Listening Success: A Guide to the C1 Advanced (CAE)

Philo and Sophia practise every part of the Listening paper together

≈40 minutes 4 parts · 30 questions Every recording is played twice

1The Four Listening Parts, at a Glance

Part 1

3 short extracts · 6 questions

Part 2

One monologue · sentence completion

Part 3

One conversation · 6 questions

Part 4

5 monologues · matching, 10 questions

PhiloPart 1 has only three extracts, but two questions each — what's that about?

SophiaEach of the three short extracts is played once, then you answer both of its questions before moving to the next — so you need to hold two things in mind from a single hearing.

2Part 1: Three Short Extracts

Three unrelated short extracts, each with two three-option multiple-choice questions — six questions in total from just three recordings.

Example Speaker: Everyone assumed I'd take over the workshop eventually, and for years I let them think so, mostly because it was easier than explaining I'd never actually wanted to. It wasn't until my mentor asked me outright that I finally said what I meant.

Why did the speaker not correct people's assumption earlier?

A She hadn't decided what she wanted.
B It was simpler not to explain herself.
C She was afraid of disappointing them.

"it was easier than explaining" directly supports B — nothing in the extract suggests indecision (A) or fear of disappointment (C).

3Part 2: Sentence Completion

One monologue, about three minutes long, with eight gapped sentences to complete — the same format as FCE Part 2, but the content and vocabulary are more specialised.

Strategy

At this level the missing information is sometimes a precise technical term or figure. If you miss it, leave a guess based on the sentence's grammar (a number, a name, a place) rather than leaving it blank.

4Part 3: Multiple Choice — Conversation

One longer conversation between two or more speakers (around four minutes), with six four-option questions on opinion, attitude, and detailed meaning.

Example Host: So you'd say the restoration was a success overall?
Guest: Largely, yes — though I'd stop short of calling it a triumph. We preserved the structure, but something of the original atmosphere was lost in the process. That's not a failure, exactly. Just a cost worth naming.

What is the guest's overall assessment of the restoration?

A It was an unqualified success.
B It succeeded, but with a real trade-off.
C It was a disguised failure.

"Largely, yes" plus "a cost worth naming" together rule out both an unqualified success (A) and a failure (C) — the nuanced middle ground is B.

5Part 4: Multiple Matching

Five short, themed monologues (around 30 seconds each) are heard, and you complete two separate matching tasks against them — ten questions in total from the same five recordings.

Strategy

You're answering two different questions about the same five speakers, so on the second listen, focus entirely on the second task — trust the answers you already noted for the first.

6How Listening Is Scored

Part 1

6 marks

Part 2

8 marks

Part 3

6 marks

Part 4

10 marks

30 marks total, one per question, no penalty for guessing.