CELPIP listening test samples, with worked answers and common mistakes
Paragon's free online sample test is the test owner's own sample of the CELPIP Listening test, and it shows the correct answers. This page explains how Listening is marked and gives two original worked samples, one in the style of Part 1 and one of Part 4, with a reason for each answer.
A Listening sample has no model essay to copy. What helps is seeing how the clip, the question and the wrong options fit together. That is what the two samples below do. They are not immigration advice.
What a Listening sample is, and how it is marked
Multiple choice, scored by computer, no penalty for guessing.
A CELPIP Listening sample is a set of audio clips with multiple-choice questions. There is no written answer to model, so a good “sample” shows you what the clip sounds like, what the questions ask, and why the right answer is right. Paragon explains the marking in its own words.
- All CELPIP Reading and Listening questions are in the multiple choice or similar format.
- All the answers to CELPIP Reading and Listening questions are scored dichotomously: a response is either correct or incorrect.
- Questions that are left blank are scored as incorrect.
- All the scoring is done by computer.
- For each question, choose the best answer from four options. Each question has one correct answer.
Paragon names three kinds of question: general meaning, specific information and inference. It says the correct answer is never expected to use the exact words of the audio, because answers paraphrase what was said. Each worked sample below is labelled with the kind of each question.
Where the real sample Listening material is
Paragon's free sample test and practice tests.
"The free online sample test will let you familiarize yourself with the test format and timing, experience the types of questions that you will encounter on test day, and see the correct answers for the Listening and Reading components."
Paragon's Listening Pro study pack adds: “Two free CELPIP practice tests are available on our website here.” and tells you to use the Listening transcripts as a source of new vocabulary. We list the free and paid practice material, with prices, on our CELPIP listening practice test page.
The two worked samples below are our own. They are written to show the way questions work. They are not taken from any test owner's material, and they do not show what a particular score looks like.
Worked sample 1: a problem-solving conversation
Written in the style of Part 1: two speakers, a problem and a choice.
This sample is in the style of Part 1. One speaker has a problem, the other offers solutions, and a choice is made. In a real test the clip is split into sections with questions after each. Here we use one short clip with three questions.
Context line on screen: A customer is returning an item to a hardware store.
Script (read it aloud once, or record yourself and play it back later)
Pedro: Sorry to hear that. Do you have the receipt?
Nadia: I’m afraid not. It was a birthday gift from my brother, and he threw the receipt away.
Pedro: That makes it trickier. Without a receipt we can only offer store credit, and it’s at today’s price, not what he paid. The kettle is on sale right now, so you’d get less than it cost.
Nadia: Oh. Is there anything else I could do?
Pedro: Well, kettles come with a two-year warranty from the maker, and that doesn’t need a receipt. Just the serial number on the bottom. I can give you the form, and they’ll repair or replace it. That usually takes about two weeks.
Nadia: I’d rather not wait that long. I use it every morning.
Pedro: In that case, I’d take the store credit and buy a new one today. We have the same model in stock. And if the maker replaces your old one, you’ll have a spare to give back to your brother.
Nadia: Ha, good idea. I’ll go and find it on the shelf.
Questions
- Question 1 (Specific information). Why can’t the customer get her money back?
A. The kettle was bought on sale.
B. She does not have the receipt.
C. The warranty has run out.
D. The store no longer sells that model. - Question 2 (Specific information). What does Pedro say about the maker’s warranty?
A. It needs only the serial number, not the receipt.
B. It can be used only with a store receipt.
C. The store repairs the kettle the same day.
D. It covers only kettles bought on sale. - Question 3 (Inference). What will Nadia probably do?
A. Wait two weeks for a repair.
B. Take store credit and buy a new kettle today.
C. Ask her brother for the receipt.
D. Look for the same kettle at another store.
Answers and why
| Question | Answer | Why the right option wins and the others lose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Option A uses the word “sale” but the sale is about today’s price, not the reason she cannot be refunded. Option C is the opposite of what Pedro says: the warranty is still running. Option D is the opposite of what Pedro says later: the store has the same model in stock. Only B matches “Do you have the receipt?” and “I’m afraid not”. |
| 2 | A | Pedro says the warranty “doesn’t need a receipt. Just the serial number on the bottom.” Option B reverses that. Options C and D invent details. The question asks for one fact, so find the sentence where he talks about the warranty and stay in it. |
| 3 | B | Nobody says “I will take the store credit.” Pedro suggests it, and Nadia answers “Ha, good idea. I’ll go and find it on the shelf.” You infer her choice from that agreement. Option A is the choice she rejects: “I’d rather not wait that long.” Option C: the brother threw the receipt away. Option D: Pedro says the store has the same model in stock, so she has no reason to look elsewhere. |
What good notes could look like
Note the problem, the options and the choice, in that order. Short forms and arrows are enough. Nobody reads your notes.
no receipt (gift, brother) → store credit only, today’s price (on sale = less)
warranty 2 yrs, serial # not receipt, repair/replace ~2 wks
N: can’t wait, uses daily → store credit, new one today
Worked sample 2: a news item
Written in the style of Part 4: one speaker, facts about an everyday event.
This sample is in the style of Part 4, a news report about an everyday event. In the real test the questions come on one screen and can be answered in any order. Here we use five.
Context line on screen: You will hear a radio news report about a school project.
Script (read it aloud once, or record yourself and play it back later)
Students at Maple Ridge Secondary School have turned an unused parking lot into a vegetable garden. The project began last spring, when science teacher Dana Whitfield noticed that the lot was almost always empty. Ms. Whitfield asked the school board for permission, and a local hardware store donated lumber for twenty raised beds. By September, about sixty students had signed up to help. The garden’s first harvest included tomatoes, beans and squash, and most of it went to the local food bank. Next year, the students hope to add a greenhouse so they can grow food through the winter. Ms. Whitfield says the biggest lesson has been patience, because the first crop of lettuce failed when the weather turned cold. The school plans to share its garden plans with other schools in the district.
Questions
- Question 1 (Specific information). The garden was built on ____.
A. an old playground
B. an unused parking lot
C. the school roof
D. a neighbouring farm. - Question 2 (Specific information). The project began when a teacher noticed that ____.
A. the school board had spare money
B. students wanted to sell vegetables
C. the parking lot was almost always empty
D. the lumber was cheap. - Question 3 (Specific information). Most of the first harvest ____.
A. was sold to parents
B. went to the local food bank
C. was kept for the science class
D. was lost to the cold. - Question 4 (Specific information). What does Ms. Whitfield say the biggest lesson has been?
A. Patience
B. How to ask for permission
C. How to build a greenhouse
D. How to share plans. - Question 5 (General meaning). The report is mainly about ____.
A. a school turning unused space into a garden
B. a teacher who is leaving her job
C. a hardware store opening a new branch
D. a food bank asking for donations.
Answers and why
| Question | Answer | Why the right option wins and the others lose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | The first sentence says it. Options A, C and D are other places a school garden could be, so they feel possible. That is how wrong options work. |
| 2 | C | The key phrase is “noticed that the lot was almost always empty”. The words “school board” and “lumber” appear in the clip, but in different jobs. |
| 3 | B | The clip says “most of it went to the local food bank”. Option D borrows the cold weather, which only hurt the lettuce, a different crop. |
| 4 | A | She says so directly, and the failed lettuce is the reason. Notice that the speaker is introduced as Dana Whitfield and then called Ms. Whitfield. Writing the last name in your notes keeps you from losing her. |
| 5 | A | A general meaning question asks for the big picture. The whole clip follows one project from the idea to the harvest to next year. Options B, C and D each pick up one small detail or invent one. |
What good notes could look like
News items are packed with who, what, when, where and why. Note the last names, the numbers and the reasons.
teacher Whitfield saw lot empty (last spring)
board OK; store gave lumber, 20 beds; ~60 students (Sept)
harvest: tomato, bean, squash, most → food bank
next: greenhouse (winter)
W: lesson = patience (lettuce failed, cold)
school will share plans
The five most common mistakes in Listening samples
What we see test takers do again and again.
- Choosing the option with the same words as the clip. Wrong options often copy a word from the audio and use it for a different job. The right answer paraphrases.
- Answering the question you expected. Read the stem again. “Why can’t she get a refund” and “what will she do” sound close and have different answers.
- Skipping the inference questions. No sentence says the answer. Ask what each speaker's words and tone show, then pick the option that follows.
- Losing the speaker's name. In a news item the person is introduced by full name and then called by last name. Write the last name down.
- Writing too much. Long notes make you miss the next fact. Short forms and arrows are enough.
For more, see our CELPIP listening tips, which give Paragon's own advice and a study plan for one week and four weeks.
Common questions
Paragon's free online sample test comes from the company that writes the test. It shows the correct answers for the Listening and Reading components. Paragon's study pack also says two free practice tests are on its website.
Each part has an audio clip, or a video in Part 5, followed by multiple-choice questions with four options. Paragon says each question has one correct answer. Our two worked samples above show the style of Part 1 and Part 4.
Yes. Paragon's free sample test shows correct answers. Ours do too: each worked sample above has an answer and a reason for every question. They are original and do not predict a score.
By computer. Paragon says each answer is either correct or incorrect, and a blank counts as incorrect. Points are not deducted for wrong answers, so answer every question.
Only roughly. Paragon's approximate chart gives ranges out of 38, and it warns that the raw score for a level may vary slightly between tests. Our samples are too short to estimate a level.