Practical support for carers: listening answers and explanations
A woman who left her job to care for her elderly mother chats with a former colleague. The friend explains that the local council can help carers, what the council's assessment will ask about, and what kinds of support it may offer.
One ten-gap note block, in order, under three headings. Q1 comes from the friend's explanation of why councils help. Q2-7 follow the assessment ('you'd have to have an assessment'), where the woman gives several answers herself. Q8-10 come after 'what happens next?'
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 1-10 · Note completion (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
How to attack this block: The notes follow the call closely, so read ahead to the next gap. Several gaps sit in lists ('help with dressing, helping her have a ...'), so the answer is one item among others the speakers mention. Check the grammar around each gap: 'a ...' needs a singular noun, and Q6 needs an -ing word.
Question 1
Answer: breakEarly on, when the friend explains what the council realises about carers
Apart from time for other things, what can council support give a carer?
They realize that carers sometimes need time for all the other responsibilities they have … and also that they sometimes need a break.
Question says → You hear
time for other responsibilitiestime for all the other responsibilities they have
Why: The first benefit, time for other responsibilities, is printed. The second is that carers 'sometimes need a break'. The gap follows 'a', so it's the singular noun break.
The trap: 'Support' and 'help' are said a lot here, but they describe what the council offers, not what the carer gets from it.
Question 2
Answer: timeWhen the friend says 'for a start, they'd want to know'
What will the assessment ask about first?
So, for a start, they'd want to know the amount of time you spend looking after your mother every day.
Question says → You hear
how much ... the caring involvesthe amount of time you spend looking after your mother
Why: 'The amount of time you spend' becomes 'how much time the caring involves'. One word: time.
The trap: 'Every day' sits next to it, but 'how much day' makes no sense. The noun you need is time.
Question 3
Answer: showerWhen the woman says she helps with dressing
What does the woman help her mother have, besides getting dressed?
I help her with that. And also, I help her get into the shower in the morning.
Question says → You hear
helping her have aI help her get into the shower
Why: Dressing is already in the notes. The next task is helping her into the shower, and 'have a shower' is the natural phrase. Singular, after 'a'.
The trap: 'In the morning' is the time, not the task. Don't write 'bath': the word you hear is shower.
Question 4
Answer: moneyAfter the friend mentions shopping and meal times
What else might the mother need help dealing with?
whether she can cope using money. … Yes, that's becoming a bit of a problem.
Question says → You hear
dealing withwhether she can cope using money
Why: 'Cope using money' becomes 'dealing with money'. The woman confirms it's becoming a problem.
The trap: Shopping and meals come in the same sentence, but they're already printed in the notes.
Question 5
Answer: memoryWhen the woman says what she has noticed recently
What is the mother beginning to lose?
she's started to have quite bad problems with her memory
Question says → You hear
loss ofquite bad problems with her memory
Why: Bad memory problems are a loss of memory. Her forgetting to eat and not knowing the day are examples of it.
The trap: 'Forget' and 'not sure what day it is' are examples, not the noun the gap needs. 'Loss of forget' doesn't work.
Question 6
Answer: liftingWhen the friend asks about physical difficulties
What physical task is difficult for the carer?
are there any physical difficulties you have caring for her? Lifting her, for example. … Yes, she's quite heavy
Question says → You hear
especially difficultany physical difficulties you have caring for her
Why: The friend suggests 'Lifting her' and the woman agrees because her mother is heavy. The notes keep 'her' after the gap, so you need lifting.
The trap: Her back is what the woman is afraid of hurting, but 'back her' isn't English. Check what the words around the gap need.
Question 7
Answer: fallRight after the woman's worry about her back
What accident can the council help carers avoid?
They can give you advice about that and also about how to avoid the possibility of your mum having a fall.
Question says → You hear
preventing ahow to avoid the possibility of your mum having a fall
Why: 'Avoid the possibility of ... having a fall' becomes 'preventing a fall'. Singular noun after 'a'.
The trap: Hurting her back is the woman's own risk, and 'preventing a back' makes no sense. The gap is about the mother: a fall.
Question 8
Answer: taxiAfter 'what happens next?', when the friend talks about financial support
What transport cost might be paid for?
they might help you with transport costs, like if you have to get a taxi to take your mother for an appointment
Question says → You hear
transport costs, e.g. cost of atransport costs, like if you have to get a taxi
Why: The example of a transport cost is a taxi to an appointment. 'Like' matches 'e.g.'
The trap: Appointment is in the same sentence, but it's where she's going, not the transport. The car comes next, but under the car-related costs.
Question 9
Answer: insuranceWhen the woman says she usually drives her mother herself
Which car cost can be claimed besides fuel?
So, could I claim for the petrol? … You could. And you can claim for the insurance, too.
Question says → You hear
fuel andthe petrol … the insurance, too
Why: Petrol is the fuel already printed in the notes. The friend adds 'the insurance, too', which fills the second slot.
The trap: Petrol is the word the woman asks about, and it's tempting. But it matches 'fuel', so writing it repeats what's already there.
Question 10
Answer: stressWhen the friend says it's important to look after yourself
What can the council help the carer reduce?
it seems to me you're under quite a bit of stress. … tell the council because they may be able to give you some advice on how to minimize it.
Question says → You hear
help to reduceadvice on how to minimize it
Why: 'Minimize it' refers back to stress, and 'minimize' matches 'reduce'.
The trap: Housework comes just before, but it's already in the notes as its own item. The last gap is stress.
The gap comes before 'her' in the notes, so it has to be a verb form: lifting. The friend says 'Lifting her, for example'. Writing 'back' or 'heavy' from the woman's reply breaks the grammar.
The woman asks about petrol, which matches 'fuel' already in the notes. The answer is the extra cost the friend adds: insurance.
Words from this recording worth keeping
relieved(Opening)
glad that a worry or burden has gone
local council(Practical support)
the government body for a town or area
responsibilities(Practical support)
things you have a duty to deal with
assessment(Assessment of mother's needs)
an official check of what someone needs
cope(Assessment of mother's needs)
manage successfully
eligible(Types of support)
allowed to receive something because you meet the rules
claim for(Types of support)
ask to be paid back for a cost
minimize(Types of support)
make as small as possible
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Cambridge IELTS 20, 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.
The rest of Cambridge 20 Test 2 Listening
Part 1 · Questions 1-10 · You're herePractical support for carers
