How does vocabulary help my listening score?

When you recognise key words instantly, you spend less effort decoding and more attention following the conversation, so you catch the answer details.

Is Listening Part 1 vocabulary casual?

Yes, it is everyday spoken English. The entries below reflect the natural, informal phrasing you will hear.

Listening Part 1: Problem Solving

Listening Part 1: Problem Solving is part of the Listening section of the CELPIP General test. You get 8 questions and 4 minutes. It is scored by the number of correct answers.

Questions: 8
Time: 4 minutes
Prompts here: 25 published

The three-move listen

1
Catch who has the problem and what they want
Everything else in the conversation hangs off those two facts.
2
Write numbers and names as they pass, not after
Sixty of every ninety tagged questions here are detail, and detail does not survive being reconstructed from memory.
3
Answer from what was said, not from what would be sensible
The distractors are built from the reasonable option nobody actually chose.

You hear it once. Write the number, not the meaning.

A remembered gist loses exactly the detail the questions ask for.

Recognise the conversational vocabulary used to describe problems and propose solutions in CELPIP Listening Part 1 so you can follow the dialogue and answer with confidence.

Part 1 is a conversation where people work through a problem. Knowing problem-and-solution vocabulary helps you track what went wrong and what the speakers decide to do about it.

Listening · Part 1

A Delivery Problem

One of 25 published prompts · free, no account

You will hear a phone conversation between a customer and a delivery company. Listen once, then answer the questions.

Instructions

The audio plays once.
Choose the best answer for each question.

Audio transcript

In the real test you hear this once and cannot replay it.

Priya: Hi, I'm calling about a sofa I ordered from your store last week — order number four-four-seven-one. It was supposed to be delivered yesterday between noon and four, but nobody came, and I'd taken the whole afternoon off work to be home for it. Marcus: I'm very sorry about that, Priya. Let me pull up the order... I see it here. It looks like the driver did attempt the delivery at three-forty, but he noted that the buzzer for your unit wasn't working, so he couldn't get into the building. Priya: That's strange — the buzzer works fine. My neighbour was buzzed in by a courier that same afternoon. I was home the entire time and never heard a thing. Marcus: I understand your frustration, and I'm sorry. What I can do is reschedule the delivery. Our next available window is this Thursday, again between noon and four. Priya: Thursday doesn't work, I'm afraid. I really can't take another afternoon off. Do you have anything on the weekend? Marcus: We do have Saturday slots. Normally there's a forty-dollar surcharge for weekend delivery, but— Priya: A surcharge? That hardly seems fair, given that the first delivery failed through no fault of mine. Marcus: You're absolutely right. Because the missed delivery was on our end, I'll waive the weekend fee entirely. I can book you for this Saturday morning, eight to eleven. And to make up for the inconvenience, I'll add a fifteen-percent credit to your account toward your next purchase. Priya: That would help — thank you. Saturday morning works. One more thing: could you make sure the driver phones me when he's about fifteen minutes away? That way I'll be sure to catch him even if the buzzer acts up again. Marcus: Absolutely. I've added a note asking the driver to call ahead, and you'll get a confirmation text within the hour. Priya: Great. I appreciate you sorting this out.

Questions & answer key8 questions

Listening is scored by the number of correct answers. The audio plays once, so the skill being tested is holding detail while the next sentence arrives.

1What did the woman order from the store?
1. ✓a sofa
2. Ba dining table
3. Ca bed
4. Da bookshelf
Answer
A
Her first sentence names it: "I'm calling about a sofa I ordered from your store last week."
2What reason did the driver record for not completing the delivery?
1. ✓The buzzer for her unit was not working
2. BThe sofa was out of stock
3. CNo one answered the door
4. DThe delivery address was incorrect
Answer
A
Marcus reads the driver's note: 'the buzzer for your unit wasn't working, so he couldn't get into the building.' 'No one home' is the opposite of what Priya says.
3Why does Priya doubt the driver's explanation?
1. AThe driver came to the wrong building
2. BShe had just installed a brand-new buzzer
3. ✓A courier buzzed her neighbour in that same afternoon
4. DShe saw the delivery truck drive past her window
Answer
C
Priya's evidence that the buzzer works is that 'my neighbour was buzzed in by a courier that same afternoon.' The other options are plausible but never stated.
4What is the problem with the Thursday delivery window?
1. AIt carries an extra charge
2. BThe store is closed on Thursdays
3. CPriya will be out of town
4. ✓Priya cannot take another afternoon off work
Answer
D
Priya says 'I really can't take another afternoon off.' The extra charge applies to weekend slots, not Thursday — a deliberate trap.
5Why did Marcus first mention a forty-dollar charge?
1. AIt is the cost of the account credit
2. BIt covers a faster, priority driver
3. ✓Weekend deliveries normally carry a surcharge
4. DIt is a fee for rescheduling an order
Answer
C
Marcus says 'Normally there's a forty-dollar surcharge for weekend delivery.' It is tied to Saturday, not to rescheduling or speed.
6Why does Marcus decide to waive the weekend fee?
1. AIt is a holiday weekend
2. BPriya is a long-time customer
3. CPriya threatened to cancel the order
4. ✓The failed delivery was the company's fault
Answer
D
Marcus says 'Because the missed delivery was on our end, I'll waive the weekend fee.' Loyalty, holidays, and a threat are never mentioned.
7What additional compensation does Marcus offer?
1. AFree delivery for a full year
2. BA complete refund of the sofa's price
3. ✓A fifteen-percent credit toward her next purchase
4. DA forty-dollar cash refund
Answer
C
He offers 'a fifteen-percent credit to your account toward your next purchase.' The forty-dollar figure is the waived surcharge, not a refund.
8What does Priya ask the driver to do?
1. AUse the building's back entrance
2. BLeave the sofa with a neighbour
3. CText her the night before
4. ✓Phone her about fifteen minutes before arriving
Answer
D
Priya asks the driver to 'phone me when he's about fifteen minutes away.' The confirmation text is separate and comes from the office, not the driver at arrival.

Three mistakes that cost points heremost common first

1Rebuilding the conversation from logic after it ends.
2Missing a correction — "actually, make that Thursday" — and answering with the first version.
3Choosing the first option mentioned, which is usually the one that gets rejected.

Now do it yourself and find out where you land

You can check right and wrong on this page. What a page cannot do is tell you which question types you keep losing, under real timing.

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Questions people ask

How does vocabulary help my listening score?: When you recognise key words instantly, you spend less effort decoding and more attention following the conversation, so you catch the answer details.
Is Listening Part 1 vocabulary casual?: Yes, it is everyday spoken English. The entries below reflect the natural, informal phrasing you will hear.

The other 24 Problem Solving prompts2 free

·A Call About a New Apartment
·Making a Flight Booking
·A Problem With a Recent Purchase
·Asking for Directions at a Visitor Centre
·Problems with a Moving Company
·Disputing an Unexpectedly High Phone Bill
·A Problem at the Airline Counter
·Problems with a Furnace
·Double-Booked at the Harbourview Inn
·A Visit to the College Registration Office
·Ending a Monthly Membership
·Booking a Hotel Room by Phone
·A Change to a Connecting Flight
·Moving into a New Apartment
·Renting a Car as a Tourist
·Purchasing a Dishwasher
·Exchanging an Airplane Ticket
·Rebooking After a Missed Connecting Flightfree
·A Lost Package
·Warranty Claim on a Cracked Bike Frame
·Missing a Connecting Flight
·A Course-Registration Mix-Up at Fraser Valley College
·A Package Delivered to the Wrong Address
·A Restaurant Charging for Items Not Ordered

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