Marcia Mayhew, co-ordinator of the Bachelor of Social Science, welcomes new students. She explains how the faculty is organised, who to see with problems, how lectures and tutorials work, and warns them about plagiarism.
Questions 32-41 · 10 marks · 3 question blocks
All in order. Questions 32-33 come from the structure of the faculty, 34-36 from the first-semester subjects and common problems, and 37-41 from her office hours, tutorials, essays and plagiarism. Question 41 asks about the whole talk, but the answer is in her opening lines.
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
| Q | Your answer | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Questions 32-33 · Multiple choice | ||
| 32 | B | |
| 33 | C | |
| Questions 34-36 · Note completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS) | ||
| 34 | history and economicsAlso accepted: economics and history | |
| 35 | deadlinesAlso accepted: meeting deadlines / essay deadlines / deadlines for essays | |
| 36 | attendance | |
| Questions 37-41 · Multiple choice | ||
| 37 | B | |
| 38 | C | |
| 39 | B | |
| 40 | D | |
| 41 | A | |
How to attack this block: All four options get named in the opening, so you need the detail that links them to the question: 'where I work' for 32, and the order of the levels (dean, then divisions, then departments) for 33.
Which faculty does the speaker work in?
that is the faculty where I work, known as Arts and Social Sciences. Here on this campus we also have the faculties of Architecture, Law and Science and Technology
Why: She names her own faculty first: Arts and Social Sciences, B.
The trap: The other three options are all said straight afterwards, but as other faculties on the campus, introduced with 'we also have'.
What is the first level the faculty is divided into?
At the top of the faculty we have a dean and below the dean we have three divisions
Why: Below the dean comes the first split: three divisions, C. Departments sit inside the divisions.
The trap: D (departments) comes next in the talk, but she says 'within each of the divisions, there are the departments', so they're a level lower. Degrees are what departments offer.
How to attack this block: Question 34 is the end of a list: two subjects go in one gap. Questions 35 and 36 are two problems said together in one sentence, so be ready to catch both before she moves on.
Also accepted: economics and history
Which other subjects are taken in the first semester?
in the first semester you'll be doing four subjects psychology sociology history and economics.
Question says → You hear
Why: Psychology and sociology are printed, so the gap needs the last two of the four: history and economics. That's three words, inside the limit.
The trap: Writing just one subject. She says 'four subjects', and the note only names two, so you need both.
Also accepted: meeting deadlines / essay deadlines / deadlines for essays
What is the first common problem students have?
you may find that you can't meet a deadline for an essay or perhaps you're having problems with attendance
Question says → You hear
Why: The first problem is meeting essay deadlines. The note says 'problems with', so a noun is needed: deadlines.
The trap: 'Essays' on its own isn't the problem. The difficulty is the deadline, not the essay itself.
What is the second common problem?
or perhaps you're having problems with attendance. These seem to be the two most common problems
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Problems with attendance' matches the note almost word for word, and she confirms these are the two most common problems.
The trap: Lecturers being unavailable comes next, but that's a reason to visit her office, not a student problem in the list.
How to attack this block: These test opinions and advice, so the options paraphrase what she says. Watch for options that use her words but flip the meaning, especially on essays and plagiarism.
When can students visit the speaker?
I'm available on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and on Friday afternoons
Why: Two mornings out of five, plus one afternoon, is 'some mornings': B.
The trap: D (Friday morning) is the strongest trap: Friday is mentioned, but it's the afternoon. C fails because of that Friday afternoon too.
What does she say a tutorial is?
It's this discussion, this exchange of ideas, which really constitutes the basis of university learning
Why: 'Exchange of ideas' is sharing views: C. She says tutorials are where most of the learning happens.
The trap: B reverses her opinion: she rates tutorials higher, though she adds you should still go to lectures. A is wrong because she describes the two as different things.
What does she advise students to do when writing essays?
all essays are based on research done by other people but you must remember to attribute the work to the original writer
Why: To attribute work to the original writer is to name your sources, so B, naming the books you've read.
The trap: D sounds like a plagiarism rule, but she says all essays are based on other people's research. Using ideas is fine; not crediting them is the problem. C is something she warns against.
How serious does she think plagiarism is?
If you don't acknowledge the source of your information then you run the risk of failing the subject or in very serious cases you might be denied entry to the university
Why: Failing a subject or being refused entry to the university are heavy penalties, so she sees it as a serious offence: D.
The trap: A borrows 'common', but the common problems were deadlines and attendance. 'Run the risk' is about the penalty, not an acceptable risk.
What is the talk mainly for?
I'd like to tell you about the structure of the university and about some of the requirements of the degree that you're about to enter
Why: Structure plus requirements, then advice on attendance, tutorials and plagiarism: she's explaining what the university expects, A.
The trap: B is tempting because she talks about staff roles, but she doesn't introduce real people apart from herself. She doesn't give a tour (D).
She mentions departments and degrees, but they sit lower down. Directly below the dean, the faculty is split into three divisions.
Wednesday and Thursday mornings plus Friday afternoon. Only 'some mornings' fits: it isn't every morning, it isn't mornings only, and Friday is the afternoon.
'Attribute the work to the original writer' means say where your ideas come from, which is naming the books you read. 'Avoid other writers' ideas' is the opposite of her point.
The full Cambridge 1 Test 1 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 1, Test 1, Listening Part 4. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
