Cambridge IELTS 15 · Listening · Test 3 · Part 2

Listening Test 3, Part 2: answers explained

Street Play Scheme

The recording and its 10 questions (11–20). Every answer is explained with the words that give it away.

Take the whole test, timed Show the answers

Part 2 recording

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

Questions 11–20

Multiple choice
11 When did the Street Play Scheme first take place?
12 How often is Beechwood Road closed to traffic now?
13 Who is responsible for closing the road?
14 Residents who want to use their cars
15 Alice says that Street Play Schemes are most needed in
16 What has been the reaction of residents who are not parents?
Multiple choice (several answers)
17 Which TWO benefits for children does Alice think are the most important?
18 Which TWO benefits for children does Alice think are the most important?
19 Which TWO results of the King Street experiment surprised Alice?
20 Which TWO results of the King Street experiment surprised Alice?

Answers explained

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

Question 11

B

What you hear

the scheme’s been up and running for three years now

Why

Alice had the idea about six years ago and campaigned for at least two years, so the scheme itself has been running for three years. B. Six years is when the idea began, and two years is how long the campaign took.
Question 12

A

What you hear

At the moment it’s just once a week

Why

Closing for a whole weekend is only what Alice would love in future, and once a month was the early arrangement. At the moment it's just once a week, so A. The tempting options are a wish and a past practice.
Question 13

C

What you hear

We have volunteer wardens

Why

Volunteer wardens, mostly parents but some elderly residents, block the road at either end. The council merely supplied signs, and police have been called only once or twice, so C. A and B are involvement at the edges.
Question 14

B

What you hear

as long as they drive at under 20 kilometres per hour

Why

Residents may still drive if they stay under 20 kilometres per hour, so the rule is to drive very slowly, B. Most simply choose to park elsewhere, but that's optional, not a requirement, and the wardens only stop through traffic, so no permission is needed.
Question 15

C

What you hear

It’s here that demand is greatest

Why

Alice says demand is greatest on busy roads. In wealthier areas, where children have parks and gardens, and in suburbs, there is less demand, which eliminates A and B. The right choice is the area with heavy traffic, C.
Question 16

B

What you hear

very happy to see children out on the street

Why

Non-parents, like everyone else, have been very supportive and happy to see children out on the street. A is wrong because only a tiny minority complain, and C fails because people accept the noise rather than being surprised by its absence.
Question 17

B

What you hear

the biggest advantage is that kids develop confidence in themselves to be outside without their parents

Why

Alice calls it the biggest advantage: children develop confidence to be outside without their parents, i.e. a greater sense of independence, B. Fresh air and playing with friends are praised first, but she explicitly ranks this one above them.
Question 18

D

What you hear

it’s like having a big extended family

Why

The other fantastic thing, she says, is that children get to know adults in the street, like a big extended family. That is being part of a community, D. Physical activity is downplayed ('even if they're not doing anything particularly energetic').
Question 19

A

What you hear

we were actually amazed that sales in the shops went up considerably that day

Why

Alice says she and the others were amazed that shop sales went up considerably, having expected fewer people out shopping. So more shoppers, A, was a surprise. Safety was an expected result, with everyone saying they felt safer.
Question 20

E

What you hear

what I hadn’t expected was how much quieter it would be

Why

Air quality improving was predicted, but what Alice hadn't expected was how much quieter it would be, even with buses still running. Less noise pollution is E, whereas C is wrong because she says 'as we'd predicted'.

Part 2 audioscript

Part 2 · audioscript

PRESENTER:

My guest on the show today is Alice Riches who started the Street Play Scheme where she lives in Beechwood Road. For those of you that don’t already know – Street Play involves local residents closing off their street for a few hours so that children have a chance to play in the street safely. She started it in her own street, Beechwood Road, and the idea caught on, and there are now Street Play Schemes all over the city. So when did you actually start the scheme, Alice?

ALICE:

Well, I first had the idea when my oldest child was still a toddler, so that’s about six years ago now – but it took at least two years of campaigning before we were actually able to make it happen. So the scheme’s been up and running for three years now. We’d love to be able to close our road for longer – for the whole weekend, from Saturday morning until Sunday evening, for example. At the moment it’s just once a week. But when we started it was only once a month. But we’re working on it.

PRESENTER:

So what actually happens when Beechwood Road is closed?

ALICE:

We have volunteer wardens, mostly parents but some elderly residents too, who block off our road at either end. The council have provided special signs but there’s always a volunteer there to explain what’s happening to any motorists. Generally, they’re fine about it – we’ve only had to get the police involved once or twice.

Now I should explain that the road isn’t completely closed to cars. But only residents’ cars are allowed. If people really need to get in or out of Beechwood Road, it’s not a problem – as long as they drive at under 20 kilometres per hour. But most people just decide not to use their cars during this time, or they park in another street. The wardens are only there to stop through traffic.

PRESENTER:

So can anyone apply to get involved in Street Play?

ALICE:

Absolutely – we want to include all kids in the city – especially those who live on busy roads. It’s here that demand is greatest. Obviously, there isn’t such demand in wealthier areas where the children have access to parks or large gardens – or in the suburbs where there are usually more places for children to play outside.

I’d recommend that anyone listening who likes the idea should just give it a go. We’ve been surprised by the positive reaction of residents all over the city. And that’s not just parents. There are always a few who complain but they’re a tiny minority. On the whole everyone is very supportive and say they’re very happy to see children out on the street – even if it does get quite noisy.

ALICE:

There have been so many benefits of Street Play for the kids. Parents really like the fact that the kids are getting fresh air instead of sitting staring at a computer screen, even if they’re not doing anything particularly energetic. And of course it’s great that kids can play with their friends outside without being supervised by their parents – but for me the biggest advantage is that kids develop confidence in themselves to be outside without their parents. The other really fantastic thing is that children get to know the adults in the street – it’s like having a big extended family.

PRESENTER:

It certainly does have a lot of benefits. I want to move on now and ask you about a related project in King Street.

ALICE:

Right. Well this was an experiment I was involved in where local residents decided to try and reduce the traffic along King Street, which is the busiest main road in our area, by persuading people not to use their cars for one day. We thought about making people pay more for parking – but we decided that would be really unpopular – so instead we just stopped people from parking on King Street but left the other car parks open.

It was surprising how much of a difference all this made. As we’d predicted, air quality was significantly better but what I hadn’t expected was how much quieter it would be – even with the buses still running. Of course everyone said they felt safer but we were actually amazed that sales in the shops went up considerably that day – we thought there’d be fewer people out shopping – not more.

PRESENTER:

That’s really interesting so the fact that …

Part 2 recording

Questions 11–20

Answers explained

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15

Question 16

Question 17

Question 18

Question 19

Question 20

Part 2 audioscript