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Module 3 · Reading & The Article · Lesson 12

Listening Part 2

One monologue. Ten short gaps. Write the EXACT words you hear — usually 1–3 words. Train prediction, listening for substitution, and the no-paraphrase rule.

CEFR B260 minListening P2Core

Get talking · Section 1

5 min

activity
Predict the gap

Read aloud: 'My favourite season is ___ because the weather is mild.' Predict the word. Now: 'I always travel by ___ when going to work.' Notice — your brain already narrows the possibilities. That IS Part 2.

discussion
Exact, not equivalent

In pairs, discuss: if the speaker says 'flexibility', is 'freedom' a correct answer? Why not?

reflection
What word fits?

Look around the room. Describe one object in a sentence with a missing word. Your partner guesses the missing word.

Grammar focus · Section 2

8–10 min

The three habits Part 2 demands

Grammar focus

Part 2 is a small set of habits that compound. (1) PREDICT before listening — read each stem in the 45-second preview and ask 'what TYPE of word fits?' (a noun? a number? a place? a time?). (2) LISTEN FOR THE EXACT WORDS — examiners ONLY accept what the speaker said, not your paraphrase.

Examples

  • → Stem: 'The hotel was built in ___.' → Type expected: a year (4 digits). Listen for it precisely.

  • → Stem: 'She finds the job most rewarding because of the ___ it offers.' → Type expected: a noun (freedom? variety?

    flexibility?) Wait for the exact word.

  • → Stem: 'Visitors are advised to bring ___.' → Type expected: an object / item. Listen for the noun that comes after 'should bring' / 'need to bring'.

  • → Stem: 'The course lasts ___.' → Type expected: a duration (weeks, days, months).

  • → Watch out: speakers often SUBSTITUTE one word for another. 'It's organised by — well, run by — the city council.' The answer is 'run by' or 'the city council', NOT 'organised'.

Open Grammar Reference

Question 1.How many gaps are in Listening Part 2?

Question 2.How many WORDS usually go in each gap?

Question 3.If the speaker says 'flexibility' but you write 'freedom', the answer is…

Question 4.Best use of the 45-second preview before audio starts:

Question 5.Speakers often SUBSTITUTE the answer ('organised by — sorry, run by'). The correct answer is…

Answer all items, then check.

Quick check 1.Do you hear the audio once or twice in Part 2?

Quick check 2.Is your spelling marked in Part 2?

Quick check 3.Best place to write the answer:

Answer all items, then check.

Vocabulary · Section 3

5–7 min

Words & phrases to own

Open Vocabulary Bank
1

to predict

to guess in advance — the core skill in the 45-second preview.

2

stem

the printed sentence with a gap, e.g. 'Visitors are advised to bring ___.'

3

gap

the blank you must complete with 1–3 words.

4

monologue

one person speaking continuously — the format of Part 2.

5

to substitute

to replace one word with another mid-sentence — a classic Part 2 trap.

6

to paraphrase

to say the same idea in different words — NOT accepted in Part 2 answers.

7

to capture

to catch and write down the exact words — the listening skill Part 2 rewards.

8

distractor

a word the speaker uses that SOUNDS like the answer but isn't — designed to trick you.

9

signpost

a phrase that tells you the answer is coming: 'the main reason is…', 'what visitors usually miss is…'.

10

to transfer

to copy your answers from question paper to answer sheet — the last 5 minutes of the test.

Matching
Match each stem with the WORD TYPE you should predict for it.

Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Answer all items, then check.
Categorise
Sort these signposts by what they signal in the recording.
Answer all items, then check.

Pronunciation · Section 4

3–4 min

Hearing weak forms and linking — where Part 2 answers hide

Say it aloud

  • • Listen for the stressed word: 'You'll need to bring SOMEWARMCLOTHES.' (stress on 'warm clothes', the answer).
  • • Linking: 'It opens AT_EIGHT thirty.' — 'at' is unstressed and links into the answer 'eight thirty'.
  • • Weak 'of': 'the city OF Bath' — the city name is stressed; 'of' nearly disappears.
  • • Drill: shadow today's listening at half speed first, then full speed. The answer always sits on a stressed syllable.
  • • Spelling trap: if the speaker says 'I-N-T-E-R-N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L' or any proper noun, they will OFTEN spell it. Listen and copy letter by letter.

Reading · Section 5

8–10 min

Why Listening Part 2 is really a writing test

Read the passageTap to open

Listening Part 2 is the section of the Cambridge B2 First paper where most candidates believe they are being tested on what they can hear. They are wrong. They are being tested on what they can CAPTURE — that is, what they can write down quickly and accurately while continuing to listen to a speaker who is not slowing down for them. The reading skill is real; the listening skill is real; but the bottleneck is almost always the pen.

The instruction looks generous: 'Write between one and three words in each gap.' In practice, this is a trap. Candidates who hear a perfectly correct paraphrase in their head — 'freedom' when the speaker said 'flexibility' — write the paraphrase down, sometimes with quiet pride, and lose the mark. The Cambridge mark scheme is explicit: only the EXACT words the speaker used are accepted, with very limited tolerance for spelling errors and almost none for word substitution. To a candidate raised on flexible communication this feels unfair. It is not. It is a test of capture, not of communication.

The second confusion is about what to do during the 45-second preview before the recording starts. Many candidates use it to read each stem once, vaguely. Examiners suggest a more useful drill: read each stem and PREDICT THE TYPE OF WORD that fits the gap. A stem ending in 'in ___' before a place noun is asking for a place. A stem with 'costs just ___' is asking for an amount. A stem with 'thanks to her ___' is asking for a noun, almost certainly singular. Knowing the TYPE narrows what your ear is hunting for and stops you from being thrown by speaker substitutions and distractors.

Third, there is the issue of substitution. Native speakers, even when scripted, correct themselves: 'It was founded by, well, the founder is officially a man called Roberts, but it was really the idea of his sister Anna.' A candidate listening for the first name they hear will write 'Roberts'. The correct answer, hidden in the second clause, is 'Anna' or 'his sister'. The signal word — 'well', 'actually', 'sorry, I mean' — is the cue to overwrite your first guess.

The practical move is simple and almost mechanical: predict, listen, capture, then on the second hearing CHECK SPELLING and CHECK FOR SUBSTITUTION. Candidates who run this routine on every item routinely score eight or nine out of ten on Part 2. Candidates who treat it as a passive listening test routinely score five.

Question 1.According to the writer, the bottleneck in Part 2 is…

Question 2.Why is writing 'freedom' wrong if the speaker said 'flexibility'?

Question 3.Best use of the 45-second preview is to…

Question 4.What is a SUBSTITUTION in Part 2?

Question 5.What's the writer's overall recommendation?

Answer all items, then check.
True / False / Not Given
Decide if each statement is True or False

Q1.Cambridge accepts paraphrases as long as the meaning is the same.

Q2.Predicting the WORD TYPE for each gap is a recommended drill.

Q3.Speakers in Part 2 sometimes correct themselves mid-sentence.

Q4.Spelling is not marked in Part 2.

Answer all items, then check.

Listening · Section 6

8–10 min

A radio feature on 'The Lighthouse Museum' — sample Part 2 monologue (≈ 2:30)

Listening audio

Tap play to listen. Drag the timeline to jump anywhere.

Show transcript

Presenter:Welcome to today's Travel File. We're visiting the Lighthouse Museum on the coast of Northumberland — small, unusual, and frankly one of the best-kept secrets on this stretch of coast.

Presenter:The lighthouse itself was first lit in 1857, but the building you can visit today, the keeper's cottage, was added in 1892. It was converted into a museum just over twenty years ago, in 2003.

Presenter:What I'd particularly recommend is the small upstairs room. Most visitors miss it, but it's where the original logbooks are displayed — handwritten records from every keeper who ever worked here.

Presenter:The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, ten in the morning until five in the afternoon. It's closed Mondays. Adult tickets cost just six pounds — children under twelve go free.

Presenter:Now, one important practical note: there's no café on site, so do bring a packed lunch if you're planning to stay the whole day. The nearest village is about four kilometres away, so it's not a quick walk.

Presenter:The museum is run by — well, technically owned by the Coastal Trust, but run day-to-day by a small team of volunteers, mostly former teachers from the local school.

Presenter:Visitors regularly say the most memorable part of their visit is the climb to the top of the lighthouse — 137 steps, narrow, slightly dizzying, but with views you genuinely don't forget.

Presenter:Finally, for anyone wanting a guided tour, these run on Saturdays only and need to be booked at least a week in advance. The website's address is in our show notes. That's all for today — back to the studio.

Question 1.In what year was the lighthouse FIRST LIT?

Question 2.What item does the presenter advise visitors to BRING?

Question 3.Who RUNS the museum day-to-day?

Question 4.Visitors say the most memorable part of the visit is…

Answer all items, then check.
Tick what you hear
Tick every PIECE OF INFORMATION the presenter actually states in the audio.
Answer all items, then check.

Exam skills · Section 7

5 min

Listening Part 2 — Sentence Completion

🎯 Listening Part 2

One monologue. 10 gaps. Write EXACT words (1–3).

  • Predict word TYPE in the 45-second preview
  • Write the exact words you hear — no paraphrase
  • Listen for substitution signals ('well', 'actually')
  • Use the second hearing to CHECK spelling

Open the Exam Practice block below.

Quick Tip

In the 45-second preview, predict the TYPE of word for every gap (year, place, noun, amount). Your ear will then know what to hunt for.

Exam Hack

Use the SECOND hearing for two things only: (1) confirm your answers, (2) fix spelling. Don't second-guess correct answers.

Common Mistake

Don't paraphrase — 'freedom' for 'flexibility' loses the mark. Capture the exact word, even if it feels unnatural.

Your task

Listen twice. Predict word type in the preview, capture exact words on the first hearing, check spelling and substitutions on the second.

Example

Stem: 'Visitors should bring ___.' Prediction: noun (object). Audio: '…so do bring a packed lunch if you're staying.' Capture: 'a packed lunch' (3 words, exact). On second hearing — confirm spelling of 'lunch' and check the speaker didn't substitute later.

Open Exam Strategy Centre

Practice · Section 8

8–10 min

Fill in the blank

Question 1.Listening Part 2 has ___ gaps.

Question 2.Each answer must be ___ word(s).

Question 3.If a speaker says 'sorry, I mean…', that's a ___ signal.

Question 4.Use the 45-second preview to ___ each gap's word type.

Question 5.Spelling errors in Part 2 usually ___.

Question 6.Writing a paraphrase ('freedom' for 'flexibility') is ___.

Answer all items, then check.
Sentence transformation
Type a short answer (1–3 words)

Q1.Type of word that fits 'The festival was first held in ___.'

Q2.Type of word that fits 'Tickets cost just ___.'

Q3.Type of word that fits 'Visitors are advised to bring ___.'

Answer all items, then check.

Writing · Section 9

5 min

Put it in writing

Your task

Pick three FACTS about a place you know well. Turn each fact into a Part 2 stem with a 1–3 word gap. Swap with a partner and complete.

Show model answer

STEM 1: 'The library was first opened in ___.' (gap: a year, e.g. '1894') STEM 2: 'Visitors are advised to bring ___.' (gap: a noun, e.g. 'photo ID') STEM 3: 'The reading room is closed on ___.' (gap: a day, e.g. 'Sundays') Follow the rule: each stem should make the GAP TYPE obvious from the surrounding words. The 'training wheels' for predicting word type.

Speaking · Section 10

10–15 min

Make it a real conversation

Open Useful Expressions

Roleplay

Pair drill. A reads a Part 2 stem aloud, slowly. B says the predicted word TYPE (year? noun? place? amount?). Then A delivers a 1-sentence 'audio' with the answer, but uses one substitution ('well, actually…'). B must write only the FINAL answer.

Useful phrases

  • • I'd predict a [noun / year / place / amount] there.
  • • What did the speaker actually SAY for that gap?
  • • There was a substitution — the answer changed mid-sentence.
  • • I think the answer was '___' — spelt with…
  • • Don't paraphrase — capture the exact word.
  • • Let's listen again and check the spelling.

Teacher notes

Optional · Teacher-led

Teacher Activities

Two short extensions that train the capture-and-check routine. Both work 1:1 online. ~14 min total

FCE Exam Practice · Section 11

20–30 min

Real FCE tasks

Cambridge B2 First · Listening · Part 2. Sentence Completion. Read the stems, predict word types, then read the monologue script aloud (or play with your teacher) twice. Teacher Mode reveals the answer key and per-item rationale.

Cambridge B2 First · Listening · Part 2 · Sentence Completion
The Riverside Bookshop — Part 2 sentence completion

A short radio feature about an independent bookshop. One presenter speaking. About 3 minutes.

Tap play to listen. Drag the timeline to jump anywhere.

  1. 1.The Riverside Bookshop is in the city of .
  2. 2.The shop moved to its current riverside location in .
  3. 3.The building is a converted .
  4. 4.The shop's strongest section is , with over four thousand titles.
  5. 5.The shop is closed for the whole of every year.
  6. 6.The upstairs has armchairs overlooking the river.
  7. 7.In practice, the search service usually replies within days.
  8. 8.The monthly poetry night is held on the last of the month.
  9. 9.Visitors are advised to travel by .
  10. 10.The shop only accepts cards for purchases over pounds.
Show transcript

Presenter: Welcome to Travel File. Today: The Riverside Bookshop, a small independent shop tucked away on a side street in the city of Bath.

Presenter: The bookshop was originally opened in 1978 by a couple called the Hendersons, but it moved to its current riverside location only in 1995.

Presenter: What's unusual about this shop is the building itself — it's a converted boathouse, with the original wooden beams still visible on the ceiling.

Presenter: The shop specialises in second-hand fiction and poetry, but its real strength, the owner tells me, is travel writing — they have over four thousand titles in that section alone.

Presenter: Opening hours are slightly unusual: ten until six, Tuesday to Saturday. They're also closed for the whole of January every year for stock-taking — so do plan around that.

Presenter: What I'd particularly recommend is the upstairs reading room, which is free to use and has armchairs overlooking the river. Most visitors miss it entirely.

Presenter: If you're after a specific book, the owner runs a search service: you fill in a form and they'll email you within — well, technically the website says two weeks, but in practice it's usually closer to four days.

Presenter: The shop also hosts events: book readings, mostly, but also a monthly poetry night, always held on the last Friday of the month, starting at seven thirty.

Presenter: For getting there: the easiest way is by bicycle, since parking near the river is genuinely impossible. If you must drive, use the car park at the train station and walk.

Presenter: Final tip: bring cash. The shop does accept cards, but only for purchases over ten pounds — anything smaller is cash only. That's all for today.

Answer all items, then check.

Homework · Section 12

Take-home

Take it home

listening
Task 1

Sentence Completion — second monologue

Listen (or read aloud with someone) to the script below and complete the 8 stems.

Use the script aloud as 'audio'. Predict the word TYPE for each gap BEFORE you start. Then listen TWICE: capture answers on the first pass, confirm spelling and substitutions on the second.

Transcript (read aloud)

Welcome to today's Local File. This week: the Riverside Community Garden. The garden was originally a school playing field, but it was transformed into a community space by local residents in 2014. It now covers about half a hectare of central land. The garden is open every day except Wednesdays, from sunrise to sunset. There's no entry fee, but a small donation box at the gate funds the seeds and tools. Most weeks, the donations cover everything — last month they raised just over two hundred pounds. What I'd particularly recommend is the herb spiral near the north entrance — it's planted with eighteen different cooking herbs, all of which visitors are welcome to pick in small quantities for their own kitchens. The garden is run by — well, the trustees are a group of three retired teachers, but the day-to-day work is done by about forty volunteers. Most of them turn up on Saturday mornings between nine and twelve. If you'd like to volunteer, training sessions run on the first Sunday of every month. You need to bring sturdy gloves, but everything else — tools, water, even tea — is provided. The full induction takes about two hours. Finally, the garden runs free guided walks once a month, usually on the third Thursday evening. These need to be booked in advance through the website. Numbers are limited to fifteen people per walk. That's it from me — back to the studio.

  1. 1. The garden was opened to the community in ___.
  2. 2. The garden is closed on ___.
  3. 3. Last month, donations raised just over ___.
  4. 4. The herb spiral is planted with ___ different herbs.
  5. 5. The garden is run by three retired ___.
  6. 6. Most volunteers turn up on ___ mornings.
  7. 7. Volunteers must bring their own ___.
  8. 8. Free guided walks happen on the third ___ evening.

Questions

  1. After completing the gaps, mark yourself out of 8 using the answer key in Teacher Mode.
  2. Did you fall for any substitution traps? Which item(s)?
  3. Did any of your answers paraphrase instead of capture?
Finish the homework, then check.
vocab
Task 2

Signpost-spotting

Listen to any English-language podcast for 10 minutes and note FIVE signpost phrases.

Examples to look for: 'the main reason is', 'what I'd particularly recommend', 'well, actually', 'sorry, I mean'. Write each phrase + what it signalled (ANSWER coming / SUBSTITUTION / DISTRACTOR).

  1. the main reason is
  2. what I'd particularly recommend is
  3. well, actually
  4. sorry, I mean
  5. or rather
  6. the most important thing is
  7. some people think… but
  8. let me correct that
  9. you might assume
  10. the truth is
writing
Task 3· ≈ 200 words

Write your own Part 2 monologue

Choose a place you know and write a 200-word monologue with 8 fact-gaps.

Topic: 'a place visitors usually miss in my town'. Include 8 facts that would make natural Part 2 stems (year, place, day, number, noun, amount, etc.). Mark the 8 facts with [GAP] for a partner to convert into stems.

Recap · Section 13

2–3 min

What you've learned

  • Listening Part 2 = one monologue, 10 sentence stems, 1–3 words per gap, heard TWICE.
  • Capture EXACT words. Paraphrases ('freedom' for 'flexibility') lose the mark.
  • Use the 45-second preview to predict the WORD TYPE for every gap.
  • Listen for SUBSTITUTION signals ('well, actually', 'sorry, I mean') — overwrite your first guess.
  • Use the second hearing to confirm answers and CHECK SPELLING.
  • Transfer to the answer sheet in the 5-minute transfer window — do it carefully.

Module 3 · Next step

Exam Review Lab 3 — The Editorial Room

Editorial meeting — pitch, draft and peer-edit an article opener.

Open Exam Review Lab 03
Lesson 11 · Use of English Part 4Lesson 13 · Speaking Part 3