Cookery classes: listening answers and explanations
A woman calls a tourist information centre to ask about one-day cookery classes. Mike, the official, describes three schools: the Food Studio, Bond's Cookery School and the Arretsa Centre, with what each one focuses on and any extras they offer.
One ten-gap table, in order, with the three schools taking turns: gaps 1-3 are the Food Studio, 4-6 Bond's Cookery School, and 7-10 the Arretsa Centre. Almost every answer comes from Mike. Listen for 'Another one' and 'one more place' as the signals that the next school is starting.
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.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 1-10 · Table completion (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
How to attack this block: The table moves school by school, so keep your eye on the school name to stay in place. Each school has a focus, a detail and an extra, and the extras (private classes, a free lecture, a knife course) are easy to miss because they come as an afterthought. Expect one spelled-out name and one number.
Question 1
Answer: chooseRight after the example, when Mike describes the Food Studio's focus
Apart from cooking seasonal products, what does the Food Studio teach you to do with them?
as well as teaching you how to cook them, they also show you how to choose them
Question says → You hear
how to ... and cook with seasonal productsas well as teaching you how to cook them, they also show you how to choose them
Why: The table already has 'cook', so the gap needs the second skill Mike names. The gap comes after 'how to', so it needs a verb in its base form: choose.
The trap: Writing a synonym such as 'buy' or 'select'. The word you hear is choose, and in a completion task you write the word from the recording.
Question 2
Answer: privateWhen the woman asks about class sizes and then about one-to-one lessons
What other kind of class does the Food Studio offer?
And could I get a private lesson there? … I think so ... let me check, yes, they do offer those.
Question says → You hear
also offers ... classescould I get a private lesson there? … yes, they do offer those
Why: The woman asks about a private lesson and Mike checks and confirms they offer them. The table says 'classes', so the gap is the adjective: private.
The trap: Small is said just before, but that describes the normal classes and is already printed in the table. Don't write it again.
Question 3
Answer: 20When Mike mentions the Food Studio's special deal
they offer a discount of 20 percent if you return for a further Class
Question says → You hear
clients who return get a ... discounta discount of 20 percent if you return for a further Class
Why: 'Return for a further class' is the 'clients who return' in the table. The figure is 20 percent. Write 20 in digits; the key also accepts 20% or twenty percent.
The trap: No number competes here, but don't add extra words: 'a 20 percent discount' fits the gap. Leave out the word 'discount', which is already printed.
Question 4
Answer: healthyRight after Mike says 'Another one you might be interested in is Bond's Cookery School'
What sort of food does Bond's Cookery School focus on?
They concentrate on teaching you to prepare healthy food, and they have quite a lot of specialist staff.
Question says → You hear
Focus: food that isThey concentrate on teaching you to prepare healthy food
Why: 'Concentrate on' is the paraphrase for 'Focus'. The gap follows 'food that is', so it needs an adjective: healthy.
The trap: The woman then asks about diets and Mike mentions 'low calorie diets or weight loss', but only to say they don't focus on them. Those words are a red herring.
Question 5
Answer: bonesWhen Mike explains that the school isn't really about dieting
Which part of your body do the recipes help to strengthen?
including ingredients that will help build up your bones and make them stronger
Question says → You hear
recipes to strengthen yourhelp build up your bones and make them stronger
Why: 'Make them stronger' matches 'strengthen', and 'them' refers back to your bones. Keep the plural: bones.
The trap: Writing 'bone' without the s. The table says 'your ...' and Mike says 'your bones', so the plural is the safe answer.
Question 6
Answer: lectureAfter the woman asks whether the school has a website
What free event does the school hold every Thursday?
every Thursday evening they have a lecture at the school. It's free and you don't need to book or anything
Question says → You hear
a free ... every Thursdayevery Thursday evening they have a lecture … It's free
Why: Mike says there's a lecture every Thursday evening and then adds that it's free. The noun you need is lecture.
The trap: Mike ends by saying the lecture might help you decide whether to go to 'an actual class'. Class is the wrong event: the class is what you pay for later.
Question 7
Answer: ArretsaWhen Mike says there's 'one more place' with a strange name
What is the name of the third school?
it's called The Arretsa Centre - that's spelled A-R-R-E-T-S-A
Question says → You hear
The ... CentreThe Arretsa Centre - that's spelled A-R-R-E-T-S-A
Why: Mike spells the name out, which tells you it's an answer. Write it exactly, with a capital A.
The trap: Spelling, not meaning. Double R and the TS in the middle are where people slip. Write the letters as you hear them.
Question 8
Answer: vegetarianJust after the spelling of the school's name
What kind of food does the Arretsa Centre mainly teach?
They do a bit of meat and fish cookery but they mostly specialise in vegetarian dishes.
Question says → You hear
Focus: mainly ... foodthey mostly specialise in vegetarian dishes
Why: 'Mostly specialise in' is the paraphrase for 'mainly'. The gap is an adjective before 'food': vegetarian.
The trap: Meat and fish are said first, but only as 'a bit'. The word 'but' tells you the main focus is coming next.
Question 9
Answer: marketWhen the woman says she thinks she saw the school today
What is the Arretsa Centre located near?
Is it just by the market? … That's right. So they don't have any problem getting their ingredients.
Question says → You hear
located near thejust by the market
Why: The woman asks if it's by the market and Mike confirms. 'Just by' is the paraphrase for 'near'.
The trap: The answer comes from the woman's question, not from Mike's statement, so it's easy to wait too long. Mike only says 'That's right'.
Question 10
Answer: knifeThe last detail of the call, after the market
What tool is the special skills course about?
they also offer a special two-hour course in how to use knife
Question says → You hear
a special course in skills with aa special two-hour course in how to use knife
Why: The special course teaches how to use a knife. The table has 'with a ...', so the singular noun knife fits.
The trap: The course 'gets booked up quickly', which is why the table says it's only sometimes available. Don't let 'two-hour' pull you into writing a number.
The focus is cooking seasonal products, but the gap sits before 'and cook', so you need the other skill: they show you how to choose them. Many people write 'buy' or 'select', which are never said.
The free event on Thursdays is a lecture, not a class. Mike says it might help you decide whether to go to 'an actual class', so 'class' is the word that tempts people.
Words from this recording worth keeping
seasonal products(The Food Studio)
food that is available at a particular time of year
a further class(The Food Studio)
another, additional class
specialist staff(Bond's Cookery School)
teachers with expert knowledge of one area
build up(Bond's Cookery School)
make stronger over time
reputation(The Arretsa Centre)
what people generally think of a place
specialise in(The Arretsa Centre)
focus mainly on one type of thing
ingredients(The Arretsa Centre)
the foods you combine to make a dish
booked up(The Arretsa Centre)
with no places left because everyone has reserved them
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Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 1, 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.
The rest of Cambridge 13 Test 1 Listening
Part 1 · Questions 1-10 · You're hereCookery classes
