Cityscape Sports and Leisure Centre - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Trainer 1 Academic Listening Test 2 · Part 2 · Questions 11–20
Audio
Questions
Questions 11–12 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO sources of funding helped build the facility?
Questions 13–14 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO pre-existing features of the site are now part of the new facilities?
Questions 15–20 Map Labeling
Label the map below.
Write the correct letter, A-H, next to questions 15-20.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q11 | — | — | |
| Q12 | D / E | We thought we'd never build it, but at the last moment, we had an amazing donation of several million pounds from a national transport company, and that got us going again and we managed to get all the rest from local fundraising. There's hardly a street in the city that hasn't made its contribution one way or another, so there's a true sense of local ownership here | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that a company from that country gave millions of pounds as a gift. It also says that almost every street in the city gave some money to help finish the project. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies that money for the building came from a large company within the same country and from the people who live in the city. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is chosen because the guide explains that the original plans for money from the government and an international company failed. However, a national transport company gave a large donation at the last minute. The remaining money needed was collected from the local people through fundraising in the city's streets. Keywords to note are 'donation' from a 'national transport company' (matching choice D) and 'local fundraising' where 'hardly a street in the city' did not help (matching choice E). |
| Q13 | — | — | |
| Q14 | B / C | The playing fields have been upgraded and refenced so they are now a set of top-quality outdoor pitches for amateur football, hockey and so on. We have both sports and other entertainments here. We want to encourage all kinds of people onto the site and hope some of them may come to use the cinema or the café and end up trying the fitness centre. These are all grouped together; the café is in the original 1930s passenger hall and the architects have managed to retain some of the elegant style of the building | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the area's old fields were made better for games like football and hockey. It also says they saved the building where people used to wait for planes (the passenger hall) to use it as a café. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies the playing fields and the passenger hall as the two things that existed before and were kept for the new facility. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B and C because the guide mentions that the old airport's playing fields were improved to become outdoor sports pitches. Additionally, the guide states that the old passenger hall from the 1930s was kept and turned into the current café. In contrast, the old football stadium was in a different location, and the control tower and aircraft hangars were too damaged to be saved. |
| Q15 | E | On our left, you can see two buildings just beyond the end of the stadium. The closest one is the business centre, used for meetings and conferences, and so on, which provides a good source of revenue for the upkeep of the sports facilities; and next to the business centre the bigger building is the hotel which is rented from us by an independent company | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript identifies the hotel's location by saying it is the larger building situated right next to the business centre, both of which are located to the left and past the end of the stadium. Answer Explanation: The answer is the letter E, which marks the position of the hotel on the map based on the guide's description. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is E because the guide points out the buildings from a viewpoint in the rooftop café. She explains that there are two buildings on the left side past the end of the stadium. She identifies the one closest to the stadium as the business centre and specifies that the building next to it, which is the larger of the two, is the hotel. In this context, 'next to' means beside, and 'beyond' means further away or past a certain point. |
| Q16 | B | Now, coming round to the front of the building, immediately in front of the entrance, that circular open space at the end of the road is the transport hub | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that if you look at the front of the building, the round area right by the front door where the road stops is the transport hub. Answer Explanation: The answer is the location labeled B on the map. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the guide describes the transport hub's specific location relative to the building's entrance. According to the guide, it is a circular open space found directly in front of the main entrance at the very end of the road. On a map layout, this description perfectly matches position B, which is situated right at the front doors and the end of the approach road. |
| Q17 | A | Between the pitches and the entrance is a little kind of pedestrian plaza are you with me? OK, with the cinema in the building furthest away from us, next to the pitches, then there's the ten-pin bowling between the cinema and the road |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the cinema is located in a walking area between the main door and the sports fields. It is the specific building that is the most distant from the speakers and is positioned right beside the outdoor sports fields. Answer Explanation: The answer is the letter A, which marks the location of the cinema on the map. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker describes the building's location using nearby landmarks. She mentions a 'pedestrian plaza' (a walking area) situated between the 'pitches' (outdoor sports fields) and the 'entrance' (main door). She identifies the cinema as the building that is 'furthest away' (at the greatest distance) from the group's current position and is right 'next to' (beside) the sports fields. |
| Q18 | D | Near the far end of the perimeter road and between the mini-roundabout and the pitches – there's our fitness centre, with all kinds of equipment, and a small pool, and changing rooms for teams using the pitches | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the fitness centre is located near the end of the main road that goes around the area. It specifically places the building between a small traffic circle and the sports fields. Answer Explanation: The answer is D, which marks the position of the fitness centre on the map. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is D because the guide describes its location relative to other landmarks. The speaker mentions that the fitness centre is found near the 'far end' of the perimeter road. To pinpoint itExactly, the guide says it is located between the 'mini-roundabout' (a small circular road junction) and the 'pitches' (the outdoor sports fields). |
| Q19 | F | Then, joined on to the stadium, next to the entrance, is a range of small shops which all specialise in sports equipment, clothes, shoes | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the group of stores is part of the stadium building and is located right next to the doorway. Answer Explanation: The answer is F, which is the spot on the map showing where the stores are. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is F because the speaker mentions that the stores are attached (joined on) to the stadium and located right beside (next to) the entrance. These words help us find the specific building marked 'F' on the map. |
| Q20 | C | And just in front of the bowling is our lovely restaurant. You can see it from here – it's that building on the plaza between us and the bowling | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the restaurant is a building in the plaza area. It is located between the guide's current position (the rooftop café) and the building used for bowling. Answer Explanation: The answer is the location of the restaurant on the map of the sports and leisure center. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the guide describes the restaurant's position very clearly. She mentions it is "in front of several the bowling" building and is located "on the plaza." Most importantly, she says it is "between us and the bowling." Since the guide is speaking from the rooftop café on one side and the bowling is further away, the building marked C fits this description as it sits right in between those two points in the plaza area. |
Transcript
You will hear a woman talking to a group of people who are looking round a sports and leisure centre. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.
[Pause the recording for 30 seconds.]
Now listen and answer questions 11 to 14.
Guide: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very pleased to be able to welcome you to 'Cityscape', our lovely modern sports and leisure facility. I've brought you up to the rooftop café on top of the stadium so that you can enjoy the view while I explain briefly what we have here and point out to you the major features of the site. Then we'll go round and have a look at ground level.
We're extremely proud of this new facility. You see, when the project was first discussed, we expected that a multinational company would give us half our funding and the central government grant would make up most of the rest, with a smaller contribution from local business. Well, we'd got quite far into the planning stage when the multinational pulled out and both central and local government decided they couldn't afford anything, so we ended up with a beautiful project, a small amount of sponsorship promised by local organisations and nothing else.
We thought we'd never build it, but at the last moment, we had an amazing donation of several million pounds from a national transport company, and that got us going again and we managed to get all the rest from local fundraising. There's hardly a street in the city that hasn't made its contribution one way or another, so there's a true sense of local ownership here.
So, this is what we got. We wanted a new stadium because the 1950s football stadium is on the other side of town and is shortly due to be pulled down and built over. This site was the old airport with some playing fields on one side of it and a few buildings from the 1930s when the airfield first opened. So we were able to plan a new stadium with plenty of room for all the things people wanted. The playing fields have been upgraded and refenced so they are now a set of top-quality outdoor pitches for amateur football, hockey and so on. We have both sports and other entertainments here. We want to encourage all kinds of people onto the site and hope some of them may come to use the cinema or the café and end up trying the fitness centre. These are all grouped together; the café is in the original 1930s passenger hall and the architects have managed to retain some of the elegant style of the building. The other buildings, like the control tower, which would have made a great feature, and the aircraft hangars which we had hoped might house the fitness centre, were unfortunately not structurally sound enough to preserve. So everything else is newly built, opened in 2010.
Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.
[Pause the recording for 30 seconds.]
Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.
Right, now if you'd like to gather a little closer to the window I'll point out the various buildings. We're at the highest point of the stadium here in the rooftop café, on the opposite side to the main entrance doors. On our left, you can see two buildings just beyond the end of the stadium. The closest one is the business centre, used for meetings and conferences, and so on, which provides a good source of revenue for the upkeep of the sports facilities; and next to the business centre the bigger building is the hotel which is rented from us by an independent company. As you see, they are served by the perimeter road which runs round three-quarters of the site. Now, coming round to the front of the building, immediately in front of the entrance, that circular open space at the end of the road is the transport hub. From here, there are buses and a monorail link to the free car park, about ten minutes from here, but you can't see that. There's also a large secure cycle park. Oh, and disabled parking, of course. People find it's very convenient and it keeps the site virtually car-free.
OK. Now if you look as far as you can over to the right, beyond the buildings, you can see our outdoor pitches, which I mentioned earlier. Between the pitches and the entrance is a little kind of pedestrian plaza ... are you with me? OK, with the cinema in the building furthest away from us, next to the pitches, then there's the ten-pin bowling between the cinema and the road.
Near the far end of the perimeter road and between the mini-roundabout and the pitches – there's our fitness centre, with all kinds of equipment, and a small pool, and changing rooms for teams using the pitches. Then, joined on to the stadium, next to the entrance, is a range of small shops which all specialise in sports equipment, clothes, shoes. They sell toys and so on as well, all that sort of thing. They seem to be doing well! As you see, the service road goes right round, but we keep the traffic and the pedestrians well apart, so it's all very relaxed round the plaza, popular with families. And just in front of the bowling is our lovely restaurant. You can see it from here – it's that building on the plaza between us and the bowling. It's open all day and in the evenings. There's quite a queue there at weekends, I'm pleased to say.
So, now you've got the layout, we can go and have a closer look at everything.
That is the end of section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.