Cambridge IELTS 12 · 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 Can take photos of the ______ that surround the lake
2 Visit can include a 40-minute ride on a ______
3 Visitors can walk in the farm’s ______ by the lake
4 ______ is available at extra cost
5 A ______ is provided
6 Only suitable for cyclists who have some ______
7 Bikes can be hired from ______ (near the Cruise Ship Terminal)
8 a ______ (can be hired)
9 There are no ______ or accommodation in the area
10 Total cost for whole family of cruise and farm visit: $______

Answers explained

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

Question 1

mountains

What you hear

take pictures of the mountains

Why

Take your camera for the mountains: the employee reminds the visitor not to forget pictures of them, because they are all around you on the boat. The note's 'surround the lake' recasts 'all around you'. The steamship and the café are mentioned close by, but neither is offered as something to photograph.
Question 2

horse

What you hear

a 40-minute trek round the farm on a horse

Why

A 40-minute trek round the farm is offered 'on a horse', so the animal is horse. The sheep are mentioned just before, but they are only felt in the holding pens, not ridden. The visitor's son loves animals, which makes sheep a tempting wrong guess, yet the question asks what he would ride.
Question 3

garden(s)

What you hear

very beautiful gardens along the side of the lake

Why

The farm's gardens lie 'along the side of the lake', which is the note's 'by the lake', and visitors may explore the farm on their own, so 'walk in' fits. Gardens is the only place named in that stretch; the holding pens belong to the sheep visit mentioned earlier. Either garden or gardens is accepted.
Question 4

lunch

What you hear

can we get lunch there

Why

The visitor asks about lunch and the employee says yes, but it is 'not included in the basic cost' and you pay on arrival. That is the note's 'extra cost'. The gap holds the thing being paid for, lunch, not the idea of payment itself.
Question 5

map

What you hear

They’ll give you a map when you get your ticket

Why

When buying a cruise ticket, cyclists are given a map at no extra charge, so provided is map. Be careful not to write bike: the visitor must take their own bike on the ship, and it is hired separately in the city, so the bike is never something the trail provides.
Question 6

experience

What you hear

a bit more experience

Why

The trail is 'quite challenging in places' and needs 'a bit more experience', which is why the seven-year-old is ruled out. The noun after 'some' is therefore experience. His age is the reason for the warning, not the answer, and no other word for the requirement, such as fitness, is ever spoken.
Question 7

Ratchesons

What you hear

It’s called Ratchesons

Why

The hire shop is named as Ratchesons and the visitor asks for the spelling, so this is a name you must spell correctly. The letters are given one by one, R-A-T-C-H-E-S-O-N-S, and the trailing S is easy to drop. The note's hint about the Cruise Ship Terminal matches the location mentioned afterwards.
Question 8

helmet

What you hear

I can rent a helmet from the bike place

Why

Having been told about a repair kit, snack and water to bring, the visitor guesses they can rent a helmet from the bike place, and the employee agrees: you should definitely get that. The earlier items are things to bring, not hire, so the gap, which follows 'can be hired', needs helmet.
Question 9

shops

What you hear

you won't see any shops round there, or anywhere to stay

Why

Remoteness is the point: the employee warns there are no 'shops round there, or anywhere to stay'. The note's 'accommodation' paraphrases 'anywhere to stay', which leaves shops for the gap. Keep the plural, as the speaker does when she says 'any shops'.
Question 10

267

What you hear

it’s $267 because she has to pay the adult fare

Why

The employee first quotes a total of $214, then learns the daughter is fifteen and corrects it to $267 because she pays the adult fare of $75. The trap is the first figure, and also the separate $117 for one adult and a child. Only the corrected figure is the family total.

Part 1 audioscript

Part 1 · audioscript

TC EMPLOYEE

Hi. Can I help you?

VISITOR

I’d like to find out if you have any excursions suitable for families.

TC EMPLOYEE

Sure. How about taking your family for a cruise? We have a steamship that takes passengers out several times a day - it’s over 100 years old.

VISITOR

That sounds interesting. How long is the trip?

TC EMPLOYEE

About an hour and a half. And don’t forget to take pictures of the mountains. They’re all around you when you’re on the boat and they look fantastic.

VISITOR

OK. And I assume there’s a café or something on board?

TC EMPLOYEE

Sure. How old are your children?

VISITOR

Er, my daughter’s fifteen and my son’s seven.

TC EMPLOYEE

Right. Well there are various things you can do once you’ve crossed the lake, to make a day of it. One thing that’s very popular is a visit to the Country Farm. You’re met off the boat by the farmer and he’ll take you to the holding pens, where the sheep are kept. Children love feeling them!

VISITOR

My son would love that. He really likes animals.

TC EMPLOYEE

Well, there’s also a 40-minute trek round the farm on a horse, if he wants.

VISITOR

Do you think he’d manage it? He hasn’t done that before.

TC EMPLOYEE

Sure. It’s suitable for complete beginners.

VISITOR

Ah, good.

TC EMPLOYEE

And again, visitors are welcome to explore the farm on their own, as long as they take care to close gates and so on. There are some very beautiful gardens along the side of the lake which also belong to the farm - they’ll be just at their best now. You could easily spend an hour or two there.

VISITOR

OK. Well that all sounds good. And can we get lunch there?

TC EMPLOYEE

You can, and it’s very good, though it’s not included in the basic cost. You pay when you get there.

VISITOR

Right.

VISITOR

So is there anything else to do over on that side of the lake?

TC EMPLOYEE

Well, what you can do is take a bike over on the ship and then go on a cycling trip. There’s a trail there called the Back Road - you could easily spend three or four hours exploring it, and the scenery’s wonderful. They’ll give you a map when you get your ticket for the cruise - there’s no extra charge.

VISITOR

What’s the trail like in terms of difficulty?

TC EMPLOYEE

Quite challenging in places. It wouldn’t be suitable for your seven-year-old. It needs someone who’s got a bit more experience.

VISITOR

Hmm. Well, my daughter loves cycling and so do I, so maybe the two of us could go, and my wife and son could stay on the farm. That might work out quite well. But we don’t have bikes here… is there somewhere we could rent them?

TC EMPLOYEE

Yes, there’s a place here in the city. It’s called Ratchesons.

VISITOR

I’ll just make a note of that - er, how do you spell it?

TC EMPLOYEE

R-A-T-C-H-E-S-O-N-S. It’s just be the cruise ship terminal.

VISITOR

OK.

TC EMPLOYEE

You’d also need to pick up a repair kit for the bike from there to take along with you, and you’d need to take along a snack and some water - it’d be best to get those in the city.

VISITOR

Fine. That shouldn’t be a problem. And I assume I can rent a helmet from the bike place?

TC EMPLOYEE

Sure, you should definitely get that. It’s a great ride, but you want to be well prepared because it’s very remote - you won’t see any shops round there, or anywhere to stay, so you need to get back in time for the last boat.

VISITOR

Yeah. So what sort of prices are we looking at here?

TC EMPLOYEE

Let’s see, that’d be one adult and one child for the cruise with farm tour, that’s $117, and an adult and a child for the cruise only so that’s $214 dollars altogether. Oh, wait a minute, how old did you say your daughter was?

VISITOR

Fifteen.

TC EMPLOYEE

Then I’m afraid it’s $267 because she has to pay the adult fare, which is $75 instead of the child fare which is $22 - sorry about that.

VISITOR

That’s OK. Er, so how do …

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