Restaurants for a 30th birthday celebration: listening answers and explanations
A woman needs to book a restaurant for her sister's 30th birthday and asks a friend for ideas. The friend describes three places, The Junction, Paloma and the Audley, covering where each one is, why it's good and what to watch out for.
One ten-gap table, filled row by row: The Junction (Q1-2), then Paloma (Q3-4), then the Audley (Q5-10). Inside each row you move left to right, from location to reasons to other comments. The friend gives most answers, but the woman supplies Q4 and Q8 herself.
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 · Table completion (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
How to attack this block: Read across each row before the recording starts so you know what kind of word each cell needs. Each new restaurant is announced clearly ('Then is there anywhere else', 'I've just thought of another idea'), so if you lose your place, jump to the next row's name and pick up again there. Watch the spelled-out name in Q5.
Question 1
Answer: fishRight after the friend says the location isn't the main reason to go
What kind of food do people who love The Junction especially like?
The food's amazing. If you like fish, it's probably the best restaurant in town for that.
Question says → You hear
people who are especially keen onIf you like fish
Why: 'If you like fish, it's probably the best restaurant in town' is the reason for the recommendation. 'Especially keen on' paraphrases 'if you like'.
The trap: The station and the location come first, but the friend says that's 'not necessarily why I'd recommend it'. They belong in the location column.
Question 2
Answer: roofWhen the woman asks if it's really expensive
Where at The Junction can you have a drink?
before dinner, you can go up on the roof and have a drink
Question says → You hear
a good place for a drinkyou can go up on the roof and have a drink
Why: The friend says you can go up on the roof for a drink before dinner. The gap follows 'The', so it needs a noun: roof.
The trap: The views are mentioned straight after, but 'the views is a good place for a drink' makes no sense. The place is the roof.
Question 3
Answer: SpanishAfter the friend mentions the chef used to work at Don Filipes
What type of food does Paloma serve?
So, is all the food they serve Spanish, then? … Yeah, you can get lots of small dishes to share
Question says → You hear
food, good for sharinglots of small dishes to share
Why: The woman asks if all the food is Spanish and the friend says yes, adding that the small dishes are good to share. Spanish takes a capital S.
The trap: The answer comes in the woman's question, and 'Yeah' confirms it. If you wait for the friend to name the cuisine, you miss it.
Question 4
Answer: vegetarianRight after the £50 deposit
Also accepted: vegetarians
Which type of food is limited on Paloma's menu?
I should have a look at the menu to check there's a good choice of vegetarian dishes. … I'd say the selection of those would be quite limited.
Question says → You hear
A limited selection ofthe selection of those would be quite limited
Why: The woman wants to check for vegetarian dishes, and the friend says 'the selection of those would be quite limited'. 'Those' points back to vegetarian dishes. The key accepts vegetarian or vegetarians.
The trap: Meat is mentioned in the same turn ('stopped eating meat'), but nobody says meat dishes are limited.
Question 5
Answer: AudleyWhen the friend says 'I've just thought of another idea'
What is the name of the third restaurant?
Have you been to the Audley? … A-U-D-L-E-Y.
Why: The friend spells the name letter by letter, so copy that spelling exactly: Audley, with a capital A.
The trap: Pure spelling. 'Audly' or 'Ordley' lose the mark. Write down the letters as you hear them, then check.
Question 6
Answer: hotelWhen the woman asks where it is exactly
What building is the Audley at the top of?
It's in that hotel near Baxter Bridge on the top floor.
Question says → You hear
At the top of ain that hotel … on the top floor
Why: The restaurant is on the top floor of a hotel. 'At the top of a' needs a singular noun, and hotel is it.
The trap: Baxter Bridge is a landmark near the hotel. 'At the top of a bridge' sounds possible, but the restaurant is inside the hotel.
Question 7
Answer: reviewsAfter the woman names the chef, Angela Fra
What has been very good for the Audley?
Anyway, it's had excellent reviews from all the newspapers.
Question says → You hear
All the ... are very goodit's had excellent reviews from all the newspapers
Why: 'Excellent reviews from all the newspapers' becomes 'All the reviews are very good'. The gap needs a plural noun.
The trap: The chef's TV show and her cookery books come just before, and 'the food is supposed to be really special' comes after. The cell is about the reviews.
Question 8
Answer: localWhen the woman asks about the chef's cooking
What kind of ingredients does the Audley use?
She only likes cooking with local products, doesn't she? … Everything at the restaurant has to be sourced within a short distance
Question says → You hear
Only uses ... ingredientsShe only likes cooking with local products
Why: The woman says the chef only cooks with local products, and the friend confirms it: everything comes from a short distance away. 'Products' becomes 'ingredients'.
The trap: 'Nothing flown in from abroad' might push you towards a word like 'national', but the word you hear is local.
Question 9
Answer: 30When the woman says it must be really expensive
Also accepted: thirty
How much is the set lunch per person?
you could go for the set lunch. That's quite reasonable for a top class restaurant. £30 a head. In the evening, I think it would be more like £50.
Question says → You hear
Set lunch costs ... per person£30 a head
Why: '£30 a head' is the set lunch price, and 'a head' means per person. The £ sign is already printed, so write 30.
The trap: £50 is the evening price, said straight after. The note asks only about lunch.
Question 10
Answer: averageThe end of the call, when the woman asks about tiny portions
What size are the portions likely to be?
With tiny portions? … No, the reviews I've read didn't mention that. I imagine they'd be average.
Question says → You hear
Portions probably of ... sizeI imagine they'd be average
Why: The friend rejects the idea of tiny portions and guesses they'd be average. 'Probably' in the notes matches 'I imagine'.
The trap: Tiny is the word the woman says, but the friend says no to it. Small or tiny is the rejected answer.
The woman raises vegetarian dishes and the friend only answers with 'those'. You have to connect the two turns to see that the limited choice is the vegetarian food.
The cell says 'All the ... are very good', which sounds like food or dishes. The friend actually says the restaurant has had excellent reviews from all the newspapers.
Words from this recording worth keeping
special occasion(The Junction)
an important event worth celebrating
spectacular(The Junction)
very impressive to look at
reputation(Paloma)
what people generally think of a place
deposit(Paloma)
money paid in advance to secure a booking
limited(Paloma)
small in number or choice
sourced(The Audley)
obtained or bought from a particular place
a head(The Audley)
for each person
memorable(The Audley)
special enough to be remembered
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The rest of Cambridge 20 Test 1 Listening
Part 1 · Questions 1-10 · You're hereRestaurants for a 30th birthday celebration
