LISTENING PRACTICE (Cam 15.

2)
PART 1
TIM:       Good morning. You’re through to the tourist information office, Tim speaking. How can I help
you?
JEAN:     Oh hello. Could you give me some information about next month’s _______________ please?
My family and I will be staying in the town that week.
TIM:       Of course. Well it starts with a _______________ on the _______________ of the 17th.
JEAN:     Oh I heard about that. The _______________ and singers come from the USA, don’t they?
TIM:       They’re from Canada. They’re very _______________ over there. They’re going to perform a
number of well-known pieces that will appeal to children as well as _______________
JEAN:     That sounds good. My whole family are interested in music.
TIM:       The next day, the 18th, there’s a performance by a _______________ company called Eustatis.
(Q1)
JEAN:     Sorry?
TIM:       The name is spelt E-U-S-T-A-T-I-S. They appeared in last year’s festival, and went down very
well. Again, their programme is designed for _______________.
JEAN:     Good. I expect we’ll go to that. I hope there’s going to be a play during the festival, a
_______________ ideally.
TIM:       You’re in luck! On the 19th and 20th a local amateur group are performing one written by a
member of group. It’s called Jemima. That’ll be on in the _______________. They’ve already performed
it two or three times. I haven’t seen it myself, but the _______________ in the local paper was very good.
JEAN:     And is it suitable for children?
TIM:       Yes, in fact it’s aimed more at children than at adults, so both performances are in the afternoon.
JEAN:     And what about _______________ (Q3) ? Will there by any performances?
TIM:       Yes, also on the 20th, but in the evening. A professional company is putting on a show of
_______________ pieces, with _______________ music by young composers.
JEAN:     Uh-huh.
TIM:       The show is about how people communicate, or fail to communicate, with each other, so it’s got
the rather strange name, _______________
JEAN:     I suppose that’s because that’s something we do both _______________ and online.
TIM:       That’s right.
———————-
TIM:       Now there are also some _______________ and other activities. They’ll all take place at least
once every day, so everyone who wants to take part will have a chance.
JEAN:     Good. We’re particularly interested in cookery – you don’t happen to have a cookery workshop,
do you?
TIM:       We certainly do. It’s going to focus on how to make food part of a _______________ lifestyle,
and it’ll show that even sweet things like cakes can contain much less sugar than they usually do.
JEAN:     That might be worth going to. We’re trying to encourage our children to cook.
TIM:       Another workshop is just for children, and that’s on creating _______________ to reflect the
_______________ of the town. The aim is to make children aware of how both the town and people’s
lives have changed over the centuries. The results will be exhibited in the _______________. Then the
other workshop is in toy-making, and that’s for adults only.
JEAN:     Oh, why’s that?
TIM:       Because it involves carpentry – participants will be making toys out of _______________, so
there’ll be a lot of sharp chisels and other tools around.
JEAN:     It makes sense to keep children away from it.
TIM:       Exactly. Now let me tell you about some of the _______________. There’ll be supervised wild
swimming …
JEAN:     Wild swimming? What’s that?
TIM:       It just means swimming in _______________, rather than a swimming pool.
JEAN:     Oh OK. In a lake (Q8), for instance.
TIM:       Yes, there’s a beautiful one just outside the town, and that’ll be the venue for the swimming.
There’ll be lifeguards on duty, so it’s suitable for all ages. And finally, there’ll be a _______________ in
some nearby woods every day. The leader is an expert on _______________. He’ll show some that live in
the woods, and how important they are for the environment. So there are going to be all sorts of different
things to do during the festival.
JEAN:     There certainly are.
TIM:       If you’d like to read about how the _______________ for the festival are going, the festival
organizer is keeping a _______________. Just search online for the festival website, and you’ll find it.
JEAN:     Well, thank you very much for all the information.
TIM:       You’re welcome. Goodbye.
JEAN:     Goodbye.

PART 2
WOMAN:            
               I’m very pleased to welcome this evening’s guest speaker, Mark Logan, who’s going to tell us
about the recent transformation of Minster Park. Over to you, Mark.
MARK:
               Thank you. I’m sure you’re all familiar with Minster Park. It’s been a _______________ of the
city for well over a century, and has been the responsibility of the _______________ for most of that
time. What perhaps isn’t so well known is the _______________ of the park: unlike many public parks
that started in _______________ ownership, as the garden of a large house, for instance, Minster
was some _______________ land, which people living nearby started planting with flowers in 1892.
It was unclear who actually owned the land, and this wasn’t _______________ until 20 years later, when
the council took possession of it.
               You may have noticed the _______________ near one of the entrances. It’s of Diane Gosforth,
who played a key role in the history of the park. Once the council had become the legal owner, it planned
to sell the land for housing. Many local people wanted it to remain a place that everyone could go to, to
enjoy the _______________ and natural environment – remember the park is in a densely populated
_______________ area. Diane Gosforth was one of those people, and she organised petitions and
_______________, which eventually made the council change its mind about the future of the land.
               Soon after this the First World War broke out, in 1914, and most of the park was dug up
and planted with _______________, which were sold locally. At one stage the _______________
considered taking in over for troop exercises and got as far as contacting the city council, then decided the
park was too small to be of use. There were occasional _______________ during the war, in an area that
had been retained as grass.
               After the war, the park was turned back more or less to how it had been before 1914, and
continued almost _______________ until recently. Plans for _______________ it were drawn up at
various times, most recently in 2013, though they were _______________ in 2015, before any work had
started. The changes finally got going in 2016, and were finished _______________ last year.
————————-
               OK, let me tell you about some of the changes that have been made – and some things that have
been retained. If you look at this map, you’ll see the familiar outline of the park, with the river forming
the _______________ boundary, and a gate in each of the other three walls. The statue of Diane Gosforth
has been moved: it used to be _______________ the south gate, but it’s now immediately to the
_______________ of the lily pond, almost in the _______________ of the park, which makes it much
more visible.
               There’s a new area of wooden sculptures, which are on the _______________, where the path
from the east gate makes a sharp _______________.
               There are two areas that are particularly intended for children. The playground has been
_______________ and improved, and that’s between the river and the _______________ that leads
from the pond to the river.
               Then there’s a new maze, a circular series of paths, separated by low hedges. That’s near the
_______________ – you go north from there towards the river and then _______________ to reach
it.
               There have been _______________ in the park for many years, and they’ve been doubled, from
four to eight. They’re still in the _______________ corner of the park, where there’s a right-angle
_______________ in the path.
               Something else I’d like to mention is the new fitness area. This is right next to the lily pond on
the same side as the west gate.
               Now, as you’re all gardeners, I’m sure you’ll like to hear about the plants that have been chosen
for the park.

PART 3
CATHY:                 OK, Graham, so let’s check we both know what we’re supposed to be doing.
GRAHAM:            OK.
CATHY:                 So, for the university’s open day, we have to plan a _______________ on British life
and _______________ in the mid-19th century.
GRAHAM:            That’s right. But we’ll have some people to help us find the materials and set it up,
remember – for the moment, we just need to plan it.
CATHY:                 Good. So have you gathered who’s expected to come and see the display? Is it for the
people studying English, or students from other _______________? I’m not clear about it.
GRAHAM:            Nor me. That was how it used to be, but it didn’t attract many people, so this year it’s
going to be part of an open day, to raise the university’s _______________. It’ll be publicised in the
city, to encourage people to come and find out something of what does on here. And it’s included in
the information that’s sent to people who are considering applying to study here next year.
CATHY:                 Presumably some current students and _______________ will come?
GRAHAM:            I would imagine so, but we’ve been told to concentrate on the other categories of
people.
CATHY:                 Right. We don’t have to cover the whole range of _______________, do we?
GRAHAM:            No, it’s entirely up to us. I suggest just using Charles Dickens.
CATHY:                 That’s a good idea. Most people have heard of him, and have probably read some
of his novels, or seen films based on them, so that’s a good _______________ to life in his time.
GRAHAM:            Exactly. And his novels show the _______________ that most people had to live
in, don’t they: he wanted to shock people into doing something about it.
CATHY:                 Did he do any campaigning, other than writing?
GRAHAM:            Yes, he campaigned for education and other _______________, and gave talks, but
I’m inclined to ignore that and _______________ the novels.
CATHY:                 Yes, I agree.
————————–
CATHY:                 OK, so now shall we think about a topic linked to each novel?
GRAHAM:            Yes. I’ve printed out a list of Dicken’s novels in the order they were published, in the
hope you’d agree to focus on him!
CATHY:                 You’re lucky I did agree! Let’s have a look. OK, the first was The Pickwick Papers,
published in 1836. It was very successful when it came out, wasn’t it, and was _______________ for the
_______________ straight away.
GRAHAM:            There’s an interesting point, though, that there’s a character who keeps falling
asleep, and that _______________ was named after the book – Pickwickian Syndrome.
CATHY:                 Oh, so why don’t we use that as the topic, and include some _______________ from
the novel?
GRAHAM:            Right, Next is Oliver Twist. There’s a lot in the novel about _______________. But
maybe something less obvious …
CATHY:                 Well Oliver is taught how to steal, isn’t he? We could use that to illustrate the fact
that very few children went to school, particularly not poor children, so they learnt in other ways.
(Q26)
GRAHAM:            Good idea. What’s next?
CATHY:                 Maybe Nicholas Nickleby. Actually he taught in a really _______________ school,
didn’t he?
GRAHAM:            That’s right. But there’s also the company of touring actors that Nicholas joins. We
could do something on theatres and other _______________ of the time. (Q27) We don’t
want only the bad things, do we?
CATHY:                 OK.
GRAHAM:            What about Martin Chuzzlewit? He goes to the USA, doesn’t he?
CATHY:                 Yes, and Dickens himself had been there a year before, and drew on his
_______________ there in the novel.
GRAHAM:            I wonder, though … The main theme is _______________, so we could do something
on social justice? No, too _______________, let’s keep to your idea – I think it would work well.
CATHY:                 He wrote Bleak House next – that’s my favourite of his novels.
GRAHAM:            Yes, mine too. His satire of the legal system is pretty powerful.
CATHY:                 That’s true, but think about Esther, the _______________. As a child she lives with
someone she doesn’t know is her _______________, who treats her very badly. Then she’s very
happy living with her guardian, and he puts her _______________ the household. And at the end
she gets married and her guardian gives her and her husband a house, where of course they’re very
happy.
GRAHAM:            Yes, I like that.
CATHY:                 What shall we take next? Little Dorrit? Old Mr Dorrit has been in a debtors’
_______________ for years …
GRAHAM:            So was Dicken’s father, wasn’t he?
CATHY:                 That’s right.
GRAHAM:            What about focusing on the part when Mr Dorrit inherits a _______________, and
he starts _______________ he’s always been rich? 
CATHY:                 Good idea.
GRAHAM:            OK, so next we need to think about what materials we want to illustrate each issue.
That’s going to be quite hard.