LTE
London Tests of English
Session Three: 2006
Tape Script
Level 3
L29058
LTE
London Tests of English
Session Three: 2006
Tape Script
Level 3
L29058
RUBRIC:
Hello everyone! Today’s test is the London Tests of English Level Three.
The theme of this test is Exploration and Achievement. This test lasts two
hours. There are five tasks. Tasks One and Two are listening. You must
listen to the tape and write your answers in the booklet. Good luck!
Task One:
The Life of Leiv Eiriksson
You are studying English at a language school in Brighton, UK. A local
university is hosting a conference called ‘Exploration and Achievement’
and, as your class project is on exploration, your teacher suggests that you
attend the conference. The first presentation is on Leiv Eiriksson, a
European explorer.
Listen to the presentation and answer the questions below. Write no more
than four words, as in the example. You will hear the presentation twice.
Do as much as you can the first time and finish your work the second time.
You have one minute to read the questions.
[ONE MINUTE PAUSE]
Listen carefully. The presentation starts now.
[TONE/BEEP]
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]
Good afternoon. I’m Maggie Hall, researcher in Scandinavian history at
Glasgow University, and my paper is on the Norwegian explorer Leiv Eiriksson.
It will come as a surprise to many of you here today to learn that Christopher
Columbus was not the first European to set foot in the Americas. That
achievement belongs to Leiv Eiriksson, who first reached America in 1001 AD,
almost 500 years before Columbus’ famous arrival in 1492.
Eiriksson was born in Iceland in around 960 AD. He has Norwegian nationality
because his father was born in Norway. As was traditional in Viking
communities, Eiriksson did not grow up with his family. Instead, when he was
eight he moved in with a German man named Thryker. Thryker taught Eiriksson
everything he needed to know, including reading, writing, Russian, and skills
2
he needed to be a successful merchant, or trader.
The Vikings were famous for their sailing skills, and when the young Eiriksson
was not studying, he and his friends spent hours at the harbour watching the
ships coming in and listening to the stories of sailors who had returned from
distant lands.
On his twelfth birthday, Eiriksson was sent back to his father’s house. The
following year, Eiriksson accompanied his father on a sea voyage west of
Iceland: after sailing for almost a week they found land, which they named
Greenland. It was on this journey that Eiriksson gained his extraordinary sailing
skills and became interested in exploration and discovery.
One day, at the harbour, he recognised the very old and battered ship of a
sailor, Bjarni Hergelfson, who had been gone for over a year. Bjarni told
Eiriksson the story of how bad weather had made it impossible for them to
navigate. They had to sail for several weeks, until they finally spotted land.
This land was different from anywhere Bjarni had been before: unlike the snow
and glaciers of Iceland and Greenland, the new coastline was mountainous and
green with trees.
Aged 24, Eiriksson finally became captain of his own ship. He made several
journeys around Iceland, Norway and Greenland, but - because of Bjarni’s
stories – had always wanted to travel further afield. However, it was not until
he was 40 that he made a longer journey. In 1001 he bought Bjarni’s ship from
him and set sail, with his old friend Thryker and 14 other crew. He sailed west
for 600 miles and landed on a rocky land, which we now know was the eastern
3
coast of Canada.
He continued to sail south for a few more days, then came to a much warmer
land in the northern part of what is now the United States, with rich
vegetation and forests. Eiriksson and his crew built houses and unloaded the
cattle that they had brought with them. The Vikings spent the winter there,
and called their new home Vinland, after Thryker discovered grapes growing
there. In spring, the Vikings returned to Iceland, after loading their ship with
grapes and timber from the American forests. Surprisingly, they never
returned, which is why the story of Leif Eiriksson and the Vikings’ “discovery”
of America remains a well-kept secret.
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]
RUBRIC:
You will now hear the presentation again.
[TONE/BEEP]
[REPEAT RECORDED TEXT]
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]
RUBRIC:
That is the end of Task One. Now go on to Task Two.
Task Two:
Is There Life on Mars?
RUBRIC:
The next event that you attend at the conference is an interview about
whether life can exist on planets other than Earth. Dani Sayers is
interviewing Professor Satyajit Kumar about the possibility of life on Mars.
Listen to the interview and read the statements below. Complete the table
by putting a cross in the appropriate box, as in the example. You will hear
the interview twice. Do as much as you can the first time and finish your
work the second time. You have one minute to read the statements.
[ONE MINUTE PAUSE]
Listen carefully. The interview starts now.
[TONE/BEEP]
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]
4
Dani:
Good morning. Scientists and members of the public have been discussing the
possibility of life on Mars for many years. Now, it seems as if this possibility
may be a reality. Here this morning is Professor Satyajit Kumar from the British
Space Institute. Professor Kumar, could you update us on recent developments?
Prof K:
With pleasure. But I need to start at the beginning. As you probably know, the
main purpose of NASA’s famous 1976 mission to Mars was to search for possible
life forms.
Dani:
Did they find anything?
Prof K:
In a way. A scientist called Gilbert Lewis carried out an experiment to see if
there were any living organisms in the soil on Mars. In 1997 he concluded that
this was the case, but the wider scientific community believes there is not
enough evidence to really support his findings.
Dani:
Has there been any other research since then?
Prof K:
Yes. The United States currently has two large robots on Mars as well as
several smaller ones which are sending scientific data back to a space station
in California.
Dani:
What are they looking for?
Prof K:
Mud, mainly, but also water. The scientists in California who are analysing the
data believe that if they can find water on Mars, then they will also find life.
The robots take photos, and are sending thousands of images back to California
each day. Scientists use the robots’ pictures to improve their knowledge about
surface temperatures on Mars.
Dani:
So, have they seen any definite signs of water?
Prof K:
Absolutely. The soil that is disturbed by the robots quickly fills up with water.
Also, some of the photographs suggest that there might be some small ponds
and pools of water; and small rocks, known by scientists as ‘blueberries’, often
5
disappear in the time between two photos. This could mean that they are
disappearing beneath mud.
Dani:
Really?
Prof K:
Well, as the robots travel across the surface of Mars, they leave tyre tracks.
We all know that Mars is very cold, and pictures taken by the robots on their
journey show the tyre imprints filling up with a white substance that looks as if
it could be ice.
Dani:
This is fascinating. What are your predictions for the future?
Prof K:
I believe that there are organisms on Mars at the moment: I predict that
scientists will develop new robots over the next ten years that can gather
rocks, mud and water from Mars and bring them back to earth for detailed
laboratory study.
Dani:
How exciting. But, do you think the potential for life on Mars could be
dangerous in any way?
Prof K:
Probably not. We can’t be sure.
Dani:
So what can be done?
Prof K:
Well, scientists have suggested that a laboratory be built on the moon. Then
they’ll be able to analyse these samples without any risk to life on Earth.
Dani:
Professor Kumar, thank you very much.
Prof K:
Thank you.
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]
RUBRIC:
You will now hear the interview again.
[TONE/BEEP]
[REPEAT RECORDED TEXT]
[FIVE SECOND PAUSE]
RUBRIC:
That is the end of the listening tasks. The other tasks test your reading and
writing of English. Now go on to Task Three.
6
7