C2 Proficiency Listening Multiple Matching Practice
C2 Proficiency (CPE) · Listening Part 4 · 20 free exercises
Five short monologues on a common theme, matched against sets of statements — with extra options you won’t need. At C2 Proficiency 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: C2 learners average 51% (Part 4, two tasks). Tracking two tasks across five speakers at C2 speed is demanding — read both lists first.
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 Proficiency 2, Cambridge University Press
- Academic conferences - Test 2
- Commuting - Test 4
- Studying abroad - Test 3
- Training for a profession - Test 1
Cambridge English: Proficiency 1, Cambridge University Press
- Award-Winning Natural-World Projects - Test 1
- First Jobs - Test 3
- Sporting Successes - Test 4
- Work Placements - Test 2
Proficiency Testbuilder, 4th Edition, Mark Harrison, Macmillan
Ready for C2 Proficiency Student's Book, Macmillan
- Adaptations of Fiction - Unit 10
- Communication Errors - Unit 5
- Working in Conservation - Unit 8
- Workplace Technology - Unit 3
Ready for C2 Proficiency Workbook, Macmillan
- Authors on Their Stories - Unit 10
- Fashion Innovations - Unit 3
- Greenwashing - Unit 8
- Receiving Important News - Unit 5