A Monologue On Royal Hospital College - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

IELTS Listening section examines a candidate’s ability to properly listen to audio and answer the questions. IELTS Listening contains four sections and a total of 40 questions. This topic - A Monologue on Royal Hospital College is Section Two of IELTS Listening. Candidates will find different types of questions in >IELTS Listening practice papers. This section contains many question types:

1. Sentence Completion
2. Multiple-choice questions
3. Short Questions
4. Identifying Information
5. Fill in the blanks

SECTION 2 - Audio Transcript

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to Royal Hospital College what a beautiful September day you’ve brought with you. My name is Richard Thomas. I’m the head of the chemistry Department, and today it’s my pleasure to introduce our wonderful college to you. Normally the dean, Professor John Thomas – yes, we share the same surname – likes to do this, but unfortunately he has a bad case of flu, so he’s doing the sensible thing and staying in bed. He sends his apologies, but you’ll be meeting him soon, so no big problem.

I’m sure you are all so excited at the thought of studying here that you have read all about the history of our school. But for those who haven’t, I’ll give you a brief summary as we walk around. The college was originally founded in – anybody know? – yes, 1694 by William and Mary of Orange. Can you remember your high school history? Right. William of Orange was a Dutch prince, married to King James IPs eldest daughter, Mary. 1694, poor Queen Mary died of smallpox the same year.

Actually, the school was not a school in those days; it was a hospital for retired sailors of the Royal Navy. And it wasn’t here, in the beautiful countryside of cast England; it was located in what is now east London, on the banks of the River Thames. Back in those days, it was also in the countryside, but London grew and grew, and by the end of the 19th century, it was surrounded by houses and smoky factories. So, after the Second World War, a New Zealand millionaire named Sir Gifford Rcadc kindly save the school 65 million pounds to move to here. He was an architect, and he designed much of the beautiful school that you see today. It opened in 1963. And if you look to your right, there is a statue of Sir Gifford Reade, facing that other large statue of Queen Victoria.

OK, let’s jump back to the 1700s. In the 1780s, the Royal Hospital was changed into a school for the orphans of officers and men of the Royal Navy, and they added the word ‘college’ to the name. For nearly a hundred years it was co-educational, but in’1868, the board of governors decided to make it boys only. Much more boring, don’t you think? And it stayed that way right up until 1991, when the school became co-educational again.

OK, and here we are at the school church. Do we have any musicians with us? You? Wonderful, what do you play? Piano and organ. Oh, you’ll love it here. Our church has the largest organ in England, and we often have recording companies, the BBC, et cetera, coming here to record. And our staff and students are more than welcome to play it. In fact, there’s a waiting list, it’s very popular. In fact, the school is very well known for its choir and orchestra. I sing in the choir, and last summer we toured North America. Great fun!

A healthy mind in a healthy body, as the Romans used to say, which brings us to our gym and swimming pool. Both are open from six in the morning till eleven at night, seven days a week. The gym has everything you need for aerobics, weight training, martial arts, basketball, gymnastics, and even an indoor running track. So there’s no excuse for not keeping fit. And of course we have all the usual team sports: soccer, basketball – our women’s basketball team won the all-England Universities Championship this year – rugby, water polo. No American football. So you see, we are quite a sporty lot here.

And we also study sometimes. Here’s the main library. I’m afraid we can’t go in because it’s being redecorated. It’s supposed to open again this Wednesday, but it looks to me that it’ll be a bit late.

And here’s the coffee shop. Why don’t we stop here for a drink? Agree? Jolly good!

Questions 11-12

Answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WOJiDS AND A NUMBER for each answer.

11. What is the name of the college?__________________

Answer: Royal Hospital College

Explanation: The name of the college is Royal Hospital College. It was previously a hospital only, later turned into a college. The college was founded in 1694 by William and Mary of Orange.

Also check:

12. When was the college founded?_____________________

Answer: 1694

Explanation: Royal Hospital College was founded in 1694 by William and Mary of Orange. It was previously a hospital for retired soldiers belonging to the Royal Navy.

Questions 13 and 14

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Why did the school move out of London?

1. The surroundings had become unpleasant
2. It was given some cheap land in east England.
3. An English millionaire gave the school 65 million pounds.
4. The Second World War started
5. Sir Gifford Reads gave the school a big sum of money to move.

Questions 13 and 14:

Answers: A, E in any order

Explanation: The school was previously in London but was moved out because London started becoming a place filled with smoky factories and surrounded by houses. Sir Gifford Rcadc provided the school with 65 million pounds to shift where it is today.

Question 15

Answer the following question. Write A NUMBER.

What year did the school open in cast England?______________

Answer: 1963

Explanation: In 1963 the school was opened by Sir Gifford Rcadc who was an architect and provided 65 million pounds to make the school.

Question 16

Choose the correct letter, A -C

In 1858, the school had_________________.

1. just female students
2. just male students
3. both male and female students

Answer: C

Explanation: In the 1780s, the hospital was changed into a school for the orphans of the officers and men of the Royal Navy. Then for around a hundred years, the school was co-educational. After that, it was turned into an all-male school.

Question 17-19

Complete the following sentences. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

In fact, the school is very famous for its 17.__________________.The 18. ______________, used to say, A 19_____________ in a healthy body’

Question 17:

Answer: choir and orchestra

Explanation: The Royal Hospital College is famous for its choir and orchestra. They also did a tour of North America.

Question 18:

Answer: Romans

Explanation: The Romans stated the sentence a healthy mind in a healthy body. This was said in relation to the gym and swimming pool for the students.

Question 19:

Answer: healthy mind

Explanation: This was said by the Romans which means people should have a healthy mind and a healthy body.

Question 20

Choose the correct letter, A-C.

What team sports does Mr Thomas say are played at the school?

1. Rugby, soccer, and American football
2. Basketball and water polo
3. Soccer and cricket

Answer: B

Explanation: Mr. Thomas said that water polo was played in the school. Apart from that, rugby was also played.