Cambridge IELTS 14 Listening Test 1

Explanations

1. Canadian

The officer asks 'are you resident in the UK?' and Louise answers 'No, I'm actually Canadian.' The 'No' rejects the UK, and 'actually' introduces the correction — her nationality is Canadian.Common trap: A second nationality in the very next clause. 'My mother was British' is a family detail, not Louise's own nationality, and the officer's 'resident in the UK' plants the same idea just before the answer.

2. furniture

Louise explains her trip: 'I'm an interior designer and I come over to buy old furniture, antiques you know.' The note prints 'antique', so the gap takes what she buys — furniture. 'Old furniture' and 'antiques' are the same goods described twice.Common trap: Job named in the same sentence. 'Interior designer' answers why she is qualified to buy, not what she buys — and the note has already supplied 'business' as the reason for the visit.

3. Park

'Well at present I've got a place at Park Apartments, that's on King Street.' 'At present' matches the note's 'Current address', and the apartment number 15 is confirmed a few lines later.Common trap: Previous address on the same street. Riverside Apartments follows immediately and shares King Street, but the past tense 'I was staying' and the six-week limit mark it as where she used to live.

4. 250

Louise works the figure out aloud: 'there was quite a bit of cash there — about £250 sterling, I should think. I withdrew £300 from my account yesterday, but I did a bit of shopping, so I must have already spent about £50 of that.' The amount in the wallet when it was stolen is the £250 she states first; the other two figures are her reasoning.Common trap: Three sums in three lines. £300 is what she took out and £50 is what she spent — the arithmetic is spoken after the answer, so anyone still calculating writes the wrong figure.

5. phone

After the wallet, Louise realises something else has gone: 'then I realised my phone had gone as well. It was only a week old, and that's when I realised I'd been robbed.' 'As well' marks it as the second stolen item, which is what the note's second bullet asks for.Common trap: Two valuables named but explicitly not taken. The credit cards are kept elsewhere and the car keys survived — both are flagged with reassurance words ('fortunately', 'at least') that signal they are not part of the loss.

6. 10 September

Louise confirms the theft was yesterday and the officer converts that to a date: 'So that was September the tenth.' The officer's restatement is the answer, and the note's format takes the day before the month.Common trap: The other date on the form. Her date of birth is given earlier in exactly the same day-and-month shape, and it is the only competing date in the section.

7. museum

Louise traces her afternoon: she and a friend 'spent a couple of hours in the museum', and 'as we were leaving there, at about 4 o'clock, a group of young boys ran up to us'. The note says 'outside the _____ at about 4 pm', and the boys approached as they came out of the museum.Common trap: Where she noticed it versus where it happened. The supermarket is where she opened the bag and found the wallet gone, and the apartment is where the afternoon started — only the museum has the 4 o'clock time attached.

8. time

The boys 'were really crowding round us, and they were asking us what time it was, then all of a sudden they ran off'. The note follows the same order — asked for something, then ran off — so the gap takes what they asked for: the time.Common trap: No competing request — the boys ask for only one thing. The trap is the crowding, which is the distraction technique rather than something they asked for.

9. blond

Asked about hair colour, Louise says 'I do remember that — he was blond. All the others were dark-haired.' The description belongs to the boy who did most of the talking, aged about twelve and quite thin, which matches the rest of the note line.Common trap: Opposite colour in the next breath. 'Dark-haired' describes the rest of the group, and it is the last colour spoken — the note asks only about the boy already described as about twelve and slim.

10. 87954 82361

The officer closes with the reference number for the insurance claim: 'So this is ten digits: 87954 82361.' He announces the length first, which is the cue to expect ten digits and to check nothing is dropped.Common trap: No competing number — the trap is length. 'Ten digits' is stated in advance precisely because the string is long enough to lose a digit mid-way.

11. get to know colleagues

Janet gives two concrete instructions for week one. The first is social: 'You'll be spending time in different departments during your first week so make an effort to talk to as many people as possible about their work — you'll make some new friends and find out lots of useful information.' Talking to as many people as possible and making friends is getting to know colleagues (A).Common trap: Reassurance dressed as advice. 'Quite challenging' supplies the word behind option E, and 'don't worry too much about trying to remember everything' sounds like guidance — but it tells you what not to bother with, and neither is one of the two actions requested.

12. ask lots of questions

The second instruction is about asking: 'The important thing is to check with someone if you're not sure what to do — you'll find your supervisor is very approachable and won't mind explaining things.' Checking whenever you are unsure is asking lots of questions (C), and 'the important thing is' marks it as advice.Common trap: Learning and the supervisor both nearby. 'You're here to learn' pulls towards option B, but nothing is said about mistakes; the approachable supervisor pulls towards D, but that is about who to ask, not about reacting to feedback.

13. making career plans

The mentor's role is set out by contrast — not doing your work, but asking about goals achieved and areas for improvement — and then extended: 'You can also discuss your more long-term ambitions with them as well.' Long-term ambitions are career plans (B).Common trap: A negated option and a misplaced word. Option C is stated then denied, and 'weekly' is spoken aloud but describes how often you meet, not that you make a weekly timetable.

14. reviewing progress

The other stated function: 'they'll be asking you about what goals you've achieved so far, as well as helping you to identify any areas for improvement.' Checking goals achieved and spotting where you can improve is reviewing progress (E).Common trap: 'Help and support' sounds like confidence-building. It is the mentor's stated role in general terms and precedes the answer, tempting option A — but the specific help described is about goals and improvement.

15. B

'As part of your job you'll be doing some research online so obviously you'll have unlimited access for that but please don't use it for personal use.' Unlimited for work, forbidden for personal use — allowed but with a condition attached, which is B.Common trap: 'Unlimited' arrives before the limit. Research is presented as part of the job, which reads as encouragement (A) — the restriction only lands after the 'but'.

16. B

'After your probationary three-month period — some of you will be eligible for this — but it will depend on which department you're in and what your personal circumstances are.' Possible, but only after three months and only for some people: restrictions apply (B).Common trap: Pulled towards both extremes. 'Some of you will be eligible' sounds like approval (A), and the warning not to assume permission sounds like a ban (C) — the truth sits between them, which is what B captures.

17. C

'Apart from any statutory public holidays we ask that you don't book any holidays until after your six-month apprenticeship has finished.' Since the apprenticeship is six months, that rules out booking holidays for its entire duration — against the rules (C).Common trap: An exception that looks like a restriction. Public holidays are carved out and sickness is allowed, both of which suggest B — but neither is holiday you book, and the ban on booking runs the whole six months.

18. A

'Although you're not required to do this, it can be a valuable experience — so we advise you to take it up if possible.' Overtime is optional, but the company actively advises taking it: encouraged (A).Common trap: Optional mistaken for restricted. 'Not required' opens the sentence and 'don't worry if you're unavailable' closes the topic, so the encouragement in the middle is easy to lose between two permissions to decline.

19. A

'The only restriction for shoes we have is on high heels for health and safety reasons. Comfortable shoes like trainers are preferable.' Trainers are named as the preferred option, so they are encouraged (A) — the restriction applies to high heels instead.Common trap: The word 'restriction' next to the wrong footwear. The sentence before the answer is explicitly about restrictions on shoes, which pulls towards B — but the restriction is on high heels, and trainers are the recommended alternative.

20. C

Because the subsidised canteen provides cheap hot meals, salads, snacks and drinks, 'we've decided to introduce a no packed lunch policy'. A no-packed-lunch policy means bringing food in is not allowed (C), and the reasons given are healthy eating and hygiene at workstations.Common trap: Food provision described before the ban. The canteen, snacks and drinks fill most of the paragraph and sound permissive, but they are the justification for the policy — the rule itself is stated only in the final clause.

21. include most of the world’s largest cities.

Rob offers the population figure, and Carla corrects its scope: 'though that's all cities, not just ones on the coast. But most of the biggest cities are actually built by the sea. I'd not realised that before.' Rob answers 'Nor me', so the shared surprise is that most of the largest cities are coastal.Common trap: A statistic prefaced with 'we know that'. The population figure is stated first and sounds like the surprising fact, but Rob's 'we know' marks it as familiar — and Carla immediately points out it covers all cities.

22. may bring pollution to the cities.

Rob traces a chain: as the city expands, agriculture and industry move inland along the river; 'that's not necessarily a problem, except it means more and more pollutants are discharged into the rivers', and Carla confirms 'So these are brought downstream to the cities?' The pollution ends up in the city, which is the problem he identifies.Common trap: The set-up is explicitly dismissed. Both wrong options are built from the spreading of agriculture and industry, and Rob rules that out with 'not necessarily a problem' before naming the real issue after 'except'.

23. They did not allow for the effects of climate change.

'They built channels to drain away the water in case of flooding ... But what they didn't take into account was global warming. So they built the drainage channels too close to sea level, and now sea levels are rising, they're more or less useless.' Failing to allow for global warming is failing to allow for climate change.Common trap: 'Faulty design' invites a guess. It is a general verdict spoken after the answer and could be read as poor materials or too few channels — but the specific mistake named is ignoring global warming.

24. pay for a new flood prevention system

Rob separates immediate from long-term: 'Really they just need to find the money for something to replace the drainage channels, in order to protect against flooding now. But in the long term they need to consider the whole ecosystem.' The word 'now' marks the flood-prevention replacement as the immediate action.Common trap: Both distractors carry explicit time markers pointing away from 'immediately' — 'over the next ten years' and 'in the long term'. The question hinges on that one word, and only the answer is tagged 'now'.

25. greater coordination of activities

Carla says coastal cities 'have got to start acting together at an international level instead of just doing their own thing', and Rob agrees 'Absolutely', adding 'they should be able to work together to some extent'. Acting together rather than separately is greater coordination of activities.Common trap: One option is already achieved, the other is dismissed as unlikely. Information is described as widely held, and shared policies are pushed into the distant future — leaving joint action as the thing they actually agree to prioritise.

26. B

On the historical background Rob says 'we don't want to spend too long on that, the other students will already know a bit about it'. Not spending long on a section is keeping it short (B).Common trap: 'Other students' named in the reason, not the action. The clause explains why the section can be brief, but its wording matches option C — the students are not being involved, merely assumed to know the material.

27. A

For geographical factors Carla suggests maps with the features marked; Rob asks 'On a handout you mean? Or some slides everyone can see?' and Carla picks the second — 'Yeah, that'd be better.' Slides shown to everyone are visuals (A).Common trap: Both options offered in one breath, and the rejected one comes first. 'Handout' is option E word for word, but Carla's 'that'd be better' selects the alternative Rob names second.

28. F

Rob proposes going into past mistakes in more detail using the New Orleans flooding case study, and Carla agrees: 'We could use that as the basis for that part of the talk.' Building the section on a single case study is focusing on one example (F).Common trap: Audience mentioned again. What the other students have and have not read is background reasoning, and it reuses the wording of option C — but nothing asks the students to take part.

29. G

On future risks Carla says she has little information, and Rob answers 'We'll need to look at some websites. Shouldn't take too long.' Looking at websites is doing online research (G).Common trap: Brevity mentioned immediately after. 'Shouldn't take too long' refers to how long the research will take, not how long the section should be — but it echoes option B.

30. C

For international implications Carla suggests 'Maybe we could ask people in the audience. We've got people from quite a lot of different places.' Putting questions to the audience is involving other students (C).Common trap: A time condition on the final section. Rob's 'if we have time' pulls towards option B, but it is a caveat on doing the activity at all, not an instruction to keep the section short.

31. industry

'Demand is rising rapidly, because of the world's increasing population and expanding industry.' The note prints 'population' and keeps the same 'growth in' framing, so the gap takes the second cause — 'expanding industry' becomes 'industry'.Common trap: Energy nouns in the next sentence. Gas, coal and oil are the most concrete words in the opening and follow straight after the answer, but they are what currently supplies the demand, not what is driving it up.

32. constant

'This form of energy has plenty of potential, as the source is constant, and there's no danger of waves coming to a standstill.' The note asks what kind of source waves provide, and 'constant' is the adjective given — the standstill remark restates it.Common trap: Evaluation before the property. 'Plenty of potential' opens the sentence and reads like the advantage being recorded, but the note needs the adjective describing the source itself, which follows 'as'.

33. direction

'The problem with ocean waves is that they're erratic, with the wind making them travel in every direction.' The note's 'any direction' is the neutral version of 'every direction', and this is listed as a disadvantage because it complicates the technology.Common trap: The ideal stated right after the problem. 'The same straight line' describes what engineers would prefer, not what waves actually do — and 'line' is a tempting one-word answer for a sentence about movement.

34. floor

'Another drawback is that sand and other sediment on the ocean floor might be stopped from flowing normally, which can lead to environmental problems.' The note's 'movement of sand, etc.' matches 'sand and other sediment ... flowing', and where this happens is the ocean floor.Common trap: No competing location — the trap is dropping the answer altogether, since the note's 'etc.' already absorbs 'other sediment' and the sentence's weight falls on the environmental consequence.

35. predictable

'One major advantage of using the tide, rather than waves, as a source of energy is that it's predictable: we know the exact time of high and low tides for years to come.' The note keeps the same comparison — tides versus waves — so the gap takes the adjective, and knowing tide times years ahead confirms it.Common trap: No competing adjective, but the contrast is easy to invert: waves were just described as 'erratic', and a candidate carrying that word forward writes the opposite quality in the wrong slot.

36. bay

'One current plan is to create a tidal lagoon on the coast of Wales. This will be an area of water within a bay at Swansea, sheltered by a U-shaped breakwater.' The note names Swansea, so the gap is the feature the lagoon sits inside: a bay.Common trap: Three geographical nouns in two sentences. 'Lagoon' is already the subject of the note line, and 'breakwater' is the structure around the water — only 'bay' is the place it will be created in.

37. gates

'Then, in order to release the stored water, gates in the breakwater are opened. It pours powerfully out of the lagoon, driving the turbines in the breakwater in the opposite direction.' The note's 'driving the turbines in the reverse direction' matches that clause exactly, so what the water is released through is the gates.Common trap: Turbines and breakwater are both already in the note line. The sentence about sixteen hydro turbines is the memorable one, but the note asks what the water passes through, and the turbines are what it drives afterwards.

38. fuel

'The turbines are operated without the need for fuel, so it doesn't create any greenhouse gas emissions.' 'Without the need for' is the note's 'no _____ is required', so the answer is fuel.Common trap: A list of three advantages, all phrased as absences. The weather independence comes first and 'very little maintenance is needed' even reuses 'needed' — but only fuel is described as not required at all.

39. jobs

'It's estimated that electricity generated in this way will be relatively cheap, and that manufacturing the components would create more than 2,000 jobs, a big boost to the local economy.' The note's 'create a number of' matches 'would create more than 2,000', so the gap takes the noun: jobs.Common trap: Two estimates joined by 'and'. The cheap electricity is the first benefit and shares the same 'it's estimated that' framing — but the note's 'a number of' points to the countable item, which is jobs.

40. migration

'There are fears that lagoons might harm both fish and birds, for example by disturbing migration patterns, and causing a build-up of silt, affecting local ecosystems.' The note prints 'fish and birds' and 'silt', so the gap is the other thing affected: migration.Common trap: The second half of the same list is already in the note. Silt and ecosystems are spoken immediately after the answer, and 'ecosystems' is the more scientific-sounding word — but the note has already used silt.