Pieter Henes, a Dutch engineer who has just moved to Exeter, opens a current account at a British bank. The bank clerk fills in the application form with him: personal details, phone numbers, job, a security question, the opening sum and how often he wants statements.
Questions 1-10 · 10 marks · 1 question block
One form, answered strictly in order. The clerk asks a question for nearly every line, so her questions are your signposts. Pieter gives almost every answer, but he corrects himself twice (his phone number and his job title), so wait for the final version.
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: A classic bank form with lots of numbers: a date, an address number, a time period, a phone number and a sum of money. Write numbers as digits. Pieter changes his mind or corrects himself more than once, and the answer is always the corrected version.
Which type of current account does Pieter want?
I've decided on the one called 'Select.'
Question says → You hear
Why: 'The one called' gives you the account's name: Select. It's a name, so use a capital S.
The trap: Current and deposit account are the two general types, and current is already on the form. Select is the specific type.
Also accepted: 27/01/1973 / 27 January 1973 / 27.1.1973
What is Pieter's date of birth?
And what's your date of birth please? … nineteen seventy-three.
Question says → You hear
Why: Pieter says the twenty-seventh of the first, nineteen seventy-three. The first month is January, so 27.01.1973. Other date formats, such as 27 January 1973, are accepted.
The trap: 'The first' is easy to hear as the first day. Here it is the month, and the day is the twenty-seventh.
What is his current address in Exeter?
15, Riverside. … Is that all one word? … Yes.
Question says → You hear
Why: The address is 15 Riverside, and the clerk checks that Riverside is one word. The number plus one word fits the limit.
The trap: Writing 'River Side' as two words breaks the one-word limit and the spelling Pieter confirms.
Also accepted: two weeks
How long has he lived at his current address?
Ah, just two weeks actually. I only arrived in the country a month ago.
Question says → You hear
Why: He's been at the address just two weeks. Write 2 weeks; the unit matters.
The trap: The clerk suggests two years, and Pieter says he arrived a month ago. Two years is her guess and a month is his time in the country, not at the address.
What is his work phone number?
the number at my office is six-oh-six-two-nine-five, Um, just a minute, I'd better check, Oh, no sorry, six-one-six.
Question says → You hear
Why: He corrects the first three digits from 606 to 616, so the full number is 616295. Office means work.
The trap: 606295 is the first version. 796431, the home number, is already on the form.
What occupation goes on the form?
I'm in Britain as a project manager, but that's not my main job. I'm an engineer by profession.
Question says → You hear
Why: The clerk decides to put engineer because it's his profession, and she adds 'It's shorter!' One word only, so engineer.
The trap: Project manager is his job in Britain, said first, but he says it's not his main job, and it's two words.
Whose first name is used as his security check?
Like, erm, my wife's first name? … Mother's might be better. It's less likely to be known.
Question says → You hear
Why: Pieter suggests his wife, but the clerk says his mother's name is better. He agrees and gives Siti.
The trap: Wife is the first idea, and it's rejected.
Also accepted: 2000
How much will he open the account with, in euros?
I'm going to transfer €2,000 from my Dutch account, just till I get paid.
Question says → You hear
Why: The euro sign is printed, so write 2,000 or 2000.
The trap: The clerk mentions a minimum of £50, about €75. That's the bank's usual minimum, not his sum.
How often does he want statements?
Some people like them weekly. … Oh, no, that's too often. Can I have them sent, um, once a month?
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Once a month' fits 'Every ...' as month.
The trap: Weekly is the clerk's suggestion, and Pieter rejects it as too often.
What service does he want information about?
thinking of registering for your internet service at some stage
Question says → You hear
Why: The clerk offers to send information about the internet service and he says yes.
The trap: She also offers information on insurance and loans, but he says no to those.
Pieter reads out 606295, then checks and corrects it to 616. Only the corrected number, 616295, gets the mark.
Project manager is what he does in Britain, but the clerk writes engineer because it's his profession and it's shorter. One word only, too.
The date is said as words: the twenty-seventh of the first, 1973. You have to turn 'the first' into January, or 01.
The full Cambridge 6 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 6, Test 3, Listening Part 1. 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.
