What should I listen for in Listening Part 3?

Specific details — numbers, reasons, sequences. Strong factual vocabulary helps you catch and hold those details until you answer.

Are the answers worded the same as the audio?

Usually not. They are paraphrased, so knowing synonyms of the key vocabulary is what lets you match meaning.

Listening Part 3: Information

Listening Part 3: Information is part of the Listening section of the CELPIP test. You get 6 questions and 4 minutes. It is scored by the number of correct answers.

Questions: 6
Time: 4 minutes
Prompts here: 23 published

The three-move information listen

1
Hear what the talk is for in the opening lines
Purpose orders everything that follows.
2
Track the sequence of facts in the order given
Information talks are structured; the questions follow that structure.
3
Catch the qualification
"Usually", "except on", "unless" — the exception is almost always a question.

In an information talk, the exception is the question.

The general rule is stated so the exception has something to contradict.

Build the detail and fact vocabulary you need to follow an informational interview and answer specific questions in CELPIP Listening Part 3.

Part 3 is an interview packed with facts and details. Recognising informational vocabulary and synonyms helps you match what you hear to the answer options, which are usually paraphrased.

CELPIP · Listening

A Community Garden Volunteer Program

One of 23 published prompts · free, no account

Instructions

The audio plays once.
Choose the best answer for each question.

Audio transcript

In the real test you hear this once and cannot replay it.

Coordinator: Good morning. Greenview Community Garden. This is Natalie speaking. Caller: Hi. I'm interested in volunteering this fall. I looked through your website, but I was hoping you could clear up a few things before I decide whether to apply. Coordinator: Of course. What would you like to know? Caller: I noticed that most of the weekday positions are already listed as full. Does that mean my chances aren't very good? Coordinator: Not necessarily. Weekend volunteers are actually the most difficult positions for us to fill because many people prefer weekdays. If you're available on Saturdays, there's a good chance we'll be able to place you. Caller: That's encouraging. Another thing I wondered about is the kind of work volunteers actually do. I've never worked in a garden before. Coordinator: That's perfectly fine. Experience isn't something we expect. We provide training during orientation, and new volunteers always work alongside experienced team members during their first few shifts. Caller: Well, I'm not too worried about learning the skills. It's more the physical side of things. I work in an office all day, so I'm not exactly used to lifting bags of soil or spending hours outdoors. Coordinator: You're not the first person to mention that. Quite a few of our volunteers have desk jobs, and most of them tell us they were surprised by how quickly they adjusted. We organize the work so that no one is doing physically demanding tasks for an entire shift. Caller: That's good to know. If I apply, can I request to work with the vegetable gardens rather than the landscaping team? Coordinator: Absolutely. The application lets you indicate your preferences, and we genuinely try to accommodate them. That said, our first priority is making sure every project has enough volunteers, so we can't promise everyone their first choice. Caller: Fair enough. Coordinator: Once we receive your completed application, we'll review it and let you know within about a week. If you're accepted, we'll invite you to an orientation session, and only after that will we ask you to complete your registration. Caller: Great. That answers everything. Thanks very much. Coordinator: You're very welcome. We look forward to receiving your application.

Questions & answer key6 questions

Listening is scored by the number of correct answers. The audio plays once, so the skill being tested is holding detail while the next sentence arrives.

1Why is the caller contacting the community garden?
1. ✓He wants clarification before deciding whether to apply.
2. BHe needs to update a previously submitted application.
3. CHe has been encouraged to volunteer by his employer.
4. DHe wants information about renting a garden plot.
Answer
A
Right at the start the caller says "I looked through your website, but I was hoping you could clear up a few things before I decide whether to apply", so he has not yet applied and is gathering information first. He never says he has already submitted anything, so updating a previously submitted application is ruled out. His employer is never said to have encouraged him; the only mention of his job is that he works in an office all day. And the whole call is about volunteering, not about renting a garden plot, which never comes up.
2What does the coordinator imply about weekend volunteers?
1. AThey receive less training than weekday volunteers.
2. BThey are accepted only after weekday positions are filled.
3. ✓They are especially valuable because of limited availability.
4. DThey usually work longer shifts than other volunteers.
Answer
C
The coordinator says "Weekend volunteers are actually the most difficult positions for us to fill because many people prefer weekdays", and adds that a Saturday applicant has a good chance of being placed. She never uses the word valuable, but people who can work when few others can are clearly the ones she needs most. Training is described as the same for everyone at orientation, with no weekday-versus-weekend comparison. Being accepted only after the weekday positions are filled is the reverse of what she says, since weekend places are the ones still open. Shift length is never mentioned at all.
3Which concern does the caller appear to have despite the coordinator's reassurance?
1. AWhether he has enough gardening experience.
2. BWhether the work will interfere with his studies.
3. ✓Whether he can meet the physical expectations.
4. DWhether he will have transportation to the site.
Answer
C
After being told training is provided, the caller replies "It's more the physical side of things" and explains that an office job has not accustomed him to lifting bags of soil or spending hours outdoors. Gardening experience is a false lead: he does say "I've never worked in a garden before", but once training is explained he says "I'm not too worried about learning the skills", so it is not what still troubles him. He is never described as a student, so interference with studies is not raised, and getting to the site is never discussed.
4Why does the coordinator mention previous volunteers who had office jobs?
1. ✓To encourage the caller not to underestimate himself.
2. BTo explain why the program attracts professionals.
3. CTo emphasize that gardening requires specialized skills.
4. DTo suggest the caller may qualify for a leadership role.
Answer
A
She brings up desk-job volunteers immediately after he doubts his own fitness, noting that "most of them tell us they were surprised by how quickly they adjusted". The example is reassurance: people like him have coped better than they expected. She is answering his worry, not accounting for who the program attracts, so explaining why it attracts professionals misreads her purpose. She says experience is not expected and that training is provided, which is the opposite of gardening requiring specialized skills. Leadership roles are never mentioned in the call.
5What can be concluded about choosing volunteer assignments?
1. AReturning volunteers always receive priority.
2. ✓Personal preferences are balanced against organizational needs.
3. CAssignments are determined entirely by experience.
4. DVolunteers decide their own responsibilities after orientation.
Answer
B
Two statements have to be combined. The application lets applicants state preferences and "we genuinely try to accommodate them", but "our first priority is making sure every project has enough volunteers", so nobody is guaranteed the assignment they asked for. Preference and staffing need are weighed together. Returning volunteers are never mentioned, so no priority for them can be concluded. Experience cannot determine assignments, since the coordinator says experience is not something they expect. And it is the organization that places people; volunteers are not described as deciding their own responsibilities after orientation.
6Before the caller is officially accepted, what must happen?
1. AThe volunteer coordinator must conduct an interview.
2. BThe caller must attend an orientation session.
3. ✓The organization must review the completed application.
4. DThe caller must pay the registration fee.
Answer
C
The coordinator sets out the order: "Once we receive your completed application, we'll review it and let you know within about a week", and then "If you're accepted, we'll invite you to an orientation session". The review is therefore the step that precedes acceptance. Orientation comes after acceptance, not before it, and registration comes later still, since "only after that will we ask you to complete your registration" — no fee is mentioned anywhere. An interview is never part of the process she describes.

Three mistakes that cost points heremost common first

1Remembering the general rule and missing the condition attached to it.
2Answering with a number from the wrong part of the talk.
3Assuming the order of the questions matches the order you remember.

Now do it yourself and find out where you land

You can check right and wrong on this page. What a page cannot do is tell you which question types you keep losing, under real timing.

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Questions people ask

What should I listen for in Listening Part 3?: Specific details — numbers, reasons, sequences. Strong factual vocabulary helps you catch and hold those details until you answer.
Are the answers worded the same as the audio?: Usually not. They are paraphrased, so knowing synonyms of the key vocabulary is what lets you match meaning.

The other 22 Information prompts0 free

·Punctuality in the Workplace
·An Office Renovation Proposal
·Workplace Dress Codes
·Peer Pressure in the Workplace
·Rethinking Business Meetings
·Classrooms of the Future
·The History of the Canadian Flag
·A Discussion About Road Rage
·The Development of Multiculturalism in Canada
·The Changing Role of Public Libraries
·The Evolution of Canadian Healthcare
·The Role of Routines in Modern Life
·Managing Credit-Card Debt
·Understanding Food Labels
·Finding Affordable Housing in Canada
·School Uniforms in Canada
·Misinformation and Social Media
·Finding a Family Doctor in Canada
·Hidden Fees
·Online Dating
·What Really Happens to Your Recycling
·The Role of Modern Zoos

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