A Telephone Conversation Between a Travel Agent and a School Principal - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

IELTS Listening section comprises four sections to test the candidate’s listening skills. Each IELTS listening topic contains either a conversation or monologue. This topic - A telephone conversation between a travel agent and a school principal who is organizing a tour for third-year students is an IELTS Listening topic Section 1. This section contains the following question types:

• Choose the correct answer
• Complete the notes

Audio Transcript

You will hear a telephone conversation between a travel agent and a school principal who is organizing a school tour for a group of third-year students.

First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 3

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

You will see that there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first.

James; Hello. McFadden's Travel! James speaking; how may I help you?

Jonathon: Hi there; my name's Jonathon Presley, principal of Sainsbury Secondary School. I am calling to ask about your early bird tour offer. I saw it advertised in the Evening Herald yesterday.

James: Certainly, Mr. Presley; what would you like to know?

Jonathon: Oh, please, Jonathon will be fine.

James: Of course, Jonathon. How can I help you?

Jonathon: Well, the first thing I'd like to know is how long is your offer valid for? My third-year students are planning a holiday in early April; will they qualify for the discount?

James: The good news is our special offer runs until the end of May. Jonathon: Oh dear, oh dear, March! That's terrible, we've just missed out.

James: On the contrary, Jonathon. It's May not March; you WILL qualify for the discount.

Jonathon: Oh, fantastic.

Narrator: The offer finishes at the end of May so the answer is (C).

Now we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time.

Listen carefully and answer questions 1-3.

[REPEAT]

James: And I'm only just getting started; the best news is yet to come.

Jonathon; What do you mean?

James: Well, tell me now ..., how many students are you planning to take on this tour?

Jonathon: I expect there'll be about 45 students and 3 teachers accompanying them. Why? Are there any further discounts?

James: There are indeed. We do a 25% discount on groups of up to 40 people. For you, we can offer an even better rate; a 50% discount.

Jonathon: Wow, is that on top of the 15% early bird discount?

James: It most certainly is, which makes your total tour discount, hmmmmm, fifty plus fifteen, sixty-five percent.

Jonathon: Surely there's a catch, this is too good to be true.

James: Well, there is a condition that you must choose your destination from a list we have selected. You can't book a tour to just anywhere in the world with this discount rate,

Jonathon: I see, and would Madrid be on that list by any chance?

James: I am sorry to disappoint you but we do not offer this rate on tours to Madrid. However, we have an excellent all-inclusive 7-day Barcelona tour which is available. How does that sound?

Jonathon: Sounds interesting. What is the total cost per student?

James: Let's see ... It works out at £679 per person with the discount. The normal price is £1940 so you are saving £1261 per person.

Jonathon: Hold on a moment, let me get a pen to write some of this down; It's getting complicated. Okay, how much will it cost per student?

James: £679

Jonathon: And how much of a saving is that?

James: £1261

Jonathon: Barcelona sounds very good indeed! Tell me, what do you mean by all-inclusive? What does £679 get us?

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 4-10.

(Pause The recording for 30 seconds)

Now listen and answer questions 4-10.

James: Well, that price covers flights. 3-star hotel accommodation and extras.

Jonathon: James, I must say, I'm very glad I called you this morning. This is a fantastic deal. It covers flights, accommodation and what else?

James: Plus airport taxis, breakfast every morning, a city tour and theatre tickets.

Jonathon: Great!.... and what about the teachers?

James: The teachers can travel free of charge with the students.

Jonathon: Well I might just go on this tour myself, I've always fancied a trip to Barcelona......ehhhh, ehh but for the children's sake, of course.

James: Of course. Now, let's get to work on the booking. Exactly when were you planning to leave?

Jonathon: The 7th of April, if possible.

James: Yes, that's available. And, can you confirm the exact number of students please?

Jonathon: It's either 44 or 45, let me see... Yes, 45, exactly 45 students, No, sorry, in fact that's 46. I forgot about Jenny McCarthy; she sent her application in late so it's not in the same pile as the rest.

James: So that's the 7th of April and 46 students, correct?

Jonathon; Yes, perfect, and three teachers. Is there a morning flight?

James: Yes, your flight is at 7 a.m. on Monday the 7th of April.

Arrive at the airport two hours before departure. The flight will take about two and a half hours and you'll land at 10.30 a.m. local time. How does that sound?

Jonathon: Sounds great, Can I give you my e-mail address to confirm the rest of the details?

James: Of course.

Jonathon: It's jonathon.presley@sainsbury.com. That's j-o-n-a-t-h-o-n dot p-r-e-s-l-e-y at s-a-i-n-s-b-u-r-y dot com. And well pay by credit card if possible.

James: That'll be perfect. What's your card number?

Jonathon: It's 6676 6654 97431251, expiry date 01 Jan 2015.

James: And the name on the credit card?

Jonathon: That's my own, Jonathon Presley.

James: So, £679 times 46 students, I'm going to charge £31,234 to your credit card, that's the total cost.

Jonathon: Sounds fine.

James: Great! Well, I think that's all we need for now, Jonathon. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to give me a call. We'll be in touch next week to confirm the booking details.

Jonathon: Okay, and thank you very much for your help, James. Bye for now.

James: Bye bye Jonathon! Speak soon.

That is the end of Part one.

Questions 1-3

Choose the correct letter A, B or C. Write answers next to 1-3 on your answer sheet.

1. What total discount is Jonathon’s school being offered?

1. 25%
2. 50%
3. 65%

Answer: C

Explanation: As stated by James, “which makes your total tour discount, hmmmmm, fifty plus fifteen, sixty-five percent”. Accordingly, the answer is C.

Also, check:

2. Where did Jonathon first want to take his students?

1. Madrid
2. Barcelona
3. Sainsbury

Answer: A

Explanation: As stated by Jonathon after James put his condition “would Madrid be on that list by any chance?” from this we can understand that the answer could be A.

3. What is the normal price of this tour?

1. £679
2. £1261
3. £1940

Answer: C

Explanation: Following the conversation, we can hear James saying, “The normal price is £1940 so you are saving £1261 per person”. Thus the answer should be option C.

Questions 4-10

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Mcfadden’s Travel

Two main things the all-inclusive price covers:

4_________________

5 _________________

Extras also covered by the all-inclusive offer:

airport taxis, 6_________________

a city tour, 7___________________

CLIENT DETAILS

E-mail address of contact person: 8___________@___________.com

Number of travelers: 49

Date of travel: 7th of April

Departure time: 7:00 a.m.

Arrival time: 10:30 a.m. (local time)

Credit Card Number: 9_________________

Expiry Date: 01-Jan-2015

The total cost of booking: 10 £____________

Question 4.

Answer: Flights

Explanation: When Jonathon asked James what he meant by all-inclusive, he answered “that price covers flights. 3-star hotel accommodation and extras”. According to this, the answer is flights.

Question 5.

Answer: hotel accommodation

Explanation: As stated by James, “that price covers flights. 3-star hotel accommodation and extras.” Hence the answer should be hotel accommodation.

Question 6.

Answer: breakfast (every) morning

Explanation: Jonathan asks James that other than flights, accommodation, and what else the price covers to which James answered, “breakfast every morning….,” Thus the answer is ‘breakfast (every) morning’.

Question 7.

Answer: theatre tickets

Explanation: As stated by James, “Plus airport taxis, breakfast every morning, a city tour and theatre tickets”. Here “plus” is the synonym of “extra”, hence, the answer should be ‘ theatre tickets’.

Question 8.

Answer: jonathon.presley@sainsbury

Explanation: Jonathan gives James his email address which is ‘jonathon.presley@sainsbury’. Therefore the answer should be ‘jonathon.presley@sainsbury’

Question 9.

Answer: 6676 6654 9743 1251

Explanation: When James asks for Jonathan’s card number he replied ‘6676 6654 97431251,” So the answer is ‘6676 6654 9743 1251’

Question 10.

Answer: ₤31,234

Explanation: As stated by James, “I'm going to charge £31,234 to your credit card, that's the total cost”. Therefore, the answer is £31,234.