Cambridge IELTS 10 · Listening · Test 2 · Part 1

Listening Test 2, 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 Name: Luisa ______
2 Address: ______ White Stone Rd
3 Postcode: ______
4 Occupation: ______
5 Reason for visit to town: to go to the ______
6 better ______
7 more frequent ______
8 having ______ parking places for bicycles
9 being able to use a ______ at work
10 the opportunity to have cycling ______ on busy roads

Answers explained

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

Question 1

Hardie

What you hear

Hardie

Why

Hardie is the surname, and Luisa confirms it letter by letter, H-A-R-D-I-E, when asked to spell it. Luisa is already printed in the note, so only the family name goes in the gap. Copy her spelling exactly: the sound could be written Hardy, but she spells it with an I and an E.
Question 2

19

What you hear

19, White Stone Road

Why

Luisa's house number comes before the street name, so the figure 19 fills the gap. Straight afterwards the interviewer mentions Bradfield, which is the area, not a number, and the postcode comes later. Write the digits 19, not the word.
Question 3

GT8 2LC

What you hear

It’s actually G-T-8, 2-L-C

Why

Luisa overrides the interviewer's suggested GT7 with 'It's actually G-T-8, 2-L-C', so the postcode is GT8 2LC. Hearing GT7 first is the trap, but it is only a question from the interviewer, not her address. Write the letters and digits as she spells them, with a space after GT8.
Question 4

hairdresser

What you hear

I’m a hairdresser

Why

The interviewer asks whether she is a student, and Luisa replies that she has just finished her training and is a hairdresser. Student is therefore wrong. The word hairdresser is said clearly, and it is the job, not the training she has just completed.
Question 5

dentist / dentist’s

What you hear

to see the dentist

Why

Shopping would be Luisa's normal reason for coming into town, but she says that today it is not, and she has come to see the dentist. Shopping is the distractor. Dentist and dentist's are both accepted for the gap after go to the.
Question 6

lighting

What you hear

the lighting should be better

Why

When she walks and is working a later shift, Luisa says the lighting should be better, which completes the note's 'better lighting'. Footpaths come up next, but her complaint there is about their number, so it is a point about quantity, not the quality that 'better' points to.
Question 7

trains

What you hear

I don’t think there are enough trains

Why

Luisa does not think there are enough trains and says she avoids them because the wait is so long. That is the need for more frequent trains, and the plural trains fits the note. Footpaths come just before this, but she wants more of those, not more frequent ones.
Question 8

safe

What you hear

no safe places to leave your bikes

Why

On cycling, Luisa says her workplace has no safe places to leave bikes. The note turns this into having safe parking places for bicycles, so the missing adjective is safe. Words like secure or covered are not said, so only the word she uses will do.
Question 9

shower

What you hear

I’d need a shower somewhere at work

Why

Riding uphill on a hot day would leave Luisa sweaty, so she says she would need a shower somewhere at work. The article a before the gap demands a singular noun, which rules out showers and confirms the single word shower.
Question 10

training

What you hear

I’d like to see you offering training for that

Why

Busy roads make Luisa nervous, and she would like to see training offered, because that would make her feel a lot better about starting. The note's 'cycling ___ on busy roads' needs her own noun, training. Bike storage and showers, her earlier points, belong to the previous two gaps.

Part 1 audioscript

Part 1 · audioscript

INTERVIEWER

Excuse me.

LUISA

Yes?

INTERVIEWER

I wonder if you could spare a few minutes to do a survey on transport. It won’t take long.

LUISA

No, that’s fine.

INTERVIEWER

Lovely. The survey is on behalf of the local council. They’d like to know about what transport you use any suggestions for improvement. Can I start by asking you how you travelled to town today?

LUISA

Sure. I came on the bus.

INTERVIEWER

Great. Now can I get a few details about yourself?

LUISA

OK.

INTERVIEWER

What’s your name?

LUISA

It’s Luisa …

INTERVIEWER

Yes.

LUISA

Hardie.

INTERVIEWER

Can you spell that, please?

LUISA

Yes, it’s H-A-R-D-I-E.

INTERVIEWER

Great. Thanks. And can I have your address?

LUISA

It’s 19, White Stone Road.

INTERVIEWER

Oh, right. I know that area. It’s Bradfield, isn’t it?

LUISA

That’s right.

INTERVIEWER

Is the postcode GT7?

LUISA

It’s actually G-T-8, 2-L-C.

INTERVIEWER

Great. And could I ask what your job is? Are you a student?

LUISA

I’ve actually just finished my training. I’m a hairdresser.

INTERVIEWER

Oh, right. And one more question in this section. What is the reason for you coming into town today?

LUISA

Actually it’s not for shopping today, which would be my normal reason, but to see the dentist.

INTERVIEWER

Right. Thanks.

INTERVIEWER

Now in this last section I’d like you to give us some ideas about the facilities and arrangements in the city for getting to and from work, er, any suggestions you have for improvements.

LUISA

Well, something I’ve thought about for some time is that when I do walk and I’m doing a later shift, I think the lighting should be better.

INTERVIEWER

Yes, good point.

LUISA

And of course, I think it’s a real shame they’ve been cutting down on the number of footpaths. They should have more of those. Then people would walk more.

INTERVIEWER

Yes, right.

LUISA

And, I don’t think there are enough trains. That’s why I don’t use them - you have to wait so long.

INTERVIEWER

Thanks. And finally I’d like to ask your opinion on cycling. As you may know, there’s a drive in the city to get more people to cycle to work.

LUISA

Right.

INTERVIEWER

But we realise that there are things which the council, but also employers, might do to help encourage workers to cycle to work.

LUISA

Yep. Well, I have thought about it and where I work there are no safe places to leave your bikes.

INTERVIEWER

OK.

LUISA

And also, I’d have to cycle uphill and on a hot day I’d arrive at work pretty sweaty so I think I’d need a shower somewhere at work.

INTERVIEWER

Right.

LUISA

And I suppose the last thing is that I wouldn’t be all that confident about cycling on such busy roads. I think I’d like to see you offering training for that, you know. I’d feel a lot better about starting if that was the case.

INTERVIEWER

Well, that’s very helpful. Thank you very much for your time.

LUISA

No problem. Bye.

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