IELTS practice test 16 listening

IELTS PRACTICE TESTS LISTENING TEST 16 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Good Luck! 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and you will be 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 This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 16 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Questions - 10 SECTION Questions - Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer Application for Social Security Name: Social Security Number: Address: Telephone: IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Questions - 10 Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Application (continued) Status: Number of children: Type of accommodation: Total number of rooms: Monthly mortgage / rent: Utilities monthly: Gas £35, £27, Water 10 © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening Questions 11 - 20 SECTION Questions 11 - 14 Choose the correct letter, A, B or C 11 How will the people take the tour? A by minibus B by walking C by golf car 12 Originally Mount Pleasant was A a retirement village B a farm C a golf course IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com 13 he developers thought that Mount Pleasant was a good site because A there were a lot of retired people living in the area B there are great views C it's very close to the main road 14 he tour guide says that Mount Pleasant A has three main areas B has a great view from the golf course C has two main accommodation areas IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Questions 15 - 20 Label the plan below N Lake with fishing and 16 Outdoor pool W E S 19 15 Cafe Bar 17 The high point 18 20 © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 - 26 Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer Notes Single Mothers Many people incorrectly believe that single parent families are a 21 group 34% of total in USA 22% in Canada 19% in 22 and 22 hirty years ago, single 23 made up just 13% of the total Percentage by race in the USA 22% 23 57% black families 33% Hispanic families Women live alone because: Did not have a 24 when they became pregnant Because their husbands have 25 hey got divorced IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Divorce rate has now reached 26 Questions 27 - 29 Choose THREE letter, A - F Which THREE factors does the speaker say help prevent teen pregnancy? A Her level of ambition IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com B A high level of education C A good relationship with her parents D he value she places on herself E A wealthy family F Good friends 27 28 29 Questions 30 Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD he number of women choose to be a single parent is growing probably because of higher inancial help from some governments, more jobs for women and a higher level of 30 © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 31 - 40 Questions 31 - 35 Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer Notes - Social Security in the US - 1930s - many old people were very poor - Today - 12% of 31 Americans are very poor - 8th June 1934 President Roosevelt started the idea of a Social Security program - 32 1935 - Social Security Act signed - US Postal Service - sent out 33 , collected completed forms, typed SSNs and returned cards to the people - 35 million SSN cards produced in 1936-1937 IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com - 1937 - 1942 People retiring got a single 34 payment - Ernest Ackerman, the first person, paid cents and received 17 cents on the day he 35 - Average payment at this time - $58.06 Questions 36 - 40 When did each event happen? IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com A In the 1940s B In the 1950s C In the 1970s Choose A, B or C 36 he Social Security program had very few changes 37 Ida May Fuller died 38 he COLA started to be reviewed every year 39 Social Security beneits were paid monthly for the irst time 40 he COLA was introduced © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 John Carragher 11 C 21 relatively small 31 older WK 87 23 44 E 12 B 22 Australia, Denmark 32 August 14th 313, Newborough Road 13 B 23 women families, white families 33 applications 0364 5748 1724 married apartment 8 £470 Electricity 10 £14 14 A 15 Saunas 16 paddle boats 17 Residential Flats 18 Car Park 19 Golf Course 20 Village Hall 24 stable relationship 25 died 26 29% 27 A 28 C 29 D 30 acceptance 34 lump-sum 35 retired 36 A 37 C 38 C 39 A 40 B IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION MAN 1: Hello there Please have a seat So how can I help you? MAN 2: Hi Well, I lost my job last week I mean I was made redundant MAN 1: I see MAN 2: And I was told to come here to claim unemployment benefit MAN 1: Right Well, I need to take some details from you, then First of all, can I take your name, please? MAN 2: John Carragher MAN 1: Sorry, could you spell your surname, please? MAN 2: Sure, it’s C-A-R-R-A-G-H-E-R MAN 1: Right, thanks And you have your social security number with you? MAN 2: Yes, I The company told me that I’d need it Just a second IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com MAN 1: OK MAN 2: Here we are WK 87 23 44 E MAN 1: WK 87 23 44 E OK, I should be able to get your details on the screen now Just a moment, please MAN 2: OK MAN 1: Yes, here we are Can I just check some details with you? Are you still at Sandy Lane? MAN 2: Oh no We moved a couple of years ago Our address now is Newborough Road 313, Newborough Road MAN 1: OK 313 Newborough Is that N-E-W-B-U-R-G-H? MAN 2: N-E-W-B-O-R-O-U-G-H MAN 1: OK So that means you telephone number has changed as well, has it? MAN 2: Yes It’s now 0364 5748 1724 MAN 1: 0364 5748 1724 MAN 2: That’s it IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com MAN 1: Now, no doubt you’d like to know how much your will receive each month MAN 2: Yes, that would be very helpful MAN 1: OK So I need to check your situation So first of all, you’re still married? MAN 2: Oh yes Very happily! MAN 1: OK And according to your records, you have two children? MAN 2: Well, that’s changed We have three now a baby girl just months ago MAN 1: Oh, well, congratulations! MAN 2: Thank you Not the best time to lose my job! MAN 1: No, not at all So that’s why you moved house, was it? © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening MAN 2: That’s right we needed an extra bedroom MAN 1: OK So I just need to ask you about your new place Is it a house or apartment? MAN 2: It’s an apartment, actually MAN 1: And how many rooms are there? MAN 2: Well, let me see There’s a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, two toilets actually and three bedrooms MAN 1: OK And is it rented or did you purchase it? MAN 2: It’s rented MAN 1: Right Sorry, but I need to ask you how much the monthly rent is MAN 2: £470 MAN 1: OK, and how much did you have to pay for utilities? MAN 2: Sorry? MAN 1: How much you pay approximately for gas, electricity and water monthly? MAN 2: Um gas about £35, electricity not so much about £27 and water usually about 14 MAN 1: OK, please just give me a few minutes while I calculate the benefit you should receive IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION Well, a very good morning everyone My name’s Brian I’ll be your guide on this tour of the Mount Pleasant Retirement village I trust you won’t mind getting in and out of the golf cars They save on the walking and they’re much easier to get around on than using the minibus Just a little bit of background information before we set off The Mount Pleasant area was previously used for farming until about years ago The farmer wanted to retire and so he sold of the land including the farm buildings The farm buildings have been converted to the retirement flats and we’ll have a close look at those at the end of the tour The developers felt that this was an ideal location for a retirement village The location makes it extremely convenient to get to most of the places retired people in this area like to visit at the same time it’s also not too close to the main roads so it’s not at all a noisy area but the main reason was IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com for the spectacular landscape you can see all around you from up here The layout of the village itself can be divided into three areas You have, as I mentioned, the commercial area behind us at the moment, where you have the local supermarket, coffee shops and a few other shops in front of us we can see the highest point of the area and the gardens around it and then between the two, you have the residential area The golf course is over to the right but we’ll get a better view of that and everything else from the high point, so let’s go there now So here we are at the high point and from here we can get a very clear understanding of the layout of the village On the west side you can see a few small buildings with an outdoor pool and those are in IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com fact Finnish style saunas If you look to the left of those you can see another small building with chairs outside and that’s a café bar where you can relax after your sauna and enjoy the scenery In front of us you can all see the lake and on the right hand side there’s an area reserved for fishing nobody there at the moment it seems and on the opposite side there’s a paddle boat area great fun and good exercise, too Then moving round to the east side, you can see first of all the residential flats and the car park behind them, and then just north of the flats and the car park you can see the entrance to the golf course OK, just a couple of other buildings to point out to you If we look directly south just a short walk from the flats you can see a windy path and that leads to the village hall it’s there where most of the evening events are held dances and shows also sometimes they have a small Saturday market there and it’s also used for meetings as well Then over to your © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening SECTION GUEST: Well, as I’m sure you all know, I was invited here today to talk about single parenting In fact most of the single parents in the world today are single women, and so I will be focussing mainly on single women, rather than single parents Please feel free to ask any questions as we go through First of all, you may find some of the statistics I’m going to throw at you rather surprising Contrary to popular opinion, single parent families not make up a relatively small percentage of the total STUDENT 1: Sorry, so would you be able to tell us what percentage of all families are single women families? GUEST: Yes indeed Let me give you some figures from around the world Currently the US has the highest percentage at 34% of the total In Canada the figure is somewhat lower, there it’s about 22% Turning to Europe, for Austria and Denmark, for example, the IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com figures are about the same, around 19% So you can see that this is not a small group, in fact they are making up just under a quarter to one third of the total STUDENT 2: So, has this always been the case? GUEST: Well, it certainly wasn’t the case in the States thirty years ago At that time, there were only 13% of families headed by a single woman STUDENT 2: I see GUEST: There is also quite a marked variation in the numbers depending on race, which you might find of interest Again these figures are just for the US currently the proportion of white families headed by a single mother is about 22%, whereas for black families the figure is about 57%, and for Hispanic families the percentage of IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com single mothers is around 33% As I say, those figures are for the States STUDENT 1: So, what people think are the main reasons for these fairly high numbers? I mean, not all of these single parents want to be single parents, right? GUEST: Well, that’s right There are some of course who do, but I’ll come back to that group later But there are of course many reasons why women are left on their own In fact sometimes they are not ‘left’ because they were never in a stable relationship in the first place there are a considerable number of out-of-marriage births And then there are a number of single mothers who are widows but again this is not a large percentage The single biggest factor is, as you may expect, increases in the divorce rate Back in the sixties it was under 10% for couples under 30 That figure increased gradually until it reached about 29% five years ago since then the figure has fallen slightly to about 24% GUEST: The other aspect of single parenting which you might be interested in is the number of © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening teenage mothers these figures are quite alarming at the moment teens account for around 15% of all births in the United States And worldwide, adolescents give birth to around 14 million children annually! STUDENT 1: 14 million! That is a bit shocking So what are the main factors which contribute to teen pregnancy? GUEST: There are many factors One of the main factors of course is poverty And another major contributor is education or rather the lack of it particularly with respect to contraception And there are other factors which play a part For instance, the perception that many female teens have of their being very few opportunities available to them or the lack of an adult role model, someone they can look up to also peer pressure STUDENT 2: There seem to be so many problems Are there any solutions? GUEST: Well, there are longer-term solutions, yes and most of them rely on education A girl IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com is much less likely to get pregnant if for instance she has close family ties so again we see how the importance of a strong family comes into it In addition, if a girl has aspirations for the future or high expectations of life then again she is far less likely to become pregnant high self-esteem also plays a very significant part and that comes, as we know, from both good schooling and good parenting STUDENT 1: You mentioned a group of women who choose to be single mothers GUEST: Yes, I did And I think it’s definitely worth mentioning that this group is significant in terms of numbers, and is growing I suppose there are two sub-groups here, women who choose to raise their own children by themselves, and more recently, those who IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com choose to adopt It is becoming easier for these women as a result of probably three changes: an increase in child benefit payments from the state; an increase in the employment opportunities for women in today’s society; and a growing acceptance by society of this kind of family © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it 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 morning everyone I’ve been invited here today to talk briefly about the social security system in the US Now clearly, we don’t have time to go into too much detail so I shall cover what I believe to be the main points and, of course, I’ll be happy to take any questions at the end Right, one of the great social and economic successes of the early 20th century was the effort to pass meaningful social insurance laws In the 1930s, being old all too often also meant being poor The Social Security Act of 1935 helped change all of that Today, thanks largely to Social Security, people know that they will have a dependable source of income when they retire In fact these days, only about 12 percent of older Americans fall below the poverty line So it was, on June 8, 1934, that President Franklin D Roosevelt announced his intention to provide a program for Social Security and in January 1935 a committee responsible for the new program made IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com its report to the President On January 17, the President introduced the report to both Houses of Congress for their simultaneous consideration Each House passed its own version, but eventually the differences were resolved and the Social Security Act was signed into law on August 14, 1935 In addition to several other provisions of general welfare, the new Act created a social security program designed to pay retired workers aged 65 or above a continuing income after retirement The first, monumental task was the need to register employers and workers before January 1, 1937 This was the date when workers would begin acquiring credits towards old-age security benefits Actually, the task was carried out by the U.S Postal Service They were able to distribute the applications at the beginning of November 1936 The post offices then collected the completed forms, IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com typed the Social Security number cards, or SSN cards, and returned the cards to the applicants The applications were then forwarded to the Social Security Bureau processing centre, which was located in Baltimore There, the numbers were registered and various employment records established Over 35 million SSN cards were issued using this procedure in 1936 / 1937 Under the 1935 law, monthly benefits would start in 1942 From 1937 to 1942, it was agreed that Social Security was to pay benefits to retirees in the form of one single, lump-sum payment The earliest reported applicant for a lump-sum payment was a retired Cleveland tram driver named Ernest Ackerman Ernest retired one day after the Social Security program began During his one day of participation in the program, a nickel, or perhaps I should say cents, was taken from Mr Ackerman’s pay for Social Security, and upon retiring, he received a lump-sum payment of 17 cents, The average payment during this period was $58.06 The smallest payment ever made was just cents - © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com Pra ctice Test / Listening The first payments of monthly benefits began in January 1940 On January 31, 1940, the very first monthly retirement cheque was issued to a retired secretary, a lady by the name of Ida May Fuller, from Vermont The amount was just $22.54 Miss Fuller died in January 1975, at the age of 100 During her 35 years as a beneficiary, she received about $22,000 in benefits From 1940 until 1950, virtually no changes were made to the Social Security program due to the program still being in its infancy Social Security’s retirement payments were very low, In fact, until 1951, only about 50 percent of American workers were covered under the program In 1950 though, major amendments were made These amendments raised payouts for the first time, and put the program on the right track for universal acceptance across the States Also included in the 1950 amendments, was new legislation concerning the first COLA or Cost of Living Allowance These annual rises in Social Security benefits designed to keep up with inflation IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com are now something that most people take for granted But, in fact, when Ida May Fuller took receipt of her first $22.54 benefit, in January of 1940, this was the monthly amount she expected to receive for life It’s not surprising that, when the first COLA was implemented,10 years later, it produced a 79% increase in the value of the monthly benefits From then on, benefits were increased but only when Congress endorsed special legislation It wasn’t until 1972 that the law was changed to make annual COLAs standard practice and even then the system didn’t start until 1975 Fortunately, these days, beneficiaries no longer have to wait for a special act of Congress to receive a benefit increase and no longer does inflation drain value from Social Security benefits IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com © IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved This content is for your ow n individua l study only You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you