This is the new Cambridge First Certificate in English Listening test, 2016.
Practicing on these Cambridge FCE Listening tests helps raise your score in the Cambridge English First exams. These tests are also very good to exercise English listening skills.
Correct answers & audio transcript are posted below.
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TRANSCRIPTS
Interviewer: I have with me in the studio the environmentalist Ewan Richardson, who believes we all use far too much paper in our everyday lives. So tell me, Ewan, how much of it per year do we in the UK actually get through?
Ewan: The figures are truly amazing. Last year the world total came to around 335 million tonnes, with those here accounting for 12.5 million tonnes of that. And whereas somebody in one of the poorer parts of the world might use about 20 kilos of paper annually, (9) in this country the equivalent figure is approximately 250 kilos per person. In other words, we use around 20 tonnes over our lifetime, and nearly all of that is simply thrown away. Apart, perhaps, from the books we keep.
Interviewer: And why is it so important that we use less? Surely most paper these days comes from new trees?
Ewan: That’s what many people think, that they just replace the trees that are cut down with young, fast-growing ones in brand-new forests, probably in Scandinavia. But (10) in fact those that produce nearly all the paper we use are really old, in countries such as Canada and Russia where they may take centuries to grow. And the process of turning the trees into paper can be extremely harmful to the environment, too.
Interviewer: In what way?
Ewan: It involves the use of very powerful chemicals and these often end up in rivers and lakes, so (11) the resulting pollution has an awful effect on the wildlife there. And of course most of the paper eventually ends up as rubbish buried in the ground, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. As does the deforestation. It’s now a major cause of global warming.
Interviewer: It’s that bad?
Ewan: Definitely. Although energy production and use is the biggest single cause, (12) the massive loss of forests is in second place. well ahead, for instance, of air travel, which we hear a lot more about in the media. And what for? Junk mail that advertisers keep sending us, even though they know that 99% of it will be thrown away, magazines we don’t read, and so on.
Interviewer: So what can people do about it? Recycle more paper?
Ewan: Yes. (13) Special bins for this, rather like bottle banks, can certainly help. Nowadays you often see them in schools, and quite a lot of shops and offices are planning to install bins to recycle all the waste paper they create, instead of just throwing it all out. But of course the most important thing is not to use so much in the first place. For instance, when we’re on the computer, we often get into the habit of (14) printing pages, whether or not we actually need them for our work or studies. Clicking on ‘save as’ is much quicker, and better for the environment.
Interviewer: In the same way that emailing friends is better than posting letters to them.
Ewan: Sure. By the way, whenever someone sends you documents in (15) one of those big envelopes, it makes sense to use it again when you next need to mail something large. Just put a sticker over your address and re-address it. But don’t forget the stamps!
Interviewer: And what can you do about junk mail?
Ewan: Well, it’s easy to have your name taken off the direct mail list so you’re not automatically sent advertising material. Also,
(16) whenever you pay for a product or service, you should never tick the box that says ‘more information’. Doing so usually means you’ll soon be getting unwanted stuff through the post. Of course, there are bound to be other things coming through your letter box that you don’t really need.
Interviewer: Such as?
Ewan: Catalogues. And magazines. There are probably some of those we hardly look at, so why not cancel the subscription? If you don’t want to do that, why not (17) find out who else takes the same one, and share it with them?
Interviewer: I’m sure that individuals doing things like that can make a difference in the end, but what about big organisations? What are they doing?
Ewan: It’s encouraging that publishing firms are using more and more recycled paper in their products. Magazines have been rather slow in that respect, and for books it depends on the publisher, but (18) the figure for UK newspapers is now 70%. which is very pleasing for all of us concerned about this problem.
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CORRECT ANSWERS
9. 250 kilos/k/kg
10. old/ancient
11. pollution
12. air travel
13. schools
14. printing
15. envelopes
16. more information
17. share
18. newspapers
