CELPIP Listening Part 6 · Viewpoints · set 3 of 10

Should Cities Support Community Fridges?

A CELPIP Listening Part 6 practice set (Viewpoints): the transcript, 6 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 hear a volunteer on a community radio program give his view on community fridges. Listen once, then answer the questions.

You hear the audio only once.
The speaker presents a point of view: follow the argument and the position, not only the facts.

Questions: 6
Time: 4 minutes
Practice set: 3 of 10

Transcript

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

A couple of years ago, a group of neighbours in our part of Halifax put an old refrigerator outside a corner café, plugged it into the café's wall, and painted a sign on it: Take what you need, leave what you can. Today there are five of these community fridges across the city, and the municipality is now deciding whether to give them official support. I'd like to explain why I think it should. First, let me be honest about the concerns, because I've heard them at every meeting. People worry about food safety. Who checks that the yogurt hasn't expired, or that the fridge is cold enough in August? Business owners nearby worry about litter, and some residents feel a fridge on the sidewalk just doesn't look good. And a few people ask, quite reasonably, why we need fridges when we already have a food bank. On food safety, the fridges I volunteer with have a clear system. Volunteers visit twice a day, write the temperature on a log sheet, and throw out anything past its date. We don't accept raw meat or homemade meals, only packaged food and fresh produce. In two years, we haven't had a single reported case of illness. On the food bank question, the two do different jobs. The food bank is open three days a week, and you register. The fridge is open twenty-four hours, and nobody asks your name. A night-shift worker who's short on groceries until payday isn't going to fill out a form, but he might grab a bag of apples on the way home. And these fridges stop good food from being thrown away. A bakery near us drops off its unsold bread every evening. Last year, that added up to about two thousand loaves. I do accept that the litter complaints have some truth to them. Boxes get left beside the fridge, especially on weekends. That's why I'm asking for a modest grant, around four thousand dollars a year per fridge, to cover electricity, cleaning supplies and a weatherproof shelter. These fridges were started by neighbours, and they should stay run by neighbours. But a little help from the city would make them cleaner, safer, and here to stay.

Questions and answer key

1What is the speaker mainly trying to persuade listeners of?
1. ACommunity fridges should replace the local food bank.
2. BThe city should take over the job of running all the community fridges itself.
3. ✓The city should give financial support to the community fridges.
4. DCommunity fridges should be moved away from local businesses.
Answer: C
He asks for 'a modest grant' and says 'a little help from the city' would keep the fridges going. Taking over is wrong because he insists they 'should stay run by neighbours.'
2How do volunteers keep the food in the fridges safe?
1. ✓They check the temperature and remove expired food twice a day.
2. BThey cook fresh meals and label each one with the date.
3. CThey ask a health inspector to visit every week.
4. DThey accept food only from local bakeries.
Answer: A
Volunteers 'visit twice a day, write the temperature on a log sheet, and throw out anything past its date.' Cooked meals are wrong because they 'don't accept raw meat or homemade meals.'
3According to the speaker, how is a community fridge different from the food bank?
1. AIt offers a wider choice of fresh meat.
2. BIt is run by the city rather than by volunteers.
3. CIt serves only people who have registered.
4. ✓It is always open and does not ask for names.
Answer: D
'The fridge is open twenty-four hours, and nobody asks your name.' Registering is a feature of the food bank, not the fridge, so that option reverses the contrast.
4Why does the speaker mention a night-shift worker?
1. ATo show that shift workers donate the most food
2. ✓To give an example of someone who might use a fridge but not a food bank
3. CTo complain that the food bank's opening hours are too short for most workers
4. DTo explain why the fridges need better lighting
Answer: B
The worker 'isn't going to fill out a form, but he might grab a bag of apples', showing who the fridge reaches that the food bank may not. He is not criticizing the food bank; he says the two 'do different jobs.'
5What does the bakery near the speaker do?
1. AIt pays the fridge's electricity bill.
2. BIt sells bread to the fridge at a discount.
3. ✓It donates its unsold bread every evening.
4. DIt collects the boxes left beside the fridge.
Answer: C
The bakery 'drops off its unsold bread every evening'. Electricity is something the requested city grant would cover, not the bakery.
6How does the speaker respond to complaints about litter?
1. ✓He admits that they are partly valid.
2. BHe says business owners exaggerate them.
3. CHe believes the problem will disappear on its own.
4. DHe thinks nearby residents should clean up instead.
Answer: A
He says 'the litter complaints have some truth to them' and asks for money for cleaning supplies. He does not dismiss business owners or expect the problem to fix itself.

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