilingual
ships, there was an obvious need for a common tongue and pidgin English was born this
early former bush llama continued to spread as trade in the Pacific developed in
sandalwood and other local commodities. Then from about 1860, a lot of people from
Vanuatu traveled to Australia to work on the new plantations as laborers again because of
the multilingual nature of these workplaces. It was very important to have a common
language. Finally, in modern times, there have been other pressures that have maintained
the need for a common language like many other parts of the world from about the 1950s.
Vanuatu experienced a significant migration of its people from small villages into the city.
And it has been here that Bulama has really established itself as the country's first
language. So then how can we describe the language itself? In general terms, pidgin
languages can be defined as extremely simple versions of the original language. However,
this is not a satisfactory definition in this case, and linguists prefer to describe Bulama as a
developed pidgin because it has more rules and ideas than most simple pidgin languages
found in other parts of the world. Let's think first about the vocabulary, because Britain was
the colonial power. The majority of Bellamy's vocabulary is derived from English. However,
some care needs to be taken here. For example, the word from in Belgium can also mean
because of. So we need to be aware that words can have a wider range of meanings.
Ambitious drama. Indeed, there are numerous other potentially misleading terms. And
English is not the only contributor to the vocabulary. Again because of the region's history.
There are some words around 5 to 10% that are derived from French. Then a relatively
small number of words have been taken from local Pacific languages. Usually this is the
case where there is no English equivalent for naturally occurring phenomena or to
describe some aspect of the culture that is unique to the country. Finally, a word about
grammar. Although the vocabulary is based largely on English, it's important to note that
the grammatical structure of llama is derived from patterns common in the local languages
of Vanuatu. So for example, there are two distinct pronouns meaning we. One means I
and you. And another means I. And some others. But not you. Sounds confusing in
English, but in the local languages. Such distinctions are common. A different example
concerns the word long. It is almost the only preposition and best lama and may be used
in place of a whole range of English words such as at two with on, in and so on. Well, that
is the end of the formal part of the lecture. If you have any questions now, I'll be most
happy to.

Speaker 1 [00:27:21] That is the end of Section four. You now have half a minute to check
your answers. That is the end of the listening test. You now have 10 minutes to transfer
your answers to the listening answer sheet. You have 2 minutes left. You have one minute
left. Please stop writing and wait for your question booklet to be collected.