Theatre programmes: listening answers and explanations
Two students, Maya and Finn, compare notes for a project on the history of theatre programmes. They discuss who produces programmes today, how early British audiences treated them, how programmes changed over three centuries, and four old programmes they could show in their presentation.
Answers come in order. Q21-26 follow the history from today back to early British theatre and forward through the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. 'I've got some pictures of programmes' starts Q27-30, which take the four shows in the order printed.
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: Pay attention to whose view each question asks for: 'Finn was pleased', 'Maya feels', 'both think'. The distractors are usually things that are said but belong to another century, another country or another person.
Question 21
Answer: BFinn's first answer, after Maya asks how his research is going
What pleased Finn about their topic?
I'm glad we picked this subject. No one else on the course is doing the same as us.
Question says → You hear
had not been chosen by other studentsNo one else on the course is doing the same as us
Why: 'No one else on the course is doing the same' means no other students chose it: B.
The trap: C is the reverse: he 'struggled to find many useful websites'. A is also reversed: it's one of the module convenor's research areas, so it's very familiar to the module leader.
Question 22
Answer: AWhen they talk about companies that specialise in creating programmes
What do people wrongly believe about theatre programmes?
Contrary to what many people think, theatres don't hire people to do the programmes. In fact, companies buy the rights to publish programmes on the theatre's behalf
Question says → You hear
a mistaken beliefContrary to what many people think
Why: 'Contrary to what many people think' introduces the mistaken belief: that theatres hire, or pay, people to make programmes. In fact companies buy the rights and earn money from adverts, so A is the mistake.
The trap: C picks up 'advertising space', but nobody compares how many adverts there are now and before. B, fewer buyers, isn't mentioned.
Question 23
Answer: CWhen Finn says the cast was always very important
What surprised Finn about programmes in early British theatre?
But I hadn't realised that if the programme named a famous actor, that's who the public expected to perform. And if that didn't happen, people accused the theatre of breaking their agreement with the audience.
Question says → You hear
were seen as a kind of contractbreaking their agreement with the audience
Why: 'I hadn't realised' shows the surprise. If a named star didn't appear, the theatre was 'breaking their agreement', so the programme worked like a contract: C.
The trap: Refunds and riots follow, which might suggest money or free programmes (B), but they were the audience's reaction, not about the cost of programmes.
Question 24
Answer: AWhen Maya says 'I also think it's important to mention'
What should the project explain about early companies of actors?
lots of ordinary people at that time were illiterate. So theatre programmes were of limited value in advertising plays. When a company of actors arrived in a town, they'd parade around the streets
Question says → You hear
promoted their own playsthey'd parade around the streets in their costumes, beating drums and announcing their upcoming performances
Why: Since most people couldn't read, programmes were little use as adverts, so the actors paraded and announced their shows themselves. That's promoting their own plays, and Maya explains why: A.
The trap: C and B take words from the description: actors 'arrived in a town' (touring) and were 'around the streets' (outdoors). But the streets were for advertising, not performing, and Maya never explains why they toured.
Question 25
Answer: CWhen Maya says there's an interesting comparison to make
How do both students think 18th-century programmes compare with 19th-century ones?
I think 18th century programmes were superior because they told the theatregoers so many things, including about the actors. … And about the writer, the plot, and sometimes the history of the play.
Question says → You hear
were more informativethey told the theatregoers so many things
Why: Maya says the 18th-century programmes told theatregoers 'so many things', and Finn adds the writer, plot and history. Both agree they gave more information: C.
The trap: B, more colourful, is the 19th century: 'unlike programmes from the 18th century, they always used colour'. A also suits the 19th century, which had 'a greater variety of designs'.
Question 26
Answer: BAfter Finn explains the paper restrictions during World War II
What can't Maya understand about 20th-century British programmes?
What I don't really get is that after the war, they didn't go back to being more than one sheet or change in any way for over 25 years.
Question says → You hear
doesn't fully understandWhat I don't really get
failed to develop for so longdidn't go back to being more than one sheet or change in any way for over 25 years
Why: 'What I don't really get' is the signal. British programmes stayed as one folded sheet and didn't change for over 25 years, even though paper shortages lasted only 5 or 10: B.
The trap: A is wrong because programmes in the USA 'continued to be published in the same format'. Nobody says Britain copied the USA (C).
Matching (A-F)
Questions 27-30
How to attack this block: Six comments for four shows, so two are spare. Each show gets one or two lines, and the comment is always a paraphrase: 'put in a frame on the wall' for an artwork, 'Australia's first printing press' for a country's history.
Question 27
Answer: FWhen Finn shows an old programme for a play called Ruy Blas
What comment is made about the Ruy Blas programme?
the programme looks very decorative. Good enough to put in a frame on the wall. The images are just beautiful.
Question says → You hear
It resembles an artworkGood enough to put in a frame on the wall
Why: Decorative, beautiful images and good enough to frame and hang on the wall: it looks like a work of art, F.
The trap: Maya has never heard of the play, which might suggest an uncertain origin (A), but that's about the play, not where the programme came from.
Question 28
Answer: EWhen Maya asks Finn what he found
What comment is made about the Man of La Mancha programme?
it contains articles written by members of the theatre company, so we can learn how the production was created and the thoughts and feelings of the cast
Question says → You hear
the showhow the production was created and the thoughts and feelings of the cast
Why: Finn chose this programme for its articles by the theatre company, which show how the production was made and how the cast felt. That is insight into the show itself, so the answer is E. Nothing is said about where this programme came from.
The trap: 'Not because of the pictures' rules out the artwork comment (F), which belongs to Ruy Blas.
Question 29
Answer: BWhen Maya says she has a copy of a programme now in a museum
What comment is made about The Tragedy of Jane Shore programme?
it's said to be the earliest surviving document to have been printed on Australia's first printing press
Question says → You hear
historically significant for a countrythe earliest surviving document to have been printed on Australia's first printing press
Why: Being the earliest surviving document from Australia's first printing press makes it historically significant for Australia: B.
The trap: 'It's said to be' might hint that its origin is disputed (A), but it's just reporting the claim. The point is its importance to Australia.
Question 30
Answer: DThe last programme, when Finn mentions the British Library
What comment is made about The Sailors' Festival programme?
It comes from the British Library's digitised collection of programmes that was started a few years ago.
Question says → You hear
It is included in a recent projectthe British Library's digitised collection of programmes that was started a few years ago
Why: The programme is part of the British Library's digitised collection, which started a few years ago. A collection started recently is a recent project: D.
The trap: 'Over 200,000 programmes' is impressive, but nothing says this programme attracted audiences (C).
Colour and variety of design are both mentioned, but they describe the 19th century. Maya says 18th-century programmes were 'superior' because they told theatregoers so many things, and Finn adds more examples.
Actors arriving in a town and parading in the streets sounds like touring (C) or performing outdoors (B). The point is that people couldn't read programmes, so actors had to advertise the plays themselves.
The USA kept the same format during the war, which tempts A. Maya's puzzle is that British programmes didn't change for over 25 years, long after the paper shortages ended.
Words from this recording worth keeping
module convenor(Choosing the topic)
the lecturer in charge of a course unit
contrary to(Programmes today)
opposite to
on the theatre's behalf(Programmes today)
for the theatre, representing it
riots(Early British theatre)
violent protests by crowds
illiterate(Early British theatre)
unable to read or write
superior(18th and 19th centuries)
better
imposed restrictions(20th century)
officially set limits
digitised(Four programmes)
turned into a digital form
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The full Cambridge 20 Test 3 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 3, 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.
