IELTS Listening Test Questions
2. Restaurants
LISTENING
IELTS Listening Test Part:
3
Questions 1 and 2
Choose TWO letters A - E.
What are two things that Sam thinks other student’s will find interesting about the kitchen environment?
A The different job positions in the kitchen.
B The importance of the executive chef in the kitchen.
C How the kitchen staff handle many customer’s orders.
D The wide variety of food that can be quickly produced.
E The lines of equipment in the kitchen.
Questions 3 and 4
Choose TWO letters A - E.
What are two things that Maya says are important to an effective team in the kitchen?
A Morale
B Teamwork
C Management
D Leadership
E Communication
Questions 5 - 10
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
5 Why did Maya think that kitchen work is different from other types of work?
A There is more time management involved.
B It’s more stressful.
C You don’t know what your next task will be.
6 Why did Sam wake up very early one morning?
A He went to a market to buy products for the restaurant.
B He wanted to help the cooks prepare for the day.
C He had to open the restaurant in the morning.
7 What did Maya learn about how meat is stored in the kitchen?
A Meat must be kept very clean.
B Uncooked meat is stored apart from other ingredients.
C Meat is kept at the bottom of the fridge
8 What did Sam dislike about the restaurant food?
A He thought there weren’t enough dishes.
B He didn’t like all the flavours.
C He thought it was unhealthy.
9 What did Maya notice about the ingredients the cooks used?
A They used artificial flavourings.
B They used home-grown vegetables.
C They used natural ingredients.
10 What did Maya say about working in a kitchen in the future?
A She would really enjoy it.
B She doesn’t want to do it.
C She recommends it to other students.
Audioscript
Sam: So, Maya, we need to decide what we're going to tell the class during our presentation on our work experience in the restaurant.
Maya: I think we should start by giving them an idea of what it's actually like working in a restaurant kitchen, you know, some of the things that happen behind the scenes.
Sam: Yes, good. They'll be interested in the kitchen environment and (Q1)how the staff manage to keep up with orders when it’s busy. They might like to know about (Q2)the hierarchy and roles in a high-end restaurant kitchen too, with the executive chef, then the sous chef, line cooks and so on.
Maya: Right. And we should also talk about the (Q3)teamwork and (Q4)communication required to make everything run smoothly in the team. Like, how everyone has their specific jobs and have to complete their tasks at just the right time.
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Sam: The organisation was something that really impressed me while I was there too. Although, at first it seemed like the kitchen was really chaotic, after a few days I realised how organised it really was.
Maya: It did seem like chaos in the beginning, but then you quickly realise that there’s a lot of time management and multitasking going on. It’s so different from a normal working environment (Q5)because you never know what the next order will be. Everyone had to be able to quickly change tasks and be really flexible.
Sam: Yes, true, and we should probably mention some of the preparation that happens before the restaurant even opens for the day. So for example, (Q6)one morning, I was invited to go to the fish market where the restaurant sources its seafood. I had to get up at 5.30 in the morning! I was half asleep but it was worth it to see all the stalls selling fresh fish and seafood.
Maya: Right. And something else that no one usually thinks about is all the cleaning involved. I knew hygiene was important, but I didn’t realise that (Q7)you had to be really careful to keep raw meat separate from vegetables and fruit. The restaurant even organised the meat fridge by cooking temperature, so the meats which needed more cooking were at the bottom. Apparently, this was to prevent dripping or contamination between the meats.
Sam: Yes, it was impressive. But, was there anything that you thought was disappointing? I mean, for example, I noticed that (Q8)most of the dishes used a lot of really fattening ingredients. You wouldn’t want to dine out often if you were trying to lose weight!
Maya: Yes, they did seem to be preparing the food to be delicious rather than healthy. But on the other hand, (Q9)I didn’t see them using any artificial flavourings or preservatives. It all seemed very natural. In fact, the sous chef told me that all of their vegetables are grown organically.
Sam: So, would you say that working in a restaurant kitchen is something you’d recommend to the other students?
Maya: Well, I think it depends a lot on the person. There’s a lot of pressure involved, and the kitchen environment can be really intense. (Q10)To be honest, I don’t think it’s for me, even though I really enjoyed the experience. What about you?
Sam: I’m not sure either, the fast pace and the constant movement and activity was really fun. I wasn’t bored for a moment, but I was exhausted at the end of the day. It’s hard work, there’s no doubt about that!
Listening Answer Key:
1. A, 2. C, 3. B, 4. E, 5. C, 6. A, 7. B, 8. C, 9. B