Rivenden City Theatre: listening answers and explanations
On local radio, Lynne Rawley, the theatre's public relations officer, describes what has changed after a three-year redevelopment. She then gives the details of the first play after the reopening: dates, start time, which tickets are left and the price.
Lynne moves through the building in the same order as the list: front of house (box office, shop), the auditorium (seats, wheelchair spaces, lifts), then backstage (dressing rooms). The interviewer's question about the first play is your signal to switch to the table for questions 17-20.
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: Seven changes for six parts, so one letter is never used. Listen for the paraphrase rather than the box word: 'twice as many' for doubled, 'fewer' for reduced, 'isn't yet complete' for temporarily closed. Lynne often mentions a second change in passing, so match the main change to each part.
Question 11
Answer: BRight after the new green and gold foyer
What has changed about the box office?
Then the box office has been … instead of through the … which means it can be open longer hours, and has more space, too.
Question says → You hear
given separate entranceinstead of through the
Why: Lynne explains that people no longer reach the box office through the foyer, and that this lets it stay open longer. That is a separate entrance, so B.
The trap: 'Has more space, too' sounds like D, increased in size. It's an extra benefit, said with 'too'. Increased in size belongs to the dressing rooms.
Question 12
Answer: GStraight after the box office, still in the foyer
What has happened to the shop?
is the one part of the redevelopment which isn't yet complete. The plan is to find new premises for it near the theatre
Question says → You hear
temporarily closedisn't yet complete … find new premises
Why: The shop has moved out of the foyer and has nowhere to go yet. They hope to reopen it in the next few months, so for now it's temporarily closed: G.
The trap: 'New premises' can sound like E, replaced. But nothing has replaced the shop yet. It's waiting for a new home.
Question 13
Answer: CWhen the interviewer asks about the auditorium
What has happened to the ordinary seats?
we've increased the leg-room between the rows. This means that there are now fewer
Question says → You hear
reduced in numberthere are now fewer
Why: More leg-room means fewer seats fit in. 'Fewer' is the paraphrase of reduced in number, so C.
The trap: 'Increased' is the first thing you hear, but it's the leg-room that grew, not the seats.
Question 14
Answer: ARight after the air conditioning
What has happened to the seats for wheelchair users?
We already had a few seats which were suitable for wheelchair users, and now there are twice as many
Question says → You hear
doubled in numbernow there are twice as many
Why: 'Twice as many' means the number has doubled: A.
The trap: These seats come straight after the ordinary seats, which went down. Don't carry 'reduced' over to the wrong item.
Question 15
Answer: EThe last point about the audience, before the interviewer asks about performers
What has happened to the lifts?
Something else that will benefit audiences is … and slow … much more efficient
Question says → You hear
replacedand slow … much more efficient
Why: Lynne says the old, slow lifts have gone and new, much more efficient ones are in. Old ones out, new ones in is replaced: E.
The trap: 'More efficient' might suggest an improvement rather than new lifts, but she says the old ones have gone, so they were replaced, not upgraded.
Question 16
Answer: DWhen the interviewer asks about the performers
What has happened to the dressing rooms?
we've made a number of improvements backstage. The small … airy rooms, so they're much more comfortable now.
Question says → You hear
increased in sizeThe small … airy rooms
Why: The small dressing rooms have been turned into bigger, airy rooms. Small becoming large is increased in size: D.
The trap: F, strengthened, is the letter nobody needs. The sound and lighting systems are new, but they aren't in the list of parts.
Table completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 17-20
How to attack this block: Every answer is a date, a time, a day or a price, and each one comes with a rival figure: the old start time, the finishing time, the sold-out days, the old price range. Wait for the current detail.
Question 17
Answer: 19thWhen Lynne names the first play
Also accepted: October 19th / October the 19th / 19 / 19 October
On what date does the play's run end?
That starts on October the 13th and runs till the 19th
Question says → You hear
October 13th toruns till the 19th
Why: 'Runs till' gives the last date. The start date is printed, so the gap is 19th. 19 or October 19th are also accepted.
Question 18
Answer: 7Right after the dates, when she talks about curtain-up
Also accepted: seven
What time does the performance start now?
We used to start all our performances at 7.30 … so instead we're beginning at 7
Question says → You hear
Starting timeinstead we're beginning at 7
Why: The old start was 7.30, which made it hard to catch a bus home, so they've moved it to 7. 'Instead' signals the new time.
The trap: 7.30 is the old start time and 9.45 is when the play finishes. Both are said clearly, but neither is the new start.
Question 19
Answer: Monday, ThursdayWhen she says tickets are selling fast
Also accepted: Monday and Thursday / Monday Thursday / Mon and Thu
Which performances still have tickets?
The Friday and Saturday performances sold out almost immediately and, in fact, now there are only tickets for Monday and Thursday.
Question says → You hear
Tickets availablenow there are only tickets for Monday and Thursday
Why: 'Only tickets for' gives the days still available. You need both days for the mark, and two words fit the limit.
The trap: Friday and Saturday come first and stick in the memory, but they are sold out.
Question 20
Answer: 18When the interviewer asks 'How much are they?'
How much do tickets cost?
Ticket prices used to range from £6 to £30 but now they're all £18.
Question says → You hear
Pricenow they're all £18
Why: The new price structure has one price for every seat: £18. The pound sign is printed, so write 18.
The trap: £6 and £30 are the old lowest and highest prices. 'Used to' tells you they're out of date.
Lynne says the box office now has more space, which pulls people towards 'increased in size'. The real change is that it's no longer reached through the foyer: it has its own entrance.
'Increased' is the first verb you hear, but it's the leg-room that went up. The seats themselves went down: there are now fewer of them.
Words from this recording worth keeping
redevelopment(Introduction)
major rebuilding and improvement work
foyer(Front of house)
the entrance hall of a theatre
premises(The shop)
a building or space used by a business
leg-room(The auditorium)
space for your legs in front of a seat
stuffy(The auditorium)
warm and without fresh air
state-of-the-art(Backstage)
the most modern available
sold out(Tickets)
with no tickets left
price structure(Tickets)
the way prices are organised
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 6 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 6, 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.
