CELPIP Listening Part 5 · Discussion · set 8 of 10

Revising the Brunch Menu

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: 8 of 10

Transcript

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

Bianca: Thanks for coming in early. I've been reading the reviews from the last two months, and the same complaint keeps coming up: weekend brunch is too slow. People are waiting twenty-five, thirty minutes for eggs. Luis: That doesn't surprise me. We have thirty-four items on the menu and only one grill. Every time someone orders the crepes, the whole line stops. Thomas: From the floor, I'd say it's not just the kitchen. Customers spend forever reading the menu. I'll come back three times before a table's ready to order. The menu's just huge. Bianca: So you both think it's too long. How short are we talking? Luis: Honestly? Eighteen items. Keep the things that sell and that I can prep ahead. Thomas: Eighteen feels like a lot to lose all at once. We've got regulars who come every Sunday for one particular dish. If their thing disappears, they're gone. Bianca: Luis, do we know which items actually sell? Luis: I pulled the numbers. Twelve dishes make up about eighty percent of orders. The salmon benny alone is almost a quarter. The bottom ten, we sell maybe two or three a week each, and I'm throwing out ingredients for them all the time. Bianca: Waste is something I can't ignore. Our food costs went up nine percent this year. Thomas: Okay, the bottom ten I can live with losing. But what about the crepes? They're slow, sure, but they're kind of what we're known for. They're in every photo people post. Luis: The crepes aren't the problem in themselves. The problem is making them to order on the same grill as everything else. If I could do the batter and fillings ahead and use the small flat-top just for crepes on weekends, that would fix most of it. Bianca: The flat-top's been sitting in storage since we closed the patio. That costs us nothing. Thomas: So we cut the bottom ten, keep the crepes but move them to the flat-top, and that leaves... twenty-four items? Luis: Twenty-four. I'd still prefer fewer, but that's a real improvement. Let's try it for a month and watch the ticket times. Bianca: Agreed. The new menu starts the first weekend of March. Thomas, can you print a small card for the tables saying a few items have changed, so the regulars aren't caught off guard? Thomas: Sure. And I'll tell the Sunday crowd in person.

Questions and answer key

1Why has Bianca called this meeting?
1. ✓To deal with complaints about slow weekend brunch
2. BTo plan the reopening of the patio
3. CTo discuss raising menu prices
4. DTo hire another cook for weekends
Answer: A
Bianca says reviews show "weekend brunch is too slow." The patio is mentioned only because the flat-top has been in storage since it closed.
2How many items are on the menu now?
1. ✓Thirty-four
2. BTwenty-four
3. CEighteen
4. DTwelve
Answer: A
Luis says "We have thirty-four items on the menu." Eighteen is his ideal, twelve is the number of bestsellers, and twenty-four is the new total.
3According to Thomas, one cause of the delays is that ___.
1. Athe servers are not trained well enough
2. Bthe kitchen runs out of eggs
3. Cthere are not enough tables on Sundays
4. ✓customers take a long time to choose what to order
Answer: D
Thomas says "Customers spend forever reading the menu. I'll come back three times before a table's ready to order."
4Why does Thomas object to cutting the menu to eighteen items?
1. AThe kitchen would lose the salmon benny.
2. BFood costs would go up even more.
3. CCustomers would think the restaurant was closing.
4. ✓Regular customers may stop coming if their dish disappears.
Answer: D
He says regulars come "for one particular dish. If their thing disappears, they're gone." Nobody suggests removing the salmon benny, the top seller.
5What does Luis say about the salmon benny?
1. AIt makes up about eighty percent of orders.
2. ✓It makes up almost a quarter of orders.
3. CIt sells only two or three times a week.
4. DIt is the slowest dish to prepare.
Answer: B
Luis says "The salmon benny alone is almost a quarter." Eighty percent is the share of the top twelve dishes, and two or three a week describes the bottom ten.
6Why is Bianca especially interested in removing the least popular dishes?
1. ACustomers have complained about them in reviews.
2. ✓Ingredients are being wasted while food costs rise.
3. CThey are too difficult for the new staff.
4. DThey take up too much room on the menu card.
Answer: B
After Luis says he is "throwing out ingredients," Bianca answers "Waste is something I can't ignore. Our food costs went up nine percent."
7How does Luis suggest solving the problem with the crepes?
1. ATaking them off the weekend menu
2. BServing them only on weekdays
3. ✓Preparing them ahead and cooking them on a separate flat-top
4. DBuying a second large grill
Answer: C
Luis wants to "do the batter and fillings ahead and use the small flat-top just for crepes on weekends." The flat-top already exists, so nothing new is bought.
8What do the speakers agree to do?
1. ACut the menu to eighteen items in March
2. BRemove the crepes from the menu
3. ✓Try a twenty-four-item menu for one month
4. DReopen the patio to seat more customers
Answer: C
Luis says "Twenty-four... Let's try it for a month," and Bianca agrees. Eighteen was Luis's first proposal, which he says he would still prefer.

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