C1 Listening Practice Test 1

Isla: Our next guest keeps four hives on the roof of a department store in the city centre, which strikes me as either wonderfully eccentric or slightly reckless. Henry, which is it? Henry: Neither, I hope, although I'll admit people do raise an eyebrow. The truth is that bees cope with city life rather better than you'd imagine. Parks, balconies, lime trees along the avenues; there's a surprising amount for them to forage on. Isla: And I take it the honey is something rather special? Henry: Well, that's where I'd urge a bit of caution. You'll often hear it said that urban honey is purer than the countryside variety. Frankly, I've yet to see convincing evidence for that. What I can say is that it tastes different from one street to the next, because it depends on whatever happens to be in bloom. Isla: So the real appeal isn't the product at all? Henry: Not primarily, no. What I'm most pleased about is the awareness it's created. Not only have the children who visit stopped being afraid of bees, but the store has started planting its own window boxes, which was never part of the plan. Isla: Is there a downside? Henry: There is one, and it rarely gets mentioned. If too many people put hives on rooftops, the bees end up competing for the same flowers, and the wild pollinators lose out. I'd far rather see fewer hives and more flowering plants than the other way round. Isla: That's a surprisingly modest message from a beekeeper. Henry: Perhaps, but I'd rather be honest than fashionable.

Dr. Adams: Let's get straight into the figures. Carla, you've had a look at customer service. Carla: I have, and it's a mixed picture. Complaints are down by roughly a fifth compared with last quarter, which is encouraging. The catch is that returns have gone up, and almost half of them are down to sizing. David: That doesn't entirely surprise me. We changed the size charts in the summer, and I did wonder at the time whether we'd rushed it. Dr. Adams: Is that a fair reading, Carla? Carla: Partly. I wouldn't lay the blame entirely on the charts. Some customers simply order two sizes and send one back, which skews the numbers. But I take the point that the new charts haven't helped. David: So what are we proposing? Because I'd be uneasy about reversing everything on the strength of a single quarter's data. Dr. Adams: Nor would I. What I'd suggest is a pilot. We put a fit guide, with real customer photos, on ten of the busiest product pages, and compare return rates over six weeks. No need to touch the charts until we know more. Carla: That's sensible. I can have the product pages updated by Friday. David: And the proposal to close the Izmir warehouse? Dr. Adams: Let's park that. Between the returns and the holiday season, the timing's wrong. We'll revisit it in January.

Dr. Adams: Anna, thanks for dropping in. Your email said you wanted to rethink the direction of the project, which, in my experience, usually means something has gone rather awry. Anna: Ha, not quite awry. It's more that the more I read about automatic marking tools in schools, the less convinced I am that I can say anything new about them. Everything seems to have been covered already. Dr. Adams: I'd be inclined to dispute that. Much of what's been published focuses on accuracy. Hardly anyone asks how pupils actually respond to the feedback. Anna: That's what bothers me, though. I'd need to interview pupils, and the ethics approval alone could take weeks. Dr. Adams: It might, and I won't pretend otherwise. But what I'd gently point out is that switching to a completely different topic now would cost you far more time. You'd be starting your reading from scratch. Anna: Fair enough. Could I narrow it, though? Perhaps focus on teachers rather than pupils? Dr. Adams: Now that is a sensible compromise. Teachers' perspectives are still under-researched, and the approval process would be considerably lighter. Let's say you keep the topic, shift the focus to teachers, and send me a revised outline by Friday. Anna: Friday it is. Thanks. I was half expecting you to tell me to pull myself together. Dr. Adams: Heavens, no. Doubt at this stage is perfectly normal and, frankly, often a good sign.