The future of home entertainment listening answers

You will hear a telephone conversation between a travel agent and a school principal who is organising a school tour for a group of third-year students.

First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 3

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

You will see that there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first.

James; Hello. McFadden's Travel! James speaking; how may I help you?

Jonathon: Hi there; my name's Jonathon Presley, principal of Sainsbury Secondary School. I am calling to ask about your early bird tour offer. I saw it advertised in the Evening Herald yesterday.

James: Certainly, Mr. Presley; what would you like to know?

Jonathon: Oh, please, Jonathon will be fine.

James: Of course, Jonathon. How can I help you?

Jonathon: Well, the first thing I'd like to know is how long is your offer valid for? My third-year students are planning a holiday in early April; will they qualify for the discount?

James: The good news is our special offer runs until the end of May. Jonathon: Oh dear, oh dear, March! That's terrible, we've just missed out.

James: On the contrary, Jonathon. It's May not March; you WILL qualify for the discount.

Jonathon: Oh, fantastic.

Narrator: The offer finishes at the end of May so the answer is (C).

Now we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time.

Listen carefully and answer questions 1-3.

[REPEAT]

James: And I'm only just getting started; the best news is yet to come.

Jonathon; What do you mean?

James: Well, tell me now ..., how many students are you planning to take on this tour?

Jonathon: I expect there'll be about 45 students and 3 teachers accompanying them. Why? Are there any further discounts?

James: There are indeed. We do a 25% discount on groups of up to 40 people. For you, we can offer an even better rate; a 50% discount.

Jonathon: Wow, is that on top of the 15% early bird discount?

James: It most certainly is, which makes your total tour discount, hmmmmm, fifty plus fifteen, sixty-five percent.

Jonathon: Surely there's a catch, this is too good to be true.

James: Well, there is a condition that you must choose your destination from a list we have selected. You can't book a tour to just anywhere in the world with this discount rate,

Jonathon: I see, and would Madrid be on that list by any chance?

James: I am sorry to disappoint you but we do not offer this rate on tours to Madrid. However, we have an excellent all-inclusive 7-day Barcelona tour which is available. How does that sound?

Jonathon: Sounds interesting. What is the total cost per student?

James: Let's see ... It works out at £679 per person with the discount. The normal price is £1940 so you are saving £1261 per person.

Jonathon: Hold on a moment, let me get a pen to write some of this down; It's getting complicated. Okay, how much will it cost per student?

James: £679

Jonathon: And how much of a saving is that?

James: £1261

Jonathon: Barcelona sounds very good indeed! Tell me, what do you mean by all-inclusive? What does £679 get us?

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 4-10.

(Pause The recording for 30 seconds)

Now listen and answer questions 4-10.

James: Well, that price covers flights. 3-star hotel accommodation and extras.

Jonathon: James, I must say, I'm very glad I called you this morning. This is a fantastic deal. It covers flights, accommodation and what else?

James: Plus airport taxis, breakfast every morning, a city tour and theatre tickets.

Jonathon: Great!.... and what about the teachers?

James: The teachers can travel free of charge with the students.

Jonathon: Well I might just go on this tour myself, I've always fancied a trip to Barcelona......ehhhh, ehh but for the children's sake, of course.

James: Of course. Now, let's get to work on the booking. Exactly when were you planning to leave?

Jonathon: The 7th of April, if possible.

James: Yes, that's available. And, can you confirm the exact number of students please?

Jonathon: It's either 44 or 45, let me see... Yes, 45, exactly 45 students, No, sorry, in fact that's 46. I forgot about Jenny McCarthy; she sent her application in late so it's not in the same pile as the rest.

James: So that's the 7th of April and 46 students, correct?

Jonathon; Yes, perfect, and three teachers. Is there a morning flight?

James: Yes, your flight is at 7 a.m. on Monday the 7th of April.

Arrive at the airport two hours before departure. The flight will take about two and a half hours and you'll land at 10.30 a.m. local time. How does that sound?

Jonathon: Sounds great, Can I give you my e-mail address to confirm the rest of the details?

James: Of course.

Jonathon: It's jonathon.presley@sainsbury.com. That's j-o-n-a-t-h-o-n dot p-r-e-s-l-e-y at s-a-i-n-s-b-u-r-y dot com. And well pay by credit card if possible.

James: That'll be perfect. What's your card number?

Jonathon: It's 6676 6654 97431251, expiry date 01 Jan 2015.

James: And the name on the credit card?

Jonathon: That's my own, Jonathon Presley.

James: So, £679 times 46 students, I'm going to charge £31,234 to your credit card, that's the total cost.

Jonathon: Sounds fine.

James: Great! Well, I think that's all we need for now, Jonathon. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to give me a call. We'll be in touch next week to confirm the booking details.

Jonathon: Okay, and thank you very much for your help, James. Bye for now.

James: Bye bye Jonathon! Speak soon.

That is the end of Part one. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now turn to Part two.

This is the last section of IELTS Listening practice test #12. Listen to the audio and answer the questions. After you finish, click 'check' and 'get result!' to see your score for the whole test.

   

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Well, I’ve been talking to managers in a number of businesses, and reading surveys about the future of management. And what I'm going to present in this seminar is a few ideas about how the activity is likely to change in the next ten years. It isn't a scientific, statistical analysis - just some ideas for us to discuss.

One area I want to mention is business markets, and I’m sure a really significant development will be a major increase in competition, with companies from all round the world trying to sell similar products.

Consumers will have much more choice - for instance, food products sold in Australia might be manufactured in the USA, China, Finland and dozens of other countries. At the same time, mergers and takeovers mean that governments are actually losing power to major global corporations.

We can probably all think of companies that exert a great deal of influence, which may be good for consumers. 

A third point I want to make about markets is that in the rapidly expanding economies, such as India. China. Brazil and Russia, demand is growing very fast.

This is putting pressure on resources all over the world. I think businesses are becoming more open to external influences. In particular, companies are consulting customers more and more before making their business decisions. 

Companies are finding out what they want and providing it, instead of making products and then trying to sell them, which is the model of years ago.

Another influence is that concerns about the environment will force manufacturers to extend product, lifecycles, to reduce the amount of pollution and waste. And in some cases, regulation will need to be strengthened. 

Many societies are much more fluid and democratic, and the structure of companies is changing to reflect that. I think we're going to see a greater emphasis within companies on teams created with a specific project in mind. 

And when they're completed, the teams will be disbanded and new ones formed.

More and more people see work as simply one part of their lifestyle, and not the most important one, and as the workforce is shrinking in some countries, businesses are having to compete for staff instead of being able to choose among a lot of applicants. Typical examples that will attract and retain staff are traditional ones like flexible hours and - something that has been made possible by advances in technology - remote working, with people based at their home, abroad, or almost anywhere they choose. 

Management styles will almost certainly continue to change. Senior managers will require a lot more than the efficiency that they’ve always needed. Above all they'll need great skills in leadership, so that their organisation can initiate and respond to change in a fast-moving world, where they face lots of competing requirements and potential conflicts. 

In most of the world, the senior managers of large businesses are mainly men in their fifties and sixties. The predominant style of management will almost certainly become more consultative and collaborative, caused above all, by more women moving into senior management positions. 

Many of the changes are influenced by developments in the wider economy. The traditional emphasis of business was manufacturing, and of course the service sector is very important. But we shouldn’t overlook the growing financial contribution of IP, that is, intellectual property. Some books and films generate enormous sums from the sale of related DVDs, music, games, clothes, and so on.

Another point I’d like to make is that although I’ve been talking about companies, one trend that they have to face is the move away from people working for the same employer for years. Instead, more and more people are becoming self-employed, to gain the freedom and control over their lives that they’re unlikely to get from being employed. 

OK, well that's all I want to say, so let’s open it up for discussion.