CELPIP Listening Part 4 Practice Test: A Science Project Pays Off

NARRATOR: A local teenager's science fair project has ended up saving the town a remarkable amount of water, and possibly a good deal of money. Sixteen-year-old Hannah Kowalczyk set out last fall to measure how much water her neighbours used overnight, when almost everyone is asleep. Using readings supplied by the town, she expected the numbers to drop to almost nothing after midnight. Instead, one older neighbourhood near the river showed a steady, unexplained flow until dawn. Her chemistry teacher encouraged her to share the results with municipal staff. Crews were initially doubtful, but after listening along the pipes with specialized equipment, they located a cracked water main buried beneath a quiet side street. Officials estimate it had been leaking for at least two years, wasting enough treated water to fill several swimming pools every week. The repair was completed in three days. Kowalczyk, who now hopes to study engineering, insists the credit belongs partly to her younger brother, who stayed up with her recording figures at two in the morning. The town has invited her to present her findings to council next month, and staff say they intend to borrow her approach to examine other neighbourhoods.