Street Play Scheme - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic Listening Test 3 · Part 2 · Questions 11–20
Audio
Questions
Questions 11–16 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Street Play Scheme
Questions 17–18 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 19–20 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q11 | B | So the scheme’s been up and running for three years now. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript is saying that the Street Play Scheme has been happening for three years already. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that the Street Play Scheme first took place three years ago. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'B' because the text explicitly states that the scheme has been running for three years now, aligning with the answer choice that mentions 'three years ago'. Therefore, 'B' is the correct choice based on the information provided in the excerpt. |
| Q12 | A | At the moment it’s just once a week. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that right now the street is closed one time every week. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Beechwood Road is currently closed to traffic once a week. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the excerpt explicitly states that the road is only closed once a week, which aligns with the answer choice A 'once a week.' |
| Q13 | C | We have volunteer wardens, mostly parents but some elderly residents too, who block off our road at either end. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript mentions that there are volunteer wardens who block the road at both ends. These wardens are described as parents and elderly residents. Answer Explanation: The answer choice 'C' (local wardens) is correct. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'C' because the excerpt specifically states that volunteer wardens, which include parents and elderly residents, are the ones responsible for blocking off the road. This aligns with the answer choice 'local wardens'. |
| Q14 | B | as long as they drive at under 20 kilometres per hour. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript means that residents should drive their cars at a slow speed of under 20 kilometers per hour. Answer Explanation: The answer means that residents who want to use their cars must drive very slowly. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'B' because the excerpt states that residents can use their cars as long as they drive at a slow speed of under 20 kilometers per hour. This aligns with the answer choice that mentions residents needing to drive very slowly. |
| Q15 | C | Absolutely – we want to include all kids in the city – especially those who live on busy roads. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript talks about wanting to involve all children in the city, especially those living on busy roads. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Street Play Schemes are most needed in areas with heavy traffic. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'areas with heavy traffic' because the excerpt specifically mentions a focus on including kids living on busy roads. This implies that Street Play Schemes are essential in areas with heavy traffic to provide opportunities for children to play safely despite the traffic congestion. |
| Q16 | B | On the whole everyone is very supportive and say they’re very happy to see children out on the street | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript mentions that most people are happy and supportive of seeing children playing in the street. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that residents who are not parents like seeing children play in the street. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'B' because the excerpt supports this by stating that people are happy to see children out on the street, aligning with the idea that residents who are not parents like observing kids playing in the street. |
| Q17 | — | — | |
| Q18 | B / D | but for me the biggest advantage is that kids develop confidence in themselves to be outside without their parents. The other really fantastic thing is that children get to know the adults in the street – it’s like having a big extended family. |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript talks about two important benefits for children. Firstly, children become more confident to play outside without their parents. Secondly, children get to know the adults living on their street and it feels like having a big extended family. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Alice thinks the most important benefits for children are having the opportunity to be part of a community (making new friends and connecting with adults on their street) and the opportunity to make new friends. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B and D because they match the benefits described in the excerpt. Benefit D corresponds to children getting to know adults in the community, forming a community bond, and feeling like a big extended family. Benefit B also aligns with the confidence and independence children develop in being outside without their parents. |
| Q19 | — | — | |
| Q20 | A / E | air quality was significantly better but what I hadn’t expected was how much quieter it would be Of course everyone said they felt safer but we were actually amazed that sales in the shops went up considerably that day |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript talks about how air quality was better after the experiment, which made things quieter. People felt safer, and surprisingly, the shops had more sales that day. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Alice was surprised by the improvements in air quality (marked as A) and the reduction in noise pollution (marked as E). Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A & E because the excerpt mentions how Alice was surprised by the quietness and improved air quality after the King Street experiment. This aligns with choices A (less air pollution) and E (less noise pollution) as the results that surprised her. |
Transcript
PRESENTER:
My guest on the show today is Alice Riches who started the Street Play Scheme where she lives in Beechwood Road. For those of you that don’t already know – Street Play involves local residents closing off their street for a few hours so that children have a chance to play in the street safely. She started it in her own street, Beechwood Road, and the idea caught on, and there are now Street Play Schemes all over the city. So when did you actually start the scheme, Alice?
ALICE:
Well, I first had the idea when my oldest child was still a toddler, so that’s about six years ago now – but it took at least two years of campaigning before we were actually able to make it happen. So the scheme’s been up and running for three years now. We’d love to be able to close our road for longer – for the whole weekend, from Saturday morning until Sunday evening, for example. At the moment it’s just once a week. But when we started it was only once a month. But we’re working on it.
PRESENTER:
So what actually happens when Beechwood Road is closed?
ALICE:
We have volunteer wardens, mostly parents but some elderly residents too, who block off our road at either end. The council have provided special signs but there’s always a volunteer there to explain what’s happening to any motorists. Generally, they’re fine about it – we’ve only had to get the police involved once or twice.
Now I should explain that the road isn’t completely closed to cars. But only residents’ cars are allowed. If people really need to get in or out of Beechwood Road, it’s not a problem – as long as they drive at under 20 kilometres per hour. But most people just decide not to use their cars during this time, or they park in another street. The wardens are only there to stop through traffic.
PRESENTER:
So can anyone apply to get involved in Street Play?
ALICE:
Absolutely – we want to include all kids in the city – especially those who live on busy roads. It’s here that demand is greatest. Obviously, there isn’t such demand in wealthier areas where the children have access to parks or large gardens – or in the suburbs where there are usually more places for children to play outside.
I’d recommend that anyone listening who likes the idea should just give it a go. We’ve been surprised by the positive reaction of residents all over the city. And that’s not just parents. There are always a few who complain but they’re a tiny minority. On the whole everyone is very supportive and say they’re very happy to see children out on the street – even if it does get quite noisy.
——————
ALICE:
There have been so many benefits of Street Play for the kids. Parents really like the fact that the kids are getting fresh air instead of sitting staring at a computer screen, even if they’re not doing anything particularly energetic. And of course it’s great that kids can play with their friends outside without being supervised by their parents – but for me the biggest advantage is that kids develop confidence in themselves to be outside without their parents. The other really fantastic thing is that children get to know the adults in the street – it’s like having a big extended family.
PRESENTER:
It certainly does have a lot of benefits. I want to move on now and ask you about a related project in King Street.
ALICE:
Right. Well this was an experiment I was involved in where local residents decided to try and reduce the traffic along King Street, which is the busiest main road in our area, by persuading people not to use their cars for one day. We thought about making people pay more for parking – but we decided that would be really unpopular – so instead we just stopped people from parking on King Street but left the other car parks open.
It was surprising how much of a difference all this made. As we’d predicted, air quality was significantly better but what I hadn’t expected was how much quieter it would be – even with the buses still running. Of course everyone said they felt safer but we were actually amazed that sales in the shops went up considerably that day – we thought there’d be fewer people out shopping – not more.
PRESENTER:
That’s really interesting so the fact that …