This Section 4 Listening (a lecture) will help you with:
- practise gap-fill questions
- how to transfer your answers accurately
Listening gapfill tips
- The answers always appear in the same order as the questions. So don’t jump around the questions. Listen for signals and signposts.
- Try to guess (predict) answers before you listen – prepare your brain to expect a noun, number, adjective etc.
- There is always some ‘padding’ in between each answer, to give you time to get ready for the next gap. Learn to recognize this kind of unimportant information when you’re doing Practice tests.
- Synonyms will almost always give you the answer, so spend time building your vocabulary.
- Reference words are words like ‘it’ ‘this’ ‘that’ ‘them’ ‘those’ ‘these’ and ‘he/she/it/they’ often link back to the answer in the previous sentence.
- Many gapfill answers are PLURAL NOUNS so you absolutely must put the ‘s’ when you transfer the answers to the answer sheet (it’s one of the main reasons why people lose points).
- Spelling IS important. Spend time learning words with irregular spelling or ‘difficult’ spelling patterns.
Try the Listening Test yourself by watching my YouTube Video (get explanations at the end):
Listen here:
Questions 31 – 35: Write NO MORE THAN three words for each answer
31 According to George Bernard Shaw, men are supposed to understand ___________________, economics and finance.
32 However, women are more prepared to _________about them.
33 Women tend to save for ______________and a house.
34 Men tend to save for ______________and for retirement.
35 Women who are left alone may have to pay for ______________________ when they are old.
31 According to George Bernard Shaw, men are supposed to understand politics, economics and finance. (remember the plural ‘s‘)
Back in 1928 the British writer George Bernard Shaw wrote in his Intelligent Women’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism that ‘A man is supposed to understand politics, economics and finance and is therefore unwilling to accept essential instruction’
32 However, women are more prepared to learn about them.
He also said ‘A woman, having fewer pretensions, is far more willing to learn’.
33 Women tend to save for their children’s education and a house.
Let’s look at what men and women actually save for. Research studies of women in North America have found that women are far more likely to save for their children’s education and they are also more likely to save up in order to buy a house one day.
34 Men tend to save for a car and for retirement. (remember to write ‘a’ here)
The same studies have found that men, on the other hand, tend to save for a car. But the other main priority for men when saving money is their retirement. When they’re earning, they’re far more likely to put money aside for their old age than women are.
35 Women who are left alone may have to pay for nursing care when they are old.
Now this is rather disturbing, because in fact the need for women to save for their old age is far greater than for men. Let’s consider this for a moment. To start with, it is a fact that throughout the world, women are likely to live many years longer than men, so they need money to support them during this time. Since women are likely to be the ones left without a partner in old age, they may therefore have to pay for nursing care, because they don’t have a spouse to look after them.
Questions 36 – 40
Complete the summary below.
Write no more than three words and/or a number for each answer.
Saving for the future
Research indicates that many women only think about their financial future when a 36 _______________________ occurs. This is the worst time to make decisions. It is best for women to start thinking about pensions when they are in their 37 ___________________ . A good way for women to develop their 38 ____________________________in dealing with financial affairs would be to attend classes in 39 ____________________. When investing in stocks and shares, it is suggested that women should put a high proportion of their savings in 40 ____________________. In such ways, women can have a comfortable, independent retirement.
Questions 36 – 40
Saving for the future
Research indicates that many women only think about their financial future when a 36 crisis occurs. (don’t write ‘a’ here)
So what can be done about this situation? The population in North America is likely to contain an increasing number of elderly women. The research indicates that at present for women it takes a crisis to make them think about their future financial situation.
This is the worst time to make decisions. It is best for women to start thinking about pensions when they are in their 37 early 20s/twenties. (both spellings are ok)
But of course this is the very worst time for anyone to make important decisions. Women today need to look ahead, think ahead – not wait until they’re under pressure. Even women in their early twenties need to think about pensions, for example.
A good way for women to develop their 38 confidence in dealing with financial affairs would be to attend classes in 39 Money Management. (don’t worry about capital letters)
Research also suggests that women avoid dealing effectively with their economic situation because of a lack of confidence. The best way for them to overcome this is by getting themselves properly informed so they are less dependent on other people’s advice. A number of initiatives have been set up to help them do this. This College for example is one of the educational institutions which offers night class in Money Management.
When investing in stocks and shares, it is suggested that women should put a high proportion of their savings in 40 low-risk investments. In such ways, women can have a comfortable, independent retirement.
Many women are unwilling to invest in stocks and shares, but these can be extremely profitable. It is usually advised that at least 70% of a person’s saving should be in low-risk investments but for the rest, financial advisors often advise taking some well-informed risks.
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