IELTS Listening 實戰 8 圖書館新生問答（Part 3 風格）

Helen (librarian): Right, does anyone have questions? Yes — the gentleman at the back?

Oliver: Hi, Oliver Peters. I'm a master's student — how many books can I borrow at once?

Helen: Master's students can borrow up to ten at any time. Undergraduates, just so everyone knows, get eight. PhD students get fifteen.

Oliver: And how long can we keep them?

Helen: Standard loan is three weeks, renewable twice online unless another user has placed a hold. PhD students have a longer loan — six weeks — because of dissertation work.

Zara: Sorry, can I jump in? I'm Zara, also master's. What if I need a book that someone else has?

Helen: You place a hold — we call it a 'recall'. The current borrower gets an email, and they must return the book within seven days, even if their loan hasn't expired. You'll then get a notification to collect.

Zara: What about fines for late returns?

Helen: Standard books are twenty pence per day, capped at ten pounds per item. But — and this is important — high-demand reserve books, the ones on short loan, are fined at two pounds per hour. So don't be late with those.

Oliver: Do we have access to journal databases from home?

Helen: Yes, with your student login. The single sign-on works for most databases. One or two — JSTOR in particular — occasionally need a VPN connection if you're outside the UK.

Zara: I'll be doing some research over the summer from India. Will that still work?

Helen: With the university VPN, yes. I can show you how to set it up after this session if you'd like.

Zara: That would be great.

Oliver: One more question — printing. What's the setup?

Helen: All printers on campus use your student card. Black and white is five pence per sheet, colour is twenty-five pence. You load credit online. Oh, and everyone gets a five-pound starter credit free at the beginning of each term.

Zara: Does the starter credit roll over?

Helen: No, unfortunately not — it has to be used within the term it's issued.

Oliver: What about group study rooms?

Helen: We have twelve group study rooms, bookable online up to two weeks in advance. Each booking is ninety minutes maximum, and you can only hold one active booking at a time — so you can't block-book three sessions in a row.

Zara: Is there a silent study area, just for individuals?

Helen: Yes, the entire third floor is silent study. No talking, no phone calls, not even whispering. The second floor allows quiet conversation. And the ground floor is the social zone — group work is fine there.

Oliver: Opening hours during exam period?

Helen: Great question. Normal hours are eight a.m. to ten p.m. In the three weeks leading up to exams, we extend to twenty-four hours. Those dates are on the website.

Oliver: Thank you, very helpful.

Questions 1-5 — Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.

1. The maximum number of books a master's student may borrow at once is A. 8. B. 10. C. 15.

2. When a book is 'recalled', the current borrower must return it within A. 3 days. B. 7 days. C. 3 weeks.

3. Fines for reserve (short-loan) books are A. 20p per day. B. £2 per hour. C. £10 per item capped.

4. The library's free printing credit each term is A. £2. B. £5. C. £10.

5. Group study rooms can be booked up to A. 1 day in advance. B. 1 week in advance. C. 2 weeks in advance.

Questions 6-10 — Complete the sentences. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER.

6. PhD students may keep books for up to _______ weeks. 7. Zara plans to access the databases from _______ over summer. 8. The silent study area is on the _______ floor. 9. Each group-room booking is a maximum of _______ minutes. 10. During the exam period, the library opens for _______ hours.