University registration day: listening answers and explanations
Two new students meet while looking for the Main Hall to register. One queues while the other fetches lunch. A clerk fills in the woman's registration form, and afterwards she explains the steps they still have to take.
In order, in three scenes. Questions 1-5 are the walk to the building and the lunch order. When she says 'I'm here to register for the First Year Law course', the form starts (6-10). He comes back with the food (11), and she explains registration (12).
Answer key and self-check
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.
How to attack this block: She reads directions from a campus map. Follow them step by step: steps first, then which way to turn, then which side the building is on.
Question 1
Answer: CWhen she looks at the campus map
Which map shows where the administration building is?
according to this map of the campus here, you go straight up the steps, turn left and the building is on the right.
Question says → You hear
Where is the administration building?you go straight up the steps, turn left and the building is on the right
Why: Up the steps, turn left, and the building is on your right. That route is shown on map C.
The trap: Left and right both come up. You turn left, but the building is on the right, so a map with the building on the left side is wrong.
Multiple choice
Question 2
How to attack this block: Two quantities are said: an exaggeration and an estimate. The question wants the number she gives for the queue.
Question 2
Answer: AWhen they reach the building and see the crowd
How many people are in the queue?
Look, there are hundreds of other people here! … There must be at least 50 people in the queue
Why: 'At least 50 people in the queue' is the number she gives: A.
The trap: 'Hundreds' comes first, but that's his exaggeration about everyone there. 2 o'clock in the next breath is a time, not a number of people.
Multiple choice (pictures A-D)
Question 3
How to attack this block: Several foods are named and she changes her mind. Wait for 'on second thoughts', which brings her final choice.
Question 3
Answer: BWhen he lists what the canteen does
What food does she order?
Take away fried rice sounds good. … No, on second thoughts, I'll have a cheese and tomato sandwich.
Why: 'On second thoughts' cancels the fried rice. Her order is a cheese and tomato sandwich, picture B.
The trap: Fried rice is her first choice and he starts to repeat it, but she changes her mind.
Multiple choice (pictures A-D)
Question 4
How to attack this block: Three drinks come up. He rejects one and offers two others; her final pick is what counts.
Question 4
Answer: DWhen he asks 'anything to drink?'
What drink does she order?
get me a coffee, would you? … What about a coke or an orange juice? … get me an orange juice, then.
Why: He talks her out of coffee and she chooses orange juice, picture D.
The trap: Coffee is what she asks for first, but hot coffee is hard to carry. Coke is offered and not chosen.
Multiple choice
Question 5
How to attack this block: Three amounts of money: what she hands over, what it should cost and the change. The question asks what she gives him.
Question 5
Answer: DRight after she chooses orange juice
How much money does she give him?
Look, here's five dollars. … take two dollars back, it shouldn't cost me more than three dollars. … Well, keep the five
Why: She hands him five dollars and tells him to keep it all: $5.00, D.
The trap: $2 is the change he offers back, and $3 is what the lunch should cost. Neither is what she gives him.
Form completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
Questions 6-10
How to attack this block: A spelled name and street, a city, a phone number that doesn't exist yet, and a course. Watch what's already printed on the form, such as 'Flat 5/'.
Question 6
Answer: Julia PerkinsWhen the clerk starts the form
What is the student's full name?
Julia Perkins. … Yeah, that's J-U-L-I-A P-E-R-K-I-N-S.
Question says → You hear
Name of studentJulia Perkins
Why: She gives the name and spells both parts. Write Julia Perkins, with capitals.
The trap: Spelling only: Perkens or Purkins loses the mark. Follow the letters she gives.
Question 7
Answer: 15 Waratah RoadWhen the clerk asks 'Address?'
Why: Flat 5 is printed, so write the rest of the street address: 15 Waratah Road. She spells Waratah.
The trap: Two numbers: 5 is the flat, already on the form; 15 is the house number.
Question 8
Answer: BrisbaneEnd of the address
What town does she live in?
that's W-A-R-A-T-A-H, Brisbane. … Brisbane ... And your telephone number?
Question says → You hear
TownBrisbane
Why: The address ends with the city, Brisbane, and the clerk repeats it.
The trap: Spelling. It isn't spelled out, so you need to know it: Brisbane, with an S in the middle.
Question 9
Answer: to be advisedWhen the clerk asks for her telephone number
Also accepted: not connected / no phone / none
What goes in the telephone box?
We haven't got the phone on yet. We've only just moved in. … I'll make a note here to be advised.
Question says → You hear
TelWe haven't got the phone on yet
Why: She has no phone number yet, so the clerk writes 'to be advised', meaning she'll give it later. 'Not connected' or 'none' are accepted too.
The trap: Expecting a number makes people leave it blank or guess. A form gap can be filled with a note like this.
Question 10
Answer: first year LawWhen the clerk asks 'And the course?'
Which course is she doing?
What course are you doing? … First Year Law.
Question says → You hear
CourseFirst Year Law
Why: She says it twice: First Year Law. That's exactly three words.
The trap: Writing only 'Law' drops part of the course name. 'Law Faculty' comes next, but that's where she has to go.
Multiple choice (pictures A-D)
Question 11
How to attack this block: This is the twist: what she ordered and what he bought are different. Listen to his apology when he gets back.
Question 11
Answer: CWhen he comes back and apologises
What did he actually buy her to eat?
Then when I got to the front of the queue they had hardly any food left. So I had to get you a slice of pizza.
Why: The canteen ran out, so he bought a slice of pizza instead: picture C.
The trap: The sandwich is what she ordered, not what she got. The apple was bought too, but it was an extra; the food he had to choose instead of her sandwich is the pizza.
Multiple choice
Question 12
How to attack this block: She lists several steps in order. Some are part of registering and some come after it. Listen for 'That means we're registered'.
Question 12
Answer: DThe end, when he asks 'So how'd you go?'
Which step is part of registration?
get this card stamped and then go back to the Admin building and pay the union fees. That means we're registered. After that we have to go to the notice board
Why: Paying the union fees completes registration ('That means we're registered'): D.
The trap: B and C (lectures, tutorial groups) come 'after that', once they're registered. A mixes two places: the card is stamped at the Law Faculty, but the notice board is a separate step.
There's no phone number to write. She hasn't got a phone yet, so the clerk makes a note 'to be advised'.
Words from this recording worth keeping
register(Looking for the Main Hall)
officially put your name on a list for a course
queue(At the building)
a line of people waiting
starving(At the building)
very hungry
on second thoughts(Ordering lunch)
after changing your mind
take away(Ordering lunch)
food you buy to eat somewhere else
sort it out(Paying for lunch)
deal with or settle something
stamped(Registration)
marked with an official stamp
union fee(Registration)
money paid to join the students' union
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The rest of Cambridge 1 Test 4 Listening
Part 1 · Questions 1-12 · You're hereUniversity registration day
