Joe, a trainee teacher, has been put in charge of a school marching band and talks it over with his friend Lizzie. He describes the band and what he's doing to improve it, then tells her about four band members he finds hard to deal with.
Questions 21-30 · 10 marks · 2 question blocks
Questions 21-26 come in order, almost all from Joe: size, competition, carnival, the recording, the film, the parade. Joe's 'Can I tell you about a few people in the band' starts 27-30, and the four players come in the order listed.
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: Joe gives the facts in the same order as the notes. Several gaps have a near-miss right beside them: a second number, the type of competition he rules out, the recording before the film. Check each word fits the grammar of the note.
Also accepted: fifty
Roughly how many students are in the band?
so they're aged 11 to 18, and there are about 50 of them altogether
Question says → You hear
Why: 'About' matches 'around', and 'altogether' tells you it's the total: 50.
The trap: 18 (the oldest students) is said just before, and 20 just after, as the biggest band Joe has worked with before.
What kind of competition will the band enter?
They aren't really good enough to enter national band competitions, but they're in a regional one later in the term.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Later in the term' is the 'due to', and 'a regional one' means a regional competition. The gap needs an adjective.
The trap: National is said first, but only to say they're not good enough for it.
What town event has the band been invited to play at?
now the town council's organising a carnival in the summer, and the band has been asked to perform
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Asked to perform' is 'invited to play', and the town event is a carnival.
The trap: Council is the word next to 'town', but the council is the organiser, not the event.
Who gave the talk the band listened to?
I played a recording I came across, of a drummer talking about how playing in a band had changed his life. I think it was an after-dinner speech.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'A talk by a' needs a person, and the person talking in the recording is a drummer.
The trap: Recording and speech are what they listened to, not who gave the talk. Crime comes up too, but it's what the drummer avoided.
What will Joe discuss with the band?
I'm planning to show them that old film from the 1940s 'Strike Up the Band', and talk about it with the students.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Talk about it' is 'discuss', and 'it' is the film.
The trap: Don't write the film's title: it's three words, and the note wants the kind of thing it is.
What does Joe hope the band will go to next month?
I'm hoping I can take some of the … a parade that's going to take place next month. A couple of marching bands will be performing
Question says → You hear
Why: Joe hopes to take some of the band to a parade next month, where other marching bands will perform.
The trap: Coach comes right after, but it's how they'd get there, not where they're going.
How to attack this block: Six problems for four players, so two are spare. Joe paraphrases every problem, and one player is described with the exact opposite of a distractor (great rhythm, bad breathing). Listen to the whole description before choosing.
What is the flautist's problem?
We rehearse twice a week after school, but she's hardly ever there.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Hardly ever there' at rehearsals means she misses too many: D. Joe doesn't believe her excuses.
The trap: Her excuses mention her being ill, which might suggest E. But Joe doesn't believe her, so health isn't her real problem.
What is the trumpeter's problem?
There's a trumpeter who thinks she's the best musician in the band, though she certainly isn't. She's always saying what she thinks other people should do
Question says → You hear
Why: Always telling others what to do, which makes Joe's job harder, is making unhelpful suggestions: B.
The trap: 'Though she certainly isn't' the best might suggest A, makes mistakes. But Joe never says she plays badly; his complaint is her comments.
What is the trombonist's problem?
One of the trombonists has got an impressive sense of rhythm, and could be an excellent musician - except that he has breathing difficulties
Question says → You hear
Why: Breathing difficulties are a health problem: E. It's why he only plays half the notes.
The trap: C, difficulty with rhythm, is the opposite of what Joe says. Only playing half the notes might suggest A, but that's caused by his breathing.
What is the percussionist's problem?
he never seems to interact with other people, and he always rushes off as soon as the rehearsal ends
Question says → You hear
Why: Never interacting and rushing off after rehearsals means he doesn't mix: F.
The trap: 'Rushes off as soon as the rehearsal ends' might sound like D, but he's at the rehearsals; he just leaves straight after.
The trombonist has 'an impressive sense of rhythm', which is there to pull you to C. His real problem is breathing difficulties, a health problem: E.
Three numbers in quick succession: ages 11 to 18, about 50 students, and never more than 20 before. The band itself has about 50.
Joe played a recording of a drummer's after-dinner speech. Recording and speech are both nouns, but the note says 'a talk by a ...', so it needs the person: drummer.
The full Cambridge 14 Test 3 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 14, Test 3, 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.
