Sponsored walking holiday: listening answers and explanations
A charity speaker visits a club to talk about a sponsored walking holiday in the Semira Mountains that raises money for Education Aid. She covers the dates and money, who the money helps, fitness and luggage, the region, and then the day-by-day itinerary.
All in order. Questions 11-16 come from the overview: length of the trip, the money split, who benefits, fitness, luggage, then local crafts. Questions 17-20 come after she says she'll 'outline the itinerary', one answer for each day mentioned from Day Three to Day Nine.
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: Three numbers, and all of them are in the opening sentences about the trip. Decide before you listen that the question is about days of walking, not days of holiday.
Question 11
Answer: BWhen she says 'Basically we are organizing a ten-day holiday'
How many days of walking does the holiday include?
we are organizing a ten-day holiday, from the sixth to the sixteenth of November, with eight days actual walking
Question says → You hear
walking foreight days actual walking
Why: The holiday lasts ten days, but only eight of them are 'actual walking', which is what the question asks.
The trap: Ten days is the whole holiday, including arrival and departure. Six comes from 'the sixth' of November, a date, not a number of days.
Multiple choice (pie charts A-C)
Question 12
How to attack this block: The charts show what share of the money goes to charity. Two percentages are given, one for expenses and one for charity, so make sure you pick the chart for the charity share.
Question 12
Answer: CRight after the deposit and payments in stages
What share of the sponsorship money goes to the charity?
Out of this about thirty-five per cent will go on your expenses, and that leaves sixty-five percent guaranteed to go to the charity.
Question says → You hear
proportion ... goes to charitysixty-five percent guaranteed to go to the charity
Why: 65% goes to charity, so the right chart has about two thirds shaded. In the key that's chart C.
The trap: 35% is said first, but it's your expenses. If you pick the chart with about a third shaded, you've chosen the expenses, not the charity.
Multiple choice
Questions 13-16
How to attack this block: Each question has a contrast built in: last year versus this year, fit now versus fit later, carried by you versus carried by assistants, traditional crafts versus recent ones. Listen for 'this year', 'recently' and 'by them'.
Question 13
Answer: AWhen she says 'Which brings me to the most important part'
Who receives each walker's sponsorship money?
Last year we helped train teachers for the disabled, and this year we're focusing on the pupils. Each of the walkers' sponsorship money will go to help an individual special needs pupil
Question says → You hear
goes to onean individual special needs pupil
Why: 'An individual ... pupil' matches 'one student'. Pupil and student are the paraphrase.
The trap: Teachers were last year's project. Schools are mentioned ('one of the mountain schools'), but the money helps a pupil in a school, not the school itself.
Question 14
Answer: CAfter she says they'll mainly trek in the foothills
How fit must you be when the trek begins?
However, you will need to be extremely fit if you aren't now and youre interested in coming with us. You have plenty of time to get into shape.
Question says → You hear
When you start the trek you must beyou will need to be extremely fit
Why: 'Extremely fit' is 'very fit'. 'If you aren't now' and 'plenty of time to get into shape' mean you get fit before you go, so at the start you must already be very fit.
The trap: 'Get into shape' sounds like option A, but it's what you do before the trip, not how fit you are when it starts. 'Mainly in the foothills' might suggest 'quite fit', but she says 'However'.
Question 15
Answer: BWhen she says you'll be sleeping in tents
How much will you carry while walking?
Your bedding and so forth will be carried by them. We ask that you only walk with a small rucksack with needs for the day.
Question says → You hear
As you walk you will carryonly walk with a small rucksack with needs for the day
Why: Local assistants carry the bedding, and you carry a small rucksack with what you need for the day. So you carry some of your things.
The trap: 'Carried by them' makes C tempting, but you still carry the rucksack. 'Quite a bit of equipment' might suggest A, but you don't carry it all.
Question 16
Answer: AWhen she says she hasn't said enough about the area
What is the Semira region traditionally known for?
The area has been famous for centuries for making beautiful carpets, although recently there has been a trend to move into weaving blankets and wood carving.
Question says → You hear
a long tradition offamous for centuries for making beautiful carpets
Why: 'Famous for centuries' is the long tradition, and it's for making carpets.
The trap: Blankets and wood carving are said straight after, but 'recently' tells you they're new, not traditional. The red blankets on Day Nine don't change that.
Form completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 17-20
How to attack this block: The itinerary goes day by day, and she says each day number, so follow the list. Each gap is a single noun for a place; extra words like 'Katiba' or 'Kumi' are names you don't need.
Question 17
Answer: forestWhen she says 'you'll start the trek on Day Three'
Where do they spend all of Day 3?
you'll start the trek on Day Three walking through the enormous Katiba Forest which will take the whole of the day.
Question says → You hear
spend all day in awalking through the enormous Katiba Forest which will take the whole of the day
Why: 'The whole of the day' becomes 'all day'. The gap follows 'a', so it needs a common noun: forest.
The trap: 'Katiba' is a name; the one-word limit wants forest. Kishba is the capital city from Day One.
Question 18
Answer: templeAfter the rest day on Day Five
What do they see on Day 6 that has old carvings?
before going to the spectacular Kumi Temple with twelfth-century carvings, set in a small forest by a lake and that's Day Six
Question says → You hear
see a ... with old carvingsthe spectacular Kumi Temple with twelfth-century carvings
Why: 'Twelfth-century carvings' are the old carvings, and they're in the temple.
The trap: Forest and lake are in the same sentence, because the temple is in a forest by a lake. But the carvings are in the temple.
Question 19
Answer: waterfallWhen she calls it 'the hardest day'
Where do they swim on Day 8?
culminating in a swim in the Parteh Falls. This is the highest waterfall in the region.
Question says → You hear
swim in aa swim in the Parteh Falls. This is the highest waterfall
Why: 'Parteh Falls' is a name; she then calls it a waterfall, which fits the one-word gap after 'a'.
The trap: 'Falls' is plural and doesn't fit after 'a'. The lake is from Day Six.
Question 20
Answer: villageWhen she says 'Day Nine is much easier'
What do they visit on Day 9?
Day Nine is much easier, with part of the day spent in a village where they make some of the gorgeous red blankets.
Question says → You hear
visit apart of the day spent in a village
Why: Part of Day Nine is spent in a village, so the gap is village.
The trap: Blankets are what the village makes, not what you visit. 'Visit a blankets' doesn't fit the grammar either.
Ten days is the length of the holiday, and November 6th to 16th adds to the confusion. 'Eight days actual walking' is the one that answers the question.
'Extremely fit' and 'if you aren't now' sound like you only need to be interested. But she's saying you have time to get fit before the trip; when it starts, you must be very fit.
Teachers were last year's focus. This year each walker's money helps an individual special needs pupil, which is option A.
Words from this recording worth keeping
sponsored(Introduction)
supported by people who promise money if you complete a task
trekking(Dates and length)
making a long, hard walk
up front(Money)
paid in advance
special needs(Who the money helps)
having disabilities that need extra support
daunted(Fitness)
worried that something is too difficult
foothills(Fitness)
low hills at the bottom of mountains
acclimatize(Itinerary)
get used to a new climate or place
culminating in(Itinerary)
ending with, as the high point
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The full Cambridge 7 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 7, Test 3, 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.
