Nutritional food labels: listening answers and explanations
Two students, Jack and Alice, discuss their report on the nutritional information printed on food packaging. They talk about how the project changed their own shopping, compare labelling systems, and discuss research on labels, especially the traffic-light system.
Questions 21-26 follow the conversation in order: their habits before the project, pizza labels, the daily value system, chicken crisps and a study on labelling. Jack's 'What do you think of the traffic-light system?' starts 27-28, and Jack's comment on the survey participants leads into 29-30.
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: This is a discussion, so the answer is often what one student says and the other confirms. Several distractors are things said in the conversation but about a different topic, or the opposite of what's said, so check every option against the exact point.
Question 21
Answer: AWhen Alice asks what the project taught them about their own shopping habits
How did Jack treat food labels before the project?
I've always had to check labels for traces of peanuts in everything I eat because of my allergy. But beyond that I've never really been concerned enough to check how healthy a product is.
Question says → You hear
He didn't read everything on themBut beyond that I've never really been concerned enough to check how healthy a product is
Why: Jack only checked for peanuts and never read the health information. He read part of the label, not all of it: A.
The trap: B sounds close to 'never really been concerned', but labels were important to him because of his allergy. C, too complicated, isn't mentioned.
Question 22
Answer: AStraight after Jack's answer about peanuts
What does Alice say about herself before the project?
This project has actually taught me to read the labels much more carefully.
Question says → You hear
before doing this projectThis project has actually taught me
Why: In the recording, Alice explains that until the project made her read labels properly, she hadn't realised what some foods actually contained. Not knowing what was in certain foods is A.
The trap: C: calories come up next, but in Jack's comment on pizza, not Alice's habits. B: she never says she was lazy; she just didn't read carefully enough.
Question 23
Answer: CWhen Jack says ready meals are the worst
What does Jack agree with Alice about pizza labels?
nutritional values given are for half a pizza … most people eat the whole pizza … Not at all.
Question says → You hear
the nutritional label is misleadingnutritional values given are for half a pizza … most people eat the whole pizza
Why: The figures are for half a pizza, but most people eat a whole one. It's 'not exactly transparent', and Alice agrees: misleading, C.
The trap: B: Alice asks if it'll stop him buying pizza, and he says 'Probably not'. A: what shocked him was the calories, not the ingredients list.
Question 24
Answer: CWhen Alice asks 'Which one did you prefer?'
Why does Jack prefer the daily value system?
at least you get the full story. I like to know all the ingredients in a product - not just how much fat, salt and sugar they contain
Question says → You hear
more comprehensiveyou get the full story … all the ingredients in a product
Why: 'The full story' and 'all the ingredients' mean it covers everything: comprehensive, C.
The trap: A: Jack says he's not sure it's the easiest for people to use, so it's not more accessible. B: logic isn't mentioned.
Question 25
Answer: BWhen Alice says the crisp labels were 'quite revealing'
What surprised them about the chicken-flavour crisps?
when they only contain artificial additives. … of real chicken
Question says → You hear
did not contain any meatthey only contain artificial additives
Why: The chicken crisps only contain artificial additives, and Alice expected at least a small percentage of real chicken. No chicken means no meat: B.
The trap: A: 'artificial additives' and 'percentage' are both heard, but nobody says a percentage on the label was wrong. C: the problem is what's in the crisps, not missing information.
Question 26
Answer: AWhen Jack says 'didn't that study kind of prove the opposite?'
What do they think of the research on the effect of labelling?
They only said that might be the case. Those … weren't that conclusive and it was quite a small-scale study. I think more research has to be done
Question says → You hear
It did not produce clear resultsweren't that conclusive
Why: Alice says the findings weren't conclusive, and Jack agrees. Not conclusive means no clear results: A.
The trap: B is a criticism they make later about the traffic-light survey. C: no recommendations are discussed.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 27-28
How to attack this block: The question is about what surprised them. Some options are said but described as unsurprising ('Hardly surprising') or are the opposite of the facts. Listen for surprise words: 'ridiculous', 'couldn't get over'.
Question 27-28
Answer: B and C (in either order)From Jack's question 'What do you think of the traffic-light system?'
Which two things surprised them about the traffic-light system?
I'd have thought it would have been compulsory. It seems ridiculous it isn't. … it was brought in without enough consultation - a lot of experts had deep reservations about it
Why: B: Jack expected it to be compulsory and finds it ridiculous that it isn't, so it's voluntary. C: Alice 'couldn't get over' that it was brought in without enough consultation, so too little research was done first.
The trap: D: food manufacturers do oppose it, but Alice says this is 'Hardly surprising'. A is the opposite of the facts: it hasn't been adopted universally.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 29-30
How to attack this block: The students criticise the study, so many options describe what the researchers should have done or didn't say. Pick only the two facts that were true of the participants.
Question 29-30
Answer: D and E (in either order)When Jack says the survey participants were quite positive
Which two things were true of the participants in the traffic-light study?
from all socio-economic groups … But if they hadn't interviewed participants face-to-face, they could have used a
Why: D: Jack says the participants came from all socio-economic groups. E: Alice says that if they hadn't been interviewed face-to-face, the sample could have been bigger, so they were interviewed face-to-face.
The trap: A: Alice says the study should have focused on people with low literacy, which means it didn't. B: how often they bought packaged food wasn't stated. C: Alice thinks they volunteered, so not random.
Jack checked labels for peanuts because of his allergy, so he didn't think labels were unimportant (B). He just never read the health information: he didn't read everything on them.
'Focused on the wrong people' is a criticism the students make later, about the traffic-light survey. For this study, Alice says the findings weren't conclusive: no clear results.
Low literacy (A) is mentioned, but as the group the study should have focused on. The participants were from all socio-economic groups and were interviewed face-to-face.
Words from this recording worth keeping
nutritional(Introduction)
to do with the healthy substances in food
eye-opener(Pizza labels)
something surprising that teaches you something
transparent(Pizza labels)
clear and honest, easy to understand
consistency(Labelling systems)
being the same in different places
artificial additives(Chicken crisps)
man-made substances added to food
conclusive(Research on labelling)
proving something clearly
compulsory(Traffic-light system)
required by law or rules
reservations(Traffic-light system)
doubts
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 13 Test 4 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 13, Test 4, Listening Part 3. 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.
