IELTS LISTENING CYCLING HOLIDAY IN AUSTRIA WITH ANSWERS || BRIGHT FUTURE IELTS LISTENING ||

You will overhear a telephone conversation between a woman and a man who works for a

holiday

company about a

holiday

she would like to go on first. She has some time to look at questions one through six. She pauses the recording for 30 seconds. She listens carefully and

answers

the questions. From one to six holidays for you, whether speaking, can I help you? Hi, I've been looking at your website. I am interested in a

cycling

holiday in Austria in April. We have two trips in April, one lasts 14 days and the other 10. days I think the 10 day trip is better so let's see I have a calendar here what are the dates well that trip is in the middle of the month it starts on April 17 and it ends on the 27th, which is convenient for me.

I can't leave work before April 10. Let me see if there are spaces. Is it just for you and my sister? So two of us. Yes, we have spaces. Is it a large group? At this moment there are 12 people. booked on this trip and with u2 it will be 14. the maximum number is 16, so it is almost full. We can't get past that because it's hard to keep a larger group together. I need to check that I'm fit enough for this. but the distances look good, the website says it will cover approximately 45 kilometers per day. That's right, that's correct and here I have the exact distances.

It really depends on what part of the trip, some days it's only 35 kilometers and some days it's more, but you'll never have to bike more than 50 kilometers in one day. Oh, okay, I can make it and we stay in hotels. Yes, they all have restaurants and the rooms have private bathrooms and pools. This is how I relax after a long day. a swimming pool in some of the hotels, but none have a gym. I don't think we need a gym after all that

cycling

. I better find out how much the vacation costs before I get too excited, including the flights.

It's uh 1177. Pounds for one person. Oh, we'll book our own flights on the Internet. Oh, it's only 1013 pounds. We can then book insurance for you if you wish and what meals are included in that price. Well, breakfast, of course, and the hotels will provide it for you. with a packed lunch every day we stop during the afternoon in a village somewhere to rest so any snacks you buy are extra and dinner will be at the hotel every night and that is included in the price of the vacation before I hear the rest. of the conversation you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10 pause the recording for 30 seconds now listen and answer questions 7 to 10 and provide the bikes of course what else comes with a bike a lock and a bell, besides lights?

Although you shouldn't need to ride your bike in the dark, there is a small bag or pannier at the front of the bike where you can put things you want to take with you during the day, such as water or fruit, but we won't let you do that. Please ride a bike unless you bring a helmet, we do not provide these locally because, like walking boots on a walking holiday, it is very important that they fit well. If you need any special equipment for your holiday, we recommend a particular website and you can get a discount by visiting quoting your booking reference cool what is it?

It's www.balantine.com that's one word and I'll spell it out for you www dot b a double l a n t and n e well I've got it written I've been looking at your website while I've been talking. I see that we are cycling along the Danube River. Yes, it is one of the best-known areas for cycling in Europe. It seems fascinating. There are many beautiful landscapes and things to see. I must warn you that we reserve the right to make some modifications to the route. If the weather is bad, some of the slopes sometimes become very muddy, well, I hope it doesn't rain too much.

I know we stop in cities and towns, but do we get a chance to look around because I'm really interested in history? Oh yeah. You have opportunities to explore. Is there anything in particular you want to see? There is a theater in a town called Grine. A friend of mine went there last year and said it was amazing, let's see. Yes, there is a guide who will take you around the building. We do not have other organized tours, but you can visit several castles and museums during the holidays. Thanks for all that information. I would like to reserve it.

Well, that's the end of section one. have half a minute to check your

answers

pause the recording for 30 seconds you will hear someone talking on the radio about food and restaurants in the local area first you have some time to watch questions 11 to 14. pause the recording for 30 seconds now listen and answer questions 11 to 14. and now we have our know your city section, where we look at what's on offer in our area today. John Monroe will tell us about local food and how to eat out. John Well, most of us buy our food in supermarkets these days, but we are very lucky to have a wonderful market here.

It was originally on the land in front of the cathedral, but in the early 20th century it was moved to a riverside site when the new shopping center was built. Built in the 1960s, it found a home beneath the multi-storey car park where it still stands, but there are plans to move it back to its previous riverside home. The market is now open six days a week, Tuesday through Saturday. You can buy. fresh fruit and vegetables local meats and cheeses as well as a whole range of imported products but if you come on a Sunday you will find a different market where artisans sell what they have made such as bags cards clothes during the week there are some stalls that sell more everyday utensils such as pots and cleaning products along with fruit and vegetables as well as a new stall selling antique furniture which is proving very popular, people often ask what our local dish is as we are by the sea they hope it must be some kind fish recipe.

Our fish is good, of course, but there is no particular dish that stands out. What we do have is an apple pie that isn't really made anywhere else. There's a new cafe in High Street Bartons. who bakes them fresh every morning and serves them with delicious homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors now the port is obviously the place to buy fresh fish every morning there is a stall where local fishermen sell a selection of the day's catch before the rest go to In London or abroad they've been doing this for as long as anyone can remember of course, but the port itself looks very different from a few years ago, most of the restaurants used to be at the other end, but that part was remodeled and the restaurants had to move to the other end, many of them are just the old ones in new facilities, but a couple of new ones have opened recently, so now there is a good variety both in the port and in the city itself.

Now I will give you my best six places to eat in different parts of the city before you listen to the rest of the talk, you have some time to watch questions 15 to 20. pause the recording for 30 seconds, now listen and answer questions 15 to 20. so number one for me is maryvale's which is located in one of the busiest areas of the city and leads to the port. It's on a side street so it doesn't face the water, but it's very close so you can take a walk after eating and find one of the live music cafes at Maryvale's you can enjoy delicious fresh seafood .

The friendly staff provide very attentive service and a truly enjoyable evening. The lobster pot is on the main road leading to the port, so you also miss out on the sea view, but the food makes up for it: it serves a wide variety of fish and seafood, as well as vegetarian and meat dishes, so that there is something for everyone. Prices range from mid-range to quite expensive, so it's really just for a special occasion. Elliot's is in the center of town. and it is a very exclusive restaurant at night, but during the day it serves lunch and coffee.

It's on the 20th floor, above some offices, and is a great place to sit for a while, as you can see most of the city from there. However, there are a lot of people and you may have to wait to be served. Not far from the city center is the cabin that is on the bank of the canal. You can't park your car there. It's a 15 minute walk from the nearest parking lot, but it's very. quiet a good place to relax away from the traffic not cheap but an ideal place for a long lunch el olivo is a family run restaurant in the city center offering beautifully prepared greek dishes it is well known locally and very popular service can be Slow when busy as all the food is freshly made, there is plenty of space and on Friday and Saturday nights the wooden floors resonate with live music and dancing which is definitely worth going as the last place that I want to recommend has just opened in a renovated building. school building the old school restaurant has been renovated very cleverly the use of mirrors, plants and the colors on the walls make you feel like you are in a big garden instead of the city center there are only a few dishes in the menu, but it changes every day so tanya, that's really the end of section two, now you have half a minute to check your answers, pause the recording for 30 seconds, you will hear three students in a media studies course talking about a movie they plan to make first.

Do you have some time to watch questions 21-26 pause the recording for 30 seconds now listen carefully and answer questions 21-26 hello mike hello razer this is helen hello we are very happy that you have agreed to join us in this film project Yes, Your experience will be very useful. I hope it's the technical aspect. I know the best in lighting and sound and stuff, but you think the script is okay. Yes, I think it's great. Have you decided where you are going to film? Well, there's the watermill scene at the end and we've thought about some places in town we can use behind the mall and a couple of residential streets and an empty storefront on campus, which means we don't have We have to worry about getting a shop owner's permit, so do you think we should go everywhere with you?

Yes, that would be a good idea. We need to talk about background noise levels so we know they're all going to be reasonable places to film, but the sounds. of traffic will make it more natural, I think resume means things like planes, trains etc, that would mean we have to stop filming exactly and I will also make notes on what lighting I will need, I think the university department. It has a good range of equipment but I'll need to make a list for each location for my own reference anyway, once we've had a look you can do the road works, check what you mean you need information on construction work or road works because you could start filming one day and come back in the morning and discover that one of the roads has been dug up.

The city council has to be informed about things like this so you can find out from them. Okay, so I guess we have to work. of the script and put together a list of all the scenes and decide which ones we are going to shoot when we need to prepare the shooting schedule day by day you are right so when you know how long the shoot is going to last you can Tell everyone when you need them okay as soon as As best we can we will audition and then when we contact people to offer them roles we can send them the exact dates and make sure they are free because often the actors are all excited but then when you try to pinpoint them if they are really free at that time , you find out they have exams or something or they've gone to a festival right before and you have to rush to find replacements, then we need people.

Who can take over the main parts if one of our stars gets sick or something? Yes, I agree, so offer the main parts to the people we really want and then look at other volunteers who were good. Yes, we can select those who are in studio once the main roles. have been confirmed, so once we've sorted that out and done all the rehearsals for the main scenes, we'll be ready to start filming. If that sounds good. Anything else. Well, just housework. We don't really need costumes. Because the actors will be wearing their own clothes, my family agreed to lend us some furniture we need, so we'll go pick it up the weekend before we start.

We'll be providing food and drink during filming, so I'm going to borrow it. some coolers and I have a small van. Most places are within walking distance of the residences anyway, the only one that is further away is the water mill. Oh yeah, can you tell me about that? Okay, wait a minute. I'll take my notes. There is a plan in them. Before you hear the rest of the conversation. You have some time to watch questions 27-30. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30. Here is thewindmill. See, you basically have a vertical waterwheel that was used to drive the grinding stones.

It sounds very interesting, we will film inside. Yes, that's where the final scene between the girl and the man takes place. Our plan is to fix a camera outside, by the window. to the door to film through the window and then have another handheld camera inside the mill, meaning we can get two views of the same scene. We were going to do something using a mirror, but we decided it would be too complicated, yeah, to do it. That way, all we will need are lights on the interior next to the wall behind the steering wheel that can illuminate the opposite wall.

That will give enough light, I think so, because the scene is at night, it shouldn't be too

bright

. The actors will also carry torches and we will have an old screen made of wood just inside the door because it is a new door and it will look bad, the lights won't shine directly on it, so it will be fine. it doesn't actually show the door open no, there is a huge box on the floor against the wall furthest from the wheel, we will see the girl approaching the mill on her bicycle, then we see through the window and the man is looking inside, the next shot is the girl in the room with him opening the box so it will be a mystery ending yeah well i think it will be a great project.

Could thanks, that's the end of section three. have half a minute to check your answers pause the recording for 30 seconds you will hear part of a lecture on exotic pests given as an introduction to a course on ecology and the environment you will first have time to watch questions 31 to 40. pause recording for one minute Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Good afternoon. I want this afternoon, as an introduction to our ecology module, to offer examples of exotic pests, non-native animals or plants that are or perhaps causing problems that could prove fruitful. topic for seminar papers later in the semester, people and products are traveling the world like never before and on these new global highways, plants and animals travel too exotic, plants and animals are appearing in Antarctica and on the most remote islands from Earth, for example, the Australian red-backed spider has reached countries quite close to home, such as New Zealand and Japan, as some of you will know well, it has also been found in Tristan da Cuna, which is an island remote thousands of miles from anywhere in between. from the atlantic now another famous invasive animal in the other direction so to speak from england to australia in the southern hemisphere is the rabbit this was in 1830 and it might seem like a minor threat but it became an extraordinarily destructive pest the fact that rabbits increased perhaps more understandable when we remember that they had originally been introduced to England from continental Europe eight centuries earlier, this was because they were considered a luxury food source and, despite having warm fur, they probably originated in the hot and dry plains. from Spain, which of course explains why they thrive in Australia's climate.

A much less cuddly example of a pest introduced to Australia this time from the United States are fire ants. They are increasing and spreading very quickly. Their huge nests can now be found in gardens across the city of Brisbane and are costing the Australian government a lot of money in control measures. These were an accidental rather than a deliberate introduction to Australia, probably in horticultural imports or mud in second-hand machinery, as a biologist and conservationist. There is increasing concern about these issues: exotic invasions are irreversible and deserve to be taken more seriously even when they are not particularly harmful, for example something that is not necessarily a major disaster compared to other ecological experiments in 1975 a species was deliberately introduced Australian earthworm introduction to the northern hemisphere in Scotland because they were larger than the native ones the aim was for them to be more effective than the native species but in fact they do no more for the soil condition than the smaller local species which they displace although they don't as far as we know so far, this will probably turn out to be a mistake, a much more serious case also in Scotland and other countries, along with the latest victim, Iceland is the New Zealand flatworm, this is a very serious case.

An unwanted newcomer to these northwestern regions of Europe, this flatworm basically arrived in these countries by accident. It has now been discovered that it was actually carried in pots containing exotic ornamental shrubs, etc., and as it feeds on local earthworms and does not benefit the population. local ecology in any way is a real plague. Also, this time there is another case in the water and it comes from Japan. It is a delicious but very fast spreading algae and is one of many large and small exotic species in the seas that cover the rocks around. Unfortunately, Australia is replacing native algae and permanently altering the ecosystem.

However, if we look at the situation from a commercial point of view, it is now being harvested and exported dried to Japan, its original home, where it is particularly popular, so we can sometimes find accidental benefits. seemingly harmful arrivals, well, you could say that global ecology is now going the same way as popular culture, music and global fashions, food and drinks are replacing local ones in all countries and in the ecosystems we find vigorous exotic invaders overwhelming native species and natural habitats, but can we find any examples of invaders that appear to be a problem and then discover that they may not actually be such a big problem after all?

We could take as an example a native of Australia, the parakeet, the most common pet parrot in the world. Of course, because there have been many escapes over the years, they can now be found flying in wild flocks where the weather favors it, so these flocks of parakeets have become very numerous in the southeastern United States. United, particularly in residential areas, people have been I am quite concerned about this but it has been noted that the size of the flocks has decreased somewhat recently, the fact that they are smaller is thought to be due to new arrivals competitors for your habitat from other places, that is the latest example for now what I would like you to consider is that this is planet Earth moving towards a global ecosystem to what extent would it be a completely bad development.

That's the end of section four. Now you have half a minute to check your answers. Pause recording. for 30 seconds you