IELTS 9, Test 1 Listening Transcript

Here are the transcripts ofCambridge IELTS 9. For brief answers, click here
Section 1: 

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 Section 2:

Andrew: Now we go to Jane who is going to tell us about what's happening in townthis weekend.

jane: Right, thanks Andrew, and now on to what's new, and do we really needyet another sports shop in Bradcaster? Well, most of you probably know Sports World - the branch of a Danish sports goods company Q11 that opened a few years ago - it's attracted a lot of custom, and so the company has now decided to open another branch in the area. It's going to be in the shopping centre to the west of Bradcaster Q12, so that will be good news for  all of you who've found the original shop in the north of the town hard to get to.

I was invited to a special preview and I can promise you, this is theultimate in sports retailing. The whole place has been given a new minimalist look with the company's signature colours of black and red. The first three floors have a huge range of sports clothing Q13 as well as equipment, and on the top floor there's a cafe and a book and DVDsection. You'll find all the well-known names as well as some less well-known ones. If they haven't got exactly what you want in stock they promise to get it for you in ten days Q14. Unlike the other store, where it can take up to fourteen days. They cover all the major sports, includingfootball, tennis and swimming, but they particularly focus on running Q15. and they claim to have the widest range of equipment in the country. Aswell as that, a whole section of the third floor is devoted to sports bags Q16, including the latest designs from the States - if you can't find what youwant here, it doesn't exist!

The shop will be open from 9.00 am this Saturday and if you go along to the opening then you'll have the chance to meet the national 400 metres running champion Paul King, who's coming along to open the shop, and he will be staying around until about midday Q17 to chat to any fans who want to meet him and sign autographs.Then there will be a whole range of special attractions all weekend. There will be free tickets for local sporting events for the first 50 customers, and also a special competition open to all. Just answer fifteen out of twenty sports questions correctly to win a signed copy of Paul King's DVD 'Spring Tips', while the first person to get all the questions correct gets a year's  free membership of the Bradcaster Gym Q18. All entrants will receive a special Sports calendar with details of all Bradcaster fixtures in the coming year.

One of the special opening offers is a fitness test - a complete review of your cardiac fitness and muscle tone, actually done in the shop by qualified staff. This would normally cost £30.00 but is available at half price for this month only. There are only a limited number of places available for this, so to make a booking Q19 & 20 phone 560341. In addition, if you open an account you get lots more special offers including the chance to try out equipment at special open evenings ...

Section 3:

Section 4:

Good afternoon everyone. Well, with some of you about to go out on field work it's timely that in this afternoon's session I'll be sharing some ideas about the reasons why groups of whales and dolphins sometimes swim ashore from the sea right onto the beach and, most often, die in what are known as 'mass standings'.

Unfortunately, this type of event is a frequent occurrence in some of the locations that you'll be travelling to, where sometimes the tide goes out suddenly Q31, confusing the animals.However, there are many other theories about the causes of mass strandings.

The first is that the behaviour is linked to parasites. It's often found that stranded animals were infested with large numbers of parasites. For instance, a type of worm is commonly found in the ears of dead whales. Since marine animals rely heavily on their hearing to navigate, this type of infestation has the potential to be very harmful Q32.

Another theory is related to toxins, or poisons. These have also been found to contribute to the death of many marine animals. Many toxins, as I'm sure vou're aware, originate from plants, or animals Q33. The whale ingests these toxins in its normal feeding behaviour but whether these poisons directly or indirectly lead to stranding and death, seems to depend upon the toxin involved.

In 1988, for example, fourteen humpback whales examined after stranding along the beaches of Cape Cod were found to have been poisoned after eating tuna that contained saxitoxin, the same toxin that can be fatal in humans.

Alternatively, it has also been suggested that some animals strand accidentally by following their prey ashore in the confusion of the chase. In 1995 David Thurston monitored pilot whales that beached after following squid ashore. However, this idea does not seem to hold true for the majority of mass strandings because examination of the animals' stomach contents reveal that most had not been feeding as thev stranded Q34. There are also some new theories which link strandings to humans. A growing concern is that loud noises in the ocean cause strandings. Noises such as those caused bv military exercises are of particular concern and have been pinpointed as the cause of some strandings of late Q35.

One of these, a mass stranding of whales in 2000 in the Bahamas coincided closely with experiments using a new submarine detection system. There were several factors that made this stranding stand out as different from previous strandings. This led researchers to look for a new cause. For one, all the stranded animals were healthy Q36. In addition, the animals were spread out along 38 kilometres of coast Q37, whereas it's more common for the  animals to be found in a group when mass strandings occur.

A final theory is related to group behaviour, and suggests that sea mammals cannot distinguish between sick and healthy leaders and will follow sick leaders, even to an inevitable death. This is a particularly interesting theory since the whales that are thought  to be most social - the toothed whales - are the group that strand the most frequently Q38.

The theory is also supported by evidence from a dolphin stranding in 1994. Examination of the dead animals revealed that apart from the leader, all the others had been healthy Q39 at the time of their death.

Without one consistent theory however it is very hard for us to do anything about this phenomenon except to assist animals where and when we can. Stranding networks have been established around the world to aid in rescuing animals and collecting samples from those that could not be heloed. I recommend John Connor's Marine Mammals Ashore as an excellent starting point if vou're interested in finding out more about these networks Q40, or establishing one yourself.