Question 1-5: Answer the questions below. (5pts)
II. Students should have freedom to choose their own subjects in the graduation exam for Secondary education. Do you agree or disagree? Write
3. Language use and accuracy: (3 points)
+ Variety of structures, expressions and good use of vocabulary + No spelling or grammar mistakes.
LISTENING SCRIPTS I.
Hi and welcome to the walking audio tour service, which offers guided audio tours of over 30 walks around London. The full list of the walks is available on our website. You have chosen the Hampstead Heath Tour Part 1, which was, in fact, the first of the walking tours that were recorded. Your walk takes you through part of the heath, a huge, wild, open parkland where Londoners and visitors to the city can come and enjoy some leisurely and refreshing exercise.
The heath is one of the gems of north London. When you enter the parkland, you will feel as if you are walking in the wild countryside, but you are actually still in an urban area.
The walking tour begins here at the exit to Hampstead underground station, which is the deepest station on the London Underground system. We hope that you enjoy your experience, whether you are on your own or sharing your walk with a companion. … So let’s begin your tour. We hope you enjoy it1
If you turn right as you exit Hampstead station, and stay on the right hand side of the road, the main thorough-fare, Heath Street, will take you up the hill to the heath itself. You are now walking away from the main shops and cafes in Hampstead village, but you can return to visit these after your walking tour for some window shopping. The village is busy during the daytime and the evenings.
Now back to Heath Street. As the road winds northwards up Heath Street, you will pass some shops and restaurants on your way to the heath. When you reach the top, the first part of the heath that you will see on your right is the Vale of the Heath, which has some spectacular houses, built on the Heath itself beside a large pond. If you go along a little further you will come to a fork in the road – North End Way– turns to the left and goes northwest away from the heath; and on your right is Spaniards Road, which turns north-east, cutting through the
parkland. Walk along this latter road a little way and look for the first opening on your right, where a path leads you down into the wild parkland.
As you descend along the pathway, you will find that the noise of the busy road, that is just on your left, disappears completely. You might want to take off your headphones to enjoy the delight of the sounds of the parkland. Don’t imagine that there is only silence! There is the noise of the trees and the wildlife that lives there. As you walk along the path, you will come across several paths coming from the right to join the path that you are on, but keep going until you come to the first fork in the path. Now take the path that goes to your left, which will bring you shortly to the open spaces around Kenwood House.
II.
Question 1-5:
The subject of this evening’s talk at the North Bank Business Centre is local business people in the area surrounding the university, and the benefit they bring to the employment prospects of people in the local area, especially young people at the beginning of their career.
We established the Centre is response to approaches from several business people in the area who had wanted to start up new businesses, but who had not managed to find any help locally and did not know where to turn. Moreover, they had all without exception come up against enormous bureaucratic obstacles. We therefore invited them in as a group to meet the members of the department and the students. Stemming from that is the Centre, which is now focuses mainly but not exclusively on business start-ups.
Just after the Centre was set up, snapshot research conducted by the department over the telephone gave some startling results. The information about local business revealed that three out of every ten local business start-ups, that we could collect information on, had failed within the first six months, and another five had gone within the year, leaving only two. The most common
higher than the national average due to the area being very central; second, lack of knowledge about grants, basically because of ignorance about how to access them; and thirdly a lack of business support, because they did not know where to obtain advice from.
Since the Centre came into existence three years ago, we have helped to change this climate of failure. The current statistics show a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of local business. And now, after a year, only two business close out of every ten compared to eight before the Centre was set up.
Question 6-10:
Six local businesses are now taking part in a work-placement and monitoring scheme, which is of mutual benefit to ourselves and the companies involved. O- foods, a small start-up company with nine employees involved in organic food and based at a local market, has one final year graduate doing a year-long study on improving the stock turnaround. This was a particular problem because the company found that they were losing sometimes up to 30 percent of their stock.
Another start-up is Innovations which deals with producing video games. This company, which employs only five people all under the age of 25, is receiving support in attracting business partners and achieving production targets.
In the smaller business category, Sampsons Ltd, a courier company, which is interested in developing a taxi service, is being offered help with their business expansion plans. Another small niche company, called Vintage Scooter, which specializes in revamping old scooters, is taking part in a product-monitoring scheme, offering customer service up to a year after purchase to check the quality of their restoration.
The first of the two medium-sized companies that the scheme is monitoring is Build Ltd, which employs 47 people. A comparison of their products and services with other businesses in the area is being carried out by a researcher, who is trying to support them in their efforts to extend the company’s product range.
The last company, Jones Systems, is perhaps the most interesting, because it has been the victim of considerable personnel problems, which have been affecting the day-to-day operations of the company. And so we are looking at conflict management and team building within the company.
To sum up, advisors help the companies look at different business options and models, apply for grants, deal with employment issues, systems creation, and also provide accommodation at the centre to help them start up. E-mentoring for fledgling businesses is also in operation for those who find it difficult to attend the centre personally. The programme is funded by grants from local authorities.
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