An interviewer stops Luisa in town to do a transport survey for the local council. He takes her personal details, asks why she's in town, and then asks what would improve getting to and from work and what would make her cycle to work.
Questions 1-10 · 10 marks · 1 question block
One note block, strictly in order. Questions 1-5 are Luisa's personal details. 'Now in this last section' moves you to her suggestions for improvement (6-7), and 'I'd like to ask your opinion on cycling' starts the last three. Every answer comes from Luisa.
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: The first half is personal details, so expect spelling and numbers: a surname spelled out, a house number and a postcode that gets corrected. In the second half, Luisa explains each problem and the note turns it into the solution, so listen for what's missing or not good enough.
What is Luisa's surname?
Hardie. … Can you spell that, please? … Yes, it's H-A-R-D-I-E.
Question says → You hear
Why: Luisa spells her surname letter by letter, which tells you the spelling will be marked. Write Hardie with a capital H.
The trap: Spelling only. 'Hardy' sounds identical and loses the mark. Follow the letters, especially the -IE ending.
Also accepted: nineteen
What is her house number?
It's 19, White Stone Road.
Question says → You hear
Why: The road name is printed, so the gap is just the house number. 19 in digits is safest, though nineteen is also accepted.
The trap: Don't confuse nineteen with ninety. The postcode numbers come soon after, so make sure you write down the address number, not those.
What is her postcode?
Is the postcode GT7? … it's actually G-T-8, 2-L-C.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Actually' tells you the interviewer's guess was wrong. The correct postcode is GT8 2LC, letters and numbers together.
The trap: GT7 is said first, by the interviewer, and it's wrong. Also don't stop at GT8: the full postcode includes 2LC.
What is Luisa's job?
I've actually just finished my training. I'm a hairdresser.
Question says → You hear
Why: She has just finished training and now works as a hairdresser. One word, so watch the double s.
The trap: Student is the interviewer's guess and training is in the past. Her occupation now is hairdresser.
Also accepted: dentist's
Why has she come into town today?
Actually it's not for shopping today, which would be my normal reason, but to see the dentist.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Not ... but' gives the real reason: the dentist. The note says 'go to the', so dentist (or dentist's) fits.
The trap: Shopping is her normal reason, not today's. 'It's not for shopping' rules it out.
What does she want to be better for walking to work?
when I do walk and I'm doing a later shift, I think the … should be better.
Question says → You hear
Why: Walking home after a late shift, she wants better lighting so the streets aren't dark. The word you hear is lighting (the bank's text misprints it).
The trap: Lights or street lights may come to mind, but the key word is lighting, and 'street lighting' would be two words.
What does she want more frequent?
And, I don't think there are enough trains. … you have to wait so long.
Question says → You hear
Why: Not enough trains and long waits mean she wants trains to come more often, which is 'more frequent'. Plural trains.
The trap: Footpaths come just before, but they're already printed. Buses are never mentioned in her suggestions, only in the example.
What kind of bike parking would encourage her to cycle?
where I work there are no safe places to leave your bikes.
Question says → You hear
Why: There are no safe places at her work, so the note wants safe parking places. The gap needs the adjective safe.
The trap: Secure means the same, but it's not the word she uses. Write what you hear: safe.
What would she like to be able to use at work?
on a hot day I'd arrive at work pretty sweaty so I think I'd need … shower somewhere at work.
Question says → You hear
Why: After cycling uphill she'd be sweaty, so she'd need a shower at work. The note's 'a' needs a singular noun.
The trap: Changing rooms or lockers sound logical but aren't mentioned. Write shower, singular.
What cycling opportunity would she like for busy roads?
cycling on such busy roads. I think I'd like to see you offering training for that
Question says → You hear
Why: She isn't confident on busy roads, so she'd like training. The note has 'cycling ... on busy roads', so training completes it.
The trap: Lessons means the same thing but isn't said. Confident is how she feels, not what she wants.
The interviewer guesses GT7 and Luisa corrects him to G-T-8, then adds 2-L-C. You need the whole postcode, GT8 2LC, and the 7 is the trap.
Luisa says shopping first, because that's her normal reason. Today it's the dentist. The second answer is the one for today.
She complains there aren't enough trains and you have to wait so long. The note says 'more frequent', so the gap is just trains, plural.
The full Cambridge 10 Test 2 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 10, Test 2, Listening Part 1. 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.
