IELTS Trainer 2 Listening Test 3

Part 1 — A phone enquiry about a short film competition

Man: Oh hello, is this the right number to call for the short film competition? Woman: Yes. How can I help? Man: I know the competition's been running for ten years, but I've never taken part before. I want to be clear on the rules. Is 20 minutes the maximum length of the film? Woman: That's correct. So, shall I run through some of the other rules for entry? Man: That'd be great. I'll make some notes. Woman: All right, so the deadline for getting the whole film made and sending it in to us is on Wednesday May the 15th. Man: Oh really? I thought the submission date was some time at the end of June. The 30th. Woman: That's when the judges announce the winners. Man: Right, I guess I don't have as much time to make this film as I thought. Woman: Now, just so it's clear, one of the rules is about the team of people you have working with you. Will you be doing most of the filming yourself? Man: Probably yes. Woman: OK, but perhaps you'll be needing some technical support with editing, and the audio? Man: I imagine so. Woman: That's fine, but you can't employ any professional actors, I'm afraid. They all need to be new to acting - having a go for the first time. Man: I see. Not a problem. Now I know that one of the rules is about the things you need to include in your film. Woman: That's right. Last year all films had to include a scene with a broken pair of glasses. Man: What about this year? Woman: Well, it's been decided that one of your main characters has to be a child. Or, if you prefer, it could be an animal instead - but we have to see them in a number of scenes, OK? Man: All right. I'll have a think about that. I'm not sure which one would be easier to work with. Woman: It can certainly be a challenge - but that's what the competition is all about. Now, it's not just our rules you need to think about. You might also need to get permission - say, for example - if you decided you wanted to add some music to the film. Man: That sounds complicated. I suppose I could use a local band - people I know that would help out. I wouldn't need permission in that case. Woman: Good idea. Then you don't need to worry about the legal side of things. Man: All right. That's clearer. Actually, is that right that the film doesn't need to be in English? Woman: Yes. Because if a film wins the competition in this country, it could end up being part of an international competition. But if you're going to use another language, you've got to provide subtitles. And those do have to be in English, and 100% accurate. If they're not, your film won't be accepted in the competition. Man: Seems fair. Man: I don't suppose you could give me any advice - about making the film, I mean. Woman: Of course. Um, in my opinion, it's the script that you should concentrate on. That comes first. Work out what everyone's going to say, and go from there. Man: OK, thanks for that. And I read somewhere that you shouldn't have too many characters or locations. Woman: Yeah, I'd agree with that. Man: I also read that - with short films, the judges have their preferences. I mean, they seem to like films with a serious message, like a documentary. I guess I shouldn't do a comedy because not everyone laughs at the same thing. Woman: Yes, stay away from that kind of film. A story with a clear beginning, middle and end - that's what the judges look for. Man: I was thinking I could look at some of the films from last year's competition - you know - to give me a better idea of what to do. Woman: Yes, you could certainly do that. If you go to our website, have a look at last year's winner. His name was Greg Hyslop. Man: How do you spell that last name? Woman: Sure. It's H-Y-S-L-O-P. His film was actually one of the shorter ones, but the judges really liked it. Man: Actually, I'm wondering if I've seen that one already. Isn't it about an artist - someone who no one appreciates but then she ends up selling lots of her paintings? Woman: That's right. If you want to have another look, the film is called Imagine. It really holds your attention. Man: Thanks. I'll have another look after this call. Woman: So, you know what the prizes are? It's $500 for third place, up to $2000 for the overall winner. And of course, the winning films are shown in a theatre, so the public can see them too. Man: That would be an amazing thing to happen. So that would be the Bridge Theatre, would it, in the city centre?

Part 2 — A briefing for conservation volunteers and a bird count

Organiser: Hello everyone. Thanks for volunteering to help with our conservation work in Eskdale Wood next weekend. A big group like this means we can really achieve a lot. Let's start with the tasks we need to get done. I'm happy to say that since the last clean-up of the wood, the litter hasn't returned. So that's one job we can forget about. But - because of the recent storm, there's been damage to some older trees. A few big branches have come down and they're blocking the paths. We need volunteers to pull them off and pile them up somewhere else, so they're not in the way. While you're working, have a look at the bird boxes we placed in the wood last summer. We're sure that most of them have been used, so that was a job worth doing. The storm has also blown down the fences on the north side of the wood - so we'll need you to give a hand with repairs. There'll be someone there to supervise - so you'll get that job done quite quickly. What do you need to bring with you? Gloves are essential. You don't want to end up with cuts and dirt all over your hands. If you don't have a good pair already, I'd suggest popping into town and buying a pair from the garden centre. They seem to have a good range. Now, the forecast is for cloud - but at least it'll be a dry weekend. You can leave your sunscreen at home. As usual, we'll be handing out any tools you need at the start of the day. Spades, saws, hammers - it'll all be supplied. There are parts of Eskdale Wood which are still muddy after the storm, so I'd recommend boots. You'll need to supply your own, and I'd put them on in the car park, if I were you, before you enter the woods. And um, thanks to some funding from the local residents committee, we've got a bit of money for snacks, so I'll be bringing some sandwiches with me for everyone. Organiser: Right, some of you have expressed an interest in taking part in this year's bird count. The bird count is really useful ... it tells us which native birds are doing well, or if their numbers are declining - and we can also find out if there are any new species of birds - birds that don't normally inhabit the woods. So, if you decide to take part in the bird count, there are a few things you need to do. Nowadays, people don't tend to record what they see on paper. It's all done through a mobile app. To get one of those, you'll need to go online and find a website like e-Bird or NestWatch. If you've never signed up with them before, register your details, and they'll send a mobile app to your phone. Once you've got that sorted, you need to consider exactly where you're going to count the birds. You might decide to spend the day, say, just in a single field - or you might want to cover a wider area. It's up to you. Stay away from privately owned land - because you'd need to get authorisation for that. Um, the next thing to do is get some other people to come along and help you - a group that are also interested in birds - and, at that are capable of using the technology. Yes, because, by yourself, it's easy to miss the birds that might be in the trees behind you. Then, on the day of the bird count, you need to give all your helpers a print out - showing pictures of the birds you're hoping to see. The pictures should be clear enough so people can really distinguish between similar looking species - so yes, the document should be in colour, really. Also remind people that the bird count is not a race to find the most birds possible. It's supposed to be a group effort, with everyone staying in the same place. What else? OK, at the end of the day, once all the counting's been finished, get together with the rest of the group. How many birds of one species has everyone seen? Compare notes. It doesn't really matter if your totals are slightly different. Just get everyone to work out and decide - more or less - what the probable number was. Finally, when you're ready to submit all the data you've collected, have a look at the pictures you've taken. Choose the best one - you want a sharp image of a single bird, rather than an image of a whole lot of birds in the distance. Upload it with your data - and you never know - you might get a prize if yours is the best shot. All right, let's...

Part 3 — Two students planning a presentation on art restoration

Oliver: Ok Chloe, let's put the presentation together. What do you want to include in the introduction? Chloe: Well, we're looking at the restoration of old paintings, and the reproduction. So we should begin with a definition - to show how those two things are different. Oliver: Is that necessary? Let's start in a visual way. Show some paintings that have been restored, and talk about why it was necessary. So, for instance a painting that was damaged by water, and another one by insects - or by sunlight. Chloe: OK, let's go with that. It'll get everyone's attention. Oliver: After the introduction, we should tell everyone about our museum visit. Chloe: Yes, it was great to see people restoring paintings in front of us. Did you know that most of the restorers we met didn't have a degree in art history? They'd done things like chemistry and archaeology. I never would have imagined that. Oliver: Me neither. I had no idea those kind of skills would be useful. Chloe: Apparently, a painting can take a year to clean. Oliver: I guess it would. And one guy I spoke to told me they're always experimenting. Reading up on different ways to clean the paintings. Chloe: So, would you be interested in a career in art restoration? You know you don't actually need to be able to draw - so it might suit you! Oliver: Very funny. Look, I think it would be a great job but I wouldn't choose to do it. You get to work in interesting places - that's true. I mean, sometimes you'd be working in a public place - like restoring the paintings high up on a church ceiling. Chloe: With the public watching. Oliver: I wouldn't mind that. But the thing is, when someone owns the painting you're working on, you've got to get it right. What if they didn't like the colours you'd used? Too much pressure. Chloe: True. Since we visited the museum, I've been researching other restored paintings. One was a Dutch landscape. It'd been hanging in a museum for over 100 years - and everyone just thought it was a nice scene of people on the beach. And then a restorer started cleaning it, and discovered someone had painted over a whale. Oliver: A whale? Chloe: Yes. The original artist had painted a whale on the beach, and later - I suppose the painting was bought by someone who thought the whale ruined a pretty scene, and they paid another artist to cover it up. Oliver: You must be right. Not everyone judges a painting in the same way, obviously. Anyway, we'll have plenty to say about restoration. What about digital reproduction? Chloe: Yeah, digital technology is having quite an impact on the art world. We can now reproduce famous paintings - and you can see something that looks just like the original. Oliver: I guess the difference between a digital reproduction and a fake painting is no-one's pretending it was painted by the original artist. And what I like about digital reproduction is you could potentially make lots of copies - so a wider audience can see them. Chloe: Maybe. I'd rather look at the real painting. Chloe: OK, so if we're talking about digital reproduction of art, we have to mention the company Factum Arte, and how they reproduced famous paintings that had been lost or damaged - so they can go on public display. Oliver: Good idea. Chloe: Let's note down the challenges the team faced. What about Vincent van Gogh's Six Sunflowers? The original painting was destroyed. The team had a photo of it, but it wasn't very clear. Oliver: Right. They couldn't see how Van Gogh had used his brush. They knew the National Gallery had a nearly identical sunflower painting by Van Gogh - and so they had to ask the gallery whether the team would be allowed to study and scan it - so they could reproduce the brushstrokes in the right way. Chloe: They got approval in the end. Oliver: What about The Concert? The original was stolen, right? Chloe: The team had a photo they could use, but the problem was - it was a photo of The Concert after someone had tried to touch it up with fresh paint. Oliver: And they'd done a terrible job, hadn't they? Chloe: Yes. But the team were happy with the reproduction in the end. We should mention the Portrait of Sir Winston Churchill. Oliver: Churchill hated that portrait. So his wife burnt it, and nothing was left. Chloe: So, the Factum Arte team had to search for the pencil sketches the artist had also made of Churchill as part of his preparation. Oliver: Right. For me, I was most interested in The Water Lilies. Chloe: By Claude Monet. In that case, the painting wasn't lost, but the top layer of paint had turned completely black because of smoke from a fire. The team had to work out what the colours beneath that layer had been. Oliver: And then there was Myrto - a painting by Tamara de Lempicka. No-one knows for sure what happened to the original. At least the team had a black and white photo they could work from. Chloe: But they needed to know what colours Lempicka would have used. And most of her other paintings are held in private collections. Because of that, they couldn't go and see them. That's a shame because...

Part 4 — A talk on the challenges of living in space

Student: Hello everyone. So I'd like to tell you about some of the challenges of living in space. We'll start with the International Space Station - or ISS, as it's often called. The ISS has been in space - in orbit around the Earth - since 1998. Over 200 astronauts have lived on board - and one of the biggest challenges for them is living in microgravity. So what happens when you're living in microgravity 24 hours a day for months? For a start, it affects your blood circulation. On Earth, your blood would naturally be pulled towards your feet, but in space, it goes to your head. And we'll talk a bit more about the consequences of that later. But it also goes to your chest - and that's why astronauts have to be careful about their blood pressure. Microgravity also affects the minerals stored inside your body. Over time, for example the amount of calcium inside your bones begins to decrease, so the bones become weaker. Yes, it's not much fun living in space. The astronauts have to maintain a very strict exercise programme - they do 2.5 hours of exercise six days a week. If they don't, what happens is that their muscle begins to waste. Some of it also turns into fat. And one final problem that some astronauts experience - they find that when they get back to Earth, they can't see clearly. Scientists aren't exactly sure why this happens, but it seems that the astronauts' vision can be permanently affected. Another challenge with living in the ISS is - you have to take everything you need with you. So space agencies like NASA are constantly improving the way they recycle things. Water, of course, is a vital resource, and every little bit counts. That means that even the sweat that the astronauts produce is recycled. I know that doesn't sound very nice - but NASA says their water is purer than anything you'd drink on Earth. Student: So what's next? Humans are already living in space - in the space station - but now the goal is to live on the moon or Mars. For this, we need to make buildings, and the challenges for engineers and architects are even harder. It's incredibly expensive to transport materials into space, so they need to be as light as possible. The alternative is to use materials which already exist on the moon or Mars - and this does seem to be the sensible way forward. So to make buildings on the moon, for example, we could use rock, and the moon also has plenty of useful minerals. These can be made into metal, into brick... and some engineers are also suggesting they could produce paint. So it seems everything we need for a basic building might already be on the moon. Actually there's one thing that NASA hasn't managed yet, and that's to increase the size of the windows on the ISS. They're very small - and if people were going to live in buildings on the moon, this is something NASA still has to work on. So, even if we manage to create a network of buildings for people to live in on the moon or Mars - and grow food, and be self-sufficient - they would still need mental stimulation, and opportunities to relax and stay in touch with what was happening back on Earth. Virtual reality could be the answer. Imagine you're living on the moon but you could use virtual reality to walk around a museum and see all the exhibits. That would be incredible. And by using virtual reality, you could continue your education, by say, studying for a qualification that might be useful in your current environment, or once you're back on Earth. Now Mars is a different...