Test 4 - Section 2

SECTION 2

You will hear a popular science radio program. Liz Shira talks about some new devices for use in the home. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16. Now listen carefully to the radio program and answer questions 11 to 16.

PRESENTER: Good evening. Tonight’s show comes to you from the Good Home Exhibition in Duke’s Court, where we’ve been trying out some of the latest gadgets on show here and getting our resident expert - Liz Shearer - to tell us which ones are worth buying and which will die a death.

LIZ SHEARER: Well, hello, Yes, John, I’ve been investigating four new household gadgets and sorting out the advantages and disadvantages and then really decidin what are ‘Must buys’, what are ‘Maybe buys’ and what are ‘Never buys! Let’s start with this vacuum flask for keeping drinks hot. Well… I felt this had quite a lot going for it, most of all is the fact that it contains no glass and is therefore unbreakable to all intents and purposes. It’s made of stainless steel which is guaranteed for 20 years … hope that’s long enough… and it’s true what the manufacturer claims - that it does maintain heat for 18 hours. So that’s pretty good. On the down side, it really works out to be quite expensive and much more surprisingly, it unfortunately leaves a strange taste… you know when you’ve drunk from it… so all in all, my recommendation would be it’s got plenty of advantages, but it is rather expensive so I’d say you should maybe buy it.

Moving on to a natty little device … the Whistle Key Holder. Basically this is where you whistle and the key holder gives off a high pitched noise and flashes light so you can find it. One advantage of this model is that it also has a small light. You press the button and this means you can find keyholes easily. I also felt the small size was a real advantage. On the weaker side, I did find the noise unpleasant. Which I’m sure the designers could have done something about. And I found that it didn’t work through metal, so it’s mainly useful for finding in coat pockets, cushions, etc. But taken as a whole I thought it was a masterpiece of design and would highly recommend it.

Now you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.

The third gizmo is called the Army Flashlight because it was developed initially for military use. It works by squeezing the handle to generate the power. Its advantages are that it can be used for outside activities, and also … and this is one of the surprising features… It does work underwater. My main objection to it though was although it did work in these conditions, this model gave off a weak light. So my recommendation I’m afraid would have to be to avoid this one.

The decoy camera was last on my list. This is a fake video camera which you fix to your wall to scare off burglars. The advantage of this model is something which makes it look very realistic… its flashing light. On the down side, it was quite difficult to fix to the wall. However, burglary is such a major problem these days that it is worth the effort, so this gets my strong recommendation.

PRESENTER: OK. Thanks for that, Liz. and now…

That is the end of section 2. You will now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section three.