City Shopping District - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations

Narrator: Now turn to Section 2 on page 6.

Section 2. You will hear a tour guide giving information about a shopping district.

First, you have some time to look at Questions 11 to 15 on page 6.

As you listen to the first part of the talk, answer Questions 11 to 15.

Tour guide: This afternoon we’ll visit the city’s shopping district. Several blocks in the area are closed to car traffic, and I know you’ll enjoy walking around there. I’d like to give you an overview of the district now since you’ll be on your own once we get there.

You’ll see on this map here that the shopping district consists of two streets—Pear Street, which runs north and south, and Cherry Street, which crosses Pear Street right here. Let’s start our tour here on Pear Street where the star is. This star marks the Harbor View Bookstore. It’s very popular among locals as well as tourists. You can buy a range of books of local interest as well as a variety of magazines and newspapers. It’s directly across the street from the City Library, which is also worth a visit. It’s in one of the oldest buildings in the city and contains, among other things, an interesting collection of rare books.

Now, moving up Pear from the bookstore toward Cherry, the next building on the left is the Pear Cafe. You’ll notice it’s right on the corner of Pear and Cherry streets. It’s a great place to relax while enjoying a delicious cup of coffee or tea. You can talk with friends or read quietly. They have a variety of books and magazines available.

From the windows of the cafe, you can look right across Cherry Street for a lovely view of City Gardens. It’s a rather small garden, but it contains a variety of exotic plants and flowers.

Let’s leave the cafe and cross Pear Street. On the opposite corner, we’re at Caldwell’s Clothing Store, which you might also want to visit. They sell both men’s and women’s fashions from countries around the world.

Continuing down Cherry Street, the next building on the right after Caldwell’s is the souvenir shop. Stop in here to get maps and books about the local area, as well as T-shirts and postcards with pictures of the city. Now, we cross Cherry Street and we’re at the art gallery, one building down from the corner. Here you can see and, of course, purchase many fine paintings and sculptures by local artists.

Let’s keep going down Cherry Street toward the harbor. On the left, right after the gallery, is Harbor Park. It’s a lovely place, and it’s certainly worth spending some time there.

Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20 on page 7.

Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.

Harbor Park was built on land donated to the city by Captain Jones, a lifelong resident of this city. Captain Jones designed the park himself, and it was built in 1876. Exactly in the center of the park a statue of Captain Jones was erected, and it’s still standing there today. It shows Captain Jones on the bow of his ship.

After viewing the statue, you can follow the path that goes through the woods just behind. It will lead you to a lovely garden, in the middle of which is a fountain. This is a nice place to enjoy a few quiet moments.

If you still feel like walking, continue on to the far end of the garden. There, you’ll find a wooden staircase, which will take you down to the harbor. You might enjoy the view of the boats from there. There’s also a walking path along the water, which will eventually bring you back up to Cherry Street.

You can see that there’s plenty to do in this part of the city. The bus leaves at 1:30.

Narrator: That is the end of Section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.