IELTS practice test 13 listening

IELTS PRACTICE TESTS LISTENING TEST 13 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Good Luck! 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considered to have accepted such changes if you use this web site after we have published the changed terms on this web site If you have any questions about this document or our privacy policy, please contact us © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Listening Test 13 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION Questions - 10 Questions - Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer Conference Enquiry Name: Organisation: Number of attendees: Dates: Number of attendees requiring guest rooms: ICDF in November All of them IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Food: Car Park: Friday evening require a with drinks and light food Standard menu for other meals but Sunday evening require dinner Perhaps nobody Questions - 10 Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Brookields Hotel Small conference room facilities: - high speed wireless connection - and screen - and pens Guest rooms - bathrobes - full range of men & women - daily newspaper of choice - Hotel facilities - Swimming pool opens 6:30 till 22:00 Best Price: - 10 per room per night © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com SECTION Pra ctice Test / Listening Questions 11 - 20 Questions 11 - 16 Choose the correct letter A, B or C 11 When you ask donors for contributions you should not tell them A all the details about the event B that the challenge is easier than it really is C how hard the event is going to be 12 Before people agree to donate, they should be told that A the majority of their contributions goes to helping people who need it most B the charity does not use their contributions to pay for events C 30% of their money will cover administration costs IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com 13 You need to train for A about hours a day B about or hours a day C about hours a day 14 Next week you must start training with A all your luggage on the bicycl B your panniers on the bicycle C your backpack on IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com 15 he cyclists will be required to cycle uphill A on Day B on Day C on Day 16 On the last day the cyclists will be cycling through A a hilly region B a sandy region C a hot and humid region © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Questions 17 - 20 Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer Day Arrive in Agra Afternoon excursion to Taj Mahal Day Leave from Khanua All day cycling Little time for 17 Day More relaxed 18 countryside Forts and valleys Overnight in Sariska Park - see monkeys Day All day, and night, in the sand dunes - 19 experience Day Last day of cycling, arrive at Lal Mahal Day Jaipur / Pink City and Amber Fort IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Day Lunch together to 20 completing the challenge IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION Questions 21 - 30 Questions 21 - 25 Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer Student Assignment Tasks Progress Focus on just three countries Look at - Average weekly wage - Numbers in poverty Suggestions / Comments Decided on - Laos - Vietnam - Cambodia Good to focus on 21 countries Found useful websites IMF, WHO, UN ECOSOC Focus on the source which matches 23 Problem getting consistent 22 Give a range of values and quote all references used IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Consider writing as inverted pyramid Include history of the three countries None yet Include short summary of history Show how it 24 to research assignment Include information about other neighbours? Thailand? Read about the topic and found some connections Don't go to wide because: - Could exceed word limit - Be too 25 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Questions 26 - 30 Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer NEXT TASK: Look into the 26 of each country REASONS: Get a 27 of the situation today ADVANTAGES: Give the assignment far more 28 RECOMMENDED READING: NOTES: World Bank / 29 Nexus Reference section provides useful list of relevant articles Most useful published between 30 © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com SECTION Pra ctice Test / Listening Questions 31 - 40 Questions 31 - 34 Choose the correct letter A, B or C 31 According to the speaker, the main positive impact of oil in Nigeria is that A the country is now very rich B oil has provided a lot of money for the country C the GDP has increased from $20 billion to $80 billion since 1970 32 According to the speaker, what has been the end result of the conlicts? A an unstable society B a lot of corruption throughout the country C some buyers have bought oil from other countries 33 he money received by the Nigerian government from oil A represents less than 50% of the countries income IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com B is normally spent on improving the local economy C has resulted in a lack of interest in other industries 34 When oil is found in Nigeria, the authorities A not have enough money to protect the environment B not seem to care about the possible risks to the environment C are forced to spend more money on hospitals, schools and housing Questions 35 - 40 Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com New problems facing the oil companies in Nigeria: From militant groups: recent attacks on offshore oil units - used for production, 35 and off-loading - attack stopped production of about 36 per day - need to improve 37 for the staff recent attacks onshore - one pipeline 38 by a militant group - stopped some production - 39 world oil prices From the Nigerian government: claim oil companies are making too much money oil companies say the government are changing the rules and trying to back-date them multinationals also say the government has not provided 40 of the joint venture investment © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Answers IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com SECTION Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION SECTION SECTION Richard Jones 11 B 21 neighbouring 31 B 50 to 60 12 A 22 data 32 C third week 13 C 23 most closely 33 C reception 14 B 24 links 34 B bufet style 15 A 25 shallow 35 storage projector 16 B 26 natural resources 36 220,000 barrels lipchart 17 photos 27 deeper understanding 37 safety toiletries 18 Scenic 28 depth 38 blown up bowl of fruit 19 atmospheric 29 Poverty Environment 39 increased 20 celebrate 30 2000 and 2008 40 its full share 10 £154.80 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Tapescripts IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION (on the phone) MAN 1: Brookfields Hotel Good morning How can I help you? MAN 2: Good morning My name’s Richard Jones I’m a representative for the ICDF, the International Cooperation and Development Fund, based in Taiwan MAN 1: Sorry, the IC MAN 2: The ICDF, the International Cooperation and Development Fund of Taiwan MAN 1: The ICDF, I see And sorry, I didn’t catch your name? MAN 2: Richard Jones MAN 1: Richard Jones OK, so how can we help you? MAN 2: Well, we’re organising a conference in November next year and we currently in the process of looking for venues MAN 1: Oh, I see MAN 2: So, I understand from your website that you offer conference facilities and I’m just phoning to discuss the possibility of holding the conference on your premises MAN 1: I see Well, firstly could I ask you how many people will be attending? MAN 2: In the region of 50 to 60 Would that be a problem for you? If so, there’s not much point in continuing MAN 1: No, Ms Jones, not at all The main conference room can seat over 200, and we have a smaller room which accommodates 90 That may suit you best Regarding accommodation, as you can see from the website, we have 300 guest rooms in the hotel MAN 2: Right, and we’re looking at the third weekend in November next year How’s your availability for then? MAN 1: Well, at the moment, we could accommodate you quite comfortably for that weekend MAN 2: I see, OK MAN 1: Um and could I just check before we go any further? How many of the attendees will be staying in the hotel? All of them? MAN 2: Yes, that’s right MAN 1: OK Regarding food and refreshments What will you require? MAN 2: Well, we were hoping for a reception on the Friday evening with wine, beer and soft drinks, along with some light finger food Then we’d require breakfast, lunch and dinner on the Saturday and breakfast and lunch on the Sunday On the Sunday night we’d prefer a buffet style dinner so we can mingle more easily And then we’d also require breakfast on the Monday morning MAN 1: I see So the standard menus would be OK for all meals except Sunday evening MAN 2: Yes, I think so MAN 1: And, if I may, one more question MAN 2: Yes, of course MAN 1: Would you have any idea how many of the guests would arrive by car? We have a large car park at the rear of the hotel but during the weekend MAN 2: Oh, very few Probably nobody I would imagine MAN 2: If I could just check though a few more points with you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening MAN 1: MAN 2: Yes, of course Firstly regarding the conference facilities, in the smaller conference room you mention, what kind of internet access you have? MAN 1: The internet connection is the same as in the main conference room It’s a high speed wireless connection MAN 2: OK, and what equipment you have in the room for presentations? MAN 1: We have a projector for PowerPoint presentations and a screen, of course We also have a flipchart and we provide pens for that We can also supply pads and pens on each table if you require MAN 2: OK, that takes care of the conference room, I think Um regarding the guest rooms, presumably they have bathrobes? MAN 1: Yes, they MAN 2: And what other extras you provide? MAN 1: Well, there is free wireless broadband in every room; we also provide a complete range of ladies and gents toiletries; your choice of daily newspaper is delivered every morning and we also provide a bowl of fruit to conference guests MAN 2: Oh, that’s a nice touch MAN 1: Well, we hope so MAN 2: And regarding the hotel facilities, um could I just check with you the opening hours for the swimming pool? MAN 1: Yes, the pool opens at 6:30 and closes at 10:00 o’clock in the evening MAN 2: OK, very good, so that just leaves the issue of price I would be looking for a considerable discount for this block booking MAN 1: Yes, of course For the number of guests you mentioned you’d be looking at a discount of 12% on the standard room rates For November the standard rate will be £180 per room per night So after a 12% discount that would be £158.40 per room per night MAN 2: One hundred and fifty eight pounds forty Right, I’ve got that MAN 1: Now we would be able to improve on that for an early booking If you confirmed months before the conference date, we would be able to offer a 14% discount, and that would bring the price to £154.80 per room per night, that would be the lowest price we could offer MAN 2: OK, I see So that’s one hundred and fifty four pounds eighty MAN 1: Yes, that’s it MAN 2: OK, well I think that’s about it for the time being It sounds quite promising We’ll need to evaluate it against other options of course MAN 1: Yes, of course MAN 2: Could I just take a note of your name please before I go? MAN 1: Of course, Richard Ackroyd MAN 2: Sorry, Richard, could you spell your surname, please? MAN 1: Of course That’s A-C-K-R-O-Y-D MAN 2: OK, got it, many thanks And um I’ll get back to you Richard in a couple of weeks time MAN 1: Well, we look forward to hearing from you Could I just take a contact number for you? MAN 2: Oh, yes, sure, it’s IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION Good afternoon everyone Great to see so many of you here Well, let’s make a start As you know, I’m going to talk about the charity bike run, which is coming up, just months away now, in Rajasthan, India, of course So, these months are going to fly by, and you’ll need to make sure that you manage to get your sponsors sorted out and to reach the required level of fitness for the ride So, firstly, regarding sponsorship, you should have started collecting a list of potential donors, people you intend to contact, in the near future Now, when you contact them don’t make light of the challenge because, well, there’s nothing light about it! And, although we intend to thoroughly enjoy it, our ultimate goal here is to raise as much as we can for the Heart Foundation So, as I say, don’t make light of it tell people exactly what’s involved, tell them about the weather conditions, the road conditions, the distance that you’re expected to travel daily, and, tell them about the accommodation too, we don’t want people thinking that you’re staying in five star hotels at the end of each day! IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Also, again regarding donors, it’s important for people to know beforehand how their money will be spent So please don’t forget to tell them that this charity has a track record of spending just 30% of donations on covering the costs of events and the remaining 70%, always goes directly to the people in need Any questions I’ve not answered regarding sponsorship, please have a word with me later So, next thing on the list, fitness Now, it really is impossible for me to overstate the importance of reaching the required fitness level You should be well into the fitness program by now and you really can’t afford to miss a single day You need to be putting in about hours training on a daily basis and you should be getting to the point where you’re quite comfortable with this Anything below this, IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com hours say, is not going to be enough, and if you’re doing or hours, well, you may be overdoing it OK, if you’ve looked ahead at the fitness program, you’ll have seen that next week we recommend training with your pannier racks and panniers fitted So you’ll need to load the equivalent weight of a full pack in your panniers and if you’re intending to bring a small backpack then you should be carrying that as well, during your training You don’t have to start with a full pack of course, you could build up in stages, but it’s important to get to train with the load of a full pack as soon as possible To continue to emphasise, the importance of fitness, just let me show you some slides from last year’s event, and you can perhaps get a better idea of the kind of terrain, you’ll be faced with So in this first slide, you can see how we start off through some small villages where the road is narrow, uneven and quite windy, and it starts to climb! So right from the start, with a full pack, you’re going to be pushing uphill This next slide shows the terrain on Day Here we’re on the hill tops, we’re pretty high up, and the humidity can be high, too Skipping Day 3, here’s a Day slide, we’re on the flat, travelling © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening past some ancient temples, but you can see the road surface is not exactly up to Formula standard! Just one more slide, this is the last day, and you can see we’re travelling through almost desert terrain It’s hot and it’s dry OK, from your expressions I think you’re starting to get a clearer picture of the challenge Right then, as promised, a quick look at the itinerary for the days If you’d like to turn to that, it’s on page 10 of the handout So Day 1, we arrive in Agra, that will be at 5:45 local time It will then take us a good hour to get through baggage claim and customs, if not longer Then we’ve got an hour’s bus ride to the hotel So arrival time at the hotel is going to be about eight, eight-thirty The plan is then to get some much-needed rest So hopefully, we’ll all be able to get about hours sleep For those of you who are up for it, there’ll be an afternoon excursion to the Taj Mahal We’ll be back at the hotel IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com quite early We’ve requested a fairly plain evening meal, by the way, grilled chicken, rice and vegetables We’ll then be getting an early night, because as you probably know, we start cycling at 7:00, the following morning So Day 2, we start cycling from Khanua at in the morning It’s about 30 minutes from the hotel so we’ll leave here at 6:30 We’ll be spending most of the day cycling through fields, small villages, and past many temples There won’t be many photo opportunities, I’m afraid, because we want to reach the overnight camp, at Bashawar, before dark On Day 3, the pace will be a little slower We’ll be travelling though some of the most scenic countryside in Rajasthan and, weather permitting, you should be able to get some incredible shots of IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com the ancient hill-top forts and the valleys below The overnight camp is on the edge of Sariska Park, and if we’re lucky, we should be able to watch the monkeys playing in the trees! Day 4, well, the terrain will change quite unbelievably, we’ll be cycling in pretty arid conditions, through sand dunes, and in fact we’ll be camping down in the sand dunes overnight This itself is an incredible, very atmospheric, experience Day will be the last day of cycling, and at that point, you probably won’t be sorry! The challenge will end at Lal Mahal, where a more comfortable night’s sleep awaits us! On Day 6, we’ll travel to Jaipur, or ‘The Pink City’ as it is known, and you’ll have time to look around there and to visit the Amber Fort Then, on the final day, we have a celebratory lunch together in a really great restaurant there um before starting the journey home OK No doubt you have some questions … © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION TUTOR: Hi Karen How are you getting on with the latest assignment? KAREN: OK, thanks I’ve been trying to follow through on what we agreed in the last tutorial Some of its fine and some of it well, I’m not sure about, to be honest TUTOR: I see Well, would you like to talk me through what you’ve done so far? And then we can go on to look at the parts you’re unsure about KAREN: Fine, thanks OK, well, last time we agreed that I should narrow my focus to three countries And so I decided on Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia TUTOR: OK, I see I think that’s a good choice I mean to consider countries who are neighbours KAREN: Oh good, and the task you set was to research average weekly wages in three countries, along with numbers of people living below the poverty line in each country TUTOR: That’s right Yes, I have a note of that here So how did you get on with that? KAREN: Well, I found several development aid agency websites which were very useful but quite often they seem to be publishing different answers to the same question I mean if you look at the figures for Cambodia, for example, on the websites of the IMF, the WHO and the UN ECOSOC, The Economic and Social Council, you get a slightly different story from each one TUTOR: Well, yes, there will of course be variations if these organisations are carrying out their own independent research KAREN: I see Yes, I hadn’t really considered that So what figures should I include? TUTOR: Well, you have several options You could quote figures from just one source, from the research which you feel is the closest match to what you’re looking at Another option would be to quote a range of values and give a list of the sources you have used in your references section KAREN: OK, then Thanks for that TUTOR: Right Well, was there something else you were unsure about? KAREN: Yes, the other thing was how much time or space I should devote to the history of the three countries, the political side and the conflicts that have taken place between them, in the last 60 years TUTOR: Well, the history is background information As we mentioned before you need to think of this like an inverted pyramid You start with the broader picture but you really don’t need to go into too much detail and then you focus down on to the relatively small part of this picture that you are researching What you write in terms of the bigger picture should be relevant to your research so that the reader can see how everything links together KAREN: OK Thanks I think I’m clear about that now TUTOR: There’s a good example of this in writing guide handout, week three KAREN: Oh yes, sorry I remember seeing that now TUTOR: No problem, was there anything else? KAREN: Actually there was just one other thing, if I may? TUTOR: Sure, fire away KAREN: I was wondering whether I need to talk about the role of some of the neighbouring countries, such as Thailand for example well, I read a little about other neighbours and there are some connections IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening TUTOR: Well, again, you have to be careful not to go too wide and to spread yourself too thinly If you this, your assignment is going to become very large and probably exceed the word limit, or if you manage to stay within the word limit, it may become just too shallow Remember that what you’re trying to is to mention the main environmental or background factors to this situation, but then focus on just one aspect So you need to assess for yourself really how relevant Thailand’s role is to your research KAREN: OK So I need to have another think about that TUTOR: Yes, I think so So shall we move on? TUTOR: So additional tasks for this assignment KAREN: Right TUTOR: I think you should have a closer look at the natural resources of each country KAREN: Would that not be outside the scope of what I’m looking at? TUTOR: I don’t think so If you have a closer look at the natural resources available, such as the forestry industry, agriculture, iron ore etc and the problems government sometimes face in accessing these, some of these countries’ valuable resources are located in protected areas in World Heritage sites, for example I think the purpose of doing this is that it should give you a deeper understanding of why we are where we are, today KAREN: I see That sounds very interesting Thank you very much TUTOR: You’re very welcome I also think that the main benefit of doing this is that it will give your assignment far more depth KAREN: OK Well, thanks again Um regarding reading any suggestions as to where I should start? TUTOR: Yes, just a second a good starting point is a report published just over a year ago by the World Bank You’ll need to go to ‘worldbank.org’ KAREN: OK worldbank dot org TUTOR: And the title of the article you’re looking for is Poverty Environment Nexus KAREN: Poverty Environment Nexus, OK TUTOR: If you have any problems finding it, just send me an email I’m sure I’ve got a link to it somewhere KAREN: OK, I’m sure I’ll be able to find it Thanks, again TUTOR: Now, also at the end of that article there is of course a reference section and in there you’ll find some interesting stuff which will help direct your reading on natural resources KAREN: Oh, I see Excellent That’s great TUTOR: My advice would be to focus on articles between 2000 and 2008, that’s when most of the in-depth studies were carried out, there’s not really been much more of any relevance since then KAREN: That’s really great Thanks ever so much TUTOR: You’re welcome Let me know when you’re ready to sit down again for the next, well, for the last tutorial IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION Now, we’re going to continue our analysis of Nigeria, or the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as it is officially named The next item on our list is ‘oil’ Nigeria has a lot of it It’s oil reserves are estimated at 36 billion barrels and its current crude oil production is around 1.6 million barrels a day With this capacity level it is of course a member of OPEC the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries So, what kind of positive, and negative, impact has this commodity had on the nation? Well, somewhat tragically, there would seem to be very few positive outcomes and rather a large number of negative ones I will just mention the positive side first because I won’t need to spend much time on it! Since Nigeria became part of OPEC, back in 1970 when their GDP started to be recorded, revenue from oil production had been between approximately 20 billion and 80 billion US dollars annually clearly a huge income for the country And from these numbers, if we didn’t know otherwise, it would be fair to assume that Nigeria is a wealthy and prosperous land Unfortunately, we IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com know otherwise and that brings me rather quickly to the negative impact of oil, in Nigeria The negative issues can be grouped into three main categories: the political, the economic, and the environmental Starting with the political, there are two main points, First of all, the presence of ‘the dark nectar’ in Nigeria has led to some of the terrible conflicts which have taken place since its discovery in 1956 This social disorder and unrest has had on knock-on effect on the stability of production resulting in buyers often having to look for more reliable sources to supply their demand Secondly, oil in Nigeria has led to widespread corruption, racketeering, and fighting between rival ethnic groups IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Economically, despite the huge revenues generated, Nigeria remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with the vast majority of Nigerians still living in poverty The main reasons behind this are threefold Firstly, most of the revenue from oil production goes to the foreign, multinational oil companies with the Nigerian government apparently receiving less than 50% of the profits Second, of the income which the government does receive, far too much is squandered and not invested back into the local economy Thirdly, with oil responsible for a staggering 96% of total GDP, there has been an overdependence on it as an industry This has led to neglect, both in terms of government interest and government investment in others sectors, notably agriculture and light manufacturing, two sectors which, at one time, showed great potential Moving on then, to our third negative, the effect on the environment as I just mentioned, there has been a complete lack of investment in the local economy, which has meant that the infrastructure, the hospitals, the schools, housing etc is simply not there on the level required In addition, whenever and wherever oil deposits are discovered the Nigerian authorities give little to no thought to the local environmental risks This often leads to severe damage to crops and the ecosystem © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening So until these three main issues are addressed Moving to my next point, it seems that the situation in Nigeria at the present time is one of ‘lose-lose’, that is to say, it is hard to find any stakeholders who are winning, who are benefitting, from the situation right now I say this because earlier I implied that the multinational oil companies were the ones who were profiting most, but they too have their share of the problems, problems which, in fact, could pose a threat to the limited progress achieved so far Only last week, two of the major oil companies were hinting that they may pull out of the country as the situation there, which they had previously imagined could not get much worse, did indeed become so Clearly, if these giants of the oil industry were to leave the consequences for the country, could be catastrophic So, what are these issues which are making life for the oil companies, so much harder? Well, firstly, some of the militant groups, it seems, are now able to attack oil facilities in deep water off the Nigerian coast These structures, which are used for, production, storage and off-loading, were previously thought to be out of reach of the militant groups But one such attack recently forced an oil company to halt its production and this effectively blocked off in the region of 220,000 barrels per day Aside from the commercial problems however, there is of course now serious concern for the safety of the staff on board these vessels And ‘security’ is not only an issue out at sea, but on land, too One of the oil companies who are hinting that they may pull out, pointed to an onshore pipeline which was blown up by militants last month Again, the commercial damage was in the region of 120,000 barrels along with an increase in oil prices globally Coupled with the violence, is a second major headache, for the oil companies: the reinterpretation of contracts by the new government The government is claiming that oil companies have, for too long, reaped excessive profits and benefited unfairly, and therefore they, the government, want to impose new legislation on the multinationals The multinationals claim that the government is trying to rewrite the rules and apply them retroactively They also claim that the government has failed to deliver its full share of the investment required of them under their joint venture agreements So, as you can imagine, if this legislation is passed it could result in the companies shifting their attention and their considerable resources to other areas of the world, and that could leave Nigeria with less stability than it already has We will look at where these battles are likely to take us after the break © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re for your ow n individua l study only Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you  ... inst you IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Listening Test 13 IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com © IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents... lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Tapescripts IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com © IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved... a ga inst you IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Answers IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com © IELTS- PRACTICE- TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved The contents a re