Section 1
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00:00Narrator Version 30677.
00:04 You will hear a number of different recordings,
00:06 and you will have to answer questions on what you hear.
00:10 There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions,
00:14 and you will have a chance to check your work.
00:17 All the recordings will be played once only.
00:23 The test is in four parts.
00:26 Write all your answers
00:28 in the listening question booklet.
00:30 At the end of the test,
00:32 you will be given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet.
00:39 Now turn to part one on page two of your question booklet.
00:48 Part one.
00:51 You will hear a telephone conversation between a customer and the manager of a house-sitting agency.
00:58 First you have some time to look at questions one to six.
01:39Adam Hello, Oz house-sitters (người trông nhà). Adam here.
01:42Jenny Oh, hello.
01:43 My husband and I are going on a trip overseas and we'd like someone to stay in our house and look after it while we're away.
01:52 Is that something you can help us with?
01:54Adam It most certainly is.
01:55 We can take care of all the arrangements (sự sắp xếp) for you.
01:59Jenny Okay, great.
02:00Adam Now, can I just get some contact details from you for the form?
02:05 Your name is?
02:06Jenny Jenny, Jenny Hall.
02:09Adam Thank you.
02:11 Now, what's your address?
02:13Jenny 14 Grey Street.
02:15Adam Is that G R E Y or G R A Y?
02:20Jenny A Y.
02:21Adam Right.
02:22 And what's the suburb (vùng ngoại ô)?
02:24Jenny Greenfield.
02:25Adam Oh, I know it.
02:27 And if I can just get a contact telephone number?
02:30Jenny I'll give you my mobile number.
02:32 That's probably the best one to use.
02:35 It's 0491
02:38 577 248.
02:43Adam Thanks.
02:44 Now, when did you want the house-sitter (người trông nhà) to start?
02:48Jenny We're flying out on the 25th of September,
02:51 but my brother will be in the house for a few days until the 28th.
02:55 So from the 29th of September, please.
02:58Adam I'll note that down.
03:01 And how long do you want the house-sitter (người trông nhà) for?
03:04Jenny Well, I'll be attending a training course in Paris for two weeks,
03:08 but we're also going to visit my niece in Singapore on the way home to Australia for a few days.
03:15Adam So shall I put down three weeks?
03:17Jenny Mmm, that sounds about right.
03:19 I think four would be too long.
03:21Adam Sure.
03:22 Now, Jenny, can you tell me more about the features (đặc điểm) of your house?
03:27 This helps us to match house-sitters (người trông nhà) and homeowners.
03:30Jenny Sure.
03:31 What do you want to know?
03:33Adam Does the house have air conditioning (điều hòa không khí)?
03:35Jenny No, we don't like using it.
03:38 We prefer the fresh air.
03:39 But last year we did put in a pool.
03:42Adam Very nice.
03:44 And are there any other attractive (hấp dẫn) features (đặc điểm)?
03:47 Is your house near a beach for example?
03:50Jenny No, not really.
03:51 We're about an hour's drive away.
03:54 But we are close to a station, so it's handy for anyone getting into work and so on.
03:59Adam Okay, great.
04:01 Now, if our house-sitter (người trông nhà) has their own transport, is there any space for them to park?
04:07Jenny Well, we won't be taking our car,
04:09 but it's a large double garage.
04:12 There'll be space for one more.
04:13Adam Okay, great. I'll note that down too.
04:20Narrator Before you hear the rest of the conversation,
04:23 you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10.
04:53Adam And are there any special duties (nhiệm vụ đặc biệt) that you'll need the house-sitter (người trông nhà) to carry out?
04:58Jenny Oh, I don't know.
05:00 What do people normally ask for?
05:03Adam Well, for example, one common chore (việc vặt) is looking after the garden.
05:07Jenny Oh, yes.
05:07 We have an orange tree and an apple tree which are both watered automatically,
05:12 but we haven't connected the sprinkler to our lemon tree yet,
05:16 so they'll need to water that one.
05:18Adam Sure.
05:19 Now, Jenny, do you have any special requirements (yêu cầu) for your house-sitter (người trông nhà)?
05:23Jenny Well, I don't know if this is possible,
05:26 but I probably rather have a couple than someone who's single.
05:29 The house might be a bit too big for just one person.
05:32Adam Sure.
05:33 Now, many of our owners ask for sitters without children.
05:38 What's your preference (sự ưu tiên)?
05:39Jenny Oh, that's no problem.
05:40 There's nothing they can break.
05:42Adam What about smoking?
05:43Jenny Oh, no.
05:45 I can't stand the smell.
05:46 Definitely not.
05:48 Now, how do I know that my house is going to be safe with the house-sitters (người trông nhà)?
05:53Adam Well, we check all of our house-sitters (người trông nhà) very carefully.
05:56 They have to provide references (thư giới thiệu).
05:58 But as well as that, you can ask for a police check (kiểm tra lý lịch tư pháp) if you want to.
06:02Jenny Oh, yes, I'd like to do that, please.
06:05Adam Okay, no problem.
06:07 That's all I need for now.
06:08Jenny Okay.
06:13Narrator That is the end of part one.
06:16 You now have one minute to check your answers to part one.
Section 2
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07:41Narrator Part two.
07:43 You will hear part of a radio program in which a successful businessman is advising listeners on how to become a self-made millionaire.
07:53 First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.
08:50Sue Everybody dreams of becoming a millionaire one day.
08:54 So we asked Arthur Knowles who made his millions in the plumbing business
08:59 to give the budding entrepreneurs (doanh nhân mới nổi) among you a few tips on how to make your first million.
09:05 Arthur, welcome to the program.
09:07Arthur Thanks, Sue.
09:09Sue So Arthur, what advice do you have for our listeners?
09:13Arthur Well, one thing I've heard people say is that when you're starting up a business,
09:17 you can't afford to make mistakes.
09:20 Well, I believe in the old saying a person who never made a mistake never made anything.
09:27 You can't really predict (dự đoán) when you'll make mistakes,
09:29 and you have to look at them as a positive experience (trải nghiệm tích cực),
09:33 and one that means you won't make the same mistake again.
09:36 You need to be able to cope (đối phó) with the world of business.
09:40 But according to recent American business school studies,
09:43 believing in yourself isn't enough by itself to guarantee (đảm bảo) success.
09:48 Confidence can be a good thing,
09:51 but a person can have too much confidence.
09:54 And people who try to learn to be confident by buying those how to succeed books
10:00 are just wasting their time.
10:02 The advice given in these American studies
10:05 was that being a successful entrepreneur (doanh nhân)
10:08 comes down to having the right attitude (thái độ).
10:11 It's no good getting depressed (chán nản) every time something goes wrong.
10:16 Always keep your goals in mind and never give up.
10:19 And don't listen to all the people around you who say,
10:23 "Oh, this will never work."
10:26 One thing I've learned in business is that you don't have to be an expert (chuyên gia) in everything,
10:31 like marketing, for example.
10:34 When I started my business, I tried to do it all myself,
10:37 but I soon realised (nhận ra) that although I knew everything there was to know about plumbing,
10:42 I didn't have much idea about how to sell my ideas.
10:46 So, I got someone who knew more about this to take care of the marketing side of things for me.
10:52 And as for leadership (sự lãnh đạo),
10:54 well, you've got to be someone your workers look up to because
10:58 you've been seen to make the right decisions.
11:01 You have to be able to control people,
11:03 but listen to them at the same time.
11:06 Some people are driven to make their companies successful,
11:10 but that too often leads to a ruthless (tàn nhẫn) approach.
11:15 Then there's the question of taking risks (rủi ro),
11:17 even calculated (được tính toán) ones.
11:20 I personally feel it's actually better to tread carefully when it comes to taking short-term risks (rủi ro).
11:27 You need a degree of vision (tầm nhìn), certainly,
11:30 but it's easy to get carried away by your desire to increase profits.
11:35 And if things go wrong,
11:37 you can end up losing more than you gain.
11:43Narrator Before you hear the rest of the program,
11:45 you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20.
12:16Sue So, if you have a great idea for a business,
12:19 what should you do next?
12:21Arthur Well, the first thing to ask yourself is
12:24 whether there's a need for your product or service.
12:27 Can you cater (đáp ứng) for people's needs better than existing companies?
12:32 You don't need to worry about whether it's original (nguyên bản) or not because
12:35 there isn't always enough of a demand (nhu cầu) for completely new ideas.
12:40 And the second thing to ask yourself is,
12:42 not what color should the packet be,
12:45 or how much should it cost,
12:47 but do I care enough about this idea to dedicate (cống hiến) the next 10 years of my life to it?
12:53 Because realistically that's how long it will take.
12:56Sue Tell us how you got started, Arthur.
12:59 How do you explain your early success?
13:02Arthur Well, I started my business just as the economy was going into a recession (suy thoái kinh tế),
13:07 which wasn't the best time,
13:08 and I was lucky to survive (sống sót),
13:10 especially as the banks weren't being particularly supportive to small businesses at that time.
13:16 If I'd listened to the business advice I was given back then,
13:19 I'd never have got started.
13:22 My strengths were that I knew I could provide a better service than my competitors (đối thủ cạnh tranh)
13:27 who really hadn't spotted (phát hiện) the opportunities (cơ hội) that were out there.
13:31 And that my wife had a good job and was able to pay the household bills
13:35 while I was getting the company on its feet.
13:38 The first couple of years were very tough,
13:41 but I knew I would make it eventually.
13:44Sue Okay.
13:45 Now we're going to take some calls from listeners.
13:51Narrator That is the end of part two.
13:53 You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part two.
Section 3
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14:26Narrator Section three.
14:28 You will hear two primary school trainee teachers called Stefan and Magda
14:34 discussing their placements (thực tập) for science teaching.
14:38 First,
14:39 you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26 on page six.
15:23Stefan Hi Magda, how was your placement (thực tập)?
15:25Magda It went really well.
15:27 The kids really enjoyed the science I did with them.
15:30Stefan So did mine.
15:31 I think they found it very motivating (tạo động lực).
15:33Magda Yes.
15:34 The program we had to teach was much better than the old-style science experiments we did at school.
15:40Stefan Yes, though I don't understand why the children should have to build a model of a steam engine (động cơ hơi nước).
15:46 I tried it with the kids, but I couldn't get it to work.
15:49Magda Me neither.
15:50 And it really shows it's hard to get any real results (kết quả).
15:53Stefan Yes.
15:54 And it's usually the children's parents,
15:56 rather than the kids themselves, who favor that type of experiment.
16:01 So what experiments did you do?
16:03Magda Well,
16:04 one day, a discussion started in class about breakfast cereals (ngũ cốc ăn sáng),
16:09 about which one was best.
16:11 One child then said that we should test them in class.
16:14Stefan That's a nice idea.
16:15Magda Yes,
16:16 and it wasn't expensive.
16:18 We brought four different brands of cereal (ngũ cốc ăn sáng),
16:21 and had everyone evaluate (đánh giá) them for taste,
16:23 appearance (ngoại hình),
16:25 and sogginess (độ sũng nước) in milk.
16:27Stefan And are you going to tell me which one won?
16:29Magda No,
16:30 I'll let you do it yourself.
16:32 It obviously isn't difficult to set up.
16:35 Another experiment we did,
16:37 the sports teacher's idea actually,
16:40 was to spend a morning seeing how high various balls bounced (nảy lên).
16:45 For example,
16:46 do new tennis balls bounce (nảy lên) higher than old ones,
16:49 and do basketballs that are fully inflated (bơm căng) bounce (nảy lên) better than flatter ones?
16:55Stefan And I guess you got some interesting data?
16:57Magda We did.
16:58 And they had to make a chart to plot (vẽ biểu đồ) the results (kết quả).
17:01 It really improved their grasp (sự nắm bắt) of charts
17:04 and graphs and calculations (phép tính).
17:06 Apparently, they'd had problems understanding the point of graphs in the past.
17:11Stefan Did all your experiments work out okay?
17:14Magda Well,
17:15 we had one lesson on making paper from grass.
17:18 The children made a terrible mess in the classroom.
17:22 Whatever they did, didn't work.
17:25 And it wasn't because it was difficult,
17:27 I think it was because it didn't engage (thu hút) them at all.
17:31 It didn't seem to motivate (tạo động lực) them.
17:34Stefan My tie-dyeing (nhuộm vải) experiment went well.
17:36 They had to get a piece of material and twist (xoắn) it into a rope and then dye it.
17:41 The children did end up with blue and green hands for a few days though.
17:45Magda But don't you need to spend more than one lesson on that?
17:48Stefan Yes, we did it over three classes.
17:51 The children really loved it though,
17:53 and one suggested we make scarves (khăn quàng) from the result.
17:57 I declined (từ chối), as my sewing skills (kỹ năng may vá) aren't up to much.
18:00Magda I guess the one experiment that everyone loved in my class
18:04 was making glue from milk.
18:06 I thought it would be a complete failure (thất bại),
18:09 but in fact, it worked brilliantly (tuyệt vời).
18:12 One reason, I suspect, is that they got feedback (phản hồi) straight away.
18:16 Some children get really restless (bồn chồn) if they have to wait for anything interesting to happen.
18:21Stefan Yes, I think that's always a good idea.
18:23 Really helps to make it a success.
18:28Narrator Before you hear the rest of the discussion,
18:31 you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30 on page seven.
19:04Stefan I see you've got a diagram there for one of your experiments.
19:07 Yes, it was an idea I got from the internet.
19:10 It was very easy and straightforward to set up.
19:14 The idea is to make a condenser (bộ ngưng tụ) to extract (chiết xuất) essences (tinh chất) from plants.
19:18 The large containers made of metal.
19:20Magda Right.
19:21 And that holds the hot water.
19:23Stefan That's right.
19:24 And it has a strainer (cái lọc) which sits inside it.
19:28 This is where you put the plant matter (thực vật chất).
19:31 We use plants like rosemary (cây hương thảo),
19:33 as the essence (tinh chất) you can extract (chiết xuất) is quite strong.
19:36Magda So, what's the container right at the top?
19:38Stefan It's made of glass.
19:40 It's where we put the ice.
19:42 The glass container has a drip tip (đầu nhỏ giọt) at the bottom.
19:46Magda What's that for?
19:47Stefan It's where the essence (tinh chất) collects (tích tụ).
19:49Magda Where does the essence (tinh chất) go then?
19:51Stefan Into the dish at the bottom.
19:53 It's made of pottery (đồ gốm).
19:55Magda Sounds good.
19:56 I might try it with my class.
20:01Narrator That is the end of Section three.
20:04 You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Section 4
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20:37Narrator Now turn to Section four on page eight.
20:42 Part four.
20:44 You will hear a part of a talk about recent research (nghiên cứu) into the design (thiết kế) of workplaces (nơi làm việc).
20:52 First,
20:53 you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
21:56Speaker Hello, everyone.
21:58 I recently completed some important research (nghiên cứu) into the way office space is designed (thiết kế),
22:03 and its impact (tác động) on employees.
22:06 The open-plan office (văn phòng không gian mở) had been the norm for offices around the world.
22:11 I'm sure you can picture one,
22:12 a big room with maybe 50 or 100 workers sitting at their workstations (trạm làm việc).
22:18 You might think open-plan (không gian mở) designs (thiết kế)
22:20 are a recent phenomenon (hiện tượng),
22:23 but they actually came about in the early 20th century,
22:27 when businesses needed large numbers of people to do typing.
22:32 These employees,
22:33 usually women,
22:34 used to have to sit in rows working away at their typewriters (máy đánh chữ)
22:38 under the watchful eye of their supervisor (người giám sát).
22:41 Over the years,
22:43 designers have come up with several variations (biến thể) on the open theme.
22:48 In particular, this has been achieved through furnishings (nội thất).
22:52 The early designs (thiết kế) featured separate desks.
22:56 A subsequent (tiếp theo) design (thiết kế) introduced the concept of the cubicle (ô làm việc).
23:00 These can have either high screens that workers can't see over,
23:05 or a screen just low enough to keep a look out for the manager.
23:09 And nowadays,
23:10 with the increase in large call centers,
23:13 a phenomenon (hiện tượng) known as hot-desking (chia sẻ bàn làm việc) is common.
23:17 In this system, employees working on different shifts are asked to share (chia sẻ) the same workstation (trạm làm việc).
23:24 As you can imagine, this is not very popular with staff,
23:27 as there is little opportunity (cơ hội) to personalise (cá nhân hóa) your workspace.
23:37 In fact,
23:38 my research (nghiên cứu) shows that employees in general dislike (không thích) the open-plan (không gian mở) design (thiết kế).
23:44 As a part of my research (nghiên cứu),
23:45 I conducted a survey of the staff in several large companies with open-plan (không gian mở) offices.
23:52 The employees all voiced similar concerns about the design (thiết kế).
23:56 Firstly, they felt that the open plan (không gian mở) took away their privacy (sự riêng tư).
24:01 But many also felt the need to carry their valuables (đồ có giá trị) with them at all times.
24:05 So to some extent, they also felt there was less security (an ninh) with these designs (thiết kế).
24:11 Another common complaint,
24:12 maybe something for employers to consider
24:14 when choosing this type of design (thiết kế),
24:17 and this was that these types of office space are bad for the health.
24:22 I was intrigued (thích thú) by this possibility,
24:24 but looking at staff records,
24:27 it does seem to be borne out (xác nhận).
24:30 So, if this design (thiết kế) is so unpopular,
24:33 why is it so commonplace (phổ biến)?
24:35 Well, the answer to that is in the benefits that the employers feel this type of design (thiết kế) has.
24:42 Of course, there is the obvious benefit that this design (thiết kế) significantly (đáng kể) reduces (giảm) costs,
24:48 both in terms of rent,
24:50 and even in terms of energy use.
24:53 Employers also argue that an open-plan (không gian mở) design (thiết kế)
24:56 leads to better teamwork (làm việc nhóm) and communication (giao tiếp).
25:00 They also feel that new staff can learn from observing (quan sát) other workers,
25:05 so this design (thiết kế) can actually help in training staff.
25:09 However, the complaints voiced by employees
25:12 seem to suggest that the disadvantages (bất lợi) far outweigh (vượt trội hơn) the advantages.
25:18 The reality is that unhappy (không vui) workers are unlikely to work well together,
25:23 and there is plenty of evidence to suggest
25:25 workers are frequently (thường xuyên) distracted (bị phân tâm) from their work
25:28 by the noise that is all around them.
25:32 What is clear is that as designers,
25:34 we need to think carefully about the impact (tác động) that our design (thiết kế)
25:38 has both on the staff involved and the work that they do.
25:45Narrator That is the end of part four.
25:48 You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.
26:52 That is the end of the listening test.
26:55 You now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet.
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