A counsellor speaks to new overseas students during orientation week about the university's counselling service. The talk covers academic and personal problems, stress, exam failure, diet and money, and ends with figures on how much the service did last year.
Questions 11-20 · 10 marks · 1 question block
Ten multiple-choice questions, strictly in order. Questions 11-14 cover academic counselling, stress and personal crises. After 'What about exam stress?', Questions 15-20 cover exam failure, diet, loans and finally last year's figures.
How to attack this block: The options paraphrase the talk, and the wrong ones often borrow a word you hear: 'teaching', 'unfinished business', 'pressure', 'interest'. For each question, wait for the idea that matches the stem, then check the small details (low-interest or no-interest, 240 or 2,600) before you choose.
When might the service contact a student's tutor?
We can also chase up your tutor if you're not getting proper feedback on how you are getting on in your subject.
Why: Not getting feedback on how you are getting on means the tutor isn't telling you about your progress. That's C.
The trap: A, slow marking, is close in spirit, but the talk is about feedback, not the speed of marking. Too much work is never mentioned.
What can cause stress?
the mounting pressure as the deadline for that first assignment creeps up on you
Why: Pressure from a deadline creeping up is time pressure, so B.
The trap: 'Teaching and learning methods that may be unfamiliar' comes just before. That gives you 'unfamiliar' and 'teaching', but the options talk about new teachers and unfamiliar subject matter, neither of which is said.
Why can stress be hard for international students to cope with?
you have to cope with all this without your usual social network. You know, the social contacts, family and friends you could normally rely on for help.
Why: Without the family and friends you usually rely on, you lack their support. That's A.
The trap: 'Social network' and 'social contacts' make C, difficulty socialising, look likely. But the problem is that their usual network is far away, not that they can't socialise.
What can trigger a personal crisis?
you may have interrupted personal relationships or even sometimes have broken them off to come overseas
Why: Interrupted or broken relationships are disruptions to personal relationships, C.
The trap: Just before, the counsellor mentions 'unfinished business back in your own country'. That means unresolved matters in general, not business problems, so B is a word trap.
When might students lose self-esteem?
if you fail a subject or drop out of a course because it's too difficult, then your self-esteem can suffer
Why: Dropping out of a course means not completing it, so B.
The trap: Family pressure is mentioned in the sentence before, but as a reason for stress, not the cause of lost self-esteem. Changing course isn't mentioned.
When should students see Glenda Roberts?
you may have dietary problems because the local food is not to your liking and upsets you
Why: Glenda Roberts is the dietician, and she is recommended for problems with the local food. That matches C.
The trap: 'Affect your health' follows, which pulls you to A. The cause is the local food, not poor general health. A strict diet is never mentioned.
What can students with money problems get?
full-time students can get a low-interest loan of up to $600 to buy books and for similar study-related expenses
Why: The loan is to buy books, which is A, assistance to buy books.
The trap: C says a no-interest loan, but the loan is low-interest. B mentions course fees, which the talk never mentions.
What else can loans be used for?
When you move into a flat, starting up expenses, including furniture for it, can be covered by a loan through the welfare service.
Why: Furniture for a new flat can be covered by a loan, so B.
The trap: Moving into a flat makes you think of rent, A, but rent isn't mentioned. 'Expenses' sounds like living expenses, C, but it means the cost of starting up.
How many students did the service counsel last year?
we counseled 240 international students for a total of 2,600 hours counseling
Why: 240 is the number of students. That's B.
The trap: 2,600 is the number of hours, not students. 214 is never said: it's there to catch anyone who half hears 240.
What does the counsellor think about the service?
we won all but just one of the 12 appeals that we launched on behalf of students. Not too bad for an understaffed service, don't you think?
Why: 'Not too bad for an understaffed service' means it did well despite being short of staff. That's A.
The trap: C borrows 'staff cuts' from the talk, but the counsellor's point is the service coped well, not that it suffered. Under-use is never mentioned.
C sounds right because a loan is mentioned, but the talk says 'low-interest', not no-interest. The loan is to buy books, so A, assistance to buy books.
'Unfinished business back in your own country' sounds like B, business problems. It isn't about a business; the answer is the interrupted or broken personal relationships, C.
Two numbers in one sentence: 240 students and 2,600 hours. The question asks for students, so 240.
The full Cambridge 4 Test 2 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.
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