Dean End Health Centre: listening answers and explanations
Mrs Sutton has just moved to Manchester from Canada and her daughter is ill. Her neighbour, Mrs Smith, explains how the British health system works: registering with a family doctor, the two local health centres, surgery times, prescriptions and what they cost.
Every answer comes from Mrs Smith's long explanation, in order. The two short answers come first, then the table comparing Dean End and South Hay, then surgery hours, free medication and the prescription charge. A dashed break separates the health centres from the practical details.
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 11-12 · Short answers (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
5Also accepted: five / £5 / 5 pounds / five pounds
Short answers (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
Questions 11-12
How to attack this block: Two quick questions at the start. The first is answered in Mrs Sutton's opening worry, the second by the word Mrs Smith introduces for doctors who work together. Listen for 'called', which often signals a term you have to write.
Question 11
Answer: daughterEarly on, when Mrs Sutton asks how to get hold of a doctor
Also accepted: her daughter / Anna / her daughter Anna / child / her child
Which person is Mrs Sutton worried about?
Our daughter, Anna, isn't very well this morning and I may have to call somebody out.
Question says → You hear
worried aboutI am beginning to get a bit worried
Why: Mrs Sutton explains that her daughter Anna keeps being sick. Daughter, her daughter or Anna are all accepted.
The trap: She also says she doesn't know how the health system works. That's a second worry, but the question asks about a person.
Question 12
Answer: practiceRight after Mrs Smith says nobody will come out if you're not registered
Also accepted: a practice / practices
What is a group of family doctors sharing one building called?
they work in things called practices. Sort of small groups of family doctors all working together in the same building
Question says → You hear
group of family doctorssmall groups of family doctors
working in the same buildingworking together in the same building
Why: 'Things called practices' gives you the term, and the next sentence is almost exactly the question's definition. Practice or practices are both accepted.
The trap: General practitioners is said just before, but that's another name for the doctors themselves, not for the group. Health centre is the building.
Table completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER)
Questions 13-17
How to attack this block: The table compares two health centres, but Mrs Smith talks about them in a mixed order. Keep both columns in view and decide which centre each fact belongs to. One gap (15) needs a comparison word that you have to work out, because it isn't said directly.
Question 13
Answer: 6After Mrs Smith says 'We're registered at the Dean End one'
Also accepted: six / about 6 / about six
How many doctors work at Dean End?
There are about six doctors in our practice and four in the other.
Question says → You hear
Number of doctorsabout six doctors in our practice
Why: Mrs Smith is registered at Dean End, so 'our practice' means Dean End: six doctors.
The trap: Ten and five are also said just before, but those are walking times in minutes, not numbers of doctors.
Question 14
Answer: 4Same sentence as question 13
Also accepted: four / about 4 / about four
How many doctors work at South Hay?
There are about six doctors in our practice and four in the other.
Question says → You hear
Number of doctorsfour in the other
Why: 'The other' is South Hay, the only other practice she has mentioned. So the South Hay column gets 4.
The trap: If you lost track of which practice is 'ours', you could swap 6 and 4. Dean End is hers, South Hay is the other.
Question 15
Answer: betterWhen Mrs Smith says South Hay is a bit old-fashioned
Also accepted: more efficient / faster
How does Dean End's appointment system compare with South Hay's?
Their only problem is that they don't have a proper appointment system. Sometimes you have to wait for ages there to see someone.
Question says → You hear
Appointment system ... than South Haythey don't have a proper appointment system
Why: South Hay has no proper appointment system and long waits, so Dean End's system is better by comparison. The gap is followed by 'than', so it needs a comparative word.
The trap: 'More modern' is said in the same breath, but about the building. That fact already sits in the South Hay column as 'less modern'.
Question 16
Answer: elderlyWhen Mrs Smith talks about her own doctor, Dr Jones
Also accepted: old / older
Which patients is Dr Jones good with?
he's very good with elderly people, but he does tend to get a bit impatient with children
Question says → You hear
good with ... patientsvery good with elderly people
Why: 'Elderly people' becomes 'elderly patients' in the table. Old or older are accepted as well.
The trap: Children come straight after, but Dr Jones gets impatient with them. The doctor who is good with small children is Dr Shaw.
Question 17
Answer: back problemsWhen Mrs Smith mentions the young doctor at South Hay
Also accepted: back trouble / bad backs
What problem does Dr Williams help people with?
He holds special clinics for people with back trouble. But that's not really your problem, is it?
Question says → You hear
helps people withspecial clinics for people with back trouble
Why: Dr Williams runs clinics for back trouble. The key gives back problems, and back trouble or bad backs are accepted.
The trap: Small children are mentioned just before, but for Dr Shaw at Dean End, not Dr Williams.
Sentence completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER)
Question 18
How to attack this block: Several times come close together: the home-visit deadline, the morning surgery and the afternoon surgery. The sentence asks when the doctors start seeing patients, so you want the earliest surgery time.
Question 18
Answer: 9After the dashed break, once the home-visit rules are explained
Also accepted: nine / 9 am / 9.00
At what time do surgeries begin?
They hold surgeries between 9 and 11.30 every weekday
Question says → You hear
start seeing patientsThey hold surgeries
Why: A surgery is the time when doctors see patients at the centre. The first one starts at 9, and o'clock is printed, so write 9.
The trap: 10.30 comes earlier, but it's the latest time to ask for a home visit. The afternoon surgery from 4 is later in the day.
Multiple choice
Question 19
How to attack this block: Each option pairs two groups, and both halves must be right. Listen to the list of people who don't pay for medication and tick off groups as you hear them.
Question 19
Answer: BAfter Mrs Smith explains the prescription and the chemist's
Which pair of groups gets medication free?
If it's for a child under 16, you don't have to pay. … The same thing goes if you're unemployed or retired, or if you're pregnant.
Why: The free groups are children under 16, unemployed people, retired people and pregnant women. B is the only option whose two groups are both on that list.
The trap: C looks close because it has unemployed people, but 'over 60' is never said: retired is not an age. A and D fail too: the age limit is under 16, and being a resident is about free consultations, not free medication.
Sentence completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER)
Question 20
How to attack this block: A single price, given once. The pound sign is printed, so you only need the number.
Question 20
Answer: 5Right after the list of people who don't pay
Also accepted: five / £5 / 5 pounds / five pounds
How much does one item on a prescription cost?
You pay the same price for each item the doctor has prescribed. At the moment it's something like £5 per item.
Question says → You hear
charge for one item£5 per item
aboutsomething like
Why: 'Something like' matches 'about' in the sentence. The pound sign is printed, so write 5.
The trap: Sixteen and three years (how long the Suttons are staying) are nearby numbers, but neither is a price.
Nobody says 'better'. You hear that South Hay has no proper appointment system and you wait for ages there. You have to turn that into a comparison: Dean End's system is better.
Retired people get free medication, and option C pairs unemployed people with people over 60. Retired and over 60 are not the same thing, and 60 is never mentioned. Only B has two groups that are both named.
You hear 10.30 first, but that's the deadline for asking for a home visit. Surgeries run from 9, so the doctors start seeing patients at 9.
Words from this recording worth keeping
register(Finding a family doctor)
officially put your name on a list
general practitioners(Finding a family doctor)
family doctors who treat all common illnesses
practices(Finding a family doctor)
groups of doctors working from one building
old-fashioned(Comparing the health centres)
not modern; done the way it used to be
home visit(Seeing a doctor)
when a doctor comes to see a patient at home
prescription(Getting medication)
a doctor's note saying which medicine you need
consultation(Costs)
a meeting with a doctor to get advice
resident(Costs)
someone who lives in a place officially
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The full Cambridge 3 Test 1 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 3, Test 1, Listening Part 2. 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.
