Course Feedback: listening answers and explanations
A teacher asks two former students, Spiros and Hiroko, how useful their English for Academic Purposes course has been now that they're at university. They compare their seminar presentations, their silence in tutorials, and how the course's reading practice could be improved.
Ten multiple-choice questions in order. They alternate between the two students: 21 and 24-25 are Spiros, 22-23 and 26-27 are Hiroko, 28 is Spiros on reading, and 29-30 are Hiroko on her subject and what she'd change. Presentations come first, then tutorials, then reading.
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: Before each question, check whose name is in it, because the two students often react to each other's points. In Part 3 the wrong options are usually said too, but turned down, or said by the other student, or said about something else. Listen for 'but', 'actually' and 'not' near the option words.
Question 21
Answer: BSpiros's first answer to the teacher
What made Spiros pleased with his marketing presentation?
Of course, I was still nervous … I did quite a good job because my overall style was quite professional.
Question says → You hear
his style was goodmy overall style was quite professional
Why: His reason for doing 'quite a good job' is that his overall style was professional, which matches B.
The trap: A is contradicted: he was still nervous. C goes too far: he did well 'in relation to some of the other people', not best in the whole group.
Question 22
Answer: CHiroko's first turn, after Spiros asks 'What about you?'
What surprised Hiroko about the others' presentations?
I was really surprised by the way the students did their presentations - they just read their notes aloud! … They didn't worry about their presentation style or keeping eye contact with their audience
Question says → You hear
didn't look at the audience enoughThey didn't worry about … keeping eye contact with their audience
Why: Not keeping eye contact with the audience is the same as not looking at the audience enough, so C.
The trap: B uses the word 'stress', but in the recording 'stressed' means emphasised: eye contact was stressed on the course. Nobody says the presentations were stressful. A is never said.
Question 23
Answer: BWhen the teacher asks how she approached her presentation
How did Hiroko feel after her own presentation?
At the time, it was a relief to do it this way, but actually when I had finished, I didn't feel any real sense of satisfaction.
Question says → You hear
After she gave her presentationwhen I had finished
dissatisfiedI didn't feel any real sense of satisfaction
Why: 'No real sense of satisfaction' is a long way of saying dissatisfied, so B.
The trap: C, embarrassed, fits what she admits (she read her notes too) but she never says it. A is the opposite: 'relief' was only during the talk, and afterwards she wasn't positive at all.
Question 24
Answer: AWhen Spiros moves from presentations to tutorials
How does Spiros feel about how he's doing in tutorials?
although I was pleased with my presentation, I am not so pleased with my actual performance right now in the tutorials
Question says → You hear
not very happyI am not so pleased with my actual performance
Why: 'Not so pleased' with his tutorial performance means not very happy, A. He hasn't said a word all semester.
The trap: B uses 'pleased', but that was about his presentation, in the first half of the sentence. C is contradicted when he says he has had no confidence to speak out.
Question 25
Answer: CWhen Spiros explains why he hasn't spoken
Why do the other students find it easy to join discussions?
they are very familiar with each other, so because they know each other's … habits, they can let each other into the discussion.
Question says → You hear
They know each other wellthey are very familiar with each other
Why: 'Very familiar with each other' and knowing each other's habits are the reason they let each other in, so C.
The trap: A is the opposite of what he says: 'they're not very polite'. B is also contradicted: 'sometimes there seems to be no order in their discussion', so they don't take turns.
Question 26
Answer: BHiroko's reply, right after 'I've experienced that too'
Why does Hiroko feel better about tutorials now?
But recently, I've been trying to speak up more and I just jump in
Question says → You hear
making more of a contributionI've been trying to speak up more and I just jump in
Why: The change she describes is her own: she speaks up and jumps in, which is making more of a contribution, B. Because she does that, discussions become easier.
The trap: C is close: the other students ask for her opinion. But it's the students, not the tutor, and it's a result of her contributing. A twists her words: it's her points the others find interesting.
Question 27
Answer: AWhen Spiros asks what helped her find ideas
What did Hiroko do to understand her lectures?
At first I couldn't understand what the lecturers were talking about, so I had to turn to the books and journals.
Question says → You hear
consulted reference materialsI had to turn to the books and journals
Why: Turning to books and journals, using the reference lists, is consulting reference materials, A.
The trap: B and C borrow words from the recording: lecturers and notes. But the notes are her own, made from her reading, and she never had extra tutorials.
Question 28
Answer: BWhen Spiros says he has no time for extra reading
How does Spiros rate his reading?
My reading speed is still quite slow, though I'm much better at dealing with vocabulary than I used to be.
Question says → You hear
It still takes him a long time to readMy reading speed is still quite slow
Why: If his reading speed is still slow, it still takes him a long time to read, B.
The trap: C is the opposite: he is much better with vocabulary now. A twists 'than I used to be', which is about vocabulary, not speed.
Question 29
Answer: CWhen Hiroko says what they read could have been different
What subject does Hiroko study?
I had to read articles about the environment or health or education, because I wanted to concentrate on my own field, but we didn't read anything about engineering.
Question says → You hear
Hiroko's subject areamy own field
Why: She wanted to concentrate on her own field, but they read nothing about engineering. So her field is engineering, C.
The trap: Environment and health are said first, and A and B are built from them. They were the topics of the course articles, which she found frustrating because they weren't her field.
Question 30
Answer: BAfter the teacher defends the vocabulary strategies
What change does Hiroko want in the reading classes?
Yes, but psychologically speaking, I would have felt much better working on reading from my own field.
Question says → You hear
read more in their own subject areasworking on reading from my own field
Why: Hiroko's wish is reading from her own field, which is reading in their own subject area, B. Spiros agrees it would have helped his motivation.
The trap: C comes from the teacher, who praises the strategies; Hiroko says 'yes, but' and moves on. A is the opposite of her point: she felt she wasted time on vocabulary she didn't need.
Spiros says he was 'still nervous', which kills A, and he only did 'quite a good job' compared with some of the group, which is not 'the best'. What made him happy was that his style was professional, so B.
C is tempting because the others started asking for her opinion. But that only happened because she jumped in first. The change that makes her feel better is that she is speaking up more, so B.
Environment, health and education are all said, but they were the topics of the course articles she didn't want. Her own field is engineering.
Words from this recording worth keeping
semester(Introduction)
one of the two halves of a university year
eye contact(Presentations)
looking directly at the people you're speaking to
sense of satisfaction(Presentations)
a feeling of having done something well
colloquialisms(Tutorials)
informal words and phrases used in everyday speech
speak up(Tutorials)
say what you think, especially in a group
make sense of(Reading)
understand something difficult
frustrated(Reading)
annoyed because you can't do what you want
motivated(Reading)
keen to work hard
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 9 Test 1 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 9, Test 1, 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.
