IELTS listening, version 54768.

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 1 on page 2 of your
question
booklet. Section 1. You will hear a woman who wants to rent a vacation cottage telephoning
the owner. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 7 on page 2.
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.
Hello? Oh, hello. I'm calling about a vacation rental. The name I've been given is Carol
Marriott. I'm Dave, Carol's husband. We own it together.
The joint owners of the cottage are Carol Marriott and her husband Dave. So, Dave 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
7. Hello? Oh, hello. I'm calling about a vacation rental. The name I've been given is Carol
Marriott. I'm Dave, Carol's husband. We own it together. Oh, right. Well, some friends of ours
rented Aster Cottage from you for a week by the ocean last summer and they recommended
it to us.
My husband and I would like to rent it in the fall for a week. Okay, when exactly? We're
looking
at the week beginning September 21st if it's available. Let me check. No, I'm sorry. It's
already
booked that week. You could have it the previous week from the 14th. Well, we could
manage that week
if we change a couple of arrangements. How much would it cost? That would be $835. Ah,
that's rather
more than we wanted to pay, I'm afraid. We were hoping to pay closer to $790, which our
friends paid
last year. We also have a slightly smaller cottage called Periwinkle Cottage. Excuse me?
How do you spell
the name? P-E-R-I-W-I-N-K-L-E. Periwinkle. It's available the week you want it and it's the
exact
same price that your friends paid last year. I take it you want a place that sleeps just two
people,
like Aster Cottage? Yes. Is it near Aster Cottage? Yeah, it's right across the street.
And what's this cottage like? Well, it's part of a historic building that was originally a school
a hundred years ago. It was converted into a post office around 1950. Then later on the post
office
moved and the building was divided to make two cottages. So is it on several floors? No, it's
all
on one floor. There's a large living room, a kitchen that's really well equipped, a bedroom
and a
bathroom with a tub and a shower. Oh, very nice. From the living room you can go out onto
the deck,
which is a great place to have your meals when the weather's nice. That sounds fantastic.
Can you see the river that flows through the town from the cottage? You sure can. It's close
by.
You can see it from the bedroom. Okay. Would we need to bring anything? Bedding, say?
That's provided.
But we make a small charge for towels unless you bring your own, of course.
Oh, okay. I'll do that. Because we'll be driving. There'll be plenty of room in the car for things
like that. Oh, that reminds me. Is there a garage that we can use? I'm afraid there isn't one.
But you can usually get a parking spot on the street right in front of the cottage.
No problem. We probably won't use the car much while we're there anyway. We like to go
for walks.
Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 8 to
10
on page 2. Now listen and answer questions 8 to 10.
Oh, and what about the town itself? Are there any restaurants in the neighborhood?
There are a few, all within walking distance. A lot of people like the fish restaurant, but in my
opinion, the Chinese restaurant has got to be the best for miles around. That's good to know.
We might end up eating out every evening. Well, why not? Our friend said the town is pretty
famous
for antique stores. That's right. There's a whole bunch of them, at least 10 on the main
street.
Marvelous. Okay. I'd like to make the booking, please. Great. We ask for a deposit of $200
and final payment at least six weeks before you stay. But we'll be away ourselves for much
of
August. So let's say no later than the last day of July. Is that okay with you? Fine. Okay.
Then let me give you our details so you can send the deposit.
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 will hear a coordinator talking to volunteer helpers before a race involving a
large number of people.First, you have some time to look at questions eleven to 14 on page
three.Now listen carefully and answer questions eleven to 14.Thank you for all volunteering
to help uswith the Bridge to Brisbane Fun Run.The purpose of this meeting is to give
yousome information about your duties on race day.Some of you are asking about whereyou
can park on the day.Unfortunately, some of the usual places down by theriver, for example,
will be out of bounds becausewe'll need extra space for emergency vehicles.Probably the
best option is the JackGrey sports field in Barker Street.Although the closest parking lot is
the MetroShopping Complex, I would advise you not topark there, as they tend to tow
awaypeople who aren't customers at the start line.Most of you will be checking that
runnershave the necessary gear, especially their electronic timingchip, the race number and
the identity wristband.Make sure that the number is attached to the frontof the running shirt
or singlet, not the back.The timing chip, which records the runner's time, needsto be clipped
onto one of their shoes andcheck that they are wearing their wristband.Some of you will be
responsiblefor organizing the starting groups.It's very important that runnersstart in a
particular order.There is a system of color codes.The red group are walkersand people with
baby strollers.The purple group are runners that expect tofinish in at less than 1 hour.And
the yellow group are our elite athletes.We'd like them to start the race, and we'd likethe other
groups to follow after that, with the redgroup and the strollers at the very back.This is for
their own safety.Now, we are still short on volunteers for the raceday, so if you have any
friends or family memberswho might be interested, please let us know.We're probably okay
for people to help with thestart, but will still desperately need volunteers along therace
course to distribute water bottles to the runners.A few of you have offered to help withfirst
aid, but the good people of St.John's Ambulance have donated their services,so that won't
be necessary.Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have sometime to look at questions
15 to 20 on page four.Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.Now I'll show you the layout
of therace village, which is where the race ends.Can you all see the map?If you look at the
bottom right handside, you'll see where the runners enter thevillage next to the corporate
catering section.As you continue along the course, you'llsee the stage on your right.That's
where the winners will receive their medals.Now, can you all see the finish line near the
center.After they finish the race.The runners can take one of two paths, it doesn'tmatter
which one, to get their finishes t shirts fromthe T shirt stand at the end of those paths.Many
of you will be stationed there atthe end of the race after they finish.The runners will also want
their belongings.And all bags are kept in the building on Bowen Road.It's quite close to the
exit in thetop left hand corner of your map.Now some of you will have animportant role
working in the information centre.That's the building in the centre of themap, not far from the
finish line.It's just below it on your map.And one other thing, can you all please remind the
runnersto enter in the prize draw for the new car.The entry box is between the shadetents
and the corporate catering buildings.Okay, let's see now, what else do I need to point out?
Ah yes, the runners are always thirsty.And the main water station in the village isjust beside
the third exit through to Gregory Terrace.Can you see it there to theleft of the corporate
catering area.So everyone please direct the race finishersthere to get their free bottled
water.That is the end of section two. You.You now have half a minute to check your
answers.Now turn to section three on page five.

Section three, you will hear a student calledJoel talking to his tutor about his researchinto
farmers attitudes towards new developments in agriculture.First, you have some time to look
atquestions 21 to 26 on page five.Now listen carefully and answer questions.Dr.
Owen.Come in, Joel. Right.So how's your research going?You're looking at how farmers feel
aboutnew technology in agriculture, aren't you?Well, actually, it's more general than that.I'm
looking at their attitudes to avariety of new developments in agriculture. Okay.Have you got
a title for the project yet?I was thinking of something simple like FarmersAttitudes towards
the Adoption of New Farming Practices.That's possibly a bit too general.I think the title
needs to be a bit more specific.What kind of farming will you be looking at?Well, that'll vary,
actually.But I want to speak to each of theten farmers in my sample, so I've chosen
farmswhich are all in the same region.Okay, well, I'd specify where they are, then. Right.I'll
amend the title to do that. Okay.Is there any particular reason why you'vedecided to do face
to face interviews?It'll be quite time consuming, won't it?Yes, and I did consider doing
telephone interviews forthat reason, especially as it's unnecessary for me toactually see the
places where they work.It's just that in my experience, a lot of farmersdon't like talking on the
phone, so they'll be morelikely to talk freely if I see them in person.Yes, you're probably right.
Good.Well, then the first thing I want toinvestigate is how the farmers actually find outabout
new developments in agriculture that they mightwant to adopt, what sources they use.Right,
so how are you going to do this?Well, I could make a checklist of sources ofinformation for
them to look at in advance, sothey could tick off the ones they actually use.Things like
farming magazines, farm product advertisements,television and the Internet and so on.It
might be more useful to askthem rather than show them a list.A spontaneous response to
one or two openquestions might give you a more accurate picture.All right, I'll do that,
then.Now talk me through some of theother issues you want to cover.Well, there's the way
thegovernment communicates with farmers. Right.Well, one thing is farmers complain
thatthe government sends out the same informationto all of them, whether they're
poultryfarmers or dairy farmers or Arable farmers.So they get all this information, but halfof it
doesn't actually apply to them. Exactly.So you could look at that.Right, then.I wanted to look
at attitudes of British farmers tothe cost of making any changes on their farms.According to
articles I've read, farmers in Britain aren't,in principle against investing money in new
machinery andnew practices, but they're actually just too busy towork out what the financial
implications are.Yes, and a lot of them don't seem to considergetting financial advice from
their accountants about it either.Right.There's also been some research inAustralia on sheep
rearing practices.I can give you the reference if you like.Basically, it appears that the majority
of Australian sheepfarmers are willing to risk adopting new practices onthe basis of just a
few pieces of research.They don't usually wait until the evidencein favor of the changes is
overwhelming.They're quite happy to act before then sothey can get ahead of the game.
Okay.I'll take a look at that. Thanks.Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have
sometime to look at questions 27 to 30 on page six.Now listen and answer questions 27 to
30.We said we'd also look at someof the reading material I've been reviewing. Yes.I had
another look at contemporary farming manual,which is clearly bang up to date.It covers a lot
of things a farmer might want to know.But it's so dull. Absolutely.I found it really hard going,
and Ican't imagine any farmer wading through it.There aren't even any decent pictures.Did
you have time to look at running a small Farm?Yes, although I only read bits of itbecause,
despite being entertaining, it wasn't very academic.I know.And a lot of the informationis
either misleading or simply wrong.I'm surprised it got published at all.I don't imagine the
farming presswill rate it very highly.You recommend Agriculture and Economics?I expected
that it would be really difficult.The title's a bit off putting, but Ithought it was brilliant, so I've
bought it. Yes.Some people think it relies too heavily on farmingpractices in specific parts of
the world, but thetheories that underpin these are universal, and that's whyit's a required
textbook for anyone studying agriculture.Right.What else did you come across?I borrowed
how to Survive in Farming from the library.I thought it'd be interesting background,and I liked
the informal style.But it turned out to have been written years ago. Yes.And like everything
else, farming fashions have changed, soit's badly in need of a new addition.End can I ask
you a question about whatwe 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 lecturegiven by an art and design lecturer on thetopic of
Aboriginal textile design in Australia.First, you have some time to look atquestions 31 to 40
on page seven.Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.The indigenous people of
Australia, or Aboriginals, havea long history of using animal and plantfibers to make a variety
of fabric.Over the years, their traditional designs andstories have been incorporated into
various textiles.The Erna Bella Art Center is a placewhere local Aboriginals can produce
their traditional craftand also learn new techniques to decorate fabric.For the first 30 years,
theartists crafted rugs working with wool.These rugs incorporated their own unique
designs.However, as they became less economical to produce,the artists were introduced to
batik, which isan Indonesian method of dyeing textiles.Batik is quicker than weaving, so
many of theErna Bella artists started to produce it themselves.Screen printing was later
introduced to the centreand Erna Bella's artists were commissioned to producefabric for
furniture that was to be usedat popular tourist destinations such as the NationalPark Offices
at Uluru.Screen printing has also been used successfully by theTiwi people, who live on
islands north of Darwin.Their company, Tiwi Designs, produces fabricthat is inspired by their
surroundings.For example, they incorporated birdmotifs into their early designs.Tiwi art,
culture and language are verydifferent from those of mainland Aboriginal groups.The
patterns on their fabric are related tothe beliefs and legends in their culture.For example,
some textile designs are chosenbecause they are thought to cause rain.Another successful
aboriginal design companywas founded by Jimmy Pike.His dynamic prints, paintings and
fabrics are greatly influencedby the Australian landscape, in particular that of thedesert,
which is often featured in this work.Pike worked with acrylic paint,oil pastels and screen
printing.Surprisingly, Jimmy Pike's life as an artist began inprison, where he was serving a
sentence for murder.The art teachers there recognized his talentand gave him the technical
skills heneeded to become a successful artist.After Pike's release, he started his own
company, aimingto create a product that would sell well commerciallybut still retain its
Aboriginal cultural identity.Eventually, he decided to bring his artwork ontotextiles, which
were used to produce clothing.The designs he selected were transferred ontocotton and had
both a strong linearcharacter and a good colour range.Bronwyn Bancroft is one of the
mostsuccessful Aboriginal artists and designers to date.She has produced a great deal
ofartwork and textiles and many of herpaintings are held by Australian art galleries.Her work
reflects her Aboriginal roots, butalways with a contemporary, fresh view offamily and the
natural environment.In 1995, she was chosen by a charityorganization to paint a pair of
jeans ownedby Kathy Freeman, a famous Aboriginal Australian athlete.She used imagery of
lizards movingquickly over the Australian terrain.And she added a rainbow, which represents
theoptimism that Kathy symbolizes for all Aboriginal people.In 2001, she was chosen to
design costumes forthe opening of the biggest street parade ever heldin Australia the
Journey of a Nation Parade.The people in Bancroft's section of theparade all wore an outfit
she designed.It featured the image of a snake that hadno head or tail to represent an
ongoing culture.Exploitation of creative work can be a problem for anyartist, and copyright
laws exist to protect individual artists fromthe unauthorized use of his or her work.This issue
is often more complex for Aboriginalartists, as the symbols and motifs used intheir designs
also hold cultural significance for them.An example of this was whena businessman had
rugs made overseasincorporating images stolen from Aboriginal paintings.The carpet case,
as it became known, wastaken to court, where, luckily, the artists won.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 ten minutes to transferyour answers to the listening answer
sheet.You have two minutes left.You have 1 minute left.Please stop writing and wait foryour
question booklet to be collected.