This travel to the Shetland Islands listening test page presents Section 1 of Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3, with the full answer key for Questions 1–10, playable audio, an explanation for every question backed by the exact line of the recording, and the complete transcript. Tammy quizzes Paul about the overnight ferry his family took to Shetland, and all ten questions are note completion under a ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER limit.

The notes shadow the conversation in order: the ferry company, how often sailings run, the price, the cancellation policy, the best cabin, what to pack for children and the dog, the morning wildlife and a castle near the port. Fix the word class of each gap with the note completion strategy, keep the two ticket figures straight, then check your ten marks against the complete Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3 answers page covering 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 1–10

Complete the notes below.

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

(if cancelled a month in advance)

– luxury cabins have a TV

• Ferry to Shetland Islands
• Name of ferry company: 1 ………… Ferries
• Ferries depart seven times per 2 ………… in summer
• Cost for four people with car: a little less than £ 3 …………
• Cancellation policy: receive a 4 ………… (if cancelled a month in advance)
• Advice
• Cabins: – book one with a 5 ………… – luxury cabins have a TV
• Bring snacks and 6 ………… for the children
• A 7 ………… is required for the dog kennels
• Try to see 8 ………… in the morning
• If time, visit 9 ………… Castle
• The 10 ………… restaurant in a nearby village is recommended

Travel to the Shetland Islands Listening Answers

Questions and Answers

Travel to the Shetland Islands Answer Explanations

1. Northern — Tammy asks which company Paul used, and the answer is “it’s called Northern Ferries”. The stem ends in the printed word Ferries, so the company name supplies Northern, with a capital letter because it is a proper name. Aberdeen is the trap: “The ferries all leave from Aberdeen” names the departure port, not the operator.

2. week — the note reads seven times per …… in summer, and Paul explains there is one ferry each evening, “seven days a week”. Seven sailings spread across seven days fixes the period as a week, while “They may only run on four or five days then” describes the winter, not the season the note asks about.

3. 250 — the cost line reads a little less than £ ……, and Paul says the trip for his party “worked out at just under £250”. The figure is what the key prints, because this part allows a number; £400 fails as the amount Tammy merely expected, “more like £400 during the peak season”.

4. voucher — money back is ruled out by “I don’t think it’s their policy to give refunds”, and what passengers actually receive is “just a voucher”, usable at a later date. The notes already print the condition that you must cancel a month in advance, so voucher completes the policy line.

5. window — the advice note recommends a cabin type, and Paul’s regret gives it away: “We booked too late to get a cabin with a window”. Inner cabins are the cheaper option he contrasts it with, and the TV in luxury cabins is already printed in the notes, so window is the only choice that fits the gap.

6. books — the note pairs snacks with a second item for the children, and weak onboard wifi settles it: “it’s best to bring some books for them”. Snacks are already printed in the notes, because “The selection on board is quite limited”, so books fills the gap.

7. blanket — the dog note asks what the kennels require, and Paul reports “The kennels on board are OK” before adding “you just need to provide a blanket”. Kennels answer what the dog travels in, and blanket is the single item owners must bring.

8. dolphins — the morning highlight is “keeping a lookout for dolphins”, and Paul confirms the reward with “we saw loads”. The plural matters, because the children are watching a group, not one animal.

9. Drum — the castle near Aberdeen fills the gap in …… Castle, and Paul names it in two words: “Drum Castle”. Tammy’s question “Is that spelt like the instrument?” settles the spelling, so write Drum with a capital D.

10. Italian — the castle itself offers no proper meal, so the recommended restaurant is the one where the family “found an Italian one in a village nearby”. The note asks for the cuisine in front of restaurant, and nationality adjectives such as Italian take a capital letter.

Listening Transcript — Section 1

TAMMY: You know when you went to the Shetland Islands last year, Paul? Did you go by ferry or did you fly?

PAUL: We went by ferry, Tammy. I prefer driving to flying – the journey feels like part of the holiday.

TAMMY: Mmm. Which ferry company did you use?

PAUL: There’s only one – it’s called Northern Ferries. The ferries all leave from Aberdeen.

TAMMY: How frequent are they?

PAUL: The service is pretty limited – there’s only one ferry leaving every evening in summer anyway, seven days a week – I’m not sure about the winter months. They may only run on four or five days then.

TAMMY: OK. So it’s an overnight trip. I quite like that idea. Leaving at night and waking up as you arrive on the island. Can you remember how much you paid for your tickets?

PAUL: They were really cheap and four people and a car worked out at just under £250.

TAMMY: Really? I was expecting it to be more like £400 during the peak season.

PAUL: So was I. It’s great value. It’s a good idea to book in advance because I think they get booked up quite quickly – especially during the school holidays.

TAMMY: Yes, I suppose so. I’m just not 100% sure of our plans yet. What if I had to cancel?

PAUL: That could be a problem. I don’t think it’s their policy to give refunds – just a voucher – which you can use at a later date. But you have to cancel a month in advance to get that.

TAMMY: Right. Well we need to make up our minds quickly then.

PAUL: You’d want to book a cabin too. We booked too late to get a cabin with a window. They’re more expensive but much nicer than the inner cabins. You don’t have to book a cabin at all but I think it’s worth paying for. They also have luxury cabins, which are only for two people and have a TV – but I wouldn’t bother with those.

TAMMY: No, I agree.

PAUL: The only other thing I can think of is to make sure you bring snacks for the kids. The selection on board is quite limited and not that healthy either.

TAMMY: Mmm. What about wifi on board? Is that any good?

PAUL: Not really. So it’s best to bring some books for them.

TAMMY: OK. We may need to bring the dog if I can’t get anyone to look after him.

PAUL: We brought ours and it was fine. The kennels on board are OK – they’re quite big – you just need to provide a blanket.

TAMMY: Uhuh. Sounds good.

PAUL: It was all very easy really – and it was quite an adventure for the kids. They loved being on the sea at night and in the morning keeping a lookout for dolphins – we saw loads.

TAMMY: Oh, the kids would love that!

PAUL: One other thing. We arrived in Aberdeen hours before the ferry was due to leave so we decided to go somewhere else rather than hang around at the port for so long.

TAMMY: Where did you go?

PAUL: Drum Castle.

TAMMY: I’ve never heard of it. Is that spelt like the instrument?

PAUL: Yeah. It’s really worth visiting. It’s got an impressive tower and beautiful gardens and ancient woodland.

TAMMY: Sounds lovely. Does it have a restaurant?

PAUL: It’s only got a coffee shop – no restaurant. We looked up restaurants in the area and found an Italian one in a village nearby. I can check the name of it for you if you’re interested.

TAMMY: Oh thanks Paul that would be ….

Key Vocabulary and Spelling

Study Tips

Section 1 rewards exact copying under the ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER limit. Question 3 wants the figure 250, not two hundred and fifty written out, and not the £400 Tammy wrongly expected; Question 2 wants week, because the notes already print the seven. When a word such as snacks or TV is printed in the notes, the answer is always the item beside it, never the printed word itself.

Numbers in this conversation arrive in pairs: 250 paid against £400 expected, seven summer evenings against four or five winter days, a month in advance for the voucher. Use the preview time to predict what each gap holds — a company name, a time period, an amount of money — because predicting answers before you hear them tells you at once that a winter figure cannot answer a question about summer.

Three answers are proper nouns and one is a tricky plural, and all four lose marks when mistyped: Northern with a capital N, Drum — confirmed in the recording as spelt like the instrument — Italian with a capital I, and dolphins with its plural s. The listening spelling rules cover exactly these name, capital and plural traps before test day.

Practice More Listening Tests

Add your Section 1 marks to the running total on the full Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3 answers page, which holds keys, explanations and transcripts for all four sections. The free IELTS listening practice course from Simply IELTS builds the habits this conversation rewards: copying single words and numbers exactly and resisting the second, corrected figure a speaker drops in. Then try this interactive listening test: boat trip around tasmania listening answers, a nautical paper that pairs with the ferry crossing, before you move on to the street food talk in Section 2, the fashion discussion in Section 3 and the invasive species lecture in Section 4.