Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 Answers with Detailed Explanations

Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 Answers with Detailed Explanations

Meta Description: Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 answers with detailed explanations, vocabulary, distractors, and IELTS Listening tips for better band scores.

English Guru Campus Trainer Note: Do not just check the answer key. The real improvement starts when you understand why the answer is correct and how IELTS tries to distract you.

Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 Overview

Book Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic
Test Listening Test 2
Total Questions 40
Sections 4

Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 Answer Key

Part 1: Copying Photos to Digital Format

Question Answer
1frame
2195
3payment
4Grandparents
5colour / color
6hand
7background
8focus
9ten days / 10 days
10plastic

Part 2: Minster Park

Question Answer
11C
12B
13A
14A
15C
16D
17A
18B
19B / C
20B / C

Note: Questions 19 and 20 can be written in either order.

Part 3: Assignment on Sleep and Dreams

Question Answer
21B
22A
23C
24C
25history
26paper
27humans / people
28stress
29graph
30evaluate

Part 4: Health Benefits of Dance

Question Answer
31creativity
32therapy
33fitness
34balance
35brain
36motivation
37isolation
38calories
39obesity
40habit

Detailed Explanations

Questions 1–10: Copying Photos to Digital Format

1. frame — The photos should not be inside a frame or album. This is a common IELTS Listening trap because students may hear both words, but the gap asks for the item before “or an album”.

2. 195 — The price for copying 360 photos is £195. Be careful with numbers because IELTS often uses prices, dates, phone numbers, and measurements to test attention.

3. payment — The order is sent only after payment is received. The word fits naturally after “before the complete order is sent”.

4. Grandparents — Photos can be organised into folders with names such as “Grandparents”. Capitalisation is not important in IELTS Listening, but spelling is important.

5. colour / color — Both British and American spellings are accepted. The service can improve the colour and contrast of photos.

6. hand — Fragile photos are scanned by hand. This is an important phrase because “by hand” means manually, not using an automatic process.

7. background — The special restore service may change the background of a photo. The answer must be a noun.

8. focus — A photo that is not correctly in focus cannot be fixed. Many students wrongly write “focused”, but the phrase is “in focus”.

9. ten days / 10 days — Orders are completed within ten days. Both word and number forms are accepted.

10. plastic — Photos should not be sent in plastic. This is a practical instruction question, so listen carefully for warnings and negative phrases.

Trainer’s Note: Part 1 looks easy, but students lose marks because of spelling, singular/plural mistakes, and writing the wrong form of a word. Never relax in Section 1.

Questions 11–20: Minster Park

11. C — Dartfield House was finally used as a local council building. The speaker mentions other possibilities, but those are distractors.

12. B — The lower school site will be used for new homes. The trap is that students may hear information about school buildings and assume construction is for the school.

13. A — Catering was changed mainly because students had to wait too long. The key idea is waiting time, not food quality.

14. A — Parents are advised to discuss food choices with children before school. This helps students go directly to the correct serving point.

15. C — The old canteen can be used by students who bring lunch from home or buy food from the Food Hall.

16. D — World Adventures serves food from different countries. The important clue is international variety.

17. A — Street Life allows pupils to make suggestions about food. The answer is connected with student involvement.

18. B — Speedy Italian is suitable for students who do not eat meat or fish. This points to vegetarian-friendly food.

19 and 20. B / C — These answers can be written in either order. They refer to activities newly available or newly arranged at the school.

Questions 21–30: Assignment on Sleep and Dreams

21. B — The article discusses how remembering dreams may confuse people about what really happened and what was only dreamed.

22. A — The idea of dreams predicting the future is treated as coincidence. The speakers reject the idea that dreams regularly come true.

23. C — The experiment with pre-school children did not produce a clear answer. The problem was not poor methodology but unclear findings.

24. C — Both speakers had difficulty with self-assessment in a previous assignment. The clue is that both of them mention being marked down.

25. history — They decide to use history students for the study. “Literature” is mentioned but rejected, so it is a distractor.

26. paper — They choose paper because participants can complete it immediately after waking up.

27. humans / people — Ethical guidelines are needed because the experiment involves humans or people.

28. stress — Participants must not be put under unnecessary stress. This is a common academic word in IELTS Listening.

29. graph — Results should be presented visually in a graph. The word “visually” helps predict the answer.

30. evaluate — The final stage is to evaluate the research. A verb is needed here, so “evaluation” would be grammatically wrong.

Questions 31–40: Health Benefits of Dance

31. creativity — Dance is connected with improved creativity in problem-solving tasks.

32. therapy — Dance may be used as therapy for mental and emotional problems.

33. fitness — Dance is accessible even for people with low levels of fitness.

34. balance — Dance can improve balance, which reduces the risk of falls and accidents.

35. brain — Remembering dance steps helps brain function because it makes the brain work faster.

36. motivation — Older people may gain more motivation to exercise and stay active.

37. isolation — Dance can reduce isolation, especially among older people.

38. calories — A 40-minute Zumba session burns a significant number of calories.

39. obesity — The study focused on women suffering from obesity.

40. habit — Zumba became a habit for the participants because they enjoyed it and continued regularly.

Important Vocabulary from This Listening Test

  • fragile — easily broken or damaged
  • restore — to repair or bring back to good condition
  • contrast — the difference between light and dark areas
  • catering — food service
  • ethical guidelines — rules about what is morally acceptable in research
  • evaluate — to judge or assess carefully
  • therapy — treatment for physical or mental problems
  • isolation — loneliness or separation from others
  • obesity — a medical condition involving excessive body weight

Common IELTS Listening Traps in This Test

  • Words mentioned but later rejected
  • Similar options in multiple-choice questions
  • Singular and plural confusion
  • Wrong word form, such as “evaluation” instead of “evaluate”
  • Spelling mistakes in simple words
  • Answers that can be written in either order

IELTS Listening Tips for Cambridge 16 Test 2

  1. Read the question carefully before the audio starts.
  2. Underline keywords in the question.
  3. Expect synonyms, not exact words.
  4. Listen until the speaker finishes the idea.
  5. Check grammar after writing the answer.
  6. Do not write more words than the instruction allows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 difficult?

It is moderate. Part 1 is straightforward, but Parts 2 and 3 require careful attention to distractors and paraphrasing.

Can I write “color” instead of “colour”?

Yes. Both British and American spellings are accepted in IELTS Listening.

Can Questions 19 and 20 be written in any order?

Yes. For this test, answers B and C can be written in either order.

How can I improve my IELTS Listening score?

After each practice test, do not only check the answer key. Listen again, find the distractors, note the synonyms, and write down why you made each mistake.

Related IELTS Listening Articles

Final Advice from English Guru Campus

Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 2 is a useful practice test because it checks several important IELTS Listening skills: spelling, word prediction, multiple-choice elimination, paraphrasing, and understanding distractors.

If your score is low, do not simply move to the next test. Repeat this test, listen to the audio again, and study each mistake carefully. That is how real IELTS improvement happens.

Need IELTS training? Join English Guru Campus for IELTS, spoken English, grammar, interview training, and professional English courses.

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