TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 19: LABELLING A FLOW CHART Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation I'm Margot Politis One of the skills in the listening test is listening for specific information Here's a story about a process – making spectacles – or glasses People like my frames because they're individually made for them, they're uniquely Australian, there's an air of exclusivity about it, and they're fun to wear My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames My interest in frame-making started in 1978 when, as an apprentice optical mechanic, I felt I could make spectacle frames So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle frames The frame-making process, in brief, involves over 50 steps I'll just go through a few of them The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine It then has a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C, and then placed in a mould which then gives it its curvature or meniscus on the frame There's a lot of information there, and sometimes it's hard to hear the specific thing you're listening for How can you prepare for this? First – listen for the key words in the question Look at this question: Who is Roger Henley? The key words are 'who' and 'Roger Henley' So listen for the name Roger Henley in the listening passage: People like my frames because they're individually made for them, they're uniquely Australian, there's an air of exclusivity about it, and they're fun to wear My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide He describes who he is, by saying what he does, immediately after he says his name My name's Roger Henley, I'm a spectacle frame-maker in Adelaide I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames Look at this question: When did he begin manufacturing glasses? The key words are 'when', 'begin' and 'manufacturing glasses' and because the question asks 'when' – you need to listen for a date I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames My interest in frame-making started in 1978 when, as an apprentice optical mechanic, I felt I could make spectacle frames So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle frames Page of There were two dates – 1978 and 1987 Which one is correct? You need to listen for words that mean the same as the key words in the question – 'begin', 'manufacturing', and 'glasses' I'm one of three in Australia that produces hand-made spectacle frames My interest in frame-making started in 1978 when, as an apprentice optical mechanic, I felt I could make spectacle frames So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle frames We know 'spectacles' is another word for 'glasses' 'Started' is another word for 'began', and 'making' is another word for 'manufacturing' So in 1987 I actually left my job and started a business of making spectacle frames So the answer is 1987 Remember when you're looking at questions and key words – to look especially for 'wh' words – who, where, when, which, why – and for information that will answer those questions: Who a person or persons Where a place When a time or date Which a specific example Why a reason And also remember to listen for synonyms for your key words – words which mean the same thing as the key word In the test, note how many words your answer can be – it might be two or three You must not use more than two or three words in your answer Here's another question: How many stages are there in the frame-making process? Use no more than two words in your answer Listen: The frame-making process, in brief, involves over 50 steps I'll just go through a few of them The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine It then has a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C, and then placed in a mould which then gives it its curvature or meniscus on the frame The question 'how many?' tells us the answer must be a number And what word is a synonym for 'stages?' Listen again The frame-making process, in brief, involves over 50 steps I'll just go through a few of them 'Steps' is a synonym for 'stages', so you could write: 50 steps, or over 50 steps, or over 50 Which is correct? Page of The only correct answer is 'over 50' It answers the question – how many stages are there in the frame-making process '50 steps' is incorrect because there are more than fifty, and 'over 50 steps' is incorrect, because you were asked to use no more than two words Another type of question in the listening test involves labelling a diagram, or chart Listen to Roger Henley describing the first four stages of the frame-making process: The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine It then has a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C, and then placed in a mould which then gives it its curvature or meniscus on the frame Here are those four stages as a flow chart, with words missing You need to listen for 'what' words complete these four stages What kind of word will you listen for? Look at the first one: In processes, simple present passive voice is often used, as it is here So probably the word needed is a participle The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine So the word missing is the participle formed of the verb 'to mill' – milled Page of The second missing word is also a participle to complete a passive sentence The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine It then has a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front Page of The missing word is 'inserted' In the third example the gap is before the symbol for 'degrees centigrade' – so you should be listening for a number The first step is to mill the front out on a CAD milling machine It then has a heat-sink joint inserted into the frame front It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C So you should write 110 in the space And in the final example, notice that the gap follows the indefinite article 'a' So you know the word must be a noun It is then heated in an oven to its memory set point, which is 110 degrees C And then placed in a mould which then gives it its curvature or meniscus on the frame Page of It is placed in a mould, which is a form to give shape to something That's all for now To watch this episode again and all the Study English programs, visit our website (The address is: australianetwork.com/studyenglish) Good luck with your studies Page of