CITY CENTRE FIELD TRIP - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Trainer 1 Academic Listening Test 3 · Part 3 · Questions 21–30
Audio
Questions
Questions 21–26 Flow Chart Completion
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-I, next to questions 21-26.
A. air quality | B. journey times | C. land use
D. leisure facilities | E. means of transport | F. parking facilities
G. number of pedestrians | H. places of employment | I. traffic flow
CITY CENTRE FIELD TRIP
Chose area of city to study
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Did a survey of 21 in city centre to compare with old maps
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22 was assessed in five key locations | Measured 23 twice a day
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Researched 24 during one afternoon
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Looked at official figures
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Measured 25 in several locations. | Asked questions about 26
Questions 27–30 Matching
Who will be responsible for each task?
Write the correct letter next to questions 27-30.
A. Stefan
B. Lauren
C. both Stefan and Lauren
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q21 | C | Yeah We did that by walking round and dividing the area into different categories such as residential, commercial and industrial so we could record land use. We're going to find some maps from 50 years ago and from 100 years ago so we can look at what has changed |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the students looked at how the city center is organized into areas for living (residential), buying things (commercial), or working (industrial) to record the land use. They also planned to get maps from many years ago to see how the city looked in the past compared to now. Answer Explanation: The answer is land use, which refers to how different parts of a city are used, such as for houses, shops, or factories. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is land use because the student, Lauren, explains that they walked around the city to identify different types of buildings, like homes and businesses, to record land use. She then connects this activity to looking at maps from 50 and 100 years ago to see what changed, which matches the step in the flow-chart that mentions comparing a survey to old maps. |
| Q22 | A | There are five major road junctions around the edge of the city so we set up equipment to check the air quality on each of those three times on one day | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the students found five big road crossings and used tools there to measure the air quality several times during the day. Answer Explanation: The answer is air quality, which refers to how clean or dirty the air is in a specific place. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because Stefan explains that they wanted to measure pollution in the city. To do this, they identified five major road junctions (important locations where roads meet) and used special equipment to test the air quality at each one. This matches the flow-chart's description of something being 'assessed in five key locations.' |
| Q23 | I | On the same day, we went to the two busiest junctions in the morning and evening to calculate the traffic flow into the city | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the students visited two busy road crossings in both the morning and the evening to count the amount of traffic entering the city area. Answer Explanation: The answer is 'traffic flow', which means the amount of cars and other vehicles moving along the city's roads. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is I because Stefan explains that they visited two very busy road junctions at two specific times — the morning and the evening — to measure how many vehicles were coming into the city centre. These two periods match the 'twice a day' description in the flow-chart, and Stefan explicitly uses the term 'traffic flow' to describe what they were measuring. |
| Q24 | F | So we decided to spend an afternoon examining the parking facilities available instead. We established the capacity of each car park and we spent an afternoon counting cars in and out so we have an idea of how long people spend in the city centre | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Stefan and Lauren chose to spend one afternoon looking at car parks (parking facilities) to count cars and see how much space was available. Answer Explanation: The answer is 'parking facilities' because the students spent an afternoon checking car parks and counting cars in the city center. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is **F** because Stefan explains that they decided to spend an afternoon looking at the city's car parks. This choice was made after they realized it would be too difficult to interview people while they were inside their cars. During this afternoon, they measured how many cars each lot could hold (capacity) and counted cars to understand how long people stayed in the city center. The transcript uses the terms 'parking facilities' and 'car park' to describe this research step. |
| Q25 | G | So we chose a number of locations and we noted how many pedestrians passed a particular spot | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the students selected various spots in the city and wrote down how many people walked past those specific points. Answer Explanation: The answer is the number of pedestrians, which means counting the people who are walking on the streets. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is identified because Stefan explicitly mentions selecting several spots to record how many people were walking there. This activity follows their review of official government statistics (referred to in the flow-chart as 'official figures') which they found to be unclear or 'inconclusive.' They decided to measure this themselves to see if people were walking between the close-together locations in the city centre. They chose 'a number of' (several) locations, such as the business district and shopping areas, to perform these counts. |
| Q26 | E | I thought it was really important to talk to people so we carried out a survey on how people usually travelled into the city. We asked them about their usual means of transport | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Lauren wanted to talk to people and ask them questions through a survey to discover their normal method of traveling into the city. Answer Explanation: The answer is E, which refers to 'means of transport' (the way people travel, like using a car or a bus). Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is E because, near the end of their field trip description, Lauren explains that they conducted a survey to find out how people get to the city. Specifically, she says they asked people about their 'usual means of transport.' This matches the last step in the flow-chart where they 'Asked questions about' something. |
| Q27 | B | Stefan: Well, some of the information can be presented as graphs or maps. Lauren: I'm quite good at the software. Stefan: You'd better do that then, Lauren. I'll help you check all the statistics before you start. Lauren: OK | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that when they discuss making graphs and maps, Lauren mentions she is good at using the software. Stefan then tells Lauren she should do that work, and she agrees. Answer Explanation: The answer B means that Lauren is the person who will be in charge of making the graphs and maps for their project. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because Lauren mentions that she is skilled at using the computer programs (software) needed for this task. Stefan agrees that she should do it, while he offers to assist only with checking the numerical data (statistics) before she begins the actual drawing. This shows that the drawing part is Lauren's job. |
| Q28 | C | Tutor: It's better if you collaborate. That way you'll end up with the best of what you've got. Lauren: That's fine, we'll do that | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows the teacher telling the students to work together (collaborate) so they can pick the best photos. Lauren agrees by saying they will follow that advice. Answer Explanation: The answer is both Stefan and Lauren will work together to select the pictures for their project. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the tutor suggests that the two students should work together on this task. In the conversation, Lauren first thinks it might be better for just one person to choose the pictures to save time. However, the teacher uses the word 'collaborate,' which means working together as a team. Lauren agrees to this idea by saying ‘we’ll do that,’ meaning both she and Stefan will do the work. |
| Q29 | A | I think that should be my responsibility if we're going to share the work out evenly. I can use some of Lauren's notes as well as my own | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows Stefan stating that he will be the one in charge of the report. He wants to make sure the work is divided fairly between him and his partner. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies that Stefan is the person who will do the writing for the report. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is Stefan because he explicitly offers to take charge of this task. He suggests it should be his 'responsibility' so that they can 'share' the workload 'evenly' after Lauren agreed to handle the computer software part. He mentions he will use notes from both himself and Lauren to complete the job. |
| Q30 | C | Tutor: I would prefer to have input from both of you as I have to do an assessment. Stefan: We'll take turns then. We'll divide it into sections and talk about a few things each | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows the tutor asking for both students to participate so they can both be graded. Stefan responds by saying they will take turns and split the presentation into different parts for each person to talk about. Answer Explanation: The answer C means that both Stefan and Lauren will work together to give the final presentation of their project. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because, even though Lauren initially suggested that Stefan should do the presentation alone due to his experience, the tutor insisted on hearing from both students for assessment purposes. Stefan then agreed that they would take turns and divide the presentation into sections so that each person speaks. |
Transcript
Tutor: Now, Stefan and Lauren. You worked together on the assignment for your Urban Geography course, didn't you? I know you made a plan of what you were going to do before you went on the field trip. Did you stick to it?
Stefan: More or less!
Tutor: OK. So where did you start?
Stefan: Well, first of all we selected one area of the city to work in - we decided on the centre - and we looked in detail at how it has been developed by doing a survey.
Lauren: Yeah ... We did that by walking round and dividing the area into different categories such as residential, commercial and industrial so we could record land use. We're going to find some maps from 50 years ago and from 100 years ago so we can look at what has changed.
Tutor: Good! So that gives you a foundation. Then what did you do?
Stefan: Um, I was interested in looking at how polluted the city was.
Lauren: I thought that was too general a topic and would be difficult to check. But Stefan persuaded me and actually it was quite interesting because before we started, we assumed that a lot of the pollution problems would be caused by industry.
Stefan: In fact, most of the industrial development has been on the outskirts and most pollution is caused by the traffic which passes through the city centre every day. There are five major road junctions around the edge of the city so we set up equipment to check the air quality on each of those three times on one day.
Lauren: In the morning and evening, which is when most journeys are made in and out of the city, and at 2.30 in the afternoon.
Stefan: On the same day, we went to the two busiest junctions in the morning and evening to calculate the traffic flow into the city.
Tutor: Right.
Stefan: We'll be able to produce some graphs from the figures we collected.
Lauren: Yeah.
Tutor: Presumably you then looked at where all these cars ended up?
Lauren: I thought we should look at why people were coming into the city - um, whether it was for employment or education or leisure activities but Stefan thought that would be too difficult.
Stefan: Because most people were in cars it would be hard to ask them. So we decided to spend an afternoon examining the parking facilities available instead. We established the capacity of each car park and we spent an afternoon counting cars in and out so we have an idea of how long people spend in the city centre.
Tutor: So do you have evidence that most journeys are made by car within the city centre?
Stefan: We checked local government statistics to see if that was true but they were inconclusive.
Lauren: Everything is quite close together in the city centre and there are wide pavements so you would expect people to walk from one place to another.
Stefan: So we chose a number of locations and we noted how many pedestrians passed a particular spot.
Tutor: Um, how did you choose where to do that?
Stefan: Oh, we stood at two places in the business district, one in the shopping area and the other was in an area where there are more tourists.
Tutor: Right.
Lauren: I thought it was really important to talk to people so we carried out a survey on how people usually travelled into the city. We asked them about their usual means of transport.
Stefan: We found out that it varied according to why people were travelling - if they were employed in the city they wanted to get there quickly but if they were coming in for their leisure time they didn't mind using the bus.
Lauren: That's all we had time for while we were there.
Tutor: OK. So shall we talk about what you're going to do next and how you're going to divide the tasks up? How are you going to present the data you've got?
Stefan: Well, some of the information can be presented as graphs or maps.
Lauren: I'm quite good at the software.
Stefan: You'd better do that then, Lauren. I'll help you check all the statistics before you start.
Lauren: OK.
Tutor: Um, it's good to present as much as you can visually. Is there anything else you can use as visuals?
Stefan: Mm ... we've got a lot of photographs which we can go through.
Tutor: Aha.
Lauren: Er, we both took them so some will be duplicated. It's going to take ages to go through them all. Maybe one of us should just choose some.
Tutor: It's better if you collaborate. That way you'll end up with the best of what you've got.
Lauren: That's fine, we'll do that.
Tutor: And, er, when the graphs and maps are done, you'll need to write a report, an analysis of the data. Will you do that together?
Stefan: I think that should be my responsibility if we're going to share the work out evenly. I can use some of Lauren's notes as well as my own.
Tutor: OK. And finally, you'll be presenting your project to the rest of the group in a couple of weeks' time.
Lauren: We thought it'd be better for Stefan to do that as he's got more experience at that kind of thing.
Tutor: I would prefer to have input from both of you as I have to do an assessment.
Stefan: We'll take turns then. We'll divide it into sections and talk about a few things each.
Tutor: Good. You'll find it easier, Lauren, than doing a presentation on your own. Well, if you need to ask me any more questions while you're working on this, email me. I look forward to seeing what you produce.
Lauren and Stefan: Thanks!