Cambridge 18 Listening Test 3 - Answers With Explanation

1. "Home address: 52 ___ Street, Peacetown" needs a proper-noun street name — "Marrowfield", combining with the fixed word "Street" already given.

2. "Heard about us: from a ___" needs a noun for a person category — "relative" (a family member told them about the club).

3. "Reasons for joining: to enter competitions, to ___" needs a second reason as a verb — "socialise" (British spelling) / "socialize" (American), both accepted, meaning to meet other people.

4. "Type of membership: ___ membership (£30)" needs an adjective for a membership tier — "full", matching the price given.

5. "Title of competition (scene in the home)" needs the actual competition name as heard — "Domestic Life", fitting a home-based theme, with feedback that the composition wasn't good.

6. "'Beautiful Sunsets' — Instructions: scene must show some ___" needs a plural noun for a weather/sky feature relevant to sunset photography — "clouds".

7. "'Beautiful Sunsets' — Feedback: the ___ was wrong" needs a noun for what went wrong with a time-sensitive shot — "timing" (photographed at the wrong moment).

8. "Title of competition (scene must show animal movement)" needs the competition's name — "Animal Magic", matching its animal-movement theme.

9. "Instructions: scene must show ___" needs the specific subject required for the Animal Magic competition — "(animal) movement", consistent with Q8's description.

10. "Feedback: the photograph was too ___" needs an adjective describing a lighting fault — "dark" (underexposed).

11–12. Dan's two warnings are not to pick near busy roads (B) and not to eat mushrooms given by other people (C) — both safety cautions, unlike the distractors about mixing varieties, eating while picking, or picking old mushrooms.

13–14. The two correct ideas are that mushrooms eaten by animals may be unsafe (B) and that brightly coloured mushrooms can still be edible (D) — both correcting common myths, unlike peeling, cooking destroying toxins, or smell indicating poison.

15. "What advice does Dan give about picking mushrooms in parks?" — "Get there early" (C) is a timing tip, distinct from choosing wooded areas (A) or not disturbing wildlife (B).

16. "Dan says it is a good idea for beginners to" — "join a group" (B), i.e. learn alongside experienced people, rather than relying on an app (A) or a book (C).

17. "What does Dan say is important for conservation?" — "picking a limited amount of mushrooms" (B), a sustainability practice, rather than selecting only mature ones (A) or avoiding rare-species areas (C).

18. "Some varieties of wild mushrooms are in decline because there is" — "a rise in building developments locally" (C), a habitat-loss explanation, rather than restaurant demand (A) or lack of rain (B).

19. "When storing mushrooms, people should" — "keep them in a brown bag in a dark room" (B), a specific storage method, rather than a fridge time-limit (A) or washing them first (C).

20. "What does Dan say about trying new varieties of mushrooms?" — "Experiment with different recipes" (A), encouraging exploration, rather than expecting a strong taste (B) or long cooking times (C).

21–22. The two opinions expressed are that the Luddites' actions were ineffective (A) and that their attitude is understandable (E) — a mix of criticism and sympathy, unlike claims about ongoing influence, unfair criticism, or being proved right.

23–24. The two predictions they doubt are that unemployment will fall (B) and that working hours will be shorter (D) — both optimistic forecasts about work conditions, unlike claims about job satisfaction, retirement, or job-switching frequency.

25. "Accountants" is matched with G, "Both employment and productivity have risen" — a positive outcome despite automation concerns.

26. "Hairdressers" is matched with E, "Higher disposable income has led to a huge increase in jobs" — a service industry benefiting from consumer spending power.

27. "Administrative staff" is matched with B, "Their role has become more interesting in recent years" — implying routine tasks were automated, leaving more engaging work.

28. "Agricultural workers" is matched with C, "The number of people working in this sector has fallen dramatically" — consistent with long-term mechanisation of farming.

29. "Care workers" is matched with F, "There is likely to be a significant rise in demand for this service" — linked to an ageing population needing more care.

30. "Bank clerks" is matched with A, "These jobs are likely to be at risk" — consistent with the shift to online and automated banking.

31. "Would aim to set up legal and ___ ways of improving safety" needs an adjective paired with "legal" — "technical", covering the engineering side of regulation.

32. "Satellites are now quite ___ and therefore more widespread" needs an adjective explaining why there are more satellites — "cheap" (lower cost enables wider deployment).

33. "There are constellations made up of ___ of satellites" needs a large-number word — "thousands", emphasising the scale problem.

34. "Satellites are not required to transmit information to help with their ___" needs a noun for how satellites are recognised — "identification".

35. "There are few systems for ___ satellites" needs a gerund/noun for monitoring their position over time — "tracking".

36. "Operators may be unwilling to share details of satellites used for ___ or commercial reasons" needs an adjective for a sensitive-use category — "military".

37. "It may be hard to collect details of the object's ___ at a given time" needs a noun for where something is — "location".

38. "Scientists can only make a ___ about where the satellite will go" needs a noun for an estimate rather than certainty — "prediction".

39. "The information should be combined in one ___" needs a noun for a centralised information system — "database", the proposed solution to fragmented tracking data.

40. "A coordinated system must be designed to create ___ in its users" needs an abstract noun for user confidence in the system — "trust".