Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS – Full Audio

Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS – Full Audio

recording 1A speaker a on Mondays at school a group of us always talk about whatever movies we saw at the weekend on Saturdays I often get together with my classmates and we see all the latest releases together I can’t remember the last time I saw a film with my parents we just don’t have much in common anymore speaker B my parents are both teachers so you’d imagine I’d have no trouble at all academically when I was little it was great because we had a really great relationship but nowadays all we seem to do is argue and that causes a lot of conflict between us so I don’t really feel I can go to them for help my friends aren’t much help either as they’ve all got the same problem thank goodness I get on really well with my chter at University she’s very approachable and if I’m struggling with an assignment I find her advice really helps me speaker C my parents are quite old so I feel as though they’re out of touch with the modern world they don’t seem to have any idea of what things cost I’m hoping to get a car in the next few months but I’ll be taking my older brother along to help we used to fight a lot when we were growing up but there’s a really close bond between us now he’s already had a few cars so I’m sure he’ll be a great help speaker d i play the violin and the piano and my granddad is a great cello player a lot of my friends at school listen to all the popular bands and singers but my tastes are totally different I prefer classical music and they just don’t understand it at all luckily Granddad shares my taste so we often buy CDs and talk about them together together recording 1B tell me about your family well my immediate family is relatively small just my parents my two brothers and me but both of my parents come from very large family so my extended family is very large I have 25 cousins our family gatherings are pretty chaotic but fun we’re a very close knit family even though we don’t live together anymore the family ties are still very strong when we were little there wasn’t very much sibling rivalry between us I think it’s because we had a very stable upbringing both of my parents played a very active role in our school life and our home life and they taught us to resolve our conflicts in a very fair way I consider myself very lucky who are you most similar to in your family well you can see a very clear family resemblance between my brothers and me but everyone tells me that the physical resemblance between me and my maternal grandmother is very striking sadly I never got to meet her because she died before I was born but I’ve seen photographs of her at my age and we’re quite alike other than that I think I have my father’s temperament we’re both very stubborn but thankfully I also inherited his mathematical brain and what do you think it takes to be a good parent well I don’t think just anyone can be a good parent not everyone has the right instincts I think I have a very strong maternal Instinct because I love taking care of small children so I hope to become a mother one day I think it takes a great deal of patience and love recording 1C you will hear the director of a child care center talking to the parent of a new child good morning my name is Bob Ferguson and I’m the director of Ascot Childcare Center oh good morning I’m salian Cullen I made an appointment to enroll my daughter that’s right I’ve got the application form right here now first I need some personal details so the family name is Cullen is that right that’s right now what about your daughter what does she like to be called oh her name is Alexandra but we all just call her Alex A L E X great as you know we organize the children into different age groups there’s the babies group The toddlers aged 2 to three and the preschoolers they’re aged four to five how old is your daughter well she’d go into the toddler group she’s just turned three and we always like to make a note of our children’s birthdays so we can celebrate it all together if they’re at the center on that day when was she born oh um the 8th of November fine and we also find it’s a great help to know about siblings sometimes a problem at the center can be related to problems with a sibling does she have any brothers or sisters yes a brother Fraser he’s 2 years older so that would make him five is that right yes that’s right fine now we also need a contact address where do you live it’s 108 Park Road that’s p a r k Maidstone good now last of all we need a telephone number we can call if there are any problems oh well I’ll be at work and so will my husband so the best number to call is 3467 890 right and is that a close relative yes it’s my mother-in-law’s number we prefer to make a note of how the person is related to the child so I’ll write down grandmother yes that does make more sense now that’s all of the personal details we also like to try and get a picture of your child’s personal development can you tell me if there are any specific problems she’s having for example does she get on well with other children is sleeping a problem oh she gets on well with others I think but she does have trouble sleeping we gave up her daytime nap a long time ago that’s good to know I’ll make a note of that she can just have some quiet time while the others are resting if she likes that should be fine she enjoys drawing quietly right now what about other skills we occasionally take the children swimming fully supervised of course and we only go in a paddling pool as we don’t expect them to swim by themselves yet does your daughter need a lot of help getting changed no not at all in fact she’s been able to get dressed in the mornings for over a year now so no problems there that must be a big help for for you now what about the child care arrangements are there any specific days you require well I work Monday to Wednesday but my mother-in-law has agreed to look after her on Wednesdays so does that mean that you’ll just need Monday and Tuesday for now that’s right and what about the pickup time we offer extended hours for parents who work a great distance away H I work until 3:00 but it takes me about half an hour to drive home so ideally I’d like to pick her up at 4: if that’s okay okay that would be fine now is there any other information you’d like recording 2A in the first years of a child’s life many important Milestones are reached by the end of the first year a baby will have already acquired some social skills he would enjoy imitating people and will also test parental responses to his behavior uh for example what do my parents do if I refuse food in in terms of movement an infant will be able to reach a sitting position unassisted and pull himself up to stand he may be able to walk momentarily without support as far as communication is concerned he’ll be able to use Simple gestures such as shaking his head for no say mama and dada and he will try to imitate words when it comes to cognitive development he’ll be able to find hidden objects easily and use objects correctly such as drinking from from a cup by the age of two or three the infant has reached the toddler stage in terms of social skills this means he’s becoming more independent which may result in the occasional tantrum however he has learned to take turns in games and spontaneously expresses affection his physical development will also have increased significantly as he can now move around a lot faster and even run he can also climb upstairs or onto relatively low obstacles and even ride a small tricycle however he will still be rather unsteady on his feet at times when it comes to language and communication he can Now understand most sentences and uses four and five-word sentences in terms of cognitive development he’s learned to play Make Believe games and uses his imagination more he has also mastered the skill of sorting objects according to their shape and color between the ages of 6 and 12 a child reaches what is termed middle childhood and they will stay in this phase until they reach Adolescence in middle childhood children’s development is more affected by the outside world and the child’s world expands to include friends teachers Sports trainers and so on children develop at various rates and while some children in middle childhood seem very mature in terms terms of their emotional and social skills others seem very immature as far as physical Milestones are concerned during this stage growth is steady but less rapid than during the preschool years there are some major changes occurring at this stage as baby teeth will come out and permanent adult teeth will grow as the mouth is not yet fully developed this may cause overcrowding eyes will reach maturity in both sides and function in terms of their cognitive ability children at this stage master the skills of sequencing and ordering which are essential for maths by the end of this period children should have acquired effective reading and writing skills recording 2B what do you remember about your Early Childhood oh I remember being very happy I have a lot of great memories of my childhood in fact my sisters and I often reminisce about it perhaps when you look back everything seems better but our summer holidays seem to go on forever and the sun always seem to be shining nowadays if we ever have a hot summer day it always reminds me of my childhood holidays do you think you have a good memory or a poor memory well when I was younger I think I used to have a very good memory I used to be able to memorize long lists of dates without any trouble but I find it harder and harder to remember things these days so now I’d say my memory is quite poor when I’m studying I find I have to think up strategies to help me like visualizing something associated with a particular word I even forget important things some sometimes so I have to write myself little notes as a reminder recording 3A part one the heart is considered to be a muscle and just like any other muscle in your body your diet has a direct impact on the way that it works the food you eat every day can affect the way that blood flows through your heart and arteries a diet that is high in fat can gradually cause a buildup in your arteries that slows down the blood flow and can even block small arteries if an artery that carries blood to the heart becomes blocked the heart muscle can die this is known as a heart attack and sufferers must receive treatment quickly if the blockage occurs in an artery that carries blood to the brain part of the brain can die this is known as a stroke the effect of a stroke stroke can be debilitating and there is no known cure the correct diet can help you control your weight and keep your arteries clear thereby reducing the risk of heart problems and stroke recording 3B part two so what can you do to lose weight well exercise is by far the best way burning calories and working off the fat will help you look and feel better regular exercise helps you burn calories faster even when you’re sitting still but what is the best type of exercise for your heart well Studies have shown that aerobic exercise causes you to breathe more deeply and makes your heart work harder to pump blood aerobic exercise also raises your heart rate and thus burns calories common examples of aerobic exercise include walking briskly jogging running swimming and cycling people are often unsure just how much exercise they need again recent studies can help these have shown that it’s best to begin slowly and gradually work up to 30 minutes of exercise 4 to six times a week however your doctor may make a different recommendation based on your health for example it may be best to start with only a couple of minutes of exercise or begin at a fairly slow pace if you’re not used to exercise be sure to pay careful attention to your body one sure sign that you may be overdoing it is if you can’t carry on a conversation while you exercise to give your body the chance to recover it’s also best to alternate exercise days with rest days recording 3C bath bathe birth breath breathe death growth Health mouth mouth teeth tee R recording 3D one I took a deep breath before diving into the water two the baby’s crying because he’s teething he got two new teeth Only Yesterday three old people should take care of their health four he’s been so happy since the birth of his son f five the pain was so bad she was ring in agony six he can’t breathe you need to get him to hospital recording 3D one I took a deep breath before diving into the water two the baby’s crying because he’s teething he got two new teeth Only Yesterday three old people should take care of their health four he’s been so happy since the birth of his son five the pain was so bad she was ring in agony six he can’t breathe you need to get him to hospital recording 4A do you think people work too much nowadays not really I think people have always worked hard for a living I mean it’s never been easy for anyone has it you have to work hard if you want to achieve anything in your life that’s just the way it is and there isn’t a lot you can do about it life has its ups and downs and I think the best thing to do is accept that and get on with it what do you like to do to relax for me there is only one way to relax and that’s through sport I like to live life on the edge so I do a lot of extreme sports like paragliding and deep sea diving when you’re in a dangerous situation that’s when you really feel alive I think your attitude has a big impact on your quality of life what’s your idea of a perfect day I don’t think there’s any such thing as the perfect day something always seems to happen to spoil it some people say I have a negative attitude but if I plan a picnic with friends then either it rains or my friends decide not to come along I think it’s a waste of time making plans like that life can be full of disappointments how would you describe your attitude to life I have a very positive outlook on life I think it’s important to treat every day as special and live life to the full some people approach everything as if their glass is half empty if you do that then it will color every experience you have I think if you want to lead a happy life then you need to have a positive approach to everything recording 4B you will hear a woman talking on the radio about things for children to do during the school holidays the school holidays are fast approaching and I’m sure all of you parents out there are worried about how to occupy your children well I have a few tips that may help keep your children entertained without spending large amounts of money one of our biggest problems is that today’s children often do not have the type of hobby that was familiar in the past such as making their own toys instead they rely on sophisticated video games to keep them amused but children also like to feel needed so why not give them jobs to do around the house you may be surprised how much they will enjoy simple tasks such as washing your car another idea is to use this time to develop their cooking skills food is something we all enjoy so why not get them to prepare some simple dishes in the kitchen learning to cook is a useful life skill for children to learn and it can also keep them happy for several hours children also love doing arts and crafts so why not give them the task of making presents for upcoming birthdays or celebrations not only will they enjoy making them but you’ll also save some money and the family or friends who receive the gifts are sure to be delighted a great idea to get children out of the house is to find out about how they can help in your local community perhaps there is a home for the elderly nearby they are sure to welcome a visit from young people even a few minutes a week can brighten their day of course younger children cannot do these things for very long but older ones may find that there are ongoing projects around your neighborhood that they can help with these are just a few ideas but I’m sure you can think of many more if not there are plenty of places to look for other suggestions nowadays the first place people seem to look is the internet which can be a good source of information however it does have its limits because ideas suitable for children living in the city may not translate well for children in rural areas so don’t overlook your library these are often filled with great ideas targeted at children in your specific area there are a few key points to remember however one of the most important things is to keep your children active otherwise they will be sure to get bored also remember that although children can be very independent even from 9 or 10 years old you should still be there to take care of them up to the age of 12 so don’t be tempted to let older children babysit their younger siblings this should only be done by an adult recording 5A can you tell me about your Early Education well I went to kindergarten from the age of four and I remember that I didn’t enjoy it very much at all primary school was a little better especially because my mom was a teacher in the school she taught in the junior part of the school and she was actually my teacher in first grade but when I went up to the senior school I didn’t see very much of her after that I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to go to a very good high school my my parents couldn’t have afforded to send me to a private school so it was a really great opportunity for me it was a single sex school so there were no boys I’m glad I didn’t go to a mixed school because I think there are fewer distractions so everyone can just concentrate on their studies recording 5B so you have graduated from University and decided to continue studying towards a master’s or PhD at some stage during the next few years you will need to consider your thesis one of the greatest difficulties faced by postgraduate students is choosing a topic to base their dissertation on writing a thesis can be very daunting but the task is much more straightforward if the topic you select is appropriate for you so what can you do to solve this problem well there are several things to keep in mind firstly you need to do your research so that you are very familiar with all the current literature on top of this you also need to be sure that you have a broad knowledge of your area of specialization if you do this it will help you with the next important point in choosing a good subject for your research which is to ascertain what is relevant in your research area this will be crucial in helping you to narrow your choices down from the very beginning it really is vital to set clear limits and to have a very fixed plan in terms of the scope of your research it can be even more helpful to analyze existing research and ask yourself if there are any controversies perhaps there is a theory that you may want to challenge and this could be the focus of your study a further and very important factor to take into account is your own Financial Resources if these are limited then you need to avoid choosing a study that will involve costly equipment or surveys however if this is the case you needn’t despair or abandon your ideas altogether instead make inquiries into funding from external agencies such as your local government you may even find that local Industries are willing to support your research by providing a grant it’s always worth looking around to see just what is possible and finally be sure to make good use of your tutor especially when it comes to making sure that your findings are accurate recording 5c academic assignment consideration concentrate controversy controversy conduct distraction dis ation Economist educational educated research thesis Theory theoretical record ing 6A I’m a French teacher but I remember when I first started to learn the language I really struggled with it I didn’t really have a problem with the pronunciation like the other kids in my class I was just overwhelmed by all of the vocabulary but I persevered and soon I was scoring 10 out of 10 in all of the tests by the time I got to University I could produce essays and translate 18th century texts without much difficulty and I actually enjoyed learning the grammar rules then as part of my University course I had to go and live in France for a year that’s when I learned that communication was more important than accuracy as soon as I arrived I realized I didn’t know how to order the type of coffee I liked and trying to find accommodation was a nightmare I called people about ads in the paper but I had to keep putting the phone down because I couldn’t understand a word they were saying they all spoke so quickly there was a very real language barrier I could see then that there’s no point in just knowing words if you can’t hold a conversation with a native speaker fluency is what helps you to function properly it’s what helps you get a job hold a conversation or just buy the things you need recording 6B what do you think you need to do to be a good language learner well you need to be able to put down your textbooks from time to time and forget about accuracy that’s the only way to become more fluent in a language you also need to speak to native speakers of the language as much as you can what do you think makes a good language teacher I think the best language teachers are those those who can speak another language themselves teachers also need to be able to explain things clearly and in a way that is easy to follow what problems do people experience when learning your language my first language is very difficult to learn because of the pronunciation the individual sounds are very strange to other nationalities and often difficult for them to pronounce recording 7A speaker one I live in a quaint little village about 300 km from the nearest Big City although it’s a long way the drive from the city is well worth the effort because the surrounding Countryside is very Scenic I like living here because it’s so peaceful and the air is really fresh so it’s much nicer than in the city it’s a pretty sleepy Village but on Sundays there’s a huge market and people come from all the neighboring villages to buy and sell their local produce speaker two the most popular part of my hometown is the beach we have long stretches of white sand and the water is crystal clear the sea can be very calm at times but the surf can also be spectacular visitors who enjoy water sports are really well cated for as you can go snorkeling scuba diving and deep sea fishing soon we’re going to get our own airport but for now people can only get here by ferry speaker three my city is famous for its skyscrapers statues and fountains but most of all for its shopping you can buy anything you want here and we have over 50 large shopping malls we get a lot of overseas visitors so our airport is one of the busiest in the world it’s a very exciting and Cosmopolitan place to live most people don’t drive because there are always traffic jams but the public transport is really well organized we have some great attractions nearby for visitors as well as a huge Sports stadium and fantastic theme parks I suppose the only downside is that the air can get a little polluted at times speaker four my Village is 200 m above sea level and we Overlook The Villages and lakes down in the valley below it’s very picturesque up here so we get a lot of visitors especially artists who want to paint the landscape they also like our traditional houses the air is very crisp up here as well so a lot of people come up here to escape the heat in the city the roads are pretty Treacher because they’re very Steep and winding so most people arrive by train the scenery on the way up here really is breathtaking recording 7B boundary bought cough Country course double doubt drought enough Journal Journey not rough south southern tourism tourist trouble trough recording 8A speaker one I must say I’m never on time in fact I was late for meetings three days in a row last week everyone’s always angry with me because I do tend to keep people waiting a lot work is my problem I get so engrossed that I lose all track of time I try to get everything else ready before I start which saves a bit of time but before I know it a few hours have passed and I’m already late speaker two I can’t say I’m very punctual I do my best not to be late because I hate being kept waiting myself but I do sometimes spend too much time getting ready if I’m going out somewhere I like to Plat my hair which is very thick so this can be very time consuming and and I often have to rush through everything else I need to do I once went to a wedding and I took so long doing my hair that I only just arrived in time to hear the bride say I do speaker three I could tell the time at a very early age and I’ve been obsessed with punctuality ever since I own about 12 watches and clocks but none of them show the right time I can’t stand to be late for work or in a hurry so I make sure they’re all 10 minutes fast and I always carry a spare watch in case one of them stops that way I always arrive at meetings in plenty of time and I can take my time getting my paperwork ready recording 8B welcome once again to introduction to dentistry and in today’s lecture we’ll be looking at the history of Dentistry Through the Ages now skulls of the crom Manion people who inhabited the Earth 25,000 years ago show evidence of tooth decay and the earliest recorded mention of oral disease was in 5,000 BC this proves that oral disease is by no means a modern-day problem and has in fact plagued humans since time began that particular reference appeared in a text written by the ancient people of Sumeria which referred to tooth worms there is also evidence that dental problems cause difficulties in other early civilizations and people from those times actually developed treatments for them for example we have found historical evidence that the Chinese used acupuncture to treat the pain associated with tooth decay there is even further evidence of the troubles caused by toothache in the EBAs Papyrus which is a text written between 1700 and 1500 BC by the people of ancient Egypt this Papyrus contains references to diseases of the teeth as well as prescriptions for medications they used at that time while today we automatically prescribe antibiotics the ancient Egyptians relied on more traditional remedies to help with to Decay firstly olive oil which even today is known to have therapeutic qualities and secondly onions which again are an age-old traditional medicine and are still recognized as a reliable source of natural antibiotics a large proportion of early Dentistry was practiced as a part of general medicine however by the fifth century BC Herodotus a Greek historian made the following observation in Egypt medicine is practiced on a plan of Separation each physician treats a single disorder and no more some undertake to cure diseases of the eye others the head and others again of the teeth the Greeks were at the Forefront of of Dentistry of that time and it was a Greek physician who lived between 1300 and 1200 BC who chose to extract problem teeth long before anyone else Arabs were also Pioneers in the area of oral hygiene and used a small polishing stick as a toothbrush as early as 100 BC so what of Europe well throughout the Middle Ages Dentistry was made available to the wealthier classes thanks to Physicians who would visit individuals in their home while Dentistry for the poorer people took place in the marketplace Italian sources from the 1400s mentioned the use of gold leaf as Dental filling material but it was a Frenchman Pierre fushar Who is credited with being the father of modern dentistry to his book the surgeon dentist a treaties on teeth which describes basic oral Anatomy signs and symptoms of tooth decay recording 9 a the mirat is found exclusively on the semiarid pl of southern Africa in terms of its natural environment the Mir cat avoids Woodland andse vegetation at night the mirat retires to a network of burrows digs with its powerful for legs if Rocky ground makes this impossible the mere cat will make make it then in in the preves between mainly on insects spiders and SES but occasionally includes small rodents lizards and the roots of certain plants they will even tackle dangerous prey such as scorpions and snakes relying on its Keen sense of smell the Mir cat is a successful forager recording 9B adapt agriculture catastrophe chemical climate disastrous endangered genetically human natural vulnerable recording 10A many people believe that one day we will form a colony on another planet today we’re going to look at some other planets and consider why it will never be feasible for humans to live on them let’s start with Venus now Venus is unusual because it rotates in a different direction to the other planets orbiting the Sun in terms of its physical features it’s similar in size to Earth how however unlike Earth it doesn’t have any oceans it’s also extremely hot thanks to the thick covering of cloud which keeps the heat at 484 de Centigrade This Cloud also reflects sunlight which is why Venus appears so bright from Earth a further problem is the continual thunderstorms which could make life there rather unpleasant the surface of Venus also has many craters as result of asteroid collisions next is mercury which is a third of the size of our planet in fact it’s smaller than all the other planets except Pluto life would be difficult there because it’s close to the Sun and has almost no atmosphere on Mercury the temperature varies more than on any other planet in the solar system and as it has no water it is unable to sustain life let’s consider Saturn next we know a lot more about Saturn nowadays thanks to the Voyager space shuttle which taught us a lot about the rings around Saturn we also know that Saturn has a large number of moons Saturn has barely any solid surface as its composition is mostly gas it’s also extremely hot making life for humans impossible recording 10B astronaut atmosphere commercial Explorer exploration Galaxy Horizon horizontal outer satellite solar system sustain Universal recording 10c you will hear two science lecturers discussing space exploration hello John how was your conference on space travel hi Susan it was great we heard some fascinating speakers especially one fellow who was an expert on Mars he thinks it’s quite feasible for humans to live there in the near future well if we spent the billions of dollars that go into space research on looking after our own Planet then perhaps we wouldn’t need to worry about the Earth being uninhabitable in a 100 years time nor would we need to look for another planet to colonize yes but there are some important things that space exploration can teach us you know especially about the history of our own planet and its atmosphere that sort of knowledge could help us solve some of the problems that threaten our planet still I don’t really see why they have to send astronauts into space robotics is so much more advanced now why can’t they simply send robots well robotics has come a long way and it is more expensive to send a man spaceship into orbit but the biggest problem with robots is that they have to be programmed for every possible eventuality yes I suppose you’re right robots just can’t react to situations independently the way that humans do they still need us to tell them what to do that’s right robots May have come a long way but if you’re going to go to all the expense of building one you really need to make sure it’s going to work when it gets there and they don’t tend to take risks with new and untested Technology what if it lets you down so instead a lot of the space technology nowadays is actually based on the technology they used in the 1970s because we know that it works and it’s reliable so do you think it will ever be possible to send robots to Mars I’m not sure one of the speakers spoke about that and he said says that communication would be a problem is that because of the conditions I mean those extremes of temperature and even the atmosphere itself would probably create an awful lot of interference yes but they’re both issues that can be dealt with now the real problem is simply how far away it is that would cause long delays before the robots received any messages about what to do next so for the moment they don’t think it’s feasible that makes sense but tell me do you really think we should be contemplating sending humans to Mars at all don’t you think we should wait until we do have the technology well many years ago the civilizations that built the pyramids or that began building enormous Cathedrals must have started the project never expecting to see it finished I think we should take the same approach and start our preparations now that’s an interesting point though I’m still not convinced surely you don’t for see a time when humans will be living on Mars that’s just science fiction isn’t it not at all I think there is a distinct possibility that humans will live there but what about the conditions there even the dirt on the ground could kill us yes I agree with you there but we can easily build a self-contained structure there so people don’t need to go outside H I suppose the ground does also contain a lot of resources so getting Metals wouldn’t be a problem that’s right a lot of building materials could be found there but there are still many risks involved yes what about radiation I don’t think there will ever be a way to Shield us totally from cosmic radiation even inside a spaceship I can’t agree with you there astronauts have been traveling in space for a long time now so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for us I just don’t think we have enough experience of living in space long term but you have to accept that it is within the Realms of possibility that one day there will be a martian space station well well I have every faith in science and Mars does seem to be the next Frontier so yes I imagine we will eventually send a space mission there but I can’t see people living there recording 11a speaker a I live in a cottage it’s a single story building so the rooms are all on the same level it’s about 100 years old and it’s a very traditional design so there’s no concrete or steel to be found just about all the buildings in this area were built from Timber and Stone from the local Quarry it’s got a lot of character what I like best about it are the ceilings they’re quite ornate as they have lots of pretty details on them although some people think it’s small I prefer to think of it as cozy speaker B my flat is in a new high-rise building in the city center the design is Ultra Modern so there’s a lot of glass and concrete and steel and not a lot of wood to be seen everything is controlled through a state-of-the-art computer system it’s a very functional apartment and there’s a space to suit every purpose but I do find the bedrooms a bit cramped my favorite spot is the balcony my building Towers over everything else so I Can See For Miles speaker C I live in a twostory house it’s a very conventional brick building and it’s typical of the area where I live I love the downstairs rooms as they’re very spacious I spend a lot of time in the living room because it’s so light and Airy but my favorite feature is definitely the staircase it curves around at the bottom and just seems to invite you to climb it recording 11b design please device devise residence housing fasten Destro struction use use recording 11b design please device devise residence housing fasten destruction use use recording 12a I can’t decide between the smartphone and the Optima which one do you think is better well I prefer the smartphone because it’s so compact I find the Optima a bit bulky although I have to say that the size of the smartphone does make it tricky to operate whereas the Optima is very user friendly why do you think that is well the smartphone has a standard telephone key key phone key and I find them really awkward to use when I’m sending messages the Optima opens up to reveal a full keyboard inside you can also scroll up and down by touching the screen I like the way the smartphone automatically displays a calendar when you open it up though that’s a really useful function can they both connect to the internet yes they’re both equipped with the latest technology but I find the Optima downloads information a lot faster and it also has a bigger memory so it can store more data recording 12b speaker a I wash my hair every morning so the gadget I use most is my you know the thing you use to dry your hair speaker B I mainly use my computer as a you know to do processing of the things I need to write speaker c one Gadget I really want to buy is a machine to blend up food so I can make my own healthy drinks speaker D I’m not very good at adding up big numbers so I can’t imagine what it was like before they had you know those machines that can do it for you speaker e my mother still washes the dishes by hand and it takes her a long time I’d like to get a machine that can do the job for her recording 13A just look at this they’re putting one of those cheap restaurant chains in where that nice tea shop used to be they’re owned by some multinational company at this rate our culture will disappear altogether and we’ll all end up eating the same bland food well a lot of people are worried about globalization and the impact it could have on the local people but actually I’m beginning to think it works the other way around you can’t be serious yes I’m reading a book about it actually and the author makes some very valid points he probably works for one of the big multinationals himself actually no I’m pretty sure he’s a journalist so what does he say then well he points out that there are far more ethnic restaurants in England than people realize for example there are seven Indian restaurants for every one McDonald’s in the UK really I didn’t realize that yes and globally pizzas are actually more popular than Burgers I think globalization could mean that we end up living a more interesting and Multicultural life yes but you’ve got to admit that worldwide the soft drinks Market is totally dominated by just one or two big companies well according to this author there’s a new energy drink taking over the market and it’s a joint venture between Thailand and Austria without globalization International companies just wouldn’t merge like that well I think that globalization just pushes popular culture to the masses and spreads even further when people go traveling to far-flung places they want to see something exotic not the same icons they see all around them at home yes but I doubt local people feel they are losing their national identity just because a fast food outlet has opened up and anyway the nice thing about it is that in many places these chains have to change the food they sell to suit the local culture so there is a lot of give and take going on and you still get cultural diversity to some extent I suppose so I suppose so I guess no one big multinational has a monopoly over the fashion Market either does it that’s right the big fashion labels are spread over a lot of different countries recording 13B Global globalization implic ation isolation culture domestic international local skeptical modernization National Multicultural prod ection recording 14a hi Jean you look worried is everything okay hi Mary actually I’m facing a few problems at work and I’m not really sure how to deal with them what sort of problems well we’ve just got a new boss and he’s expecting us to start work at 8:00 in the morning of course that’s causing problems for me at home because it means my husband has to take the children to school every morning which is making him late for work oh dear I know how you feel I had to deal with a similar problem last year oh how did you tackle it well I didn’t at first and that created an even worse situation the traffic is so bad nowadays that I was leaving the house at 6:30 every morning to get there in time eventually I realized I would have to address the problem sooner or later so I raised the issue with my boss did you manage to resolve it yes he was terrific he said he hadn’t realized that the early start would present a problem and he agreed to let me start half an hour later oh that’s great I’m sure my boss has no idea how much trouble he’s caused perhaps I should deal with it the same way well they say that identifying the problem is the hardest part tackling it should be the easy part you haven’t met my new boss oh recording 14b accepted crowded developed excluded included isolated ated overpriced overworked resolved stressed solved recording 14b accepted crowded developed excluded included isolated overpriced overworked resolved stressed solved recording 15a statement one speaker a I think it could be beneficial to educate the public this way anything we do to raise awareness of these issues is very worthwhile the more educated people are the more advantageous it is for the environment speaker B I honestly think it would be pointless people just don’t read leaflets so handing them out would be futile Not only would it be a fruitless exercise but it would also create more lter statement two speaker a I think this is an unattainable goal I think it would prove impracticable even to think about trying to achieve this our environmental problems are so great now that it’s unfeasible to imagine that we could solve all our pollution problems so quickly speaker B look I I think everyone in my country is so aware of the impact we’re having on the environment that I think it is conceivable that we’ll have solve the problem soon it’s quite feasible that we’ll all be driving electric cars they’re a viable alternative to petrol driven cars so getting rid of pollution is definitely achievable statement three speaker a I think it’s improbable that everyone will abandon the chemicals we’re using now so many people have been using them for years and it’s questionable whether they will be able to convince everyone to stop yeah I’d say this one is very doubtful speaker B there are a lot of great cleaning products now that are eco-friendly and I think governments are liable to start putting pressure on manufacturers to produce more products like these I think it’s quite probable that within 10 years everyone will have made the switch recording 15b one I refuse to go two disposing of refuse is a growing problem three there is a conflict here four the two reports conflict each other five we all need to be present at the meeting six this issue presents an enormous problem seven we are making a lot of progress eight we need to progress at a faster rate nine there has been an increase in carbon emissions 10 temperatures are expected to increase recording 16 let’s find out just how environmentally aware you are question one how many trees do you think it would take to offset the CO2 emissions from a longdistance flight well it’s estimated that for each mile or 1.6 kilm that a jet flies half a kilo of CO2 is added to the atmosphere so a round trip of 10,000 miles would emit about 1 and 1/2 tons of CO2 per passenger the amount of CO2 a tree can absorb depends on factors such as its type location and age the the company future forests says that on average it would take two trees 99 years to counter the effect of this trip so the answer here is C question two what is the most environmentally friendly way to wash your clothes well the solvents used by most dry cleaners are damaging to the environment in a washing machine the vast majority of the energy about 90% of it goes into heating up the water not running through the cycle washing clothes in hot water even by hand uses a lot of energy to heat the water keeping washing temperatures low and always washing a full load is the best policy so the correct answer is C question three do you need to always turn off your electric lights to save energy it is a common myth that flicking the lights on and off uses more energy than leaving them on in fact an ordinary bulb only has to be turned off for 3 seconds to outweigh the cost of turning it back on for energy efficient and other fluorescent bulbs this Rises to 5 minutes energy efficient light bulbs use 75% less energy than ordinary ones so if if you have those but leave them on as you tidy you’ll probably still use less energy than if you switch your standard bulbs on and off so the correct answer is B question four what is the most energyefficient way of cooking a baked potato a microwave uses just a third of the electricity required to operate an electric oven and of course the potato will take much less time to cook so the correct answer is B question five what is the best way to help reduce your CO2 emissions throughout the year well it’s estimated that one person taking the train for a year rather than driving a car would reduce their CO2 emission total by 2.9 tons hanging out your washing rather than using a tumble dryer would cut CO2 by .9 tons and working from home one day a week would cut .88 tons so the correct answer is a recording 17A speaker one I’m a student so I only work parttime I managed to get a job as a shelf stacker in the local supermarket it’s unskilled work and very monotonous but the pay is quite good every week when I get my wages I put them straight into the bank I’m saving up for a new computer I’ve nearly got enough which is just as well because my prospects aren’t good I think they’re going to make me redundant next month speaker two my occupation is receptionist at a five-star hotel I got the job while I was studying and we had to complete part of our course in the workplace and this is where I was placed it’s a very demanding job and I have to do shift work which I find exhausting the perks are great though I get to stay in luxurious hotels around the world for next to nothing and I get on really well with all the other staff my father worked in this industry all his life he retired the same year that I started speaker three I work as a labor on a construction site it’s manual work so it’s very physical which keeps me nice and fit my wages aren’t great but I often get to do a lot of overtime so I can earn more money that way speaker four I’ve always wanted a career in marketing so I studied as a graphic designer and when I graduated I got a job with a marketing company I had to compete against some very good candidates to get the job so I was really pleased I’ve recently been promoted and now I’m in charge of several advertising campaigns I find the job really rewarding and that’s not just because of the great salary I get to use the skills I learned at College I also get on very well with my colleagues job satisfaction is really important to me recording 17b bird n first nurse perk purse work Park Clark Market Target ball floor law poor walk Force recording 18 in spite of the large number of Prisons we have crime figures have risen again this year with a number of drug rated crimes in particular increasing many law-abiding citizens believe that our existing laws are just not Tough Enough and do not act as enough of a deterrent against Crime in recent years there has been a move to abolish laws which were deemed to be too harsh or strict and to reduce the punishment for nonviolent crimes such as those against property on the other hand in some countries the police can enforce laws against crossing the street at the wrong place by imposing a fine laws like this are passed simply to keep us safe and some see them as an intrusion on our privacy focusing on Petty crimes in this way can also cause people who generally obey the law to resent the police rather than respect them for what they do they would rather their time was spent solving more serious crimes it’s difficult to believe that reducing punishments will help to combat crime it goes without saying that laws against serious crimes should be strictly enforced however we also need to focus more attention on crime prevention and educating young people to abide by the law they need to know that no one is above the law and there are serious consequences if they’re involved in criminal activities in any way some people believe that nonviolent crimes or so-called victimless crimes such as fraud should be punished less however there is always a victim somewhere even if that victim is a company and its owners and victims often feel the effects of a crime for many years whether the attack is planned or random perhaps it’s time to start introducing new laws rather than abolishing them recording 19a good morning my name is Dan Taylor and I’m professor of Sociology here at Manley University our modern society often Prides itself on its Free Press and with access to the internet and cable television the news is broadcast 24 hours a day however we have just completed a study which reveals that the general public is increasingly ill informed today for this project we compiled a list of what we considered to be the most significant current affairs stories and then we assessed how these stories were reported by newspapers and radio and television networks alarmingly we found that as many as 25 significant news stories were either under reported or omitted from the news altogether it would seem that the media today seeks to entertain rather than inform the public I define censorship as anything which interferes with the free flow of information in our society and this would seem to be what tabloid journalism is doing they are effectively censoring important news stories on the basis that they may not be interesting or entertaining enough one example is the widening gap between the rich and the poor this is a major problem in big cities today and yet you are unlikely to find a reference to it in any news headlines instead your more likely to find stories about the latest celebrity with content relegated to The Back Pages recording 19B would you you to be famous I think a lot of people want nowadays and that’s why reality TV is so popular but I wouldn’t like to be famous at all being famous nowadays simply means that you’re in The Floyds a lot and your followed by the paparazzi everywhere you go i’ find that’s very intrusive famous famous people have no privacy at all in any any of their life their life also seems to be very superficial because they spend all of their time going to parties and trying to look glamorous it all seems very artificial to me they just don’t seem to be part of the real world at all H do you think famous people have a positive or A negative influence on young people I think they should have a positive influence on young people but many of them don’t some personalities are good role models and use their Celebrity Status to encourage people to think about important ISS but we often see people behaving Bly nowadays we have access to the news 24 hours a day effect does this have I think it can affect us in both positive and NE NE ways on the one one it’s very convenient to be able toou up with what’s happening in the world time of the day or night no matter where you are but on the other hand this kind of news can give you a distorted view of what’s happening because even minor news stories are given more importance than they perhaps should have recording 19c artificial attention biased sensor exposed exposure intrusive intrusion Invasion invasive publication superficial recording 20a for those of you who are interested in Aesthetics consider a visit to beia this year the island will host three Arts Festival each one showcasing different areas world first the living writers week after a week there there will be SP and and an international writers and a chance to with them at the very very literally lunches you’ll also be able to pick to pick old and new editions at the very large b b little haven’t been forgot forgot and so there are plenty of children’s activities planned as as each year there will be a theme for the best F and this year it is Island life later in there will be be a selection of the visual arts there is there is very famous accomplished paint in resid on the on the work will be featur wonderful exhib works by Alex green the beautiful SC scenery this island is famous for will be will be promom Vis of the festival will get get once to with the art artists there will ALS be opport out your own Artic skill skills the workshop shop being being held various galleries on the end to top it all off there there will there will be a display of craft created by artists it will be wooden produced byman and finally If You music then you should the festival you will be able to for round what makes this even more interesting is that that some of his performances going to be active so members of the audience will be inv invited to as well one of the stages will voted to show sing Musical and the good good news is will be plenty of Recons for everyone to enjoy recording 20b my taste in music is quite eclectic and there isn’t really one style of music that I like I listen to everything from popular music to classical music plays a very important role in my life and I listen to it almost constantly I find that it helps to set or to change a mood so I tend to choose my music according to who I’m with or what I’m doing for example if I’m driving long distances in my car I prefer to play something stimulating to help keep me awake but if I’m having a dinner party with friends then I play something more relaxing I think that music helps to inspire me when I’m working although my colleagues find it distracting so I tend to to listen with headphones on in that way I can escape into my own little world when I was younger I would definitely have said that I preferred live music the atmosphere in a live concert can be electric nowadays though a lot of popular groups only perform at very large venues in front of audiences of 20,000 or more and I don’t really like that I prefer the intimacy of listening to recorded music and the sound quality is better as well music really enriches Our Lives it can turn a boring monotonous period of time into a magical experience so I think it’s essential to have music and in fact all of the Arts in your life recording 20c atmosphere classical addition Festival fundamental imagination literary monotonous musical performance popular visual recording 20c atmosphere classical addition Festival fundamental imagination literary monotonous musical performance popular visual recording 21 put these in some ball choose word about Guest what attack hard recording 21 put these in some ball choose word about Guest what attack hard recording 22A one analysis analyze analytical two benefit benefit beneficial three consistency consist consistent four creation Creator creativity create creative five definition Define definable definitive definite six environment environmentalist environmental seven occurrence occur eight period periodical periodic nine significance signify significant 10 Theory theorize theoretical recording 22b a leading environmentalists are concerned about the effects our modern lifestyle is having on global warming B scientists have shown that including fish in our diet may be beneficial in reducing heart disease C satellites have recently sent back important new data from Mars although it is not yet clear what significance the findings have for future space exploration D young children are often very creative although many give up art when they begin High School e your essay is good but that you need to define the causes of pollution more clearly F I prefer teachers who don’t put too much emphasis on learning and studying the theory of chemistry I’m much more interested in the Practical side of things G the student council consists of 10 undergraduates and four postgraduate students H after you’ve planted your seeds you can’t simply leave them to grow they do need to be checked periodically for weeds and pests I we analyzed the test results to see whether there really is a link between video games and increased violence J the torrential storm last night seems to be part of a pattern a similar storm occurred two years ago following a severe drought