Cambridge 13 Listening Test 1 - Answers With Explanation

1. The table row reads "...how to ___ and cook with seasonal products", so the missing word must be a verb paired with 'cook'. The answer is 'choose' — the Food Studio teaches clients how to choose and cook with seasonal produce. Table-completion gaps like this are usually a single verb signalled by the surrounding sentence structure.

2. The row continues "...also offers ___ classes". The gap needs an adjective describing a type of class; the answer 'private' points to one-to-one or exclusive tuition, distinct from group sessions.

3. The note asks for a specific figure: "get a ___ percent discount". Because the instruction allows 'ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER', the answer is written as the numeral 20 rather than spelled out — write numbers as digits when a percentage or quantity is asked for.

4. Bond's Cookery School is described as offering "food that is ___". This is a straightforward adjective gap; the answer 'healthy' identifies what distinguishes this school's food style from the Food Studio's seasonal-produce focus.

5. The row reads "recipes to strengthen your ___". The gap needs a plural body-part noun that recipes can strengthen — the answer 'bones' fits a health-focused cookery school offering nutrition-related recipes.

6. "Bond's Cookery School has a free ___ every Thursday." The gap needs a noun for a scheduled free event; 'lecture' distinguishes this recurring free session from the paid classes described elsewhere in the table.

7. "Venue name: The ___ Centre." This gap is a proper noun — a specific name that must be caught and spelled correctly as heard. The answer is 'Arretsa', an unusual name likely to be spelled out or repeated slowly in the recording.

8. "The Arretsa Centre: mainly ___ food." The gap is an adjective describing the food style at this third venue, distinguishing it from the seasonal (Food Studio) and healthy (Bond's) descriptions already given — the answer is 'vegetarian'.

9. "The Arretsa Centre is located near the ___." This is a location gap — a nearby landmark. The answer 'market' identifies what's next to the venue, the kind of detail typically given as a directions/location cue.

10. "A special course in skills with a ___ is sometimes available." The gap needs a tool/object noun; 'knife' identifies the skill being taught (knife skills), a common addition to cookery-class offerings.

11. Answer B: "The amount of traffic on the roads has increased." The question asks for the underlying cause of the review, and B states a general rise in traffic volume — the kind of broad justification a council talk typically opens with. A (accident rates) and C (vehicle types) are more specific claims not given as the stated reason.

12. Answer C: "inconvenience from parked cars." Survey-result questions like this test which complaint residents raised most; parking issues are a very common theme in local traffic-scheme talks, whereas A and B describe other traffic problems that are plausible but not the one identified as the main complaint.

13. Answer B: "finding a way to make people follow them." This is a classic implementation-problem answer — enforcement/compliance is the difficulty highlighted, rather than funding (A) or police cooperation (C), which are related but not the specific issue named.

14. Map-labelling question: 'New traffic lights' corresponds to point E on the accompanying street plan. For this item type the answer depends on the visual layout rather than a text clue — track the speaker's route around the diagram, listening for direction and position phrases relative to landmarks already marked on the map.

15. 'Pedestrian crossing' corresponds to point D on the plan. As with the rest of this set (14–20), confirm the letter only once its position relative to nearby streets or buildings has actually been described, rather than guessing from the label alone.

16. 'Parking allowed' corresponds to point B on the plan — listen for prepositions of place ('next to', 'opposite', 'between') as the speaker walks through the proposed changes on the map.

17. 'New "No Parking" sign' corresponds to point G on the plan, one of several sign/restriction changes described as the speaker moves along the route shown in the diagram.

18. 'New disabled parking spaces' corresponds to point C on the plan — a specific facility added at a marked location.

19. 'Widened pavement' corresponds to point H on the plan, a physical change to the street layout described at that point in the route.

20. 'Lorry loading/unloading restrictions' corresponds to point I on the plan, the final labelled feature in this set of map questions.

21. Answer A: he "may do a module on a related topic later on." This is a personal-motivation question — A frames his interest as forward-looking preparation for future study, while B (career ambition) and C (dissertation topic) are stronger claims not supported as his stated reason.

22. Answer C: "completed in the time available." Practicality/feasibility around timing is the advantage they agree on, a common theme in project-planning dialogues, rather than ease of description (A) or the lab setting (B).

23. Answer B: "whether anyone else has chosen this topic." They plan to confirm topic originality/overlap with the tutor, not the aim's appropriateness (A) or grading weight (C).

24. Answer C: "its focus is very theoretical." The complaint is about the book's level of abstraction rather than being outdated (A) or off-topic (B) — a common criticism of academic sources in these dialogues is theory without practical application.

25. Answer B: "The analysis of seed germination statistics is thorough." Jack praises the rigour of the data analysis specifically, rather than visual aids (A) or surprising findings (C).

26. The blank needs a word that pairs with 'and sizes' — "different types and sizes" is a natural phrase for selecting varied seed samples, giving G ('types') as the answer over close distractors like 'condition' or 'colour', which don't fit as naturally before 'and sizes'.

27. Paired with 'and size', the missing word should be another measurable property recorded at the start of the experiment; 'weight' (C) is the standard pairing — you record a seed's weight and size before planting.

28. This step is an experimental-design decision made before planting; 'depths' (H) — the planting depth for each seed — fits a stage where a design variable like depth is set, distinct from the earlier steps about measuring the seeds themselves.

29. "Use a different ___ for each seed and label it" clearly calls for something physical you can label individually — a pot or box. The answer is 'container' (A), the item each seed is planted in and marked for identification.

30. The final recorded measurement, after growth has occurred over three weeks, is a property that changes as the plant develops — 'height' (E), tracking growth over the course of the experiment.

31. The gap needs a specific animal example introduced by 'e.g.'; the answer is 'crow', cited for its general adaptability — note-completion 'e.g.' gaps like this ask for one concrete example noun.

32. This gap explains why pigeons adapt well to cities: building walls resemble their natural habitat. The answer 'cliffs' is a plural noun describing the rock formations pigeons would normally nest on.

33. The gap is an abstract noun describing the pace of adaptation; 'speed' captures the point that adaptation is happening faster than expected — listen for words like 'rapid' or 'quickly' as signposts for this kind of gap.

34. Following a named researcher, the gap identifies what she measured increasing in size. 'Brain(s)' is accepted in singular or plural — note the possessive "mammals'" before the gap, signalling a body-part noun.

35. The gap explains a cause: animals need to locate new sources of something essential — 'food' is the resource, paired with the second reason ('deal with new dangers') already given in the note.

36. A second named researcher, and the gap asks what aspect of blackbirds she studied — 'behaviour' (or US spelling 'behavior'), comparing urban versus rural birds; both singular/plural forms and both spellings are accepted.

37. The note sets up a contrast ('braver, but...') — the gap is an adjective describing the type of situation still causing fear despite general boldness. The answer 'new' completes the idea that novelty, not danger itself, triggers caution.

38. The gap names what triggers the hormonal response described afterward; 'stress' is the stimulus, and the note already tells us the animals' hormone levels drop in response to it.

39. The gap is a body part used for communication; 'tail(s)' (singular or plural accepted) — squirrel tail movements as a communication signal is the kind of specific animal-behaviour detail lecture notes commonly test.

40. The final note is a qualifying statement about the lecture's overall claims — the gap is an adjective describing duration; 'permanent' suggests some adaptations could be temporary or reversible, a typical closing caveat in this kind of academic lecture.