CAE (Advanced Exam) Listening Test 5

Part 2: Ecocamp holiday

7 miserable
8 branches
9 (the) wind
10 privacy
11 (efficient) showers
12 boardwalk
13 medium
14 iceberg

You’ll hear a woman called Mara Styles telling a group of people about her holiday at an ecocamp
in Patagonia.
For questions 7–14, complete the sentences with a word or short phrase. In the exam, you have 45 seconds to look at Part 2.

Hi, my name’s Mara and I’m just back from a holiday in South America, where I’ve been staying at
a most wonderful place called Ecocamp Patagonia in the very south of Chile.
I really wanted to go to Patagonia, and the National Park in particular. It’s somewhere unspoilt
where you can really connect with the natural world. I also believe in responsible tourism – in not
making a negative impact on places you visit – and knew that’d mean camping. Some people find
camping enjoyable, I’ve even heard it described as invigorating. That’s not my memory of it. For
me, miserable is the adjective that comes to mind. So it was the aspect of the trip I was least
looking forward to.
How wrong can you be? Because Ecocamp Patagonia is no ordinary campsite. It consists of a
series of portable domes, each constructed in the same shape as the traditional huts built by the
region’s original inhabitants, centuries ago. But whereas they used skin and fur spread across
branches, the modern domes use plastic to cover a metal frame.
The shape of the domes is similar to that of an igloo, testament to those people’s instinctive
engineering skills. The shape helps keep those inside relatively warm in cold weather and crucially
makes the structure less susceptible to wind, which reaches speeds exceeding 170 kilometres an
hour in Patagonia! And energy at the camp comes from 100% renewable sources, though at the
moment this is mostly hydro and solar power.
Fifty-six guests can stay at the camp; you’d never know it. I had my own dome, and although you’re
part of a community, taking meals in the dining tent, I was struck by the level of privacy. I felt close
to nature, but comfortable in my dome. It had a real bed and I could stand up straight, yet I couldn’t
hear my neighbours.
The meals were first rate, however: beautifully prepared from local ingredients, and I enjoyed the
sociability of mealtimes and the kindness of the staff. Even more impressive was the bathroom
dome, also shared with others. As well as the normal facilities, there were really efficient showers.
Now that’s a treat on this type of holiday, especially after a long day exploring the countryside!
The camp is moved each year in the winter, so that the actual ground doesn’t become damaged.
When you walk from dome to dome you’re stepping on what’s known as a boardwalk that stops
visitors wearing out the grass. And all rubbish is removed or organically composted. It’s a real
model of sustainable, low-impact tourism.
Hikes came in three categories. I knew I wasn’t up to what were known as the hard hikes, and so
opted for the medium ones instead; these were quite challenging, but the alternative was the
category called soft, an unfortunate description for anyone like me with a bit a pride!
But I had no real cause to regret my choice. You really feel at one with nature and there are
endless photo opportunities. I got some wonderful shots, including a fantastic sunset over a glacier,
and one of the iceberg we came across one day, floating in a fjord. That’s the one I show
everybody. And of course there were all the wild flower and bird species you could ever hope to
see.
So, before I go on to ...