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‫Will now begin Section three of Eilts listening practice test for.

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‫Section three.

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‫You will hear James, who is in the Scandinavian studies department at his university, talking to his

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‫tutor named Beth.

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‫First, you have some time to look at questions, 21 to twenty five.

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‫Now listen carefully and answer questions.

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‫Twenty one to twenty five.

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‫Oh, good morning.

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‫You must be James.

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‫I'm Beth Cartwright.

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‫Please call me Beth.

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‫Thank you.

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‫Now, as this is your first tutorial since you started on the Scandinavian studies course, I'd like

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‫to find out something about you.

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‫Why did you decide to take this course?

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‫Well, my mother is Danish, and although we always lived in England, she used to talk about her home

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‫a lot.

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‫And that made me want to visit Denmark.

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‫We hardly ever did, though.

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‫My mother usually went on her own.

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‫But whenever her relations or friends were in England, they always came to see us.

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‫I see.

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‫So I assume you already speak Danish?

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‫One of the languages you'll be studying.

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‫I can get by when I talk to people, though.

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‫I'm not terribly accurate.

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‫Now, you probably know that you'll spend the third year of the course abroad.

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‫Have you had any thoughts about that?

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‫I'm really looking forward to it.

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‫And although Denmark seems the obvious place to go because of my family connections, I'd love to spend

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‫the time in Iceland.

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‫Oh, I'm sure it can be arranged.

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‫Do you have any plans for when you graduate?

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‫A lot of students go on to take a masters degree.

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‫I think the four years of the undergraduate course will be enough for me.

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‫I'm interested in journalism and I quite like the idea of moving to Scandinavia and writing for magazines.

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‫I'd find that more creative than translating, which I suppose most graduates do.

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‫Okay.

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‫Now, how are you finding the courses you're taking this term, James?

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‫Well, I'm really enjoying the one on Swedish cinema that'll continue next term.

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‫But the one on Scandinavian literature that's running at the moment will be replaced by more specialized

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‫courses.

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‫Oh, and by the way, if you're interested in watching Danish television programs, there's going to

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‫be a course on that.

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‫The term and after next.

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‫That sounds good.

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‫Have you started thinking about the literature paper that you have to write in the next few weeks?

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‫Yes, my first choice would be to do something on the Icelandic sagas.

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‫The trouble with that is that a lot of people choose that topic and it can be difficult to get hold

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‫of the books you'll need.

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‫Why not leave that for another time?

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‫Right.

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‫You might find modern novels or 19th century playwrights interesting.

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‫I've read or seen several plays in translation.

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‫So that would be a good idea.

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‫Fine.

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‫I'll put you down for that topic.

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‫Right.

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‫So what would you advise me to a Myrt in the paper?

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‫First, I suggest you avoid taking one writer and going into a great deal of detail.

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‫That approach certainly has its place, but I think you first need to get an understanding of the literature

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‫in the context of the society in which it was produced, who it was written for, how it was published

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‫and so on.

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‫I also think that's more fruitful than placing it within the history of the genre.

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‫Okay, that sounds reasonable.

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‫Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions, 26 to 30.

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‫Now, listen very carefully and answer questions, 26 to 30.

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‫Could I ask for some advice about writing the paper I'm working on about the Vikings?

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‫I have to do that this week and some of its stock, of course.

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‫Have you decided yet what to write about?

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‫No, I haven't.

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‫So much.

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‫That seems interesting.

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‫Viking settlement in other countries.

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‫Trade mythology.

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‫Well, what I suggest is that you read an assignment a student wrote last year, which is kept in the

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‫library.

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‫It's short and well focused and I'm sure you'll find it helpful.

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‫I'll give you the details in a moment.

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‫Textbooks usually cover so many topics.

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‫It can be very difficult to choose just one.

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‫Okay.

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‫I've got a DVD of the film about the Vikings that came out earlier this year.

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‫Should I watch that again?

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‫If it's the one I am thinking of?

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‫I'd ignore it.

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‫It's more fantasy than reality.

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‫But I've got a recording of a documentary that you should watch it make some interesting and provocative

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‫points, which I think will help you to focus your topic.

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‫Right.

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‫So then should I work out an outline?

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‫Yes.

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‫Just headings for different sections at this stage.

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‫And then you should start looking for suitable articles and books to draw on and take notes which you

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‫organize according to those headings.

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‫I see.

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‫Then put short phrases and sentences as bullet points under each heading.

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‫Make sure that this skeleton makes sense and flows properly before writing up the paper in full.

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‫OK.

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‫Thanks.

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‫That's very helpful.

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‫That is the end of Section three and you now have 30 seconds to check your answers.

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‫We'll now move on to Section four and you will hear a lecture given about conflict at work given by

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‫a business studies lecturer.

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‫First, you have some time to look at questions.

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‫31 to 40.

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‫Now, listen carefully and answer questions, 30 want to 40.

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‫Over the years, attitudes towards workers have changed considerably.

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‫After all, there was a time when workers had no rights at all and labored in appalling conditions.

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‫Conditions have improved a lot, but conflict in the workplace is still common, and human resources

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‫managers nowadays need to be able to deal with it when necessary.

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‫What is conflict in the workplace?

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‫Definitions vary, but I'm taking it to refer to a whole range of behaviors that the victim finds unacceptable,

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‫from minor harmless arguments to at the opposite extreme physical violence.

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‫Much of this is covered by the term bullying, by which I mean one or more people behaving abusively

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‫or aggressively against another who is in a weaker position.

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‫Although all behavior like this is a form of conflict, not all conflict can be described in these terms.

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‫As with all human behavior, there are numerous reasons for it.

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‫But often it's caused by someone who feels the need to show their superiority over someone else in order

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‫to feel that they aren't at the lowest level in a hierarchy or a group of people.

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‫In some cases, one person simply dislikes the other on the basis that the personality of one is in

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‫some way incompatible with that of the other person.

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‫A general habit of optimism in one person could make them intolerant of a colleague who's constantly

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‫pessimistic.

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‫Not that that justifies treating them badly, of course.

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‫Some conflicts arise when people are more interested in promoting themselves and their team than in

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‫the company as a whole.

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‫These conflicts are called structural and could come about, for example, when a sales team believe

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‫they are the only people in the business who do any useful work and look down on behind the scenes administrators.

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‫Conflict obviously affects the individuals concerned.

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‫This situation is likely to be very stressful for victims, resulting in their absence from work, possibly

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‫for months for the company.

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‫If no effort is made to deal with conflict, it can spiral out of control and even lead to the breakdown

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‫of the business.

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‫Some interesting work with chief executives, CEOs, has uncovered some of the reasons why they may

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‫treat colleagues badly.

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‫Many CEOs combine two opposing characteristics confidence.

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‫That is the belief that they're capable of great achievements with a high level of anxiety, a fear

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‫of missing targets, whether set by themselves or by the directors of the company.

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‫This combination can make them respond badly to anyone who questions their decisions.

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‫In a high pressure work environment, such characteristics become problematic.

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‫And it's particularly difficult to tackle the situation where colleagues, managers and board members

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‫are all trying to achieve their own visions when they can't agree on strategic issues and on where they

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‫see the business going.

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‫There are real problems.

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‫For managers at lower levels within the organization, it might seem that an autocratic form of management

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‫where the chief executive gives orders and everyone else has to obey would see more conflict than others.

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‫Interestingly, though, a company with a more democratic business model can suffer more when uncertainty

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‫about who to report to leads to conflicting demands.

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‫Now, I'll say a little about dealing with the type of conflict that has harmful effects.

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‫Of course, the ideal is to prevent it arising in the first place.

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‫A good manager at any level will make efforts to earn the respect of the people they work with, particularly

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‫those who report to them.

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‫That will involve politeness in all communications and treating them as equals who happen to have a

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‫different role within the organization.

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‫Sometimes, of course, conflict does occur and can get out of hand in such cases.

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‫The human resources department often gets involved.

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‫However, if one of the parties in a conflict sees human resources as simply a mouthpiece for the chief

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‫executive, then an external mediator might be able to help by talking to both sides and trying to find

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‫the truth of what's been happening.

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‫They can build a clear picture of the situation and give feedback that both sides will accept.

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‫Precisely because they're independent.

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‫That is the end of Section four.

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‫And you have 30 seconds to check your answers.

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‫That brings us to the end of this Eilts listening practice test, and I hope you found it useful.

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‫Here are the answers.

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‫Check them through and see what Vänskä you got.