Developing food trends: listening answers and explanations
A lecturer explains how new food trends are created in the UK: the role of smartphones, influencers and supermarkets, three successful campaigns (avocados, oat milk and Norwegian skrei), and the ethical problems a sudden boom can cause, using quinoa as the example.
Ten gaps in order. Q31-33 come in the introduction about social media and supermarkets. 'I'd like to look at a few examples' starts the campaigns: avocado (Q34-35), oat milk (Q36-37), skrei (Q38). 'But ethical concerns have been raised' leads into quinoa (Q39-40).
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: Each product gets its own heading, so use them to keep your place. The notes paraphrase heavily ('upsetting competitors' for 'aggravated competitors', 'poor quality soil' for 'fertility of the soil decreased'), so match ideas, not words. Several answers are part of a longer phrase in the recording: write only the one word that fits.
Question 31
Answer: photosThe very start of the lecture, about the birth of the smartphone
Also accepted: photographs / pictures
What did people start sharing that sparked interest in food fashions?
when people first began taking photos of their food and instantly sharing them with their friends
Question says → You hear
started with ... of food being sharedtaking photos of their food and instantly sharing them
Why: Taking and sharing photos of food is where the interest started. Plural: photos. The key also accepts photographs or pictures.
The trap: Smartphone is said first, but you don't share 'smartphones of food'. The thing shared is photos.
Question 32
Answer: veganAt the end of the section on influencers as brand ambassadors
What type of food brand has grown sales through influencers?
Companies which sell vegan produce were pioneers in being able to increase sales really quickly in this way.
Question says → You hear
Sales of ... food brands have grown this wayCompanies which sell vegan produce … increase sales really quickly in this way
Why: Vegan companies were 'pioneers' at growing sales through influencers. 'In this way' matches 'this way' in the notes.
The trap: 'Free samples' and 'large fees' come up just before, but they describe how influencers are paid, not a type of food.
Question 33
Answer: chefsWhen the lecturer explains why supermarkets matter
Also accepted: cooks
Who are influential in setting what supermarkets look for?
are particularly interested in what well-known chefs are putting on their menus
Question says → You hear
Famous ... are influentialwell-known chefs
Why: Supermarkets watch what well-known chefs put on menus. Well-known matches 'famous'. Plural: chefs. Cooks is also accepted.
The trap: Social media is mentioned in the same sentence, but that line is already printed in the notes ('track demand ... on social media').
Question 34
Answer: journalistsThe first example, the avocado in the 1990s
Also accepted: reporters
Who went to visit avocado growers in South Africa?
They paid for a group of journalists to travel out to South Africa to meet avocado farmers.
Question says → You hear
were invited to visit growers in South Africapaid for a group of journalists to travel out to South Africa to meet avocado farmers
Why: The PR company paid for journalists to travel and meet farmers. Farmers are the growers in the notes, so the visitors are journalists. Reporters is also accepted.
The trap: Farmers is in the same sentence, but they're the people being visited, not the ones invited.
Question 35
Answer: healthRight after the journalists' articles
What benefits did avocado advertising focus on?
Advertisements were designed to promote the avocado as a superfood rich in nutrients and therefore beneficial for health.
Question says → You hear
Advertising focused on its ... benefitsbeneficial for health
Why: 'Beneficial for health' becomes 'health benefits'. The word you need is health.
The trap: 'Nutrients' or 'superfood' fit the meaning, but the notes need the type of benefit, and 'superfood benefits' isn't a natural phrase. The recording gives health.
Question 36
Answer: coffeeWhen the lecturer turns to the brand in the USA
Through which shops was oat milk promoted in the USA?
the brand decided against a big retail launch in favor of getting the product into coffee chains, which removed the need for a big advertising budget
Question says → You hear
reduced the need for advertisingremoved the need for a big advertising budget
Why: Getting the product into coffee chains removed the need for big advertising. The notes already say 'shops', so the gap is just coffee.
The trap: Supermarkets are mentioned straight after, but offering samples there was less effective. Retail is also rejected ('decided against a big retail launch').
Question 37
Answer: environmentWhen the lecturer compares oat milk with almond milk
What are the consumers who like oat milk worried about?
Many consumers prefer it because it has less of an impact on the environment.
Question says → You hear
appealed to consumers who are concerned about theMany consumers prefer it because it has less of an impact on the environment
Why: Consumers prefer oat milk because it's better for the environment. The details (less water, low carbon footprint) explain why.
The trap: Water and carbon footprint come next, but they're examples. 'Concerned about the water' is too narrow, and the noun the speaker uses is environment.
Question 38
Answer: reputationThe skrei example, Arctic cod on Michelin starred menus
What about Norwegian seafood has skrei helped to strengthen?
The demand for skrei has been used by a food marketing agency to build the reputation of Norway's fisheries in general.
Question says → You hear
helped strengthen the ... of Norwegian seafoodto build the reputation of Norway's fisheries
Why: 'Build the reputation' becomes 'strengthen the reputation'. Shoppers now link Norway with excellent seafood.
The trap: 'Demand' is in the same sentence, but it's skrei's demand, used as a tool. The thing strengthened is the reputation.
Question 39
Answer: priceAfter 'Quinoa is a classic example'
Also accepted: cost
What rose because quinoa became successful?
when demand peaked some years ago, the price soared, making it unaffordable for local people
Question says → You hear
led to an increase in itsthe price soared
Why: 'The price soared' means the price increased sharply. Cost is also accepted.
The trap: Demand increased too, but the notes say success 'led to' the increase, so the increase is the result. Demand is the cause; price is what went up because of it.
Question 40
Answer: soilWhen the lecturer says farmers began working the land all year round
What became poor quality because resources were overused?
One issue has been that the fertility of the soil decreased dramatically
Question says → You hear
Overuse of resourcesfarmers began working the land all year round
poor qualitythe fertility of the soil decreased dramatically
Why: Working the land all year is the overuse. Soil with much lower fertility is poor quality soil.
The trap: 'Land' is said just before and seems to fit, but the noun the speaker links to poor quality is soil. 'Fertility' doesn't fit after 'poor quality'.
The gap needs a noun after 'strengthen the': the speaker says skrei was used 'to build the reputation of Norway's fisheries'. Build becomes strengthen.
Words from this recording worth keeping
exploiting(Introduction)
using something to gain as much as possible
brand ambassadors(Influencers)
people paid or rewarded to promote a brand
pioneers(Influencers)
the first to do something
staple(The avocado)
a basic food eaten regularly
provocation(Oat milk)
deliberately causing a strong reaction
aggravated(Oat milk)
annoyed
soared(Quinoa)
rose very quickly
desertification(Quinoa)
land turning into desert
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The full Cambridge 20 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 20, Test 2, Listening Part 4. 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.
