Matthews Island Holidays: listening answers and explanations
Erica Matthews, who runs a small family rail-holiday company, gives a sales talk about her six-day Isle of Man tour. She covers what the company stands for, what the price includes and the booking rules, then takes you through the trip day by day.
Questions 11-14 come from the first half: the company, the travel options, the meals and the booking policy. Then she says 'what does the holiday consist of?' and the timetable (15-20) runs strictly from day one to day five, so each 'On day ...' is your signpost to move down a row.
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: Erica mentions almost every option, so you can't tick the first one you hear. Listen for which detail she actually confirms. Places, numbers and costs are all mentioned in passing, then one is pinned to the question: who meets you, which lunches, what costs extra.
Question 11
Answer: ANear the start, when she explains the company's philosophy
What does Erica say makes her company different from the others?
we don't aim to compete with other companies on the number of customers. What we do is build on our many years' experience - more than almost any other rail holiday company
Question says → You hear
in business for longerour many years' experience - more than almost any other rail holiday company
Why: 'Many years' experience, more than almost any other rail holiday company' is option A in different words: they've been running longer than most competitors.
The trap: C is ruled out directly: they don't compete on customer numbers. B is the reverse of what she says, since they work in 'a small number of destinations'.
Question 12
Answer: BRight after she describes where the Isle of Man is
Where does the tour manager meet the customers?
Our holiday starts in Heysham, where your tour manager will meet you, then you'll travel by ferry to the Isle of Man.
Question says → You hear
meet the tour managerwhere your tour manager will meet you
Why: The holiday starts in Heysham and that is where the tour manager meets you. It's the first place she names and it's tied directly to the manager.
The trap: Luton and Liverpool come next, as other ways people choose to travel (flying, or train then ferry). Nobody meets you there.
Question 13
Answer: AWhen she lists the nights and meals in the hotel
How many lunches does the price cover?
the price covers five breakfasts and dinners, and lunch on the three days when there are organised trips: day four is free
Question says → You hear
lunches are includedlunch on the three days when there are organised trips
Why: Lunch is included only on the three days with organised trips, so the answer is three.
The trap: Five is said first, but it's breakfasts and dinners. Four is the free day, when people buy their own lunch in Douglas.
Question 14
Answer: CWhen she says 'Incidentally' and talks about booking
What do customers have to pay extra for?
If you make a booking then need to change the start date, for example because of illness, you're welcome to change to an alternative date or a different tour, for a small administrative fee.
Question says → You hear
transferring to another datechange to an alternative date
pay extrafor a small administrative fee
Why: Changing your start date is allowed, but it costs a small administrative fee. That fee is the extra payment, so C.
The trap: B is the tempting one: many companies charge for late booking, but she says the price is the same 'at the last minute'. For A, she only says there's no supplement for single rooms.
Table completion (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 15-20
How to attack this block: The table follows the itinerary day by day, so 'day two', 'day three' and so on tell you exactly where you are. Read the Notes column before the audio: most gaps sit next to a nearby distractor (harbour, 979, café, castle), and the gap words are short and concrete.
Question 15
Answer: riverDay one, after the introduction and dinner
What can you see from the hotel dining room?
The dining room looks out at the river, close to where it flows into the harbour
Question says → You hear
dining room has view of theThe dining room looks out at the river
Why: 'Looks out at' means it has a view of. The thing it looks out at is the river.
The trap: Harbour is in the same sentence, but only to say where the river ends up. The view is of the river.
Question 16
Answer: 1422Day two, when she talks about the Isle of Man's parliament
In what year might Tynwald really have been founded?
it dates back to 979. However, the earliest surviving reference to it is from 1422, so perhaps it isn't quite as old as it claims!
Question says → You hear
may have been founded inthe earliest surviving reference to it is from 1422
Why: 'However' introduces the correction: the oldest record is from 1422, so it may not be as old as claimed. Write it in digits.
The trap: 979 is the claimed date, and the table already says 'not 979'. Use the table to rule it out.
Question 17
Answer: topDay three, after the tram and the electric train to Laxey
Where on Snaefell does the train take you?
From there it's an eight-kilometre ride in the Snaefell Mountain Railway to the top.
Question says → You hear
train to the ... of Snaefellthe Snaefell Mountain Railway to the top
Why: The mountain railway goes 'to the top'. The gap after 'the' and before 'of Snaefell' needs a noun, so top.
The trap: Eight kilometres is a number in the same sentence, but the gap needs a place, not a distance. Café comes next, as where you have lunch.
Question 18
Answer: passDay four, the free day
What does the company give you for day four?
Day four is free for you to explore, using the pass which we'll give you. So you won't have to pay for travel on local transport
Question says → You hear
Company provides athe pass which we'll give you
Why: 'Which we'll give you' matches 'company provides'. The pass covers local transport and heritage sites.
The trap: Nothing else is handed over, so the risk is spelling or form: write the singular 'pass' to fit 'a'.
Question 19
Answer: steamWhen she calls day five 'the highlight of the holiday'
What kind of railway do you take on day five?
with a ride on the steam railway, from Douglas to Port Erin
Question says → You hear
railway train from Douglas to Port Erinthe steam railway, from Douglas to Port Erin
Why: The route matches the table word for word, and the word before 'railway' is steam.
The trap: Day three had an electric train and a mountain railway. Don't carry those over: day five is steam.
Question 20
Answer: capitalThe end of day five, after the coach to the headland
What was Castletown in the past?
From there you continue to Castletown, which used to be the capital of the Isle of Man, and its mediaeval castle.
Question says → You hear
formerused to be
Why: 'Used to be the capital' is paraphrased as 'former capital' in the table. The gap needs a noun after 'former', so capital.
The trap: Castle is right after it, but the table already has 'has old castle'. The gap is what the town once was.
You hear five, four and three in about twenty seconds. Five is breakfasts and dinners, four is the free day. Lunch is only included on the three days with organised trips.
Booking late sounds like an obvious extra cost, but Erica says the price is the same whenever you book. The only fee is for changing your date or tour.
979 is the number you hear first and it's the famous claim. The table says 'not 979', so you need the other year: 1422, the earliest written reference.
Words from this recording worth keeping
personal touch(About the company)
individual attention given to each customer
supplement(Booking policy)
an extra charge on top of the basic price
administrative fee(Booking policy)
a small charge for the office work of making a change
functioning(Day 2)
still working or operating
leisurely(Day 3)
slow and relaxed
promenade(Day 3)
a wide path for walking along the seafront
heritage sites(Day 4)
places of historical or cultural importance
headland(Day 5)
a high piece of land sticking out into the sea
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 15 Test 1 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 1, Listening Part 2. 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.
