Cambridge IELTS 10 · Listening · Test 1 · Part 1

Listening Test 1, Part 1: answers explained

The recording and its 10 questions (1–10). Every answer is explained with the words that give it away.

Take the whole test, timed Show the answers

Part 1 recording

Play it once, as in the exam, and answer the questions below as you listen.

Questions 1–10

Note completion
1 Address: 24 ______ Road
2 Heard about company from: ______
3 Los Angeles: customer wants to visit some ______ parks with her children
4 Yosemite Park: customer wants to stay in a lodge, not a ______
5 Customer wants to see the ______ on the way to Cambria
6 At San Diego, wants to spend time on the ______
Table completion
7 ______ km
8 ● accommodation ● car ● one ______
9 £______
10 ● accommodation ● car ● ______

Answers explained

Answer the questions first: finding the evidence yourself teaches more than reading it. The answers stay folded until you ask.

Question 1

Ardleigh

What you hear

Ardleigh Road

Why

Andrea gives the street name and then spells it out letter by letter, so the answer is exactly what she spells: Ardleigh. The number 24 is already printed in the note, so listen for the word that follows it. Check the order of the letters, because the spelling is unusual.
Question 2

newspaper

What you hear

No, I read about you in the newspaper

Why

Jamie floats two possibilities, a friend or an advert, and Andrea cancels both with a plain 'No' before naming the real source: she read about the company in the newspaper. Friend and advert are only the agent's guesses, never her answer, so the single word newspaper is what the gap needs.
Question 3

theme

What you hear

plenty of time to visit some of the theme parks

Why

Los Angeles, says the agent, comes with plenty of time for theme parks, and the gap in the note sits directly before 'parks'. Andrea confirms it with 'something on my children's list', which ties the word to the family detail in the question. One word is required, so theme alone is enough.
Question 4

tent

What you hear

staying in a tent

Why

Yosemite offers a choice between a lodge and the campsite, but Andrea rejects the second. She dislikes the idea of sleeping in a tent because it would be too hot, so tent completes the note about what she does not want. The word campsite is the place, not what she would sleep in.
Question 5

castle

What you hear

a really nice castle near Cambria

Why

Asked about the road to Cambria, Andrea mentions a nice castle that someone told her about and wonders if they will pass it. The agent then names Hearst Castle, but the word needed for the gap is simply castle, which Andrea herself says first.
Question 6

beach / beaches

What you hear

good for beaches

Why

Santa Monica is dismissed as shopping, which Andrea has plenty of at home, so the agent moves on to San Diego. She responds that it is good for beaches, and later wants sunbathing and swimming. Beach or beaches is accepted. The zoo is suggested but she turns it down.
Question 7

2020

What you hear

covers 2,020 kilometres

Why

Total distance is the figure to catch, and the agent gives it as 2,020 kilometres for the twelve-day tour. Write it without the comma. The next sentence offers 206 and 632, the shortest and longest journeys, which tempt because they follow immediately but describe single legs, not the whole trip.
Question 8

flight

What you hear

accommodation, car rental and a flight but no meals

Why

Listing what the price covers for the California tour, the agent says accommodation, car rental and a flight, then adds no meals. The note says one, so the singular flight fits. Later Andrea asks about flights on the second tour, where the answer is the opposite, so keep the two trips apart.
Question 9

429

What you hear

£429 per person

Why

Two prices are spoken, and only one belongs to this trip. The nine-day tour costs £429 per person, whereas £525 was the California self-drive tour. Almost a hundred pounds cheaper works as a quick check: 525 less 429 is 96, so you know you have caught the right figure.
Question 10

dinner

What you hear

these hotels offer dinner in the price

Why

After saying flights are not included on the second tour, the agent adds that the hotels include dinner in the price. This contrasts with the first tour, which had no meals. Dinner is the word that follows accommodation and car in the list.

Part 1 audioscript

Part 1 · audioscript

TRAVEL AGENT

Good morning. World Tours. My name is Jamie. How can I help you?

ANDREA

Good morning. I want some information on self-drive tours in the USA. Could you send me a brochure?

TRAVEL AGENT

Of course. Could you I have your name please?

ANDREA

Andrea Brown.

TRAVEL AGENT

Thank you. And your address?

ANDREA

24, Ardleigh Road.

TRAVEL AGENT

Can you spell that?

ANDREA

A-R-D-L-E-I-G-H Road.

TRAVEL AGENT

Postcode?

ANDREA

BH5 2OP

TRAVEL AGENT

Thanks. And can I have your phone number?

ANDREA

Is a mobile alright?

TRAVEL AGENT

Fine.

ANDREA

It’s 07786643091.

TRAVEL AGENT

Thank you. And can I ask you where you heard about World Tours? From a friend? Or did you see an advert somewhere?

ANDREA

No, I read about you in the newspaper.

TRAVEL AGENT

OK, I’ll get the brochures in the post to you but can I give you some information over the phone. What kinds of things do you want to do on your holiday?

ANDREA

I’m interested in going to California with my family. I’ve got two children and we want to hire a car.

TRAVEL AGENT

OK. We have a couple of self-drive tours there visiting different places of interest in California. The first one begins in Los Angeles and there’s plenty of time to visit some of the theme parks there.

ANDREA

That’s something on my children’s list so I’d want to include that.

TRAVEL AGENT

Good. Then you drive to San Francisco. From San Francisco you can drive to Yosemite Park where you spend a couple of nights. You can choose to stay in a lodge or on the campsite.

ANDREA

I don’t like the idea of staying in a tent. It’d be too hot.

TRAVEL AGENT

Right. And the tour ends in Las Vegas.

ANDREA

OK.

TRAVEL AGENT

The other trip we can arrange is slightly different. It starts in San Francisco. Then you drive south to Cambria.

ANDREA

Someone told me there’s a really nice castle near Cambria. Will we go near that?

TRAVEL AGENT

Hearst Castle is on that road so you could stop there.

ANDREA

Good. I’d like to do that. Does this trip also go into the desert?

TRAVEL AGENT

No, it continues to Santa Monica where most people like to stop and do some shopping.

ANDREA

We have enough of that at home so that doesn’t interest us.

TRAVEL AGENT

OK. Well you could go straight on to San Diego.

ANDREA

That’s good for beaches isn’t it?

TRAVEL AGENT

That’s right, that’s a good place to relax and your children might like to visit the zoo before flying home.

ANDREA

I don’t think so. We want some time for sunbathing and swimming.

ANDREA

So how many days are the trips and how much do they cost?

TRAVEL AGENT

The first one I told you about is a self-drive tour through California which lasts twelve days and covers 2,020 kilometres. The shortest journey is 206 km and the longest is 632 kilometres. The cost is £525 per person. That includes accommodation, car rental and a flight but no meals.

ANDREA

OK. And the other trip?

TRAVEL AGENT

That lasts nine days but you spend only three days on the road. You cover about 980 kilometres altogether.

ANDREA

So is that cheaper then?

TRAVEL AGENT

Yes, it’s almost a hundred pounds cheaper. It’s £429 per person, which is a good deal.

ANDREA

So that covers accommodation and car hire. What about flights?

TRAVEL AGENT

They aren’t included. But these hotels offer dinner in the price.

ANDREA

OK. Well, thank you very much. I’ll be in touch when I’ve had a chance to look at the brochure.

TRAVEL AGENT

I’m pleased to help. Goodbye.

ANDREA

Goodbye.

Part 1 recording

Questions 1–10

Answers explained

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Part 1 audioscript