Jean phones the tourist information office because her family will be in town during next month's festival. Tim runs through the shows day by day, then the workshops, the outdoor activities and where to read more.
Questions 1-10 · 10 marks · 2 question blocks
The table (1-4) follows the festival dates from the 17th to the evening of the 20th. Then Tim says 'Now there are also some workshops' and the notes (5-10) go cookery, posters, toy-making, then 'some of the outdoor activities', and finally the blog at the end of the call.
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 dates in the first column are your anchors: when Tim says 'the 18th' or 'also on the 20th', move to that row. Two answers are names (a spelled-out company and a one-word show title), so get the spelling and capital letters right.
What is the ballet company called?
The name is spelt E-U-S-T-A-T-I-S.
Question says → You hear
Why: Jean asks him to repeat it, so Tim spells it out letter by letter. Copy the spelling exactly, with a capital E.
The trap: It's an unusual name, so people write it as it sounds. Only the spelled version gets the mark.
What has the comedy already had that was good?
I haven't seen it myself, but the review in the local paper was very good.
Question says → You hear
Why: The play got a good review in the local paper. The gap follows 'a good', so it needs a singular noun: review.
The trap: They've 'already performed it two or three times', so performance is tempting. But it's the review that was described as good.
What kind of show is on the evening of the 20th?
And what about dance? Will there be any performances? … Yes, also on the 20th, but in the evening.
Question says → You hear
Why: Jean asks about dance and Tim says yes, on the evening of the 20th, by a professional company. So it's a dance show.
The trap: Modern is said right after ('a show of modern pieces') and fits 'a ... show'. But it describes the pieces, not the type of event the table is listing.
What is the name of the dance show?
so it's got the rather strange name, Chat.
Question says → You hear
Why: Tim gives the name directly. It's a title, so use a capital C.
The trap: Communicate is the topic of the show, not its name.
How to attack this block: Each workshop or activity is introduced, then described with extra detail that contains a nearby distractor (sugar, history, carpentry, environment). The gap is usually the simplest concrete word: what you make, where you swim, what the expert knows about.
What sort of food does the cookery workshop teach you to make?
It's going to focus on how to make food part of a healthy lifestyle
Question says → You hear
Why: The workshop is about food that fits a healthy lifestyle, so 'making healthy food'. The gap needs an adjective.
The trap: Sweet things, cakes and sugar come next, but only as examples of food with less sugar. None of them fits 'making ... food'.
What will children make in their workshop?
Another workshop is just for children, and that's on creating posters to reflect the history of the town.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Creating' is 'making', and what they create is posters. Keep the plural.
The trap: History is the theme of the posters, not the thing they make.
What material are the toys made from?
participants will be making toys out of wood, so there'll be a lot of sharp chisels and other tools around
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Out of wood' becomes 'from wood'. The tools are already in the note.
The trap: Carpentry and chisels are the clever-sounding words nearby, but the note asks for the material.
Where does the wild swimming take place?
Oh OK. In a lake, for instance. … Yes, there's a beautiful one just outside the town, and that'll be the venue for the swimming.
Question says → You hear
Why: Jean suggests a lake and Tim confirms there's a beautiful one outside town that will be the venue.
The trap: 'Natural waters' is Tim's definition, but it's two words and not a specific place. A swimming pool is mentioned as what wild swimming is not.
What is the walk leader an expert on?
The leader is an expert on insects. He'll show some that live in the woods
Question says → You hear
Why: The note almost repeats Tim's words: 'leader' becomes 'led by'. Write the plural, insects.
The trap: The environment comes up next, but only to say why insects matter.
Where can you read the organiser's updates?
the festival organiser is keeping a blog. Just search online for the festival website, and you'll find it.
Question says → You hear
Why: The organiser is keeping a blog about the preparations, so 'the festival organiser's blog'.
The trap: Website is the last noun you hear. It's where you find the blog, but the website belongs to the festival, not to the organiser.
Tim never says 'a dance show'. Jean asks 'what about dance?' and Tim describes modern pieces with electronic music. Modern is the word people write, but the type of show is dance.
The answer comes from Jean, not Tim: 'In a lake, for instance'. Tim just agrees and talks about natural waters, which is too long and not a single place.
The workshop is about 'a healthy lifestyle' and less sugar in cakes. The note says 'Making ... food', so you need the adjective healthy, not cakes or sweet.
The full Cambridge 15 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 15, 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.
