‫Will now begin Section three of Eilts listening practice test for.
‫Section three.
‫You will hear James, who is in the Scandinavian studies department at his university, talking to his
‫tutor named Beth.
‫First, you have some time to look at questions, 21 to twenty five.
‫Now listen carefully and answer questions.
‫Twenty one to twenty five.
‫Oh, good morning.
‫You must be James.
‫I'm Beth Cartwright.
‫Please call me Beth.
‫Thank you.
‫Now, as this is your first tutorial since you started on the Scandinavian studies course, I'd like
‫to find out something about you.
‫Why did you decide to take this course?
‫Well, my mother is Danish, and although we always lived in England, she used to talk about her home
‫a lot.
‫And that made me want to visit Denmark.
‫We hardly ever did, though.
‫My mother usually went on her own.
‫But whenever her relations or friends were in England, they always came to see us.
‫I see.
‫So I assume you already speak Danish?
‫One of the languages you'll be studying.
‫I can get by when I talk to people, though.
‫I'm not terribly accurate.
‫Now, you probably know that you'll spend the third year of the course abroad.
‫Have you had any thoughts about that?
‫I'm really looking forward to it.
‫And although Denmark seems the obvious place to go because of my family connections, I'd love to spend
‫the time in Iceland.
‫Oh, I'm sure it can be arranged.
‫Do you have any plans for when you graduate?
‫A lot of students go on to take a masters degree.
‫I think the four years of the undergraduate course will be enough for me.
‫I'm interested in journalism and I quite like the idea of moving to Scandinavia and writing for magazines.
‫I'd find that more creative than translating, which I suppose most graduates do.
‫Okay.
‫Now, how are you finding the courses you're taking this term, James?
‫Well, I'm really enjoying the one on Swedish cinema that'll continue next term.
‫But the one on Scandinavian literature that's running at the moment will be replaced by more specialized
‫courses.
‫Oh, and by the way, if you're interested in watching Danish television programs, there's going to
‫be a course on that.
‫The term and after next.
‫That sounds good.
‫Have you started thinking about the literature paper that you have to write in the next few weeks?
‫Yes, my first choice would be to do something on the Icelandic sagas.
‫The trouble with that is that a lot of people choose that topic and it can be difficult to get hold
‫of the books you'll need.
‫Why not leave that for another time?
‫Right.
‫You might find modern novels or 19th century playwrights interesting.
‫I've read or seen several plays in translation.
‫So that would be a good idea.
‫Fine.
‫I'll put you down for that topic.
‫Right.
‫So what would you advise me to a Myrt in the paper?
‫First, I suggest you avoid taking one writer and going into a great deal of detail.
‫That approach certainly has its place, but I think you first need to get an understanding of the literature
‫in the context of the society in which it was produced, who it was written for, how it was published
‫and so on.
‫I also think that's more fruitful than placing it within the history of the genre.
‫Okay, that sounds reasonable.
‫Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions, 26 to 30.
‫Now, listen very carefully and answer questions, 26 to 30.
‫Could I ask for some advice about writing the paper I'm working on about the Vikings?
‫I have to do that this week and some of its stock, of course.
‫Have you decided yet what to write about?
‫No, I haven't.
‫So much.
‫That seems interesting.
‫Viking settlement in other countries.
‫Trade mythology.
‫Well, what I suggest is that you read an assignment a student wrote last year, which is kept in the
‫library.
‫It's short and well focused and I'm sure you'll find it helpful.
‫I'll give you the details in a moment.
‫Textbooks usually cover so many topics.
‫It can be very difficult to choose just one.
‫Okay.
‫I've got a DVD of the film about the Vikings that came out earlier this year.
‫Should I watch that again?
‫If it's the one I am thinking of?
‫I'd ignore it.
‫It's more fantasy than reality.
‫But I've got a recording of a documentary that you should watch it make some interesting and provocative
‫points, which I think will help you to focus your topic.
‫Right.
‫So then should I work out an outline?
‫Yes.
‫Just headings for different sections at this stage.
‫And then you should start looking for suitable articles and books to draw on and take notes which you
‫organize according to those headings.
‫I see.
‫Then put short phrases and sentences as bullet points under each heading.
‫Make sure that this skeleton makes sense and flows properly before writing up the paper in full.
‫OK.
‫Thanks.
‫That's very helpful.
‫That is the end of Section three and you now have 30 seconds to check your answers.
‫We'll now move on to Section four and you will hear a lecture given about conflict at work given by
‫a business studies lecturer.
‫First, you have some time to look at questions.
‫31 to 40.
‫Now, listen carefully and answer questions, 30 want to 40.
‫Over the years, attitudes towards workers have changed considerably.
‫After all, there was a time when workers had no rights at all and labored in appalling conditions.
‫Conditions have improved a lot, but conflict in the workplace is still common, and human resources
‫managers nowadays need to be able to deal with it when necessary.
‫What is conflict in the workplace?
‫Definitions vary, but I'm taking it to refer to a whole range of behaviors that the victim finds unacceptable,
‫from minor harmless arguments to at the opposite extreme physical violence.
‫Much of this is covered by the term bullying, by which I mean one or more people behaving abusively
‫or aggressively against another who is in a weaker position.
‫Although all behavior like this is a form of conflict, not all conflict can be described in these terms.
‫As with all human behavior, there are numerous reasons for it.
‫But often it's caused by someone who feels the need to show their superiority over someone else in order
‫to feel that they aren't at the lowest level in a hierarchy or a group of people.
‫In some cases, one person simply dislikes the other on the basis that the personality of one is in
‫some way incompatible with that of the other person.
‫A general habit of optimism in one person could make them intolerant of a colleague who's constantly
‫pessimistic.
‫Not that that justifies treating them badly, of course.
‫Some conflicts arise when people are more interested in promoting themselves and their team than in
‫the company as a whole.
‫These conflicts are called structural and could come about, for example, when a sales team believe
‫they are the only people in the business who do any useful work and look down on behind the scenes administrators.
‫Conflict obviously affects the individuals concerned.
‫This situation is likely to be very stressful for victims, resulting in their absence from work, possibly
‫for months for the company.
‫If no effort is made to deal with conflict, it can spiral out of control and even lead to the breakdown
‫of the business.
‫Some interesting work with chief executives, CEOs, has uncovered some of the reasons why they may
‫treat colleagues badly.
‫Many CEOs combine two opposing characteristics confidence.
‫That is the belief that they're capable of great achievements with a high level of anxiety, a fear
‫of missing targets, whether set by themselves or by the directors of the company.
‫This combination can make them respond badly to anyone who questions their decisions.
‫In a high pressure work environment, such characteristics become problematic.
‫And it's particularly difficult to tackle the situation where colleagues, managers and board members
‫are all trying to achieve their own visions when they can't agree on strategic issues and on where they
‫see the business going.
‫There are real problems.
‫For managers at lower levels within the organization, it might seem that an autocratic form of management
‫where the chief executive gives orders and everyone else has to obey would see more conflict than others.
‫Interestingly, though, a company with a more democratic business model can suffer more when uncertainty
‫about who to report to leads to conflicting demands.
‫Now, I'll say a little about dealing with the type of conflict that has harmful effects.
‫Of course, the ideal is to prevent it arising in the first place.
‫A good manager at any level will make efforts to earn the respect of the people they work with, particularly
‫those who report to them.
‫That will involve politeness in all communications and treating them as equals who happen to have a
‫different role within the organization.
‫Sometimes, of course, conflict does occur and can get out of hand in such cases.
‫The human resources department often gets involved.
‫However, if one of the parties in a conflict sees human resources as simply a mouthpiece for the chief
‫executive, then an external mediator might be able to help by talking to both sides and trying to find
‫the truth of what's been happening.
‫They can build a clear picture of the situation and give feedback that both sides will accept.
‫Precisely because they're independent.
‫That is the end of Section four.
‫And you have 30 seconds to check your answers.
‫That brings us to the end of this Eilts listening practice test, and I hope you found it useful.
‫Here are the answers.
‫Check them through and see what Vänskä you got.