How many questions follow the Part 5 discussion?

Paragon's test-format page lists 8 questions for Part 5, Listening to a Discussion, which makes it the part with the most questions alongside Part 1. You hear the discussion only once. Knowing agreement and objection phrases helps you track several voices without replaying anything.

Why does this list include so many polite phrases?

In a group discussion, people rarely say a flat no. They soften objections with phrases like I'm not sold on it or that's a fair point, but. If you miss the soft signal, you may think a speaker agrees when they actually oppose the idea.

Should I guess if I lose track of a speaker?

Yes. Paragon states that there is no penalty for wrong answers on Listening multiple choice, so never leave a question blank. Use your notes on each speaker's last known position to make the most likely choice.

Listening Part 5: Discussion

Listening Part 5: Discussion belongs to the Listening component of CELPIP. The task gives you 8 questions and 4 minutes. Your result counts the questions you answer correctly.

Questions: 8
Time: 4 minutes
Prompts here: 23 published

Names, sides, shifts

Our method for this task — study advice, not an official rule.

1
Label the speakers as they appear
Attach a name or a role to each voice at once. This part is a video, so use what you see to tell the speakers apart.
2
Keep a column for each person
Record each speaker's position separately; questions often ask what one particular person thinks.
3
Mark where someone changes their mind
A concession or a switch during the discussion is a natural place for a question.

The group's conclusion is not each person's view.

A question about one speaker needs that speaker's own words.

When several people talk through a problem, the meaning sits in small spoken signals: a polite objection, a half-agreement, an offer to meet in the middle. These 30 items help you hear who supports what, who changes their mind and what the group finally decides.

Give each speaker a column in your notes and mark their position with a plus, minus or question mark as the talk moves on. Phrases like I see your point, but or fair enough often signal a shift, so update the marks when you hear them. Pay most attention to the closing lines, where the decision usually lands.

CELPIP · Listening

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

From a bank of 23 prompts · free to read, no account needed

Instructions

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

What the recording says

On test day the recording plays one time only; here you can read it at your own pace.

Laura: We need to finalize our recommendation on the proposal to install electric vehicle charging stations in the municipal parking lots. The transportation department wants to begin with twenty stations next year. Mark: I support the idea in principle, but I'm not convinced that twenty stations should be the starting point. The city has several infrastructure projects competing for the same funding. Nadia: I agree about the budget, but demand is increasing. The number of electric vehicles registered in the city has nearly doubled in the last three years. Mark: Registered vehicles don't necessarily tell us where the demand is. If we install chargers in locations people rarely visit, we'll have invested heavily without solving much of a problem. Laura: That's why the proposal prioritizes locations near community centres, libraries, and major transit connections. Nadia: I'd also include apartment-dense neighbourhoods. People who live in detached houses often have the option of installing a charger at home. Apartment residents may not have that option. Mark: That's a fair point, but installing chargers in residential areas could create another problem. What happens if someone leaves their car connected for six hours after it's fully charged? Laura: The proposal recommends time-based fees. Drivers would pay a higher rate if they remain in the charging space after their vehicle has finished charging. Nadia: I like that better than imposing a simple parking fee. The purpose is to encourage turnover, not to discourage people from using the chargers. Mark: But the pricing has to be carefully designed. If charging becomes too expensive, people may continue using gasoline vehicles. Laura: True. The objective isn't to maximize revenue. It's to make charging accessible while preventing the spaces from being occupied unnecessarily. Nadia: There's another issue: not all chargers are equally fast. Are we talking about standard chargers or fast chargers? Mark: The proposal recommends a combination. Fast chargers would be placed at high-traffic locations, while slower chargers could be installed where vehicles are likely to remain parked for longer periods. Laura: That seems more efficient than putting expensive fast chargers everywhere. Nadia: Exactly. A fast charger in a commuter parking lot might make sense, but it may be unnecessary beside a library where people regularly stay for several hours. Mark: What about maintenance? Installing the equipment is one thing; keeping it operational is another. Laura: The supplier would provide a maintenance agreement for the first three years. Mark: And after that? Laura: The city would have to negotiate a new agreement or take over the maintenance itself. Nadia: Then we should calculate the long-term operating cost before approving the full project. Otherwise, we might underestimate what the stations will actually cost over their lifetime. Mark: Agreed. There's also accessibility. If charging spaces are designed without enough room around the vehicle, some drivers with mobility limitations could have difficulty using them. Laura: The engineering department has proposed making a percentage of the charging spaces accessible, with extra clearance and appropriate access routes. Nadia: Good. Accessibility should be considered from the beginning rather than added later. Mark: I'm still not comfortable approving twenty stations immediately. Laura: What if we install ten initially, using different types of locations? We could monitor usage for a year and then decide whether the remaining ten are justified. Nadia: That would give us useful data. We could compare residential areas, transit hubs, and community facilities. Mark: I'd support that, provided the evaluation includes more than the number of charging sessions. Laura: What else would you measure? Mark: Utilization rates, average charging duration, maintenance costs, revenue, and whether drivers are actually moving their vehicles once charging is complete. Nadia: We should also survey users. A station could have high usage but still be poorly located or difficult to access. Laura: Good point. So the recommendation would be a ten-station pilot, with different locations and charger types, followed by an evaluation after twelve months. Mark: And expansion only if the data demonstrate sufficient demand and reasonable long-term costs. Nadia: Yes. That gives us a way to expand the network without committing the entire budget before we know what works.

Questions & answer key8 questions

Your Listening result comes from how many questions you get right. Each recording plays one time, so what is really tested is how much detail you can hold while the next line is already playing.

1What is the main purpose of the discussion?
1. ✓To determine how the city should introduce electric vehicle charging stations while managing cost, demand, and practical concerns
2. BTo determine why the number of electric vehicles has increased
3. CTo compare electric vehicles with gasoline-powered vehicles
4. DTo determine which company should manufacture the charging equipment
Answer
A
The question is how to bring the chargers in — where, at what cost, and on what terms — not whether electric vehicles are a good thing.
2Why does Nadia want apartment-dense neighbourhoods considered for charging stations?
1. AApartment residents generally drive more than homeowners.
2. BApartment buildings are easier and less expensive locations for installing chargers.
3. ✓Residents of apartments may have fewer opportunities to install private chargers at home.
4. DMost electric vehicle owners live in apartment buildings.
Answer
C
Her argument is about access: someone in a flat cannot put a charger in a garage they do not have.
3What does Mark imply when he questions whether registered electric vehicles indicate where chargers are needed?
1. ✓Registration information may not reveal the locations where charging demand is actually concentrated.
2. BThe number of registered electric vehicles is probably inaccurate.
3. CMost electric vehicle owners do not use public charging stations.
4. DThe city should stop collecting information about vehicle registrations.
Answer
A
Where cars are registered is not where they need charging; the two questions are different.
4Why does Laura support time-based fees for charging spaces?
1. ATo make public charging more profitable than home charging
2. ✓To encourage drivers to move their vehicles after charging and make the spaces available to others
3. CTo prevent electric vehicle owners from using municipal parking lots
4. DTo recover the entire cost of installing the charging stations within one year
Answer
B
A time-based fee is about turnover — moving a finished car so the next one can use the bay.
5Why does the committee favour using different types of chargers in different locations?
1. AFast chargers are unsuitable for apartment residents.
2. BSlower chargers are always less expensive to maintain.
3. ✓Different locations create different parking patterns and therefore have different charging requirements.
4. DThe city wants to prevent drivers from becoming dependent on fast charging.
Answer
C
Parking behaviour differs by place: a commuter stop and a library car park do not need the same charging speed.
6What concern does Mark raise about the maintenance agreement?
1. AThe supplier may refuse to repair damaged charging stations.
2. ✓The city may face significant maintenance responsibilities or expenses after the initial agreement expires.
3. CMaintenance will prevent the city from installing additional chargers.
4. DThe agreement applies only to fast chargers.
Answer
B
His concern is what happens when the supplier's three years end and the cost falls to the city.
7What does Mark mean when he says, "I'm still not comfortable approving twenty stations immediately"?
1. AHe believes electric vehicles are not yet suitable for the city.
2. BHe wants to cancel the charging-station proposal entirely.
3. ✓He prefers to test a smaller installation and use the results before committing the full budget.
4. DHe believes the city should install all twenty stations in residential neighbourhoods.
Answer
C
He is not against the project; he wants ten first, with a year of data, before the rest of the budget is committed.
8What can be inferred about the committee's final recommendation?
1. AThey support installing all twenty stations immediately because demand is already high.
2. BThey want to restrict charging stations to major transit hubs.
3. CThey believe public charging should remain temporary until electric vehicles become more common.
4. ✓They support a smaller pilot using varied locations and charger types, followed by expansion only if the evidence supports the additional investment.
Answer
D
They land on a ten-station pilot across varied locations and charger types, with expansion only if the twelve-month evaluation supports it.

Where answers slip

1Answering with the group's final decision when the question asks about one speaker.
2Missing that someone changed position after hearing the others.
3Losing track when two voices sound alike.

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Common questions

How many questions follow the Part 5 discussion?: Paragon's test-format page lists 8 questions for Part 5, Listening to a Discussion, which makes it the part with the most questions alongside Part 1. You hear the discussion only once. Knowing agreement and objection phrases helps you track several voices without replaying anything.
Why does this list include so many polite phrases?: In a group discussion, people rarely say a flat no. They soften objections with phrases like I'm not sold on it or that's a fair point, but. If you miss the soft signal, you may think a speaker agrees when they actually oppose the idea.
Should I guess if I lose track of a speaker?: Yes. Paragon states that there is no penalty for wrong answers on Listening multiple choice, so never leave a question blank. Use your notes on each speaker's last known position to make the most likely choice.

22 more Discussion prompts in the bank0 free

·A Four-Day Work Week Pilot
·Replacing the City's Streetlights
·Introducing AI Tools at Work
·Moving Company Records to the Cloud
·A New Student Residence
·School-Zone Traffic Restrictions
·A Mobile Health Clinic
·An Open-Air Cinema in Ambleside
·Road-Safety Education in Schools
·Organizing a Canada Day Community Event
·The Waste Collection Schedule
·Hosting a University Hockey Game
·Store Security Staffing
·A Condominium Renovation
·Expanding the Science Labs
·Planning a Seniors' Community Day
·A Decision Due Before Tomorrow
·Three Colleagues Prepare a Recommendation
·Neighbours Talk About a Change on Their Block
·Students Respond to a Campus Announcement
·Advice for a Friend Before a Test
·A Neighbourhood Association Reviews a City Plan

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