A Japanese student, Keiko, goes to an office to apply for homestay with a local family. The officer takes her personal details, asks about her course and the kind of family she wants, then about food, sport and transport.
Questions 1-10 · 10 marks · 2 question blocks
All in order, and the officer asks a question for each line. Questions 1-6 follow the form from her first name to her family preferences. Questions 7-10 are the short answers: food, sport, transport, and finally when she'll hear back, which is the officer's last line.
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 1-6 · Form completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER) | ||
| 1 | Keiko | |
| 2 | JO6337Also accepted: JO 6337 | |
| 3 | 4 monthsAlso accepted: four months | |
| 4 | Advanced English StudiesAlso accepted: Advanced English / English Studies / English | |
| 5 | young childrenAlso accepted: children | |
| 6 | pets | |
| Questions 7-10 · Short answers (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS) | ||
| 7 | seafood | |
| 8 | tennis | |
| 9 | trainsAlso accepted: train / the train / the trains | |
| 10 | this afternoonAlso accepted: that afternoon | |
How to attack this block: A details form with spelled names and a passport code. The last two lines are tricky: 'no ...' and 'no objection to ...', so you have to turn what she likes and dislikes into the right gap.
What is her first name?
And your first name? … Its Keiko. K-E-I-K-O.
Question says → You hear
Why: She spells it letter by letter: K-E-I-K-O. Copy that spelling with a capital K.
The trap: Yuichini is spelled just before, but it's the surname and already printed as the example.
Also accepted: JO 6337
What is her passport number?
your passport number is JO 6337
Question says → You hear
Why: The officer reads it out: letters J and O, then 6337. Write JO6337 (a space is fine).
The trap: Her age, twenty-eight, comes straight after, and it's printed. Don't confuse the letter O with zero: the key has JO.
Also accepted: four months
Roughly how long does she plan to stay?
how long are you planning on staying with homestay? … About four months … longer if I like it.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'About' matches 'approx', so the answer is 4 months. Include the unit.
The trap: 'Longer if I like it' isn't a number. Twenty weeks comes next, but that's the length of her course.
Also accepted: Advanced English / English Studies / English
Which course is she enrolled in?
I've enrolled for twenty weeks in the … Advanced English Studies because I need help with my writing
Question says → You hear
Why: The course name is Advanced English Studies, exactly three words. Shorter versions like Advanced English are also accepted.
The trap: 'Writing' is the skill she needs help with, not the course. 'Twenty weeks' is the length.
Also accepted: children
What doesn't she want in the family?
I like young children, but I'd like to be with older … adults … someone around my age.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'But' shows her real preference: adults around her age. So the form records no young children (children is also accepted).
The trap: 'Adults' is what she wants, so 'no adults' is the opposite. 'I like young children' tricks people into thinking children are fine.
What doesn't she object to?
Okay, and what about pets? … so that's fine … the more the better.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'That's fine' and 'the more the better' mean she has no objection to pets.
The trap: 'Veterinarian' is her job, a reason, not the answer. Don't confuse it with 'vegetarian', which comes next.
How to attack this block: Each answer comes after something she rejects: not a vegetarian, stopped handball, buses always late. Wait for what she actually likes or does now.
What food does she especially like?
I don't eat a lot of meat … I really … like seafood.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Really like' matches 'particularly like', and the food is seafood, one word.
The trap: Meat is mentioned, but she doesn't eat a lot of it. Vegetarian is ruled out at the start.
Which sport does she play?
Yes, I joined the handball team, but I didn't like that . . . so I stopped playing. Now I play tennis on the weekend with my friends
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Now I play' matches the present tense in the question: tennis.
The trap: Handball is said first, but she stopped. Reading and going to the movies are hobbies, not sports.
Also accepted: train / the train / the trains
Which kind of transport does she prefer?
I've been to the city a few times on the bus, but they are always late. … I like catching the train … they are much faster.
Question says → You hear
Why: She complains the buses are late and says the trains are much faster. Trains or the train are accepted.
The trap: The bus is mentioned first and is what she's used, but she doesn't like it.
Also accepted: that afternoon
When will she find out her homestay address?
I'll check my records and I'll give you details this afternoon.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Give you details' is how she'll find out, and the time is this afternoon. Two words, within the limit.
The trap: The question asks when, not how. 'On the computer' or 'records' are how the officer checks, not when.
She says 'I like young children', which sounds positive. But 'I'd like to be with older people ... adults' means she wants a family without young children. The form says 'no ...'.
Handball comes first, but she stopped. She plays tennis now, and the question is in the present tense.
Three numbers sit around the course name (twenty weeks, five-week course, first). The form only wants the course: Advanced English Studies.
The full Cambridge 7 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 7, Test 4, 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.
