A Conversation Between Two Medical Students Discussing Options for Courses - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

The IELTS Listening section comprises two conversations and two monologues. Candidates need to answer 40 IELTS listening questions. This topic - A conversation between two medical students discussing options for courses is IELTS Listening section Three. Candidates need to answer the following question types:

• Identifying information
• Complete the sentence

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Audio Transcript

Caitlin: Hi. Hideki. How are you?

Hideki: Fine, I’m glad I bumped into you. Have you got five minutes to sit down and discuss our extra cost options for next term?

Caitlin: Yes, sure. You mean the support courses for our modules ?

Hideki: Yes, We’ve got three choices and I’m not sure which would be best for us to do.

Caitlin: Let’s have a look. Yeah – we could do Science and Ethics – sounds quite interesting.

Hideki: Yes – but I think we should be thinking what we get out of each course. So Scicnce and Ethics – there’s a lot of reading and research to do. And I don’t think it comes up in the exams, docs it?

Caitlin: Um – I’m not sure. Er – oh. I see we have to do assignments and we get our score from that. But what it would do is to force us to get better at doing essays and reports, you know, organizing them and using the right kind of language. Might be worthwhile?

Hideki: Yeah, you’re right. An alternative is the Pharmacology Prelim course. I think it’s in case we want to go on to transfer to pharmacology at the end of the year becausce lots of students do. So it depends what we want to do in the future, but apparently they send you off to find out about various companies and the differences between their products – it would give you lots of practice in investigative studies and analysis. I think I’d quite enjoy that.

Caitlin: Yes. I see your point. Um. then the other option is Reporting Test Results – sounds a bit boring . Not sure why they have a separate course just for that?

Hideki: Well, i could certainly do with some help in that because if vou go out into industry , that’s what you’ll spend most of your time doing, so it’s got a very practical application. i think I’m going to go for Pharmacology.

Caitlin: Me too.

Hideki: So let’s have a look at it in more detail. Oh, goodness if we do Pharmacology then wc have to do a supplementary Maths coursc.

Caitlin: Oh no that’s not fair. Mind you, I think I need it. Docs that mean we have twice as many lectures?

Hideki: No. this Maths is only a short course. The Chemistry department are responsible and they do it in the third term. So we’ve got all next term to settle into the Pharmacology bit.

Caitlin: I find the tutor makes a real difference some of them make chemistry so easy and some of them I can’t understand at all – like that one wc had from oxford university Mind you, the one on this course should make sense because he’s a lecture who’s coming in for a lew weeks from industry so at least it’ll be linked to the real world!

Hideki: Yeah. The project we have to do on this pharmacology course is huge and it doesn’t give us much time. We have to make a decision about what we want to do on the projectas soon as we starl in january , and then hand in our plans before the end of the month!

Caitlin: Doesn’t give us much time to sort out what ‘s possible or not. I mean, doesn’t the scale of our project depend on what resources we can have, like what equipment we can use?

Hideki: I suppose so, though 1 think there’s plenty available. For example, it says that if wc need to do any experiments , then we can use all the equipment in the new lab, as long as we book it.

Caitlin: Oh. OK. It’s slowly beginning to take shape for me. I think it’ll be a good course. I’m just worried that I get enough support to do it.

Hideki: I think y ou’ll be OK. And the tutors are always available if you get stuck yeah .

Caitlin: Actually it says that if you’re not sure, then, in December, they’ll be running one or two additional seminars – so I might go to those.

Hideki: Actually, what’s quite interesting is that at the end of the course, when our project is completed , then wc have to do a presentation on it. I think that’s quite good practice.

Chitlin: Bit scary though!

Hideki: Well, it shouldn’t be too bad as they say that we can do it in pairs. spread the load, as it were!

Caitlin: Oh. good. I have done presentations before but I’m always very nervous . And is the presentation what we’re assessed ,on then?

Hideki: Let me look …. Ah. it says that we have an interview and we get a mark for the whole course depending on how well we do in that.

Caitlin: Right … (fade)

Questions 21-23.

Choose THREE answers from the box and write the correct letter A- E next to Questions 21-23
What is the advantage of each course?

Advantages of the Course

1. will be tested in the final exams
2. will be useful for a future job
3. will help with research skills
4. will improve writing skills
5. will support material already covered

Courses

21. Science and Ethics
22. Pharmacology Prelim
23. Reporting Test Results

Question 21.

Answer: D

Explanation: Caitilin said “force us to get better at doing essays and reports”, “organizing them and using the right kind of language”. So the answer is D.

Also, check:

Question 22.

Answer: C

Explanation: It is stated, “send you off to find out about various companies and the differences between their products – it would give you lots of practice in investigative studies and analysis”. According to this, the answer is C.

Question 23.

Answer: B

Explanation: Heidiki stated that ‘I could certainly do with some help in that because if you go out into industry, that’s what you’ll spend most of your time doing, so it’s got a very practical application’. Therefore the correct answer is B.

Questions 24-30.

Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

24. The Math course will run in the ____________________
25. The tutor for Pharmacology is visiting from ………………….
26. _____________________________for the project must be submitted by the end of January.
27. Resources for experiments are available in the ____________________________
28. Extra_______________________ will be held in December.
29. Students are allowed to do presentations in ___________________________
30. Course assessment will be based on __________________________

Question 24.

Answer: 3rd/third term

Explanation: We can hear the speaker that this is only a short course and “they do it in the third term” so we can assume that the Maths course will run in the third term. Thus the answer is the third term.

Question 25.

Answer: industry

Explanation: One of the tutors mentioned in the conversation is for this course (Pharmacology) which is “a lecture who’s coming in for a few weeks from industry”. According to this, we can conclude that The tutor for Pharmacology is visiting from the industry. So correct answer is “industry”

Question 26.

Answer: plans

Explanation: As stated by Heidiki ‘we want to do the project as soon as we start in January, and then hand in our plans’ hence the answer should be ‘plans’.

Question 27.

Answer: new lab/laboratory

Explanation: It is stated that ‘“For example, it says that if we need to do any experiments, then we can use all the equipment in the new lab”, so the answer should be the new lab.

Question 28.

Answer: (additional) seminars

Explanation: As mentioned by Caitlin that ‘in December, they’ll be running one or two additional seminars’ thus the answer is ‘seminars’.

Question 29.

Answer: pairs

Explanation: Following the conversation, Heidiki said ‘it shouldn’t be too bad as they say that we can do it in pairs’. So the answer is - pairs.

Question 30.

Answer: (an) interview

Explanation: Hideki’s said that they “ have an interview and we get a mark for the whole course depending on how well we do in that”. Therefore the correct answer should be (an) interview.