S4 Second Term Uniform Test, 2021/22 Paper 3 (Part A) Tapescript (32:49)

Part A

Announcer: Part A. Situation.

Joey Lee and Brian To are students working as interns for the Hong Kong Tourism
Organization. You are going to hear four recordings of Joey and Brian related to their work.
In Part A, you will have a total of four tasks to do. Follow the instructions in the Question-
Answer Book and in the recording to complete the tasks. You will find all the information you
need in the Question-Answer Book and the recording. You now have two minutes to
familiarize yourself with Tasks 1-4.

(2 minutes of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Task 1

Announcer: Task 1. Joey is interviewing a traveller at the airport departure hall. Listen to the interview
and write the information in the spaces below. One has been provided as an example.

You now have 30 seconds to study the task. At the end of the task, you will have one minute to
tidy up your answers.

(30 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Joey: Excuse me, could I have a moment?

Traveller: Hello, can I help you with something?

Joey: Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions? I’m Joey Lee, with the Hong Kong Tourism
Organization. I’m collecting information from tourists coming to Hong Kong.

Traveller: Oh, sure. I still have some time before my flight.

Joey: Thank you. Let’s get the sensitive question out of the way first. Are you in the 30-39 age
group?

Traveller: (2) Yes, good guess. I’m 34, actually.

Joey: I appreciate the honesty. And may I ask where you come from?

Traveller: I flew in from Kuala Lumpur. I was born there actually, and I still live there now.

Joey: Sorry, I’ve always had trouble remembering how that was spelled.

Traveller: Don’t worry about it, that’s common enough. Kuala is K - U – A - L - A, and Lumpur is L- U -
M - P- U - R. It’s the capital city of Malaysia, in case you forgot.

Joey: Right. Are you here by yourself or with friends?

Traveller: I’m actually here with my wife; she’s in the bathroom right now.

Joey: I see. I’ll mark you down as (4) with one other person, then. How long have the two of you
been in Hong Kong?

Traveller: Unfortunately (3) we only got to spend a week here. We’re headed off to Beijing next.

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Joey: OK, so seven days. Did you stay at a hotel?

Traveller: No, we didn’t. We wanted to have more space and I wanted to took, so (5) we rented an
apartment on a booking website. It’s a nice apartment in Wan Chai.

Joey: Ah, renting an apartment is a popular option nowadays. It’s often cheaper than a hotel, too.
Speaking of costs, would you mind telling me how much you spent on this trip? Just a rough
estimate is fine.

Traveller: So everything except the airfare?

Joey: Yes.

Traveller: We came with 20,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash, so let’s see ... After paying for the
apartment, our meals, and a new DSLR camera, I think (6) we spent 18,000 altogether.

Joey: 18,000! Thanks for supporting local businesses. Is this your first time spending your holiday
in Hong Kong?

Traveller: No, we’ve been here before.

Joey: Do you recall when that was?

Traveller: Oh, it was a while ago. I don’t quite remember the year. Oh yes, we saw the Olympic torch
arriving in Hong Kong on TV the last time we were here.

Joey: That would have to be the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games then.

Traveller: Ah, (7) then it’s got to be 2008? We had a good time, so we decided to come back this year.
Hong Kong’s a lovely place.

Joey: Agreed. What do you like most about Hong Kong?

Traveller: Oh, I like lots about Hong Kong. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing. (8) I love the wide variety of
food choices. There’s everything from cheap street snacks to restaurants with Michelin Stars.

Joey: Very true; Hong Kong is known for its wide range of food choices.

Traveller: Another thing (9) I appreciate is the traditional culture in the city. By that I mean, even though
Hong Kong is an advanced city, there is still much traditional culture that can be seen, like
trams and wet markets.

Joey: It’s what gives Hong Kong its unique flavour, I think.

Traveller: (10) The third I like is the public transportation system. I can easily travel around Hong Kong
just by the MTR. Not many places have such a well-developed public transportation system.

Joey: I’d like to ask you the reverse question now. Could you tell me what you don’t like about
Hong Kong?

Traveller: I have to say, (11) shopping in Hong Kong malls has become quite boring. Most of the
interesting local stores have been replaced by international companies that have outlets in every
country. It’s boring seeing the same stores I can find anywhere else.

Joey: Yes, that is a trend I’ve noticed. Hong Kong’s becoming more and more globalized.

Traveller: Well, the city is definitely becoming more polluted, because (12) the air pollution has gotten so
bad here. It’s common knowledge among tourists to bring sanitary masks if vacationing to
Hong Kong, so you breathe in as little of the nasty air pollution as possible.

Joey: I’m probably used to breathing it in, but I suppose that’s not a good thing.

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Traveller: You should come to the national parks in Malaysia to breathe some real fresh air. Anyway, my
last complaint is that (13) too many old buildings have been taken down. Many buildings with
a lot of history are gone now, replaced by high-rises. Old buildings should be preserved
because they are what make a city unique, I think.

Joey: I feel the same. There are a lot of old temples, police stations and markets that should be
preserved rather than rebuilt. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Traveller: Don’t mention it.

Announcer: That is the end of Task 1. You now have one minute to tidy up your answers.

(60 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Task 2

Announcer: Task 2. Brian is interviewing some travellers about the tourist attractions in Hong Kong.
Listen to the interview and write the information in the spaces below. You now have 30
seconds to study the task. At the end of the task, you will have one minute to tidy up your
answers.

(30 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Brian: Excuse me, are you guys visitors to Hong Kong?

Traveller 1: Yes.

Traveller 2: We’re from London.

Brian: Nice to meet you, my name is Brian. I’m conducting interviews for the Hong Kong Tourism
Organization, and I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the Hong Kong landmarks
you’ve been to.

Traveller 1: Sure, we have time. What do you want to know?

Brian: Where have you been so far?

Traveller 2: Hmm, we went to the Peak on the first day we arrived.

Brian: How did you find it?

Traveller 1: Oh, (14) the view was excellent. We got there in the afternoon, and we stayed until the
evening. The view was even more spectacular when the lights were lit up. (16)We definitely
liked the Peak.

Brian: I’m glad you enjoyed it. How did you guys reach the Peak?

Traveller 2: Oh, there’s no way we hiked to the top. (15) We took the Peak Tram. It was the first cable
railway going up a slope in Asia, right? The journey was short but enjoyable.

Brian: Have you guys been able to go to other landmarks?

Traveller 1: Yes, we’ve been here for five days now, so we’ve been to quite a few places. The next day we
went to Cheung Chau, (19) which was a nice, quiet place, if you walk along the beach or the
narrow streets.

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Brian: Do you prefer quieter places?

Traveller 1: Well, I wouldn’t say that. Living in a big city is still much more convenient, but once in a
while, (17) a quiet place is a good break from the busyness of the city.

Traveller 2: Agreed. Of course, (18) the seafood was the best part!

Brian: I certainly thought you would talk about the seafood first.

Traveller 1: Well, the place we went to the day after that was the exact opposite.

Traveller 2: True, the Ladies’ Market was noisy and lively.

Brian: Ah, that’s a popular shopping spot for visitors.

Traveller 1: Unfortunately (23) it wasn’t very pleasant for us. (20) Many items sold there were overpriced.
Some things were cheap, but many were priced higher than in other marketplaces. What’s
more, (21) there were just too many fake products. Sometime, merchants sold fake products at
the same price as the original! We had to make sure that what we were buying weren’t
bootlegged.

Traveller 2: (22) Not to mention it was a bit too crowded there. Stalls were packed together on both sides of
the road, leaving only a narrow path for shoppers. People behind us kept shoving us forward.

Brian: Unfortunately it is a popular place for both locals and tourists, so it’s always crowded. Did you
go anywhere else?

Traveller 1: We went to the Che Kung Temple in Shatin.

Brian: Wow, you guys have been busy. How was it?

Traveller 1: It’s a very spacious temple. (24)The most impressive part of the temple was that huge statue of
Che Kung.

Traveller 2: Right, we took as many photos of it as possible. There were other statues and stalls around the
temple, but since we don’t understand any Chinese, we had no idea what they were or what
they represented. (25) We would have had a much better experience if some information was
provided to tourists in English.

Brian: So you mean like pamphlets describing the temple, or maps?

Traveller 1: Yeah. There were maps, but they weren’t in English. We didn’t know where we were going.

Traveller 2: Overall, I think (26) our time could’ve been better spent elsewhere. We went to the Hong Kong
Museum of History after that, and (29) I wish we could’ve spent longer there.

Traveller 1: Oh yes, we should tell Brian about that. The Museum of History is a great example of an
attraction that supports non-Chinese speaking visitors. (27) We learned a lot about the events
that shaped Hong Kong, from the Qin dynasty to the present day . I was surprised to find that
Hong Kong’s history is so rich and long. I thought nobody lived here thousands of years ago!

Traveller 2: What (28) I loved most was seeing the museum’s dioramas of Hongkonger’s lives. They really
help you imagine what life was like back then.

Brian: Sorry, dioramas?

Traveller 2: Yeah, D - I - O - R - A - M - A - S. They’re models of a scene in time, created with real

objects. For example, the museum arranges old furniture and appliances to show how a flat in
1940 may have looked like.

Traveller 1: Oh, we’ve got to go now. It was nice talking to you, Brian.

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Brian: Thanks for your time. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Announcer: That is the end of Task 2. You now have one minute to tidy up your answers.

(60 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Task 3

Announcer: Task 3. Joey and Brian are looking at tourism-related news stories to see which are suitable for
the Tourism Organization’s newsletter. Listen to their conversation and fill in the missing
information in the spaces below. You now have 30 seconds to study the task. At the end of the
task, you will have one minute to tidy up your answers.

(30 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Joey: So now we have to feature some tourism-related news for our monthly newsletter. I found a
few articles; let’s choose a suitable one out of them.

Brian: Right. I also found an article. Let’s start with yours then.

Joey: This one’s headline is ‘The return of forced shopping tours’.

Brian: That’s when travel agencies pretend to offer free Hong Kong tours, but actually ferry tourists
between stores to force them to buy something, right? I thought the Chinese government
banned those a long time ago.

Joey: They did, but apparently there’re some agencies (30) trying to avoid the ban now by selling
vouchers that can be exchanged for tours. The tour isn’t ‘free’, but it’s really the same as
before because the cost of the vouchers is so low. Anyway, in the article the Fu family joined
one of these new tours and found out that it was just like the old forced shopping tours. They
were brought to different jewellery stores and told to shop there. The family recognized that
they were being scammed, (31) and refused to buy anything. This led to them be being left
behind at one of the jewellery stores!

Brian: They were left behind just because they refused to buy anything? Isn’t that illegal?

Joey: Well they couldn’t be certain whether the company left them on purpose or it was just an
accident. At any rate, the police helped the Fu family (32) return to their hotel to get their
travel documents, and they returned home. The tour company that sold them vouchers is being
investigated now. (33) This news can serve as a warning against going on these tours
exchanged for with cheap vouchers.

Brian: I don’t know Joey. I don’t want to sound insensitive, but I’m not very interested by this story.
(34) There’s been too much news about forced shopping tours already. I’m sure most people
already know that cheap tours are too good to be true.

Joey: I suppose you’re right. What news did you find, then?

Brian: I found a more exciting article. In South Korea’s Incheon international airport, there is now a
robot that helps Chinese tourists find their way. The cylindrical robot goes around (35)
answering questions in Putonghua, responding to travellers who talk to it. As long as you
speak in Putonghua, it can tell you flight information or (36) the weather. It even knows how to

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 (37) guide travellers to their departure gate! The company that made the robot said it is planned
to speak English, French, German and Japanese as well. I think it’s a great story  it shows
off some new technology, which everyone is interested in, (38) and has a positive tone as well.

Joey: It definitely does, but there’s one problem with it. It’s more about South Korea, and doesn’t
really touch on something specific to Hong Kong tourism. It’s interesting news, (39) but not
really suitable for the Hong Kong Tourism Organization’s newsletter.

Brian: Well, you have a point. What would you suggest then?

Joey: I do have one more piece of news we can consider. It’s about a celebrity’s taxi ride.

Brian: Sounds like dull news.

Joey: Hey, hear me out first. Last week a taxi driver drove a man to the Hong Kong international
airport. After the passenger got off and the driver was about to leave the airport, he noticed
that (40) his passenger left his passport in the backseat.

Brian: So the driver actually drove back and tried to find him?

Joey: Yeah. He talked to airport staff and had them look for a man with the name in the passport.
(41) They found him at his airline’s counter, in a panic from losing his travel document.

Brian: So the taxi driver gave it back for a happy ending. It’s a nice story, but I can’t say it’s very
special. People forgetting things in taxis is an everyday occurrence.

Joey: Well, I’d agree with you, if not for who the passenger was.

Brian: Wait a second. I read recently that a certain big name celebrity lost something and was helped
out by a Hongkonger. Are you saying that…

Joey: You guessed it  he was G-Wagon. Nobody knew it was him because his passport had his
real name on it! He was very thankful, and even (42) invited the taxi driver and his family to
his next concert in Korea! This story is exactly what we need. It’s light-hearted, (43) shows
Hongkongers’ willingness to help strangers, and is relevant to Hong Kong tourism.

Brian: Alright, you’ve won me over. I think this story will catch people’s attention and be popular
among readers, because (44) it’s related to pop music. Let’s begin adapting it for our own use,
then.

Announcer: That is the end of Task 3. You now have one minute to tidy up your answers.

(60 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Task4

Announcer: Task 4. Joey and Brian are listening to the recording of a lecture given by Tony Poon, a social
commentator, about the tourism industry in Asia. Listen to the recording and answer the
questions below. Please note that you do not need to answer in complete sentences.

You now have 30 seconds to study the task. At the end of the task, you will have two minutes
to tidy up your answers.

(30 seconds of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

Tony: Good day everyone, thanks for coming to my lecture about the tourism industry in Asian
countries. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started right away.

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Recently, The Hong Kong government has had a worry: statistics and experts have been
reporting that the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong has been falling since
last year. Fewer visitors from the mainland mean a huge drop in Hong Kong’s retail industry,
and officials and businessmen perceive this to be a sign that Hong Kong’s tourism industry is
failing.

Can visitors from the mainland be considered tourists, though? Official figures tell us
(45) that over 60 per cent of visitors from mainland China are same-day visitors who come to
Hong Kong to shop, and then leave within the day. They are coming from nearby to buy
something and return home; this is no different from what Hong Kong shoppers do. (46) I
propose, then, that it is more accurate to call them shoppers. Making our tourism industry
successful does not simply involve attracting more people to buy goods in Hong Kong. Our
retail industry may have to worry about attracting more shoppers from the mainland, but our
tourism industry should be thinking about how to draw actual tourists.

Our tourism industry does seem to be shifting away from relying on promoting shopping to
attract visitors. Now the focus is on promoting Hong Kong's food and history, but I wonder if
this is any better than promoting our shopping malls. Firstly, (47) eatng in Hong Kong is not
cheap nowadays, because of the high rent eateries must pay. For a much lower cost, tourists
can have an equal or better meal in Bangkok or Taipei. Secondly, Hong Kong’s history may
not be appealing to tourists either. Tourists often look at architectural history first, meaning
they want to see well-known old buildings. (48) Due to the redevelopment of our city, old
building have been replaced with skyscrapers. There are not many well-known old buildings
left. So what in Hong Kong can attract tourists?

To find why Hong Kong tourism has gone down, we need only look at our Asian neighbours,
such as Thailand, Japan and South Korea. Each has geographical, economic or cultural
features that are not present in Hong Kong. For instance, (49) Thailand has beautiful beaches
with white sand and crystal clear water. Hong Kong’s beaches can’t hope to compare to them,
and you do not often hear tourists say they are coming here for the beaches. Or take for
example (50) Japan, which currently has a weak currently. People from many countries are
able to purchase a large amount of yen to buy more goods in Japan. Because the Hong Kong
dollar is tied to the US dollar, it is usually a strong currency and unattractive to tourists.
Finally, the popularity of (51) Korea’s pop-culture attracts people from all over the world. The
craze for Korean dramas, movies and music draws many tourists, which cannot be said for
Hong Kong dramas, movies and Cantopop.

That said, Hong Kong does have a very unique quality to offer tourists. The most special
feature about Hong Kong is that (52) it is a place where East meets West. Having been a
British colony for more than a century, both (52) Eastern and Western cultures have a deep
influence on everything in Hong Kong, from the food to the fashion to the culture. This East
meets West heritage is very unique.

In fact, tourists can be made happy by three very simple characteristics that I call the three S’s,
which Hong Kong has in abundance. These are sights, sounds and smells. Yes, these may
seem like very common things but think about it. Of sights, (53) Hong Kong has a world-
famous city skyline. The skyline at Victoria harbour, visible from the Hong Kong Island side
and the Kowloon side, is a spectacle every night. Of sounds, (54) Hong Kong is well known for
its vibrant nightlife. As a multinational city, one can hear performances of almost any kind of
music during the evening, from buskers to live entertainment bands. Lively night markets
ensure there is always something to do. Finally, representing the last S, smells, (55) there can
only be Hong Kong’s street food vendors. Delicious food is always close by in our city, and
it’s of a high quality too. After all, Hong Kong’s street food is so good that the Michelin Guide
for Hong Kong has a section dedicated only to street food!

Now, let’s take a look at how Singapore has adopted the following model ... (fade out)

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Announcer: That is the end of Task 4. You now have two minutes to complete your answers to Task 4 and
to tidy up all your other answers.

(2 minutes of Greensleeves)

(Tone)

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