CELPIP Listening Part 5 practice with answers

Three speakers and eight questions

Part 5 uses a video discussion with three speakers and has eight questions. This page provides an original conversation among concert organizers, shown as a transcript with an illustration. It does not reproduce the movement, delivery or changing expressions of a discussion video.

Use eight minutes as the suggested time for this page’s set. The written questions below ask you to complete statements by choosing an ending. Read them after hearing the conversation once, keeping track of which organizer supplied the relevant information.

CELPIP Listening audio plays once, and you cannot return to an earlier part. Prepare to follow responses as well as opening positions. One speaker can accept a suggestion while adding a condition, and a later contribution can change what the group is prepared to do. Keep those developments connected to their speakers.

Track ownership and the status of a proposal

Three people can discuss the same practical issue for different reasons. Record who raises a concern and what they want to prevent. A choice may describe something discussed while attaching the reason to the wrong speaker.

Separate an idea from an agreement and an agreement from an arrangement that still needs checking. Conditional language matters: a speaker who promises to ask about an option has not confirmed that it is available. Keep the unresolved step visible when considering answers about the plan.

Also listen for distinctions within a service or event. An arrangement that suits one stage may be unsuitable at another. Avoid flattening the whole discussion into one schedule or one rule. Read each question’s wording carefully enough to identify which stage, speaker or concern it asks about before choosing an ending.

Follow proposals through the discussion

1. Before listening, prepare three spaces for the speakers. Read the setting, then wait for each person’s contribution to establish their responsibilities and priorities.
2. During the opening turns, note the shared decision and each person’s concern. Use initials to keep later comments attached to the same person.
3. As proposals develop, mark whether another speaker accepts, questions or qualifies them. Record checks still needed without treating them as completed actions.
4. After the discussion, recall the agreed arrangement and anything still conditional. Answer each question using the relevant speaker’s statement, checking whether a later turn changed its status.

If several numbers occur, identify their roles rather than memorizing their order. A vehicle’s capacity and a service interval answer different questions. Return to the wording of the question whenever two remembered details compete for your attention.

Make room for agreement in your paper notes

Use the supplied paper and pen on test day; both are returned at the end. A three-column layout can help with attribution, but leave a separate line below it for the group’s current plan. That prevents a final agreement from being buried in one person’s column.

Write a proposal with a short reason when the reason explains the speaker’s preference. Mark pending questions with a question mark. Once a proposal changes, update its status so the first version does not remain visually dominant.

Keep the notes readable without turning the discussion into a transcript. If you spend an entire turn finishing the previous speaker’s sentence, shorten entries to actions and conditions. During review, check whether the layout helped you distinguish individual concerns from the shared decision, and move misplaced notes to the correct speaker.

Listen to the concert organizers’ exchange

Beth, Colin and Farah approach transport planning through their different responsibilities. The conversation includes replies to proposed arrangements, so listen beyond each person’s first contribution. Their role labels can help organize notes, but the answers depend on what they actually say.

The recorded audio for this set is in the app. This page uses the transcript. Have someone read the dialogue aloud once, making speaker changes clear without adding explanations or hints. Keep the illustration separate from your evidence for an answer.

Finish all eight questions before reviewing the discussion. Then continue to Part 6 viewpoints to follow several perspectives presented within one person’s talk, where a change of voice cannot help you identify a change of viewpoint.

Free Listening Part 5 practice set

Practice set: The concert shuttle

Original Part 5 set. Three organizers in Kelowna discuss transport for an outdoor community concert. The recorded audio is in the app; here you get the transcript. Read it once at speaking speed (or have someone read it to you), then cover it and answer. Suggested time: 8 minutes.

Transcript

Woman: I'm Beth, coordinating transport. The school has offered its parking lot for our concert, but it's a fifteen-minute walk from the park. We can hire a small shuttle within the budget. The question is whether to run it continuously or at advertised times.

Man: I'm Colin, looking after volunteers. I'd advertise departures. Otherwise people might wait without knowing whether the shuttle has just left. It holds twelve passengers, though, and the concert ends all at once. A timetable won't solve that rush.

Second woman: I'm Farah, handling accessibility. The shuttle can carry a wheelchair, but only if we remove two seats. We should leave those seats out for the whole evening. Asking someone to wait while we rearrange the vehicle would be a poor welcome.

Woman: That leaves ten places. The operator estimates a round trip takes twenty minutes, including boarding. Could we run every twenty minutes before the concert, then keep going after it until the queue is gone?

Man: Yes, if the last trip isn't tied to a fixed finishing time. The driver quoted three hours. If the music runs late, we could be paying overtime. I'd rather shorten the service before the concert than gamble on the ending.

Second woman: Could the performers agree to finish on time? Then we wouldn't be cutting transport when people are arriving. Also, we need a sheltered waiting spot at the school. There's a covered walkway, but the principal must approve using it.

Woman: I'll ask about the walkway. We can't guarantee the performance will end exactly on time, so I'll check the price of one extra hour before booking. If it's affordable, we'll keep the earlier start.

Man: I'll arrange a volunteer at each end to explain the queue and call the driver if someone needs help boarding. We shouldn't promise an exact return departure during the rush.

Second woman: Agreed. Let's advertise regular outward trips and a queue-based return, with the accessible layout clear from the start.

1 The shuttle is being considered because

the school hosts the opening performance. the park entrance is closed to vehicles. the available parking is some distance from the concert. the performers need a shared vehicle.

Answer and explanation

the available parking is some distance from the concert.. The audio says, "it's a fifteen-minute walk from the park." The offered parking lot is separated from the concert venue.

2 Colin favours advertised outward departures so that

volunteers can avoid working at the school. passengers know when to expect a shuttle. the driver can skip trips with few passengers. the vehicle can carry more passengers.

Answer and explanation

passengers know when to expect a shuttle.. The audio says, "people might wait without knowing whether the shuttle has just left." A timetable reduces uncertainty for people waiting.

3 Farah wants two seats removed throughout the evening to

allow a volunteer to stand near the door. keep wheelchair access ready. reduce the vehicle’s rental cost. provide space for musical equipment.

Answer and explanation

keep wheelchair access ready.. The audio says, "Asking someone to wait while we rearrange the vehicle would be a poor welcome." She wants the accessible configuration available without an extra delay.

4 Beth’s proposed outward service would depart

every twelve minutes. once before the concert. every twenty minutes. only when ten passengers arrive.

Answer and explanation

every twenty minutes.. The audio says, "Could we run every twenty minutes before the concert" She proposes a regular twenty-minute interval.

5 Colin’s concern about a late finish is that

the driver may charge for additional time. the school will remove the parking offer. the performers may leave before the audience. the shuttle cannot operate after dark.

Answer and explanation

the driver may charge for additional time.. The audio says, "we could be paying overtime." The quoted hire covers only three hours.

6 Use of the covered walkway

will replace the need for a volunteer. still requires the principal’s permission. depends on removing two shuttle seats. has already been included in the shuttle booking.

Answer and explanation

still requires the principal’s permission.. The audio says, "the principal must approve using it." It is a proposed shelter rather than a confirmed arrangement.

7 Beth will retain the earlier start if

the concert finishes earlier than planned. the operator reduces the boarding allowance. an extra hour of shuttle hire is affordable. passengers reserve their return trips beforehand.

Answer and explanation

an extra hour of shuttle hire is affordable.. The audio says, "If it's affordable, we'll keep the earlier start." This depends on the price she will request for an additional hour.

8 The agreed return arrangement is to

reserve return times when passengers board. end after the three-hour hire period. maintain departures every twenty minutes afterwards. serve the queue without promising exact departure times.

Answer and explanation

serve the queue without promising exact departure times.. The audio says, "Let's advertise regular outward trips and a queue-based return" Farah summarizes the distinction between outward and return services.

Check answers

How to review this set

For each missed question, identify both the speaker and the status of the proposal. Beth’s “If it's affordable” preserves a condition, while Farah’s “regular outward trips and a queue-based return” summarizes two different arrangements. Compare those relationships with your notes and chosen endings. Use the explanations to check whether the mistake involved attribution, a number, an unresolved check or a later agreement that replaced an earlier possibility.