CELPIP Listening Part 6 · Viewpoints · set 8 of 10

Should the City Golf Course Become a Park?

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 city councillor at a public meeting give his view on the future of a municipal golf course. 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: 8 of 10

Transcript

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

The city's lease on the Willow Creek municipal golf course runs out in two years, and council has to decide what happens next. Some residents want it kept exactly as it is. Others want all ninety hectares turned into a public park. I want to explain why I'm supporting a middle path. First, the case for the golfers, because it's often dismissed too quickly. This course is one of the few in the region where a round costs under forty dollars. It's where a lot of seniors stay active, where high school teams practise, and where many people first learned the game. Last season it recorded about forty-five thousand rounds, so this isn't a small group of people. Now the case for a park. Our neighbourhood has grown by almost a third in ten years, mostly in apartments and townhouses with little or no yard. Right now, the nearest large park is a twenty-minute drive away. Meanwhile, a huge green space sits in the middle of the community, and unless you have clubs and a tee time, you're not really welcome on it. In winter, it's fenced off and empty. So here's what I'm proposing. Reduce the course from eighteen holes to nine, and turn the remaining land, about forty hectares, into a park with walking trails, a playground and an off-leash area for dogs. In winter, open the whole site for cross-country skiing and tobogganing. I'll be the first to admit this isn't perfect. Some golfers will be disappointed. A nine-hole course isn't the same experience, and it may bring in less revenue. And some park supporters will say forty hectares isn't enough. They might be right. But other cities have done this successfully. Shorter courses actually suit beginners, families and older players, who often don't have four or five hours for a full round. And a park can be used by everyone, every day of the year, at no cost at all. Council's choice isn't really golf versus no golf. It's about whether this land serves a few thousand people or many thousands more. A shared use lets us serve both.

Questions and answer key

1What does the speaker propose for the golf course?
1. AKeeping all eighteen holes and lowering the fees
2. BTurning the entire course into a public park
3. ✓Shrinking the course and turning the rest into a park
4. DSelling the land to build apartments and townhouses
Answer: C
He proposes to 'reduce the course from eighteen holes to nine' and make the remaining land 'into a park'. Turning all ninety hectares into a park is what other residents want, not his 'middle path.'
2What does the speaker say about how much the course is used?
1. AIt is used mainly by high school teams who practise there after classes.
2. BIts fees are the highest in the region.
3. CIt is open to seniors only in winter.
4. ✓It recorded about forty-five thousand rounds last season.
Answer: D
'Last season it recorded about forty-five thousand rounds.' High school teams are only one of several groups he lists, and the fees are among the lowest, 'under forty dollars.'
3Why does the speaker believe the neighbourhood needs a park?
1. ✓Many residents live in homes with little or no yard.
2. BThe existing park is being sold to developers.
3. CGolfers have complained about people walking dogs.
4. DThe city's lease on the nearest park is ending.
Answer: A
The area grew 'mostly in apartments and townhouses with little or no yard.' The lease that is ending is on the golf course, not on a park.
4What does the speaker suggest for the site in winter?
1. AIndoor golf practice
2. ✓Cross-country skiing and tobogganing
3. CAn outdoor skating rink
4. DKeeping the site fenced off
Answer: B
'In winter, open the whole site for cross-country skiing and tobogganing.' Being 'fenced off and empty' describes the current situation that he wants to change.
5How does the speaker treat the weaknesses of his plan?
1. AHe claims no one will be disappointed.
2. BHe says the golfers' concerns are unreasonable.
3. ✓He openly accepts that it will not fully satisfy everyone.
4. DHe argues that the park supporters are asking for far more land than is needed.
Answer: C
He says 'this isn't perfect', that 'some golfers will be disappointed', and that park supporters 'might be right' about the size. So he is not dismissing either group.
6What does the speaker suggest about shorter golf courses?
1. AThey usually lose money for cities.
2. BThey are preferred by professional players who want a more challenging game.
3. CThey take longer to play than full courses.
4. ✓They may attract people who lack time for a full round.
Answer: D
Shorter courses 'suit beginners, families and older players, who often don't have four or five hours for a full round.' He admits a nine-hole course 'may bring in less revenue', but he never says such courses usually lose money.

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