# Laura's work placement: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 4, Listening Part 3

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 4, Listening Part 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 21 | A, E | I also got better at explaining things, and asserting my opinions. ... I had to have weekly consultations with the marketing manager |
| 22 | A, E | Do you think you got any better at managing your time and prioritizing things? ... Oh, definitely. |
| 23 | B, C | if they'd used a professional advertising agency to produce their brochure ... It would have been 250% more |
| 24 | B, C | It enhances the image of the company straight away. |
| 25 | D | they've got copies in the psychology department. ... I'll just go to the office and pick one up. |
| 26 | F | One of the career officers would be better. |
| 27 | G | By checking the website for new placement alerts. ... you can't rely on that. |
| 28 | B | You get a letter of invitation or an email from the personnel department. ... Yes, you do. |
| 29 | E | you should let your mentor know what the outcome is. ... That's right. |
| 30 | C | that's something you should ask your own tutor to provide. |

## Why these answers are right

**21. A, E.** One of the two skills Laura improved is communication, option A. She says she got better at explaining things and asserting her opinions because of weekly progress meetings with the marketing manager. Her IT work, by contrast, involved nothing she had not done before.

**22. A, E.** The second improved skill is organization, option E. Tim asks whether she got better at managing her time and prioritizing, and Laura answers "Oh, definitely," citing deadline pressure. Design is out, because a professional photographer was hired for the artwork.

**23. B, C.** One immediate benefit for the company is cost savings, option B. Laura calculated that a professional advertising agency would have charged 250% more than doing the brochure in-house, so the company saved money straight away by using her.

The why and the trap for questions 24 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/lauras-work-placement/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 3, you will hear two psychology students called Tim and Laura talking about Laura's work placement first.

**Announcer:** You have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.

**Announcer:** Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.

**Tim:** Hi, Laura, could you spare a few minutes to talk about the work placement you did last summer?

**Tim:** I'm thinking of doing one myself.

**Laura:** Hi, Tim.

**Laura:** Sure.

**Tim:** Didn't you do yours at an environmental services company?

**Laura:** That's right.

**Laura:** It's only a very small company, and they needed someone to produce a company brochure.

**Laura:** And I wanted to get some business experience, because I'm interested in a career in occupational psychology in a business environment.

**Laura:** It was good, because I had overall responsibility for the project.

**Tim:** What kind of skills do you think you developed on the placement?

**Tim:** I mean apart from the ones you already had.

**Tim:** Did you have to do all the artwork for the brochure?

**Tim:** The layout and everything.

**Laura:** We hired the services of a professional photographer for that.

**Laura:** I did have to use my IT skills to a certain extent, because I cut and pasted text from marketing leaflets.

**Laura:** But that didn't involve anything I hadn't done before.

**Tim:** Do you think you got any better at managing your time and prioritizing things?

**Tim:** You always used to say you had trouble with that.

**Laura:** Oh, definitely.

**Laura:** There was so much pressure to meet the project deadline, and I also got better at explaining things, and asserting my opinions.

**Laura:** Because I had to have weekly consultations with the marketing manager, and give him a progress report.

**Tim:** It sounds as if you got a lot out of it then.

**Laura:** Absolutely.

**Laura:** It was really worthwhile, but you know, the company benefited too.

**Tim:** Yes, they must have done.

**Tim:** After all, if they'd used a professional advertising agency to produce their brochure, instead of doing it in-house.

**Tim:** Presumably they'd have paid a lot more.

**Laura:** Oh yes, I worked it out.

**Laura:** It would have been 250% more, and I thought the end result was good.

**Laura:** Even though we did everything on site, the company has quite a powerful computer, and I managed to borrow some scanning software from the university.

**Laura:** The new brochure looks really professional.

**Laura:** It enhances the image of the company straight away.

**Tim:** So, in the long run, it should help them to attract clients and improve their sales figures.

**Laura:** That's the idea, yeah.

**Announcer:** Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.

**Announcer:** Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.

**Tim:** Well, all in all, it sounds very positive.

**Tim:** I think I'll go ahead and apply for a placement myself.

**Tim:** How do I go about it?

**Laura:** It's easy enough to do.

**Laura:** Because there's a government agency called STEP - S T E P - that organizes placements for students.

**Laura:** You should start by getting their booklet with all the details.

**Laura:** I expect you can download one from their website.

**Tim:** Actually, they've got copies in the psychology department.

**Tim:** I've seen them there.

**Tim:** I'll just go to the office and pick one up.

**Laura:** Right, and then, if I were you, after I'd looked at it, I'd go over all the options with someone.

**Tim:** I suppose I should ask my tutor's advice.

**Tim:** He knows more about me than anyone.

**Laura:** One of the career officers would be better.

**Laura:** They've got more knowledge about the jobs market than your personal tutor would have.

**Tim:** OK.

**Laura:** And then, when you know what you want, you can register with STEP.

**Laura:** You'll find their address in the booklet, and once you've registered, they assign you to a mentor who looks after your application.

**Tim:** And then I suppose you just sit back and wait till you hear something.

**Laura:** They told me at the careers office that it's best to be proactive and get updates yourself.

**Laura:** By checking the website for new placement alerts.

**Laura:** Your mentor is supposed to keep you informed, but you can't rely on that.

**Tim:** I don't suppose it's a good idea to get in touch with companies directly, is it?

**Laura:** Not really, but it is the company who notifies you if they want you to go for an interview.

**Laura:** You get a letter of invitation or an email from the personnel department.

**Tim:** And do I reply directly to them?

**Laura:** Yes, you do.

**Laura:** STEP only gets involved again once you've been made a job offer.

**Tim:** Right, so once you've had an interview, you should let your mentor know what the outcome is.

**Tim:** I mean, whether you're offered a job, and whether you've decided to accept it.

**Laura:** That's right.

**Laura:** They'll inform the careers office once a placement has been agreed, so you don't have to do that.

**Tim:** Is that all then?

**Laura:** More or less.

**Laura:** Only once you've accepted an offer, you'll probably have to supply a reference, because the placement will be conditional on that, and that's something you should ask your own tutor to provide.

**Laura:** He knows about your academic ability, and also about your qualities like reliability.

**Tim:** Well, thanks very much for the information.

**Tim:** I'm starting to look forward to...

**Announcer:** That is the end of section 3.

**Announcer:** You now have half a minute to check your answers.

[Practice Laura's work placement](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/lauras-work-placement)