CELPIP Listening practice test with answers

Answer B: The problem did not show itself in ordinary riding. He says "On the flat it's smooth, which is why I kept putting off bringing it in." The fault only showed on climbs, so everyday riding hid it.

• AThe mechanic says the grinding comes "from the back, not the bottom bracket", and this is her diagnosis, not his reason for waiting.
• Correct optionThe problem did not show itself in ordinary riding.
• CThe Friday trip is why he came in now, not why he waited.
• DHoping it was "something I could tighten" is his reaction after the diagnosis, not the reason for the delay.

Answer C: A worn chain has damaged the part it drives. "Your chain has stretched, and a stretched chain chews the teeth on the cassette." The chain wore out and damaged the cassette it drives.

• AShe rules the bottom bracket out in her first diagnosis.
• BCables are part of the full repair package, but she never says they caused the problem.
• Correct optionA worn chain has damaged the part it drives.
• DThe jumping is the symptom. She says new parts are needed, not an adjustment.

Answer A: The cheaper repair would fail on the man's trip. "Sixty dollars now buys you a chain that will skip on the first proper climb, and Sandbanks is not flat." The cheap fix would fail on his trip.

• Correct optionThe cheaper repair would fail on the man's trip.
• BNeeding the bike for three days is a cost of the full job, not a reason she gives for it.
• CCables are in the price, but she never uses that to argue for the full job.
• DThe camping gear comes up in Section 1 and is not her argument here.

Answer A: A bell. "Oh, the bell. My daughter put that on."

• Correct optionA bell
• BNo light is mentioned.
• CNo lock is mentioned.
• DNo mirror is mentioned on the bike. Mirrors only come up in Part 3, a different recording.

Answer D: In a bag held on by elastic straps. "Everything is in a pannier bag at the moment, just strapped on with bungee cords." Bungee cords are elastic straps.

• AThe rack near the rear wheel is what she planned to fit, and it turns out his frame cannot take it.
• BThe tent is the thing he needs to carry. The bell, not the tent, is on the crossbar.
• CThe seatpost rack is the replacement she fits in Section 3, not how he carries things now.
• Correct optionIn a bag held on by elastic straps.

Answer A: A part she ordered has not arrived. "The cassette I ordered is on back order until the middle of next week."

• Correct optionA part she ordered has not arrived.
• BThe worn trade-in cassette is her way around the delay, not the cause of it.
• CThe missing threaded holes change the rack, not the deadline.
• DThree days was the original plan and fitted Friday. The back order is what broke it.

Answer D: A second-hand part, fitted at no cost for the part itself. "I have a used cassette off a trade-in... and I'd charge you for fitting only." He pays for the work, not the part.

• ANo loan bike is offered. "Middle of next week" is when the ordered part arrives.
• BThe sixty-dollar chain was the cheap option in Section 2, which she advised against.
• CTwenty dollars less is the price of the different rack, not a discount on the repair.
• Correct optionA second-hand part, fitted at no cost for the part itself.

Answer B: His bicycle cannot take the type she intended. "Yours has no threaded holes there." The planned rack bolts to the frame, and his frame cannot take it.

• ACarrying less is a drawback of the new rack, not the reason for the switch.
• Correct optionHis bicycle cannot take the type she intended.
• CPacking heavy things low is her advice for using the new rack.
• DThe lower price is a result of the change, not its cause.

Answer B: It now begins earlier in a run. "About forty minutes in, and now it turns up at twenty." The pain starts earlier in each run.

• AShe mentions stairs only when he asks. The recording does not say this part is new.
• Correct optionIt now begins earlier in a run.
• CShe has been icing it and carrying on. Nobody says the ice stopped working.
• DThe pain stays in her shin. The knee is never mentioned.

Answer C: That it does not clear up between runs. "Sore on the stairs means it isn't settling between runs." That is the detail he calls "the bit I'd listen to".

• AShe calls it sharp, but he never treats that as the warning sign.
• BRunning through it is what he questions, but it is not the detail that convinces him it's serious.
• Correct optionThat it does not clear up between runs.
• DFour weeks is why he says she cannot out-train it, which comes after he has decided it's serious.

Answer B: Run at a slower pace if the physiotherapist clears her. "If they clear you, you start on the day and you go slower than you planned."

• AOctober is only the backup if the physiotherapist does not clear her. He says "I didn't say pull out."
• Correct optionRun at a slower pace if the physiotherapist clears her.
• CHe wants a physiotherapist to decide this week, not a decision on race day based on pain.
• DWalking the last kilometres is his worst-case joke about her sister watching, not his plan.

Answer A: To show what ignoring a small injury cost him. He ignored "a niggle exactly like yours" and then "couldn't run at all for four months."

• Correct optionTo show what ignoring a small injury cost him.
• BHe says he has run three races, but the story is about the cost of one injury.
• CHis story shows the opposite: running through pain cost him four months.
• DHe says he would "hand back that finish time", so the time is not the point and hers is never compared.

Answer D: It should be replaced with something low-impact. "Skip it. Cross-train instead, swim or bike, keep the fitness without the pounding."

• AEighteen kilometres is her longest run, not too short. He wants it dropped because of the impact.
• B"Go slower" is his advice for race day, not for Saturday's run.
• CHe says to skip the run and see the physio this week. He doesn't say to postpone the run until after.
• Correct optionIt should be replaced with something low-impact.

Answer B: She only needs part of what a new driver needs. "You can already drive. What you need is the road test and the local rules." She needs only part of a beginner's training.

• AEleven years is the detail behind his point, but the reason he gives is that she needs less teaching.
• Correct optionShe only needs part of what a new driver needs.
• CShe says she has been told her licence does not transfer.
• DShe hasn't booked a test yet. He advises her to book it today.

Answer C: Only one of the packages qualifies for it. The beginner course "is the one insurers recognise for the discount." Only one package qualifies.

• ASeveral hundred a year is what it can be worth "for a new driver", and he says it varies by insurer.
• BHe ties the discount to the beginner course only.
• Correct optionOnly one of the packages qualifies for it.
• DHe says it "varies by insurer" and that "most" apply it to the first three years. He gives that as a typical case, not a fixed rule. The one firm fact is which course qualifies.

Answer D: The shorter in-car course, without classroom hours. "I'd be surprised if you needed twenty hours in a classroom." She agrees on the refresher: six in-car hours, no classroom.

• AHe says the discount often pays for itself for a new driver, then says it doesn't suit someone with her history.
• BFitting lessons around the test date is about timing, not which package.
• CSingle lessons are listed as an option, but he never recommends them to her.
• Correct optionThe shorter in-car course, without classroom hours.

Answer A: Arrange the test date before anything else. "Book the test first, today if you can, and then arrange the lessons backwards from that date."

• Correct optionArrange the test date before anything else.
• BNine weeks is the wait for a test date, not how long the lessons take.
• CHe recommends the school car, but he introduces it as "one more" thing, after the main advice.
• DThis afternoon is when to book the test. He fits the lessons around that date.

Answer B: It is set up the way the examiner expects. "A car set up for testing has the mirrors and the seat where they expect."

• AHe says it is "not because your own car is worse."
• Correct optionIt is set up the way the examiner expects.
• CNinety dollars is the cost, not a reason he gives for using it.
• DForty minutes is the length of the test. It explains why the setup matters but is not the reason itself.

Answer C: The examiner cannot see them checking. "They check their mirrors, but they don't move their heads, and the examiner is marking what they can see you do."

• AHe says people fail "on observation, not on control of the car."
• BHe says experienced drivers do check their mirrors. The examiner just can't see it.
• Correct optionThe examiner cannot see them checking.
• DThe fourteen-day wait is what happens after a failure, not why people fail.

Answer B: pay for a repair to their building. "Set out to raise money for a new roof on their community hall."

• ASelling at the Christmas market was the plan for how to raise the money, not the goal.
• Correct optionpay for a repair to their building.
• C"Nobody involved expected to sell beyond the town."
• DNineteen years is how long Fitzgerald has directed the choir. The recording does not mark it.

Answer C: in the building the money was meant to fix. "In the hall itself, water damage and all." The hall is the building the roof money was for.

• AThe two weekends are right, but it was the hall, not a studio. They later turned down a studio.
• BA member's nephew made it. The St. John's producer only played a track on the radio.
• Correct optionin the building the money was meant to fix.
• DHe used "a borrowed microphone".

Answer A: a local audience and nothing more. "Nobody involved expected to sell beyond the town."

• Correct optiona local audience and nothing more.
• BThey planned to sell five hundred at the Christmas market, but the recording does not say they expected them to last until Christmas.
• CThe streaming playlist happened later and surprised them.
• DTwo million plays is what happened, the opposite of what they expected.

Answer C: hearing from people who once lived there. "What has surprised Fitzgerald more is the mail", letters from people who "left the province decades ago."

• AThe roof was paid for by March, but "more" tells you the mail surprised her most.
• BThe two million plays is stated as fact, not as what struck her most.
• Correct optionhearing from people who once lived there.
• DThe studio offer is mentioned, but they declined it. Nothing says it struck her.

Answer D: return to the place they used before. "They will make the second album... in the same hall, under the new roof."

• AThe radio producer is not part of the plan for the next album.
• B"The choir has declined an offer to record in a professional studio."
• CThe roof is already paid for. The next album happens "under the new roof."
• Correct optionreturn to the place they used before.

Answer B: Whether to appoint anyone at this point. Everyone agrees Priya is the one to hire. The argument is whether to hire now or advertise again in the spring.

• AThey have already settled on Priya as the only one they'd hire.
• Correct optionWhether to appoint anyone at this point.
• CBetter advertising is the first man's request for next time, not the decision in front of them.
• DCovering the children's programme is the second man's complaint, not the decision.

Answer D: He thinks too few people applied to judge by. "Four applicants for a full-time post is a thin field, and we advertised in one place."

• AHe says "Agreed on Priya." His doubt is about judging her against only three others.
• BThe provincial association is how he'd like the job advertised, not his objection.
• CHiring in a hurry two years ago is his supporting example, not the objection itself.
• Correct optionHe thinks too few people applied to judge by.

Answer A: To show what delaying has already cost him. "I've been covering the children's programme since February." He wants it on record that waiting has a cost, and he's been paying it.

• Correct optionTo show what delaying has already cost him.
• BThe recording never says when the job was advertised.
• CHe says the opposite: "before anyone says the desk is coping."
• DThe earlier bad hire was "two years ago", not February.

Answer C: She argues the two situations are not alike. "We're not choosing in a hurry between four weak candidates. We're choosing whether to take the one strong one."

• AShe doesn't accept the comparison. She says this time is different.
• BThe board's view comes up later and is not her answer here.
• Correct optionShe argues the two situations are not alike.
• DPriya's other process comes up near the end, not as her answer to the two-years-ago point.

Answer A: Between being the best available and being genuinely good. "Is she strong, or is she strong relative to three who weren't?" Best of a weak field is not the same as genuinely strong.

• Correct optionBetween being the best available and being genuinely good.
• BThe post is full-time throughout. Nobody contrasts it with a temporary one.
• CHe talks about what he can honestly tell the board, but he never contrasts the board's wishes with the library's needs.
• DHe wants wider advertising, but the distinction he insists on is about Priya's quality.

Answer D: He accepts that the candidate will not still be available. "It's between Priya and starting over, because she won't be there in the spring." He answers "that's the point I'd been avoiding."

• AThe better wording ("the right candidate") softens him, but he only agrees to the offer after hearing she won't wait.
• BNo vote happens. He changes his mind himself.
• CFixing the advertising is what he asks for after he agrees, not what changes his mind.
• Correct optionHe accepts that the candidate will not still be available.

Answer B: That his objection be recorded prominently. "I'd like that in the note to the board too, not buried." The woman answers "I'll put it in the second paragraph."

• AHe wants the advertising fixed next time, not a longer advertisement approved now.
• Correct optionThat his objection be recorded prominently.
• CSigning the offer himself was his hypothetical if Priya won a bigger field.
• DListing with the association was his earlier example of proper advertising, not his condition here.

Answer D: Prepare a document before the meeting on Friday. "I'll write up the interview notes tonight so you have them for Friday."

• AJune was his complaint about waiting, not a promise. The woman asks for relief hours to cover the programme.
• BNobody offers to contact Priya.
• CThe woman says she will ask for relief hours.
• Correct optionPrepare a document before the meeting on Friday.

Answer B: prohibited by a rule that was rarely applied. She was "breaking a city bylaw dating from 1954. Nobody had been prosecuted for decades."

• AIt was against the bylaw whether or not neighbours complained. Complaints only brought an officer to the door.
• Correct optionprohibited by a rule that was rarely applied.
• CThe forty-dollar permit came after the change.
• D"Nobody had been prosecuted for decades."

Answer C: the unfairness of a rule enforced selectively. "A rule that was widely broken but selectively enforced... Several say it was this argument that changed their minds."

• A"Her case was not really about eggs."
• BThe hundred and eighty permit holders is a figure from after the change.
• Correct optionthe unfairness of a rule enforced selectively.
• DProsecution costs are never discussed.

Answer A: the one the permit conditions are designed to address. "These are also the problems the permit conditions address best."

• Correct optionthe one the permit conditions are designed to address.
• BThe talk never ranks the two objections. The vets' concern is called "different", not lesser.
• CCities report "few complaints", which is not the same as none.
• DComplaints involve "particular households", plural, and those are the complaints, not the objection.

Answer D: cannot be located quickly if disease appears. "Small flocks cannot be located so quickly, and unregistered ones may never be found."

• AUntrained owners are part of the risk she describes, but the problem in an outbreak is finding the birds.
• BContact with wild birds is why outbreaks reach them, not why responding is hard.
• CThe talk never compares the numbers of backyard flocks and commercial barns.
• Correct optioncannot be located quickly if disease appears.

Answer D: discourages exactly the people she needs on the list. "A forty-dollar charge, she notes, encourages some owners to stay off the list." She wants everyone registered.

• APaying more for an inspection is Deslauriers's view, not Dr. Bhullar's.
• BShe "is not asking for a ban."
• CKeeping the hobby serious is the argument of the councillors who want the fee.
• Correct optiondiscourages exactly the people she needs on the list.

Answer C: attract owners who give the birds up later. "Remove it, they argue, and more casual owners will abandon their birds at the shelter."

• AThe councillor who wants permits free says the city needs "the information more than the revenue." The fee's defenders never argue about revenue.
• BA complete register is what Dr. Bhullar wants, and she wants the fee gone.
• Correct optionattract owners who give the birds up later.
• DDeslauriers's case about fair enforcement is not part of this argument.