School of Education libraries: listening answers and explanations
A student who has just transferred to the School of Education asks a librarian about joining the library. The librarian compares the two library sites, explains the borrowing rules, and describes this term's three study skills workshops.
All answers come from the librarian, in order. Questions 21-25 compare the Fordham and Castle Road sites. Questions 26-27 come from the borrowing rules. After the break, the student's 'it'll take me a while to find what I need' leads into the three workshops for questions 28-30.
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 21-25 · Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
How to attack this block: The summary keeps the two sites apart, so note which site each detail belongs to. Two gaps are a contrasting pair (secondary at Castle Road, primary at Fordham), and the student's own training is a distractor for one of them.
Question 21
Answer: referenceWhen the student asks if there's any difference between the libraries
What kind of education materials do both sites have?
Access to online databases and the internet is available at both sites and each site has a range of reference materials on education.
Question says → You hear
a variety ofa range of reference materials on education
Why: 'A range of' becomes 'a variety of'. The kind of materials is reference, one word.
The trap: Online databases are mentioned in the same sentence, but the summary already covers internet access, and the gap sits before 'materials'.
Question 22
Answer: textbooksWhen the librarian says 'But the Castle Road site...'
What does Castle Road have besides sociology books?
the Castle Road site has books on the sociology of education and a collection of textbooks and teaching resources
Question says → You hear
together with ... and other resourcesa collection of textbooks and teaching resources
Why: The summary lists textbooks before 'other resources', matching 'textbooks and teaching resources'. Plural.
The trap: 'Teaching' fits the space before 'resources' if you read the recording word for word, but the summary has 'and other resources', so the gap is the item before that: textbooks.
Question 23
Answer: secondaryEnd of the same sentence
Which school level are Castle Road's resources for?
covering most of the subjects taught in secondary schools
Question says → You hear
relevant to the majority of ... school subjectscovering most of the subjects taught in secondary schools
Why: 'Most of the subjects' becomes 'the majority of ... school subjects'. The level is secondary.
The trap: The student immediately says she is training to be a primary teacher. Primary belongs to Fordham, question 24.
Question 24
Answer: primaryWhen the librarian says she's come to the right place
What area of teaching is Fordham's material for?
At Fordham we hold material relating to primary education as well as special needs.
Question says → You hear
The Fordham library includes resourcesAt Fordham we hold material
Why: Fordham has material for primary education and special needs. Special needs is printed, so the gap is primary.
The trap: The 5 to 11 age group is the student's way of describing primary. It isn't one word and it's not the term in the summary.
Question 25
Answer: backWhen the student asks about periodicals
Which periodical issues are only at Fordham?
Current issues, yes. But if you want to look at back issues, you'll need to use the CD-ROM databases which are held here at Fordham.
Question says → You hear
only available at Fordhamheld here at Fordham
Why: Current issues are at both sites, so the contrast is back issues: back.
The trap: CD-ROM is how you access them, not which issues they are. Current is already in the summary.
Short answers (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 26-27
How to attack this block: Both answers come from the borrowing rules, which contain plenty of numbers: two books, four altogether, one month, three renewals, three months, seven days. Match each number to the right rule.
Question 26
Answer: overdue booksWhen the student asks if she has to come in to renew
Also accepted: overdue ones / overdue
Which books can't be renewed by phone or email?
No, you can do it by telephone or email. But you can't renew overdue books this way
Question says → You hear
cannot be renewed by telephone or emailyou can't renew overdue books this way
Why: Overdue books, meaning ones past their due date, have to be renewed in person. Overdue books or just overdue is accepted.
The trap: Recalled books come up a bit later, and they have a separate rule.
Question 27
Answer: 7 working daysWhen the student asks what happens if books are recalled
Also accepted: seven working days
How long do you have to return a recalled book?
you'd have to return the book within seven working days. Don't forget we're closed on Sundays.
Question says → You hear
How much time is allowed to return recalled booksan item is requested by another borrower … return the book within seven working days
Why: Seven working days is the limit. 'Working' matters: the reminder about Sundays tells you not every day counts.
The trap: One month is the normal borrowing period and three months is the maximum with renewals. Neither is for recalled books.
Multiple choice (choose THREE)
Questions 28-30
How to attack this block: The librarian names three workshops, and each one comes with a near-miss: a workshop that ran last term, and a student guess she corrects. Choose only what runs this term, as she describes it.
Question 28-30
Answer: C and E and F (in either order)When the librarian says they're running three study skills workshops
Which three topics do this term's workshops cover?
How to use the library's resources. That includes everything … This term, it's finding research materials online … it's more to do with academic writing conventions
Question says → You hear
the whole range of library servicesThat includes everything
Using the Internet when doing researchfinding research materials online
Standard requirements when writingacademic writing conventions
Why: C: the first workshop covers all the library's resources, not just print and technical ones. F: this term's internet workshop is about finding research materials online. E: the dissertation workshop is about academic writing conventions, like bibliographies and references.
The trap: A is the strongest distractor: the internet for beginners workshop ran last term. G is too narrow, because the librarian says 'not just' print and technical resources, and D/B are out because she says the dissertation workshop isn't about how to write one.
The student says she's training to be a primary teacher, so 'primary' is in the air. But Castle Road's textbooks cover subjects taught in secondary schools.
The internet-for-beginners workshop was last term, and the dissertation workshop is not about how to write one. This term's three are library resources, online research, and academic writing conventions.
Lots of numbers come up in the borrowing rules. Recalled books go back within seven working days, and 'working' is part of the answer.
Words from this recording worth keeping
transferred(Introduction)
moved from one course or school to another
reference materials(Both sites)
books you consult for information, not read cover to cover
familiarise yourself with(Both sites)
get to know
periodicals(Periodicals)
magazines and journals published regularly
renewed(Borrowing rules)
borrowed again for a further period
recalled(Borrowing rules)
asked to be returned early
conventions(Workshops)
accepted rules for how something is done
bibliography(Workshops)
a list of the sources used in a piece of writing
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 6 Test 4 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 4, 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.
