Young Electronic Engineer Competition: listening answers and explanations
John Brown asks his teacher, Mrs Collins, to help him fill in an entry form for a competition. His invention is a jigsaw puzzle for blind children that bleeps when a piece goes in correctly, and they work through the form line by line.
One form, filled in strictly in order. Mrs Collins reads out each heading and John answers, but she often shortens or rewrites what he says, and her version is what goes on the form (the design name, the plastic pieces, the date). Gaps 25-27 can go in any order.
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 21-30 · Form completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
safe for childrenAlso accepted: safe / educational / good price / inexpensive / not expensive / cheap / cheap price / is good price / it's educational / it's safe for children
safe for childrenAlso accepted: safe / educational / good price / inexpensive / not expensive / cheap / cheap price / is good price / it's educational / it's safe for children
safe for childrenAlso accepted: safe / educational / good price / inexpensive / not expensive / cheap / cheap price / is good price / it's educational / it's safe for children
1 JulyAlso accepted: July 1 / 1st July / July 1st / the 1st of July / 1/7
Form completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 21-30
How to attack this block: Mrs Collins reads each form heading aloud, so use her questions as your signposts. Expect corrections: a name that's spelled differently, a measurement John gets muddled, a long title cut down, and a date that's moved. Write the corrected version every time.
Question 21
Answer: Anne ReaWhen Mrs Collins asks for the names of the designers
Who is the second designer?
Then you must put her name in as well. Right.. . Ann Ray. … Sorry. It's ANNE and her surname is spelt R-E-A.
Question says → You hear
Name(s) of designer(s)Ann helped me with some of the electronics work
Why: John corrects Mrs Collins on both names, so write Anne Rea: first name with an E, surname spelled R-E-A.
The trap: Ann Ray is how Mrs Collins first writes it, and it sounds identical. Only the spelled version gets the mark.
Question 22
Answer: 16Straight after the spelling of Rea
Also accepted: 16 years old / both 16
How old are the designers?
And age is easy. You're both 16.
Question says → You hear
AgeAnd age is easy
Why: Both designers are 16, and the form has one age box, so write 16.
The trap: There's no real distractor. Just make sure you write a number, not 'both'.
Question 23
Answer: Blind PuzzleWhen Mrs Collins asks what he has called the design
Also accepted: Blind Jigsaw Puzzle
What is the design called?
What about jigsaw puzzle design for visually handicapped? … Too long. Just say blind puzzle, that'll do.
Question says → You hear
Name of designJust say blind puzzle
Why: John's name is rejected as too long. Mrs Collins's short version, blind puzzle, is what he writes, and it fits the word limit.
The trap: 'Jigsaw puzzle design for visually handicapped' is said first and is far over three words.
Question 24
Answer: 20 50 2.5When Mrs Collins asks about the size of the equipment
Also accepted: 20, 50, 2.5 / 20 x 50 x 2.5 / 20cm 50cm 2.5cm / 20 cm, 50 cm, 2.5 cm / 20 50 2 and a half
What are the width, length and depth of the equipment?
length, sorry, width is 20 cm. … Length is 50 cm, and then the depth is ... well, it's very little. … I'd say 2.5 cm.
Question says → You hear
width, length, depth in cmwidth is 20 cm … Length is 50 cm … I'd say 2.5 cm
Why: In the order the form asks for: width 20, length 50, depth 2.5. The cm is printed in the heading, so the three numbers are enough.
The trap: John says 'length' first and then changes it to width. If you write 20 as the length, the order is wrong.
Question 25
Answer: safe for childrenWhen Mrs Collins explains what 'special features' means
Also accepted: safe / educational / good price / inexpensive / not expensive / cheap / cheap price / is good price / it's educational / it's safe for children
What is the first special feature?
Well, it's safe for children. … That's fine. Put that in.
Question says → You hear
Special featuresspecial features means, what is really new about this
Why: The first feature is that it's safe for children. 25, 26 and 27 can be in any order, so any of the three features gets the mark in any of these gaps.
The trap: Battery comes just before, but that's the power line, already printed.
Question 26
Answer: safe for childrenRight after Mrs Collins says 'Put that in'
Also accepted: safe / educational / good price / inexpensive / not expensive / cheap / cheap price / is good price / it's educational / it's safe for children
What is the second special feature?
OK, and of course we think it's educational.
Question says → You hear
Special featureswe think it's educational
Why: The second feature is that it's educational. The key prints 'safe for children' for all three rows because any order is accepted; use each feature once.
The trap: Don't write the same feature twice. You need three different ones across 25-27.
Question 27
Answer: safe for childrenWhen Mrs Collins asks 'Anything else?'
Also accepted: safe / educational / good price / inexpensive / not expensive / cheap / cheap price / is good price / it's educational / it's safe for children
What is the third special feature?
Well, I think the price is good. … That's probably the most important factor. … OK ... cheap price.
Question says → You hear
Special featuresI think the price is good
Why: The last feature is the price: good price or cheap price both work.
The trap: The actual costs ($5 and $9.50) come next, but those belong in the cost line, not the features.
Question 28
Answer: electricsWhen Mrs Collins asks 'What's the cost?'
What part cost $9.50?
Well, the pieces we made out of old wood .. . they cost, ooh, $5. … And the electrics? They were more expensive . .. say, $9.50.
Question says → You hear
parts $5the pieces we made out of old wood
... $9.50And the electrics? They were more expensive
Why: The wooden pieces cost $5 and the electrics $9.50. The $9.50 is printed, so you need the item: electrics.
The trap: Wood is mentioned in the $5 line, but that cost is already on the form.
25 June is suggested first, but John wants more time and they settle on 1 July, the last possible date.
Words from this recording worth keeping
entry form(Start of the conversation)
a form you fill in to enter a competition
visually handicapped(Name of design)
blind or partly blind
approximate(Dimensions)
close to the exact figure but not exact
mains operated(Power)
powered from the main electricity supply
special features(Special features)
qualities that make something different or new
envisage(Other comments)
imagine or expect in the future
a range of sizes(Other comments)
the same product in several different sizes
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 3 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 3, 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.
