Trebirch train information: listening answers and explanations
A visitor staying in Trebirch asks a railway employee about train services. The employee explains which station to use, the London trains, the different ticket types, and some days out the family can reach by train.
The railway employee gives every answer, in order. Questions 11-14 cover the two stations and the London service, questions 15-17 the ticket types, and the visitor's question about places to go starts questions 18-20, which come from one long turn about day trips.
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 11-14 · Sentence completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Sentence completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 11-14
How to attack this block: Two stations are named close together, so link each one to its job: local trains or national trains. For the London service, keep weekdays and weekends apart.
Question 11
Answer: King StreetWhen the employee says the town has two main stations
Which station do local trains leave from?
King Street is for local commuter lines and regional services.
Question says → You hear
Local serviceslocal commuter lines and regional services
Why: King Street is the station for local and regional trains. Both words are the station's name, so write them both with capitals.
The trap: Central Station comes straight after for national trains. Swap them and you lose both marks.
Question 12
Answer: centralWhen the visitor asks about trains to London
Which station do national trains leave from?
Then you need to go to Central Station - that's for all the national services.
Question says → You hear
National servicesfor all the national services
Why: Central Station handles all national services. The sentence already has 'the' and 'railway station', so write central.
The trap: Writing 'Central Station' makes the sentence repeat 'station'. Read the words around the gap.
Question 13
Answer: half hourRight after the employee mentions regular trains to London
Also accepted: 30 minutes / thirty minutes / half an hour
How often do London trains leave on weekdays?
They leave Trebirch every half hour on weekdays and every hour at weekends.
Question says → You hear
each day during the weekon weekdays
Why: 'During the week' means weekdays, and the frequency then is every half hour. Half an hour or 30 minutes are also accepted.
The trap: Hour is the weekend frequency, and two hours is the journey time. Both are said in the same sentence or the next.
Question 14
Answer: refreshmentsAt the end of the London details, after first and second class
What is included in a first-class ticket?
there's a buffet car - though refreshments are included in the cost of a first class ticket
Question says → You hear
The price of a first class ticket includesrefreshments are included in the cost of a first class ticket
Why: 'Included in the cost of' becomes 'the price ... includes'. What's included is refreshments, plural.
The trap: The buffet car is mentioned first, but that's where anyone can buy food. First class gets refreshments free.
Table completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 15-17
How to attack this block: The tickets come in the same order as the table, from most flexible to cheapest. One row needs a time, one needs the ticket's name, and the last needs what you have to do when you buy it.
Question 15
Answer: 10.15Right after the Supersave ticket and its 8.45 time
Also accepted: 10:15
After what time can you travel on a Special ticket?
Then there is the Special ticket, which is valid for travel after 10.15.
Question says → You hear
Special - travel aftervalid for travel after 10.15
Why: The Special ticket is valid after 10.15 and at weekends. Write it in figures: 10.15.
The trap: 8.45 is the Supersave time, which is already printed in the row above.
Question 16
Answer: AdvanceRight after the Special ticket
What is the cheapest ticket called?
The cheapest tickets are called Advance and you have to buy them at least six days ahead.
Question says → You hear
buy at least six days aheadyou have to buy them at least six days ahead
Why: 'Called Advance' gives the name, and the six days matches the table. Use a capital A because it's a ticket name.
The trap: 'In advance' was used for the open ticket a few lines earlier. Here Advance is the name of the ticket, not a time phrase.
Question 17
Answer: reservationsEnd of the ticket section
Also accepted: seat reservations
What is essential with the cheapest tickets?
you have to make seat reservations for these
Question says → You hear
essentialyou have to make seat reservations
Why: 'You have to' matches 'essential'. Reservations or seat reservations are both accepted.
The trap: 'Only a certain number are available' is already in the table as 'limited numbers'. The gap is the second condition.
Multiple choice (choose THREE)
Questions 18-20
How to attack this block: Nearly every option is mentioned, so the question word that matters is 'at present'. Cross out anything that has gone (the old aquarium, the old castle), anything not yet open, and anything that's only a comparison.
Question 18-20
Answer: C and D and G (in either order)When the visitor asks about places to go
Which three attractions can you get to by train now?
there's the Merthyr Mining … great day out with the children in the zoo … the new and internationally-acclaimed climbing wall built on the site of the old aquarium
Question says → You hear
a mining museumthe Merthyr Mining
a zoogreat day out with the children in the zoo
a climbing wallthe new and internationally-acclaimed climbing wall
Why: D: the mining museum is half an hour away. G: Bristol's zoo is a great day out. C: Birmingham has a new climbing wall. All three are open now.
The trap: A, the science museum, is the strongest distractor: it's real, but it opens next year. B is only a comparison (as fascinating as a theme park), and E and F are 'old': the aquarium site now has the climbing wall, and the old castle once stood where the zoo is.
Three time phrases in one breath: every half hour on weekdays, every hour at weekends, about two hours to London. The sentence asks about weekdays, so half hour.
The science museum is real but opens next year, and the aquarium and castle are both 'old', meaning they've gone. Only the mining museum, the zoo and the climbing wall can be visited now.
The gap is the name of a ticket, not a description. The cheapest ones are 'called Advance'.
Words from this recording worth keeping
commuter(Stations)
someone who travels to work every day
regional(Stations)
serving one area of the country
buffet car(London trains)
a train carriage where you can buy food and drink
restrictions(Ticket types)
limits on when or how you can use something
discounted(Ticket types)
sold at a lower price
valid(Ticket types)
able to be used
excursion(Days out)
a short trip for pleasure
internationally-acclaimed(Days out)
praised around the world
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The full Cambridge 6 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.
Cambridge IELTS 6, Test 2, 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.
