Cambridge IELTS 14 Listening Test 3 Answers

SECTION 1 1. Answer: Tesla

Here’s what the speakers say:

MAN – OK. Now can you tell me a bit about what conference facilities you have?

ANGELA – Sure. So for talks and presentations we have the Tesla room.

MAN – Sorry?

ANGELA – Tesla – that’s spelled T-E-S-L-A. It holds up to a hundred people, and it’s fully equipped with a projector and so on.

Explanation:

When the customers start asking about the conference facilities, we can tell that they are talking about the type of room for the talk, which is the answer for Question 1, so we should focus here. This is not a difficult question. With this kind of question, speakers will always spell the word unless it’s too common. Therefore, candidates should not panic and wait until they spell it, and just note down what you can hear. You should be careful and concentrate until you are sure that they move on to the next part of the conversation. The correct answer is Tesla.

Answer: Tesla

2. Answer: microphone

Here’s what the speakers say:

ANGELA – It holds up to a hundred of people, and it’s fully equipped with a projector and so on.

MAN – How about a microphone?

ANGELA – Yes, that’ll be all set up ready for you, and there’ll be one that members of the audience can use too, for questions, if necessary.

Explanation:

The answer for Question 2 comes right after the answer for Question 1. That’s why candidates need to spend time to look at questions before listening and get a gist of what kind of information they need for each question, so they know where to focus on. The room is already “fully equipped” with a “projector”, this information we already have, so we need to focus on the following information. The customer asks about the microphone and it will be “set up ready”, which means that the microphone will be “available”. Microphone is the answer.

Answer: Microphone

3. Answer: exhibition

Here’s what the speakers say:

MAN – And we’ll also need some sort of open area where people can sit and have a cup of coffee, and we’d like to have an exhibition of our products and services there as well, so that’ll need to be quite a big space.

ANGELA – That’s fine, there’s a central atrium with all those facilities, and you can come before the conference starts if you want to set everything up.

Explanation:

After the request for the necessary facilities, the customer moves on to the next question. Aside from “open area” for “a cup of coffee”, the man would also like to have “an exhibition” in a big space’. Paying attention to the articles “an” could also help to find the right word easier, as the word will need to start with a vowel.

Answer: exhibition

4. Answer: Wifi

Here’s what the speakers say:

MAN – Great. And I presume there’s wifi?

ANGELA – Oh yes, that’s free and available throughout the hotel.

Explanation:

As Question 4 is also in the part of “conference facilities”, the answer will not be far away from the answer for Question 3. Right after asking about the area for coffee and exhibition, the customer went on to ask about the wifi. Angela then confirms that it’s “free” “throughout the hotel”, so the answer is Wifi.

Answer: Wifi

5. Answer: 45

Here’s what the speakers say:

ANGELA – Would you also like us to provide a buffet lunch? We can do a two-course meal with a number of different options.

MAN – What sort of price are we looking at for that?

ANGELA – Well, I can send you a copy of the standard menu. That’s $45 per person. Or you can have the special for $25 more.

Explanation:

Candidates should get used to some currency names, symbols and codes, for example, the official currency of the US is dollar (symbol: $, ISO code: USD) so they do not get confused in some situations like this. At first, Angela suggests providing a buffet lunch with a number of options. When you see the symbol $, you would know you have to listen to the information about cash. The correct price for a standard buffet lunch is $45 per person, or per head. There is extra information on the additional of $25 for the special lunch, this is information added to cause distraction and confusion. Therefore, it is not just the amount of cash should candidates pay attention to, but also the other content of the script.

Answer: 45

6. Answer: 135

Here’s what the speakers say:

MAN – Now we’re also going to need accommodation on the Saturday night for some of the participants…I’m not sure how many, but probably about 25. So what do you charge for a room?

ANGELA – Well, for conference attendees we have a 25% reduction, so we can offer you rooms at $135. Normally a standard room’s $180.

MAN – And does that include breakfast? ANGELA – Sure.

Explanation:

As there is also the symbol $ in the question, you will have to listen to the information about cash on this one as well. According to the conversation, the original room rate is $180, but Angela offers 25% discount from the rate and the guest only have to pay $135 per room, so the answer is $135. And that has included breakfast as Angela has confirmed. Candidates should note down information that they can hear in the first place, after that, when the speaker explains further, candidates can compare the information they had with the new information to see which one is needed. There will often be information that is given just to confuse candidates.

Answer: 135

7. Answer: pool

Here’s what the speaker says:

ANGELA – So we’ve got a spa where you can get massages and facials and so on, and there’s a pool up on the roof for the use of guests.

Explanation:

After Angela and the customer finish talking about the room rates, Angela starts talking about the hotel’s facilities, and this is where the answer for Question 7 is. With the answer given, we already know that the hotel has a spa and then she mentions a pool “up on the roof”, so the answer is pool.

Answer: pool

8. Answer: airport

Here’s what the speakers say:

MAN – Now what about transport links? The hotel’s downtown, isn’t it?

ANGELA – Yes, it’s about 12 kilometres from the airport, but there’s a complimentary shuttle bus for guests. And it’s only about ten minutes’ walk from the central railway station.

Explanation:

The question of the customer tells us that he is asking about the options of transportation to the hotel. While talking about the distance between the airport and the hotel, Angela mentions the “complimentary” shuttle bus service, so this is the bus to the airport and it is a “free” service. The talk about the railway station is just extra information. This is a trick that candidates need to be aware of: there may be more than one piece of information that can potentially be the answer.

Answer: airport

9. Answer: sea

Here’s what the speakers say:

MAN – OK. Now, I don’t know Sydney very well, can you just give me an idea of the location of the hotel?

ANGELA – Well, it’s downtown on Wilby Street, that’s quite a small street, and it’s not very far from the sea.

Explanation:

To give information on the location of the hotel, Angela mentions that the hotel is located on a small street called Wilby Street. This is a sign to tell us to focus here to seek the answer for question 9. The hotel is ‘not very far’ from the sea implies that it is ‘quite near’, so the answer is ‘sea’.

Answer: sea

10. Answer: clubs

Here’s what the speaker says:

ANGELA – And of course if the conference attendees want to go out on the Saturday evening there’s a huge choice of places to eat. Then if they want to make a night of it, they can go on to one of the clubs in the area – there are a great many to choose from.

Explanation:

The words ‘in the area’ means that they are around where the hotel is located. And there a ‘great many’ of clubs from which to choose, so the answer is ‘clubs’

Answer: clubs

SECTION 2 11-12. Answer: A decorating, E childcare

Here’s what the speaker says:

Volunteers can do all sorts of things, depending on their own abilities and interests. lf they’re supporting a family that’s struggling, for example, they may be able to give them tips on cooking, or recommend how to plan their budget or how to shop sensibly on their income. They might even do some painting or wallpapering, perhaps alongside any members of the family who are able to do it. Or even do some babysitting so that parents can go out for a while.

Explanation:

With this kind of question, make sure that you understand all the choices you have before listening, as the speaker will paraphrase it and say it in a different way. The number of choices may confuse you if you do not know them well. The first thing is giving tips on cooking, which is not one of the answers. The examples which follow include “recommend how to plan their budget” or “shop sensibly”, which are just pieces of advice on their shopping habits, and they do not actually help them with the work. Then, more activities are mentioned, like ‘doing some painting or wallpapering’, which means decorating the house, and ‘babysitting’, which means childcare.

Answer: A, E (in either order)

13-14. Answer: D improved ability at time management E boosting their employment prospects

Here’s what the speaker says:

The benefit from volunteering isn’t only for the people being helped. Volunteers also gain from it: they’re using their skills to cope with somebody’s mental or physical ill health, and volunteering may be a valuable element of their CV when they’re applying for jobs: employers usually look favourably on someone who’s given up time to help others. Significantly, most volunteers feel that what they’re doing gives them a purpose in their lives. And in my opinion, they’re lucky in that respect, as many people don’t have that feeling.

Explanation:

In the first part, the speaker talks about how volunteering will help other people, so we can expect he will explain further about how the volunteers themselves can benefit from it, which is the answer for Question 13 and 14. He may use some words used in the answers, but in a different context, so be careful, especially because in IELTS Listening, it is common that they will paraphrase the words you hear in the script. So, you may not hear exactly the same words. One of the benefits is that volunteers have the chance to use their skills to “cope with somebody’s mental or physical ill health”, add “a valuable element” to their CV because employers are more likely to offer a job to people who have done voluntary work (answer E). Volunteering also “gives them a purpose in their lives” (answer B). There is no information about working in a team (answer A), realisation that they are lucky to be doing voluntary work (answer C) or management skills (answer D).

Anwesr: B, E (in either order).

15. Answer: F

Here’s what the speaker says:

Habib supports an elderly lady who is beginning to show signs of dementia. Once a week they, along with other elderly people, go to the local community centre, where a group of people come in and sing. The songs take the listeners back to their youth, and for a little while they can forget the difficulties that they face now.

Explanation:

The words “take the listeners back to their youth” implies bringing back old memories, or remembering times in the past, so F is the right answer.

Answer: F

16. Answer: A

Here’s what the speaker says:

Our volunteer Consuela is an amazing woman. She has difficulty walking herself, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She helps a couple of people with similar difficulties, who had almost stopped walking altogether. By using herself as an example, Consuela encourages them to walk more and more.

Explanation:

Having ‘difficulty walking herself’ also means having ‘physical difficulties’. Consuela not only ‘doesn’t let that stop her’ but also ‘helps’ and ‘encourages’ people with the same situation to ‘walk more and more’, and thus she has overcome her problems by using herself as an example.

Answer: A

17. Answer: E

Here’s what the speaker says:

Minh visits a young man who lives alone and can’t leave home on his own, so he hardly ever saw anyone. But together they go out to the cinema, or to see friends the young man hadn’t been able to visit for a long time.

Explanation:

The word ‘isolation’ is the state of being alone or apart from others. The man is living alone and ‘hardly ever saw anyone’ due to personal reasons, which means that he did not meet people often. Candidates need to pay attention to a connector of contrast like “but”, as it indicates something opposite to what he just said. It’s true since nowadays, he and Minh ‘go out to the cinema” together or “see friends”, and that means he is not isolated anymore, so the answer is E.

Answer: E

18. Answer: G

Here’s what the speaker says:

Tanya visits an elderly woman once a week. When the woman found out that Tanya is a professional dressmaker, she got interested. Tanya showed her some soft toys she’d made, and the woman decided to try it herself. And now she really enjoys it, and spends hours making toys. They’re not perhaps up to Tanya’s standard yet, but she gains a lot of pleasure from doing it.

Explanation:

The speaker talks about Tanya, who is a professional dressmaker, who often visits an old woman every week. The elderly woman got “interested” in the soft toys and “decided to try it herself”. She “enjoys it” and “gains a lot of pleasure” from doing it. All of the words are describing how enjoyable it is for the elderly lady to do what she likes, which implies that she has found a new hobby.

Answer: G

19. Answer: D

Here’s what the speaker says:

Alexei is a volunteer with a family that faces a number of difficulties. By calmly talking over possible solutions with family members, he’s helping them to realise that they aren’t helpless, and that they can do something themselves to improve their situation. This has been great for their self-esteem.

Explanation:

The speaker mentions that Alexei is with a family with lots of difficulties, so he might be helping them solve their problems. And it’s true that he helps people believe that they aren’t “helpless” and that they can learn to “improve their situation” by “themselves”, and this means solving their problems independently.

Answer: D

20. Answer: C

Here’s what the speaker says:

And the last volunteer I’ll mention, though there are plenty more, is Juba. She volunteers with a teenage girl with learning difficulties, who wasn’t very good at talking to other people. Juba’s worked very patiently with her, and now the girl is far better at expressing herself, and at understanding other people.

Explanation:

The speaker mentions that Juba offers assistance to a girl who has trouble in learning and “wasn’t very good at talking” to people, so we are expecting a change in her communication. Being supported patiently by Juba, the teenage girl has now become ‘far better at expressing herself’ and ‘understanding others’. This implies that her communication skills have improved a lot. So the answer is C.

Answer: C

SECTION 3 21. Answer: 50

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – Well the band has students in it from all years, so they’re aged 11 to 18, and there are about 50 of them altogether.

Explanation:

The note requires the number that the band “consists of”, so you would know you have to listen to the information about the total number of the members of the band. The number of the student’s ages, which are 11 and 18, might be added just to confuse the candidates. The speaker mentions ‘altogether’, which means all the students in the band and that means 50 members. The adverbs ‘around’ and ‘about’ have a similar meaning, so the answer is 50.

Answer: 50/fifty

22. Answer: regional

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – They aren’t really good enough to enter national band competitions, but they’re in a regional one later in the term.

Explanation:

Joe mentions the national band competitions, though they are also not good enough to play in one. However, candidates need to pay attention to a connector of contrast like “but”, as it implies something opposite to what he just said. He said they are going to be in a regional competition. The band is expected to play ‘later in the term’, so it already has a due date. The answer is “regional”.

Answer: regional

23. Answer: carnival

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – Well, now the town council’s organising a carnival in the summer, and the band has been asked to perform.

Explanation:

The speaker says they are ‘asked to perform’, which also means to be ‘invited to play’. Also, they are invited by the town council, which is the organiser of a carnival, so it is clear that they are going to perform in a carnival. The answer is ‘carnival’.

Answer: carnival

24. Answer: drummer

Here’s what the speaker says: JOE – I played a recording I came across, of a drummer talking about how playing in a band had changed his life.

Explanation:

Joe mentions that he happened to “play a recording” about “a drummer talking” about his life, implying that they have all listened to his talk, so the answer is drummer.

Answer: drummer

25. Answer: Film

Here’s what the speakers says:

JOE – I’m planning to show them that old film from the 1940s “Strike Up the Band”, and talk about it with the students.

LIZZIE – Good idea. As it’s about a school band, it might make the students realise how much they can achieve if they work together.

Explanation:

‘The students’ here refers to the ‘members of the band’. Joe wants to show them an old film from the 1940s called ‘Strike Up the Band’ and talk about the film with them. This means that he plans to discuss it with them. The answer is film.

Answer: film

26. Answer: parade

Here’s what the speaker says:

– I’m hoping I can take some of the band to a parade that’s going to take place next month. A couple of marching bands will be performing, and the atmosphere should be quite exciting. It depends on whether I can persuade the school to hire a coach or two to take us there.

Explanation:

Joe mentions that he is working to persuade the school to allow him to ‘take some of the band’ to perform at the parade ‘next month’ along with other marching bands. This means they are planning to “attend” the parade, which is the answer.

Answer: parade

27. Answer: D

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – There’s a flautist who says she loves playing in the band. We rehearse twice a week after school. But she’s hardly ever there.

Explanation:

The term: ‘hardly ever there’ implies that the flautist is often absent during rehearsals, and that means she keeps missing the rehearsal of the band. She keeps giving reasons such as she has been ill, but they might be just excuses, so we don’t know if she has health problems. There’s no indication of other problems, so D is the answer.

Answer: D

28. Answer: B

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – There’s a trumpeter who thinks she’s the best musician in the band, though she certainly isn’t. She’s always saying what she thinks other people should do, which makes my job pretty difficult.

Explanation:

The trumpeter ‘think she’s the best’, but Joe thinks she isn’t, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that she makes a lot of mistakes. However, what she always says makes Joe's job difficult because her suggestions all the time about what other people should do. These do not help Joe – in fact, they make his life more difficult. The answer is B.

Answer: B

29. Answer: E

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – One of the trombonists has got an impressive sense of rhythm, and could be an excellent musician — except that he has breathing difficulties, and he doesn’t really have enough breath for the trombone.

Explanation:

The trombonist has ‘got an impressive sense of rhythm’, which means he is excellent with rhythm and doesn’t have difficulties with it. To have ‘breathing difficulties’ and “does not have enough breath’ refers to have ‘a health problem’, so the answer is E.

Answer: E

30. Answer: F

Here’s what the speaker says:

JOE – One of the percussionists isn’t too bad, but he never seems to interact with other people. and he always rushes off as soon as the rehearsal ends.

Explanation:

The percussionist ‘isn’t too bad’, so he does not make a lot of mistakes, but he ‘never seems to interact with other people’ and ‘rushes off’ right after the rehearsal ends. This means that he does not socialise with the band members – or other students – a lot, so the answer is F.

Answer: F

SECTION 4 31. Answer: violin

Here’s what the speaker says:

As a child, Lim originally learned to play the piano – like so many children – and also the violin, but when she was 11 her teachers encouraged her to start composing.

Explanation:

Question 31 is in the introduction part, so the answer is probably in the first part of the speech. We pay attention here. “Studied” means “learned to play” and two of the musical instruments that the speaker mentioned are the “piano” and “violin”. In addition, Lim started composing when she was 11, but she had already played the piano and violin before that, since when she was a child. Therefore, playing these instruments was something that she did before she turned to composition, and the answer is ‘violin’

Answer: violin

32. Answer: energy

Here’s what the speaker says:

Liza Lim’s compositions are vibrant and full of energy, and she often explores Asian and Australian Aboriginal cultural sources.

Explanation:

When the speaker says “compositions”, he is talking about the way in which are all similar, and he claims that her works are “vibrant and full of energy”. They come from “various cultural sources”, which are the “Asian and Australian Aboriginal” culture. ‘A great deal’ is a large amount, and has the same ideas as ‘full of’, so the answer is ‘energy’.

Answer: energy

33. Answer: complex

Here’s what the speaker says:

Her music is very expressive, so although it is complex, it has the power of connecting with audiences and performers alike.

Explanation:

As mentioned in Question 32, the various sources of music might be the reason why Lim’s music is complex. However, the speaker emphasises that even though it’s complex, it’s still expressive and has great connecting power. As we’ve already got the adjective ‘expressive’ in the given information, the answer must be complex.

Answer: complex

34. Answer: opera

Here’s what the speaker says:

In the festival we’re going to give a semi-staged performance of the Oresteia. This is an opera in seven parts, based on the trilogy of ancient Greek tragedies by Aeschylus.

Explanation:

The second sentence adds more detail to the statement in the first sentence. ‘This’ in the second sentence refers to the Oresteia, which the speaker explains is an opera.

Answer: opera

35. Answer: disturbing

Here’s what the speaker says:

Lim wrote that because the stories in the tragedies are not easy to tell, the sounds she creates are also disturbing, and they include breathing, sobbing, laughing and whistling.

Explanation:

We need an adjective here, and ‘disturbing’ is the word the speaker uses to describe Lim’s music.

Answer: disturbing

36. Answer: clarinet

Here’s what the speaker says:

After the interval we’ll go to Australia for a piece by Ross Edwards: The Tower of Remoteness. […] The Tower of Remoteness is scored for piano and clarinet.

Explanation:

The Tower of Remoteness is ‘scored’ for piano and clarinet, which means they need these two instruments to ‘perform’ the piece.

Answer: clarinet

37. Answer: diversity

Here’s what the speaker says:

Edwards’s music has been described as being ‘deeply connected to Australia’, and it can be regarded as a celebration of the diversity of cultures that Australia can be proud of.

Explanation:

The speaker described Edward’s music as “deeply connected to Australia”, which means it contains many different (=diverse) elements of Australian culture. Thus, it is a celebration of the country’s cultural diversity.

Answer: diversity

38. Answer: physics

Here’s what the speaker says:

He took up the cornet at the age of five, switching to the piano five years later. However, he went to university to study physics, before changing to composition.

Explanation:

The speaker mentions that the composer Carl Vine had played instruments since he was young, but took up physics in university. It was after that that he changed to learn how to compose. So the answer is physics.

Answer: physics

39. Answer: dance

Here’s what the speaker says:

Before long he had become prominent in Australia as a composer for dance, and in fact has written 25 scores of that type.

Explanation:

The speaker mentions that he had composed 25 pieces for music for dance, which made him become prominent in Australia. “Prominent” can also be understood as “famous” or “well known”, so the answer is dance.

Answer: dance

40. Answer: olympics

Here’s what the speaker says:

In our third concert, Vine will be represented by his music for the flag hand-over ceremony of the Olympics held in 1996.

Explanation:

The speaker says that in the “third concert”, which refers to the concerts in the “festival”, Vine’s music for the ceremony of the 1996 Olympics will be played in the festival. The answer for this is Olympics.

Answer: Olympics

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