B2 First Listening: test de práctica 1

Transcripción: Hello, everyone. My name's Ana, and last summer I spent eight weeks as a volunteer on a sea turtle project on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. I'd like to tell you a bit about what the work involved.
I found the project through my university, which has an agreement with a local conservation group. Volunteers have to pay for their own flights, but accommodation is provided in a simple wooden house about five minutes from the beach.
Most of our work happened at night, because that's when the turtles come out of the sea to lay their eggs. We worked in teams of three and walked along the beach for about four hours each night. It was much harder than I expected. The sand is soft, it's completely dark, and you can't use ordinary torches, because white light confuses the turtles. Instead, we used small red lights. At first I kept tripping over pieces of wood that the waves had left on the sand, but after a week my eyes got used to the dark.
When we found a turtle, our job was to measure her shell and record the number of eggs she laid. Then, if the nest was in a dangerous place, we carefully moved the eggs to a protected area called the hatchery, where volunteers guard them day and night.
The biggest danger for the eggs isn't actually other animals. It's people who dig them up to sell them. That's why the project also works with the local school, teaching children about the turtles. The idea is that if young people care about them, they'll protect them in the future. Once a week we gave a short talk in the classroom, and the children loved seeing photos of the baby turtles.
My favourite moment came in my sixth week, when the first eggs I had moved finally hatched. Watching about eighty tiny turtles run towards the sea is something I'll never forget.
People often ask me what skills you need. Honestly, the most important one is patience. Some nights we walked for hours and didn't see a single turtle. You also need to be reasonably fit, because the patrols are long. Being able to speak some Spanish also helps a lot, especially when you're talking to local families.
If you're thinking of volunteering, my advice is to apply early, because places for the summer are usually full by January. And bring good shoes. You'll walk more than you ever have in your life.

Transcripción: Speaker 1.
Everyone warned me I'd be bored, but I've got plenty to do. The thing nobody mentioned was buses. There are only three a day to the nearest town, and the last one leaves at six, so I've had to buy a car, which I never needed before. The house itself is lovely, about the same size as my flat in the city, but with a garden.
Speaker 2.
I never intended to leave Madrid. I came here for a friend's wedding, my car broke down, and while I was waiting for it to be repaired I saw a little shop for rent in the square. A month later I'd signed the contract. People expected me to miss the theatres, but I hardly ever think about them.
Speaker 3.
I'm a translator, so I can work from anywhere. In the city, there was always noise, neighbours, traffic, delivery vans, and I'd find myself checking my phone every five minutes. Here my office looks out over fields, and I get more done in a morning than I used to in a whole day. My kids still live in the city, so I actually see them less than before.
Speaker 4.
People here are friendly, but in the beginning it was quite lonely. Everybody has known each other since school, and I was the new one for a long time. Things changed when I joined the local choir. Now I can't walk to the bakery without stopping to chat three times. The shops are limited, but online shopping solves most problems.
Speaker 5.
I moved here after a difficult few years at work. In the city I was always tired and I hardly ever exercised. Now I walk my dog in the hills every morning, I sleep properly, and I haven't had a single cold this winter. My partner was worried we'd lose touch with our friends, but they visit us more than they did when we lived in the same city.

Transcripción: Man: Today I'm talking to Laura Etxeberria, who works as a mountain guide in the Pyrenees. Laura, how did you get into it?
Woman: Almost by accident, really. I studied biology, and I was planning to become a teacher. But every summer I worked in a mountain hut to pay for my studies, and the guides who stayed there kept telling me I should train as one. In the end I thought, why not try it for a year? That was twelve years ago.
Man: Was the training difficult?
Woman: Physically, not as hard as I'd feared, because I was already used to long days in the mountains. What I found tough was the theory: weather, first aid, avalanche safety. There's so much to learn, and you can't afford to get any of it wrong when you're responsible for other people.
Man: What does a typical day look like?
Woman: There isn't really a typical day, which is what I love about it. In summer I might be taking a family on a gentle walk one day and leading an experienced group up a difficult peak the next. The one constant is that I check the weather forecast obsessively, several times a day.
Man: What kind of clients are the most challenging?
Woman: People expect me to say beginners, but beginners are usually great. They listen, and they're happy to turn back if the conditions change. The difficult ones are people who are fit and fairly experienced, because they sometimes overestimate what they can do. Telling someone who's paid a lot of money that we're not going to reach the summit isn't easy.
Man: Has climate change affected your work?
Woman: Very much. Some of the routes I learned on are now more dangerous in summer, because the ice that held the rocks together is melting. We've had to change some routes and start much earlier in the day, before it gets too warm. It's sad, but it's also made me more aware of how important it is to teach people about the environment while we're out there.
Man: What advice would you give someone who wants to become a guide?
Woman: Spend as much time in the mountains as you can, in all seasons, before you even think about the course. And learn languages. Half my clients come from abroad, and being able to explain a change of plan clearly in English or French can make a big difference to how safe a group is.
Man: And finally, do you ever regret not becoming a teacher?
Woman: Not at all. Though in a way I still am one. Every day I'm teaching people to read the landscape, to respect it and to know their limits.