Review all 40 Cambridge IELTS 16 Test 2 Listening answers with explanations. The recordings cover Copying photos to digital format, Dartfield House school, Assignment on sleep and dreams and Health benefits of dance, with note completion, multiple choice and matching among the principal question types.
Test 2 Listening Answers with Clear Explanations
Find all 40 Cambridge IELTS 16 Test 2 Listening answers with evidence-based explanations. The recording, questions and answer key are the same for Academic and General Training, so every answer link on this page supports both routes.
Cambridge IELTS 16 Test 2 Listening Answer Key
Use the key for quick marking, then read the explanations below. A slash separates accepted alternative forms. Where two letters are required, enter both letters across the two question numbers, in either order.
Part 1: Copying photos to digital format
Questions 1 to 10Part 2: Dartfield House school
Questions 11 to 20Part 3: Assignment on sleep and dreams
Questions 21 to 30Part 4: Health benefits of dance
Questions 31 to 40Part 1: Copying photos to digital format
Questions 1-10. A customer asks a company about copying printed photographs into digital format.
1Photos must not be in a ____ or an album.
Answer: frame
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The photos must be taken out of their frames before copying. They must also be separate, rather than stuck in an album.
2The cost for 360 photos is £____, including one disk.
Answer: 195
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The basic service costs £195 for 300 to 400 photos. Her 360 photos fall in that range, and one disk is included.
3Before the completed order is sent, ____ is required.
Answer: payment
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The company copies the photos first and then asks for payment. It sends the completed order only after the payment arrives.
4Photos can be placed in a folder, for example with the name ____.
Answer: Grandparents
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The woman suggests Grandparents as an example folder name. The employee agrees that she can name each group of photos.
5The ____ and contrast can be improved if necessary.
Answer: colour / color
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The standard service can improve a photo's colour and contrast. Colour and color are both accepted spellings.
6Photos which are very fragile will be scanned by ____.
Answer: hand
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The employee says especially fragile photos are handled by hand. This answers how those photos will be scanned safely.
7It may be possible to remove an object from a photo, or change the ____.
Answer: background
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The company can remove an object or alter the background. Alter means change, which matches the wording of the question.
8A photo which is not correctly in ____ cannot be fixed.
Answer: focus
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The woman asks whether the company can improve photos that are not in focus. The employee says this is the one problem they cannot fix.
9Orders are completed within ____.
Answer: ten days
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The employee says they aim to finish the copying in ten days. This is the completion time, not a price or a payment deadline.
10Send the photos in a box, not ____.
Answer: plastic
Where to Listen: Part 1, questions 1 - 10
The employee recommends a strong cardboard box because plastic boxes can break in the post. Plastic is therefore the material to avoid.
Part 2: Dartfield House school
Questions 11-20. A speaker explains changes to a school site, its catering and new after-school lessons.
11Dartfield House school used to be
Answer: C - a local council building.
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 11 - 15
The council bought the house and used it as offices. It was intended as a private home but was not used that way, and the tourist-centre plan never happened.
12What is planned with regard to the lower school?
Answer: B - The lower school site will be used for new homes.
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 11 - 15
The lower school will move to the main site. Houses will then be built on its old site, which matches B.
13The catering has been changed because of
Answer: A - long queuing times.
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 11 - 15
Only one serving point means pupils wait a long time for lunch. They like the food, so the problem is queuing rather than the menu.
14Parents are asked to
Answer: A - help their children to decide in advance which serving point to use.
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 11 - 15
Parents should discuss that day's food choice with their children each morning. This lets pupils go straight to the right serving point, which matches A.
15What does the speaker say about the existing canteen?
Answer: C - Pupils can take their food into it.
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 11 - 15
Pupils can still sit in the old canteen and eat food from the new Food Hall or home. It remains an eating space, even though food will be served elsewhere.
16World Adventures
Answer: D - daily change in menu
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 16 - 18
World Adventures will serve food from a different country each day. Planning the menu a week ahead does not mean the same food is served all week.
17Street Life
Answer: A - pupils help to plan menus
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 16 - 18
Pupils will be asked to suggest food for Street Life. Their suggestions help shape the menu, which matches A.
18Speedy Italian
Answer: B - only vegetarian food
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 16 - 18
Speedy Italian is for pupils who do not eat meat or fish. All its food will suit them, which matches B: only vegetarian food.
19Which TWO optional after-school lessons are new?
Answer: B + C (Either Order)
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 19 and 20
Drama classes are about to start, and the donated piano will allow piano lessons at school. Swimming, cycling, and sound-and-lighting lessons already exist, so choose B and C.
20Which TWO optional after-school lessons are new?
Answer: B + C (Either Order)
Where to Listen: Part 2, questions 19 and 20
Drama classes are about to start, and the donated piano will allow piano lessons at school. Swimming, cycling, and sound-and-lighting lessons already exist, so choose B and C.
Part 3: Assignment on sleep and dreams
Questions 21-30. Two students discuss research on sleep and dreams and plan an assignment.
21Luke read that one reason why we often forget dreams is that
Answer: B - we might otherwise be confused about what is real.
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 21 - 24
Luke's article says forgetting dreams protects us from mixing them up with real events. Lack of memory space was his earlier belief, not the article's explanation.
22What do Luke and Susie agree about dreams predicting the future?
Answer: A - It may just be due to chance.
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 21 - 24
Susie says people remember the few dreams that seem to come true and overlook the many that do not. Luke agrees that this is coincidence, which means chance.
23Susie says that a study on pre-school children having a short nap in the day
Answer: C - failed to reach any clear conclusions.
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 21 - 24
The study did not show an obvious pattern in its results. This means it reached no clear conclusion; spending time choosing a method does not show the method was faulty.
24In their last assignment, both students had problems with
Answer: C - self-assessment.
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 21 - 24
Both students lost marks for judging how successful their own work had been. This is self-assessment; their other difficulties were not shared.
25Decide on sample: twelve students from the ____ department.
Answer: history
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 25 - 30
They decide to use history students from another department. Literature is suggested afterwards, but Luke does not know any literature students, so they drop that idea.
26Decide on procedure: answers on ____.
Answer: paper
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 25 - 30
Susie suggests paper because participants will answer as soon as they wake up. This replaces the earlier idea of answering online.
27Check ethical guidelines for working with ____.
Answer: humans / people
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 25 - 30
The study involves humans, so the students must follow the rules for research on people. Humans and people remain accepted answers.
28Ensure that risk is assessed and ____ is kept to a minimum.
Answer: stress
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 25 - 30
The guidelines cover risk assessment and avoiding unnecessary stress. The gap asks what must be kept low for the participants.
29Analyse the results: calculate the correlation and make a ____.
Answer: graph
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 25 - 30
After calculating the relationship between sleep time and dreams, they will show the results in a graph. The gap asks for this visual display.
30____ the research.
Answer: evaluate
Where to Listen: Part 3, questions 25 - 30
The last step is to think about the research and evaluate it. Evaluate means judge how well it worked.
Part 4: Health benefits of dance
Questions 31-40. A lecture describes recent findings on the physical and psychological benefits of dance.
31An experiment on university students suggested that dance increases ____.
Answer: creativity
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
Students who danced showed more creativity when solving problems. This was the improvement measured after the activity.
32For those with mental illness, dance could be used as a form of ____.
Answer: therapy
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
Dr Lovatt suggests prescribing dance to help with mental health problems. This makes dance a form of therapy, or treatment.
33Dance is accessible for older people with low levels of ____.
Answer: fitness
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
The lecturer says people can dance even when their fitness is low. A high level of fitness is therefore not needed to take part.
34Better ____ reduces the risk of accidents.
Answer: balance
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
Dance improves balance, which makes falls less likely. This is the skill linked to reducing accidents such as broken hips.
35Dance improves ____ function by making it work faster.
Answer: brain
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
Remembering dance steps makes the brain process information faster and keep more of it. The gap names the part of the body doing that work.
36Dance gives people more ____ to take exercise.
Answer: motivation
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
Older participants report more motivation to walk, garden, and do other daily activities. This explains their greater willingness to be active.
37Dance can lessen the feeling of ____, which is very common in older people.
Answer: isolation
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
Group dancing encourages contact and new relationships. These reduce isolation, the feeling of being alone or cut off from other people.
38Doing Zumba for 40 minutes uses up as many ____ as other quite intense forms of exercise.
Answer: calories
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
A 40-minute Zumba class burns about 370 calories. The lecturer compares this with activities such as step aerobics and kickboxing.
39Women suffering from ____ benefited from doing Zumba.
Answer: obesity
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
The study involved women with obesity, who lost weight and body fat after doing Zumba. The gap names the condition studied.
40Zumba became a ____ for the participants.
Answer: habit
Where to Listen: Part 4, questions 31 - 40
The women enjoyed Zumba and kept attending after the study. It became a regular habit, rather than an activity they stopped when the study ended.
Academic and General Training Listening Answers
Are the Academic and GT Test 2 Listening Answers the Same?
Yes. Cambridge IELTS 16 Test 2 uses the same Listening questions, recording and answers for both routes. This single guide supports Academic and General Training candidates.
Which Practice Link Should I Use?
Choose the Academic or GT button for your test pathway. Both lead to the same Listening content. Reading and Writing are different, so choose the correct route for those skills.
How Do I Mark Two-Answer Questions?
Enter both required letters, one per question number. Either order is accepted. Repeating one correct letter does not supply the second required answer.
What to Do After Marking
Group your errors by misunderstanding, distractors, spelling and instructions. Review the difficult section, then try another complete test to check whether your accuracy improves.