Part 1
Question 1
One.
You hear some information about a country on a travel programme. Where do most people spend the summer months?
[pause] tone
In the main summer months, the weather in the capital city is hot and the humidity is terrible. If you're there then, the best thing to do is either sit in a pool all day or surround yourself with air-conditioning. You could, however, head higher where it's cooler. The Citra Mountains behind the north-east coast have stunning scenery, but the majority never seem to make the effort to get out of the capital, which is a pity because the coast and the mountains are much pleasanter.
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 2
Two.
You hear part of a radio programme about chewing gum. What is the speaker doing?
[pause] tone
Although it's popular worldwide, chewing gum is a uniquely US product, discovered during the search for rubber materials in the 1860s. The basic raw material for all chewing gum is the natural gum, chicle, obtained from the sapodilla tree found in Central America. Recently, man-made substitutes have come into widespread use and popular types of chewing gum now include a soft-chunk bubble gum and a gum filled with flavoured liquid. In the US alone, sales of chewing gum total over $800 million a year, and worldwide some several billion.
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 3
Three.
You hear part of a radio programme where listeners phone in with their opinions. What does the man want to do?
[pause] tone
Woman: Go ahead, David. What have you got to say?
Man: Well, I'm 55. I was a bank manager until ten years ago, and then I lost my job. I was angry, I can tell you. But you can't just sit about feeling sorry for yourself - like most of your callers. Can I just say to anyone listening: my story will give you heart. A bank manager has to be a good listener, right? So I thought, 'How can I use that skill?' - maybe I could be a counsellor of some sort - you know, help people deal with their personal problems. I'm busier now than I've ever been!
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 4
Four.
You hear a woman speaking on the radio about buying a painting for the first time. What opinion is she expressing?
[pause] tone
The first rule about buying a painting is to immediately put aside any notion that this will make you enough money to keep you in your old age. The overriding factor is that you must really like the work itself. Ask yourself, can you imagine it on the wall next to the TV? Are you happy to have this painting as a fixture in your life? With this in mind, you can now set about looking into the art market. You should do your homework. Fine tune your taste; visit a student exhibition; flick through some contemporary art magazines.
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 5
Five.
You hear a man being interviewed on the radio. What does he say about his mother?
[pause] tone
My mother could see I was artistic and she would never have stood in my way, but she was desperate to ensure that I would do well in life, financially I mean, as she had always struggled. So she helped me with my science homework - she really pushed me - if it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be where I am today. I feel, deep down, I do have a more natural talent for art, rather than science; I even won some awards for my pictures ... and I still paint whenever I can. But I suppose, when I was growing up, I didn't think I would ever earn enough as an artist, so I studied science at university, then spent a few years in the States working as a researcher in the oil industry.
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 6
Six.
You hear part of an interview with a woman who is talking about her day. What is her profession?
[pause] tone
My day starts at 6 o'clock - it's somewhat chaotic at home early in the morning as we're all rushing around! I try to help my husband feed the animals, and then there's the twins to get ready for school, and I get to the surgery at around 8 a.m. There's always a lot of paperwork to do. Then it's seeing patients all day. We've got a trainee watching us at the moment for six months, so I spend some time with her, making sure she's making sense of it all - I enjoy working with students.
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 7
Seven.
You hear a man talking on the radio about teaching beginners to surf in the sea. What does the man say about beginners?
[pause] tone
When you teach beginners, in a sense you have to tailor-make a course for each of them - getting the objectives right for each day's course is fundamental - age or sex makes little difference, it's attitude. Some are delighted if they manage to get their knees on a surfboard, or maybe standing up in the first session is enough. Most can learn to stand up in half a day because of the foamy boards we use. Others just keep going until they've succeeded. Some make daft mistakes like putting their arms through the legs of their wetsuits, but most beginners are quite sensible!
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]
Question 8
Eight.
You hear part of an interview with a crime novelist. What point is he making about his novels?
[pause] tone
Interviewer: Now John, you write around four historical crime novels each year. How do you manage it?
John: Well, although the characters and stories themselves are made up, I want my books to be historically correct in the details of everyday life I describe. And the further back in history you go, the fewer actual details survive. So, I'm careful to keep them to a similar length, and then I'm less tempted to invent things. And, let's face it, if a detective takes more than 80,000 words to solve a crime, he begins to look a bit dim, doesn't he?
[pause] tone [The recording is repeated.] [pause]