Green Vale Agricultural Park: listening answers and explanations
A guide welcomes some of the first visitors to Green Vale Agricultural Park, which opened a week ago. Using a wall plan, the guide describes each area of the park, then explains how to get around, the Rare Breeds section, seasonal events and the shop.
Question 11 comes in the opening lines about the park's purpose. The plan labels (12-14) come during a walk round the wall plan, moving east and then south. Questions 15-20 follow in order: closed areas, transport, the animals, the purpose of Rare Breeds, what is on now, and the shop.
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: The answer comes in one sentence about the park's 'remit', its official purpose. Two purposes are named; check which pair of options matches both, not just one.
Question 11
Answer: BIn the welcome, after the guide describes the size of the complex
What are the park's two main aims?
Our remit is to give educational opportunities to the wider public as well as to offer research sites … agriculturists and other scientists.
Question says → You hear
main purposes of the parkOur remit
Why: The remit has two parts: education for the public and research sites for scientists. That is option B, research and education.
The trap: 'Fascinating indoor and outdoor exhibits' can make the park sound like entertainment, but entertainment is never given as a purpose. A and C each have only one of the two aims.
Plan labelling (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 12-14
How to attack this block: The guide starts at Reception and moves round the plan with direction words: next to, further east, south of, in the middle, to the east of, in the south-eastern corner. Follow the route on the plan with your pencil and write the area names exactly as said.
Question 12
Answer: ForestEarly in the walk round the plan, after the Rare Breeds section and its grazing area
Also accepted: the Forest
Which area lies furthest east, beyond the grazing area?
is the large grazing area for the rare breeds. Then further east … in the largest section of our Park is the Forest Area.
Question says → You hear
... Areafurther east … the Forest Area
Why: From Reception you reach Rare Breeds, then the grazing area to the east, and further east again the largest section: the Forest Area. The label already prints 'Area', so write Forest.
The trap: The grazing area is the one before it on the route. Count the 'east' steps: next to (grazing), then further east (forest).
Question 13
Answer: Fish FarmStraight after the circular lake in the middle of the park
Also accepted: Fish Farms
What are the two small rectangles in the middle of the park?
These two small - rectangular shapes here … are the Fish Farms where we rear fish for sale. To the east of those is the marsh area
Question says → You hear
The ...These two small - rectangular shapes here … are the Fish Farms
Why: The two rectangles beside the lake are the Fish Farms. Fish Farm or Fish Farms is accepted.
The trap: The lake is the circle next to them and the marsh is to their east. Use the shape the guide describes, two small rectangles.
Question 14
Answer: Market GardenThe last stop on the plan, just after the marsh
What is in the south-east corner of the park?
In the south-eastern corner, beyond the marsh, is our Market Garden area, growing vegetables and flowers.
Why: The south-eastern corner, beyond the marsh, is the Market Garden. The label prints 'Area', so write Market Garden.
The trap: The marsh is named in the same sentence but as the landmark you pass. Vegetables and flowers describe what grows there; they are not its name.
Multiple choice
Questions 15-20
How to attack this block: Every question has an option built from something the guide really says, but about a different thing or a different time. Watch for future plans ('thinking of bringing in'), past or later events (May), and words that sound close to an option.
Question 15
Answer: CWhen the guide warns about the large signs at each area's entrance
When are experimental areas closed to visitors?
All these areas can be visited by the general public for almost all the year … when certain areas are being used for particular controlled experiments and are therefore temporarily out of bounds to the public.
Question says → You hear
closed to the publictemporarily out of bounds to the public
Why: Areas are closed only 'temporarily', while experiments are running. That is a short time each year, option C.
The trap: 'Almost all the year' (B) is in the same breath, but it is when areas are open. A is never suggested.
Question 16
Answer: AWhen the guide asks 'how can we move around?'
How can visitors move around the park?
cars are banned in the park. We have bicycles which you can hire behind the Reception block … the healthy ones of you can go on foot and finally there's our electric tram, powered from solar cells.
Why: Three ways are given: hired bicycles, walking and the electric tram. That is option A.
The trap: 'Solar' is heard, but it powers the tram, and cars are banned, so there is no solar car (B). There is no bus (C).
Question 17
Answer: CWhen the guide starts on the Rare Breeds section
Which rare breed animals does the park keep?
We keep goats, sheep and … hens and other kinds of poultry. We are also thinking of bringing in cows and horses
Why: The park keeps goats, sheep and hens, so goats and hens (C) is correct.
The trap: Horses and cows are only plans for the future, and there aren't facilities for them yet. Options A and B each pair a real animal with a future one.
Question 18
Answer: BAfter the description of the public feeding sessions
What is the Rare Breeds section mainly for?
we mustn't lose sight of the main purpose of having this section, not as such to preserve rare animals but to maintain the diversity of breeds
Question says → You hear
main purposethe main purpose of having this section
keep a variety of breedsmaintain the diversity of breeds
Why: The main purpose is 'to maintain the diversity of breeds', which is keeping a variety of breeds, option B.
The trap: Saving unusual animals (A) is ruled out with 'not as such to preserve rare animals'. The feeding talks are popular with the public, but they aren't the main purpose (C).
Question 19
Answer: CWhen the guide talks about seasonal events
What can visitors see at the moment?
May will be perhaps our most spectacular month with the arrival of the Canada geese … John Havers, our expert fly fisherman, is currently giving displays on the lake.
Question says → You hear
at the present timeis currently giving displays
Why: 'Currently' matches 'at the present time', and what is happening now is a fly fisherman giving displays: a demonstration of fishing, option C.
The trap: The geese and the fruit blossom both come in May, which is in the future ('will be'). They come first and sound exciting, but they aren't happening now.
Question 20
Answer: AThe very end, when the guide mentions the shop
What are the shop's books about?
there is a wide selection of books on wildlife, some of them written by local authors, and the history of farming
Question says → You hear
books about animalsbooks on wildlife
Why: Wildlife is animals, so A is the answer.
The trap: 'Local' is used for the authors, not traditions (B). 'History' is the history of farming, not of the park, which is only a week old (C).
May has the geese and the fruit blossom, but that is later. 'Currently' goes with the fly-fishing displays on the lake.
Words from this recording worth keeping
remit(Purpose of the park)
the official purpose or job of an organisation
agriculturists(Purpose of the park)
experts in farming
grazing(Plan of the park)
eating grass in a field
out of bounds(Visiting the areas)
an area people are not allowed to enter
environmentally friendly(Getting around)
not harmful to nature
poultry(Rare Breeds section)
birds such as hens kept for eggs or meat
diversity(Rare Breeds section)
a wide range of different types
blossom(Seasonal events)
the flowers on a fruit tree
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 8 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 8, 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.
