Personality questionnaires: listening answers and explanations
A tutor leads a tutorial on staff selection with two students, Muriel and Dave. She argues that choosing the right person means more than checking qualifications, then introduces personality questionnaires: their history, how widely they are used and whether candidates answer honestly.
In order. Questions 21-24 come from the first half, about fitting people into teams. The tutor's words 'personality questionnaires' (and Muriel's 'What's it called?') start the notes for 25-29. Question 30 is about the tutorial as a whole.
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: The tutor does most of the talking, and the students' suggestions are often the distractors (Dave's 'company training'). Wait for the tutor's reply before you decide. Words in the options like 'interviews' and 'questions' are all said, so match meaning, not words.
Question 21
Answer: BThe tutor's very first words
What does the tutor stress the importance of at the start?
we've looked at various aspects of staff selection this term … how much more there is to it than just putting applicants through a short interview or asking the 'right' questions
Question says → You hear
the importance ofhow much more there is to it than just
Why: The tutor's point is that staff selection is much bigger than an interview or good questions. 'Choosing that all round right person' is staff selection, so B.
The trap: Interviews (A) and the 'right' questions (C) are both said, but after 'than just': they're the narrow view she's arguing against.
Question 22
Answer: CAfter she says you can check qualifications and experience
What kind of person doesn't fit into a group, according to the tutor?
if they start work and you realise that they just don't get along with everybody else, that... say, they've got sharply contrasting views on how something will work
Question says → You hear
disagrees with the rest of the groupdon't get along with everybody else … sharply contrasting views
Why: 'Sharply contrasting views' and 'don't get along with everybody else' mean the person disagrees with the group. That's C.
The trap: Qualifications and experience come just before, but the person has 'all the right qualifications' and 'a lot of experience'. Neither A nor B is the problem.
Question 23
Answer: AAfter Dave asks whether it's just a question of company training
What do team members need to trust in?
People have to have faith in each other's ability to carry out the task their boss has set them.
Question says → You hear
trust in your colleagues' abilityfaith in each other's ability
Why: 'Each other' in a team means colleagues, and 'faith' means trust. So A, colleagues' ability.
The trap: C is Dave's idea, and the tutor rejects it: 'you can't necessarily train people for this'. The boss is mentioned, but only as the one who sets the task.
Question 24
Answer: CWhen the talk turns to hobbies and spare time
What does the tutor say about finding out personal information?
in most interviews you usually ask candidates questions about their hobbies and what they like doing in their spare time … so employers are already involved in the practice of ... well, doing part of the task
Question says → You hear
already a part of job interviewsemployers are already involved in the practice of
Why: Asking about hobbies is already normal in most interviews, so employers already gather personal information. That's C.
The trap: A borrows 'practice', but here 'involved in the practice of' means 'already do'. Nothing says it's a skill to train. B is the opposite: most interviews ask.
Note completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
Questions 25-29
How to attack this block: Fast facts about the questionnaires, in note order: when they're filled in, who used them in the past, how many employers use them now, and who writes them. Gaps 26 and 27 can go in either order.
Question 25
Answer: selectionRight after Muriel asks 'What's it called?'
Also accepted: selection procedure / the selection procedure
When do candidates fill in the questionnaire?
They have to be filled out by the candidates some time during the selection procedure, often just before an interview.
Question says → You hear
completed duringfilled out by the candidates some time during the selection procedure
Why: 'Filled out' is 'completed', and the phrase after 'during' is the selection procedure. Selection on its own or selection procedure both fit.
The trap: 'Just before an interview' is a more precise time, but the note says 'during', and the interview phrase uses 'before'.
Question 26
Answer: ChineseWhen the tutor says the idea is actually quite old
Also accepted: the Chinese / ancient Chinese / the ancient Chinese / military / the military / army / the army
Who used personality tests in the past? (first of two)
Apparently they were used by the ancient Chinese for picking out clerks and civil servants
Question says → You hear
used in the past by thethey were used by the ancient Chinese
Why: The first past user is the ancient Chinese. 26 and 27 can be in either order, so Chinese or military is accepted in either gap.
The trap: Clerks and civil servants are the people who were chosen, not the people who used the tests.
Question 27
Answer: ChineseSame sentence, after 'and then later'
Also accepted: the Chinese / ancient Chinese / the ancient Chinese / military / the military / army / the army
Who used personality tests in the past? (second of two)
and then later they were used by the military to put people in appropriate areas of work
Question says → You hear
and theand then later they were used by the military
Why: The second past user is the military. The key prints Chinese for both rows because either answer is accepted in either gap; just don't write the same one twice.
The trap: Writing Chinese in both gaps gives you one mark at most. You need the two different groups.
Question 28
Answer: two thirdsWhen the tutor says they've 'gained a lot of ground'
Also accepted: almost two thirds / 2/3
What share of large employers use them today?
there are about 80,000 different tests available now and almost two thirds of the large employers use them
Question says → You hear
nowadays used by … of large employersalmost two thirds of the large employers use them
Why: The note's 'of large employers' tells you the gap is a proportion: two thirds. 'Almost' can be included or left out.
The trap: 80,000 is said first, but it's the number of tests available, not employers.
Question 29
Answer: expertsWhen Dave says it's human nature to lie
Who writes the questionnaires?
These tests are compiled by experts and they believe that the answers can provide a few simple indicators
Question says → You hear
written bycompiled by experts
candidates tend to be truthfulpeople will generally be truthful in that situation
Why: 'Compiled by' is the note's 'written by', so the gap is experts. They're also the ones who say people tell the truth.
The trap: Employers use the tests but don't write them. Don't confuse the users with the writers.
Multiple choice
Question 30
How to attack this block: A gist question about the whole tutorial. Think about what took up most of the time: one method for choosing staff, explained in detail.
Question 30
Answer: AThink about the whole discussion
What is the tutor's aim in the tutorial?
more and more employers around the world are making use of what are called 'personality questionnaires' to help them select new staff
Why: Most of the tutorial explains one method for choosing staff, the personality questionnaire: its history, use and reliability. That's describing a selection technique, A.
The trap: B is tempting because the tutor says interviews are only part of the story, but she doesn't attack them. C is wrong because she never says she uses questionnaires herself.
The word 'practice' is in option A and in the recording, but the tutor uses it to mean 'already doing'. Asking about hobbies is already part of interviews, which is C.
Interviews and 'right' questions are both mentioned first, but only to say staff selection is much more than that. The topic she stresses is staff selection.
Two numbers in one sentence: 80,000 tests and almost two thirds of large employers. The note asks how many employers use them, so two thirds.
Words from this recording worth keeping
staff selection(Start of the tutorial)
the process of choosing people for jobs
backing a loser(People who don't fit in)
supporting someone or something that will fail
contrasting views(People who don't fit in)
opinions that are very different
have faith in(Teamwork)
trust or believe in
selection procedure(Personality questionnaires)
the steps used to choose a candidate
gained a lot of ground(Use today)
become much more widely used
compiled(Who writes them)
written by collecting and arranging information
resistant to change(What the answers show)
not willing to accept new ideas or ways
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Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 2, 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.
