PART 3, TEST 3.Questions one to four.

(0:06) You will hear a conversation

between a girl, Jane, and her brother, Michael, about a Spanish family who are
coming to visit them in England. (0:47) Michael, you know that Spanish family
Mum and Dad met in Spain last year? (0:52) Yeah, the Sanchez family.
(0:54) That's right. Anyway, they're coming to stay next month. (0:57) They
haven't been to England before, so Mum wants us to help plan a really good week
for them.
(1:03) Can we give her some suggestions? (1:05) Well, they must spend a day in
London seeing the famous places like Buckingham Palace and the Tower of
London. (1:13) Perhaps they could go on one of those open-top buses and see
everything from there. (1:17) That's a great idea.
Do you think the children will like that? (1:21) How old are they? (1:22) One's
twelve and the other's nine. (1:25) Oh, that should be OK then. What about a trip to
the car museum at Bewley on another day? (1:30) Oh no, I found that car museum
so boring.
I don't think any of them would like that. (1:37) Well, I think most people find
museums boring, but it's what people do when they visit another country, isn't it?
(1:43) Not necessarily. They might want to do more outdoor activities or perhaps
go to some shows or plays or something.
(1:51) I know. There's a big open-air pop and jazz festival in Southampton. Do you
think they'd like that? (1:58) That sounds better.
What about taking the kids windsurfing as well? I think they might enjoy that,
don't you? (2:05) Fine. And what about tennis? Do you think we could still get
tickets for the open tennis competition in Bournemouth? (2:12) There are some
famous players there this year. (2:14) I'm sure we could, but I wonder if the family
like tennis.
(2:17) I don't know. So let's just write a list of all the things they could do, then get
Mum to phone Mrs Sanchez tonight. (2:27) The family can talk it over and then
phone back if we need to book anything.
(2:31) Brilliant. Let's start the list. (2:48) Questions five to eight. You will hear an
interview with someone who is involved in the music business. (2:55) My next
guest is James Highland, the young Irish entrepreneur who has been behind all
sorts of music projects. (3:31) The latest is Bubble TV, a music channel without
advertising breaks.
James, welcome. (3:37) Hi. (3:38) You're 23 now, but you launched yourself into
the music world while you were still at school, didn't you? You were a very young
starter.
(3:46) Yes, I was 12 when I started my own radio station in my house. I played
music I liked. (3:53) The station was called Happiness.
Not a good name, I know, but I was young. (3:58) I would have been happy if it
had been just the neighbours listening, but it soon became clear that I had attracted
a lot of fans and I was invited to play at events. (4:08) I ploughed all the money I
made from that back into the station.
It got very big and I got noticed. (4:14) Weren't people amazed when they found
out you were 12? (4:18) Yes, but they were far more amazed when they discovered
that I was organising concerts by some of the biggest bands on the British music
scene when I was just 16. (4:29) That also attracted a lot of jealous rivalry. At 12,
people are pleased for you, people are happy and encourage you, (4:37) but when
you're just a little older and running a successful business, it can be more of a
threat. (4:42) So, how did your career in music progress as you got older? (4:48)
When I was 16, I started working with a local radio station. I didn't stay too long as
I didn't like having a boss, but I didn't just complain and carry on going into work.
(4:59) I ditched the job and set up my own studio at my home in Cork in southern
Ireland and began producing commercials from there. (5:07) Along the way, I had
already started promoting well-known bands. I managed to bring in some fantastic
acts to play.
(5:31) Question nine to twelve: Two overseas students called Spiros and Hiroko
have just finished the first semester of their university course. (5:40) They are
discussing with their English language teacher how they coped with the course.
(6:15) Before we start, Spiros and Hiroko, thanks for coming in today to talk about
your recent study experiences, (6:22) and congratulations to you both in doing so
well in your first semester exams. Thank you. (6:28) I'd like to discuss with you the
value of the English for Academic Purposes course you did here last year before
starting your university course. (6:38) Spiros, if I could start with you, what parts
of the program have now proved to be particularly valuable to you? (6:45) I think
that having to do a seminar presentation really helped me.
(6:50) For example, a couple of weeks ago in our marketing subject, when it was
my turn to give a presentation, I felt quite confident. (6:59) Of course, I was still
nervous, but because I had done one before, I knew what to expect. (7:05) Also, I
know I was well prepared and I had practiced my timing.
(7:10) In fact, I think that in relation to some of the other people in my group, I did
quite a good job because my overall style was quite professional. (7:19) What
about you, Hiroko? (7:21) That's interesting. (7:23) In my group, I was really
surprised by the way the students did their presentations.
(7:28) They just read their notes aloud. (7:31) Can you believe that? (7:32) They
didn't worry about their presentation style or keeping eye contact with their
audience. (7:38) And I remember that these things were really stressed to us in the
course here. So, how did you approach your presentation, Hiroko? (7:47) Well, to
speak frankly, I read my notes too. (7:52) At the time, it was a relief to do it this
way, but actually when I had finished, I didn't feel any real sense of satisfaction.
(8:00) I didn't feel positive about the experience at all.