Cambridge 15 Listening Test 4 - Answers With Explanation

1. 'Occupation:' needs a job-title noun. 'Journalist' fits as a plausible single-word occupation for a form-completion survey, following on from the given example ('Name: Sophie Bird').

2. 'Reason for travel today:' needs a noun for the trip's purpose. 'Shopping' fits as a common everyday travel reason recorded on a satisfaction survey.

3. 'Name of station returning to:' needs a proper noun (a place name). 'Staunfirth' fits as an invented station name that would need to be spelled out carefully by the respondent.

4. 'Type of ticket purchased: standard ___ ticket' needs a noun for a ticket category. 'Return' fits the set phrase 'standard return ticket', a standard UK rail ticket type.

5. 'Cost of ticket: £___' needs a number, specifically a price with decimals. '23.70' fits — for prices, listen carefully for both the pounds and pence figures, since decimal amounts are a common precision trap.

6. 'Where ticket was bought:' needs a noun/adverb for a purchase method. 'Online' fits as one of the standard options (station, online, app, etc.) a satisfaction survey would ask about.

7. 'Least satisfied with journey: the ___ this morning' needs a noun for a travel problem. 'Delay' fits as a classic complaint in a rail satisfaction survey, tied to the 'this morning' time reference.

8. 'Most satisfied with station facilities: how much ___ was provided' needs an uncountable noun for a positive facility aspect. 'Information' fits — signage/announcements are a common thing passengers rate positively.

9. 'Least satisfied with station facilities: lack of seats, particularly on the ___' needs a plural noun for where seating is missing. 'Platform(s)' fits, specifying exactly where the seating shortage is most noticed.

10. 'Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with: the ___ available' needs a noun for a station amenity rated neutrally. 'Parking' fits, closing the survey with an amenity that gets a lukewarm rating rather than a strong positive or negative one.

11. Questions 11–16 are a map-labelling task: each park feature is matched to a letter (A–H) on the accompanying plan. The café is at D — listen for spatial/directional language as the guide describes the route, and mark each feature in the order it's introduced.

12. Map-labelling: the toilets are at C.

13. Map-labelling: the formal gardens are at G.

14. Map-labelling: the outdoor gym is at H.

15. Map-labelling: the skateboard ramp is at A.

16. Map-labelling: the wild flowers are at E, completing the six features placed across questions 11–16.

17–18. Questions 17 and 18 ask for TWO things said about the adventure playground, from options A–E. The correct pair is A ('children must be supervised') and D ('no payment is required'); B, C and E describe other plausible rules or facts (seasonal pricing, age restrictions, recent expansion) that act as distractors.

19–20. Questions 19 and 20 ask for TWO things said about the glass houses, from options A–E. The correct pair is A ('they are closed at weekends') and C ('they were badly damaged by fire'); B, D and E describe other plausible facts (volunteering, repair funding, tropical plants) offered as distractors.

21. The stem asks what Annie discovered about icehouses. Option B ('how the ice was kept frozen') is correct, rather than A (why they were created) or C (their locations) — both plausible but incorrect angles on the same topic.

22. The stem asks Annie's point about refrigeration in ancient Rome. Option A ('it became a commercial business') is correct, versus B (using nearby snow) and C (slow popularity) — both plausible historical claims offered as distractors.

23. The stem asks what both students are worried about regarding modern refrigerators. Option B ('the fact that some are disposed of irresponsibly') is correct — an environmental concern — rather than A (technological complexity) or C (frequent breakdowns).

24. The stem asks what Jack and Annie agree on about domestic fridges. Option A ('they are generally good value for money') is correct, rather than B (useful variations) or C (more useful than other appliances) — both plausible but incorrect points of agreement.

25. This matching task assigns who researches each topic (A: Annie, B: Jack, C: both) across six topics. The goods that are refrigerated is assigned to Annie (A).

26. The effects on health is also assigned to Annie (A) — two of her three topics identified so far.

27. The impact on food producers is assigned to Jack (B).

28. The impact on cities is also assigned to Jack (B).

29. Refrigerated transport is assigned to Annie (A), her third topic.

30. Domestic fridges is assigned to C ('both Annie and Jack') — the one topic in this set that both students research together rather than dividing between them.

31. 'For the first time, people's possessions were used to measure Britain's ___' needs a noun for national prosperity. 'Wealth' fits, introducing the lecture's theme of possessions as an economic indicator.

32. 'Developments in production of goods and in ___ greatly changed lives' needs a noun paired with 'production'. 'Technology' fits as the second driving force of change alongside manufacturing methods.

33. 'The Industrial Revolution would not have happened without the new types of ___ that were used then' needs a noun for an energy source. 'Power' fits — referring to steam or mechanical power sources central to industrialisation.

34. 'The leading industry was ___ (its products became widely available)' needs a plural/uncountable noun for an industry. 'Textile(s)' fits as the well-known leading sector of the British Industrial Revolution.

35. 'New ___ made factories necessary and so more people moved into towns' needs a plural noun for mechanical equipment. 'Machines' fits, linking industrial technology to urbanisation.

36. 'Transport — greater access to ___ made people more aware of what they could buy in shops' needs a plural noun for a print medium. 'Newspapers' fits — better transport networks distributed news (and advertisements) more widely, informing shopping habits.

37. 'When shopping, people were not limited to buying ___ goods' needs an adjective for geographic scope. 'Local' fits, contrasting with the wider availability enabled by better transport and communication described in Q36.

38. 'Retailing — displays of goods were more visible inside stores because of better ___' needs an uncountable noun for illumination. 'Lighting' fits as a specific retail-technology improvement.

39. 'Displays were more visible outside stores because ___ were bigger' needs a plural noun for a shopfront feature. 'Windows' fits, paired with the lighting point in Q38 as another way retail displays became more visible.

40. 'Retailing — ___ that was persuasive became much more common' needs a capitalised noun/gerund for promotional communication. 'Advertising' fits, closing the lecture with the rise of persuasive marketing as a retail development.