Cambridge IELTS 14 · 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

Form completion
1 Nationality ______
2 Reason for visit business (to buy antique ______)
3 Current address ______ Apartments (No 15)
4 Items stolen - a wallet containing approximately £ ______
5 a ______
6 Date of theft ______
7 Location outside the ______ at about 4 pm
8 Details of suspect - some boys asked for the ______ then ran off
9 he was about 12, slim build with ______ hair
10 ______

Answers explained

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

Question 1

Canadian

What you hear

I’m actually Canadian

Why

Louise says plainly that she is Canadian, so that is her nationality. The tempting word is British, but she only adds that her mother was British, which describes a relative, not her. She also rejects the UK-resident question, so nothing else fits the gap.
Question 2

furniture

What you hear

I come over to buy old furniture, antiques you know

Why

Buying old furniture is what an interior designer like Louise comes over to do, and the form asks for the item after 'antique'. She adds 'antiques you know' as an explanation, so do not write antiques; the one-word gap needs furniture, which she says first.
Question 3

Park

What you hear

at present I’ve got a place at Park Apartments

Why

Two apartment blocks are named, which is the catch. Riverside Apartments is where she used to stay, but only for six weeks. Park Apartments, on King Street, is where she is living at present, and the form's 'Current address' wants that one.
Question 4

250 (sterling)

What you hear

about £250 sterling, I should think

Why

Louise estimates the cash at about £250, so write 250. Her £300 withdrawal is the distractor: she explains that she had already spent roughly £50 of it, which leaves the smaller sum in the wallet. Her credit cards were never in there.
Question 5

phone

What you hear

my phone had gone as well

Why

After the wallet, Louise realises something else is missing: her phone, which was only a week old. The rental car keys are mentioned too, but she says those were not taken, so keys would be wrong. Phone is the item added to the stolen list.
Question 6

10(th) September

What you hear

that was September the tenth

Why

The officer works out the date for her. Louise says the theft happened yesterday, and he converts that to September the tenth. You must give the date itself, not the word 'yesterday', and either 10 September or 10th September is accepted.
Question 7

museum

What you hear

as we were leaving there, at about 4 o’clock

Why

Louise spent a couple of hours with a friend in the museum, and the boys crowded round them as they were leaving at about 4 o'clock. The supermarket is where she noticed the loss, not where it happened, so it is not the location asked for.
Question 8

time

What you hear

they were asking us that time it was

Why

Louise recalls the boys crowding round her and asking what time it was, a request the form shortens to 'asked for the ...'. Time is the noun, and 'ran off' after the gap fits what happened next. The crowding itself is not what the gap asks for; it wants what they pretended to need.
Question 9

blond(e)

What you hear

he was blond

Why

The officer asks about hair colour and Louise is certain: the talkative boy was blond. His friends were dark-haired, so dark is the trap for anyone who loses track of which boy is being described. Blond or blonde is accepted.
Question 10

87954 82361

What you hear

ten digits: 87954 82361

Why

The officer reads the crime reference number as a ten-digit figure in two groups of five. Write 87954 82361. The risk is dropping or swapping a digit, so listen to each group carefully; the word 'ten' only tells you how many digits to expect.

Part 1 audioscript

Part 1 · audioscript

OFFICER

Good morning. What can I do for you?

LOUISE

I want to report a theft. I had some things stolen out of my bag yesterday.

OFFICER

I’m sorry to hear that. Right, so I’ll need to take a few details. Can I start with your name?

LOUISE

Louise Taylor.

OFFICER

OK, thank you. And are you resident in the UK?

LOUISE

No, I’m actually Canadian. Though my mother was British.

OFFICER

And your date of birth?

LOUISE

December 14th, 1977.

OFFICER

So you’re just visiting this country?

LOUISE

That’s right. I come over most summers on business. I’m an interior designer and I come over to buy old furniture, antiques you know. There are some really lovely things around here, but you need to get out to the small towns. I’ve had a really good trip this year, until this happened.

OFFICER

OK. So you’ve been here quite a while?

LOUISE

Yes, I’m here for two months. I go back next week.

OFFICER

So may I ask where you’re staying now?

LOUISE

Well at present I’ve got a place at Park Apartments, that’s on King Street. I was staying at the Riverside Apartments on the same street, but the apartment there was only available for six weeks so I had to find another one.

OFFICER

OK. And the apartment number?

LOUISE

Fifteen.

LOUISE

Right.

…………………………………………..

OFFICER

Now, I need to take some details of the theft. So you said you had some things stolen out of your bag?

LOUISE

That’s right.

OFFICER

And were you actually carrying the bag when the theft took place?

LOUISE

Yes, I really can’t understand it. I had my backpack on. And I went into a supermarket to buy a few things and when I opened it up my wallet wasn’t there.

OFFICER

And what did your wallet have in it?

LOUISE

Well, fortunately I don’t keep my credit cards in that wallet – I keep them with my passport in an inside compartment in my backpack. But there was quite a bit of cash there … about £250 sterling, I should think. I withdrew £300 from my account yesterday, but I did a bit of shopping, so I must have already spent about £50 of that.

OFFICER

OK.

LOUISE

At first I thought, oh I must have left the wallet back in the apartment, but then I realised my phone had gone as well. It was only a week old, and that’s when I realised I’d been robbed. Anyway at least they didn’t take the keys to my rental car.

OFFICER

Yes. So you say the theft occurred yesterday?

LOUISE

Yes.

OFFICER

So that was September the tenth. And do you have any idea at all of where or when the things might possibly have been stolen?

LOUISE

Well at first I couldn’t believe it because the bag had been on my back ever since I left the apartment after lunch. It’s just a small backpack, but I generally use it when I’m travelling because it seems safer than a handbag. Anyway, I met up with a friend, and we spent a couple of hours in the museum. But I do remember that as we were leaving there, at about 4 o’clock, a group of young boys ran up to us, and they were really crowding round us, and they were asking us that time it was, then all of a sudden they ran off.

OFFICER

Can you remember anything about them?

LOUISE

The one who did most of the talking was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of something … let’s see … a tiger.

OFFICER

Right. Any idea of how old he might have been?

LOUISE

Around twelve years old?

OFFICER

And can you remember anything else about his appearance?

LOUISE

Not much. He was quite thin …

OFFICER

Colour of hair?

LOUISE

I do remember that – he was blond. All the others were dark-haired.

OFFICER

And any details of the others?

LOUISE

Not really. They came and went so quickly.

OFFICER

Right. So what I’m going to do now is give you a crime reference number so you can contact your insurance company. So this is ten digits: 87954 82361.

LOUISE

Thank you. So should I …

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