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Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion for the CAE Exam
CAE Listening Parts 1 and 2 test complex listening at C1 level. Part 1 (3 multiple-choice per extract × 3 extracts) demands understanding of attitude, opinion, and implied meaning. Part 2 (8 sentence-completion items from a monologue) requires accurate note-taking and understanding of paraphrased information.
Locale-specific study guides
Pass-rate data, regulatory context, and study tips for Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion all change by candidate locale. Pick your context:
- Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion · United StatesCalibrated for American candidates
- Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion · United KingdomCalibrated for British candidates
- Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion · IndiaCalibrated for Indian candidates
- Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion · PhilippinesCalibrated for Filipino candidates
- Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion · NigeriaCalibrated for Nigerian candidates
Common failure modes
These are the patterns that cause most candidates to lose marks on this topic. Recognising them in advance is half the work.
- !Part 1: Missing the speaker's underlying attitude because they focus on topic words
- !Part 2: Writing a paraphrase instead of the word(s) from the recording — transcription is required
- !Not pre-reading questions — losing the answer because you were not ready for it
Study tips
- 1For Part 1, listen for hedging language, intonation shifts, and contrast markers that reveal attitude.
- 2For Part 2, predict the grammatical category for each blank (noun, verb, adjective, number) from the sentence context.
- 3Listen to authentic C1 content: academic lectures (TED Talks), BBC Radio 4 documentaries, and formal interviews.
Sample CAE Listening Parts 1 & 2 — Multiple Choice & Sentence Completion questions
These sample items mirror the format and difficulty of real CAE questions. Practice with thousands more on the free Koydo question bank.
- 1
You hear: "The results were, shall we say, not entirely what we had hoped for." The speaker's attitude toward the results is:
- AEnthusiastic and positive
- BDiplomatically negative or disappointedCorrect
- CConfused and uncertain
- DCompletely neutral
Why this answer?
"Shall we say" is a hedging phrase that introduces a careful formulation. "Not entirely what we had hoped for" is a classic understatement — the speaker is disappointed but expressing it diplomatically. The careful phrasing signals the speaker is being tactful rather than direct.
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