Cambridge 20 Listening Test 2 - Answers With Explanation

1. Needs a noun paired with 'time for other responsibilities and a ___' — 'break', meaning respite care that gives the carer rest.

2. Needs a noun completing 'how much ___ the caring involves' — 'time', the number of hours devoted to care, part of a needs assessment.

3. Needs a noun after 'helping her have a' — 'shower', a typical personal-care task alongside dressing.

4. Needs a noun after 'dealing with' — 'money', help managing finances, alongside shopping and meals.

5. Needs a noun after 'loss of' describing a difficult aspect of caring — 'memory', referring to the elderly relative's memory loss.

6. Needs a noun/gerund before 'her' describing a physical difficulty — 'lifting', a common physical challenge for carers of elderly people with limited mobility.

7. Needs a noun after 'preventing a' — 'fall', a key safety concern in elderly care.

8. Needs a noun after 'cost of a' for a transport-related support cost — 'taxi'.

9. Needs a noun paired with 'fuel and' for car-related costs — 'insurance'.

10. Needs a noun after 'help to reduce' — 'stress', emotional support for carers alongside practical housework help.

11. 'Walking around the town centre' matches option D, 'giving advice to visitors' — a role suited to volunteers stationed in public areas to help passers-by.

12. 'Helping at concerts' matches option I, 'helping people find their seats' — a typical front-of-house task at seated events.

13. 'Getting involved with community groups' matches option H, 'encouraging cooperation between local organisations' — a liaison role connecting groups.

14. 'Helping with a magazine' matches option E, 'collecting feedback on events' — magazine volunteers gather residents' feedback and content rather than writing it themselves.

15. 'Participating at lunches for retired people' matches option A, 'providing entertainment' — volunteers add an entertainment element to community lunches.

16. 'Helping with the website' matches option B, 'providing publicity about a council service' — website volunteers help publicise council services online.

17. Asks which event needs the most volunteers. B, 'the science festival', is credited over the music festival (A) and book festival (C).

18. Asks the most important requirement for festival volunteers. A, 'interpersonal skills', is prioritised over personal interest (B) and flexibility (C), both reasonable-sounding but not credited.

19. Asks when new volunteers start. B, 'the week beginning 9 September', is credited among three closely spaced dates designed to test careful listening.

20. Asks about the next annual volunteer event. A, 'a boat trip', is credited over a barbecue (B) and a party (C), both plausible social-event distractors.

21. 'Population' matches D, 'it will be easy to find facts about this' — population statistics are typically well-documented and readily available.

22. 'Health' matches G, 'the information provided about this was interesting' — the students found health-related material engaging.

23. 'Economies' matches B, 'this may not be relevant to their course' — they question whether economic data fits their human geography focus.

24. 'Culture' matches A, 'the information given about this was too vague' — cultural information is harder to pin down with precise facts.

25. 'Poverty' matches E, 'the facts about this may not be reliable' — poverty statistics are often contested or hard to verify.

26. Asks Rosie's view on her city's main problem. C, 'unemployment', is credited over crime (A) and housing (B), both common alternative urban-issue distractors.

27. Asks about recent additions both students are happy about. A, 'conference centres', is credited over sports centres (B) and retail centres (C).

28. Asks what the students agree developing disused industrial sites may cause. A, 'have unexpected costs', is credited over environmental damage (B) or loss of historical buildings (C).

29. Asks what Masdar City exemplifies. B, 'sustainable energy use', is credited — real-world shorthand for a sustainability-focused development — over waste recycling (A) or free transport (C).

30. Asks what Colin is uncertain about regarding Greenhill Abbots. C, 'how much of it has actually been built', is credited over uncertainty about its objectives (A) or opposition to it (B).

31. Needs a plural noun for what's shared on social media that started the food-fashion trend — 'photos', matching 'photos of food being shared'.

32. Needs an adjective before 'food brands' — 'vegan', brands that have grown through influencer endorsement.

33. Needs a plural noun before 'are influential' — 'chefs', celebrity chefs whose ingredient choices supermarkets track.

34. Needs a plural noun for who was invited to visit avocado growers — 'journalists', part of a marketing campaign generating press coverage.

35. Needs a noun before 'benefits' — 'health', the angle used in avocado advertising.

36. Needs a plural noun after 'through' for where oat milk was promoted in the USA — 'coffee' (shops), reducing the need for paid advertising.

37. Needs a noun after 'concerned about the' — 'environment', explaining oat milk's appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

38. Needs a noun after 'strengthen the' — 'reputation', Norwegian skrei boosting Norwegian seafood's standing.

39. Needs a noun after 'increase in its' — 'price', an ethical concern linked to quinoa's rising popularity.

40. Needs a noun for what's 'poor quality' as a result of overuse — 'soil', a consequence of overusing land resources to meet quinoa demand.