CAE (Advanced Exam) Listening Test 3
1 C  2 C  3 B  4 C  5 B  6 A

Extract One
You hear part of a discussion programme in which two artists are talking about their work.
Now look at questions 1 and 2.

F: I’m always getting asked where I get the inspiration for my art. I find that a tough one to
answer, don’t you?
M: Well, I think the answer’s got to be there. The real issue is whether you’re ready to open up to
that extent. Because whether you think in those terms yourself or not, it’s hardly an easy
thing to articulate.
F: You seem to manage.
M: Well, take my most recent work. In that, I’ve been looking at the idea of the annual holiday. I
was struck by the thought that it was just another thing that we interact with. In the various
brochures and pamphlets, destinations are similarly grouped together in digestible sections,
making them objects of desire that we use in our leisure time.
F: You mean, the gloss and the allure of the images, tempting us to make the visit?
M: Not just that. It’s also that from there it’s a short step to believing that we’re leaving the
pressures of the everyday behind us, when in truth there’s a difference between the actual
experience and the sanitised reality printed on the page. And that’s what I want to look into.

Extract Two
You hear two club DJs talking about their work.
Now look at questions 3 and 4.

M: I started out working for a radio station as a studio assistant and because of my love of
electronic music, I tried to push it at the station. I pretty soon got my own show because I was
pretty knowledgeable about the music scene. It wasn’t easy and I soon discovered that I
wasn’t really cut out to be an interviewer – so I wasn’t comfortable in the role. But once I
started doing club DJ-ing, I knew I’d found my real niche.
F: Yeah. The connection with the crowd can sometimes be incredible, can’t it? I’d never have
thought that playing records could ever become my life. But here I am, making a living out of
it.
M: And not a bad one either. I play lots of different styles because I like them all in their own
way. But it really depends on the party and the crowd – you’ve got to give them what they
want.
F: No two sets are ever the same in that respect and that’s the beauty of it. I’m all for being
flexible, but I don’t play tracks which I don’t like myself. I reckon that’d be selling out.
M: Really? I’m happy to go with the flow actually.

Extract Three
You hear part of an interview with the owner of a new cake shop.
Now look at questions 5 and 6.

M: Now Teresa, you’ve just opened your own cake shop in town. Was it always your ambition to
be a cake-maker?
F: Hardly. I left school at seventeen with little idea of where I was heading. I took a job in an
Italian restaurant because there was little else available. I had no experience but I found I
loved the buzz of working in the kitchen, so I decided to go to catering college. Although I’d
never actually done any before, I focussed on cake-making there because it’s quite artistic,
but also scientific. Getting the right ingredients in the right measures is not something you
can leave to chance. I like that idea.
M: So how’s the cake shop going?
F: Well, after the initial blaze of publicity, you get really worried about whether you’ve made the
right decision. People come and try your stuff cos you’re the new shop on the block 4 but do
they come back? I had lots of expert advice about pricing and the range of goods to offer, but
most of it turned out to be pretty wide of the mark. So I’ve learnt to follow my instincts, and
fortunately we’re beginning to see a firm customer base emerging as a result.