Museum Guide - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations

Welcome to the museum. Before we go inside, I'd like to remind you of one or two things. Firstly, you'll be pleased to know that admission is free to all visitors so explore at your leisure and, if you can't take it all in today, you can come back again and again without any charge at all. Opening hours are from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. most days but the museum closes a little later on Thursday and Friday evenings. There are new multimedia guides available in 10 languages—they can be picked up from the desk in the covered courtyard for four pounds fifty and you can have it with you all day—from opening time in the morning until half an hour before closing—but you will need to produce ID—a passport, driver's licence or national identity card are all acceptable. These multimedia guides have audio commentary as well as images and an interactive map for easy navigation. They're simple to operate and you will get a more detailed insight into many of the objects in the various galleries.

As a security measure, apart from your camera and a purse, wallet or small handbag, your other belongings such as large bags, coats and umbrellas will have to be left at the cloakroom. Please note that the museum has recently revised the regulations for the size of bags and parcels that it will accept in its cloakrooms. I think the maximum size is 40 by 40 by 50 centimetres with a maximum weight of 8 kilograms. The only exception to this is prams and pushchairs. There is a charge of one pound per item. The main cloakroom is to the left of the main entrance and there is another one at the north entrance.

It may seem obvious but may I remind you also that you should set your mobile phone to silent or turn it off altogether while you are in the museum and not carry or consume any food or drink in the exhibition halls. If you are hungry, there is an excellent restaurant where you can purchase a light lunch or a full meal. If it's just a hot beverage you want, then I can recommend taking a break at the Gallery Café.

As we enter the museum from the south by going through the main entrance, as I said before, you'll find the cloakroom immediately on your left and on your right is the museum shop. They have an outstanding range of postcards and souvenirs in there and it's well worth a visit but perhaps best left till you're on your way out. Then you'll know exactly what you want. The big room to the right of the entrance behind the shop is the reference library. Straight ahead of you, yes, the huge circular room, is the main reading room. If you decide to go in there, please keep noise to a minimum out of respect for the writers and scholars who use it for their research. The reading room is surrounded by what is known as the Great Court—indeed, it used to be an open courtyard—but you will see that it is now completely covered by a magnificent glass and steel structure.

If you walk around the Great Court in a clockwise direction, on the west side, you'll see the entrance to the long hall of Ancient Egypt which has an amazing collection of Egyptian antiquities. The gallery behind the reading room (directly opposite the entrance) is devoted to China and Southeast Asia. Here you'll see Chinese civilization explored chronologically from the Neolithic period through to the twenty-first century. The restrooms for both men and women are located in the northeast corner of this floor but don't worry; there are others available on the floors above. Another huge gallery extends along the eastern side of the courtyard and this is given over to Greece and Rome—the sculptures in this section are absolutely spellbinding.

Take your time looking at all the exhibits and when you're ready to view what's on the next floor, take the magnificent marble staircase by the entrance.