Yazoo Car Rental - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Recent Actual Test 3 Academic Listening Test 5 · Part 2 · Questions 11–20
Audio
Questions
Questions 11–16 Matching
What is customers' attitude towards the following services?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to questions 11-16.
A. They are very interested.
B. They might be less interested.
C. They are not interested.
Questions 17–20 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q11 | C | Our first attempt to do this was to offer a free gift with every car rental, which we were confident the customers would be very interested in. The offer of a free hoover with each rental, however, did not attract any new customers so we quite quickly stopped offering it | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that although the managers thought people would be very interested in the gift (a hoover), nobody came to the business because of it. Therefore, the company stopped the deal because it did not work. Answer Explanation: The answer C means that people did not care about or want the free gift that the company was giving away. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the speaker explains that offering a free gift did not bring in any new people. In business, if an offer does not 'attract' any new customers, it means the people are not interested in it. Because of this lack of interest, the company stopped the offer very fast. |
| Q12 | C | By introducing this offer, we found that all of our customers preferred to drive the cars themselves, so again this offer was unsuccessful in attracting more customers | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that after starting this service, the company saw that people liked to drive the cars on their own. Because of this, the new plan did not help the business get more people to use their services. Answer Explanation: The answer is C, which means that the customers did not want to pay more money to have a person drive the car for them. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the speaker says that most customers chose to drive the cars by themselves instead of paying extra for a driver. He mentions that this idea did not bring in more people to the business. Therefore, it is clear that customers were not interested in this service. |
| Q13 | A | we decided to offer a package service where the customer no longer had to come to our offices to pick up the rental car. Instead we could drop off and pick up the car anywhere in the city to make the customer's experience a lot more stress free. This offer was very popular and increased our profits by 30% | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the new service was successful and popular, helping the company make much more money than before. Answer Explanation: The answer A means that customers liked this service very much and were very happy to use it. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker describes the 'package service' as being 'very popular.' This service allowed customers to have cars dropped off and picked up anywhere in the city. Because many people liked it, the company's profits increased by 30%, which shows that customers were extremely interested. |
| Q14 | B | This offer attracted some new customers of a younger age group, however not as many as we hoped | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the new car models only brought in a small number of new people, which was disappointing for the company. Answer Explanation: The answer is B. This means the customers were interested in the new car models, but not as much as the company had expected. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the speaker mentions that while the updated car models (trendy cars like minis in fun colors) did attract some younger people, the number of new customers was smaller than they anticipated. This matches the idea that people 'might be less interested' than initially hoped, rather than being completely uninterested or extremely excited. |
| Q15 | A | I thought that this could be a great way to attract a number of new customers who would never have heard of us before and it worked fantastically well. Following the success of the discount offer, we had so many customers that it became necessary to open a new branch of the company in the centre of the city | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the cheaper price worked "fantastically well" and brought in "so many customers" that they needed a new office. This means the customers were very interested in the discount. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the people who use the car rental service really liked the lower price offer. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker explains that offering their services at a lower price (a discount) website was extremely successful. This plan brought in many new people who had never heard of the company before. It was so popular that the business grew and they had to open a new location in the middle of the city to serve all the new clients. These results show that customers were very interested in the deal. |
| Q16 | B | We made enough profit to keep our city centre offices open, but we had hoped for a greater increase in customer numbers | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the new office made enough money to stay in business, but the company wanted even more people to use their service there. Answer Explanation: The answer B means that customers showed some interest, but not as much as the company expected or hoped for. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer B is chosen because Jonathan explains that while the new branch in the city centre made enough profit to stay open, the increase in the number of customers was not as high as they had planned for. This suggests that customers might be less interested than the company had anticipated. Key phrases to notice are 'hoped for a greater increase' and 'customer numbers,' which indicate that the level of interest did not meet their high expectations. |
| Q17 | C | Unfortunately, as fewer and fewer people are taking the bus nowadays, the service has become quite inefficient | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that because the number of people using the bus is going down, the overall service is no longer working efficiently. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the public transport system is not working as well or as effectively as it should. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the speaker specifically mentions that the bus service has become 'quite inefficient.' He explains that this is happening because fewer people are using the buses today. Although there are stories about pedestrian safety, the speaker says they are mostly not true, and he also mentions that bus lanes have solved the problem of traffic jams for buses. Therefore, the main remaining issue mentioned is efficiency. |
| Q18 | B | However, if I am in a rush I prefer to take a taxi as they tend to get you to your destination very quickly so you can remain punctual for your appointments | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that when the speaker is in a hurry, he uses a taxi because it is fast and helps him arrive exactly when he is supposed to be at a meeting. Answer Explanation: The answer means that using a taxi helps a person arrive at their destination on time for their scheduled meetings. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the speaker explains that taxis are a good choice when someone is in a hurry. He mentions that taxis travel fast, which allows the passenger to be 'punctual.' Punctual is a keyword that means being on time. Therefore, taxis help people avoid being late for their appointments. |
| Q19 | A | However, I have found that sometimes the bus can be over a half hour behind schedule which can be very frustrating | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says the bus is sometimes more than 30 minutes ("half hour") late ("behind schedule"). This means passengers have to wait for a long time. Answer Explanation: The answer says that sometimes people have to wait for more than 30 minutes for the bus to arrive. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker says the bus can be more than 30 minutes late. He mentions that the buses are never too full of people and are always clean, which means choices B and C are incorrect. The phrase 'behind schedule' means the bus is late, and 'half hour' means 30 minutes. |
| Q20 | B | Now the ticket prices are declining as the bus companies try to encourage more people to use their service again | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that at this moment, the cost to ride the bus is dropping because the companies want more people to start using the bus again. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the cost of buying a bus ticket is currently getting cheaper. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the speaker explains what is happening with bus ticket prices at this moment. He mentions that while there were many price changes in the past two years, the cost is 'now' going down. The word 'declining' means the price is decreasing or getting lower. This is being done to attract more passengers. |
Transcript
PRESENTER: Good morning, listeners! And welcome back to Star Radio! Today on the show we have a visitor from Yazoo Car Rental who is going to give us an insight into his company and into the public transport system! Welcome Jonathan!
JONATHAN: Thank you for having me. Yes, I would like to start by introducing my company Yazoo Car Rental. We are the cheapest and most reliable rental company in the city and have won multiple awards for the quality of our services. This success did not come easily, however, and it proved important that we stay fresh and are always thinking of ways to attract new customers. Our first attempt to do this was to offer a free gift with every car rental, which we were confident the customers would be very interested in. The offer of a free hoover with each rental, however, did not attract any new customers so we quite quickly stopped offering it.
In 2002, a new taxi company opened next door to us and we started losing a lot of business to them, so we introduced an offer that we hoped might compete with their service. We offered a new package where you could rent a car with a driver for a small extra fee. By introducing this offer, we found that all of our customers preferred to drive the cars themselves, so again this offer was unsuccessful in attracting more customers.
Learning from these mistakes, we decided to offer a package service where the customer no longer had to come to our offices to pick up the rental car. Instead we could drop off and pick up the car anywhere in the city to make the customer's experience a lot more stress free. This offer was very popular and increased our profits by 30%.
In order to attract a younger demographic, we updated the models of cars that we offered for rental. We began offering more trendy cars such as minis and smart cars that we thought might appeal to the younger crowd and we also purchased them in more fun colours like reds and greens. This offer attracted some new customers of a younger age group, however not as many as we hoped.
Next I decided to offer our services at a discounted price on our website where it could be seen by thousands of people. I thought that this could be a great way to attract a number of new customers who would never have heard of us before and it worked fantastically well. Following the success of the discount offer, we had so many customers that it became necessary to open a new branch of the company in the centre of the city. The cost of renting offices in the city centre was very high, so we hoped that our profits would justify this expensive decision. We made enough profit to keep our city centre offices open, but we had hoped for a greater increase in customer numbers.
Now for the second part of my talk, which is on the topic of public transport. There are many benefits to public transport, for example, the recent introduction of bus lanes has meant that buses are now unaffected by traffic jams and are able to stay on schedule. Unfortunately, as fewer and fewer people are taking the bus nowadays, the service has become quite inefficient. This reduction in passengers may be due to the stories in the newspaper about the dangers posed to pedestrian safety by the buses, however this is largely untrue as buses are responsible for far less pedestrian-related accidents than cars. I use the bus service often, as car petrol is so expensive nowadays that the bus is far more affordable. However, if I am in a rush I prefer to take a taxi as they tend to get you to your destination very quickly so you can remain punctual for your appointments. I also very much enjoy flying to my destinations, as the service is incredibly fast and the airports are always very easy to find. Personally, my favourite mode of transportation is the bus. Due to the lack of people using the service I have found that the buses are never overcrowded so there is always a seat available. They are also never dirty as they get cleaned regularly. However, I have found that sometimes the bus can be over a half hour behind schedule which can be very frustrating. There has been a lot of fluctuation in the price of bus tickets in the last couple of years. In the past, £1.80 for a ticket was enough to sustain the bus companies, however, as the price of fuel increased so did the ticket prices. Now the ticket prices are declining as the bus companies try to encourage more people to use their service again.
Well, that's all from me today. Thank you for listening.