Section 2

You will hear the General Manager of a golf club talking to some people who would like to become members.

First you will have time to look at questions 11-16.

[Pause 30 seconds]

Now listen carefully and answer questions 11-16.

General Manager:

Now, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to this meeting. Demand for membership places has far exceeded our expectations this year, so it was decided to gather you all here together to go through the process step-by-step, once rather than many times with each of you individually. The first thing you need to do is not fill in the application form. This, you see, is a waste of time unless you have found an application sponsor. Your sponsor must be an existing full member of the club. Now, once you have your sponsor, you should log on to our website and fill in and send through the membership form. You will be prompted to provide the relevant deposit at the same time as you submit your application. You may do so using any major debit or credit card. The next step is for you to attend a general meeting of the club. There are typically meetings held once a month. After the club meeting, you will then be required to wait a while in order for the club committee to examine, and, if all is in order, approve your application. It may be necessary to ask you to come forward for an additional interview before approval is granted depending on the circumstances. Now, once you have been approved, you are almost a member of the club. All you need to do then is pay the remaining balance of your membership fee. Having done this, you are officially a member of Blainroe Golf Club. However, you cannot start to play in competitions until you have acquired your handicap. In order to do this, you must send in three cards. The committee will then issue you with a club handicap within seven days on the basis of how you performed in each of the three rounds you played.

Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the discussion you have some time to look at questions 17-20.

[Pause 30 seconds]

Now listen and answer questions 17-20.

Now, I won't spend much more than a few minutes on this, but let's go through the different membership types quickly now. Remember, all the information I am about to give you and more is available on

our website. The first category is Full Ordinary Member. Basically, this is a full membership that gives you full playing rights during competitions and for casual golf as well. It costs £10,000 to become a full member, or alternatively, four instalments of £2,500. Our next category is Associate. This is for a golfer who is already a member of a club, but wants to join ours, too, while keeping his existing club as his main club. You will have the same rights as a full member, but the cost is £9,000. I must remind you that there is a limited number of memberships of this kind available. 5-Day members pay £5,000 to join, and this payment can be put towards becoming a full member at a later date if you would like to upgrade your membership status. You enjoy full playing rights during casual play and can play in all weekday competitions; however, you cannot enter competitions at the weekend. Intermediate membership is open to golfers under the age of 25 and costs £1,800, as do the other remaining membership types: Junior, Senior and Overseas. If you are an Intermediate member, you, too, have full playing rights for casual play; however, you can only play in competition if a full member of the club invites you to join him. Junior members are aged between 12 and 18. They enjoy restricted playing rights in casual playing time, and are only allowed to play on Monday and Wednesday mornings. They can occasionally play in competitions, but the opportunities to play in this format are severely restricted. Senior members enjoy full rights at all times, and Overseas members can play on the course casually at any time, and can enter competitions if invited to do so by a full member of the club. As to the questions of (fading)...

Narrator: That's the end of Section 2. You have half a minute to check your answers. [Pause 30 seconds]

Now turn to Section 3.

Section 3

You will hear a discussion between two students and their tutor. First you have some time to look at questions 21-25. [Pause 30 seconds]

Now listen carefully and answer questions 21-25.

Tutor: OK guys, first off, well done! That was a very good presentation yesterday. Now, I'm just going to ask you questions about it before I give you my feedback. That OK?

S1: Sure.

S2: Of course.

Tutor: Right, well, in that case, tell me, Niall, why did you choose to talk about Rafael Nadal?

S2: To tell you the truth, I didn't. I think I'd better let Sheena handle this one. Sheena?

S1: Yes, it was my decision to pick Nadal. Now that might be a strange choice for a presentation entitled 'Someone Who Inspired Me to Study Psychology', but (interrupted)

Tutor: Yes, I was going to say it does seem rather an odd choice. Was it simply down to the fact that he is a sporting hero of yours and so a role model? You talk about him a lot Sheena, so this much is clear!

S1: It's true; Nadal is someone I look up to, but my reasons for choosing him were totally professional. You see, I doubt perhaps in the history of tennis that there was ever a better match player than him and that got me thinking, what is the secret to his success -how does he control his nerves so splendidly?

S2: The more we started to look into his background, the more I realised Sheena was right; Nadal was a perfect candidate for this study; he is, on so many levels, a very well-balanced character and it was fascinating to gain an insight into the mind of this great champion over the last few weeks. I'll admit that I was, at first, somewhat unsure about whether or not I should back Sheena on this one, but it didn't take long for our research to put us at ease.

Tutor: So while most of the students were researching Freud and other visionaries in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, you were looking into a present-day sports star - does that not strike you as a little odd?

S1: Of course, we knew it was a risk. After all, there was a danger that no one, least of all you, would take us seriously when we stood up on stage and started our presentation. That said, I think it is in the spirit of psychology to be inquisitive and adventurous and not

just stick to the conventional; otherwise, how would the field have

come as far as it has done already?

Tutor: Well, I must say, your risk certainly paid off. Yours was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most interesting and original presentation I saw. And judging by the reactions of the other students, I would have to say that everyone else was equally impressed.

S1: Thank you.

S2: I'm so glad you think so.

Tutor: Yes, but, notwithstanding your excellent presentation content, we must remember that the marks for this project are awarded based on a number of criteria, and we'll examine those in a few minutes. But first, another question: where did you find your sources?

S1: Well, and I don't quite know how we managed it, but we were able to secure a face-to-face interview with Nadal while he was over here for the Wimbledon tennis championship, so we weren't reliant on newspaper articles and interviews or any other forms of secondary sources. We did, however, find the library sports archive an invaluable back-up aid to help us fill in the gaps and piece together our interpretation of what makes Nadal such a mentally strong champion. 

Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the discussion you have some time to look at questions 26-30.

[Pause 30 seconds]

Now listen and answer questions 26-30.

Tutor: Okay, well, as I said, congratulations again for your excellent work. Now, it's time for my feedback. The first area where marks are awarded is in your use of equipment. I felt that, had you not been a little too reliant on the overhead projector, and had you, for example, used the interactive whiteboard and audio equipment a little more effectively, you would have received top marks in this section. As things stand though, your use of equipment was still very satisfactory. It's just a shame as it was an opportunity missed to score full points. The next area I was asked to assess is content. As you might have guessed, I simply can't fault you on that - highly original work, so well done. As for your timing, I felt that the two of you were a little too over-rehearsed, so the presentation felt, at times, a little robotic. That said, again, it was very satisfactory and you would get full points for effort. Sadly though, there is such a thing as trying too hard, and that cost you top marks here I'm afraid.

S1: Oh, I see.

S2: Right.

Tutor:  What was particularly impressive though was the thick handout you'd prepared for everyone. I took it home to read through it afterwards and it was very well written. But not alone that, it also enhanced my experience of the presentation itself on the day, as I was able to refer to the handout for further information on what was being discussed and to answer any questions I had. Very nice! As for your level of interaction, well, you had so much that you were intent on packing into your twenty minute timeslot that, sadly, you ran out of time at the end, which left no room whatsoever for interaction and no one had the chance to ask you any questions. You've probably guessed, therefore, that you did worse than average in this department and, unfortunately, your score will have to reflect this.

S2: Oh my goodness; everything sounded so positive at the start.

S1: That is a big disappointment - we worked so hard.

Tutor: Now, now, don't be so quick to get deflated. Remember, your presentation skills only count for 15 percent of the project grade. Your score in this assessment, even if it were terrible, would still not be enough to prevent you from getting top marks overall. It's very hard to score well in the presentation assessment anyway so, believe me, you both did reasonably well.

S2: Thank you. I wish I felt like that!

S1: Yes. Your feedback was very constructive; we're just a little disappointed with ourselves. Why (fading)...

Narrator: That's the end of Section 3. You have half a minute to check your answers. [Pause 30 seconds]

Now turn to Section 4.

Section 4

You will hear part of a talk on cat breeds. First you have some time to look at questions 31-40. [Pause 1 minute]

Now listen carefully and answer questions 31-40.

Look at her, ladies and gentlemen. Isn't she beautiful? The Abyssinian is a natural breed of cat which originated in Africa, or more specifically, what is now Ethiopia. Today it is found in much of the surrounding African continent, particularly Somalia. Its head is broad and moderately wedge-shaped, and it has relatively large pointed ears, like the specimen you can see here in front of you. It is typically a reddish colour and is known for the unusual m-shaped marking which often appears directly above the two eyes - see, here. It has a medium-length coat, in a sort of ticked pattern, ticked being a term to describe when the hair gets progressively darker from root to tip. There you go little fellow; well done.

Now, this gentleman - he is a male, I can assure you - is the Aegean. The Aegean is of Greek origin as you might have guessed, and is thought to have come from the Cycladic Islands. It's considered to be the only native Greek breed of cat. It is one of the newest and, therefore, rarest cat breeds, but relatively plentiful throughout Greece. It is much liked for its intelligence and friendliness, and because it excels in pest control. It has a semi-longhaired coat with rich tail. The coat is typically bi- or tri-coloured, with white always present and the other colours ranging from black to red, blue, cream, etc. These colours are just as likely to present themselves as stripes. This little guy, as you can see, has beautiful reddish-blue stripes running through a pale coat. The head is medium-sized and quite round. The ears have a wide base, rounded tips and are covered by hairs. Now, the Australian; Australians are still mainly confined in distribution in their homeland, obviously Australia, though a number of catteries in the UK have started to breed them, too. Look at those expressive eyes! The cat is a fine example of the breed: medium-sized and shorthaired. Notice also the large, round head. This breed is much loved for its tolerance of children and because it is very rarely inclined to scratch. Its coat is typically spotted or, as in the case of this little fellow, classic tabby style.

Last but not least, we have the Bobtail, another relatively new breed like the Aegean and Australian. The Bobtail first appeared in the 1960s in the United States, the only country in which it has a significant distribution, and is most notable for its stubby 'bobbed' tail, which is only something like one-third to one-half the length of a normal cat's tail. It is a very sturdy breed, with rather shaggy and dense fur. Bob-tails can have any colour fur and often have the appearance of a tabby. Unlike the other breeds we have discussed, the Bobtail is not natural. It is said to be a result of the crossbreeding of a domestic tabby cat and a bobcat. Such is the careful breeding the cat has undergone that it comes in all colours, and there are also both long and shorthaired versions.

If I had to recommend one of these breeds to you today, I would have to vouch for the Australian. After all, as all of us here are parents, we must surely agree that our children are our first consideration when it comes to purchasing a pet - what effect the animal will have on them? How will it react? etc. These are questions we all ask ourselves and they are even more important when the child is very young. The Australian is simply unrivalled in the temperament department and is extremely unlikely to lose its composure and take a swipe at your child. That said, it is_ still a very rare breed in these parts, and, as with all things in the world, rare equates to very expensive, so it may be beyond the price range some of you are prepared to pay. Surprisingly perhaps, though the Bobtail is part-Lynx or bobcat as they say in the States, it doesn't appear to have inherited any of the wildcat's aggressiveness and, therefore, it makes an excellent second-best as a pet you can allow to be around children. It is also considerably less expensive. The other two breeds we have talked about both make excellent house pets. However, hand on heart, I could not endorse either as a pet to have around young children. In my view, the child's safety is not something to gamble with, so, if you can afford the extra few quid to lay out for a Bobtail, or, better still, an Australian, do so; you won't regret it.

Narrator: That is the end of Section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers. [Pause 30 seconds] That is the end of the listening test. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answer to the Listening Answer Sheet.