This is the IELTS Progress Check Listening Test 2.

You will hear a number of different recordings, and you will have to answer questions on what you hear.

There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions, and you will have a chance to check
your work.

All the recordings will be played once only.

The test is in four sections.

At the end of the test, you will be given ten minutes to check your answers.

Section 1

You will hear a woman telephoning an advice office in a town called Burnside.

First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6.

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.

Burnside advice office? Martin speaking?

Oh, hello. My name's Janet. I'm moving to Burnside in May for a new job.

I don't know the town, so could you give me some advice, please.

Of course. I'll need to rent somewhere to live. Which is the cheapest part of the town?

Rents are pretty high here, but they're generally lowest in the area west of the town centre.

The man says that rents are lowest in the west of the town, so west 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.

Burnside advice office? Martin speaking?

Oh, hello. My name's Janet. I'm moving to Burnside in May for a new job.

I don't know the town, so could you give me some advice, please.

Of course. I'll need to rent somewhere to live. Which is the cheapest part of the town?

Rents are pretty high here, but they're generally lowest in the area west of the town centre.

Okay. Ideally, I'd like to rent a flat. Are there any cheap ones?

Not really, I'm afraid, unless you share.

I don't particularly want to do that. What about renting a studio?

Yes, you can find some fairly cheap ones. There's a converted school where you might be able to get
one,

so they don't often become available. But there's a factory that's just been converted.

Rents there are low because it's on the edge of town, and I think most of it is still available.
Oh, that'll suit me better. Where exactly is it? I'm looking at a street map on my tablet.

The district is called Hillbrow, about two miles from the centre.

Can you see a main road running east-west called Dexter Road?

It's in a street that runs parallel with it called Valley Road.

Oh, yes, I found it. What about getting around?

My job will be in the town centre. I'll need to either walk or go by bus.

It's a long walk. It would probably take you at least 40 minutes, but there are a couple of bus routes in
the area.

The number 23 runs between the hospital, which is nearby, and the town centre, and takes about 15
minutes.

And the 79 starts in Dexter Road and goes to the football ground via the centre.

Good. What's the area like? Are there many facilities?

Let me think. It's quite a pleasant place. There's a park, several shops, a small supermarket, some
restaurants.

There's also a cinema. There's just that one in Burnside, and it has seven or eight screens.

Oh, and there's a primary school.

Hmm, it sounds okay. Who should I contact about renting a place there?

You'll need to get in touch with the development company, which is called KohLan's Development.

That's spelled K-O-H-L-A-N-S.

Right.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10.

Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.

Another thing I'd like to ask about, I don't know anyone in the town, though of course I'll have work
colleagues.

Have you any ideas for meeting people?

There's Burnside friends. That's a club which was set up so that Burnside people can get together and
develop a sense of community.

It's for people of all ages from 18 upwards.

It organizes regular weekly activities and extra events once or twice a month.

What sort of thing do they do?

I've got their current program on the screen now. Let me see.

The regular events include Tai Chi, bridge, a tea dance.

There isn't any singing, is there? I'd love to join a choir.

Yes, a singing group rehearses once a week on Thursday at 7.30.

In fact, they sang in a concert with the local orchestra last Saturday evening.

Have you got any information about what sort of songs they do?

I particularly enjoy musicals.

You're in luck. That's what they mostly sing.

Though they also sing classical pieces and folk songs from different countries.

Would you like to contact details of the organiser?

Yes, please.

Her name's Dawn Matthews.

And you can email her at info@[Link].

There isn't a phone number though.

Okay. I've also been thinking about taking up pottery.

The club doesn't have any classes in that, does it?

I'd be a complete beginner.

According to the website, they'll arrange some classes if there's enough interest.

Wonderful. I'll look at the website.

Well, thanks very much for all your help. It's been very useful.

You're welcome. Goodbye.

Bye.

That is the end of section one.

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section two.

Section two. You will hear a radio program in which a woman called Tracy, who is a market manager in
New Zealand, talks about her work.

First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.

Have you ever thought of having your own stall in a market?

Here in the studio we have Tracy Cartwright, who is the manager of not one but two of the city street
markets.

Tracy, what got you interested in markets?

Well, I've always liked them. When I was younger, I went traveling in Europe and Turkey, and I went to
lots of markets and bazaars there.

And I loved the atmosphere. Then after I came back to New Zealand, I got married, and we bought a
house near Mohana Market in the south of this city.
My husband was working in IT, and he actually designed the market's website.

In the evenings when the kids were in bed, I used to do a bit of sowing and knitting, clothes and things I
designed myself,

and a friend of mine who had a stall at the market offered to display some of them.

Into my amazement the customers loved them. Then I saw in the paper that they were looking for a new
market manager, and I thought I'd apply.

In fact, the market was having some financial problems, and it was looking as if it might have to close
down.

The two previous managers had shared the job, but they both had to leave at the same time for
different reasons.

I'd worked in merchandising before, so I had the right sort of experience.

I was delighted when I got the job, but I realized I needed to find a new focus for the market.

It had been selling all sorts of things, household goods and clothing, and produce from the area like
apples and grapes and tomatoes and so on, but to attract the tourists.

I decided it'd be better to specialize in things like pottery and jewelry made by the people in the region.

One innovation I've made is to have entertainers.

We're open to all individuals and groups who want to showcase their talent for an hour or two.

We've had singers, clowns, comedians, all sorts, so get in touch if you're interested in performing.

Who knows, it could lead to fame and fortune.

And you've now set up a second market?

That's right.

I realized that quite a few of the people who had stalls at the market were actually based in the north of
the city.

And they said they thought there'd be plenty of customers interested in buying their wares up there as
well.

And of course it'd mean less traveling for them.

So I contacted the local authorities, and they were very helpful.

And we had the new market set up within six months.

We've also recently started a kids market in cooperation with the local primary school.

That's just once a month.

The children bring along their old toys and books, and even clothes they've grown out of,

and they sell them to the public and get to keep the money they make.

It really teaches them about how money works.

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 17-20.

Now listen and answer questions 17-20.

Being a market manager can be a tough job.

I need to be there in very good time in the morning, even before the stall holders.

And I don't get home until late.

So that can be quite a challenge.

And there's a lot of paperwork and planning, especially if I want to make any changes to the way the
market works.

I'm quite well organised though, so I don't mind that.

But I do get fit up with having to make sure all the stall holders keep to the rules that the council impose
on us.

I'd thought I might have problems if there were disagreements between stall holders, but in fact that
hasn't ever happened.

And what advice would you give to someone wanting to have a stall in a market?

It doesn't really matter if you start off with a specialised market, or in a more general one,

but you must have a really attractive setup.

That's essential.

And make sure your display stands out.

Once you've established that, you needn't make many changes to it.

People will recognise you and the source of things you display.

And make sure your prices are appropriate.

You need to do some research there before you start.

You might find things don't sell all that quickly at the beginning, but it's important not to give up.

Some people might look and go away, but then come back later.

That is the end of section 2.

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section 3.

You will hear two town planning students, called Lindy and Baz, talking about a project they have been
given.

First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 27.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 27.

Baz, about this project we've been set.

Yeah, so let me make sure I fully understand it Lindy.

An industrialist who lived in the town has just died and he's left his large house to the city council.

The council intends to convert the ground floor into a community centre.
That's all true, isn't it?

Right, it's the big house at the end of Blackstone Avenue.

Okay, and for our project we have to imagine we're responsible for turning it into a community centre
and write a detailed report.

Is that right?

That's right.

First we have to decide what facilities we want and where they should go.

Here's a floor plan of the house.

All right.

Now I think it's really important to have a coffee lounge, do you agree?

Definitely.

What about having it in the corner room beside the existing kitchen?

It's the obvious place.

But the front door opens into quite a big space and it will be nice and welcoming if people are there
drinking coffee and chatting,

rather than walking into a large empty space.

I see what you mean.

Okay, I agree.

I think it needs a technology room where people can access laptops or tablets and maybe get training
too.

Good idea.

How about the room next to the kitchen in the east winged?

I'm not sure.

It might be noisy or even have steam from the kitchen, which wouldn't be good.

Let's put it in the west wing, the room you go into just after the bend in the corridor.

Okay.

What do you think about having a music room where people can download music and listen through
headphones?

Yes.

It'd be nice to be able to sit and listen and look out onto the courtyard and garden.

How about putting it at the far end of the west wing?

There are quite large windows there and a door into the garden.

Right.

And maybe a TV room too?

Shouldn't it be one of the larger rooms?

I don't really think so.

It could be quite cozy.

And people who want to watch different channels could use a computer or a tablet.

Okay.

Near the entrance then.

What do you think about having a reading room with newspapers and magazines?

Uh-huh.

Let's put that in the east wing next to the existing kitchen.

People can look across the corridor into the courtyard.

But if the kitchen's going to be renovated, that room could become a canteen.

It's quite big.

No, let's have the reading room at the far end of the east wing with a view of the garden.

Right.

What do you think about having a meeting room?

Essential, I'd say.

I think that room that sticks out into the courtyard opposite the front door would be rather nice for
meetings?

Yes.

It's got a door out into the courtyard and light coming in on three sides.

Then the community centre will need a manager who will need an office.

Where should we put that?

Maybe the large room in the corner to the left?

Hmm.

I think it'd be better to have it near the front door so the manager can keep an eye on people going in
and out.

I see what you mean.

Okay, so the room on the left of the entrance area as you go in.

Yes, that'd be best.

Anything else?

I can't think of anything for the moment, but we can always come back to this later.

Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 28-30.
Now listen and answer questions 28-30.

Let's sort out what we need to do before we start writing our report, shall we, Baz?

We should probably write a section in it about community centres in general, what sort of facilities they
provide,

how they're funded and so on.

I wouldn't mind doing that if that's okay with you, Linda.

All right.

And we need to look into the planning regulations to see how to get permission for changing the way
the buildings used.

From residential to a community centre, you mean?

Yes.

How quite fancy doing that?

I've thought a bit about how to research the history of the house at starting when it was built in the 18th
century.

You'll be good if we could talk to some people who used to live there, or neighbours who knew it.

Good idea.

We can work on that together as it'll be quite a big job to track people down, interview them,

look at documents in the library's local history collection and so on.

That's fine by me.

That is the end of section 3.

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section 4.

Section 4.

Section 4.

You will hear a film studies student giving a presentation on science fiction.

First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

Science fiction extends reality for the purpose of entertainment, but it's played another more important
role too.

Technology is moving so fast that unprecedented moral issues are constantly being raised, such as
cloning and artificial intelligence.

Science fiction can help us understand and prepare for the change that is happening so swiftly all
around us.

Throughout much of human history, society didn't advance rapidly enough for writers to be able to
envisage the world.
It was possible to envisage a future that was different from their own.

At the same time, many parts of the earth remained unexplored, and this may be why the events in
many earlier science fiction novels to place in the present.

Early science fiction writers were also more likely to address social rather than scientific issues.

Firstly, because there was less science to utilize, and secondly, because science fiction offered an ideal
medium to attack the way society dealt with poverty, for example, or other controversial topics that
could not be published as fact.

The genre of science fiction dates back as far as the 17th century.

The first novel to involve space travel in a rocket was written by the French author Serrano de Bergerac,
as early as the mid-1600s.

In the 1700s, another French writer, Voltaire, discussed the earth from the perspective of a super-
advanced alien from another star system.

For it to be successful, some people have argued that science fiction has to seem realistic.

If audiences have no familiarity with the subject matter at all, it won't make sense to them.

But they only need to understand the idea, not the science behind it.

For as the science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke famously stated,

any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Much of recent science fiction has focused on future space travel.

One of the most groundbreaking movies about this was 2001 A Space Odyssey, which was released in
1968.

It was film-before-man stepped on the moon and before the use of computer-generated imagery.

A space Odyssey is considered by many experts to be the best science fiction movie ever made.

The exploration of our place in the universe was informed by the best industrial expertise of the time.

Everything on the sets was so authentic, the movie could almost be classed as a documentary about
how engineers and scientists saw the future at that time.

It was the results of a collaboration between the celebrated film director Stanley Kubrick and the
novelist Arthur C. Clarke.

The movie sparked imaginations and provided an astonishingly accurate preview of what our future in
space might look like.

When 2001 A Space Odyssey was first shown, the idea of living and working on a spaceship for long
periods of time was only a dream.

Today, resident crew members are aboard the International Space Station for up to a year at a time.

They're also able to talk to people on Earth using satellite phones, something that also featured in the
movie.

One scene has two astronauts eating a meal while reading an electronic magazine on a tablet, looking
remarkably similar to the ones we use in our daily lives today.
Other prescient forms of technology seen in the film include voice recognition technology and a
sophisticated computer chess game.

Another famous scene depicts an astronaut jogging in space. In the real world, aboard the International
Space Station, exercise is essential as it prevents muscles from deteriorating when there is no gravity.

In April 2007, 210 miles above Earth, astronauts Anita Williams even ran the Boston Marathon while in
orbit.

Some of Kubrick's and Clarke's predictions, however, do look wide of the mark. For example, we are still
a long way short of building a settlement on the moon.

And their most famous creation, the robot Hal 9000, is certainly more intelligent than any form of
artificial intelligence that currently exists.

However, Kubrick raised the possibility that technology could have an adverse effect on our
communication skills, which many people are concerned about today.

Kubrick suggested that as our machines get smarter, we become dumber.

Human dialogue in a space odyssey is deliberately banal while Hal gets all the best lines and is able to
experience the full range of human emotions.

This vision serves as a warning that human beings could one day become enslaved by their own
technology.

That is the end of section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

That is the end of the listening test. You now have 10 minutes to check all your answers.

Thank you very much.