Section 1. You will hear a brother and sister talking on the phone about arrangements for their father's 80th birthday party.

Hello? — Hello Rob, Margaret here. I'm just calling about the arrangements for Dad's 80th birthday party. — Right. Have you made any progress with the venue? — Yes, there are three possible hotels: the Royal, the Star and the Winchester. — If we can make a decision now, you can probably book straight away on the internet, can't you? — Well, only the Star. I'd have to make a telephone booking at the others. (Example: online booking → B)

They're all in really nice locations. 1The Star looks right out over the bay. It's on a cliff top (sea view → B — Star). Then the Winchester is in lovely countryside — in the valley.

What about Mum's wheelchair? — Well, I know that 2the Winchester would be fine, and the Star... and the Royal... it's had ramps installed recently, so there wouldn't be any problem there either (disabled access → D — all three).

And what about the kids? Have they got play areas? — 3The Royal hasn't got anything, but the Winchester has one, on the ground floor. The Star's got one too, but it isn't undercover (indoor play area → C — Winchester).

Then there's the birthday meal. 4The Royal's the only one where there'd be a choice. The other two have a set menu (choice of food → A — Royal).

I think we need to have our own room. — 5The only one that can provide that is the Royal. The Winchester and the Star only have one dining room (private dining room → A — Royal).

The other thing to consider is the price. Perhaps the Star's slightly cheaper, but 6the Winchester is offering quite a good reduction because there's so many of us. The Star and the Royal would just charge their standard rates (group discount → C — Winchester). — So which one? — The Winchester. — Okay, that's fine by me.

You've done nearly all the work, so what can I do to help? — Well, could you manage the finances? Do they want the whole amount in advance? — Just a 7deposit. If you could send that straight away to secure the booking. — Fine. And I'll go and buy some invitations. — Oh, don't do that. 8I can produce them (make the invitations). I've got a program on my computer.

Then once we've had the replies, I'll call everyone who's coming to find out if they want 9transport. — Great. I can help out with that. Pick people up from the station. — And could you stress that Dad doesn't want 10presents? He keeps reminding me. — Okay. I'll try to discourage them.

Section 2. You will hear the director of a club giving a talk about an ancient game played on ice called curling.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Montreal Curling Club. So first let's take a look at the game of curling. There are four people in each team. 11The first is called the lead. The next is called the second, the next the third, and the final player functions as the captain but is always called the skip.

The area of play on the ice, whether on a rink or a frozen lake, 12is called the sheet. This long thin area is 42.15 metres by only 4.25 metres. At either end of this are the two zones for the targets. 13This one is known as a house.

A little about the equipment. The stones are made from granite. The other distinctive implement is the brush or broom, used to clean the ice and to warm it. You can use your own brush. There are two main types, Scottish and Canadian. The 14former are normally made out of horse hair, and the latter are made of synthetic materials.

Apart from stones and brushes, the only other piece of equipment you would need as a beginner is a 15rubber sole on one of your shoes, depending on which shoe you lead from. The captain will often carry a 16stopwatch to gauge when the ice needs to be changed.

A quick word about Montreal Curling Club. It's renowned — not only because it often wins championships, but 17because it was the first club for any sport in the whole of the North American continent (B — oldest sports club).

It's now well established that curling started in Scotland at least as early as the 16th century. Queen Victoria's patronage attracted interest, and this was enhanced when she granted a royal title to 18the Caledonian Curling Club, which had been set up in the early 19th century to create standard rules for the game (C — fix regulations).

In the 16th century, the Scottish Parliament banned golf and football; local men should spend free time practising archery for self-defence. But 19curling wasn't included in the ban. The art of throwing stones was thought to be just as useful as shooting arrows (B — good training for battle).

Back to Canada. Because of the difficulty in importing granite stones from Scotland, 20cast iron was used instead, obtained from melted-down cannon balls (C — cast iron). Now Canada is regarded as the most successful curling nation in the world.

Section 3. You will hear two students called Josh and Emily discussing an assignment on applying scientific techniques to art.

Well, I'm a big fan of Jackson Pollock. — The modern American artist. Didn't he paint those really huge abstract paintings? — I guess it would be pretty easy to fake one of those. — No way, Emily. A lot of people think even a child could paint one. 21To the untrained eye they might look simple but they're incredibly intricate works of art (B — complex).

What did Biro find out? — Biro found evidence that a $5 painting was a genuine Pollock, but the art world didn't accept his findings. — Why? — One critic said the white and yellow lines were too straight. — That's not convincing. — You're right, it's weak. But 22the strongest argument was that there were no records of previous owners. You should be able to trace the painting back to the artist's studio (A — lacked documentation).

The International Foundation for Art Research got involved. They saw a similarity in the painting techniques, and noted the dirt and paint marks on the back which all Pollock's paintings have. But 23the foundation were worried about the acrylic paint that was used. It was quite common now, but very unusual back in Pollock's day (B — the type of paint used). So it was probably painted much later.

So whose side are we on? — You can see the art critic's point... — Art historians have always judged paintings, but if we have modern scientific techniques, why not use them? — 24Well, maybe we need a combination. — I think you're right (C — experts from science and art should work together).

Have you heard of a painting called The Battle of Anghiari? It's the lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci. An Italian art analyst called Seracini thinks he knows where it is. Art historians knew it was last seen in the Hall of the 500 in Florence. 25He scanned every inch of the hall with a laser in order to make a really accurate 3D model of the building (D — a laser scanner).

Then, to find out what the hall looked like in Leonardo's time, 26he took pictures of it with a thermographic camera. Different building materials produce different amounts of radiation (G — a thermographic camera) — so brick looks different from wood or glass.

Seracini worked out what the building looked like when first built. He found that 27two large glass windows on the east wall had been removed and filled in, leaving a space big enough for the painting (F — glass).

Why hasn't the painting been seen for 400 years? He needed to study that wall more closely. — Did he use the thermographic camera again? — No. This time 28he used another kind of technology, radar. It showed there were, in fact, two walls (E — a radar machine), an older one and a newer one built in front.

Does Seracini believe the painting is on the concealed wall? — Yes. 29On a stone wall concealed by the newer brick wall (C — stone).

What's the next stage? — He isn't allowed to remove any plaster or bricks, so 30he's now experimenting with a gamma ray camera to try and verify his theory (B — gamma-ray technology).

Section 4. You will hear a lecturer talking on the topic of sustainability.

The term sustainability is not new. It was first coined in 1987 in a report for the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. My specific focus: I want to analyse what seems to me to be the 31confusion that surrounds sustainability.

That UN document defines sustainable development as development that allows both the present and all future 32generations to meet their needs.

Here is the first myth. Sustainability is not simply about the environment. In fact, 33the original definition says nothing about [the environment] at all. The original focus was on finding ways to help poor nations catch up with richer nations, which primarily meant giving them similar 34rights to natural resources — water, food, and energy. The ultimate goal was improving 35living standards for all.

Another myth is that sustainability is a synonym for green. The lobby for sustainability acknowledge that the situation is desperate. 36The main problem they state correctly is time, with 6 billion people on the planet and a billion more expected in the next 30 years.

Electric cars, wind turbines and solar cells are key examples. 37Nuclear power, too, is something the sustainability lobby has come to accept, unlike most greens.

And here's the third myth — the role of technology. Take electric cars. New technology is being developed to make better batteries, but a better way of thinking is perhaps to have 38battery stations for drivers to use on roads. When the battery is low, they swap it for a fully charged one — new business thinking, not new technology.

There are similarities in agriculture. Some crops are very thirsty. So many farmers who believe in sustainability are now 39planting crops like sunflowers and wheat, instead of corn, which are happy with much less water.

In terms of water consumption, one of the biggest problems is that our 40diet is changing. As people become richer, they aspire to a diet with more meat.