IELTS Listening Practice Test 9: Free, with Answers

Organiser:Thanks very much for having me on the programme. As many of your listeners will know, the Millbrook Fun Run is now in its twelfth year, and every penny we raise goes to the county air ambulance. This year's run takes place on Sunday the eighteenth of May, and I'd like to explain a few changes and give people some practical information.

Organiser:First, the changes. A lot of people have asked whether we'd add a longer race, perhaps ten kilometres, for more serious runners, and we did think about it, but it'll have to wait for another year. We also considered holding the run in the evening, but in the end we decided to keep to Sunday morning, which has always worked well. What we have changed is where the run begins and ends. For eleven years, we've used the market square, but this year it'll start and finish at Millbrook Sports Ground. There's far more space for runners and spectators there, and it means we don't need to close the town centre to traffic.

Organiser:Now, a lot of people imagine that the money we raise goes towards buying a helicopter. In fact, a helicopter costs several million pounds, so that's not something a fun run could ever pay for. Last year, the money paid for training volunteers. This year, it's going towards special equipment that allows the crew to fly safely at night, which means the service will be able to respond to emergencies around the clock.

Organiser:If you'd like to take part, you can register online now, or on the day itself. There's no limit on numbers, so you don't need to worry about places running out. But registering online costs two pounds less, and every runner gets a number and a medal, however they register, so it really is worth doing it in advance. And if you've got friends or family who'd rather watch than run, we're always looking for volunteers to help on the day. Just get in touch through the website.

Organiser:Fancy dress is always a big part of the day, and we love seeing people in costume. There aren't any prizes for it, I'm afraid, but we'll put the best photos on our website. We do ask anyone wearing a large costume to start at the back of the race, so that they don't trip anyone up in the crowd at the start.

Organiser:And finally, safety. If you feel unwell at any point during the race, please don't try to make your own way back to the first-aid tent at the start. Just stop and tell the nearest marshal. They'll all be wearing yellow jackets, and they're in radio contact with our medical team, who can reach you very quickly anywhere on the route. There'll also be water stations at two and four kilometres, and we'd encourage everyone to drink plenty, especially if it's a warm morning.

Organiser:Let me run through the timetable for the day. Registration opens at eight o'clock. In the past, it's been in a tent in the car park, but this year it'll be indoors, in the sports hall, which is right next to the main entrance of the sports ground, so you can't miss it.

Organiser:At a quarter past nine, there'll be a warm-up session on the playing field for anyone who'd like to join in. We usually ask one of the fitness instructors from the leisure centre to lead it, but this year a local dance teacher has offered to do it instead, so I suspect it'll be rather more lively than usual.

Organiser:At half past nine, it's the children's race. Last year, the children ran a full kilometre, but quite a few of the younger ones found it too long, so this year the distance has been reduced to eight hundred metres. It's two laps of the running track, so parents will be able to see them all the way round.

Organiser:The main race, which is five kilometres, starts at ten o'clock. The route leaves the sports ground and goes down to the canal, then follows the path beside it for most of the way, before coming back through Millbrook Park. It's completely flat, and there's no traffic, so it's ideal for beginners and families.

Organiser:The prize-giving will be at half past eleven, back at the sports ground. And throughout the morning, there'll be food and drink on sale. The Scouts usually run the stalls, but they're away at camp that weekend, so the town's rugby club has kindly offered to take over, and they've promised plenty of homemade cakes. So I hope to see lots of your listeners there.

Hannah:OK, so we've agreed the podcast's going to be about unusual jobs in the city. We just need to sort out the format before we start contacting people.

Megan:Right. How long should each episode be? I was thinking forty-five minutes, like the ones I listen to.

Josh:That's a lot of material to fill, though. And people listen on the bus or while they're walking to class. I think twenty minutes is about right.

Hannah:I agree. Twenty minutes is long enough to get into a proper conversation, but short enough that people actually finish it.

Megan:OK, fair enough. Twenty minutes it is. What about how often we release them? Every week?

Josh:I don't think we could manage that with all our other coursework. Every two weeks would be more realistic.

Hannah:Hmm. I'm not sure. If there's a long gap, people forget about you. Let's decide that once we've seen how long the first one takes to make.

Megan:OK. And I think we should keep it simple and have just one guest per episode. If we have two or three, they end up talking over each other.

Josh:Definitely. One guest, and the three of us taking turns to ask the questions.

Hannah:Yes, that works for me. I did wonder about recording in front of a small audience, like some of the comedy podcasts do.

Megan:I think that would make the guests nervous. A lot of them won't be used to talking in public at all.

Hannah:That's true. Forget the audience, then. Oh, and what are we going to call it? We need a name before we can set anything up.

Megan:I quite like Nine to Five, but somebody's probably used it already.

Josh:Let's each come up with a few ideas and vote on them next week. It doesn't have to be decided today.

Hannah:Fine. Now, what problems do you think we'll run into?

Josh:The biggest one will be finding somewhere quiet to record. The media department's studio is booked up for weeks, and anywhere else on campus has people walking past and doors banging.

Megan:Yes, that's going to be a real headache. What about the guests, though? Will people actually agree to do it?

Hannah:I don't think that'll be a problem. People with unusual jobs usually love talking about them. I've already asked a clockmaker and a woman who repairs stained-glass windows, and they both said yes straight away.

Josh:Great. The other thing that worries me is the editing. None of us has used proper sound-editing software before, and from what I've heard, it takes quite a while to learn.

Megan:That's true. We'll need to allow time for that.

Hannah:And music? Do we need permission for that?

Josh:Not if we use the free music library the department subscribes to. That's all cleared for student projects.

Hannah:Right, let's divide up the jobs. Who wants to contact the guests? I know I've already spoken to a couple of people, but I'm happy to hand it over.

Megan:I'll do it. I'm used to phoning people from my summer job, and I don't mind being turned down.

Hannah:Great, thanks, Megan. Then what about preparing the questions for each interview?

Josh:I'd like to do that. I enjoy the research side of things, finding out about each job before we talk to the person.

Megan:OK, Josh does the questions. And the actual recording? Someone needs to be in charge of the equipment and make sure everything's working.

Hannah:I can do that. I've borrowed the department's recorders before, so I know how they work, and I know who to ask if something goes wrong.

Josh:Then I'll take the editing as well, if that's all right. Since I'll have written the questions, I'll know which bits of each interview are worth keeping.

Megan:Are you sure? That's a lot of work on top of the research.

Josh:It's fine. I've got a lighter timetable than you two this term.

Hannah:OK, if you're sure. What about a logo? We'll need some kind of image for the podcast apps.

Megan:I'll design that. I did a graphic design course last year, and I'd really like to use it.

Josh:Something simple, please. The apps show the logos really small, so anything with lots of detail just looks like a blur.

Megan:Don't worry, I was thinking of something very bold. Maybe just an old-fashioned clock face, since our first guest is a clockmaker.

Hannah:Perfect. So that just leaves publicity. Somebody needs to post about each episode on social media.

Josh:Megan, you're the one who's always on social media.

Megan:That's exactly why I shouldn't do it! I'd spend all day on it. Hannah, you'd be better at keeping it short and professional.

Hannah:All right, I'll take care of the social media posts. And I'll set up a shared calendar, so we can all see when everything's due.

Josh:Good idea. Shall we meet again on Thursday and record a short test episode, just to see how long everything takes?

Megan:Thursday's fine for me.

Lecturer:Good afternoon. Today we're going to look at one of the most beautiful phenomena in biology: bioluminescence, the production of light by living organisms. The word itself comes from the Greek for life and the Latin for light. Most of you will have seen it in fireflies, perhaps, or as a blue glow in the waves on a beach at night. But it's far more widespread than most people realise, and it has some surprising uses, both in nature and in science.

Lecturer:Let's start with how it works. Bioluminescence is the result of a chemical reaction inside the organism. A molecule known as luciferin reacts with oxygen, and the reaction is speeded up by an enzyme called luciferase. The energy released by the reaction comes out as light. Remarkably, almost none of it is lost as heat, which is why bioluminescence is often described as cold light. An ordinary light bulb, by contrast, wastes much of its energy by warming the air around it.

Lecturer:So where do we find it? A few land animals produce light, fireflies being the most famous, and so do some fungi, which can make rotting wood glow faintly in a forest at night. But the great majority of light-producing species live in the ocean. One survey, carried out with underwater robots off the coast of California, found that about three quarters of the animals observed between the surface and a depth of four thousand metres could produce their own light. Most of that light is blue or green, because these colours travel furthest through seawater, whereas red light is absorbed within a few metres. Biologists also believe that the ability has evolved separately at least ninety-four times, in groups as different as bacteria, worms, fish and insects, which suggests just how useful it must be.

Lecturer:Some of the most spectacular displays are produced by tiny single-celled organisms called dinoflagellates, which drift near the surface of the sea. In a few sheltered bays, they're so numerous that every wave, boat or swimmer leaves a trail of blue light behind it. Why should such tiny organisms glow at all? One explanation is known as the burglar alarm theory. When a small animal tries to eat the dinoflagellates, the flash of light they produce attracts larger predators, which then eat the attacker. In other words, the light calls for help.

Lecturer:What do organisms use it for? One use is finding food. The female anglerfish has a long spine on her head with a glowing lure at the end, which attracts smaller fish towards her mouth in the darkness of the deep sea. Interestingly, she doesn't produce the light herself: it comes from bacteria living inside the lure. Light can also be used for defence. Some deep-sea shrimp, when attacked, release a glowing cloud into the water, which distracts the predator while the shrimp escapes into the darkness.

Lecturer:Perhaps the cleverest use is camouflage. The Hawaiian bobtail squid hunts at night in shallow water, where predators below it could easily see its outline against the moonlight. To prevent this, the squid uses glowing bacteria in a special organ on its underside to produce a soft light that matches the moonlight from above, so that it casts no shadow, and effectively becomes invisible. Many deep-sea fish, such as hatchetfish, use the same trick, with rows of light organs along their bellies. On land, fireflies use light mainly to find a partner. Each species has its own pattern of flashes, so that males and females of the same species can recognise each other in the dark. In parts of Southeast Asia, thousands of male fireflies gather in the trees along riverbanks and flash in time with each other, a display that attracts visitors from around the world.

Lecturer:Finally, scientists have found practical uses for bioluminescence. The firefly's enzyme is used in hygiene tests in food factories and hospitals. A swab is wiped across a surface and mixed with the enzyme, and if any living material has been left behind, the sample gives off light, so inspectors can tell within seconds whether a surface has been properly cleaned. Researchers have also used glowing proteins from marine animals to follow the activity of cells inside the body, work that led to a Nobel Prize in 2008.

Lecturer:So, to sum up, bioluminescence is a chemical process that produces cold light, it's especially common in the ocean, and it helps organisms to feed, to defend themselves, to hide and to communicate. Next week, we'll look at how animals use sound in similar ways.