Festival Informatio

ANNOUNCER: Part 1. You will hear a woman calling a tourist information office to ask about a festival. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 4. Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 4.

TIM: Good morning, you're through to the tourist information office. Tim speaking. How can I help you?

JEAN: Oh, hello. Could you give me some information about next month’s festival? My family and I will be staying in the town that week.

TIM: Of course. It starts with a concert on the afternoon of the 17th.

JEAN: Oh, I heard about that. The orchestra and singers come from the USA, don’t they?

TIM: Actually, they’re from Canada. They’re very popular there and will perform several well-known pieces suitable for both children and adults.

JEAN: That sounds great. My whole family enjoys music.

TIM: On the 18th, there will be a ballet performance by a company called Eustatis.

JEAN: Sorry?

TIM: It’s spelled E-U-S-T-A-T-I-S. They performed at last year’s festival and were very successful. Their program is designed for all age groups.

JEAN: Good, we’ll probably go to that. Is there going to be a play during the festival? A comedy, ideally.

TIM: Yes. On the 19th and 20th, a local amateur group will perform a play called Jemima at the town hall.

TIM: It was written by a member of the group and has already been performed several times. The local newspaper review was very positive.

JEAN: Is it suitable for children?

TIM: Yes, it’s actually aimed more at children, so both performances will be in the afternoon.

JEAN: And will there be any dance performances?

TIM: Yes, also on the 20th, but in the evening. A professional company will perform modern dance pieces with electronic music.

TIM: The show is about how people communicate or fail to communicate with each other, so it’s called Chat.

JEAN: I suppose that reflects how we communicate both face-to-face and online.

TIM: Exactly.

ANNOUNCER: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.

TIM: There will also be several workshops and activities, which will take place at least once every day.

JEAN: That’s great. We’re particularly interested in cookery. Is there a cookery workshop?

TIM: Yes. It will focus on making food part of a healthy lifestyle, showing how sweet foods like cakes can contain less sugar.

JEAN: That sounds interesting. We want to encourage our children to learn cooking.

TIM: Another workshop is for children only. They’ll create posters about the history of the town.

TIM: The posters will be displayed in the community center.

TIM: There’s also a toy-making workshop for adults, involving carpentry and wooden toys.

JEAN: Why is it only for adults?

TIM: Because it involves sharp tools such as chisels.

TIM: There will also be outdoor activities. One is wild swimming in a nearby lake, with lifeguards present.

TIM: Finally, there will be a daily guided walk in nearby woods led by an insect expert.

TIM: If you’d like more information, the festival organizer is keeping a blog on the festival website.

JEAN: Thank you very much for the information.

TIM: You’re welcome.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of part 1. You now have one minute to check your answers to part 1.

Minster Park

ANNOUNCER: Part 2. You will hear part of a talk to a gardening club about a local park. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

WOMAN: I'm very pleased to welcome this evening's guest speaker, Mark Logan, who's going to tell us about the recent transformation of Minster Park. Over to you, Mark.

MARK: Thank you. I'm sure you're all familiar with Minster Park. It's been a feature of the city for well over a century, and for most of that time it has been managed by the city council.

MARK: What many people don't know is the origin of the park. Unlike many public parks that began as private gardens, Minster Park started as waste land.

MARK: In 1892, local residents began planting flowers there, although it wasn't clear who actually owned the land.

MARK: Ownership was finally settled 20 years later when the city council officially took control of the land.

MARK: Near one of the park entrances, you may have seen the statue of Diane Gosforth, who played a key role in the park’s history.

MARK: After the council became the legal owner, it planned to sell the land for housing.

MARK: However, many local residents wanted it to remain a public green space. Diane Gosforth organized petitions and demonstrations, which eventually persuaded the council to change its decision.

MARK: Shortly afterwards, the First World War began in 1914. During this time, most of the park was dug up and used to grow vegetables for the local community.

MARK: At one point, the army considered using the park for troop exercises, but eventually decided it was too small.

MARK: During the war, occasional public meetings were held in an area that remained as grassland.

MARK: After the war, the park was restored to something close to its original condition and remained largely unchanged until recently.

MARK: Plans to transform the park were proposed several times, most recently in 2013, and revised again in 2015.

MARK: Work finally began in 2016, and the project was completed last year.

ANNOUNCER: Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

MARK: Let me describe some of the changes in the park.

MARK: The river forms the northern boundary, and there are gates in the other three walls.

MARK: The statue of Diane Gosforth used to be near the south gate, but it has now been moved to the north of the lily pond, near the center of the park.

MARK: A new area of wooden sculptures has been placed on the river bank, where the path from the east gate bends sharply.

MARK: The playground for children has been enlarged and improved. It lies between the river and the path connecting the pond to the river.

MARK: There is also a new maze near the west gate, made up of circular paths separated by low hedges.

MARK: The tennis courts have increased from four to eight. They remain in the south-west corner of the park.

MARK: Another new feature is the fitness area, which is located next to the lily pond, on the same side as the west gate.

MARK: Now, since you’re all gardeners, I’m sure you’ll also be interested in the plants that have been selected for the park.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of part 2. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part 2.

Cathy & Graham Novels

ANNOUNCER: Part 3. You will hear two students of English called Cathy and Graham planning a display on 19th-century British life and literature for a university event. You have some time to look at questions 21 to 24. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.

CATHY: OK, Graham, let's check we both understand what we’re supposed to be doing.

GRAHAM: OK.

CATHY: For the university’s open day, we need to plan a display about British life and literature in the mid-19th century.

GRAHAM: Yes, that’s right. But we’ll have some people helping us to find materials and set up the display. Right now, we just need to plan it.

CATHY: Do we know who the audience will be? Are they students studying English or students from other departments?

GRAHAM: I’m not sure. It used to be mainly English students, but that didn’t attract many people. This year it’s part of an open day event to promote the university.

GRAHAM: It’ll be advertised around the city, and information about it will also be sent to people thinking of applying to study here.

CATHY: I guess some current students and lecturers might come as well.

GRAHAM: Probably, but we were told to focus mainly on visitors from outside the university.

CATHY: We don’t have to cover all 19th-century literature, do we?

GRAHAM: No, we can choose. I suggest focusing on Charles Dickens.

CATHY: Good idea. Most people know his name and may have read his novels or watched film adaptations.

GRAHAM: Exactly. His novels also show the terrible living conditions people experienced at the time.

CATHY: Did Dickens do any campaigning apart from writing?

GRAHAM: Yes, he supported education and social reforms and gave public lectures. But I think we should focus mainly on his novels.

CATHY: I agree.

ANNOUNCER: Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.

CATHY: So now let’s think about a topic linked to each novel.

GRAHAM: I printed a list of Dickens’s novels in the order they were published.

CATHY: The first one is The Pickwick Papers, published in 1836.

GRAHAM: Yes, it was extremely popular and quickly adapted for the theatre.

GRAHAM: There’s also a character who falls asleep constantly, and the medical condition was later named Pickwickian syndrome.

CATHY: That could be our topic, along with some quotations from the novel.

GRAHAM: Next is Oliver Twist. It deals with poverty, but perhaps we should choose something more specific.

CATHY: Oliver learns how to steal. That shows how poor children often didn’t go to school and had to learn survival skills instead.

GRAHAM: Good point.

CATHY: What about Nicholas Nickleby? Nicholas works in a cruel school.

GRAHAM: Yes, but he also joins a touring theatre company. We could focus on entertainment and theatre in the 19th century.

CATHY: Good idea. Next is Martin Chuzzlewit. The character travels to the USA.

GRAHAM: Dickens himself had visited America earlier and used that experience in the novel.

CATHY: After that comes Bleak House.

GRAHAM: Yes, it contains a strong criticism of the legal system.

CATHY: But we could focus on the life of Esther, the heroine, and how her life improves.

GRAHAM: That works well.

CATHY: Finally, there’s Little Dorrit, where Mr Dorrit spends years in a debtor’s prison.

GRAHAM: Yes, just like Dickens’s own father once did.

GRAHAM: Maybe we could show the moment when Mr Dorrit suddenly inherits money and pretends he has always been wealthy.

CATHY: That’s a great idea.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of part 3. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part 3.

Agricultural Programme in Mozambique

ANNOUNCER: Part 4. You will hear part of a presentation about an agricultural program in the country of Mozambique. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

SPEAKER: Today I’m going to report on a case study of a program designed to help rural communities in Mozambique, a largely agricultural country in Southeast Africa.

SPEAKER: The project worked with three communities in Chicualacuala district near the Limpopo River.

SPEAKER: This region is extremely dry and arid, with unpredictable rainfall.

SPEAKER: Because farming was difficult, local people depended on the forest to earn money, mainly by producing and selling charcoal.

SPEAKER: However, this was not a sustainable livelihood because forest resources were being depleted.

SPEAKER: To improve agriculture, the program focused on using water from the Limpopo River through irrigation systems.

SPEAKER: These irrigation systems created a more reliable water supply for crops and animals.

SPEAKER: The program cooperated closely with the district government to implement the project effectively.

SPEAKER: At the time, there was already one farmers’ association in the region, and the project helped establish two more.

SPEAKER: These associations organized activities such as water management, livestock breeding, and crop cultivation.

SPEAKER: Interestingly, women made up the majority of the workforce involved in the project.

SPEAKER: To protect crops from wild and domestic animals, special areas were fenced off.

SPEAKER: The community built the fences, while the program supplied the wire needed to construct them.

SPEAKER: Once fenced, the land could be cultivated. Crops such as vegetables and cereals suitable for the climate were planted.

SPEAKER: The program also supplied seeds and pumps to transport water from the river through pipes to the fields.

SPEAKER: However, local people provided the manual labor and built the supporting posts for the fences.

SPEAKER: After the program was implemented, its progress was carefully monitored.

SPEAKER: Farmers were able to produce enough food not only for their own consumption, but also to sell in markets.

SPEAKER: However, transport was often unavailable, making it difficult to bring produce to market.

SPEAKER: As a result, large quantities of produce, especially vegetables, were sometimes spoiled.

SPEAKER: To solve this problem, farmers were taught food preservation techniques.

SPEAKER: Another development occurred when farmers began digging water tanks and using them for fish farming.

SPEAKER: Fish provided an important source of protein for local diets.

SPEAKER: Later, another idea from local people was introduced — beekeeping.

SPEAKER: Farmers set up bee colonies to produce honey for both consumption and sale.

SPEAKER: This program demonstrates that in dry regions, if there is access to a reliable water source, agriculture can develop successfully.

SPEAKER: In Chicualacuala, agricultural production increased significantly, improving food security and providing both food and income for local people.

SPEAKER: However, it is important to set realistic timelines for each stage of such programs.

SPEAKER: Mistakes during the planning and design phase can be difficult to correct later.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of part 4. You now have one minute to check your answers to part 4.