Caring for books: listening answers and explanations
Two students, Kieran and Jane, talk as Jane packs her books before a work placement in Denmark. They discuss how to look after books, why hardbacks deserve display, the smell of new books, and where Jane's grandfather keeps different books in his large bookshop.
All in order. Questions 21-25 follow their conversation about books in general, and 26-30 follow Jane's tour of her grandfather's shop in the order printed: rare books, children's books, unwanted books, requested books, coursebooks.
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: These test attitudes, so listen for the speaker's reaction rather than the facts. Several options repeat words from the recording (collector, gifts, mistakes) but in the wrong sense. Check who holds the view in each question: Kieran, Jane or both.
Question 21
Answer: AAfter Jane explains how to pack books flat
What does Kieran think of the grandfather's packing advice?
Well, it's pretty clear that ruins them, but a lot of people just can't be bothered to protect their books.
Question says → You hear
common senseit's pretty clear that ruins them
Why: 'Pretty clear' shows Kieran thinks the advice is obvious, which is common sense. His complaint is about people who don't bother.
The trap: 'Can't be bothered' can sound like B (hard to follow), but he blames laziness, not difficulty. Nothing suggests he thinks it's over-protective.
Question 22
Answer: CWhen she explains why old books go yellow
How does Jane feel about her grandfather's books?
I should dump them really if they're going to deteriorate further, but I'd feel bad. They'll always remind me of him.
Question says → You hear
sentimental value for herThey'll always remind me of him
Why: The books remind her of her grandfather, and she'd regret throwing them away. That's sentimental value.
The trap: 'He's quite a collector' is about her grandfather, not where the books should go (B). 'I should dump them' looks like A, but she says she'd feel bad and won't.
Question 23
Answer: AWhen Jane says people don't keep hardbacks on shelves as much
What do Jane and Kieran agree hardbacks should be?
people don't keep them out on shelves as much as they used to. … That's such a pity. When I visit someone - if they have, say, a colourful book on a table, it's the first thing I'm drawn to. … I agree
Question says → You hear
put on displaykeep them out on shelves / a colourful book on a table
Why: Both regret that hardbacks are no longer kept out where people can see them, and Kieran loves seeing one on a table. Jane agrees. That's putting them on display.
The trap: Visiting someone appears, which pulls you to B (gifts), but nobody gives books. C fails because Jane says covers are already 'a work of art'.
Question 24
Answer: BAfter Kieran says people usually do it wrong
What does Jane do while talking about taking a book from a shelf?
He watched me pull a heavy book off the shelf when I was small, and it fell on the floor and broke apart. … I can still remember it!
Question says → You hear
reflects on a significant childhood experiencewhen I was small … I can still remember it
Why: She remembers an event from when she was small that taught her the lesson. It mattered enough that she still remembers it.
The trap: A is Kieran's point: he says people do it wrong. Jane gives the right method, not other people's mistakes.
Question 25
Answer: CAfter Kieran talks about the smell of new books
What do Jane and Kieran say about new books?
New books aren't cheap, though, are they? … I guess we're lucky we can buy them.
Question says → You hear
Not everyone can afford themNew books aren't cheap … we're lucky we can buy them
Why: Saying they're lucky to be able to buy them implies others can't. Combined with 'aren't cheap', that's C.
The trap: Kieran's parents laughed at him, but they didn't buy books as presents (A). Wanting more books (B) is never said.
Matching (A-G)
Questions 26-30
How to attack this block: Seven locations for five types of book, so two are never used. Jane mentions a place and then changes it more than once (the attic, under the stairs, the first floor), so wait for where the books actually are now.
Question 26
Answer: DWhen Kieran asks about first editions
Where are the rare books?
you might think he'd keep those in the attic or somewhere. … But he likes people to know that he has them. So, he puts them out in the shop but makes sure you need a ladder to get them.
Question says → You hear
on a high shelfmakes sure you need a ladder to get them
Why: If you need a ladder, the books are up high: D (on a high shelf).
The trap: The attic (B) is what you 'might think', and Jane says 'But' straight after. He shows the books off.
Question 27
Answer: FWhen Kieran asks if he stocks children's books
Where are the children's books?
he's got a dedicated area on the ground floor with cushions so that parents can enter with their toddlers, go there and spend some time reading to them.
Question says → You hear
in a specially designed spacea dedicated area on the ground floor with cushions
Why: A dedicated area with cushions for parents and toddlers is a specially designed space: F.
The trap: E (near the stairs) is the trap: he sat under the stairs as a child, and Kieran asks if that's where he keeps them. Jane says 'Not exactly'. Pushchairs by the front door aren't books.
Question 28
Answer: AWhen Kieran asks what's in the storage area out the back
Where are the unwanted books?
He hardly ever throws anything away - he just leaves unwanted books by the front door for customers to take.
Question says → You hear
near the entranceby the front door
Why: The front door is the entrance: A.
The trap: Kieran guesses the storage area at the back, but the unwanted books are at the front. The back is for requested books.
Question 29
Answer: CStraight after the unwanted books
Where are the requested books?
books people or institutions have requested, they all go at the far end. … He thinks it's best to keep these out of the main shopping area
Question says → You hear
at the back of the shopa storage area out the back … they all go at the far end
Why: The far end of the storage area out the back, out of the main shopping area, is the back of the shop: C.
The trap: 'By the front door' is said in the sentence before, about the unwanted books. Don't carry it over.
Question 30
Answer: GWhen Kieran asks if Jane got her coursebooks from him
Where are the coursebooks?
He used to keep these books on the first floor, but now there's a new university in my hometown, he's moved them downstairs to attract the students. They're actually part of the coffee shop
Question says → You hear
within the cafépart of the coffee shop, on low shelves all around it
Why: 'Part of the coffee shop' means within the café: G.
The trap: The first floor is where they used to be. 'Low shelves' also rules out D, the high shelf.
Jane says you might expect rare books in the attic, then says her grandfather 'puts them out in the shop' where you need a ladder. A ladder means a high shelf, not the attic.
Her grandfather read under the stairs as a child, but that's a memory. The children's books are in 'a dedicated area' with cushions: a specially designed space.
Coursebooks used to be on the first floor, but now they're on low shelves 'part of the coffee shop'. The old location is the trap.
Words from this recording worth keeping
work placement(Introduction)
a period of work experience as part of a course
spine(Packing books)
the edge of a book where the pages are joined
deteriorate(Old books)
get worse in condition
treasure(Hardbacks and paperbacks)
value something highly
eye-catching(Hardbacks and paperbacks)
attractive and easy to notice
first editions(The bookshop)
the earliest printed copies of a book
institutions(The bookshop)
organisations such as schools or libraries
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 19 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 19, 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.
