Geography & Field Exploration – B2 English Listening Exercise

9 stone cottages 10 wild ponies 11 wooden bridge 12 soil samples

13 plastic ruler 14 waterfall 15 maths

16 alphabetical order 17 wind farm 18 local cheese

Liam: Hi everyone, my name’s Liam. I’m going to tell you about a geography field trip I recently went on with my university class. We travelled to a very rural part of Wales, to a location that’s actually been designated as a protected nature reserve. It’s an incredibly beautiful area, filled with rugged hills and deep valleys.

After a long bus journey, we finally arrived at the field centre. I’d assumed we would be staying in a large, modern youth hostel, as that’s usually the case on these kinds of university trips. But to our surprise, the accommodation actually consisted of a series of old stone cottages. They were quite basic and lacked central heating, but they were really charming and atmospheric.

Shortly after dropping our bags, a local warden came over to give us a briefing. I thought he’d talk mainly about the local birdlife, or perhaps the huge flocks of sheep you see everywhere. But he actually spoke at length about the wild ponies that roam freely across the reserve. Hearing about how they survive the harsh winters was absolutely fascinating.

On our first afternoon, we were taken out for an orientation walk. I took loads of pictures of the landscape. I initially photographed a ruined farmhouse, thinking it looked very dramatic, but a very old wooden bridge crossing a fast-flowing stream ended up being my favourite shot of the day. The light hitting the water was just perfect.

The following morning, we had to pick our main research focus for the week. We were given a few options. Some classmates chose to study the impacts of local tourism, and a few others went for water quality analysis. I ultimately decided to collect soil samples because it seemed like the most hands-on option, and I wanted to be out digging in the dirt!

Of course, working outdoors means dealing with the weather, which was incredibly unpredictable. It rained heavily on the third day. I was worried my paper map would get ruined by the downpour, but thankfully I had a waterproof cover for it. However, I accidentally snapped my plastic ruler in half while trying to climb a steep bank. It was quite frustrating as I needed it for my measurements!

For my fieldwork, I needed to gather data from various locations around the reserve. While most students headed down to the nearby lake because it was a lot closer, I hiked slightly further up the valley to a stunning waterfall to do my measurements. It was a tough climb, but totally worth the effort for the data I got.

Analyzing all that data in the laboratory that evening was quite intense. I’d assumed my background in chemistry would be the most beneficial thing for analyzing the pH levels, but it turned out that having a good grasp of maths was what really saved me when calculating all the averages and percentages.

On the final day, we had to present our findings to the rest of the group. As you can imagine, nobody wanted to volunteer to go first. Someone joked that we should do it by height, starting with the tallest, but our tutor simply arranged us in alphabetical order. Luckily for me, my surname starts with ‘S’, so I had plenty of time to mentally prepare!

The presentations were surprisingly varied and interesting. I really enjoyed one student’s talk about traditional farming techniques in the valley. But I was absolutely fascinated by a classmate’s talk on a new wind farm being constructed on the edge of the reserve, and how it might impact the local ecology.

Before heading back home to university, we wanted to buy a small thank-you present for the field centre staff who had been so helpful. We briefly considered getting them some local honey from the village shop, but eventually settled on some delicious local cheese instead. They seemed really pleased with it. All in all, it was a fantastic trip.

9 deer 10 roe deer 11 19th century 12 open clearings

13 wild mushrooms 14 tree saplings 15 footprints

16 early morning 17 binoculars 18 habitat map

Dr. Arthur: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the field centre. I’m Dr. Arthur, and I’ll be your lead tutor for the duration of this geography and ecology field trip. Now, considering we are standing right in the middle of a protected indigenous woodland, you might assume our very first lecture would be about the ancient oak trees surrounding us, or perhaps the rare bird species that birdwatchers travel miles to see. However, our primary focus for today, and indeed much of your fieldwork this week, will actually be the local deer. They are a fascinating subject and crucial to understanding the woodland ecosystem.

Now, there are several types of deer distributed across the UK. Many visitors come to this region hoping to catch a glimpse of the enormous red deer, which are certainly majestic creatures. But you’d have to travel much further up into the highlands to find those. The species that has truly made this specific woodland its home is the roe deer, so that is the animal we’ll be observing and collecting data on over the next few days.

It’s incredibly fascinating to look at their history in this area. People often assume, quite understandably, that these animals have inhabited this specific valley since prehistoric times. While that happens to be true for the wider region and the country as a whole, historical records reveal that they only actually settled in this particular woodland during the 19th century, following some major changes to the agricultural landscape by local landowners.

When it comes to where they live, it’s a common misconception that they hide deep within the darkest, thickest parts of the pine forest. Visitors often spend hours trekking into the dense woods looking for them. In reality, you’ll rarely find them there. They actually favour the open clearings where the sunlight penetrates the canopy, as this provides them with the very best grazing opportunities while still being close enough to the trees for cover.

Regarding their diet, if you read older wildlife textbooks, they tend to emphasize that these animals survive by eating tree bark during the harsh winters. That’s absolutely true, but right now, with the damp spring weather we’re currently experiencing, their absolute favourite food is wild mushrooms. We’ll undoubtedly see plenty of areas later where they’ve been actively foraging for these on the forest floor.

This grazing behaviour does, unfortunately, present some serious ecological challenges. You see, while eating common weeds and grasses is completely harmless, the deer also have a terrible habit of eating young tree saplings. By consuming these new shoots, they prevent the forest from naturally regenerating, which is a major concern for the conservationists working tirelessly in the area to preserve the woods.

So, how exactly will we monitor them? Some university groups use highly sophisticated GPS collars, or they set up motion-sensor cameras on the trees to track movement. We won’t be relying on that kind of expensive technology this week. Instead, we are going to use a much more traditional and hands-on method: identifying footprints left in the soft mud around the riverbanks. It requires patience, but it teaches you excellent field skills.

If we want to actually spot the animals in person, we have to time our excursions very carefully. A lot of dramatic television documentaries show footage of deer at midnight using night-vision lenses, but they are actually what we call crepuscular. That means the best time to see them isn’t the middle of the night at all, but rather the early morning, just as the sun is coming up over the hills.

We will be heading out for our first practical session shortly after lunch. I know many of you are eager to bring your heavy photography equipment and large tripods, but please leave those safely in your rooms for now to keep your backpacks light. However, it is essential that you bring a pair of binoculars so you can quietly observe the herds from a safe distance without startling them.

Finally, let me explain exactly what you need to produce by the end of this field trip. I really don’t want you to write a lengthy theoretical essay; you do more than enough of those back at the university campus! Instead, your final assignment is to create a highly accurate habitat map based on all the field data and observations you collect this week. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you produce. Right, let’s head over to the equipment room.