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

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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

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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]

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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

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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.

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