Audioscripts IELTS Practice 20 Listening Test 03

Part 1

You will hear a man telephoning a property manager to ask about renting furniture for his new apartment.

First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5.

(pause)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.

David: Good morning, is that Mrs Reed? This is David Thorne. I’m the tenant moving into the apartment on West High Street next Tuesday.

Mrs Reed: Oh, hello David. Everything is ready for your arrival. How can I help you?

David: Well, as I mentioned when I signed the lease, I’m relocating from overseas, so I don't have any furniture yet. You said you knew some reliable rental companies?

Mrs Reed: Yes, certainly. I have a list right here.

David: Great.

Mrs Reed: The most established one in the city is called Prime Living. Most of the tenants in the building use them because they are very reliable.

David: Do you know roughly what they charge?

Mrs Reed: It used to start at $100, but let me check their latest brochure. Ah yes, the monthly package for a standard apartment starts at $115 and goes up to $260. It depends on whether you want the premium electronic package included.

David: That sounds a bit expensive, but I suppose you pay for quality.

Mrs Reed: Exactly. The feedback I get is that their sofas and beds are extremely comfortable. Much better than what you get from budget places. And they deliver within 24 hours.

David: That’s good to know. Comfort is important.

Mrs Reed: Also, they have a promotion running. I thought they gave away a free lamp, but actually, if you order a bedroom set, they will include a floor rug for free.

David: That’s a nice touch, though I’m not sure I need one. Do you have any other options?

Mrs Reed: Yes, there is a company called Reilly’s.

David: How do you spell that?

Mrs Reed: It’s R-E-I-L-L-Y.

David: R-E-I-L-L-Y. Got it. Are they cheaper?

Mrs Reed: They are mid-range. But be careful, because they add a service charge of 10% to the monthly bill. They say it’s for administration.

David: Ah, so the advertised price isn't the final price.

Mrs Reed: Correct. However, a big advantage with them is that at the end of your tenancy, they offer free collection. You don't have to organize a van to return the items; they come and get them.

David: That would save me a lot of hassle.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to 10.

(pause)

Now listen and answer questions 6 to 10.

Mrs Reed: If you are on a tight budget, you might want to look at a company called Oakland Furnishings.

David: Oakland? Okay.

Mrs Reed: They have the lowest rates in the region. They don't do kitchen equipment, but interestingly, they do supply garden furniture.

David: Oh, that’s perfect. The apartment has that large balcony, so I’ll definitely need a table and chairs for outside.

Mrs Reed: There are a couple of conditions though. You don't have to pay a massive deposit, but unlike the other companies, Oakland requires you to arrange your own insurance for the goods.

David: I see. I’d have to contact my bank about that.

Mrs Reed: And, they are quite strict on the lease term. You must sign a contract for a minimum of 9 months.

David: Nine months? That’s fine. I’ve signed a year lease with you, so that works.

Mrs Reed: Good. Oh, wait, I almost forgot one more option. It’s a startup called Modo Rentals.

David: Modo?

Mrs Reed: Yes. I don't have their price list because they change it dynamically based on demand.

David: Should I just phone them?

Mrs Reed: Actually, you should check their website to get a quote.

David: Okay, I’ll look them up online.

Mrs Reed: The reason I mention them is that they are very flexible. If you want to change the style of your room halfway through the year, they allow free upgrades.

David: Really? So I could swap an old TV for a new one?

Mrs Reed: Exactly, as long as the new item is in the same price category.

David: That sounds fascinating. Thank you so much, Mrs Reed. I have plenty to investigate now.

That is the end of part one. You now have one minute to check your answers to part one.

Part 2

You will hear an archaeologist talking to a group of visitors about the excavation of a Roman Villa.

First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.

(pause)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.

Martin: Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Oakwood Excavation site. My name is Martin Lewis. I’m the site director here. It’s wonderful to see so many of you interested in local history. This is our second year of digging here. While the project is overseen by the Archaeology Department at the University, we did apply to the Town Council initially for financial support, but they had no budget. Fortunately, the Local History Society stepped in to provide the funding which allows us to buy equipment and run these tours.

Now, you might be wondering how we knew there was a Roman Villa buried here in the middle of a farm. Often, sites are found by people with metal detectors looking for coins, or when new roads are being built by construction workers. In this case, it was actually the farmer, Mr Higgins, who made the discovery. He was ploughing this field two years ago when his tractor hit some hard stone. He stopped to check and realized he’d turned up some ancient-looking coloured tiles.

Once he contacted us, we didn't start digging immediately. First, we had to confirm the exact location of the walls. We couldn't consult old maps in the library because this area has been farmland for centuries and nothing was recorded. And we didn't want to risk digging test holes blindly. Instead, we used a drone to take aerial photographs during the dry summer. The photos clearly showed the outlines of walls beneath the parched grass, which gave us the green light to start.

Since we started digging, the finds have been fascinating. We’ve uncovered the main living quarters and a fair number of roof tiles. Interestingly, unlike other villas in this region where Roman coins are scattered everywhere, we have found very few coins here. What we have found in unexpectedly huge quantities, however, is imported pottery. This suggests the owners were wealthy and traded with other parts of the Roman Empire, specifically France.

We’ve also been looking at the surrounding landscape to understand the infrastructure. To the north of the villa, we found evidence of a large garden. We originally thought there was a bathhouse down by the stream, but that turned out to be a natural rock formation. We haven't found any defensive wall either. However, we have found clear traces of a road connecting the villa to the main highway, which explains how they transported all those goods.

Our digging season finishes next week. But don't worry, the site won't be empty. We don't have enough material to open a museum exhibition yet, and we aren't doing any more guided tours for school children until next year. But we are launching a training course for adults next month, teaching people how to wash and catalog the finds.

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20.

(pause)

Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.

Martin: Right, let me explain the layout of the site so you can explore on your own. If you look at the map, we are currently standing at the Main Entrance, at the bottom.

The first place you should see is the Mosaic Floor. It’s the pride and joy of this site. To get there, walk straight up the main path from the entrance. You’ll pass the tool shed on your left. Just after the shed, the path splits. Take the left fork, and the Mosaic is right at the end of that track, covered by a white tent to protect it from the sun.

Then there is the Hypocaust, which was the underfloor heating system. It’s quite impressive. From the entrance, go straight ahead, past the junction, and keep going towards the top of the site. You’ll see it on your right-hand side, just before you reach the boundary fence. It’s a bit of a walk, but worth it.

We also have a viewing platform where you can see the Kitchen Area. This is where the food was prepared. It’s located in the south-east corner. So, from here at the entrance, turn immediately right and follow the path that runs along the bottom fence. You’ll find the viewing platform at the very end of that path.

Finally, you might want to see the Water Well. We found this last week. It’s located on the west side of the site. Go up the main path and take the left fork again—the same way you went to the Mosaic. But instead of going all the way to the end, look for a small gap in the hedge on your left-hand side. The well is just through there, under the old oak tree.

That is the end of part two. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part two.

Part 3

You will hear two Media Studies students, Leo and Sarah, discussing their assignment on the history of music album covers.

First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.

(pause)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.

Leo: Hi Sarah. Have you managed to finish reading the chapters for our presentation on album art history?

Sarah: Mostly, Leo. I have to admit, I didn't realize how recent the concept of album art actually is. Until the late 1930s, records were just sold in plain brown paper sleeves.

Leo: I know. It’s crazy to think that before Alex Steinweiss joined Columbia Records, nobody thought to put a picture on the cover.

Sarah: And I was surprised by the reason why he did it. I thought it was to protect the fragile records from damage, or maybe for artistic expression, but the book said it was purely a marketing experiment. He wanted to see if a colourful image would increase sales figures in shops by making people browse longer.

Leo: And it worked. Sales went up by 800%. What about the section on the 1960s? That seemed to be the Golden Age.

Sarah: Yes. The record executives hated it because the new covers were expensive to produce. But it wasn't that the public complained albums were becoming too expensive—in fact, they loved them. The real shift was that musicians began to have more control over the design process, insisting on hiring fine artists themselves.

Leo: There was an interesting comparison between UK and US covers in the 1970s, too. It wasn't about the size of the albums, or the materials used for the sleeves...

Sarah: Oh, you mean the level of censorship applied to the artwork?

Leo: Yeah. American covers often had to be altered or cleaned up before they could be sold in supermarkets, whereas in the UK, they were much more experimental and controversial.

Sarah: We should include that. Then we move on to the CD era in the 1980s and 90s. That was a bit of a sad period for design. The canvas shrank drastically.

Leo: Did the reading suggest that designers stopped using photographs?

Sarah: Not completely, but because detailed paintings didn't look good on a small CD case, there was a definite shift towards using clearer, bolder text instead.

Leo: That makes sense. The quality of the packaging material certainly didn't improve though; those plastic jewel cases broke so easily. What about the digital age? Streaming?

Sarah: Well, many people claim album art is dead, or that it has become irrelevant to the listener because we just see tiny thumbnails on a phone. Some argue it needs to be simpler to work on small screens.

Leo: But the article concluded the opposite. It said that because of social media, cover art remains crucial for grabbing attention. It has to catch your eye in less than a second as you scroll past.

Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.

(pause)

Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.

Leo: I’ve selected a few specific album covers we could analyse during the presentation.

Sarah: Great. Let’s see what you’ve got.

Leo: The first one is The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. The one with the crowd of people.

Sarah: Good choice. I know it wasn't the first cover to use a photograph, but why did you choose it?

Leo: Because of the budget. They had to pay for life-size cardboard cutouts of famous historical figures, meaning it had an unusually high production cost for the time.

Sarah: It shows the scale of production well. What's next?

Leo: The Velvet Underground and Nico. The one with the yellow banana on a white background.

Sarah: Oh, the Andy Warhol design! I love that. Was it banned in several countries?

Leo: No, but the original vinyl cover had a sticker you could peel off to reveal a pink banana underneath. I want to include it because it was one of the first covers to encourage physical interaction from the buyer.

Sarah: That’s a great point. Then I have The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. The one with the prism and the rainbow.

Leo: Why that one?

Sarah: Well, it’s iconic because it featured no writing or text at all on the cover. No band name, no album title. It proves that a strong symbol can be more recognizable than words.

Leo: I found one too. It’s London Calling by The Clash. The one where he’s smashing the guitar.

Sarah: Yes. But the reason I want to include it is that the text design was actually borrowed from an old Elvis Presley album. It was designed to look like a famous older album as a deliberate tribute to rock and roll history.

Leo: I didn't know that. That’s a cool connection.

Sarah: And finally, for a modern example, I thought we could show the cover for Blackstar by David Bowie.

Leo: That’s just a black star on a white background, isn't it?

Sarah: On the digital version, yes. But on the physical vinyl, it contains hidden features visible only in certain light. The star actually changes transparency when you hold it up to a window.

Leo: Oh, that fits perfectly with our point about physical interaction returning. Let's use all five.

That is the end of part three. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part three.

Part 4

You will hear a psychology lecturer talking about the impact of office design on employee wellbeing.

First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

(pause)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

Lecturer: For many years, the primary goal of office design was simple: maximum efficiency. Architects treated office buildings like factories, trying to fit as many workers into the space as possible. However, in recent decades, there has been a significant shift. We have moved from designing solely for efficiency to recognising that the physical environment has a profound effect on our mental health.

One of the most controversial trends in modern office history is the open-plan layout. Originally, this was intended to tear down hierarchies and encourage communication between teams. While it achieved that to some extent, it created a new problem. While many thought a lack of privacy was the main issue, research shows that intermittent noise—like snippets of conversation or phones ringing—is actually the biggest destroyer of concentration. To cope with this, we often see employees wearing headphones. They do this not necessarily to listen to music, but to create a private wall of sound so they can focus.

Successful modern design tries to balance this by introducing biophilic elements. This basically means bringing the outdoors inside. It doesn't just mean painting the walls green or putting a few pot plants in the corner. It involves using tactile, natural materials such as wood and stone. Studies have shown that touching and seeing these natural textures can lower blood pressure and reduce stress levels significantly compared to sterile, plastic environments.

Another critical factor is lighting. In the past, offices relied heavily on harsh fluorescent strips that stayed at the same brightness all day. But human biology is linked to the sun. It isn't about installing brighter artificial bulbs; we now know that access to natural light is essential for regulating our body clock, or circadian rhythm. Employees who sit near windows actually sleep better at night than those in the center of the building. Consequently, modern buildings are now being designed with glass partitions to allow sunlight to penetrate deeper into the floor plate.

We also need to consider how design affects social interaction. Interestingly, the most important conversations often don't happen in the boardroom, but in what architects call "collision spaces". These are shared areas like the office kitchen or the print room, where staff from different departments bump into each other by chance. These accidental encounters are often where the most creative ideas are generated.

However, not all modern design trends have been positive. A major issue recently has been the introduction of hot-desking—where employees don't have their own fixed desk but sit wherever there is space. While this saves the company money on rent, it ignores a fundamental human need: the need for territory.

Psychologically, we like to mark our space. When people had their own fixed desks, they didn't just leave their coffee mugs there; they would display photos of their family or pets. This wasn't just decoration; it gave them a sense of identity and belonging. Removing this ability to personalize space has been linked to a decrease in job satisfaction and a feeling of being undervalued.

Furthermore, design needs to account for different personality types. The modern office is often geared towards extroverts—it’s loud, stimulating, and highly social. But introverts, who make up nearly half the workforce, often struggle in these environments. They require quiet, private zones to recharge their batteries. If these aren't provided, they can suffer from burnout much faster than their colleagues.

Finally, we must consider the issue of control. One of the biggest complaints in shared workspaces is the temperature. It is similar to the Goldilocks problem: it’s too hot for some, too cold for others. Giving employees control over their immediate environment—for example, through personal desk fans or individual heaters—has been proven to boost productivity. When people feel helpless to change their physical discomfort, they become distracted and resentful.

So, as we look to the future of work, architects must remember that they are not just building structures, but shaping human behavior.

That is the end of part four. You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.