Cambridge 9 Listening Test 1 - Answers With Explanation

1. Asked what the job involves, the woman says plainly: "It's answering the phone."

2. She tells him the branch they're recruiting for: "the one we're recruiting for is in Hillsdunne Road," and spells it out for him.

3. Asked about the nearest bus stop, she says: "The nearest one would probably be just beside the Library."

4. "We're offering £4.45 an hour," she says, and he confirms it's better than his last job's £3.95.

5. "We also offer extra pay for working on national holidays," which the man calls "a really good perk."

6. "If you're working after 11 o'clock we drive you home," she explains, because public transport is difficult that late.

7. "For this particular job we want a clear voice, which you obviously do have!"

8. "And you must be able to think quickly, you know," she adds as a second requirement.

9. He can't manage tonight or tomorrow, so they settle on "Thursday's okay — that'd be 22nd of October."

10. "My name is Samira Manuja," she says, spelling the surname out at his request.

11. Jane describes Sports World as "the branch of a Danish sports goods company" that is now opening a second shop in the area.

12. The new shop is going into "the shopping centre to the west of Bradcaster," unlike the original, which is in the north.

13. "The first three floors have a huge range of sports clothing" as well as equipment.

14. If an item isn't in stock, staff "promise to get it for you in ten days," much faster than the rival store's fourteen days.

15. Among all the major sports it stocks, "they particularly focus on running," claiming the widest range of equipment in the country.

16. "A whole section of the third floor is devoted to sports bags," including the latest designs from the States.

17. The athlete opens the shop on Saturday and "will be staying around until about midday" to meet fans — so he's there on Saturday morning only (A), not all day or the whole weekend.

18. Getting fifteen of twenty quiz questions right wins a DVD, but "the first person to get all the questions correct gets a year's free membership of the Bradcaster Gym" (A) — gym membership, not a video or calendar.

19–20. The fitness test "is available at half price for this month only" (E, cheaper this month), and because "there are only a limited number of places available for this," customers need "to make a booking" (A, reserve a place).

21. Spiros says that compared with his classmates, "my overall style was quite professional" (B) — his presenting style, not his nerves or being the best in the group.

22. Hiroko was surprised the other students "didn't worry about their presentation style or keeping eye contact with their audience" (C).

23. After reading her notes aloud, Hiroko says "I didn't feel any real sense of satisfaction" — she was dissatisfied (B), not embarrassed or delighted.

24. Spiros admits "I am not so pleased with my actual performance right now in the tutorials," since he hasn't spoken all semester — not very happy (A).

25. He explains the other students "are very familiar with each other," so they can draw one another naturally into the discussion (C).

26. Hiroko says she's "been trying to speak up more" and jumping in, showing she's making more of a contribution (B).

27. Struggling to follow lectures, Hiroko says "I had to turn to the books and journals" for help — consulting reference materials (A).

28. Spiros admits "my reading speed is still quite slow," though his vocabulary has improved — it still takes him a long time (B).

29. Hiroko was frustrated that "we didn't read anything about engineering" in class, revealing that's her subject area (C).

30. Hiroko says she "would have felt much better working on reading from my own field" — students should read more in their own subject areas (B).

31. Strandings are frequent in places where "the tide goes out suddenly, confusing the animals."

32. Parasites are commonly found in whales' ears, and "marine animals rely heavily on their hearing to navigate," so this infestation can be very harmful.

33. "Many toxins... originate from plants, or animals," which whales then ingest during normal feeding.

34. The theory that animals strand while chasing prey doesn't hold up, because "most had not been feeding as they stranded."

35. "Noises such as those caused by military exercises... have been pinpointed as the cause of some strandings of late."

36. The 2000 Bahamas stranding stood out because "all the stranded animals were healthy," unlike typical cases.

37. Unusually, "the animals were spread out along 38 kilometres of coast" rather than being found together in a group.

38. The group-behaviour theory fits because "the whales that are thought to be most social... are the group that strand the most frequently."

39. In the 1994 dolphin stranding, examination showed that "apart from the leader, all the others had been healthy" at the time of death.

40. The lecturer recommends John Connor's book as a starting point "if you're interested in finding out more about these networks" — the stranding networks set up to rescue animals.