Fiona a is h £t Jo Tomlinson

Listening for IELTS

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CD1; Tracks 18-21
T rack 19
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T rack 20
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T rack 21
Jenny:
to ca ll fo r an am bulance. And we should rem ind o ur audience th a t eighty per cent of ligh tnin g victim s 
don’t get fa ta lly in ju re d ! That should calm everyone's nerves!
So, I th in k w e'd b e tte r s ta rt planning w hat w e're going to do fo r o ur group project. Have you guys had 
any ideas?
I was th in k in g we should do som ething on extrem e w e a th e r events, but I th in k Alex had some d ifferen t 
ideas.
Yes, maybe we should look into m ore localised w e a th e r conditions and the effects on the im m ediate 
e n v iro n m e n t.
That's a good idea, Alex, but I d on’t th in k w e ’d be able to get m uch data on that, and we don’t really 
have tim e to do o u r own rese arch . W hat about doing som ething about the seasons?
I th in k the seasons m ig h t be a bit too w id e -re a c h in g , you know, w hen we take into account the wind 
p atterns and pressure systems.
Maybe you’ re right.
W ell, how about Tom's idea of extrem e w e a th e r conditions?
Yes, th a t sounds like a good idea. It’s easy to break down into separate parts and it c e rta in ly sounds 
m ore in te re s tin g !
I'd quite like to cover m onsoons. I've been doing some reading on them and they're quite interesting. 
Well, that sounds good. We should maybe take two areas each - that would make it easier fo r us to focus. 
Well, we've got lots to choose fro m : we could do blizzards, heat waves, droughts, cyclones. There are 
loads! Why d on't you do blizzards too, Tom?
I don’t fancy doing them , but I w o u ld n 't m ind doing som ething on flo o d s . They're linked to monsoons,
I th in k , so it w ill be an easy tra n s itio n . W hat do you fancy doing, Alex?
Well, I could always cover winds.
But th a t is n ’t really extrem e enough.
Hm m ... I could do hurricanes, th ey're pretty e xcitin g . How about doing cyclones, Emma?
I’d ra th e r do heat waves and droughts. I th in k . I know a bit about them . I don’t know anything about 
cyclones.
Cyclones are rea lly interesting. I can cover th e m .
That sounds great. I was th in k in g about doing cyclones, but I’m happy fo r you to do them .
Right, s h a ll we get started on som e of the content?
Yes, we haven’t got th a t m uch tim e. Does anyone know anything about th e ir topics?
I know quite a lot about cyclones.
Do you?
W ell, I studied them at high school. You know, cyclones usually s ta rt near the equator. They need quite 
w a rm w a te r to fo rm . Above the w a rm w ater, the vapour in the a ir fo rm s clouds, and if there is low 
pressure, then these clouds w ill s ta rt to ro ta te .
Isn’t it also the fact th a t the earth rotates too w hich m akes the clouds spin m ore?
Yes, th a t too. Once they begin rotating, they can e ith e r lose m om en tu m o r keep gathering m om en tu m
u n til they hit land - these ones are called m ature cyclones. Luckily, as soon as they hit land, they sta rt 
to lose m om entum and fade away. Ju st because they don’t have the w a rm th of the ocean underneath. 
Well, th a t's a relief!
They can s till be rea lly d estructive. They’re like a big circle of w ind. They blow stron gly u n til the eye 
of the sto rm passes - you know, the centre, w here everything is really quiet, no w ind o r anything.
But then the o th e r side hits and the w inds blow just as strongly but in the o th e r directio n ! It’s ju s t 
am azing! Yes, I w ould really like to cover that.
W ell, it looks like w e ’ve got it a ll arranged, then!
My fa m ily is n ’t very big. There's ju s t my son and me. I’m a single parent. For the last ten years I’ve 
been concentrating on looking a fte r my son Jam es, who is now fourteen. But now I’ve m et someone