SECTION 1 You will hear 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 you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. You will see that there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first. Holidays for you, Sean speaking. Can I help you? Oh, hi. I've been looking at your website. I'm interested in a cycling holiday in Austria in April. Ah, we have two trips in April. One lasts 14 days and the other 10 days. Hmm, I think the 10-day trip is better. So let's see. I've got a calendar here. What are the dates? The length of the trip that the woman chooses is 10 days, so 10 has been written in the space. Now we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 6. Holidays for you, Sean speaking. Can I help you? Oh, hi. I've been looking at your website. I'm interested in a cycling holiday in Austria in April. Ah, we have two trips in April. One lasts 14 days and the other 10 days. Hmm, I think the 10-day trip is better. So let's see. I've got a calendar here. What are the dates? Well, that trip is in the middle of the month. It starts on the 17th of April and it finishes on the 27th. That suits me. I can't leave work before the 10th of April. Let me see if there are any spaces. Is it just for yourself? Myself and my sister, so two of us. Um, yes, we have spaces. Is it a big group? At the moment there are 12 people booked on this trip and with you two that will be 14. The maximum number is 16, so it's almost fully booked. We can't go over 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 OK. The website says we'll ride approximately 45 kilometres a day. Is that right? That's correct and I've got the exact distances here. It really depends on which part of the trip. Some days are only 35 kilometres and some are more, but you'll never have to cycle more than 50 kilometres in one day. Oh, OK. I can manage that. And we stay in hotels? Yes, they all have restaurants and the rooms have en-suite facilities. And do they have pools? It's how I relax after a long day. There is a swimming pool in a few of the hotels, but none of them has a gym. I don't think we'll need a gym after all that cycling. I'd better find out how much the holiday costs before I get too excited. Including flights, it's £1,177 for one person. Oh, we'll book our own flights on the internet. That's just £1,013 then. And we can book insurance for you if you want. Hmm. And which meals are included in that price? Well, breakfast of course, and the hotels will provide you with a packed lunch each day. We do stop during the afternoon in a village somewhere for a rest, so any snacks you buy then are extra. Then dinner will be in the hotel every evening and that's included in the price of the holiday. Before you 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 you provide the bicycles of course. What else? A lock and a bell come with the bike, as well as lights, although you shouldn't need to cycle in the dark. There's a small bag, or pannier, on the front of the bike where you can put the things you want to take with you during the day, like water or fruit. But we won't allow you to cycle unless you bring a helmet. We don't provide these locally because, like walking boots on a walking holiday, it's really important it fits properly. OK. If there's any special gear you need for your holiday, we recommend a particular website and you can get a discount by quoting your booking reference. Great! What is it? It's www.ballantine.com. That's all one word and I'll spell it for you. www.ballantine.com Good. I've got that down. I've been looking at your website while we've been talking. I see we cycle along the River Danube. Yes, it's one of Europe's most well-known areas for cycling. It looks fascinating. Lots of beautiful countryside and things to see. I should warn you that we do reserve the right to make some alterations to the route if the weather is bad. Some of the tracks sometimes get very muddy. OK. Well, hopefully it won't rain too much. I know we stop in towns and villages, but do we get a chance to look around? Because I'm really interested in history. Oh yes, you get opportunities to explore. Is there something in particular you want to see? There's a theatre in a town called Grine. A friend of mine went there last year and said it was amazing. Let's see. Ah, yes, there's a guide who'll take you round the building. We don't have any other tours arranged, but you can visit several castles and museums on the holiday. Well, thank you for all that information. I'd like to book that then. Right. Well, I'll just... That is the end of section one. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

SECTION 2 You will hear someone talking on the radio about food and restaurants in the local area. First, you have some time to look at questions eleven to fourteen. Pause the recording for thirty seconds. Now listen and answer questions eleven to fourteen. And now we have our Know Your Town section, where we look at what's on offer in our area. Today, John Munro is going to tell us about local food and eating out. John. Well, most of us buy our food in supermarkets these days, but we're very lucky having a wonderful market here. It was originally on the piece of land in front of the cathedral, but, at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was moved to a site by the river. When the new shopping centre was built in the 1960s, it found a home beneath the multi-storey car park, where it still is, but there are plans to move it back to its previous home by the river. The market is now open six days a week. On Tuesday to Saturday you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and cheese from the area, as well as a whole range of imported produce. But if you come on a Sunday, you'll find a different market, where crafts people sell what they have made, things like bags, cards, clothes. During the week there are a few stalls selling more everyday utensils, like saucepans and cleaning products alongside the fruit and vegetables, as well as one new stall selling antique furniture, which is proving to be very popular. People often ask what our local dish is. As we're by the sea, they expect it to be some kind of fish recipe. Our fish is good, of course, but there isn't one particular dish that stands out. What we do have is an apple cake that isn't really made anywhere else. There's a new cafe in the high street, Barton's, which bakes them fresh every morning and serves them with delicious homemade ice cream in a choice of flavours. Now, the harbour is obviously the place to buy fresh fish. Every morning there's a stall where local fishermen sell a selection of the day's catch, before the rest goes to London or abroad. They've been doing that for as long as anyone can remember, of course, but the harbour itself looks very different from a few years ago. Most of the restaurants used to be at the far end, but that part was redeveloped and the restaurants had to relocate to the other end. Many of them are simply the old ones in new premises, but a couple of new ones have opened recently, so there's a good range now, both in the harbour and the town itself. I'm now going to give you my top six places to eat in different parts of the town. Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20. Pause the recording for 30 seconds. Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20. So, number one for me is Merryvales, which is in one of the busiest parts of the town leading down to the harbour. It's in a side street, so it doesn't look out over the water, but it's very close, so you can take a walk after your meal and find one of the cafes with live music. At Merryvales, you can enjoy delicious fresh fish and seafood. The friendly staff offer very attentive service and a really enjoyable evening. The lobster pot is on the main road going down to the harbour, so it also misses out on the sea view, but the food makes up for that. It serves a huge range of fish and seafood, as well as vegetarian and meat dishes, so there's something for everyone. Prices are from mid-range to fairly expensive, so it's really only for a special occasion. Elliot's is in the city centre and is a very upmarket restaurant in the evening, but during the day it serves lunch and coffee. It's on the 20th floor above some offices and it's a great place to sit for a while, as you can see most of the city spread out from there. It does get very busy though, and you may have to wait to be served. Not far from the city centre is The Cabin, which is on the canal bank. You can't park your car there, it's a 15 minute walk from the nearest car park, but it's very peaceful, a good place to relax away from the traffic. It's not cheap, but it's an ideal place for a long lunch. The Olive Tree is a family run restaurant in the city centre offering beautifully prepared Greek dishes. It's well known locally and very popular. Service can be slow when it's busy, as all the food is freshly made. There's plenty of room and on Friday and Saturday nights the wooden floors resound with live music and dancing, which is certainly worth going for. The last place I want to recommend has only just opened in a converted school building. The old school restaurant has been very cleverly renovated. The use of mirrors, plants and the colours on the walls makes you feel as though you're in a large garden instead of the city centre. There are only a few dishes on the menu, but they change every day. So, Tanya, I really hope you've That is the end of section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

SECTION 3 You will hear a discussion between a student called Helen and her tutor about an assignment that Helen is working on. First, you have some time to look at questions 21-24 on page 5. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21-24. Come in, Helen. How can I help you? Well, I'm doing research for the Anthropology assignment and I was hoping to check a few details. Sure. You chose the topic of Pacific Island Tuppercloth, didn't you? What have you found out so far? Well, I was going to introduce my assignment by saying that the tuppercloth is a fabric made from bark, just the outer layer of the trees. It's particularly common in the Pacific Islands, but not exclusive to them. In fact, many other peoples around the world have made high-quality cloth from bark. But what sets Pacific Tupper apart is the incredible variety of roles it's played in this region. Yes, nice introduction, though I think you could be more specific regarding dates. OK, so what about the raw materials used? Well, tuppercloth is made from several species of tree. In the Pacific, the paper mulberry tree is most common, but it doesn't thrive in all conditions. In fact, it wasn't originally found in the islands, but was carried in their canoes by the first migrants. Tupper is also made from the breadfruit tree, which is convenient because its fruit is a staple food. The paper mulberry tree is only grown for tuppermaking, though. Yes, that's good. Now, what about the Maori people here in New Zealand? But the Maori don't make tupper now. That's right, and you need to account for it. We know that when Maori migrated here from the other Pacific islands, they were prepared to make tupper because they brought the paper mulberry tree with them. The thing was, after they'd been in New Zealand a bit, they found the flax plant, which is superior to tupper because it makes a stronger fabric. By the time Europeans arrived in the 18th century, Maori were making all their fabric from flax and had been for some time. OK, so with the production process itself, first the inner bark is beaten with wooden hammers to soften the fibres. Then the different pieces are glued together using an adhesive paste made from the arrowroot tuber. This is the only way to fabricate large pieces of cloth because bark strands are too fine to be woven together and stitching isn't strong enough. Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30 on page 6. Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30. So, now you need details about different countries. Where would you start? I think Samoa is the obvious place. It's famous for its very fine cloth called siapo, which is hand-painted with representations of the ancestors. Still today, at the most profound events in life such as births, funerals, weddings and the investiture of chiefs, Samoans wear siapo robes to add significance and meaning to the ceremony. OK, then I could talk about Tonga. It seems to me that the great innovation in Tonga has been developing a simple, coarse cloth which is quick and easy to make. This is suitable for all sorts of everyday functions around the house, like bed covers, mosquito nets and curtains. Good point. Now, what about Cook Islands, Tapa? Well, the soil there is poor quality, so the breadfruit tree is often used. One type of thick cloth, called tikoru, was wrapped around the poles and used to mark the entrances to places of worship, so it was highly regarded in local culture. You might mention Fiji as well, which is interesting because tapa was actually used as a currency there. Fijians used to sail between the islands and exchange tapa for other commodities, like canoes or pigs. I know that in Tahiti the tapa cloth is different because the patterns are in colour, which is considered more valuable than the usual brown patterns. You're right about the Tahitians using coloured pigments, but they aren't more valuable. The colours are only a decoration. People enjoy wearing bright robes, especially for dancing and competitive games, and do it just for fun. Oh, I'll make a note of that. Well, the last place I was going to mention was Tikopia. Even today it's commonplace to see people wearing clothes made of tapa cloth. In many of the other islands, the tapa only comes out on special occasions, but here you see people working in the gardens wearing tapa. Sounds promising, Helen. I'll look forward to reading your assignment. That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

SECTION 4 You will hear a part of the lecture in a series of lectures about chain stores in the UK. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the second lecture in our series on chain stores in the UK. Today I will be focusing on a very successful global petrol company called Telsa, paying particular attention to their expansion and future development. There will be time for questions at the end, so please refrain from interrupting during the talk. When it was founded, the company was a family-run organisation, with only one shop open in a small town in southern England. The family was able to compete with other local companies by offering special discounts for returning customers, which resulted in a huge expansion of their client base. This strategy was so successful that they were able to open petrol stations across the country, subsequently increasing their market share in England. Within a decade, Telsa were running establishments throughout the UK, including Wales and Scotland. By comparing the sales income from all of their stores, they were able to collate data that highlighted which areas were the most profitable and receptive to their business. They discovered that by closing the less profitable stations in the south of Scotland, they could increase the income from their other more profitable stations. This example demonstrates the importance of constantly monitoring and maintaining a clear view of the finances of the company. Once the expertise required to run the company had exceeded the abilities of the family, they needed to hire professional consultants. After assessing the company's financial statements, the consultants advised that Telsa closed the head office of the convenience stores in Oxford. They deemed the head office unnecessary and identified it as a financial drain on the company, as the premises were expensive to run and generated no income. In order to avoid firing any employees, they transferred over 200 staff to other offices and retrained them to carry out their new roles. Now that Telsa had conquered the petrol market in the UK, they were able to branch out into other niche areas that offered prospects for profit. They realised that they could establish a new environmentally friendly brand image by selling fresh food in their convenience stores that had been grown by local farmers. This strategy would not only broaden the scope of the company, but also help to strengthen its relationships with local communities. Every year, Telsa holds a meeting in London where all of the consultants and managers meet to discuss future plans for development and improvement. These meetings are essential to the evolution of the company, as feedback is heard from all levels of the organisation, from the sales staff to the CEOs. They did this by assigning every manager the task of holding staff discussions, at which ideas and concerns would be passed on for evaluation at the meeting. Tesla decided to accommodate the individuality of each of their stores instead of forcing them to conform to one overriding company identity. They realised that by increasing the flexibility of the profit-making strategies of each of the retail stores, they subsequently became more commercially successful. The level of staff satisfaction also increased as a result, as the individuals felt that they were not being constrained to one way of thinking. To avoid misunderstandings and mistakes, any future changes were introduced in stages in order to familiarise the staff with the new regulations. Now it's time to conclude the lecture for today, so I will leave you with some food for thought before you leave. In order to run a successful business, one cannot underestimate the importance of maintaining an open mind when deciding on strategies for expansion. Sometimes it's necessary to employ an independent consultant who can offer an objective and unbiased view on the running of your company. Emotion will only ever cloud your ability to make business-related decisions. Research suitable case studies and look at how department stores, for example, were able to alter their organisational structure whilst minimising costs and staff redundancies. Precedents are an essential resource when it comes to making decisions for your own business, so don't undervalue them. Well, that wraps up our lecture for today. If there are any questions...