This Matthews Island Holidays listening test page gives you Section 2 of Cambridge IELTS 15 Listening Test 1 in full: the complete answer key for Questions 11–20, playable audio, an explanation for every question with the exact transcript line that proves it, and the entire recording script. Erica Matthews, owner of a family-run rail holiday company, presents a six-day Isle of Man tour, tested through four multiple choice questions and a six-gap table completion.

The multiple choice items turn on comparisons — experience against destinations against customer numbers — while the table follows the holiday day by day, so the speaker’s route through the week keeps you in your place. Preview the stems with the multiple choice strategy, then check every mark on the complete Cambridge IELTS 15 Listening Test 1 answers page covering all four sections.

Listening Audio — Section 2

Play the recording once, without pausing, and answer Questions 11–20 before you check the key. In the real exam you hear each section exactly once.

Questions 11–20

Questions 11–14

Choose the correct letter, A , B or C .

• Matthews Island Holidays

11. According to the speaker, the company has been in business for longer than most of its competitors. arranges holidays to more destinations than its competitors. has more customers than its competitors.

• A — has been in business for longer than most of its competitors.
• B — arranges holidays to more destinations than its competitors.
• C — has more customers than its competitors.

12. Where can customers meet the tour manager before travelling to the Isle of Man? Liverpool Heysham Luton

• A — Liverpool
• B — Heysham
• C — Luton

13. How many lunches are included in the price of the holiday? three four five

• A — three
• B — four
• C — five

14. Customers have to pay extra for guaranteeing themselves a larger room. booking at short notice. transferring to another date.

• A — guaranteeing themselves a larger room.
• B — booking at short notice.
• C — transferring to another date.

Questions 15–20

Complete the table below.

Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Matthews Island Holidays Listening Answers

Questions and Answers

Matthews Island Holidays Answer Explanations

11. A (has been in business for longer than most of its competitors) — the company builds on “many years’ experience – more than almost any other rail holiday company”, a claim about longevity. C fails because the speaker states that “we don’t aim to compete with other companies on the number of customers”, and B fails because she offers “perfect holidays in a small number of destinations”, not more of them.

12. B (Heysham) — the meeting point is stated directly: “Our holiday starts in Heysham, where your tour manager will meet you”. A fails because Liverpool is only where some travellers “go by train to Liverpool and take a ferry from there”, and C fails because others “prefer to fly from Luton instead”, with no manager meeting at either place.

13. A (three) — the price covers “lunch on the three days when there are organised trips”. B fails because day four has no organised trip at all — “day four is free” — and C fails because five counts the “five breakfasts and dinners”, the wrong meals entirely.

14. C (transferring to another date) — the only charge is for changes: “you’re welcome to change to an alternative date or a different tour, for a small administrative fee”. A fails because “there’s no supplement for single rooms in hotels”, and B fails because “the price is the same whether you book six months in advance or at the last minute”.

15. river — the Day 1 note describes the hotel dining room: “The dining room looks out at the river”. Harbour is the trap, because the river merely flows on “close to where it flows into the harbour”; the view itself is of the river.

16. 1422 — Tynwald’s claim is that it “dates back to 979”, but the speaker casts doubt on this and notes that “the earliest surviving reference to it is from 1422”. The table’s note not 979 confirms the documented year is required, so write the digits 1422.

17. top — Day 3 ends with “an eight-kilometre ride in the Snaefell Mountain Railway to the top”. The stem reads train to the …… of Snaefell, so a position noun is needed; Laxey is the fishing village passed through earlier on the electric train, not the destination.

18. pass — Day 4 is free for exploring “using the pass which we’ll give you”, and it removes payment for “travel on local transport” and for “entrance to the island’s heritage sites”. Ticket is never said; the single word covering both perks is pass.

19. steam — the highlight of Day 5 is “a ride on the steam railway, from Douglas to Port Erin”. Electric was the Day 3 train to Laxey, so the adjective must change, and promenade and horse-drawn belong to that same earlier day.

20. capital — the coach reaches “Castletown, which used to be the capital of the Isle of Man”, and its “mediaeval castle” follows in the same sentence. Headland and the Calf of Man describe the viewpoint visited before Castletown, so neither fits the former …… beside the old castle.

Listening Transcript — Section 2

Good morning. My name’s Erica Matthews, and I’m the owner of Matthews Island Holidays, a company set up by my parents. Thank you for coming to this presentation, in which I hope to interest you in what we have to offer. We’re a small, family-run company, and we believe in the importance of the personal touch, so we don’t aim to compete with other companies on the number of customers. What we do is build on our many years’ experience – more than almost any other rail holiday company – to ensure we provide perfect holidays in a small number of destinations, which we’ve got to know extremely well.

I’ll start with our six-day Isle of Man holiday. This is a fascinating island in the Irish Sea, with Wales to the south, England to the east, Scotland to the north and Northern Ireland to the west. Our holiday starts in Heysham, where your tour manager will meet you, then you’ll travel by ferry to the Isle of Man. Some people prefer to fly from Luton instead, and another popular option is to go by train to Liverpool and take a ferry from there.

You have five nights in the hotel, and the price covers five breakfasts and dinners, and lunch on the three days when there are organised trips: day four is free, and most people have lunch in a café or restaurant in Douglas.

The price of the holiday includes the ferry to the Isle of Man, all travel on the island, the hotel, and the meals I’ve mentioned. Incidentally, we try to make booking our holidays as simple and fair as possible, so unlike with many companies, the price is the same whether you book six months in advance or at the last minute, and there’s no supplement for single rooms in hotels. If you make a booking then need to change the start date, for example because of illness, you’re welcome to change to an alternative date or a different tour, for a small administrative fee.

——————————

OK, so what does the holiday consist of? Well, on day one you’ll arrive in time for a short introduction by your tour manager, followed by dinner in the hotel. The dining room looks out at the river, close to where it flows into the harbour, and there’s usually plenty of activity going on.

On day two you’ll take the coach to the small town of Peel, on the way calling in at the Tynwald Exhibition. The Isle of Man isn’t part of the United Kingdom, and it has its own parliament, called Tynwald. It’s claimed that this is the world’s oldest parliament that’s still functioning, and that it dates back to 979. However, the earliest surviving reference to it is from 1422, so perhaps it isn’t quite as old as it claims!

Day three we have a trip to the mountain Snaefell. This begins with a leisurely ride along the promenade in Douglas in a horse-drawn tram. Then you board an electric train which takes you to the fishing village of Laxey. From there it’s an eight-kilometre ride in the Snaefell Mountain Railway to the top. Lunch will be in the café, giving you spectacular views of the island.

Day four is free for you to explore, using the pass which we’ll give you. So you won’t have to pay for travel on local transport, or for entrance to the island’s heritage sites. Or you might just want to take it easy in Douglas and perhaps do a little light shopping.

The last full day, day five, is for some people the highlight of the holiday, with a ride on the steam railway, from Douglas to Port Erin. After some time to explore, a coach will take you to the headland that overlooks the Calf of Man, a small island just off the coast. From there you continue to Castletown, which used to be the capital of the Isle of Man, and its mediaeval castle.

And on day six it’s back to the ferry – or the airport, if you flew to the island – and time to go home.

Now I’d like to tell you …

Key Vocabulary and Spelling

Study Tips

Questions 11–14 are comparison questions, and every wrong option is built from words the speaker really says. She mentions customers, destinations and last-minute bookings, yet rules out competing on numbers, sells “a small number of destinations” and holds the price flat whenever you book. Underline the comparative in each stem — longer than, more than — and eliminate every option the speaker cancels, a habit the multiple choice strategy trains step by step.

The table runs strictly in day order, so let the day markers carry you forward: arrive, Peel and the Tynwald Exhibition, Snaefell, the free day, Port Erin, leave. Words already printed in the table — tram, train, Laxey, Douglas — tell you which transport belongs to which day, which is why electric cannot repeat in Question 19. The table completion strategy shows how to use printed words as anchors for the gap beside them.

Practice More Listening Tests

Score the section out of ten, read the explanation for each miss, and log the result on the full Cambridge IELTS 15 Listening Test 1 answers page, which holds keys, explanations and transcripts for all four sections. The free IELTS listening practice course from Simply IELTS then drills comparison questions and day-order tables until both feel routine. For a matching setting, try this interactive listening test: boat trip around tasmania listening answers, another island journey told stop by stop, before you continue to Section 3, the Personality Traits listening test.