C1 Advanced Listening Multiple Matching Practice
C1 Advanced (CAE) · Listening Part 4 · 21 free exercises
Five short monologues on a common theme, matched against sets of statements — with extra options you won’t need. At C1 Advanced this is Part 4, with TWO tasks running across the same five speakers.
Listening Multiple Matching: Match the meaning, not the words.
- 5 — speakers
- 8 options — some unused
- Heard twice — each recording
- Meaning — not words
Matching each of five speakers to an idea expressed in different words. The options never use the speaker’s exact phrasing, and some options are never used, so a wrong match can pull others out of place.
What real learners get wrong: The hardest listening part — C1 learners average 68%, with 32% of matches wrong (Part 4, two tasks). Reading both option lists in the pause is what separates high scorers.
The method
- Read the option list (both lists, if there are two tasks) before the recording.
- Note a best match for each speaker as they talk — do not leave a task for the second play.
- Match meaning, not words — "I couldn’t put it down" matches "found it gripping".
- Use elimination across speakers — a confident match removes that option for the others.
- Leave nothing blank; use the second play to confirm shaky matches.
The traps
- Not reading the options first: Starting a speaker without knowing the options means you cannot recognise the reworded idea in time.
- Matching words: An option repeating a speaker’s words is usually a trap — the real match is reworded.
- The cascade: One wrong match uses an option another speaker needs — keep confident matches firm.
- Forgetting some go unused: Do not force every option in — a leftover option is normal.
- Freezing on one speaker: Miss one and you lose the next — note a best guess and stay with the recording.
All Listening Multiple Matching exercises
Cambridge English Advanced 1, Cambridge University Press
- A Course in Business Administration - Test 2
- Having More Than One Job - Test 3
- Professional Writers - Test 4
- Taking up a sport - Test 1
Cambridge English Advanced 2, Cambridge University Press
- Choosing a University - Test 8
- Strategies for Work Problems - Test 6
- Visits to Museums - Test 5
- Working on a Magazine - Test 7
Cambridge Exam Booster for Advanced, Cambridge University Press
- Entertainment - working as actors - Worksheet 2
- Events and issues - taking part in a public event - Worksheet 3
- The environment - Worksheet 1
Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition Workbook, Macmillan Education
Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition, Macmillan Education
- Attending a Course - Ready for Listening
- Difficult Decisions - Unit 2
- Education Experiences - Unit 6
- Environmental Movements - Unit 12
- Job Interviews - Unit 4
- Moving House - Unit 10
- Science Blogs - Unit 8