CELPIP Listening Part 5 · Discussion · set 1 of 10

Choosing a Staff Retreat Venue

A CELPIP Listening Part 5 practice set (Discussion): the transcript, 8 questions and the answer key with an explanation for each answer. No sign-up needed. This page prints the transcript and has no audio; on the real test you hear the recording once and cannot replay it.

The task

You will watch a video of a discussion. You will hear it only once. Listen carefully, then answer the questions.

You hear the discussion only once.
Choose the best answer for each question.

Questions: 8
Time: 4 minutes
Practice set: 1 of 10

Transcript

The test plays this once, as audio. For real practice, answer the questions first, then check the transcript.

Nadia: Okay, let's settle the retreat before the budget meeting on Thursday. We've got eight thousand dollars, and right now I'm leaning toward the lodge in Canmore. Two nights in the mountains, everybody away from their desks. I think people would really appreciate it. Owen: I'd love that too, honestly, but the Canmore quote came in at just under fourteen thousand. Even if we cut it to one night, we'd still be over by about two grand. And that's before the bus. Harpreet: Can I add something? Three people on my team have young kids, and two nights away is a real problem for them. Last year a few people skipped the whole thing because of childcare. I'd rather have something everyone can actually attend. Nadia: That's fair. I didn't think about the childcare side. So what are we looking at instead? The hotel downtown? Owen: The hotel's the cheapest option, sixty-five hundred for a full day with lunch. But, I mean, it's the same building where we meet clients. People would be checking their email at every break. Harpreet: Exactly. It wouldn't feel like a retreat at all. What about the ranch out near Cochrane? It's forty minutes from the office, they've got a big meeting barn, and they do a one-night package. Owen: I looked at that. One night, all meals, and a shuttle from the office comes to about seventy-four hundred. So we'd stay under budget, with a bit left over for a team activity. Nadia: Hmm. It's not the mountains, but forty minutes is close enough that parents could even drive home the same evening if they need to. Harpreet: That's what I like about it. People could choose. Stay over or go home. Nadia: Okay, I'm convinced. What dates do they have? Owen: They're booked for most of October because of weddings. They've got the last weekend of September, or a Thursday and Friday the week before that. Harpreet: The Thursday and Friday is better. Nobody wants to give up a weekend for work, even a nice one. Nadia: Agreed. Let's go with the ranch, Thursday and Friday, the week before the end of September. Owen, can you put down the deposit? Owen: It's five hundred, refundable until the first. I'll call them this afternoon. Nadia: And Harpreet, could you send out a quick note so parents know they can head home that night? Harpreet: Sure, I'll do it today.

Questions and answer key

1The speakers are mainly trying to decide ___.
1. Ahow to reduce the company's travel budget
2. ✓where and when to hold the staff retreat
3. Cwhether to cancel this year's retreat
4. Dwhich clients to invite to the retreat
Answer: B
Nadia opens with "let's settle the retreat," and the talk moves from venue to dates. Cancelling the retreat or inviting clients is never proposed; the budget is a limit they work within, not the topic.
2Nadia first prefers the lodge in Canmore because ___.
1. Ait is the cheapest of the three options
2. Bparents could drive home the same evening
3. Cthe staff chose it at last year's retreat
4. ✓it would take everyone away from work for two nights
Answer: D
She says "Two nights in the mountains, everybody away from their desks." The cheapest option is the downtown hotel, and driving home the same evening is her later point about the ranch.
3Owen objects to the Canmore lodge because ___.
1. ✓it would go over budget even for one night
2. Bit is fully booked in October
3. Cthe bus company cannot take a large group
4. Dits meeting room is too small
Answer: A
Owen says "Even if we cut it to one night, we'd still be over by about two grand." Being booked in October is true of the ranch, not the lodge.
4Harpreet's main concern is that ___.
1. ✓staff with young children may not be able to attend
2. Bthe ranch is too far from the office
3. Clast year's retreat was too short
4. Dher team is too busy in September
Answer: A
She says "two nights away is a real problem" for colleagues with young kids and mentions childcare. She actually suggests the ranch, so she does not think it is too far.
5Owen and Harpreet dislike the downtown hotel mainly because ___.
1. Ait costs more than the ranch
2. Bit does not include lunch
3. ✓it would not feel separate from normal work
4. Dit is forty minutes from the office
Answer: C
Owen notes it is where they meet clients and "People would be checking their email," and Harpreet adds "It wouldn't feel like a retreat." The hotel is cheaper than the ranch and includes lunch; forty minutes describes the ranch.
6How does Nadia's opinion change during the discussion?
1. AShe keeps insisting on Canmore until the end.
2. BShe decides the retreat should be held downtown.
3. ✓She gives up on the lodge after hearing about cost and childcare.
4. DShe suggests cancelling the overnight stay completely.
Answer: C
After Owen's cost figures and Harpreet's childcare point, Nadia says "That's fair" and later "Okay, I'm convinced" about the ranch. She never chooses the hotel, and the plan still includes an overnight option.
7The ranch's one-night package costs about ___.
1. A$6,500
2. B$8,000
3. C$14,000
4. ✓$7,400
Answer: D
Owen says the ranch "comes to about seventy-four hundred." $6,500 is the hotel, $8,000 is the budget, and $14,000 is the Canmore quote.
8The retreat will take place ___.
1. Aon the last weekend of September
2. ✓on a Thursday and Friday in September
3. Cin October, after the wedding season
4. Don a single day with no overnight option
Answer: B
Harpreet prefers "The Thursday and Friday," and Nadia confirms "Thursday and Friday, the week before the end of September." The last weekend was rejected because nobody wants to give up a weekend.

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