Collins Practice Tests For IELTS 3 Academic Listening Test 3 (Online Test)

Hello everyone, and welcome to Marston Country Farm. We always look forward to group visits from local schools and I'm sure you'll all have a fantastic time while you're here. I'd just like to take a couple of minutes to explain what we have here at the farm and point out a few health and safety issues you need to be aware of.

Let's start with a tour of the farm. I can see you all have a copy of the plan we sent out so let me just go through it with you. You'll see we're here in the Visitors Centre, just by the entrance. This is a useful place to head for if you get lost or want to meet up with friends later. The farm covers quite a large area so we've made sure there are toilets nearby should you need them, wherever you are. There are toilets on the left of the entrance as you come in, just behind the Visitors Centre. There are also some in the cafe. You'll find this if you walk round the duck pond, go over the bridge and turn to your right, past the picnic area. You'll see the cafe in front of you. In front of us we have the duck pond. It's very tempting to feed the ducks and other water birds with bread from your sandwich box but actually, bread isn't very good for them so please can we ask you not to feed them. Now, to our left, next to the toilets, you'll see a long building. This is the goat shed, and just past that there's a pair of double gates. This is the entrance to the donkey rides. I'm afraid these are only suitable for younger children than yourselves and you won't be allowed to ride one. But you're welcome to stroke the donkeys that nobody's riding and we've even supplied a large sack full of apples so that you can feed them if you think they look hungry. Now, directly opposite us, on the other side of the pond, is the rabbit house. This is always extremely popular and very busy. You might have to queue for a while to get in. But if this is the case, pop over the bridge and pay the insect house a visit – it's immediately on your left. For some strange reason, this doesn't tend to be quite as popular as the rabbits. And just over here, closer to us, on the right side of the entrance, you'll find our gift shop if you want to buy something to remember your visit or a gift for someone special.

So, that's the farm. Now before you go, there are a few things I'd like to point out to ensure you remain safe and healthy during and after your visit. Please take care walking around the duck pond. Don't worry, it's not deep. If you did fall in, the water would only come up to your knees. But the bank around it is very muddy after all the rain we've had and visitors are likely to spoil their footwear. There are hand wash stations dotted around the site. Don't forget to use these to wash your hands after touching or handling any of our animals, and especially before eating. Oh yes, can we ask you please to help us keep these stations tidy and dispose of the paper towels in the bins provided? Last but not least, do remember that this is a working farm. At certain times of the day, there will be vehicles entering the farm from the main gate here. Please remain alert and pay attention when you're in this area. We have fully trained first aiders on a nearby site, and in the unlikely event you have an accident or feel ill, simply come into the Visitors Centre and the receptionist will call them. Your teachers have been given our health and safety leaflets and they'll be able to answer some of your questions during your visit.

Lecturer: Good morning, everyone. As promised, I've invited Kelly from the university Careers Service to come along and talk to you about your work experience year. Thanks for coming, Kelly.

Kelly: Thanks for inviting me. Hello everyone. As you'll all be aware, the third year of your degree course is spent working in industry. This is an extremely valuable part of your education. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the area of work you're interested in, apply some of the things you've learned in the workplace, and perhaps even get a full-time job at the end of your degree. You'll be on what we term a "work experience year', not to be confused with an internship.

Lecturer: What's the difference between the two?

Kelly: Internships are placements students tend to organise themselves, during the summer holidays or after they've graduated. We're happy to offer some advice but we don't organise them on your behalf. Your work experience programme is a compulsory part of your degree and as a result, you're supported by the university in finding a suitable placement.

Student 1: I've been told we'll get paid for the work experience. Is this true?

Kelly: Short-term placements, like summer internships, may or may not be paid. Again, that's something you'd need to discuss with the employer. But the year-long work experience placements we organise for you will be paid posts. The salary varies but will reflect the responsibilities you'll have.

Student 2: Can we choose the company we want to work with?

Kelly: We've got a database of companies we've worked with in the past and in most cases, we'll be able to offer you two or three options for placements. However, it's a very competitive process and students all want to work for the more well-known companies so you may not get your first choice.

Lecturer: I understand students will often be asked to attend interviews. Is this the case?

Kelly: Yes, students will be required to attend an interview of some kind. Companies don't want to take on someone they haven't had the chance to meet and have a chat with. How formal the interview is will depend on the company. If there is an interview, I'd strongly recommend putting in some work beforehand to make sure you're ready for it.

Lecturer: You offer support for that kind of thing, don't you?

Kelly: Yes, it's a whole package of support, really. We'll start by helping you identify a company that's a good fit for both you and them. We want to keep the employers happy in order to maintain a good relationship. At one time we used to offer interview practice with members of staff but we now direct you to our training videos online to help you with this.

Student 1: What if we have problems working with the company? Who do we speak to?

Kelly: It's rare that we have problems like this. If you're lucky, you'll find yourself doing the perfect job, but bearing in mind how difficult it is to find a place, we always advise students to stick with it. We do have a contact in each company who we can talk with on your behalf if there are any serious issues, but as I said, that's not often the case.

Student 2: I've heard students will be assessed on their work placement. Is that true?

Kelly: There'll be some kind of assessment, yes, but you'll be told about that by your tutor and they'll be the one to talk to you about any specific issues. If the assessment involves anything to do with work-based skills, you'll also usually be supported by someone at the company. We can help you with things like keeping a reflective journal. This is a really useful exercise even if you're not required to keep one as it will provide you with a record of what you did each day at work, the things you learned on the job as well as any difficulties you've had. It will help you keep track of issues or topics that you need to read up on and act as one of the resources you can use when you come to write your end-of-year report – if that's something the course tutor needs. Again, you'll have to discuss that with the course tutor. We don't get involved with academic work as this is something your tutors will help you with.

Lecturer: Thanks for that, Kelly. That was really useful.

Kelly: My pleasure. Some students get a little stressed at the thought of joining the workforce but you'll look back on it as a really useful exercise. You might discover that it is indeed the perfect career choice and love what you do. Alternatively, it might be that it helps you to reconsider the area of work you want to get into. If you make a good impression during the year, you may find yourself being offered a job at the end of your degree, and at the very least, you'll develop skills and experience that will stand you in good stead when you start job hunting. You may also make a few contacts with people in the industry who might be able to help you with your career.

Lecturer: If you dread being taken by surprise by a spider when you're relaxing in front of the TV, you'll no doubt be one of the millions of people who find spiders terrifying. But hopefully, this morning I can change your perception of these creatures. You might continue to find them scary but you might also see them in a slightly different light.

I'd like to focus specifically on the silk that spiders make. The substance they use to make their intricate webs is stored in the form of a liquid protein inside their body and it only turns solid when it's exposed to the air. The common garden spider of the UK can create up to five different types of silk. Some of these silks are responsible for allowing the web to stretch while others make the web less brittle.

It's often claimed that spider silk is stronger than steel but this is misleading. A material can be strong in different ways: for example, it can be stiff, which means it resists bending, and silk is much less stiff than steel. But spider silk does have some incredible characteristics. It can stretch by up to 30 per cent without breaking before returning to its original size. It can even withstand sub-zero temperatures without becoming brittle.

People have used spider silk in many practical applications for centuries. The ancient Greeks used cobwebs to dress wounds and to help stop the flow of blood. Spider silk was used by Indigenous Australians to make fishing lines, and in the Solomon Islands people use spider webs to catch fish. In the 1900s it was used in optical devices, such as in the crosswires in a rifle sight.

If spider silk could be produced on an industrial scale, it could have a wide range of applications. In a recent experiment, scientists used it to help grow human skin in order to treat burn victims. Some companies have even shown an interest in using spider silk to make airbags in cars. They believe it could absorb more of the impact and so limit the impact of the airbag on the body itself. Spider silk has even been considered as an ideal material to use in biodegradable bottles.

However, there's one significant problem. It isn't possible to obtain the amount of silk needed for applications like these from spiders. It would take ages to collect the material from their natural habitat, and farming spiders isn't possible as they are aggressive, territorial creatures who will attack and eat each other. Furthermore, because the silk goes hard when it's exposed to air, it's difficult to work with.

Scientists have tried to overcome some of these problems by taking the spider itself out of the equation. One team of scientists extracted the silk genes from two species of spiders and inserted them into cells from a cow. The cells were grown in the laboratory and produced the silk proteins that the scientists were able to harvest. The proteins were then spun into silky strands and the fibres produced were stronger than Kevlar, a material used to make bulletproof vests, but they were lighter than Kevlar and nearly as elastic as nylon. Scientists have also genetically engineered living goats that carry spider silk genes. The first two goat kids produced in this manner were called Webster and Pete. The hope is that milk from goats like these will contain significant amounts of usable spider silk proteins.

Another approach is to use silkworms. The silk from silkworms can be farmed in ways that spider silk can't and so researchers have looked at making genetic changes to the silkworm. The silk that's produced in this way is a mixture of silkworm silk and spider silk. Initial attempts created silk that was stretchy but not as strong as spider silk. However, researchers subsequently managed to increase the amount of spider silk by a factor of seven. One of the advantages of obtaining spider silk in this way is that the silk is ready for use as soon as it's spun by the insect.

A group of researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed artificial spider silk made of proteins that are similar to those in naturally produced spider silk. This man-made silk can be used in a variety of medical applications. It was shown to act as a scaffold or support for the growth of new tissue. The researchers were also able to coat it with an antibiotic, and their experiments showed that the antibacterial properties of the silk lasted for several days. So, thanks to its ability to release antibiotics in a controlled way, the silk could be used in the manufacture of dressings to treat wounds that take a while to heal.

We may only be a few years away from being able to see some of those applications in use. If the outcome of this research is that we'll be able to create materials with properties similar to those of spider silk, we might also be one step towards eradicating the production of synthetic materials that can have negative effects on the environment.

I hope this has given you an insight into the amazing spider. Next time you see one scuttling across the floor, stop to marvel at what it can achieve rather than jump on the sofa to escape.