IELTS Listening Mock Test 9

A: Welcome to The Clay Studio membership helpline. Aisha speaking. How can I help you today? B: Hi Aisha, I'm Lukas Geiger, and I'd like to sign up for a studio membership. That's L-U-K-A-S and Geiger is spelled G-E-I-G-E-R. A: Thanks, Lukas. I can register you now. What's a good contact number for you? B: My mobile is 07700 900 541. Oh, sorry, that's my old number. It's actually 07700 900 514. A: Okay, got it: 07700 900 514. Now, we have three tiers: Taster, Hobbyist, and Studio. Which level would you like? B: I was thinking of Hobbyist, which includes guided sessions, but since I have experience, I'll go for the Studio level. It has unlimited independent access. A: Great choice! Usually, memberships start on Thursdays, but because of our Friday orientation, your access will begin on Friday. B: That's fine. Can I pay the joining fee by credit card now? A: Our card machine is down today, so please pay in cash when you arrive. For the Friday orientation, the 6 PM slot is full, so you'll need to join the 10:00 AM session. B: 10:00 AM is fine. What should I bring with me? A: You must wear closed-toe shoes like trainers—no sandals. And please bring an ID, like a driving license. B: Will do. Is there any parking nearby? A: There is limited one-hour street parking, but it's best to use the multi-storey park behind the supermarket, which is only a five-minute walk. B: Good to know. What does the membership fee cover? A: It covers basic clay. Firing is free for up to ten pieces a month, then it's two pounds per item. Members also get 20% off weekend workshops and can sell pieces in our winter exhibition. B: Excellent! I'm looking forward to it. See you Friday! [Q1] Surname: ________

(Shared with Q1.) [Q2] Contact number: ________

(Shared with Q1.) [Q3] Membership level: ________

(Shared with Q1.) [Q4] Start day: ________

(Shared with Q1.) [Q5] Payment method: ________

(Shared with Q1.) [Q6] What time is the orientation session Lukas will attend?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q7] What must Lukas bring to his first session?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q8] Where is the recommended place for Lukas to park?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q9] What is included for free in the Studio membership?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q10] Which TWO benefits are available to members of The Clay Studio?

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Oakwood Makerspace induction. I'm Ingrid, and I'll be showing you around today so you can start making the most of your membership. As you stand here in the doorway, looking straight ahead, you'll see a large alcove on your left, which is our Hand Tool Wall, where you can find saws, hammers, and screwdrivers. If you look straight across the room, past the wooden workbenches in the middle, there's a long workbench running along the back wall that houses our Materials Recycling Bin—not 3D printers as some believe—where you drop off spare wood and plastic for others to reuse. Over in the far-right corner, there is a small enclosed room with glass walls that we've converted into the Digital Design Suite, which houses our high-end computers. Looking towards the back of the space on the right side, there's a kitchen area, and just beyond that, next to the rear exit door, is a narrow closet which serves as our Safety Gear Cupboard. If you turn around and look at the corner to your immediate right as you first walk through the entrance doors—no, sorry, not the small table where the visitor sign-in book is—but the actual room built into that front right corner, that is the Member Locker Room. Moving on, before you can check out any of our power drills, you must complete the short online safety quiz on our portal, so there's no need to pay any deposit or show a physical card. Our Saturday woodcraft workshops have become incredibly popular because we feature guest instructors from local design firms, though keep in mind that one-on-one coaching isn't possible due to group sizes. Regarding tidying up, please remember that you must sweep your own work area before you head out, as we don't employ cleaning staff to do this. If there's a tool you need that we don't have, you should log into your account and submit a tool request form on our official website instead of writing it on our physical noticeboard. Finally, you are welcome to bring your own materials, such as untreated timber or standard sewing patterns, but personal hand drills and chemical paints are strictly prohibited. [Q11] Position 1 — The large alcove immediately to the left of the main entrance

(Shared with Q11.) [Q12] Position 2 — The long workbench directly opposite the main entrance, running along the back wall

(Shared with Q11.) [Q13] Position 3 — The small enclosed room in the far-right corner, past the central worktables

(Shared with Q11.) [Q14] Position 4 — The narrow closet situated between the kitchen area and the back exit door

(Shared with Q11.) [Q15] Position 5 — The corner area to your immediate right as you walk through the entrance doors

(Shared with Q11.) [Q16] What must members do before they can borrow any power tools?

(Shared with Q11.) [Q17] Why are the weekend workshops popular?

(Shared with Q11.) [Q18] What is the rule regarding cleaning the workspace?

(Shared with Q11.) [Q19] How can members request a tool that is not currently in the library?

(Shared with Q11.) [Q20] Which TWO items are members allowed to bring and use in the makerspace?

Ingrid: Hi Aisha, Tomas. Come on in. I've had a look at your preliminary fieldwork proposal for the urban garden study, and you've made a great start. But we need to lock down some details before you head out. How are you getting on with dividing up the tasks? Aisha: Hi Dr. Ingrid. Yes, we've been working on that. We want to make sure it's a fair split, but also play to our strengths. For example, regarding the design of the initial soil-sampling grid... Tomas, you were going to handle that, right? Tomas: Well, I did offer, but when I actually opened the mapping software, I realized it's pretty complicated. Aisha, you did a lot of GIS mapping in your introductory module last term, didn't you? Aisha: I did, yes. Honestly, it's probably quicker if I just take full charge of creating the sampling grid myself, rather than trying to explain it. You can focus on other parts of the setup, Tomas. Tomas: That would be a lifesaver, thanks! I'll make sure to help out more with the physical work. Ingrid: That seems sensible. Now, speaking of physical work, what about transporting the actual soil samples back here to the campus? Thirty bags of wet soil can be quite heavy. Tomas: Right. We did think about dividing that up and carrying them on the bus together. But then Aisha reminded me she's still recovering from that wrist injury. Since I have a car on campus anyway, it makes the most sense if I take sole responsibility for moving the samples. I can load them straight into my boot. Aisha: That's incredibly kind of you, Tomas. It definitely saves me a lot of pain! Ingrid: Excellent, that's sorted. Now, once the samples are in the department, you'll need to run them through the chemical analysis machinery to measure the nitrogen levels. How are you planning to manage that? Aisha: Well, we both wanted to get some hands-on experience operating the spectrophotometer. But when we emailed the department manager, she said that undergraduates aren't permitted to operate that specific machinery due to health and safety regulations. So, the lab technicians will have to run the tests for us, though we still have to prepare the chemical solutions ourselves beforehand. Ingrid: Yes, that's standard practice. Safety first, but you'll still get a feel for the lab environment. Tomas: Definitely. Now, for the stats write-up, we initially planned to write separate sections for our papers. Ingrid: Actually, I've updated the guidelines because of the huge dataset. You must write the statistical analysis collaboratively, though your conclusions remain individual. Aisha: Understood, collaborative stats it is. And since we don't have time for ethical clearance to interview garden users directly, could we use your transcripts from last year? Ingrid: Yes, I'll provide those interview records for you, so you won't need to do any primary interviews. That should keep you on track. Tomas: Thanks! By the way, Aisha, did you look over the historical reports for the Eastside garden? I was shocked by the toxic metal levels, even though the crops are standard. Aisha: I did! I expected acidity to vary wildly, but it was remarkably uniform. But yes, those heavy metals were terrifying. What about the Westside garden? I know it's a long drive... Tomas: Actually, the distance isn't the problem. The council confirmed a major housing redevelopment starts there next month, so it's being cleared. I thought they just had weekend hour limits, but we must exclude it completely. Ingrid: Wise choice. Now, about your sampling timeline: you planned to collect everything in late November, but that's when they lay winter mulch, spiking nutrient levels. You should collect samples earlier in the month to get a true baseline. And for your presentation, please use visual slides instead of dense text, and skip interactive polls to save time. Tomas: We'll adjust the dates and stick to visual slides. Finally, for lab fees, we missed the green-initiative grant deadline, but we're applying for the Alumni Association fund and the national geography society stipend. The council award is only for community groups. Ingrid: Those funding choices are perfect. Send me your drafts and I'll review them. Good luck! [Q21] Designing the initial soil-sampling grid.

(Shared with Q21.) [Q22] Transporting the physical samples to campus.

(Shared with Q21.) [Q23] Operating the chemical analysis machinery.

(Shared with Q21.) [Q24] Writing up the statistical data analysis.

(Shared with Q21.) [Q25] Providing the qualitative interview records.

(Shared with Q21.) [Q26] What did Aisha find surprising about the Eastside garden?

(Shared with Q21.) [Q27] Why do the students decide to exclude the Westside garden from their research?

(Shared with Q21.) [Q28] What concern does Ingrid raise about their proposed sampling plan?

(Shared with Q21.) [Q29] What advice does Ingrid give them for their presentation slides?

(Shared with Q21.) [Q30] Which TWO sources of funding do the students plan to apply for?

Good afternoon, everyone; today, we're examining a fascinating study in workplace psychology led by my colleague, Priscilla, alongside Tomas, which investigated how wearable haptic devices can assist office workers in managing daily stress. Now, the research team originally planned to recruit 500 participants, but due to budget constraints, they signed up 450, and ultimately analyzed data from exactly 380... wait, actually, my notes say 350 individuals completed the full six-week trial. To begin, while the team anticipated that workers would express anxiety about digital distractions in their pre-study survey, the majority actually highlighted physical discomfort, such as neck pain, as their primary workplace concern. The device tested was a wristband that emitted subtle vibrations, and when a user's stress markers rose, it didn't buzz loudly or flash a light; instead, it subtly lowered its vibration rate, which naturally prompted users to slow down their breathing. Interestingly, the control group, who wore inactive dummy bands, also showed a tiny drop in stress markers—a classic placebo effect—but this was negligible compared to the active group. Looking at the long-term results, the primary benefit wasn't an immediate spike in focus, as some tech blogs claimed, but rather a sustained reduction in cortisol levels during afternoon slumps. Priscilla suggests that future iterations of these wearables must evolve, arguing they should integrate environmental sensors—to measure office noise, for instance—rather than relying solely on the wearer's biometric data. Now, running this study wasn't without its hurdles, and the researchers faced two main challenges: first, calibrating the specific vibration intensity for each participant proved incredibly time-consuming, and second, they struggled with participants failing to recharge the devices overnight. Let's look at how participants interacted with the different operational modes of the device. First, we have 'Continuous mode', which provides a steady, gentle hum; this was highly praised because it was best for creative tasks that require uninterrupted concentration. Next, 'Interval mode' delivers pulses at set periods, but participants found this caused minor distraction during physical movement. Then there's 'Reactive mode', which triggers only when stress spikes, and this was overwhelmingly preferred by workers with unpredictable schedules. Finally, 'Manual mode' allows users to trigger a pulse themselves, which the researchers strongly recommended for absolute beginners to haptic tech. [Q31] How many participants actually completed the full six-week trial?

(Shared with Q31.) [Q32] According to the pre-study survey, what was the primary concern of the office workers?

(Shared with Q31.) [Q33] How did the haptic wristband react when a user experienced high stress?

(Shared with Q31.) [Q34] What was the main long-term benefit of using the active wristband?

(Shared with Q31.) [Q35] What does Priscilla recommend for the future development of haptic devices?

(Shared with Q31.) [Q36] Which TWO challenges did the researchers face during the study?

(Shared with Q31.) [Q37] This mode is most suitable for creative tasks requiring deep concentration.

(Shared with Q31.) [Q38] This mode caused minor issues when participants were physically moving.

(Shared with Q31.) [Q39] This mode was highly favored by employees with unpredictable work patterns.

(Shared with Q31.) [Q40] This mode is highly recommended for individuals using haptic tech for the first time.