CAE Listening – Practice Test 6 CAE Listening – Practice Test 6

Part 1 Part 2
You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, В or C) which fits best according to You will hear a reporter called Ruth Sampson describing a visit she made to the Arctic Circle with a team of
what you hear. There are two questions for each extract. Canadian wildlife experts. For questions 7-14, complete the sentences.
Extract One
A visit to the Arctic Circle
You overhear part of a conversation between the secretary of a golf club and a visitor to the club.
As her plane was landing, 7 ________ were the first animals Ruth saw.
1 What does the visitor feel about installing satellite navigation in her car?
Soon after arriving, the team of biologists was able to identify a 8 ________ in the distance.
A worried about its cost
The word 9 ________ is used to describe a small patch of ground where the growth of plants is possible.
В unsure of its usefulness
The largest part of the yellow Arctic poppy is its 10 ________.
C doubtful about its reliability
The majority of birds returning to the area in the spring feed on 11 ________.
2 When he talks about in-car satellite navigation systems, the secretary is The team stayed in tents with small 12 ________ at the entrance.
A helping his visitor to choose the best model. Ruth was given advice on what to do if approached by a 13 ________.
В providing his visitor with information about them. It was difficult for Ruth to carry out her work because 14 ________ are affected by freezing temperatures.
C warning his visitor about the drawbacks of using one.
Extract Two Part 3
You hear part of a discussion in which the anthropologist Paula Drew and the comedian Mike Morton are talking You will hear a radio interview with the gardening experts Jed and Helena Stone. For questions 15-20, choose the
about their lives. answer (А, В, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
3 What does Mike say about his use of comedy as a child? 15 How does Helena feel about the use of Jed’s name for their joint business?
A He appeared to have an instinctive talent for it. A occasionally frustrated that her contribution goes unnoticed
В His long-term friendships depended on it. В amused that they have a name people tend to remember
C It was one of a number of skills he developed. C appreciative of the respect that the name has brought her
4 Both speakers agree that, for a successful life, people need D irritated by the fact that Jed is more of a celebrity than she is
A a belief in themselves. 16 What is Jed’s attitude to his public profile?
В a clearly defined goal. A He likes the fact that complete strangers often want to talk to him.
C a commitment to hard work. В He’s unhappy that it prevents him doing everyday activities.
Extract Three C He enjoys it more now than he did when he was younger.
You hear part of a radio discussion about holiday reading. D He’s proud of the way it reflects his achievements.

5 The man reads books which 17 How did Helena feel about her work on The Travel Show?
A remind him of people he’s met. A She would have enjoyed it more in different circumstances.
В make a change from his work. В It was convenient for her to be away from the house then.
C are set somewhere he doesn’t know. C It was a welcome alternative to manual work.
D She felt obliged to do it at that particular time.
6 His work involves
A a lot of travel. 18 What gave Jed the incentive to make a jewel garden?
В looking out for new words. A He wanted to realise a long-held ambition.
C studying classical literature. В He had led people to believe that it already existed.
C He wanted to show pictures of it at a gardening event.
D He was inspired by the illustrations at a talk he attended.

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CAE Listening – Practice Test 6 CAE Listening – Practice Test 6

19 What explanation does Helena give for the name of the garden?
A It provided a useful framework for the project. Answer Keys
В It was a response to the bright colours they wanted there. Part 1
C It allowed them to experiment with a wide range of options. 1. C 2. В З. А 4. В 5. С 6. В
D It was meant to inspire them to embrace unconventional ideas.
Part 2
20 Jed says that, for him, the name ‘jewel garden’ is 7. seals 8. wolf 9. oasis 10. root(s) 11. seeds
A a reminder of the value of creativity. 12. tunnels 13. (polar) bear 14. (the) batteries
В an appropriate one for something so beautiful.
C a positive way of combining both past and present. Part 3
D a way of explaining his philosophy of design to people. 15. A 16. D 17. D 18. В 19. A 20. C
Part 4
Part 4 21. G 22. A 23. E 24. D 25. C
26. D 27. A 28. C 29. F 30. H
You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about their recent experiences.
TASK ONE TASK TWO
For questions 21-25, choose from the list A-H the activity each For questions 26-30, choose from the list A-H what each speaker felt Tapescript
speaker is describing. about their activity.
The part of the text containing the answer is underlined with the question number given in square brackets []. If
you still struggle with CAE Listening, please refer to Listening tips.
A mountaineering Speaker 1 21 [ ] A It was disappointing Speaker 1 26[ ]
B going to the theatre B It was confusing
C swimming in a lake Speaker 2 22 [ ] C It was uneventful Speaker 2 27[ ] Part 1
D dining in a restaurant D It was overcrowded
E watching a football match E It was frightening Extract 1
Speaker 3 23 [ ] Speaker 3 28[ ]
F fishing in a river F It was unusual Woman: Sorry to be late. This club’s a bit off the beaten track, isn’t it? Thought I’d never find it!
G wandering around a market G It was amusing
H attending a wedding Speaker 4 24 [ ] H It was exhausting Speaker 4 29[ ] Secretary: You don’t have an in-car satellite navigation system, then?
Woman: A sat-nav? No I don’t, though I suppose I should invest in one. I often have this sort of trouble - getting to
Speaker 5 25 [ ] Speaker 5 30[ ] a town’s a piece of cake, but after that... well. It’s not so much the cost - my friends all have them and tell me the
price is going down all the time. But electronic gadgets aren’t my favourite things. Fine when they work;
nightmare when they don’t [1]. A little black box could hardly have been less useful than my map today, though!
Secretary: I wouldn’t be without mine now. I won’t try and blind you with science, but I do know quite a bit about
satellites. The technology’s amazing - position can be pinpointed to within a metre. Of course, accuracy’s down to
the mapping companies who do the updating work, but new models come out all the time [2]. It’s entirely up to
you of course, but imagine never having to ask for directions again!
Woman: That’d be good - I’ll certainly give it some thought!
Extract 2
Paula: We both grew up in a fairly rough part of the city, Mike, so I’m assuming you used comedy to keep yourself
safe - and popular in the long run!
Mike: Well, in school, as you know, if you could run fast or make people laugh, you had a very good chance of
surviving and emerging unscathed. I wasn’t a fast runner, so I exploited comedy to avoid unwelcome attention. It
seemed to come easy [3], and it worked.
Paula: Your type of comedy is less spontaneous than reflective. You see things from your own point of view, don’t
you, and create a world for other people to see. Whereas I explore the world that’s already there, which most
people don’t see.
Mike: Don’t you think that the key to achieving what you want in life is the realisation that it’s going to be tough,

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