EXTRA PRACTICE AUDIOSCRIPTS
TASK TYPE 1 Sentence Completion
44
You will hear part of a lecture about a scientific
expedition at sea in the nineteenth century.
Today I'm talking about a round-the-world
expedition that took place between 1872 and 1876
aboard a sailing ship called HMS Challenger. This
expedition is widely regarded as representing the
birth of the subject we now know as oceanography
– the study of the world’s seas and oceans. Built in
1853, Challenger was unusual in being powered by
a steam engine as well as by sails. This made the
ship perfect for exploration and scientific research,
because it wasn't as dependent on the wind as the
traditional sailing ships of its day. The ship was
specially adapted for the voyage, and there were
laboratories on board, as well as other facilities for
research into subjects such as natural history and
chemistry.
The captain of the ship was a man named George
Nares, who had previously been a chart maker,
working for the British Navy in Australia and the
Middle East. He was also a writer, who’d published
an influential book on the subject of navigation.
Nares was chosen as captain of the Challenger
because of the scientific approach he took to all his
work, which made him very well-suited to lead an
expedition of this sort.
The expedition was led by a man called Charles
Thomson, whose speciality was botany. Challenger
was to travel more than 125,000 kilometres under
his leadership. A total of 4,000 new species of
marine life were discovered during the expedition,
which took samples of the sea bed as well as
analysing the waters near the surface. Nearly 1,500
samples of sea water from different locations were
collected – each securely sealed in a glass
container and returned to Britain – quite a difficult
thing to achieve on board a ship at that time.
So, what was the most important achievement of
this expedition? Using a technique known as
dredging, scientists aboard the ship were able to
collect many rock samples from the sea bed that
contributed enormously to the understanding of
mineralogy. But the expedition’s greatest
achievements concerned the water of the oceans
itself. Scientists had long thought that, away from
the surface and effects of the sun, the temperature
of the deep oceans must be constant. By taking
measurements in different oceans, scientists
aboard Challenger were able to show that this was
not the case.
Challenger also discovered the existence of the
Mariana Trench in the Pacific, where the ocean is at
its greatest depth, as well as the underwater ridges in
the Atlantic, above which the water is relatively
shallow. The existence of such variations was
another major discovery in what was one of the most
significant expeditions of the nineteenth century.
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Once back in Britain, the work didn’t stop, and it
was nineteen years before all the final findings of
the expedition had been written up and published.
The impact and influence of the expedition has
been immeasurable and is still felt today. The report
came out gradually in fifty separate sections known
as volumes, each one contributing significantly to
scientific knowledge. In recognition of the scientists'
achievements, the American space shuttle
Challenger was named after the expedition in the
twentieth century.
TASK TYPE 2 Note, Form, Table
and Flow-chart Completion and
Short Answer Questions
45
You will hear a telephone conversation between
a woman who works at a club for children and a
man who is calling to get some information
about the club’s activities.
F: North Beach Active Kids Club. How may I help
you?
M: Oh, hello. I’m just calling to get some general
information about the club – to find out if it’s suitable
for my three boys.
F: Oh, sure. And your name is?
M: Peter Marsh.
F: And how old are your sons?
M: Well the youngest is seven.
F: Seven? Well, for the younger children, they join
a group called the Adventurers. And they meet up
on a Wednesday – from, er, 3.30 to 4.45.
M: OK, that’s fine. Your building is right next to the
old library, isn’t it?
F: That’s right. Now, the Adventurers usually get
together in the main hall, but that’s being done up at
the moment, so for the time being, they’re down in
the basement. Don’t worry – it’s heated and it’s a
really nice, bright space for running around.
M: OK, and what kind of activities do the children
do?
F: A lot of creative crafts – you know, like painting,
making stuff out of clay, that kind of thing. But we’ve
also put together some simple lessons on the
subject of nature and the kids watch some film clips
and do worksheets all about that. It’s fun but
informative.
M: I see. And I’ve also got a ten-year-old that’s
keen to join the club. He’s got a friend at school that
already comes to you.
F: So he’d be joining the Explorers; the nine to
eleven age group.
M: And that’s on a Tuesday, so I understand?
 EXTRA PRACTICE AUDIOSCRIPTS
F: Er, Thursdays, I think. No, hang on, you were
right. I was thinking about last term. And, er, that
group gets together in room three, or as it’s also
known, the Captain’s Room.
M: OK.
F: Yes, and it becomes a bit more challenging with
this group, because they’re taught how to read
maps and use a compass, how to use ropes and tie
different kinds of knots.
M: I heard about that from my son’s friend. And you
do a lot of outdoor activities, I’m told. In summer
and winter?
F: At the moment, they’re running and swimming –
swimming in the indoor pool, of course – too cold to
be outside.
M: And when it gets warmer, they go camping,
right?
F: Yes, at least twice. They really look forward to
that.
M: And my oldest boy is fourteen.
F: That’s the Voyagers group – eleven to fifteen.
They do Fridays, and a bit longer, from 5.00 to 7.00
p.m.
M: And where do they meet?
F: Well, a lot of their activities take place on the
beach and so we use the room that leads out onto
that, room one. You can either go through the hall
to get there, or use the beach-side entrance. It’s
called the Flag Room – because of all the different
types that ships use for signalling.
M: So for this age group, they’re out on the water a
lot, are they? I mean, are they learning some of the
basics about sailing?
F: That’s right. Techniques that’ll give them a good
start if they choose to take it up seriously. And we
also train them in life-saving, how to resuscitate
someone – deal with a broken arm – that kind of
thing.
M: That’s great …
M: … Now, do you have any of this information in a
leaflet or something like that?
F: I’m afraid not. We working on putting it on our
website but it’s not up there yet. What I suggest you
do is contact our programme co-ordinator – he’s the
one that schedules all the activities for the year. His
name is Greg Solbakken. I’ll spell that for you:
S-O-L-B-A-K-K-E-N.
M: How do I get a hold of him?
F: Use the same number and call any time after
midday. He’s here most afternoons.
M: OK, good. And what do my children need to
bring when they come along? Spare clothes, I
suppose?
F: I would say that’s a must. It’s either paint or glue
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or mud or – they simply get wet quite a lot of the
time – so something clean and dry to change into is
a good idea. Food and drink is included in the fees,
though, so no need to bring anything like that.
M: And do you expect us to give a hand with the
activities? I mean, are the parents supposed to help
in any way?
F: Generally that’s not necessary. Our group
leaders have assistants to help and the caretaker
deals with the cleaning up and any mess that gets
left behind! The one thing we might need you for is
the competition that takes place at the end of term
four. The older boys – the Voyagers – they race
against another club. We need parents in boats out
on the water just to supervise things.
M: Sure – put my name down. And what’s the best
way to pay you?
F: Internet banking, please. Shall I give you the
account number?
M: Please.
F: It’s the National Bank – the code is 02-41-77.
And the account number is 9585661–00.
M: Great – I’ll go and do that now.
F: OK. We look forward to meeting the boys next
week.
M: Bye.
TASK TYPE 3 Map/Plan/Diagram
Labelling
Track 46
You will hear the organiser of a mountain bike
race talking to a group of people who have
offered to help at the event.
Hi. Thanks for coming along today. This is the tenth
annual mountain bike race we’ve held here, and this
year we have a record number of competitors – just
over 3,000. So, thank you for volunteering to help.
Without you, the race just wouldn’t be possible.
OK, there are different points around the race track
where we need volunteers to go. Look at the bottom
of the map and you can see where the race starts.
Not far from here are the medical facilities for racers
and spectators – and we certainly need help here.
To get there from the starting point, head up the
track – you can see that the track then divides left
and right – you want the track on the right – go up
there and then take the first left, and the medical
facilities are the first building you come to.
We’ll also need quite a few volunteers to hand out
water. The water station is quite a distance from the
starting point. Look towards the top of your map –
you can see the forest marked out there. On the left
of the forest – a little further down – is the water
station. It’s the building on the north side of the
track.
 EXTRA PRACTICE AUDIOSCRIPTS
Now, some of the competitors are not doing the full
race. They’re taking part in what we call the Easy
Riders race ... though it’s still a challenge, for sure.
We need volunteers at the Easy Riders finish point
to make sure these competitors get off the track
safely and store their bikes in the right place. See
where the lake is near the bottom of the map?
You’ve got two places marked out either side of the
lake. The location of the finish point is to the west of
the lake, OK? Just make sure they get off the track
as quickly as possible.
We’ve got several big screens around the track so
that spectators can view the action and one of the
screen operators has asked for assistance. So if
you end up volunteering to help with the screen …
from the starting point, you keep right, all the way
up the east side of the map, until you get to that
loop at the top, and that’s where the screen is – with
the forest to the west of you. A bit of technical
know-how is what’s needed here so if that’s you,
please let us know.
We need volunteers for the signal station as this is
where the majority of accidents tend to happen. You
can see just below the centre of the map that there
are three sharp bends in the road – in a row –
where the track goes up the steepest hill of the
race. The signal station is located there, just above
the winding track.
Finally, we need some volunteers for a spectator
stand. Sometimes we get over-enthusiastic
supporters getting a bit too close to the track and so
we need to encourage them to remain on the stand.
It’s pretty straightforward to get there. From the
starting point, head up the track until it divides, then
take the track heading west and the spectator stand
is there on the first corner – it’s actually got a view
of two tracks running either side of it.
Well, if you have any further questions, I’ll be happy
to answer ...
TASK TYPE 4 Multiple Choice
47
You will hear two business students called
Emily and John talking about a business project
in Africa.
E = Emily, J = John
E: So, John, the tutor wants us to write a joint
report. We talked about doing it on the Bapoppo
Broom Project in Africa. Have you started thinking
about it, yet?
J: Yeah, a bit, but, Emily, I need your input, really.
E: OK, well, how do you think we should start the
report?
J: I guess we should describe the project, and why
we first became interested in it.
E: Well, it's a business project, isn't it? In the
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village of Bapoppo, which is in Central Africa. And
the idea is to make brooms, you know, for sweeping
the floor. They'd been making these brooms in
Bapoppo for generations, on a small scale, and
selling them locally.
J: Exactly, very simple, very obvious in some ways
– many small communities in developing countries
are working on similar ideas.
E: But the thing is, this one has done so well,
hasn't it, in terms of employment and profits – that's
what attracted me to it.
J: Yeah, me too. But there’s been hardly any press
coverage – it’s not well known at all.
E: But that’s what makes it such a good topic for
our report, something a bit different.
J: Good point. So, then in the report, maybe we
should start off by talking about the location?
E: Yes, the village of Bapoppo itself. Well, the local
people had never been involved with a business
project like this before. They just made brooms for
local use. They were a bit suspicious.
J: But in the surrounding countryside, a species of
tree called 'fireweed' grows wild. You find it
everywhere. And its small branches are ideal for
making brooms. So you couldn't have found a better
place, because what you needed was right there.
E: Except the roads are so terrible, so they’d never
thought about wider markets.
J: That's true. Then I think we should write about
the local government in Bapoppo, which was
important in the early stages of setting up the
project.
E: Well, yeah, important all right, but for the wrong
reasons. Because they said they were all in favour
of the broom project, but then seemed to do
everything they could to stop it going ahead. How
can you explain that?
J: It doesn't make sense, does it? The much
talked-about financial contribution never actually
came about, did it?
E: No, puzzling really. But the next thing was a
group of villagers took their brooms to a regional
trade fair being held in the capital. That helped a lot.
J: Because at the trade fair they started to get
some international interest. They started to get
orders from countries in Asia and Europe. It showed
the villagers that the demand was there, if they
could only produce more brooms.
E: Right, so on the basis of that, the villagers set
up a training programme in Bapoppo, didn't they?
So they could increase the workforce and produce
more brooms.
J: Yeah, and it cost about $5 per person to take
part. That might not sound like much, but actually, it
was a lot of money in that part of the world.
E: Yes, it was. What I like though, was that they
encouraged husbands, wives, their grown-up
children, whole groups of relatives to get trained up,
 EXTRA PRACTICE AUDIOSCRIPTS
so as to generate some income for the whole
household.
J: Yeah, I thought that was a great idea too. And
actually the training was quite basic. Most of the
villagers already knew how to make the brooms
anyway. It was more about standardising the
design, so all the workers were making an identical
product – nothing too difficult.
E: OK, that's a good point to make in our report.
And then, how do you think we should finish our
report? What conclusions can we draw about the
broom project?
J: Well, it was a group effort, wasn't it – a number
of villagers worked together to make it happen. And
I think that's what makes it such a great example –
the fact that it could be replicated elsewhere – a
way of using local skills and local resources.
E: Yeah, I think you're right. Bapoppo still isn't a
rich settlement, but they've created a sustainable
small-scale industry and really improved the lives of
local people.
J: Well, I think that'll be the basis of a good report
for the tutor ...
TASK TYPE 5 Multiple Choice (with
more than one answer)
48
You will hear a guide talking to a group of
people who are visiting a transport museum.
Morning everyone, and welcome to the transport
museum. I'm sure you're going to really enjoy
seeing all our exhibits.
Well, first, some information about the museum
itself. Back in 1975 we had the idea to create a
museum of this kind but it took another ten years
before we'd constructed this building and were
ready to welcome visitors. And the museum was
immediately a huge hit with people of all ages. It
was soon obvious that we needed more space, so
we bought more land and put up two additional
buildings in 1995 – almost doubling our size, which
makes us one of the largest museums of this kind in
the country. The museum was closed for a time in
2005 to install new fire prevention and safety
equipment but otherwise we've operated
continuously until the present day. Last year we had
the highest number of visitors ever – just over
100,000 – and this year we're expecting even more.
But it seldom feels crowded here, even with so
many people, because we have such a large
number of separate exhibitions – seventeen in total
– covering the development of transportation over a
period of more than 500 years.
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So, we obviously have something for everyone and
whatever your particular interests in terms of
transportation, I'm sure you'll find something
fascinating here. But based on past experience,
there are a couple of exhibitions I'd particularly
recommend. We're a museum of transport
technology, so we obviously don't cover things like
horses or in fact any animal-drawn transport. But I
do advise you to go along and see our earliest
exhibit of two-wheeled transportation – I think you'll
be astonished by how clever the very first bicycles
were. It's a lot of fun. One thing we haven't
managed to get hold of yet is an early omnibus –
that's what they used to call buses – but what we do
have is a very early train. It's steam-powered and
although it's not in working order any longer, it really
gives a great impression of what travel must have
been like in those days. I should just mention that,
unfortunately, the exhibition of the first airplanes is
closed at the moment for maintenance.
Now, um, in terms of the museum rules, we do have
a few dos and don'ts. It just makes life easier for
everyone. So we're not like some art galleries or
other museums – you're absolutely welcome to use
your phones and cameras here, no problem. But
you should understand, we are a working transport
museum – there are cars, bikes and all sorts of
other transport moving around here, so walking only
please, no rushing about, especially you children!
We've got a café here on site and lots of drinking
fountains if you’re hungry or thirsty, but please, no
cigarettes or tobacco at all – the whole museum is
smoke-free. But the great thing is, with these sorts
of exhibits, you can climb onto most of them and
really explore them, which makes it a different kind
of museum experience.
So, what plans does the museum have for the
future? Well, we've got lots of exciting ideas! We
are limited in that there's no room for further
construction of additional exhibition halls on this
site. But we are very aware that at present there's
not enough focus on transportation at sea, so that's
something we intended to develop very soon. And
our recent creation of the 'mission-to-Mars' exhibit
just goes to show how popular these new initiatives
are. We also hope to invite some experts in one
particular field of transportation to come in and give
talks to visitors, to really bring some of our exhibits
to life. We also hope to reduce the cost of an entry
ticket so that just about everyone will be able to buy
one.
Well then, that's just about all I've got to say but if
anyone has any questions before you begin to look
around ...
 EXTRA PRACTICE AUDIOSCRIPTS
TASK TYPE 6 Matching
49
You will hear two environmental studies
students, David and Annette, discussing the use
of conservation strategies that have been used
to help protect endangered species in New
Zealand.
D = David, A = Annette
D: OK, Annette, we’ve got one more week before
we have to do our presentation. Do you think that’s
enough time?
A: Yeah. We’ve done all the research we need – I
mean – on which species are most endangered in
New Zealand, and why they’re endangered. I think
the only thing left for us to do is to have a look at
the conservation strategies that have been used so
far ...
D: ... and say whether they’ve worked or not.
A Yes. Some have certainly been more successful
than others. Where do you want to start?
D: Well, let’s go in the order of the species we’re
focussing on. The kakapo, I think, comes first.
A: Such an amazing bird! It’s horrible to think that it
nearly died out.
D: Yes – it wasn’t because humans were hunting it
– it was mainly the rats that had come over in the
boats from Europe. They were eating the eggs and
killing the young chicks.
A: But now that all the birds have been moved off
the mainland and live on islands, kakapo numbers
are starting to increase again.
D: Gradually – but yes, it’s looking much more
hopeful for their survival. It was definitely the right
strategy.
A: And what about the fur seal? Their numbers
were pretty low, too. I think the original suggestion
was to set aside a marine reserve for them – an
area where they’d be protected.
D: Yes, but that was never going to be enough.
Basically, it wasn’t until the government introduced
a law banning all hunting of marine mammals
around the New Zealand coastline that there was
any significant improvement.
A: That was back in 1978, wasn’t it?
D: I think so.
A: I’ll double-check it. Now what about the kiwi?
D: Our national bird. If that became extinct, that’d
be a real ecological disaster.
A: It’d be good if they could be moved to safer
areas.
D: But the kind of habitat they require is mainly
found in the interior of New Zealand. Transporting
them off to the islands isn’t really a viable solution.
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A: But what’s been tried already – hunting and
trapping the animals that kill them – that hasn’t
really worked either, has it?
D: Not significantly. I guess you’re right. The
problem is, it’s not just wild animals that kill the kiwi
chicks. It’s dogs and cats as well.
A: I think more should be done to make people
aware of the damage their pets can do.
D: I agree. Now our next species is the tuatara.
Most people think it’s a lizard, apparently.
A: Well, it does look like one. It’s a unique reptile –
there’s nothing really like it anywhere else in the
world.
D: Apart from the loss of its habitat, it’s rats and
similar predators that are the problem. And the
strategy used here – that’s probably the most
controversial one.
A: Using poison?
D: Yes, not because it doesn’t work – it’s actually
highly effective – but because the public still aren’t
convinced that the pesticide that the government
uses isn’t toxic to birds and fish as well.
A: Yes, I think putting the stuff on the ground is one
thing, but dropping it from the sky is definitely more
worrying.
D: No doubt the other students will have something
to say about that!
A: I think the sea turtle’s next. There was a bit in
the news about them the other day.
D: I saw it. There was a big one that was found on
the beach. It was in a really poor condition.
A: Yes, it was starving, essentially. Because of the
plastic rubbish it’d swallowed.
D: Yes – turtles can’t often see the difference
between a plastic wrapper and the kind of
transparent jellyfish they eat. So if it’s something
floating in the ocean, they’ll eat it.
A: Unfortunately, yes. And this is one problem that
an international policy – even if there was one –
would be unlikely to fix. You can prohibit large ships
from dumping industrial waste at sea, but you can’t
stop ordinary people from throwing their litter into
the ocean.
D: I don’t know about that. Some of the major
conservation groups in New Zealand have used the
media – the television and the Internet – to really
spread some awareness about the risks to turtle
survival. They’ve shown how people’s rubbish – the
stuff they drop in the streets – how it ends up in the
ocean, and I think that’s probably made a difference
to some people’s behaviour.
A: I hope so. That’d be hard to measure, though.
D: You’d need to carry out an extensive survey.
A: Right. What other species are we mentioning?
Oh yes, longfin eels.
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D: Yeah. They used to be so common in our rivers.

But they’re quite hard to spot nowadays.
A: Well, we know that the reason for their decline is
the amount of pollution in the water – you know,
from the chemicals used in agriculture.
D: And the building of hydro-dams. Now the eels
can’t swim upriver to breed anymore. Really, the
only strategy that the government have come up
with – just a couple of years ago, I think – they
recommended a limit on the number of eels that
people are allowed to catch and eat. If people take
too many from the river, they may have to pay a
fine.
A: The thing is, no one enforces that. Who’s going
to keep an eye on it?
D: Yes, what they really need to make a comeback
is more wetland.
A: Right. Most of that has been drained, hasn’t it?
D: Yeah. Um, the last on our list is the dotterel, eh?
A: Yes, unlike other New Zealand birds, at least
this one can fly!
D: But it’s still endangered, primarily because of
where they make their nests – on the beach.
A: Yes. People walk over the sand and they don’t
notice that they’re damaging the nests or breaking
the eggs. Even if the local council puts signs up –
warning people not to walk over the dunes – they
ignore them anyway.
D: There’s been some progress when local
authorities have roped off parts of the beach, and
you know, put back some of the native plants that
used to grow there.
A: Yes, when they can get the grasses to
regenerate, it provides more shelter for the dotterels
– and they have a better chance of raising their
chicks successfully.
D: OK, let’s divide up the species and decide who’s
going to talk about ...

The Complete Guide To IELTS (EXTRA PRACTICE AUDIOSCRIPTS)