Bên cạnh Phân tích bài essay về "Produce fertiliser" IELTS WRITING TASK 1, IETS TUTOR cũng cung cấp transcript bài tập Multipls Choice IELTS Listening.
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1. Bài tập 1
Day 3. Test yourself.
Listen to the interview with a psycholog who studies dreams. Then, choose the best answer. Look at the questions now. Now, we shall begin.
I = Interviewer P = Psychologist
I: Now, could you tell us more about what you do in your department? I mean, what research are you actually doing at the moment?
P: We're trying to find out as much as we can about dreams. There's one area that we're particularly interested in at the moment... and that is what we call "directed dreaming".
I: Directed dreaming. What is that exactly?
P: Let me explain. You know, sometimes, if you're... having a dream and you wake up in the middle of it, you can sometimes go back to sleep again and go back to the dream?
I: Yes.
P: Well, that is similar to what we call directed dreaming. Now, what I was talking about is a fairly common experience, but real directed dreamers are people who have almost complete control over what they dream because they actually know what they are dreaming.
I: Er, They can dream what they want?
P: Yes... nearly.
I: Can anyone develop this ability?
P. Well, that's one of the things that we would like to find out. At our center, we have, in fact, got three people who are very reliable and who can have these directed dreams quite regularly.
I: And what sort of experiments do you do with them?
P: Well, a few weeks ago, we thought it would be interesting to see if there was any way that these three regular dreamers could communicate with each other in a directed dream while they were sleeping. So one night, we arranged for them all to stay at the center. Then, we asked the three of them - er, there were two men and a woman - we asked them all to go to a pub that they all knew quite well, down by the river, and asked them, if they started dreaming, to go down there and try to find each other.
I: In the dream? Or three dreams?
P: Yes, so... they all went off to sleep, and the next morning, we interviewed them all separately and asked them what they had seen. The two men had had dreams and could remember them, and they both said that they had been to the pub and had seen each other and had had a talk. But also... um... both of them said that they hadn't seen the woman, and we thought that was a bit... uhm... a bit odd. And then... we talked to her, and she told us that she hadn't had a dream at all that night, or she couldn't remember it anyway.
I: Fascinating! So, both of the men said she hadn't appeared in their dreams and that was because she hadn't, in fact, been dreaming.
P: Yes, though of course, it could just be a coincidence, but that's the kind of thing that we're trying to find out more about.
I: Well, thank you very much, Dr. Border. It's been fascinating talking to you.
P: Thank you.
2. Bài tập 2
Test yourself (2)
Listen to the following talk, circle the correct answer for the question 1 to 6 and complete the table.
Male Voice: Good evening and welcome to this month's Observatory Club lecture. I'm Donald Mackie, and I'm here to talk to you about the solar eclipse in history.
A thousand years ago, a total eclipse of the sun was a terrifying religious experience, but these days an eclipse is more likely to be viewed as a tourist attraction than as a scientific or spiritual event. People will travel literally miles to be in the right place at the right time to get the best view of their eclipse.
Well, what exactly causes a solar eclipse - when the world goes dark for a few minutes in the middle of the day? Scientifically speaking, the dark spot itself is easy to explain: it is the shadow of the moon streaking across the earth. This happens every year or two, each time along a different and, to all intents and purposes, a seemingly random piece of the globe.
In the past, people often interpreted an eclipse as a danger signal heralding disaster and in fact, the Chinese were so disturbed by these events that they included among their gods one whose job was to prevent eclipses. But whether or not you are superstitious or take a purely scientific view, our earthly eclipses are special in three ways.
Firstly, there can be no doubt that they are very beautiful. It's as if a deep blue curtain had fallen over the daytime sky as the sun becomes a black void surrounded by the glow of its outer atmosphere.
But beyond this, total eclipses possess a second more compelling beauty in the eyes of us scientists... for they offer a unique opportunity for research. Only during an eclipse can we study the corona and other dim things that are normally lost in the sun's glare.
And thirdly, they are rare. Even though an eclipse of the sun occurs somewhere on earth every year or two, if you sit in your garden and wait, it will take 375 years on average for one to come to you. If the moon were any larger, eclipses would become a monthly bore; if it were smaller, they simply would not be possible.
The ancient Babylonian priests, who spent a fair bit of time staring at the sky, had already noted that there was an 18-year pattern in their recurrence, but they didn't have the mathematics to predict an eclipse accurately. It was Edmund Halley, the English astronomer, who knew his maths well enough to predict the return of the comet which incidentally bears his name, and in 1715, he became the first person to make an accurate eclipse prediction. This brought eclipses firmly into the scientific domain, and they have since allowed a number of important scientific discoveries to be made. For instance, in the eclipse of 1868, two scientists, Janssen and Lockyer, were observing the sun's atmosphere, and it was these observations that ultimately led to the discovery of a new element. They named the element helium after the Greek god of the sun. This was a major find because helium turned out to be the most common element in the universe after hydrogen.
Another great triumph involved Mercury... I'll just put that up on the board for you now. See - there's Mercury - the planet closest to the Sun - then there's Venus, Earth, etc. For centuries, scientists had been unable to understand why Mercury appeared to rotate faster than it should. Some astronomers suggested that there might be an undiscovered planet causing this unusual orbit and even gave it the name "Vulcan". During the eclipse of 1878, an American astronomer, James Watson, thought he had spotted this so-called "lost" planet. But, alas for him, he was later obliged to admit that he had been wrong about Vulcan and withdrew his claim.
Then, Albert Einstein came on the scene. Einstein suggested that rather than being wrong about the number of planets, astronomers were actually wrong about gravity. Einstein's theory of relativity - for which he is so famous - disagreed with Newton's law of gravity in just the right way to explain Mercury's odd orbit. He also realized that a definitive test would be possible during the total eclipse of 1919, and this is indeed when his theory was finally proved correct.
So, there you have several examples of how eclipses have helped to increase our understanding of the universe, and now let's move on the social...
3. Bài tập 3
Day 4. Test yourself (1)
Listen carefully to the following talk and choose the correct answer for each question.
When the Europeans first came to the American continent more than four hundred years ago, there were relatively few diseases and viruses on the new continent. During that time, however, plagues and diseases that killed thousands were floating around Europe. Eventually, some Europeans developed immunity to the unsanitary world of industrialization. When they came to the American continent, however, many of the Native Americans had never been exposed to these viruses and hence, did not develop immunity to them. By sharing the same food and water sources, many Native Americans contracted the European diseases. At a time when medical vaccines were still in their early stages, this led to the tragic death of thousands.
The Native Americans gradually developed immunity to these diseases and were able to interact with the new explorers and colonists. They traded everyday items with each other, which led to the hybridization of these two cultures. One enterprising European colonist had an interesting idea: why not create a trading post where the two groups could sell their newly combined works of art? Eventually, a post was set up and the distinctly American works became known throughout the country for their unique styles.
The trading post continued for a couple more decades until it eventually faded away. The works of that time period can now be seen at the Smithsonian National Museum. Until very recently, some tribes were still making pieces of art and selling them in their local trading posts.
4. Bài tập 4
Day 5.
Multiple Choice (1)
Listen carefully to the following talk and choose the correct answer for each question.
The Atlantic Ocean, named for the legendary lost island of Atlantis, has made up for the romantic origin of its name by becoming the most important commercial highway in the world; yet traces of romance continually mingle with the business of the sea.
For instance, the Spanish adventurers who first sought gold and silver in America frequently found their ships becalmed, usually on the edge of the steady trade winds - about 30 degrees north or south latitude. A sailing ship could carry only so much water, and as it lay motionless under a hot sun for days or weeks, the tortures of thirst were agonizing.
The horses were generally the first victims. They had to be thrown overboard when they died or became crazed with thirst. Because the Spanish caballeros thought highly of their horses, even crediting them with souls, they suffered great remorse and believed the ghosts of the proud war horses were haunting the scene. They saw the restless spirits in their dreams and related their dreams to sailors.
Whenever the mariners passed that way, they would see in the spray or clouds images of wild horses “hearing down on them, they began to call the broad belts of calm the "horse latitudes”, the romantic name by which they are known today.
5. Bài tập 5
Multiple Choice (2)
Choose the correct answer A, B or C.
Rob: Joanne?
Joanne: Hi, you must be Rob. Nice to meet you. So, I hear you're planning to visit Australia.
Rob: Yeah, and I really wanted to talk to you because I was thinking of spending some time in Darwin, and my sister told me you're from there.
Joanne: That's right.
Rob: So… tell me about it.
Joanne: Well... where shall I start?... Well, Darwin's in what they call the "top end" because it's right up at the northern end of Australia and it's quite different from the rest of Australia in terms of cultural influences, in fact, it's nearer to Jakarta in Indonesia than it is to Sydney, so you get a very strong Asian influence there. That means we get lots of tourists - people from other parts of Australia are attracted by this sort of international, cosmopolitan image. And as well as that, we've got the same laid-back atmosphere you get all over Australia - probably more so if anything, because of the climate. But, what a lot of the tourists don't realize until they get there is that the city's also got a very young population... the average age is just 29, and this makes the whole place very buzzy. Some people think that there might not be that much going on as far as art, music, dancing and so on are concerned, because it's so remote. I mean, we don't really get things like theatre and opera in the same way as cities down in the south like Sydney for example, because of the transport expenses. But in fact, what happens is that we just do it ourselves - lots of people play music, classical as well as pop, and there are things like artists groups and writers groups and dance classes - everyone does something. We don't just sit and watch other people.
Rob: You said it's very international?
Joanne: Yeah, they say there are over 70 different nationalities in Darwin. For instance, there's been a Chinese population there for over 100 years - we've even got a Chinese temple. It was built way back in 1887, but... erm... when a very bad storm - a... a cyclone in fact — hit Darwin in the 1970s, it was almost completely destroyed. The only parts of the temple that survived were part of the altars and the stone lions, but after the storm, they reconstructed it using modern materials. It's still used as a religious centre today, but it's open to tourists too, and it's definitely worth going to see it. Oh, and as far as getting around goes, you'll see the places that advertise bicycles for hire, but I wouldn't recommend it. A lot of the year it's just so hot and humid. Some tourists think it'll be fine because there's not much in the way of hills, and the traffic's quite light compared with some places, but, believe me, you're better off with public transport - it's fine, and not expensive. Or you can hire a car, but it's not really worth it.
Rob: What's the swimming like?
Joanne: Well, there are some good beaches, but the trouble is that there's the nasty creature called the box jellyfish and if it stings you, you're in bad trouble. So, you have to be very careful most of the year especially in the winter months. You can wear a lycra suit to cover your arms and legs, but I wouldn't like to risk it even so, personally. And there are the saltwater crocodiles, too... I mean, I don't want to put you off. There are protected swimming areas netted off where you'll be safe from jellyfish and crocs, or there are the public swimming pools, they're fine of course.
6. Bài tập 6
Multiple Choice (3)
You will hear Peter Walsh being interviewed for a job. Listen and choose the correct answer for each question. But first, you have some time to read the questions. Now listen and answer the questions.
Jane: Please sit down, Mr. Walsh. My name's Jane Swaine, and I'm the personnel manager.
Peter: Hello. How do you do?
Jane: Now, this is just a short preliminary interview. I'd like to chat about your present job and what you've done up till now.
Peter: Yes, of course.
Jane: Well, could you tell me how long you've had your present position in Weston's. It is Weston's, isn't it?
Peter: Yes, that's right. Um, I'm not sure. Let's see. I left university in 2005 - is that right? - yes, 2005. Then, I was unemployed for about three months, and then I traveled around America for a few months, so yes, it must be about three years now, in fact.
Jane: Um, yes. And have you any particular reason for wanting to change jobs? I mean, why do you want to move?
Peter: Well, I actually like my present job and still find it interesting and stimulating. The salary's ok, so it's nothing to do with money, though you can always do with more. I suppose the thing is that I'm really very ambitious and keen to get promoted, so that's the real reason.
Jane: You say you like your job. Can you tell me what aspect you like most?
Peter: Oh, my dear. That's difficult. There are so many things. The other people are great, there's a good co-operative atmosphere, I mean, among the staff, and compared to other companies, the conditions are great. I mean the office itself and the working conditions.
Jane: Um…
Peter: And then, there's the fact that they give me lots of room for initiative and let me make decisions. You know, that's what I really like most about the job.
Jane: Yes, well, we're looking for someone like that. You know, someone who isn't a dock-watcher and who isn't too concerned about working fairly long hours.
Peter: Oh, I don't mind that. I'm used to it.
Jane: And what about your education? You went to Manchester University, didn't you?
Peter: Er, yes. After leaving school I started a diploma course in Design, but I decided to give it up and did an Arts degree at university instead.
Jane: Good, and have you done any courses since?...
7. Bài tập 7
Multiple Choice (4)
Richard Murray, a zoologist and popular TV personality, has been giving a talk on “Endangered Species of Wildlife” to members of the Young Conservationists Association in a small town in the south of England. Listen to the extract from the discussion he had with two of the young people after his talk. First you have some time to read the questions. Now here is the talk.
Tony: What would you say, Mr. Murray, are the main reasons that so much of our wildlife will have died out by the end of the next few decades?
Richard: Well, Tony, we can't of course rule out the effect of urbanization due to the spread of population but, apart from that, I believe there are two reasons which, in a way, are like the opposite ends of a piece of string. If you tie a knot in that piece of string, you end up with a circle and whichever way you go round, it's going to turn out to be the same.
Jenny: I don't think I quite get that, Mr. Murray.
Richard: Well, let's put it another way. It's rather like a film - you've got the Good Guys and the Bad Guys - they're pulling in opposite directions, but when it comes to the final showdown, it's hard to make out which is which.
Tony: What are your two reasons, Mr. Murray?
Richard: I call them Greed and Caring.
Jenny: Greed and Caring?
Richard: Yes, I know they don't seem to have much to do with one another, but think about it. The motive of greed is pretty obvious. In the course of the next few months, thousands of baby seals will be bludgeoned to death before they are even weaned from their mothers. What for? For the sale of their skins at inflated prices to please the vanity of a few and line the pockets of the killers. Crocodiles will be slaughtered to provide shoes and handbags for the rich. Gorillas, tigers, leopards and rhinos will be hunted for senseless sport or poached in defiance of regulations — their skins, their horns, and their magnificent heads will be used as trophies to decorate someone's living-room floor or walls...
Jenny: That's terrible.
Richard: Yes, but it's not all. The whale, probably the most impressive and certainly one of the most intelligent sea mammals in creation, will be cruelly hunted and harpooned to make more money for the profiteers. The dolphin, the sailor's friend, will be in-discriminately battered to death at so much ahead on the grounds that it is taking away the livelihood of a few fishermen by consuming the fish in its natural habitat.
Tony: But surely, Mr. Murray, we do have to keep warm, we need whale oil and ambergris, fishermen have to make a living...
Richard: Part of what you say is true, of course, Tony, but we shall have to enforce far stricter controls if future generations are not to find themselves in a world devoid of wildlife as we know it.
Jenny: Well, I see what you mean about fur coats and crocodile handbags, Mr. Murray, but I don't understand what you mean by "caring". That can't be bad, surely. I mean, I thought we were supposed to be living in a "caring society".
Richard: Well, so we do, in a way. The trouble is, there are so many well-intentioned people who start out with the best possible motives of trying to protect or immunize us from this, that or the other in the most effective way at the quickest possible rate, but in their enthusiasm, they lose sight of the long-term consequences. It's only very gradually that the danger to other forms of life, including humans, comes out - not to say, leaks out - and by that time, it will probably be too late to do much about it. Take insecticides, for instance.
Jenny: But insecticides protect crops from pests. They destroy disease-carrying mites and creepy crawlies like cockroaches.
Richard: True, but Nature has a way of developing her own immunity against insecticides and other pest controls, with the result that the biologists are driven to inventing stronger and stronger compounds which, though they may annihilate the pest, nevertheless permeate the environment, are assimilated by plant and animal life and become absorbed by the soil. Countless innocent creatures, the beaver or the mole, for example, are performing a useful task in the natural control. The alarming prospect is that as these poisons enter the foods we eat and consequently our own systems, they will find their way into the body of the pregnant mother and into her milk, offering incalculable risks to the unborn or newly born infant. In spite of all our technological expertise, our time is running out; we are virtually destroying ourselves.
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