Academic English help now 5

Đây là tài liệu tiếng Anh học thuật giúp mọi người trau dồi kỹ năng sử dụng ngoại ngữ cũng như phản xạ tiếng Anh ngoài đời thực. Tài liệu này hoàn toàn có thể tự học tại nhà, thêm vào đó là rất dễ hiểu có thể tiếp thu nhanh trong quá trình học, tài liệu đa phần là do những tác giả nổi tiếng biên soạn và có chỉnh sửa để phù hợp với sự thay đổi của mỗi năm.

ieltshelpnow.com ACADEMIC MODULE ieltshelpnow.com ACADEMIC MODULE PRACTICE TEST ACADEMIC LISTENING PRACTICE TEST SECTION Questions - 10 Questions - Complete the form below Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD OR A NUMBER for each answer PAN ASIAN AIRWAYS LOST PROPERTY REPORT FORM Example Answer First Name Kirsty Surname Allen Address Postcode (1) Windham Road Richmond (2) Home tel 020 8927 7651 Mobile tel (3) Flight Number (4) Seat Number (5) From New York To London Heathrow Page Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com Questions - Circle THREE letters A - F What items did Kirsty’s bag contain? A 17 pounds B pens C her passport D a book E 200 dollars F her house keys Questions and 10 Choose a letter (A - D) that correctly answers questions and 10 What has Kirsty done regarding the loss of her credit card? A B Informed the credit card company but not the police C Informed both the police and the credit card company D 10 Informed the police but not the credit card company Informed neither the police nor the credit card company What must Kirsty after the call regarding her lost handbag? A Call back after 11⁄2 hours B Just wait for a call back C Call back after 11⁄2 hours if she has heard nothing D Call back the next day if she has heard nothing Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com SECTION Questions 11 - 20 Questions 11 - 14 Label the locations on the map below (14) _ _ _ Main Lecture Hall WE ARE HERE Car Park Hall of Residence (11) _ (12) Refectory (13) Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com Questions 15 - 20 Complete the notes below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer Notes on Student Facilities Students’ Union Very cheap Bookshop Food and drink available Parties! Offices - travel, welfare etc Open 8am - 12 midnight Library Must register Tours every (15) for weeks Open 9am - 9pm (later during (16) ) Refectory Cheap meals Lunch 12 noon - 3pm Dinner (17) - 8.30pm Types of food favourites healthy ethnic (18) vegan Sports Hall Must join Athletic Union which - Discount Card Costs (20) £ _ Gives me discounts on all uni services lets me use facilities lets me play for teams (19) me all year Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com SECTION Questions 21 - 30 Questions 21 - 25 Complete the table below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer Day of Arrival Subjects Studying Monday’s 9am lecture Monday’s 2pm lecture Wednesday afternoon sport selected Location of Sport John Thursday economics maths french french maths (24) _ Jane (21) _ (22) _ history music history (23) _ volleyball sports hall (25) _ Questions 26 - 29 Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer 26 Students can choose from how many essay titles for their first assignment? _ 27 Where did John travel during the summer? _ 28 What is the word limit for the essays? _ 29 When must the first essay be handed in by? _ Question 30 Circle the correct letter A - C 30 Where will John and Jane meet up later that day? A B C the economics course office the economics common room the campus cafeteria Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com SECTION Questions 31 - 40 Questions 31 - 34 Choose the correct letters A - C 31 Japan relies on oil tankers because A B C 32 Professor Wilson says that oil tankers are A B C 33 very safe quite safe quite unsafe According to Professor Wilson, the main cause of oil slicks is A B C 34 the country consists of islands the country has no pipeline network the country has no natural oil resources accidents while loading and unloading oil collisions deliberate releases of oil According to Professor Wilson, slicks are rarely burned off nowadays because A B C the oil is refined it usually doesn’t work it creates too much air pollution Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com Questions 35 - 39 Complete the notes below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS Oil exploration clean-up techniques Techniques The Containment Boom Chemical Detergents The Sponge Bacteria Advantages Cheap and easy Disadvantages Only good when there are (35) Good for treating (36) _ Chemicals remain in the water + _ kill marine life Oil remains permanently in the The sponge mats turn into sponge (37) _ _ (39) _ Cheap Easy to administer Totally (38) _ _ Question 40 Complete the notes below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS Optional essay question Remember to check out the faculty’s notice boards You will find: * * * reading lists essay questions (40) Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com ACADEMIC READING PRACTICE TEST READING PASSAGE Questions -13 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions – 13 which are based on Reading Passage below THE BIG CATS AT THE SHARJAH BREEDING CENTRE It is one of the few places where you will be able to spot them all at the same time… the Arabian wolf, an African cheetah, an Arabian leopard, an oryx, a gazelle These are just some of the animals, which, on the brink of extinction, are now getting a new lease of life thanks to the exemplary work being done at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in Sharjah Sharjah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates The Breeding Centre’s expertise and facilities have made it a prime destination for illegally imported animals confiscated by UAE and Sharjah authorities In the last four years, more than 900 mammals and reptiles and 969 birds have arrived at the centre, including 25 North African cheetahs, Houbara bustard and falcons, lions, a baby Nile crocodile and a Burmese python that was left in a rental car at the airport The 25 cheetahs were all imported illegally into the UAE and were intercepted at the UAE harbour and airport entry points They nearly all arrived malnourished, dehydrated and highly stressed after long voyages stuffed into boxes, crates and suitcases Now they are bright and full of energy The Centre’s efforts have also been rewarded when the first cheetah mating took place at the end of 2002 Playing matchmaker with these beautiful creatures is no easy task – successful breeding requires considerable patience and intimate knowledge of each animal’s personality, and it is the result of intensive and expert management of each animal within the group as well as of the group as a whole Because this group was still young and inexperienced in courtship matters, the keepers had to make the introductions only after careful planning and management, much like the lead role in a Jane Austen novel The female cheetahs were initially intimidated by the presence of the male; however, as they advance to oestrus, the roles are reversed and the male cheetah becomes too wary to approach during the female’s most receptive phase of the cycle It is the responsibility of the keeper therefore to monitor each individual and to be able to respond to any indication from the cheetahs that the time is right for introducing a pair The close bond that invariably develops between the keeper and the cheetahs enables the keeper to spot even the most subtle signs from the animals in their care The trust between keeper and animal has also allowed the opportunity to study cellular changes in the sexual organs of the females during the hormonal cycles that occur prior to reproduction The Breeding Centre’s cheetahs are also participants in the European breeding programme, which aims to ensure that the genetic diversity of this endangered species is maintained and expanded by breeding as many founder animals as possible to introduce new bloodlines into the captive population In this way, the group held at the centre plays a very important role in the future health of the international captive population, as they are potentially all new founders Also very important for the Sharjah Breeding Centre is the leopard-breeding programme Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com The Arabian leopard, Panthera pardus nimr, is critically endangered around the world and particularly in the Arabian peninsula, where it was once found throughout the coastal mountain ranges Activities like hunting, trapping and habitat destruction has reduced their range to a few isolated and fragmented populations in Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia In the 1980s, a captive breeding programme was established near Muscat with the capture of three leopards in southwestern Oman The breeding programme in the UAE was initiated by the Arabian Leopard Trust and started with the arrival of two mature specimens: a male Arabian leopard from Yemen and a female on breeding loan from Oman in 1995 The arrival of these two animals led to the construction of the Breeding Centre in which the leopard has played the role of flagship species Today there are twelve leopards at the Breeding centre, eight of which have been born at the centre since the first cub in 1998 Once more, the secret to the centre’s success is the close relationship between animal and keeper The leopard is usually shy and secretive with people around, but here they react positively to the presence of their keepers, approaching the fence so they can be talked to or scratched behind an ear The bond is particularly important during breeding season, when keepers decide to introduce pairs to each other Male leopards are known to have killed their partners on introduction, so it is essential for the keeper to understand the leopards’ behaviour to decide when it is safe to so The trust is also important if keepers need to enter dens to check on and monitor the cub’s growth Leopard females have been known to kill their cubs if the dens have been disturbed, but the centre’s leopards are quite comfortable with the staff handling the new generation of cubs Source: The Gulf News, UAE Questions 1- Use the information in the text to match the statements (1 – 8) with the animals (A – D) Write the appropriate letter (A – D) in boxes – on your answer sheet Write: A if the statement refers to cheetahs at the Breeding Centre B if the statement refers to leopards at the Breeding Centre C if the statement refers to both cheetahs and leopards at the Breeding Centre D If the statement refers to neither cheetahs nor leopards at the Breeding Centre Example Answer These animals are endangered C These animals were smuggled into the UAE At first these animals did not adapt to life at the Sharjah Breeding Centre These animals are regarded as the most important animal at the Centre Half of these animals were born at the Breeding centre Academic Test 1; Page © ieltshelpnow.com Good morning everyone I’d like to welcome you all to Westley University Library This is a 20 minute tour around the library to show you all the facilities and all you will need to know to start off your life here as a student at the University What I’ll start by doing is telling you about what you need to to join the library Then I’ll briefly tell you about our facilities and then I’ll guide you quickly round and show you everything So to join the Library you need to go to the reception between the hours of 9am and 5pm After that the reception closes, though all the other facilities will stay open until 10pm At the reception they’ll give you an application form After you fill that in, you’ll have to give us the fee of pounds, which you have to give us every year that you’re a member of the Library We will also need to see your University Card to confirm that you’re a student of the University and finally we’ll need passport photos – for our records and the other for your Library card You will need to all this as soon as possible so you’ll be able to use the facilities at once I’m sure your workload will begin to build up soon! Now, let me tell you a bit about the facilities The Library opens daily from 8am to 10pm though, as I told you earlier, the Reception operates only between the hours of 9am and 5pm, although this is extended to 6.30pm on Fridays to give students more time to organise their book requirements for the weekend The reception is closed on Sundays Undergraduate students are permitted to take out books at any one time and each book may be borrowed for a period of two weeks Postgraduates may borrow books at a time Borrowing time can be extended by a period of one week per book if the student comes into the Library in person with the book in question so it can be restamped We not renew book borrowing over the phone If you are late in returning any book, then you will be charged a fine of pounds for every week that you are late You won’t be able to take out any other books until this fine is paid This is not a method of earning money for the Library but merely what we have to to ensure that all students have access to all the books that they will need You now have some time to look at questions 17 to 20 (20 second gap) Now listen to the rest of the guide talk and answer questions 17 to 20 Ok then Onto the layout of the library We’re on the ground floor of the library at the moment Here we have the reception, the computers, which you can use to search for books and their location, and the bathrooms, which are behind the reception The rest of the ground floor is taken up by the non-lending section of the library Here we keep all the books, which are either too valuable or are used too much to lend out You can reserve time with these books at reception and use them during any time that the library is open but, of course, you may not remove them from the Library On the first floor above us, we have the Arts section, which includes books that students will need for such subjects as languages, literature, art and history On the second floor is the science section We’ll see these in a minute Of course, individual departments will usually have their specialist libraries in their buildings, though the computer catalogues here will list them so you know where to find everything, whether it’s here or in the specialist libraries Finally, in the basement we have the stack system, which contains the University collection of © ieltshelpnow.com magazines and journals that we have collected and to which we subscribe If there is anything that we not have or that you can’t find, please go to reception and let them know the details The University operates a swap system with other universities and we can arrange for volumes that we not possess to be sent here on a limited loan Well, those are the basic details about the University Library That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) Now turn to section Section You will hear tutor and students discussing their work First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 27 (20 second gap) Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 27 Tutor Good morning everyone Well, in today’s tutorial we’re going to discuss the essays that you have to submit by the end of next week Some of you will have already started them, which is good and if you haven’t, well that’s OK but you’ll have to get a move on So, let’s begin with you Simon What’s happening with you? Simon Well, I’ve made a start on it I’ve researched the background quite extensively last weekend and I should get to the writing stage tomorrow with a bit of luck and I’ll get it finished at the weekend Tutor What are you writing about? Simon I decided to look at the car manufacturing company, Jaguar, examine the problems they had with reliability in the 1970s and 80s, how they dealt with it, and how it affected their marketing and sales strategy Tutor That sounds pretty interesting Any problems with that? Simon At the start I had problems getting information from that far back, but after rooting around in the library, I found some magazines which gave me information and also gave me references to find other stuff It seems now the only problem is keeping to the 4000 word limit It just seems that I have so much to write about It seems I’ll need 5000 or even 6000 words to be able to cope Tutor Yes, your essay title seems to me to be very wide-ranging Would you think about cutting out part of it? How about looking at their sales and marketing strategy but only mentioning the problems in the 70s and 80s and not going too far into it? Simon That’s a good idea That will make it much easier to handle By the way, how you © ieltshelpnow.com want us to hand in our work? Do you want us to drop in a hard copy to your office? Tutor You could that but I’d prefer it if you just e-mailed it to me as an attachment You’ve all got my address If not, give it to the secretary clearly marked that it’s for me Right, Jennifer, how about you? Jennifer I’ve not really got going on it yet but I’ve decided on a subject I’ll try and some research during the rest of this week and I should get writing this weekend Tutor OK, what are you writing about then? Jennifer products I want to look into how supermarkets use market surveys to develop their Tutor Will you have enough time to find out what sort of things that the supermarkets do? You won’t have much time for that Jennifer I should be OK I’ve had a look in the stack system in the library and I’ve found a magazine that surveyed all the UK major supermarkets and a trade publication that analysed the same things in Canadian supermarkets Tutor Be careful about using their conclusions too much The university takes a tough stance on plagiarism Make sure you properly list where you get your information from in a bibliography and try and your own analysis Get going too as that analysis will take a bit of time Jennifer OK, thanks You now have some time to look at questions 28 to 30 (20 second gap) Now listen to the rest of the discussion and answer questions 28 to 30 Tutor And Melanie How is your work going? Melanie I’m a bit behind I’m afraid I was sick all last week and weekend with flu I’ve got a subject I think but I’ve not done any work on it yet Is there any chance I can get an extension to the submittal date? Tutor The policy of the department is not to give any extensions unless there are extenuating circumstances Do you have a doctor’s certificate or anything? Melanie I went to the doctor’s but I didn’t get a note as I didn’t realise I would need it The doctor will have a record of me though as I got a prescription I’ll go back and get one Tutor Yes, If you get one, then there shouldn’t be a problem getting an extension Without it though, you’ll be in trouble What subject are you considering anyway? Melanie I thought I’d an overview of the UK mortgage interest rates and their effect on © ieltshelpnow.com housing sales trends over the last 10 years I thought it might be of interest because of the huge increases of house prices over the last decade Tutor Certainly an interesting subject and it should be no great problem getting information as this has been fairly well documented It’s a lot of work again though and you’ll really need to get cracking on it even with the extension – if you get one Melanie Well, I’ve not got much on for the rest of the week and I’ve set aside the weekend to really get to grips with it Tutor Good Now, is there anything else? That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) Now turn to section Section You will hear part of an earth sciences lecture First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40 (20 second gap) Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40 Good afternoon and welcome to this Earth Sciences lecture Today we’re going to look at tidal waves; or more correctly, tsunami Deep below the ocean’s surface tectonic plates collide, and every once in a while, these forces produce an earthquake The energy of such submarine earthquakes can produce tidal waves, which radiate out in all directions from the epicentre of the quake, moving at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour When these waves reach shore, they can cause enormous destruction and loss of life Tidal waves are actually misnamed They are not caused by tides A more accurate word for them is the Japanese name tsunami, which means, harbour wave They are also sometimes called seismic sea waves, since they can be caused by seismic disturbances such as submarine quakes However, that name is not really accurate either, since tsunami can also be caused by landslides, volcanic eruptions, nuclear explosions, and even impacts of objects from outer space, such as meteorites, asteroids, and comets Earthquakes though are the largest cause of tsunami Tectonic plates cover the world’s surface and their movement can be detected anywhere in the world Some areas of the world are more prone to greater movement, and it is in these places that the largest waves can occur Large vertical movements of the earth’s crust occur at plate boundaries which are known as faults The Pacific Ocean’s denser oceanic plates are often known to slip under continental plates in a process known as subduction, and subduction earthquakes are the most effective in generating tsunamis A tsunami can be generated by any disturbance that displaces a large water mass from its equilibrium position In the case of earthquake-generated tsunamis, the water column is disturbed © ieltshelpnow.com by the uplift or subsidence of the sea floor Submarine landslides, which often accompany large earthquakes, as well as collapses of volcanic edifices, can also disturb the overlying water column as sediment and rock slump down, and are redistributed across the sea floor Violent submarine volcanic eruptions can create an impulsive force that uplifts the water column and generates a tsunami Conversely, super marine landslides and cosmic-body impacts disturb the water from above, as momentum from falling debris is transferred to the water into which the debris falls Generally speaking, tsunamis generated from these mechanisms, unlike the devastating Pacific-wide tsunamis caused by earthquakes, dissipate quickly and rarely affect coastlines distant from the source area Tsunamis are very hard to detect, since they cannot be seen when they are in the deep ocean The distance between two wave crests can be 500 km and, because of this, the wave height is only a few feet Because the rate at which a wave loses its energy is inversely related to its wavelength, tsunamis not only propagate at high speeds, they can also travel great, transoceanic distances with limited energy losses As the tsunami reaches shallow water however, its speed decreases, but the energy it contains remains about the same Instead of travelling fast, the wave rises high The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has set up a seismic detection system to monitor earthquakes and predict the possible arrival of tidal waves for Pacific countries Buoys at sea can also detect water-pressure changes that can indicate tsunamis moving through the ocean But when tsunamis originate near the shore there is often little chance to warn people Let’s look at some examples of tsunami and their causes and effects Some can be relatively harmless In 1992 an offshore landslide caused a tidal wave of only about three feet high that struck at low tide, so Humboldt County, where it hit, got off easy with no casualties On January 13th in 1992, a Pacific Ocean earthquake off the coast of San Salvador, registering 7.6 on the Richter scale, did not cause any ocean disturbance at all However, a recent tidal wave, which struck Papua New Guinea on July 17, 1998, was 23 feet high, and killed at least 1200 people This wave was caused by a magnitude 7.1 submarine earthquake On July 17, 1998 a Papua New Guinea tsunami killed roughly 3,000 people A huge underwater volcanic eruption 15 miles offshore was followed within 10 minutes by a wave some 40 feet tall The villages of Arop and Warapu were destroyed One of the worst tsunami disasters engulfed whole villages along Sanriku, Japan, in 1896 An underwater earthquake induced a wave of 35 feet drowning some 26,000 people Finally, about 8,000 years ago, a massive undersea landslide off the coast of Norway sent a 30foot wall of water barrelling into the uninhabited northern coast of Europe If this were to recur today, as scientists say it could, almost anywhere in the world, it would cost billions if not tens of billions of dollars to repair the damage to coastal cities and kill tens of thousands of people Any questions so far? © ieltshelpnow.com That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) That is the end of listening test In the IELTS test you would now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet © ieltshelpnow.com This recording is copyright IELTS HELP NOW listening practice tests Test In the IELTS test you hear some recordings and you have to answer questions on them You have time to read the instructions and questions and check your work All recordings are played only once Now turn to Section Section You will hear a conversation between two women as one of the women buys a bus pass First you have some time to look at questions – (20 second gap) You will see that there is an example This time only, the conversation relating to this will be played first Woman Good morning I’m here to get a student bus pas please Woman Of course Madam Do you want to buy a month pass, a month pass or a year pass? Woman Oh, just a month pass please So, month is the correct answer Now we begin You should answer the questions as you listen, as the recording is not played twice Listen carefully to the conversation and answer questions to Woman Good morning I’m here to get a student bus pas please Woman Of course Madam Do you want to buy a month pass, a month pass or a year pass? W1 Oh, just a month pass please W2 Right then I’ll just have to take a few details W1 Yes Of course W2 First of all, what’s your name? W1 Nathalie Jameson W2 And how you spell Jameson? W1 J-A-M-E-S-O-N W2 Thank you And what’s your address? W1 45 Forest Avenue, Newlands, Adelaide © ieltshelpnow.com W2 Is that Forest with R or Rs? W1 Just W2 And what’s the postcode please? W1 Oh yes… It’s 8490 W2 Thanks Now what’s your date of birth … If you don’t mind me asking? W1 Not at all It’s the 13th May 1982 W2 I also need to know your telephone number here in Adelaide W1 OK I just need to check that as I only moved here last week Now, where is it Here we are It’s 6249 7152 Do you need a code or anything? W2 Oh no, that’s OK thank you Can I see your university card please? W1 Yes, here it is W2 Good That’s fine Now, for which zone you need a pass? W1 Well, I’m not sure I was hoping you’d be able to help me as I don’t really know my way around here yet As you know, I live in Newlands and I have to get to the university campus in the centre of town every day W2 Well, the university is in Zone and Newlands has zones The side nearer to the town centre is Zone but the far side is Zone What road is it you live in again? W1 Forest Avenue W2 Let’s see on this map There it is The nearest bus stop is in Zone That’s lucky Zones – are $15 more expensive W1 Great! Make the pass out for Zones – then please Before the conversation continues, you have some time to look at questions to 10 (20 second gap) Now listen carefully and answer questions to 10 W1 I’ve got some other questions too if you don’t mind W2 Sure Go ahead © ieltshelpnow.com W1 Well, this weekend my friend and I aren’t doing anything so we thought we’d take a trip out of town and visit somewhere new Does the bus service run any trips like that? W2 Yes, we’ve got a selection of trips I’ll tell you about some of them W1 Thanks W2 Right the first one goes up to MacDonald Nature Park The bus leaves at 8.00am and takes about hours to get there and leaves for the return at 4.30 in the afternoon Once there you can walk around the nature trails It’s really nice and the Macdonald River runs through there and that’s really beautiful so take a camera with you Then there’s the Pearl Bay trip The bus leaves at 9.00am and goes up the coast to Pearl Bay W1 How far is that? W2 It’s an hour away Once there you can walk along the cliffs up to Rocky Point, which has a famous view up the coast, or you can just lie on the beach and swim Don’t forget to take your swimming gear and a towel! The water’s pretty safe there and there are always lifeguards The bus arrives back in Adelaide at 5.00pm W1 Mm That sounds nice What else? W2 Well there’s the Huron Gold Mine It’s just a half-day trip leaving here at 9.30am and arriving back at 2.00pm It only takes half an hour to get there which is good It’s an old worked out mine that has been changed into a sort of museum They have all the old equipment and a guide takes you round some of the tunnels and shows you some of the techniques they used to use You might even find some gold they missed W1 Yeah I could with that W2 It’s pretty interesting but the mines can be quite cold so take a sweater So, how those three sound? W1 Quite interesting I really like the idea of going up the coast and spending a day on the beach but my friend Karen will like the idea of the nature park I’d better wait and check out with her what she wants to before booking W2 No problem at all You just need to pop in some time during the week and we’ll make the booking W1 Thanks very much You’ve been very helpful W2 No problem See you later That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) Now turn to section © ieltshelpnow.com Section You will hear a radio presenter interviewing a man about the Sydney Harbour Bridge First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16 (20 second gap) Now listen carefully to the interview and answer questions 11 to 16 Anne Well, good morning again everyone and welcome to “Perspectives”, the weekly New South Wales Radio programme on subjects of general interest from our local area Today I have in the studio Mr George Symonds Good morning George George Good morning Anne Anne So, what are you going to talk to us about today George? George Well, for people from New South Wales and particularly Sydney, this will be of great interest – I hope I’m going to tell you a little about Sydney Harbour Bridge Anne Wow That’ll be so interesting George I think so To start with I’d like to tell you a little about the size of the bridge The arch span is 503 metres and the weight of the steel arch is 39,000 tons The summit is 134m above mean sea level, though it can actually increase by as much as 18 cm on hot days as the result of steel expanding in heat The two pairs of pylons at each end are about 89 metres high and are made of concrete and granite The steel used for the bridge was largely imported About 79% came from the United Kingdom but the rest was Australian-made The granite was quarried in Moruya down the coast, and the concrete is also Australian Anne So, most of the steel used to make our great bridge actually came from England? George Yes, I’m afraid so However the work force were all Aussie! Anne Thank God for that When was the bridge actually built? George The bridge was opened in 1932 but work first began in 1924, with the construction of the bridge approaches and spans, with two separate teams building the arch on each side working towards each other The arch was successfully joined on August 19, 1930 I’m afraid that working practices weren’t very fair in those days and the local government demolished 438 homes which were in the way of the approaches, and as many as 800 families living there were displaced without compensation The standards of industrial safety were inadequate too 16 workers died during its construction, mainly from falling off the bridge Anne I didn’t realise that George Yes The bridge was formally opened on the 19th March 1932 by the Premier of New South Wales, Mr Jack Lang When it was opened, it was the longest single span steel arch bridge in the world and it was one of the greatest engineering masterpieces of its time Several songs © ieltshelpnow.com were also composed in advance for the occasion but these have now been largely lost or forgotten However, three postage stamps were issued to commemmorate the opening of the bridge and these still exist One of these stamps, with a face value of five shillings, is now worth several hundred dollars today You now have some time to look at questions 17 to 20 (20 second gap) Now listen to the rest of the interview and answer questions 17 to 20 Anne built? So, that’s the history of the bridge Is the bridge still the same today as when it was George No, it’s quite different The basic structure is the same of course Originally the bridge was constructed to carry a road, two sets of tram lines and railways In 1957, the two tram lines were removed when Sydney abolished its trams, thus giving the bridge two more traffic lanes Today it carries eight traffic lanes, two railroad lanes and a footpath along its eastern side One of the eastern traffic lanes is now a dedicated bus lane The bridge is often crowded and in 1992 the Harbour Tunnel was opened to help carry the traffic load More than 160,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day Before the Harbour Tunnel was opened this figure was as high as 182,000 and would be much higher today if it were not for the Tunnel Pedestrians, horses and pushbikes are not allowed on the bridge anymore Anne Wow The bridge actually carries that much? George Oh yes Actually, before the Harbour Bridge opened, it was completely packed with railway carriages, trams and buses to stress test its load bearing capacity While it has had many traffic jams since and half a million people walked across it on its 50th anniversary, it has probably never been asked to carry that much of a load since Anne Amazing And I suppose the toll for crossing the bridge has changed a bit too? George I’m afraid so!! The initial toll charged for a car was pence while a horse and rider was charged pence Today the toll costs $3.00 but is only charged when travelling to the South as an efficiency measure to speed up traffic flow That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) Now turn to section Section You will hear students discussing a survey they are going to First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 27 (20 second gap) Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 27 © ieltshelpnow.com Phil ages Hi Mel Hi Laura Sorry I’m a bit late I got held up by the bus It just didn’t come for Mel chatting Don’t worry You’re only a couple of minutes behind and we’ve only just been Laura Right then We’re here to organise the survey that we’re going to Mel, you said that you’d discuss with Professor Donald Walker what type of survey we were going to Mel Yes I spoke to Professor Walker two days ago and I told him that the surveys that we were considering were a telephone survey, a street survey and a mail survey He thought that the phone one would be too expensive for us and the postal one would take too long so we decided we should the street one Phil I think that’s right If we the street one then we can get the whole thing done in one day and we can get on with analysing the results Mel Yes, that’s right Now, there are some other things that Professor Walker wanted to know about How big should the survey be? Laura Well, the ideal figure for a survey such as this should be about 1000 people but that will take us about a month to get that many people and we just don’t have that much time On the other hand, if we just choose 100 people, the survey won’t be statistically significant Phil So, what about something in the middle What about 600? Mel Still too many That’ll take us ages 400? Laura Let’s split the difference and say 500 Mel/Phil OK Laura And how many questions? If there are too many we’ll just have the same problem Mel then? Professor Walker said we should have no more than 10 or people get bored 10 Phil I think even fewer Laura I think fewer again to make sure we can get the numbers done quickly Phil OK, I agree with that Mel I’m not sure but I suppose so You now have some time to look at questions 28 to 30 (20 second gap) © ieltshelpnow.com Now listen to the rest of the discussion and answer questions 28 to 30 Mel Now, Professor Walker asked where we were going to the survey Laura Does he want to avoid that area then? Mel Probably! Now we can either all stay together or split up and different locations Laura surveyed Well, if we split up then I think we’ve got a better chance of getting more people Phil Yes I agree with Laura Mel OK Now, I made a list of the possible locations in Westley where we could station ourselves There’s the town square, at the entrance to the train station, at the University cafeteria, outside Dobbins department store, on the corner of the High Street and College road, the bus station and the corner of the High Street and Wilkins Road What you think? Phil I think the square is great but the people at the train station will be travelling and often in a hurry Laura station I agree with all that and I think the bus station will have the same problem as the train Mel OK, that’s those two out then Laura I think the other ones in town were good too The cafeteria will have too many students and that will create too great a bias to our survey We need a good cross section of the population and anywhere too close to the university won’t give us that Phil Laura’s right So, out of the other town ones, I think that the two on the High Street corners are good Mel I don’t agree The High Street corner with College Road will be good but the corner with Wilkins Road is too far out Not enough people will come by there Laura Yes, Mel’s right there We should use Dobbins department store instead Phil I can see your point OK, that’s settled then All three of us will be stationed in town then but not the Wilkins Road position That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) Now turn to section Section You will hear part of a further education marine biology lecture First you have © ieltshelpnow.com some time to look at questions 31 to 40 (20 second gap) Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40 Good morning everyone and welcome to this further education lecture on marine biology Today we are going to look at the coelacanth The discovery of the coelacanth has been compared to finding a dinosaur walking around today over 85 million years after it went extinct The story began a few days before Christmas in 1938 when the first living coelacanth was discovered off the east coast of South Africa, at the mouth of the Chalumna River The fish was caught in a shark gill net by Captain Goosen and his crew who, recognising the bizarre nature of their catch, alerted the local museum in the small South African town of East London The Director of the East London Museum at the time was Miss Marjorie Courtney-Latimer after whom the Coelacanth was eventually named Miss Courtney-Latimer offered bounties to fishermen for unfamiliar fish It was Miss Courtney-Latimer who alerted the prominent South African ichthyologist Dr J.L.B Smith, who initially identified the fish, and subsequently informed the world about this amazing discovery This first coelacanth led to the discovery of the first documented population, off the remote Comoros Islands, between the mainland of Africa and Madagascar For 60 years this was presumed to be the only coelacanth population in existence Originally it was a concern that the Coelacanth might have a very limited range and that overfishing along the Comoros Islands might wipe it out However, scientists were amazed when, on July 30th 1998, an American scientist discovered a Coelacanth population in Indonesia Dr Mark Erdmann was on a honeymoon trip to the area investigating a coral reef research site when he spotted a strange fish being wheeled into the fish market He recognized the fish as a coelacanth and snapped a picture before it was sold Dr Erdmann’s subsequent research revealed that the people from Sulawesi had a name for it, raja, ‘king of the sea’ The Sulawesi coelacanth colony is about 10,000 km east of where the Coelacanths were previously known to occur in the Western Indian Ocean Both Sulawesi and Comoros coelacanths are quite different from all other living fish But perhaps the most interesting feature of the Coelacanth is that it has paired, lobed fins, which move in a similar fashion to our arms and legs Coelacanths also have an extra lobe on their tail and a vertebral column that is not fully developed They are the only living animal to have a fully functional intercranial joint, a division that separates the ear and brain from the nasal organs and eye, and allows the front part of the head to be lifted when the fish is feeding The brown Sulawesi coelacanth and the steel blue Comoros coelacanth share these unusual characteristics The discovery of the Coelacanth in 1938 is still considered to be the zoological find of the century This living fossil comes from a lineage of fish that was thought to have been extinct since the time of the dinosaurs Coelacanths are known from the fossil record dating back over 360 million years, and peaked in abundance about 240 million years ago Before 1938 they were believed to have become extinct approximately 80 million years ago, after mysteriously disappearing from the fossil record © ieltshelpnow.com How could the Coelacanth disappear for over 80 million years and then turn up alive and well in the twentieth century? The answer seems to be that fossil Coelacanths appeared to live in environments with clay sedimentation with plenty of volcanic activity Modern coelacanths, both in the Comoros and Sulawesi inhabit caves and overhangs in vertical marine reefs, at about 200m, environments not conducive to fossil creation In 1991 scientists got a better understanding of the fish when the Comoros got their independence from France and French restrictions on research were lifted This allowed scientists to study the fish off the Comoros Islands As the animal hides in underwater caves some 300 to 700 feet down during the day and comes out at night to feed, diving is not an option and previously only fishermen’s specimens had been available for study But this time the scientists had their own submarine so they could study the coelacanth in its natural habitat through portholes That is the end of section You will now have half a minute to check your answers (30 second gap) That is the end of listening test In the IELTS test you would now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet © ieltshelpnow.com