Hello, and
welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.
One of the skills in the listening test is listening for specific information. Here's
a story about a process - making spectacles - or glasses.
People like my frames because they're individually made for them, they're uniquely Australian,
there's an air of exclusivity about it, and they're fun to wear.
My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide. I'm one of three in Australia
that produces hand-made spectacle frames. My interest in frame-making started in 1978
when, as an apprentice optical mechanic, I felt I could make spectacle frames. So in
1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle frames.
The frame-making process, in brief, involves over 50 steps. I'll just go through a few
of them. The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine. It then has
a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front. It is then heated in an oven to its
memory set point, which is 110 degrees C, and then placed in a mould which then gives
it its curvature or meniscus on the frame.
There's a lot of information there, and sometimes it's hard to hear the specific thing you're
listening for. How can you prepare for this? First - listen for the key words in the question.
Look at this question:
Who is Roger Henley?
The key words are 'who' and 'Roger Henley'. So listen for the name Roger Henley in the
listening passage:
People like my frames because they're individually made for them, they're uniquely Australian,
there's an air of exclusivity about it, and they're fun to wear.
My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide. I'm one of three in Australia
that produces hand-made spectacle frames.
My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide. He describes who he is, by saying
what he does, immediately after he says his name.
My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide. I'm one of three in Australia
that produces hand-made spectacle frames.
Look at this question:
When did he begin manufacturing glasses?
The key words are 'when', 'begin' and 'manufacturing glasses' and because the question asks 'when'
- you need to listen for a date.
I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames. My interest in
frame-making started in 1978 when, as an apprentice optical mechanic, I felt I could make spectacle
frames. So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle
frames. There were two dates - 1978 and 1987. Which
one is correct? You need to listen for words that mean the same as the key words in the
question - 'begin', 'manufacturing', and 'glasses'.
I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames. My interest in
frame-making started in 1978 when, as an apprentice optical mechanic, I felt I could make spectacle
frames. So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle
frames.
We know 'spectacles' is another word for 'glasses'. 'Started' is another word for 'began', and
'making' is another word for 'manufacturing'.
So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle frames.
So the answer is 1987. Remember when you're looking at questions and key words - to look
especially for 'wh' words - who, where, when, which, why - and for information that will
answer those questions:
Who a person or persons
Where a place
When a time or date
Which a specific example
Why a reason
And also remember to listen for synonyms for your key words - words which mean the same
thing as the key word.
In the test, note how many words your answer can be - it might be two or three. You must
not use more than two or three words in your answer.
Here's another question: How many stages are there in the frame-making process? Use no
more than two words in your answer. Listen:
The frame-making process, in brief, involves over 50 steps. I'll just go through a few
of them. The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine. It then has
a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front. It is then heated in an oven to its
memory set point, which is 110 degrees C, and then placed in a mould which then gives
it its curvature or meniscus on the frame.
The question 'how many?' tells us the answer must be a number. And what word is a synonym
for 'stages?' Listen again.
The frame-making process, in brief, involves over 50 steps. I'll just go through a few
of them.
'Steps' is a synonym for 'stages', so you could write: 50 steps, or over 50 steps, or
over 50. Which is correct?
The only correct answer is 'over 50'. It answers the question - how many stages are there in
the frame-making process. '50 steps' is incorrect because there are more than fifty, and 'over
50 steps' is incorrect, because you were asked to use no more than two words.
Another type of question in the listening test involves labelling a diagram, or chart.
Listen to Roger Henley describing the first four stages of the frame-making process:
The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine.
It then has a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front. It is then heated in an oven
to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C, and then placed in a mould which then gives
it its curvature or meniscus on the frame.
Here are those four stages as a flow chart, with words missing.
You need to listen for 'what' words complete these four stages. What kind of word will
you listen for? Look at the first one:
In processes, simple present passive voice is often used, as it is here. So probably
the word needed is a participle.
The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine.
So the word missing is the participle formed of the verb 'to mill' - milled.
The second missing word is also a participle to complete a passive sentence.
The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine. It then has a heat-sink
joint inserted into the frame front.
The missing word is 'inserted'.
In the third example the gap is before the symbol for 'degrees centigrade' - so you should
be listening for a number.
The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine. It then has a heat-sink
joint inserted into the frame front. It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point,
which is 110 degrees C. So you should write 110 in the space.
And in the final example, notice that the gap follows the indefinite article 'a'. So
you know the word must be a noun.
It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C. And then
placed in a mould which then gives it its curvature or meniscus on the frame.
It is placed in a mould, which is a form to give shape to something.
That's all for now.
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Good luck with your studies.