This sailing club enquiry listening test page gives you Section 1 of Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 1 in full: the complete answer key for Questions 1–10, playable audio, an explanation for every question with the exact transcript line that proves it, and the entire recording script. The recording is a phone call to Oyster Bay Sailing Club about courses for beginners, tested through a table completion task (Questions 1–6) and a note completion task (Questions 7–10).

Prices change mid-call, group sizes are corrected as the woman speaks, and kit is sorted into what the club provides and what you bring, so the traps are revised numbers and words mentioned only to be set aside. Skim the table and notes before pressing play and predict the word class of every gap with the table completion strategy, then check each mark against the complete Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 1 answers page, which covers all four sections.

Listening Audio — Section 1

Play the recording once, without pausing, and answer Questions 1–10 before you check the key. In the real exam you hear each section exactly once.

Questions 1–10

Questions 1–6

Complete the table below.

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

Questions 7–10

Complete the notes below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

• General information
• Participants must be able to swim.
• Bring suitable clothing, a 7 ………… and toiletries (e.g. shampoo).
• There is a 8 ………… at the club.
• Online training 9 ………… are recommended.
• 10 ………… are available for course participants.

Sailing Club Enquiry Listening Answers

Questions and Answers

Sailing Club Enquiry Answer Explanations

1. ten — the table gives £120 for a single booking and asks for the maximum group size, and the woman says “usually about eight people but no more than ten”, so the upper figure after the correction fills the gap. Eight is the trap, because the speaker moves from the usual group size to the limit. The key accepts ten or 10, since this task allows ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.

2. weather — the row covers the theory content of the Level 1 course, and the woman explains “you learn about things like the weather” before adding “and also the tides”. Tides is already printed in the table, so weather completes the pairing. Spell it weather, never whether.

3. safety — the gap sits directly before information in the practical skills row, and the instructor “will make sure you understand everything you need to know about safety”. Harbour, dinghies and instructor all appear in the same passage, but safety is the only word that fits the stem safety information.

4. discount — the row pairs the £200 price with club members, and the woman says “There’s a discount for members” when the man hesitates about joining. The price figure and the word cheaper are the traps, because the missing noun names what members actually receive.

5. dictionary — the extra item included in the all-inclusive price is “a really good dictionary explaining all the sailing terminology”. Terminology and pictures are the distractors, because they describe the dictionary rather than name it, and the spelling ends in -ary.

6. certificate — what every participant receives at the end is confirmed by the line “on completion of the course you get a certificate”. Level 2 is the trap, because the woman mentions moving on to it afterwards, not receiving it. Watch the double letters and the final -ate.

7. towel — the caller supplies the answer himself with “And a towel?”, and the woman confirms with “Yes definitely”. Wetsuits and life jackets are the trap, because the club will “provide wetsuits and life jackets”, so you do not bring them. The notes allow ONE WORD ONLY: towel.

8. café — the note reads There is a …… at the club, and the man asks “is there a café at the club” before the woman confirms the food on sale there. Sandwiches, cakes and snacks are the distractors, because they are what the café sells. Write the answer with the acute accent: café, not cafe.

9. videos — the recommended preparation is caught by the line “I recommend you watch some videos we use for training”. Link and online appear in the same sentences, but they describe how the materials reach you, and the plural videos is required to score.

10. lockers — the man says he will cycle to the club and asks “if there are lockers for people to use”, and the woman confirms there are plenty in the changing rooms. Changing rooms is the distractor; the answer is lockers, plural and lower case exactly as the key prints it.

Listening Transcript — Section 1

WOMAN: Hello, Oyster Bay Sailing Club. How can I help you?

MAN: Oh hi. I’d like to find out about sailing courses for beginners.

WOMAN: No problem. Is it for yourself?

MAN: Yes. I had a look online but I’m not sure which course would be best.

WOMAN: OK. Well you might be interested in our Taster Days?

MAN: Possibly.

WOMAN: So these are for people who’ve never sailed before – it’s basically an introduction to sailing to find out whether you enjoy it and want to carry on with it.

MAN: And how much is that?

WOMAN: It’s £120 for the day – but it’s reduced to £110 each if there are two of you.

MAN: No, it would just be me.

WOMAN: Oh that’s fine. You’d be in a small group, usually about eight people but no more than ten – and everyone’s always very friendly.

MAN: Uh huh. And are there any other suitable courses?

WOMAN: The other option is the Level 1 course. These are two-day weekend courses and we run those all year round.

MAN: OK. And what do you learn on that course?

WOMAN: This is a mix of theory and practical skills. So you learn about things like the weather, which is obviously really important and also the tides, as well as learning basic sailing skills. You go out into the harbour in special training dinghies for beginners, two people in each dinghy and an instructor. He or she will make sure you understand everything you need to know about safety.

MAN: It sounds like hard work!

WOMAN: Yes, but you’ll have a lot of fun too.

MAN: And the cost of that one is … ?

WOMAN: £200. But it’s a bit cheaper if you decide to join the club. There’s a discount for members.

MAN: Well, I’m not sure about that yet.

WOMAN: You’ve got plenty of time to decide.

MAN: And does the cost include everything?

WOMAN: Yes, everything’s included and you also get a really good dictionary explaining all the sailing terminology. A lot of people struggle with this at first. It’s got lots of pictures, so I’m sure you’d find it really helpful. And on completion of the course you get a certificate. Then you’re ready to move on to the Level 2 course.

MAN: Sounds good.

WOMAN: I think that’s all the info you need for now. Just a couple of general things. For example, it’s really important that you know how to swim.

MAN: Yes, I’m pretty confident in the water.

WOMAN: Great. The other thing I should tell you is that we provide wetsuits and life jackets but you need to bring swimming trunks and some old trainers.

MAN: And a towel?

WOMAN: Yes definitely. And you might want to bring your own toiletries, things like shampoo.

MAN: OK. What about food and drink? Do I need to bring that or is there a café at the club?

WOMAN: Yes, you can get sandwiches, cakes and snacks there. The food’s pretty reasonable.

MAN: OK good. Well I think I’m interested in the Level 1 course. But I know absolutely nothing about sailing so is there anything I can do to prepare myself a bit?

WOMAN: I recommend you watch some videos we use for training. They’re available online. I can send you the link. They’ll give you an idea of what to expect.

MAN: Perfect, thanks. That would be very helpful. Oh and just one other thing – I’ll be cycling to the club and will need somewhere to put valuables. I’m just wondering if there are lockers for people to use?

WOMAN: Yes, there are plenty in the changing rooms.

MAN: Great. OK well could you book me onto…

Key Vocabulary and Spelling

Study Tips

Respect the two different word limits in this section. Questions 1–6 allow ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER, which is why Question 1 scores with ten or with 10. Questions 7–10 allow ONE WORD ONLY, so writing a towel for Question 7 fails while towel scores. Fix the limit in your head during the pause before the audio starts, then use the note completion strategy to read every stem and predict the word class each gap needs before the speaker reaches it.

This caller corrects himself and gets corrected, and the answers sit in the revisions. The £110 concession dies when he says “No, it would just be me”, so £120 stands for Question 1’s row, and the group size follows the same pattern: “usually about eight people but no more than ten” gives the limit, not the average. Keep your pencil moving until each point is fully settled, because the first number you hear is rarely the one that scores.

Sort provided from brought before you write. The club will “provide wetsuits and life jackets”, so those words answer nothing in Questions 7–10, while the towel, the trainers and the swimming trunks are yours to bring. Spelling settles three marks here — café with its acute accent, certificate with its double letters, lockers in the plural — and each one is easier to control when you already know the word class the stem needs, so build the habit of predicting answers before you hear them into every practice run.

Practice More Listening Tests

Mark the ten answers strictly, read the explanation for every miss, and log the result on the full Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 1 answers page, which holds the keys, explanations and transcripts for all four sections. The free IELTS listening practice course from Simply IELTS drills the skills this section rewards: tracking corrected numbers, respecting word limits and spelling frequent answers such as café and certificate. Then try this interactive listening test: boat trip around tasmania listening answers for another waterside practice under exam conditions, and continue to Section 2, the Working as a Film Makeup Artist listening test, to keep the full paper in order.