CELPIP Listening Part 5 · Discussion · set 4 of 10

Sharing the Garden Plots

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: 4 of 10

Transcript

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

Diane: Okay, the main item tonight is the waitlist. We've got sixty plots and forty-six names waiting, and some of those people signed up two years ago. I've had three angry emails this month alone. Raj: I know. My idea is simple: we cut every plot in half. Most of them are three metres by six right now. Half of that is still plenty for tomatoes and beans, and suddenly we've got a hundred and twenty plots. Waitlist gone. Colette: Every plot, though? Raj, some of the older members grow enough to feed their families through the winter. Mrs. Okafor puts up something like eighty jars every fall. Halving her plot is a big deal for her. Raj: Fair, but is it fair that someone keeps a plot for fifteen years while a family down the street waits forever? Diane: That's the real question, isn't it? I don't want to push out people who've been here since the start, but the garden's supposed to be for the whole neighbourhood. Colette: What about a time limit? Say, five years, and then you go back on the list. Raj: That just moves the problem. People would wait five years instead of two. Diane: Hmm. What if we mix the ideas? We have twenty plots along the back fence that are bigger than the rest, four metres by eight. We split only those, so we get forty smaller plots there instead of twenty. Colette: So twenty more plots in total. And the people on the back fence, are they mostly long-time members? Diane: Some are, but honestly, a lot of them barely use the whole space. I walked past in July and half of those plots were weeds at the back. Raj: Twenty more plots doesn't clear a list of forty-six, though. Colette: No, but it cuts it by almost half. And we could ask members if anyone wants to share voluntarily. I bet a few would, if they're getting older and the work's too much. Raj: Okay. I still think we'll end up halving everything someday, but I'll support this for now, as long as we look at it again next spring. Diane: Deal. So we split the twenty back-fence plots before the season opens in April, offer them to the people who've waited longest, and put out a call for voluntary sharing. Colette, would you write that notice? Colette: Happy to. I'll have a draft by the weekend.

Questions and answer key

1What problem are the speakers trying to solve?
1. AToo many weeds in the back plots
2. BA shortage of water in July
3. ✓Too many people waiting for garden plots
4. DComplaints about the cost of a plot
Answer: C
Diane says "the main item tonight is the waitlist" with "forty-six names waiting." The weeds are only evidence that some plots are not fully used.
2Raj's first proposal is to ___.
1. Alimit each member to five years
2. Bsplit only the plots along the back fence
3. ✓divide every plot into two
4. Dhold a lottery for new plots
Answer: C
Raj says "we cut every plot in half." The five-year limit is Colette's idea and the back-fence plan is Diane's.
3Colette objects to Raj's proposal because ___.
1. Asmall plots cannot grow tomatoes
2. ✓some long-time members depend on large harvests
3. Cthe committee cannot afford new fencing
4. Dnew members rarely look after their plots
Answer: B
Colette says some members "grow enough to feed their families through the winter." Raj, not Colette, mentions tomatoes, and he says half a plot is still plenty for them.
4Why does Raj reject the idea of a five-year limit?
1. AOlder members would quit the garden.
2. BIt would be too hard to keep track of.
3. CThe city does not allow time limits.
4. ✓People would still face a long wait.
Answer: D
Raj says "That just moves the problem. People would wait five years instead of two." None of the other reasons is mentioned.
5How big are the plots along the back fence?
1. AThree metres by six
2. BFour metres by six
3. CThree metres by eight
4. ✓Four metres by eight
Answer: D
Diane says the back-fence plots are "four metres by eight." Three by six is the size of the regular plots.
6What does Diane's walk past the garden in July suggest?
1. ✓Some large plots are not being fully used.
2. BThe garden needs a better water supply.
3. CThe weeds come from a neighbour's yard.
4. DThe growing season started too late.
Answer: A
She saw that "half of those plots were weeds at the back," after saying many members "barely use the whole space."
7What is Raj's attitude toward the final plan?
1. AHe is completely against it.
2. ✓He supports it for now but expects bigger changes later.
3. CHe thinks it fully solves the problem.
4. DHe has no opinion about it.
Answer: B
Raj says "I still think we'll end up halving everything someday, but I'll support this for now." He also points out it does not clear the whole list.
8What will the committee do?
1. ✓Split twenty larger plots and give them to those who have waited longest
2. BOffer the new plots to the newest applicants first
3. CDivide all sixty plots before April
4. DIntroduce a five-year limit for every member
Answer: A
Diane says they will "split the twenty back-fence plots" and "offer them to the people who've waited longest." Halving all plots is only Raj's long-term prediction.

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