Cambridge IELTS 13 · Listening · Test 1 · Part 1

Listening Test 1, Part 1: answers explained

Cookery Classes

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

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Part 1 recording

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

Questions 1–10

Table completion
1 how to ______ and cook with seasonal products
2 ● small classes ● also offers ______ classes ● clients who return get a … discount
3 ● small classes ● also offers … classes ● clients who return get a ______ discount
4 food that is ______
5 ● includes recipes to strengthen your ______ ● they have a free … Every Thursday
6 ● includes recipes to strengthen your … ● they have a free ______ Every Thursday
7 The ______ Centre
8 mainly ______ food
9 ● located near the ______ ● a special course in skills with a … is sometimes available
10 ● located near the … ● a special course in skills with a ______ is sometimes available

Answers explained

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

Question 1

choose

What you hear

show you how to choose them

Why

Mike describes the Food Studio as teaching seasonal cooking and also showing you "how to choose them", meaning the products. The gap follows "how to", so a verb is needed, and "choose" is the only one spoken. "Cook" is already printed in the note, so it can't be the answer.
Question 2

private

What you hear

could I get a private lesson there

Why

The word comes from the woman, not Mike: she asks whether she could get a private lesson, and he checks and confirms they do offer those. That is why the note says ‘private’. His comment about people enjoying getting to know one another concerns the ordinary group classes, so it gives you no new type of class to write down.
Question 3

20 / twenty percent

What you hear

a discount of 20 percent

Why

Mike’s special deal is a 20 percent discount for anyone who comes back for another class. ‘Percent’ is already printed after the gap, so write 20 or twenty and nothing more. No second figure competes here, which makes it a pure test of attention: you must catch the number while still thinking about the previous gap.
Question 4

healthy

What you hear

prepare healthy food

Why

Bond’s is the newer school, open only six months, and Mike says it concentrates on teaching you to prepare healthy food, which is exactly what the gap needs. ‘Specialist’ describes the staff, not the food. The woman then jumps to diets, but Mike plays down low calories and weight loss, so don’t be tempted by those.
Question 5

bones

What you hear

help build up your bones

Why

The woman guesses this is food for dieters, and Mike corrects her: not low calories or weight loss, but recipes with ingredients that help build up your bones and make them stronger. The gap wants the body part, so bones. Weight is the tempting answer because it is what she assumes, and he rejects it.
Question 6

lecture

What you hear

every Thursday evening they have a lecture

Why

Mike says every Thursday evening the school gives a lecture, free and with no need to book, which fits ‘a free ______’ exactly. Website is the wrong turn: it comes just before, but it is somewhere she can look, not something offered weekly. The classes themselves are never described as free.
Question 7

Arretsa

What you hear

that’s spelled A-R-R-E-T-S-A

Why

This is a spelling answer. Mike admits the name is strange and spells it out: A-R-R-E-T-S-A. Write it exactly as spelled, with the double R at the start, because nothing about the sound would help you guess the word. Only the letters he spells count, not your own idea of how it sounds.
Question 8

vegetarian

What you hear

mostly specialise in vegetarian dishes

Why

‘Mainly’ in the note points to what the centre mostly does, and Mike says it does a bit of meat and fish but mostly specialises in vegetarian dishes. Meat and fish are the trap, a minor part named first. The woman’s later remark about friends who don’t eat meat only reinforces the answer.
Question 9

market

What you hear

Is it just by the market

Why

Unusually, the woman supplies the word: she asks whether the centre is just by the market, and Mike confirms with ‘That’s right’, adding that the ingredients are right next door. So market is the answer even though he never says it in his own sentence; follow the exchange as a pair.
Question 10

knife

What you hear

a special two-hour course in how to use a knife

Why

Mike calls it a special two-hour course in how to use a knife, then lists what it covers: buying, sharpening and chopping. Those are all skills with one object, which supplies the noun after ‘with a’. His warning that it books up quickly explains why the note says it is only sometimes available.

Part 1 audioscript

Part 1 · audioscript

OFFICIAL

Hello, Tourist Information Centre, Mike speaking, how can I help you?

WOMAN

Oh, hi. I wanted to find out about cookery classes. I believe there are some one-day classes for tourists?

OFFICIAL

Well, they’re open to everyone, but tourists are always welcome. OK, let me give you some details of what’s available. There are several classes. One very popular one is at the Food Studio.

WOMAN

OFFICIAL

They focus on seasonal products, and as well as teaching you how to cook them, they also show you how to choose them.

WOMAN

Right, that sounds good. How big are the classes?

OFFICIAL

I’m not sure exactly, but they’ll be quite small.

WOMAN

And could I get a private lesson there?

OFFICIAL

I think so … let me check, yes, they do offer those. Though in fact most of the people who attend the classes find it’s a nice way of getting to know one another.

WOMAN

I suppose it must be, yes.

OFFICIAL

And this company has a special deal for clients where they offer a discount of 20 percent if you return for a further class.

WOMAN

OK. But you said there were several classes?

OFFICIAL

That’s right. Another one you might be interested in is Bond’s Cookery School. They’re quite new, they just opened six months ago, but I’ve heard good things about them. They concentrate on teaching you to prepare healthy food, and they have quite a lot of specialist staff.

WOMAN

So is that food for people on a diet and things like that? I don’t know if I’d be interested in that.

OFFICIAL

Well, I don’t think they particularly focus on low calorie diets or weight loss. It’s more to do with recipes that look at specific needs, like including ingredients that will help build up your bones and make them stronger, that sort of thing.

WOMAN

I see. Well, I might be interested, I’m not sure. Do they have a website I could check?

OFFICIAL

Yes, just key in the name of the school - it’ll come up. And if you want to know more about them, every Thursday evening they have a lecture at the school. It’s free and you don’t need to book or anything, just turn up at 7.30. And that might give you an idea of whether you want to go to an actual class.

OFFICIAL

OK, there’s one more place you might be interested in. That’s got a rather strange name, it’s called The Arretsa Centre - that’s spelled A-R-R-E-T-S-A.

WOMAN

OK.

OFFICIAL

They’ve got a very good reputation. They do a bit of meat and fish cookery but they mostly specialise in vegetarian dishes.

WOMAN

Right. That’s certainly an area I’d like to learn more about. I’ve got lots of friends who don’t eat meat. In fact, I think I might have seen that school today. Is it just by the market?

OFFICIAL

That’s right. So they don’t have any problem getting their ingredients. They’re right next door. And they also offer a special two-hour course in how to use a knife. They cover all the different skills - buying them, sharpening, chopping techniques. It gets booked up quickly though so you’d need to check it was available.

WOMAN

Right, well thank you very much. I’ll go and …

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