IELTS Tăng band Listening · Cuối khoá · Listening: Thi thử – Campsite, Park & Study Spaces

Mark: Good afternoon, Pinewood Lake Campsite, Mark speaking.

Sophie: Hello. I'd like to book a cabin for a family holiday this summer, if you still have anything available.

Mark: We do have a few left. Let me open a booking form. Could I take your name?

Sophie: Sophie Langridge. That's L-A-N-G-R-I-D-G-E.

Mark: L-A-N-G-R-I-D-G-E. And a contact number?

Sophie: My mobile is 07723 418 950 — sorry, no, the end is nine-oh-five. So that's 07723 418 905.

Mark: 07723 418 905. Thanks. How many people will there be?

Sophie: Two adults and two children… oh, wait. My nephew's coming with us this year, so that's three children.

Mark: Two adults and three children, so five altogether. And when would you like to arrive?

Sophie: We were hoping for Saturday the 20th of July.

Mark: Let me check… The 20th is fully booked, I'm afraid, but we have availability from the 21st.

Sophie: The 21st is fine. That's a Sunday, isn't it? We'd like to stay for three nights.

Mark: Lovely. Arriving on the 21st of July for three nights. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to be near?

Sophie: Well, I was going to ask for something by the lake, but actually the children aren't strong swimmers yet, so I'd rather not. Somewhere close to the playground would be ideal.

Mark: No problem, I'll make a note of that. And will you be bringing a car? We need the registration number for the barrier at the entrance.

Sophie: Yes, it's HX21 PNC.

Mark: Was that P for Peter?

Sophie: Yes. H-X-2-1, P-N-C.

Mark: Great. Now, let me tell you about the three cabins we still have for those dates. The Forest Cabin sleeps four people and costs £85 a night. It's quite cosy, and it has a wood stove, which is lovely in the evenings, even in summer.

Sophie: It only sleeps four, though, so that won't work for us.

Mark: True. The Lakeside Cabin sleeps six. Its price went up this year — it was £115 a night last summer, but it's now £125. It comes with its own rowing boat.

Sophie: That sounds lovely, but it's not ideal with the children so close to the water.

Mark: Then the Meadow Cabin might be best. It also sleeps six, it's £110 a night, and it's right next to the playground. That one also includes free bike hire, with bicycles for the whole family.

Sophie: Oh, the children would love that. Let's book the Meadow Cabin.

Mark: Excellent. For three nights that comes to £330 in total. We take a deposit today. It used to be half of the total, but we've changed that, so now it's a fixed £100, and you pay the rest when you arrive.

Sophie: That's fine. I'll pay the £100 by card now. Oh, and what time can we get into the cabin on the day?

Mark: Cabins are ready from three in the afternoon, and on your last morning we ask you to leave by ten. Bedding is provided, but you'll need to bring your own towels.

Sophie: Towels, OK. And is there a shop on site? We'll be arriving quite late in the day.

Mark: There's a small shop by reception that sells bread, milk and basic groceries. It's open until eight in the evening.

Sophie: That's really helpful. Thank you.

Mark: Perfect. I'll take the card details, and you'll get a confirmation email within the hour.

Ben: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the reopening of Elmbrook Park. My name's Ben, and I'm one of the park rangers. Before you go off and explore, I'd like to tell you a little about what's changed and how to find your way around.

As many of you know, the park has been closed for almost two years. A lot of people seem to think we shut it to dig a new lake, but the lake has actually been here for over a century — we've only cleaned it. The real reason was the winter floods two years ago, which washed away large sections of the paths and badly damaged the footbridge. Everything had to be rebuilt so that it can cope with heavy rain in the future.

The work wasn't cheap. The town council contributed a fair amount, and a few local businesses donated equipment, but most of the money was raised by the Friends of Elmbrook, a local charity whose members spent two years organising sponsored walks, concerts and cake sales. So if you see one of them in a green T-shirt today, please say thank you.

Now, you'll notice the café looks very similar, and the menu hasn't changed much — it still does its famous cheese scones. It also still closes at five, I'm afraid. What is different is who runs it. It's now operated by a training scheme for young people who are learning to work in catering, so please be patient if they're still getting used to the coffee machine.

A word about dogs. Dogs are very welcome, but they must be kept on a lead in the flower gardens and anywhere near the play areas. The good news is that we've set aside the East Meadow as an off-lead area, where dogs can run around as much as they like. And unlike before, dogs are now allowed on the path around the lake.

We'll be running guided nature walks every Sunday morning, and you can sign up for those at the visitor centre. But the one thing I'd really ask of you is this: please don't park along Hollins Road. The people who live there have had a difficult time with traffic, so please use our car park, which is free for the first three hours.

Right, let me help you find your way around. You're standing at the main gate now. The bike hire used to be beside the car park, but it's been moved, and it's now right here next to the main gate, so you can pick up a bike as soon as you arrive.

If you're interested in wildlife, you'll want the bird hide. You might expect to find it on the island in the middle of the lake, which is where it was originally planned, but we found that the building work disturbed the nesting birds. So instead, it's beside the old bridge, looking out across the reeds.

For picnics, a lot of regular visitors will head for the lawn behind the visitor centre, but that area is being reseeded this summer. The new picnic area is at the top of the hill, and from there you get a wonderful view over the whole town.

The toilets are behind the visitor centre — there's a path round the side of the building. And finally, our new sculpture trail. It winds through the woods, and it starts opposite the playground, so families can enjoy it together. There are twelve sculptures, all made by students from the local art college.

Enjoy your day, and do come and find me if you have any questions.

Maya: Hi, Sam. Have you got a few minutes to go through our project before we meet our tutor on Thursday?

Sam: Sure. I've brought the survey results and my notes from the observation days.

Maya: Great. I think we should start the presentation by explaining why we chose the topic — how students decide where to study on campus.

Sam: Right. Our tutor gave us a list of suggested topics, didn't she?

Maya: She did, but this one wasn't actually on it.

Sam: True. And I know we've both wasted hours walking around looking for a free desk, but that's not really why we picked it, is it?

Maya: No. It was because the library announced that it's going to redesign the whole second floor next year, and they asked for research from students. That's what makes our project useful.

Sam: OK, so we'll start with that. Then the survey. We got 240 responses, which is more than we expected.

Maya: Yes, the number was fine, and I think the questions were clear — nobody complained about them. The trouble is who answered. Because we posted the link on the first-year group page, almost all the responses came from first-year students. So we can't really say much about older students.

Sam: That's a fair point. We'll have to mention that. What about the observation data? I know you weren't happy with it.

Maya: Well, we only watched the study areas on two days. I'm worried that's too limited.

Sam: I'd disagree, actually. Two days isn't much, I admit, but what we saw is more reliable than what people wrote in the survey. In the survey, lots of students said they always work in the silent reading room, but when we counted, it was half empty most of the time. People say one thing and do another.

Maya: Hmm, that's true. And it was quite easy to analyse, too — just a spreadsheet of numbers.

Sam: So, let's go through what we found about each location. The café on the ground floor first.

Maya: I expected students to complain that it was too noisy, but that didn't come up at all. What came out clearly was that it's where people go when they're working together. It's popular for group work because you can talk freely.

Sam: Yes. Then the silent reading room. The lighting used to be terrible, but it was improved last term, so nobody mentioned that. The main complaint was about plugs: there are only six power sockets in the whole room, so laptops keep running out of battery.

Maya: Right. And the computer lab — people like the equipment, but the problem is it shuts at six in the evening, which is far too early for students who have lectures all afternoon.

Sam: And then the Garden Room.

Maya: That was the surprise. It's actually a lovely space — quiet, with plenty of sockets — but hardly anyone uses it, because it's tucked away at the back of the science block. Several people said they didn't even know it existed. There isn't a single sign pointing to it.

Sam: OK. So, recommendations. We talked about suggesting an app that shows free seats.

Maya: We did, but the library told us an app would be too expensive to develop. So instead we'll recommend that they install screens at the entrance to each floor, showing how many seats are free.

Sam: Good, that's cheaper. And what about the computer lab?

Maya: I was going to suggest ten o'clock, but the survey showed that lots of people work late before deadlines, so let's recommend that it stays open until midnight.

Sam: Agreed. Anything else for the report?

Maya: Our tutor said the background section can be quite short, but she was very clear that we need a full section on the limitations of our study — like the first-year problem and the short observation period.

Sam: That makes sense. Let's split up the writing, then.