Cambridge IELTS 2, Test 1, Listening Part 2

Expedition Across Attora Mountains: listening answers and explanations

A radio interviewer talks to Charles Owen, who led a four-man, 96-day walk across Morocco's Attora mountains. He describes his planning, the distance and peaks, the weather and detours, the friends who joined them, and the two donkeys that carried their gear.

Questions 11-20 · 10 marks · 4 question blocks

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How the answers come

All answers come from Charles, in order, and each block starts with a new question from the interviewer: planning and records (11-13), the weather (14-15), the social side of the trip (16-18) and the bad moments with the donkeys (19-20).

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.

Q	Your answer	Answer
Questions 11-13 · Note completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
11		route book
12		900 milesAlso accepted: nine hundred miles
13		North AfricaAlso accepted: N Africa
Questions 14-15 · Multiple choice
14		A
15		C
Questions 16-18 · Multiple choice (choose THREE)
16		B and C and E(in either order)
17
18
Questions 19-20 · Multiple choice (choose TWO)
19		B and D(in either order)
20		B and D(in either order)

Note completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)

Questions 11-13

How to attack this block: Three quick facts in Charles's first two answers. Listen for the name of the thing he prepared, the total distance and the region Toubkal is highest in. For 12, the unit matters: write miles, not just the number.

Question 11

Answer: route bookHis first answer, when asked about planning

What did Charles prepare before the trip?

I've collected maps and other data to prepare what I call a 'route book' for this trip

Question says → You hear

Prepared a ... for the tripto prepare what I call a 'route book' for this trip

Why: He collected maps and data to make a route book, and explains that it shows the route they took. The note uses the same verb, prepare, so route book drops straight in.

The trap: Maps is said first, but those were what he collected to make the book. 'Prepared a maps' also breaks the grammar.

Question 12

Answer: 900 milesWhen the interviewer says they broke records

Also accepted: nine hundred miles

How long was the whole trip in distance?

Yes, it was 900 miles in total and we managed to climb 32 peaks

Question says → You hear

Total length of trip900 miles in total

Why: 'In total' matches 'total length'. Include the unit: 900 miles.

The trap: 96 days is also a length, mentioned in the introduction, but it's a length of time. 32 peaks and 3000 metres come straight after, so don't grab the wrong number.

Question 13

Answer: North AfricaSame answer, right after the 32 peaks

Also accepted: N Africa

Where is Toubkal the highest peak?

including Toubkal, which is of course the highest in North Africa

Question says → You hear

Climbed highest peak inthe highest in North Africa

Why: Toubkal is 'the highest in North Africa', so the gap is the region: North Africa. Capitalise both words.

The trap: Morocco fits the meaning, and it's the country they were in, but Charles says North Africa. Write what you hear.

Multiple choice

Questions 14-15

How to attack this block: Both answers come in Charles's long reply about the weather. 14 is at the very start ('taken aback'), and 15 is the final sentence of the same answer, so don't switch off during the description of the scenery.

Question 14

Answer: AStart of his answer about the weather

What surprised the group?

we were pretty taken aback really to find … that it rained on quite a number of days, and so we were forced to start re-planning our route

Question says → You hear

took the group by surprisewe were pretty taken aback
the amount of rainit rained on quite a number of days

Why: 'Taken aback' means surprised, and what surprised them was that it rained on quite a number of days. That's the amount of rain, A.

The trap: B: routes come up straight away, because they had to re-plan, but that was a result of the weather, not the surprise. C: the 900-mile length was never described as surprising.

Question 15

Answer: CThe end of the weather answer, after the meadows and gorges

How did Charles feel about changing his route?

The scenery was as fine as any we saw on the trip and that was how it was every time - having to take another pass was never a disappointment.

Question says → You hear

having to change routeshaving to take another pass
made no difference to his enjoymentwas never a disappointment

Why: Every detour led to scenery as good as anywhere else, so another pass was 'never a disappointment'. The changes didn't spoil the trip for him: C.

The trap: A, reluctantly accepted: he does say they were 'forced' to re-plan, which sounds reluctant, but his feelings about the result are entirely positive. B, irritated, has no support at all.

Multiple choice (choose THREE)

Questions 16-18

How to attack this block: Charles's answer about friends touches almost every option, often with a twist. Check each one against what he actually says: who met them and how often, who organised what, who runs the hotel, and how long people stayed.

Question 16-18

Answer: B and C and E (in either order)When the interviewer calls it a social trip

Which three things does Charles say about his friends?

we managed to keep all these dates … An old friend acted as a sort of transport organiser for everyone … actually joined us for three-week stints

Question says → You hear

kept all their meeting arrangementswe managed to keep all these dates
helped arrange the transportacted as a sort of transport organiser
travelled with himjoined us for three-week stints / just linked up with us

Why: B: they kept all the dates they'd arranged. C: an old friend organised transport. E: groups of friends joined them for three-week stints, and others came along for short bursts.

The trap: D is the strongest distractor: the Hotel Ali is recommended, but Charles 'can't remember who runs it', so no friend owned it. A is wrong because they met at 'various points', and F turns the 96 days of the trip into a group's stay.

Multiple choice (choose TWO)

Questions 19-20

How to attack this block: The donkeys get one short paragraph. The right answers are paraphrased ('as we called them after the last places', 'out of character'), while the wrong ones borrow words he really says, such as tiredness.

Question 19-20

Answer: B and D (in either order)When asked about bad moments

Which two things does Charles say about the donkeys?

Taza and Tamri, as we called them after the last places in the trip … they took diversions that were quite out of character

Question says → You hear

named them after placesas we called them after the last places in the trip
behaved unpredictablytook diversions that were quite out of character

Why: B: the donkeys were named after the last places on the trip. D: on the high summits they wandered off in ways that were 'quite out of character', which is unpredictable behaviour.

The trap: A borrows the word tired: Charles blames the donkeys' odd behaviour on 'tiredness', but it was their tiredness, and he never rode them. C and E (dying, being small) are never mentioned.

The questions most people get wrong

Question 15

Charles mentions problems, detours and new routes, so 'reluctantly accepted' sounds right. His last sentence settles it: another pass 'was never a disappointment', so the changes made no difference to his enjoyment.

Question 16-18

Every option is half-true. They met friends at various points (not one stage), he recommends the hotel but doesn't know who runs it, and 96 days is the length of the trip, not of any group.

Question 19-20

Tiredness is said, but it's the donkeys who were tired, not Charles riding them. 'Out of character' is the clue for unpredictable behaviour.

Words from this recording worth keeping

undertook(Introduction): started and carried out a big task
make a name for ourselves(Records): become famous
taken aback(The weather): surprised or shocked
detours(The weather): longer routes taken to avoid a problem
gorges(The weather): deep, narrow valleys with steep sides
stints(Friends on the trip): fixed periods spent doing something
long-suffering(The donkeys): patiently putting up with difficulties
out of character(The donkeys): not typical of someone's usual behaviour

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The rest of Cambridge 2 Test 1 Listening

Part 1 · Questions 1-10Video Library Application Form
Part 2 · Questions 11-20 · You're hereExpedition Across Attora Mountains
Part 3 · Questions 21-30Starting University
Part 4 · Questions 31-40Sports Careers Courses

Part 2 in other Cambridge 2 tests

Cambridge 2 · Test 2 · Part 2Smith House

Test 1 Part 2 in other Cambridge books

All of Cambridge 2 Listening Next: Starting University See all Cambridge listening answers

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