Volunteering To Help Other People - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 14 Academic Listening Test 3 · Part 2 · Questions 11–20
Audio
Questions
Questions 11–12 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 13–14 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 15–20 Matching
What has each of the following volunteers helped someone to do?
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to Questions
What volunteers have helped people to do
A overcome physical difficulties
B rediscover skills not used for a long time
C improve their communication skills
D solve problems independently
E escape isolation
F remember past times
G start a new hobby
Volunteers
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q11 | — | — | |
| Q12 | A / E | They might even do some painting or wallpapering Or even do some babysitting so that parents can go out for a while. |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript mentions that volunteers might do some painting or wallpapering, which means they might decorate. Answer Explanation: The answer mentions activities like painting or wallpapering, which align with decorating and babysitting, which align with childcare. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A (decorating) and E (childcare) because the excerpt mentions volunteers doing painting (decorating) and babysitting (childcare) for parents to go out. Therefore, both activities are mentioned in the text. |
| Q13 | — | — | |
| Q14 | B / E | volunteering may be a valuable element of their CV when they’re applying for jobs Significantly, most volunteers feel that what they’re doing gives them a purpose in their lives. |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript mentioned that volunteering can help people feel like they have a purpose in life and that it can be valuable for their CV, which is a document that lists a person's work and educational history when applying for jobs. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that volunteers can benefit by feeling like they have a sense of purpose and by improving their employment prospects. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B (having a sense of purpose) and E (boosting their employment prospects) because these benefits align with the information given in the transcript. It states that volunteering can give volunteers a sense of purpose and can be valuable on their CVs when applying for jobs, which can ultimately boost their employment prospects. |
| Q15 | F | The songs take the listeners back to their youth, and for a little while they can forget the difficulties that they face now. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript talks about how the songs help people remember their past times, particularly their youth, which makes them temporarily forget their current difficulties. Answer Explanation: The answer 'F' suggests that Habib has helped people remember past times. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'F' because the excerpt mentions that the songs take listeners back to their youth, allowing them to momentarily escape the challenges they are currently facing. This aligns with the idea of remembering past times associated with answer F. |
| Q16 | A | She has difficulty walking herself, but she doesn’t let that stop her. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Consuela has difficulty walking but still continues to help others. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Consuela has helped someone to overcome physical difficulties. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer (A) is supported by the fact that Consuela, despite facing difficulties herself, helps others with physical challenges, showing that she assists them in overcoming such difficulties. |
| Q17 | E | But together they go out to the cinema, or to see friends the young man hadn’t been able to visit for a long time. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript tells us that the young man and the volunteers go out together to do activities like going to the cinema or visiting friends. Answer Explanation: The answer choice 'E' means helping someone to escape isolation, which could mean feeling lonely or cut off from others. Reason For Correctness: The answer is correct because the young man, who likely felt isolated before, is now going out with the volunteers to enjoy social activities, therefore escaping his previous isolation. |
| Q18 | G | Tanya showed her some soft toys she’d made, and the woman decided to try it herself. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Tanya inspired the woman by showing her handmade soft toys, which led the woman to want to try making them herself. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Tanya helped someone start a new hobby. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is G because the excerpt mentions how Tanya's demonstration of making soft toys encouraged the woman to try the same hobby, indicating that Tanya helped the woman start a new hobby. |
| Q19 | D | that they can do something themselves to improve their situation. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that people realize they can do something by themselves to make their situation better. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that volunteers have helped people solve problems independently. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'D' because Alexei, as a volunteer, has assisted someone in figuring out solutions on their own to address their challenges, as described in the excerpt. |
| Q20 | C | Juba’s worked very patiently with her, and now the girl is far better at expressing herself, and at understanding other people. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript talks about Juba, who helped a girl to express herself better and understand others. Answer Explanation: The answer is C, which means Juba helped the girl to improve her communication skills. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the excerpt says Juba worked with the girl to help her express herself and understand others, which is related to improving communication skills. |
Transcript
Good morning. My name’s Lucy Crittenden, and I’m the Director of Operations for an organisation that arranges volunteering in this part of the country. I’m hoping I can persuade one or two of you to become volunteers yourselves. Let me start by briefly explaining what we mean by volunteering.
Volunteers are teenagers and adults who choose to spend some time, unpaid, helping other people in some way. Most volunteers devote two or three hours to this every week, while a few do much more. The people they help may have physical or behavioural difficulties, for example.
Volunteers can do all sorts of things, depending on their own abilities and interests. If they’re supporting a family that’s struggling, for example, they may be able to give them tips on cooking, or recommend how to plan their budget or how to shop sensibly on their income. They might even do some painting or wallpapering, perhaps alongside any members of the family who are able to do it. Or even do some babysitting so that parents can go out for a while.
The benefit from volunteering isn’t only for the people being helped. Volunteers also gain from it: they’re using their skills to cope with somebody’s mental or physical ill health, and volunteering may be a valuable element of their CV when they’re applying for jobs: employers usually look favourably on someone who’s given up time to help others. Significantly, most volunteers feel that what they’re doing gives them a purpose in their lives. And in my opinion, they’re lucky in that respect, as many people don’t have that feeling.
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Now I’d like to tell you what some of our volunteers have said about what they do, to give you an idea of the range of ways in which they can help people.
Habib supports an elderly lady who’s beginning to show signs of dementia. Once a week they, along with other elderly people, go to the local community centre, where a group of people come in and sing. The songs take the listeners back to their youth, and for a little while they can forget the difficulties that they face now.
Our volunteer Consuela is an amazing woman. She has difficulty walking herself, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She helps a couple of people with similar difficulties, who had almost stopped walking altogether. By using herself as an example, Consuela encourages them to walk more and more.
Minh visits a young man who lives alone and can’t leave his home on his own, so he hardly ever saw anyone. But together they go out to the cinema, or to see friends the young man hadn’t been able to visit for a long time.
Tanya visits an elderly woman once a week. When the woman found out that Tanya is a professional dressmaker, she got interested. Tanya showed her some soft toys she’d made, and the woman decided to try it herself. And now she really enjoys it, and spends hours making toys. They’re not perhaps up to Tanya’s standard yet, but she gains a lot of pleasure from doing it.
Alexei is a volunteer with a family that faces a number of difficulties. By calmly talking over possible solutions with family members, he’s helping them to realise that they aren’t helpless, and that they can do something themselves to improve their situation. This has been great for their self-esteem.
And the last volunteer I’ll mention, though there are plenty more, is Juba. She volunteers with a teenage girl with learning difficulties, who wasn’t very good at talking to other people. Juba’s worked very patiently with her, and now the girl is far better at expressing herself, and at understanding other people.
OK, I hope that’s given you an idea of what volunteering is all about. Now I’d like …