Test 6, Section 1

Narrator: You will hear a man called Ken talking on the phone to a friend called Liz about holiday
accommodation. First, you have some time to look at Questions 1–6. You will see that
there is an example which has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation
relating to this will be played first.

Liz: Hello?
Ken: Hi Liz, it’s Ken here.
Liz: Hi Ken! Nice to hear from you! Are you …
Ken: This is just a quick call, but Mary and I have just been talking about our summer holiday –
we haven’t booked a place yet and we’ve left it a bit late. We were just wondering if you
know of any holiday rentals in your area – it’s so nice there.
Liz: Well yes, I can think of two or three places that are very nice – what dates have you got in
mind?
th nd
Ken: The 10 of July to the 22 of July.

Narrator: Ken says that they need accommodation from the 10th to the 22nd of July, so ‘10th–22nd
July’ has been written in the space.

Now we shall begin. You answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the
recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer Questions 1–6.

Liz: Hello?
Ken: Hi Liz, it’s Ken here.
Liz: Hi Ken! Nice to hear from you! Are you …
Ken: This is just a quick call, but Mary and I have just been talking about our summer holiday –
we haven’t booked a place yet and we’ve left it a bit late. We were just wondering if you
know of any holiday rentals in your area – it’s so nice there.
Liz: Well yes, I can think of two or three places that are very nice – what dates have you got in
mind?
Ken: The 10th of July to the 22nd of July.
Liz: Oh yes, that is quite soon isn’t it? Well there’s a place near here called Moonfleet …
Ken: Is that M-double O- N-F-L-double E- T?
Liz: That’s right. It’s quite a rural location, and it’s next to the owner’s house, but it’s got fields all
around it, so it’s very pretty.
Ken: Mm. Sounds OK. Can you tell me a bit more about it?
Liz: Well it’s an annexe to the owner’s house, and it’s an apartment with two bedrooms, and an
open-plan living area.
Ken: Well I like the sound of it. Is there anything we might not like about it?
Liz: Well it’s quite a distance from the nearest shops, that’s all …
Ken: OK. And … well, I’ll tell Mary but I don’t think she’d mind that. Do you know how you book it?
Liz: You have to book on the internet. There’s a web address – it’s www.summerhouses …
Ken: One word?
Liz: Yes … Then dot com. You’ll be able to look at a photograph on that.
Ken: OK … And what about the others? Where are they?
Liz: The second one I’m thinking of is called Kingfisher, and that’s even more rural. It’s a really
beautiful location in fact, it’s by the river, and it’s got nice views – it overlooks woodland on
the other side.
Ken: Is that an apartment?
Liz: No, it’s a three-bedroomed house. And that’s got a dining room as well as a separate living
room and a kitchen. But I expect it’s more expensive. You’ll have to check the prices.
Ken: Mm. It’s probably a bit bigger than we need, but our nephew might be joining us, we’re not
sure yet. How do you book Kingfisher?
Liz: You have to phone the owner directly. Shall I give you the number? I’ve got it here in my
phone book … It’s oh one seven five two, double six nine, two one eight.
Ken: Right …

Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at Questions 7–
10. Now listen and answer Questions 7–10.

Ken: And you mentioned a third place?

Liz: Yes, there’s a house that my sister stayed in last year – it’s called Sunnybanks.
Ken: Nice name.
Liz: And the location of that one is rather different … It’s in the centre of a village, but it’s a very
small and quaint place.
Ken: Did your sister like it?
Liz: Oh yes, it’s by the sea so her children really loved it …
Ken: What’s the accommodation like?
Liz: I’m not sure about the number of rooms because I haven’t been in it myself, but I think she
said it’s quite spacious … And I know it’s got its own garden. It’s not very big, but it’s not
shared with anyone else, and it’s supposed to be very pretty.
Ken: Any snags? Problems?
Liz: The only other thing I can think of is that there’s nowhere for parking. The streets are too
narrow. So you have to leave your car somewhere else and then walk to the house – it’s
only about ten minutes away, but ...
Ken: OK. Well … I don’t think it matters personally. How do you book it?
Liz: There’s an agent you have to contact. I don’t know his details, but I can ask my sister and let
you know tomorrow.
Ken: Thanks Liz, that’d be great. I’ll talk to Mary and see what she says. Thanks for your help.
Liz: That’s OK Ken, I’ll speak to you again tomorrow. I hope you find what you’re looking for …

Narrator: That is the end of Section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to Section 2.
Test 6, Section 2
Narrator: You will hear part of a radio programme about Do-It-Yourself house painting. First you have
some time to look at Questions 11–14. Now listen, and answer Questions 11–14.

Speaker: Good morning everyone, and welcome to our weekly series on home improvements.
Today’s programme is about Do-It-Yourself house painting … There’s never been a better
time for people who like to do their own interior house painting. Although people still lead
very busy lives, thanks to the availability of various new DIY materials, you can now
decorate your home in a more efficient and a more environmentally-friendly way.

In two thousand and nine alone, approximately fifty-three million litres of the paint that was
sold in the UK were left untouched – that’s enough to fill twenty one Olympic-sized
swimming pools.

It's easy to overestimate how much paint you’ll need to decorate your room if you use
guesswork. And if you know exactly how much paint is needed, you avoid unnecessary
waste. There are automatic paint calculators available now – most of the major paint
manufacturers provide them – look on their websites, or just google ‘paint calculator’ and
see what comes up. Then simply measure the circumference and height of the room in
metres, enter this into the calculator along with the type of surface you're painting, and it will
tell you how many litres of paint you’ll need.

But if you do end up with leftover paint, you can donate it to an organisation like Community
RePaint. They will take the paint from you and redistribute it to local charities and voluntary
organisations, so it goes to a good home. You can find more information about Community
RePaint on communityrepaint – all one word – dot org dot uk.

Narrator: Now you have some time to look at Questions 15–20. Now listen and answer Questions
15–20.

Speaker: Another way of avoiding paint wastage is to check you're completely happy with your colour
choice before starting to paint. For example, you can get a small sample of the colour you’re
thinking of using, then paint a board and move it around the room, so you can see how it
looks against your furnishings, and in different lights. Also, it’s always better to buy high
quality paints, because you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap paint you might need to
apply two or three coats to achieve the same coverage that you’d get from one coat of a
good-quality paint. You could also spend a week on a job that could have been done in a
day or two. And consider the environment. Most paint manufacturers now sell water-based
paints that don’t contain harmful chemicals or give off harmful odours, so get one of these.
You can also buy paint that’s packaged in recyclable containers. There’s a lot more choice
than there used to be.

You can only do a good job, which will last, if you prepare the surfaces thoroughly before
painting. In fact, in many ways if you want to do a professional-looking job, this is more
important than the painting itself. If there are any cracks or patches of loose plaster, painting
over them won’t solve the problem. Take the plaster out and fill the holes, allowing enough
time for the new plaster to dry. And you won’t get a smooth finish if the walls are dusty or
greasy, so washing with water isn’t enough. Use a solution of decorator’s soap and rinse
well with warm water afterwards.
 When you're ready to paint, we suggest you use a medium-pile roller for walls and ceilings.
A lot of people tend to use short-pile rollers, but these give a patchy finish, and that wastes
paint and time. Similarly, long-pile rollers can create a thick, textured effect, which looks
messy. The same goes for brushes. The stronger the bristles, the easier they are to wash
and reuse. And as you’ve chosen a water-based paint, clean your brushes with cold water,
because it’s more energy-efficient that way. As you're decorating, keep transferring small
amounts of paint into a tray and keep topping it up when you need to. This reduces the
chance of it being contaminated by dust and pieces of dirt … And finally, water-based paint
doesn’t have a lingering smell, so that's not an issue any more, but it’s air flow rather than
heat that helps the paint dry quicker, so to help finish the job in the quickest time leave your
doors and windows open. The faster the paint is dry and the job finished, the quicker you
can start enjoying your room!

In tomorrow’s programme I’ll be giving some advice …

Narrator: That is the end of Section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to Section 3.
Test 6, Section 3

Narrator: You will hear two engineering students, a woman in her sixth year called Linda and a man in
his fifth year called Matthew, discussing the benefits of student work placements. Before
you listen, you have some time to look at Questions 21–26. Now listen and answer
Questions 21–26.

Matthew: Hi Linda. Can you spare a few minutes?

Linda: Hello Matthew, no problem.
Matthew: I just wanted to talk to you about temporary work placements … I’ve never really thought
there was a good reason for doing one. I’ve got some savings, so I don’t really need the
money at the moment. But I’ve had an email from the university about a vacancy that looks
quite interesting. You did a placement last year didn’t you?
Linda: I did, yes. In my case I wanted to find out if I was making the right career choice before I
began applying for permanent jobs. I thought I wanted to work in car manufacturing but I
wasn’t sure. So I applied to Toyota.
Matthew: What was the application process like?
Linda: Lengthy. There were a lot of different parts to it. The dullest one was a psychometric test –
you know, when you have to answer loads of questions about yourself.
Matthew: And you’re trying to guess what’s the best thing to say!
Linda: Yes… Then there was an activity that we did in groups, which I found really fascinating.
Engineers are renowned for being a bit unsociable, but I thought we made a great team.
And we had an individual task too. We had to sort through various business documents and
prioritise them. It was just like what you have to do as a student really, just with different
content.
Matthew: What exactly were you doing on the placement?
Linda: I was helping to design some diagnostic software to identify any waste in the car assembly
process
Matthew: Do you mean waste of materials?
Linda: No, time. Anything that can speed the process up helps to cut costs.
Matthew: How did the work placement compare to being a student? Was it hard work?
Linda: Yes, it was. I’d had full-time work before – I’ve done various unskilled jobs during university
holidays, and some of those involved long hours – so I thought I’d find it easy. I was wrong
though. I think when you’re on placement you’re always trying to prove yourself …
Matthew: So you push yourself hard to succeed?
Linda: Yes. But I got a lot of support from my employers. They were always helpful. And then at the
end of the placement I was given formal feedback.
Matthew: Do you mean on your engineering ability?
Linda: Well, no, I didn’t really need that because we had team meetings every other day, and so I
had the chance to discuss technical issues and ask about anything that wasn’t clear. The
evaluation was about general workplace things, like organisational ability, initiative … That
sort of thing …
Matthew: I get the impression you think you benefited from the placement … ?
Linda: Well the best thing is that they’ve offered me a job for next year! Depending on my exam
results of course, but still …
Matthew: A permanent one?
Linda: Yes! But apart from that I learned so much … The industrial environment was much more
demanding than the academic one, so my general skills improved. Like time Management
… meeting deadlines … And on the technical side I learned new software packages like MS
Project.
Matthew: Well, I think you’ve convinced me that work placements are worthwhile … But while you’re
here can you give me advice on something else?

Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at Questions 27–
30. Now listen and answer Questions 27–30.

Matthew: I’m about to make a start on the Engineering Materials module, and I’ve got a booklist here
– can you have a quick look and tell me what you would recommend – that’s if you can
remember?
Linda: Let’s see … I do remember some of them … Yes, this one … The Science of Materials. I
found the subject quite hard generally, but this book is very accessible so it suited me. It
doesn’t cover everything though …
Matthew: What about this one then … Materials Engineering?
Linda: Oh yes, I do remember that. But it’s a bit out-of-date now isn’t it, unless it’s a new edition?
Matthew: I don’t think so …
Linda: But what I liked about it were the pictures. They really helped to understand the descriptions.
It’s useful just from that point of view … Let’s see … What else? Oh yes … That one there –
Engineering Basics – I think out of all these that’s got the widest coverage …
Matthew: But I’ve looked at the contents page, and it hardly mentions nanotechnology.
Linda: Yes, you’re right. The Evolution of Materials does though. It’s a recent publication so it
covers all the latest developments. It’s a bit thin on the nineteen sixties though, and that
decade was quite important.
Matthew: Well it sounds as if they all complement each other in some ways. I don’t suppose you can
lend me …

Narrator: That is the end of Section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to Section 4.
Test 6, Section 4
Narrator: You will hear a historian giving a presentation about techniques to identify the origin of hand-
written books from the middle ages. First you have some time to look at Questions 31–40.
Now listen, and answer Questions 31–40.

Historian: My presentation today is on how the science of genetics is being used to shed light on the
origin of manuscripts – anything written by hand - produced in the medieval period … that is
… the period between the fifth and fifteenth centuries AD.

As many of you know, thousands of medieval handwritten books still exist today. Some of
them have a clear provenance, that is, we know exactly where and when they were written,
but the origin of many manuscripts has been a complete mystery, that is, until two thousand
and nine when geneticists started using DNA testing to shed light on their origins.

But before looking at the new research, I need to explain something about the way the
manuscripts were produced – particularly what they were written on. Virtually all were written
on treated animal skins and there were essentially two types. The first was parchment,
which is made of sheep skin. It has the quality of being very white but also being thin. It has
a naturally greasy surface which meant it was hard to erase writing from it. This made it
much sought after for court documents in medieval times.

The second type is vellum, which is calf skin. This was most often used for any very ‘high-
status’ documents because it provided the best writing surface so scribes could achieve
lettering of high quality.

So, once the animal hides had been chosen, they had to be prepared. Where the right
materials were on hand, the skins were put into large barrels or vats of lime, where they
were agitated or stirred frequently. But if lime wasn’t available, then the hides were buried.
Both these techniques were designed to cause the hair to slough off, and the skins to
become gelatinous and therefore more flexible.

The next stage was to put the hides on stretcher frames and pull them very tight. While on
the frame they were scraped with a moon-shaped knife in order to create a uniform
thickness. For parchment, that was the end of the process, but for vellum there was an
additional stage where it was bleached, in order to achieve the desired colour.

Historian: So, what does all this preparation mean for the quest to identify the origins of ‘mystery’
manuscripts? Well, until recently the only way historians and other academics were able to
guess at origins was either through the analysis of the handwriting style, or from the dialect
in which the piece was written. But these techniques have proven unreliable, for a number of
reasons.

It was thus decided to try to look at the problem from a different angle ... to start from what
is known, that is, the small number of manuscripts whose origins we do already know.
Because these parchments and vellum are both made from animal hides, it was possible to
subject them to DNA testing and to identify the genetic markers for the date and location of
production. From this was created what is known as a ‘baseline’. The next stage was to test
the mystery manuscripts, finding their DNA characteristics and then making comparisons
between the known and the mystery scripts. Genetic similarities and differences enabled the
 scientists to gain more information about the origins of the many manuscripts we had known
virtually nothing about up to that point.

Now you might ask – what are the potential uses of this new information? Well, obviously, it
can shed light on the origin of individual books and manuscripts. But that’s not all. It can
also shed light on the evolution of the whole of the manuscripts production industry in
medieval times. And because that was such a thriving business, involving very large-scale
movements right across the globe, the new data, in turn, help historians establish which
trade routes were in operation during the whole millennium.

Now if anyone has any questions …

Narrator: That is the end of Section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

That is the end of the Listening Test. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to
the separate answer sheet.