IELTS Listening Practice Questions
IELTS Listening Practice Questions
PART 1
Questions 1-4
Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Example Answer
Problem: 4……………
Questions 5-10
Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Address: 5……………
Postcode: 6……………
PART 2
Questions 11-15
Listen to the directions and match the places in questions 11-15 to the appropriate
place among A-E on the map.
11 Student Centre
12 Health Centre
13 Internet Unit1
14 Complaint Office
15 Cafe
Questions 16-20
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Students in a room don’t need to share a 16…………… with ones in other rooms.
All the students use a 18…………… to enter the dorm’s front door.
If you want to wash your clothes, go to the laundry room which is located in
the 19……………
PART 3
Questions 21-22
Choose the correct letters, A-C, and write each next to questions 21 and 22.
According to Betty, which lines describe the sales of both cheese and oil in New
Zealand and Colombia?
21 ……………
22 ……………
Questions 23-24
Write the correct letters, A-E, next to questions 23-24.
Which TWO of the following are sales strategies for chocolate in Italy and
Germany?
Questions 25-30
Complete the table below.
The professor advised the students to bear in mind the extensions of 30……………
PART 4
Questions 31-37
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Questions 38-40
Choose THREE letters, A-F, and write them next to questions 38-40.
A Wheel size
B Balance
C Rate of speed
E Safety
F Downhill travel
KEY
Transcript
Part 1
HEWITT: Yes, I’m calling about one of your rice cookers I just purchased.
(Example)
H: Seems? There’s no seeming about it! The blasted thing shoots hot steam
all over the place, that’s what! It nearly scalded my hand when I went to
open it. Why it could have killed the cat or something. It could have
exploded and killed my wife and me!
CR: Sir, sir, please calm down. As long as the steam escapes the cooker, it
won’t explode.
CR: Under Pressure will be happy to refund your money, sir. Now I just need
some basic information.
H: OK, OK. Sorry. I do tend to get a little hot under the collar. My wife tells
me to slow down… So, what do you need to know?
CR: Sir, don’t worry. I just need to ask you the model number of the cooker.
H: Hmmm… where are my glasses? Ah, here! Let’s see… ah. It’s R242. (Q1)
CR: R242. OK, and how much did you pay for the product?
CR: Thank you, that’s honest of you. Now, where did you buy the cooker?
Which store and which branch?
CR: And you say the problem is that the steam escapes?
H: Yes, it does!
CR: No problem, sir. If there’s steam escaping, clearly the cooker is broken
or defective. So we have an R242 cooker with an escaping steam (Q4)
problem. It was bought from Electric Life’s City Centre Branch for 89.99. Is
that correct?
CR: Oh, I nearly forget. When did you buy the cooker?
H: Just as soon as my wife got the crazy idea she’ll live longer if she stops
eating good English food: roast beef and mash. No, all she says she wants
is rice and vegetables and sauces you’d not soak your feet in!
H: Oh, there I go again. Let’s see… we bought it just six months ago! We
hardly used it either. But six months? Is that too long? I mean for the
warranty?
CR: Very well, that’s well within the warranty period. Now, what’s your name
and address?
CR: Sir, it is company policy. If you want your money, you must in form me.
Money you say? Oh, my name is Herbert Hewitt and my address is 84 Park
Road. (Q5)
CR: Is that here in Coventry?
H Yes. The postal code is B0241DJ (Q6). But I don’t think sending things in
the mail is very secure or very efficient. I mean…
CR: Don’t worry, Mr. Hewitt, don’t worry. We can credit the money to your
credit card (Q7). You do have one, don’t you?
CR: Oh, yes. We still have the number on computer. I only need to ask your
card’s expiry date.
H: I’m afraid I never give that sort of information out. I mean, once you have
that, anyone could go charging things and…
CR: Sir! I said your expiry date, not your card’s password.
H: Oh, er, yes. Foolish me. Of course, you didn’t say “password”. Let’s see.
That will be April 2008. (Q8)
CR: April 2008. Very well, your card still has nearly two months left to go.
We’ll get that refund (Q9) right to you, probably by five o’clock this
evening.
H: You had better! If I don’t get my money… wait, wait. Yes, I know I’m losing
my temper again. I really am sorry. I haven’t had my medicine today.
CR: And sir, just one more question for our record. How often do you go
shopping at the City Centre Branch?
H: Oh, well it’s hard to say. I suppose maybe once a month (Q10). But I can
tell you this, if I don’t get my refund, I’ll never shop there again! (He hangs
up the phone.)
CR: (sigh) I think it’s time to start looking for another job!
Part 2
Hello everyone, and welcome to the University of New South Wales.
The first thing I’d like to do at today’s Orientation Session is get you all
oriented! That means tell you the location of some useful facilities and
services. So, first of all, take out the maps we gave you all as you came in
the door. The map is the big yellow sheet of paper.
As you can see on the map, North is at the top, South at the bottom, et
cetera. Which way is North? Well, look through that window on my left, your
right. See the rising sun? That would have to be East. So North must be
directly behind me.
Now, we are at the campus’s Main Gate. The Recreational Facilities are on
my right hand and its opposite is the Student Centre (Q11). No questions?
Good. Pretty easy, right?
OK, did everyone eat breakfast at the Student Food Service this morning?
Was the food good? Yes, yes. I am joking. I’ve eaten there, too.
Well, I have good news for you: the Student Health Centre is located about
half a kilometre straight north of here (Q12). Look on your maps. You see
the street on the east side of this building? Ned Kelly Avenue?
Just follow that about 500 metres, and the Health Centre will be on your left
at the third cross street. (Q12)
Now, I know you all just got here. So you must be wondering how to tell your
folks you’ve arrived safely, how much you miss the dog, and how you
already need more money. If you don’t have an Iphone, you probably are
wondering where to find a computer. Well, I have good news. If you go
straight out of its door and walk down the Garden Street, you’ll see the
Internet Unit on your left side, just next to the Gym (Q13). The hours are
posted on the door, and the computers are free, but you must bring your
student ID card with you. Like I tell everyone, if you need help with anything,
you can probably find it right here in the Student Centre.
Do you see the four buildings there between the Student Centre and the
library? Those are the dormitories. The men’s dorms are the two on the
south; the women’s the two on the north.
OK, I’m sorry to have to tell you, but the university has been doing a lot of
repairs and remodelling, and it’s not all done yet. So there may be some
small problems with your dorm rooms. Maybe the window doesn’t open.
Maybe an air conditioner is missing or does not work. If there are any
problems, you can go to the Complaint Office, which is right beside the
Teaching Building between the Parker Street and the Crammer Street (Q14).
Just tell them your problem and they should have it fixed by the time you
graduate in four years. I’m joking, but please be patient. There are a lot of
little things they need to take care of.
Tired of the school food? No? Give it a week. Or maybe you just need a
place to get coffee in the wee hours of the night during one of those
marathon study sessions. Either way, you definitely have to check out the
little Cafe just past the women’s dormitories (Q15). They’ve got free Wi-Fi,
so a lot of students saddle up with coffee and a bagel for hours on end to
get work done.
As for the dorm rooms, I have some bad news and some good news.
The bad news is the rooms are small and you’ll probably be sharing space
with at least three other students. The good news is that each room has its
own bathroom (Q16). What’s good about sharing a bathroom with three
strangers? Hmmm… good question. OK, call it bad news and worse news.
Hey, maybe try this for good news: each dorm has a kitchen. If you want to
make snacks or meals, you can do it there. You can buy food containers
(Q17) at any campus convenience store, so you can store your food in the
kitchen. But a word of warning: you should definitely write your name on
your food containers. Sad to say, there are food thieves among your fellow
students. Speaking of thieves, a word about security. I mean this is Australia
and we do get drunken bushrangers wandering onto campus. Each of you
will be given a key for your dorm room. Don’t lose it. You have to pay for
any replacement and fill out a bunch of papers, too. Red tape, huh? Your
key does not work for the front door of your dorm, however. To the right of
each door, there is a keypad with numbers. When you move in, they will tell
you the code (Q18) you use to enter the door. Please do not tell the code to
people who do not live in the dorm.
Let’s see. Have I forgotten anything? Oh, yes. Most of you are not rich,
correct? So when your clothes get dirty, you can’t just throw them away and
buy new ones. That means you have to learn to do laundry. Or, men, that
means you have to hurry up and get married.
If you decide to wash those clothes and not get married, there are laundries
in each dorm. Where? Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. The laundry for each
dorm is in the basement (Q19). Some real good news this time: if you are a
student, it is free. You do have to buy your own soap, however. The laundry
closes, by the by, at 11:30.
And, now that I’ve mentioned 11:30, please remember the dorm doors are
locked at Q20 11:30 p.m. Your code will not work. If you want to get in, you’ll
have to call the night watchman. Don’t worry, you can get that number at
the Dorm Office. Yes, the Dorm Office and the Complaint Office are the
same office. All right, then. Before we continue, are there any questions?
Part 3
PROFESSOR: Oh, yes. I did say one o’clock, didn’t I? Please, sit down. So,
who goes first? Bruce? Or you, Betty?
BETTY: I guess I could. Bruce is always a little shy.
PROFESSOR: Not after he’s had a lager for lunch, eh Bruce? BRUCE: Heh,
heh. No, Betty really should go first.
BETTY: Well, in New Zealand, the sales of both oil and cheese have declined
pretty steadily (Q21). And in fact, the sales have decreased more quickly
than the population. On the other hand, in Colombia, the volume of sales
for both products has remained the same. (Q22)
PROFESSOR: Wait, so you said sales in New Zealand have been going
down?
BETTY: Correct. Suppliers have introduced two new upscale brands of each
product, which are a bit expensive but very tasty. The big ad agencies are
trying out a new series of ads that shift the focus from health to great taste.
They think that will get sales moving up in New Zealand, where the
population is less affluent and generally less health-conscious.
BRUCE: In Italy, “Kostig”, the most expensive brand, pays shop owners to
put the candy just about knee-high for an adult.
PROFESSOR: I don’t see…
BRUCE: For little kids, that’s about eye level! That bright red candy is the
first one they see, so they buy it! Even better, they start telling their moms to
buy it, too!
BRUCE: Well, I mean, in Italy if you locate your product at the right location
of shelves, sales do great (Q23). They say it doesn’t matter much what
brand of chocolate you’re selling. As for Germany…
BRUCE: Huh?
BRUCE: Well, like you pointed out, Germans love chocolate. But they’re
thrifty. For a long time, the biggest selling brand was “Schmutzig”, mostly
because it was the second cheapest, but didn’t taste too bad. (Q24)
PROFESSOR: Again brilliant! A pretty good job, both of you. Tell me, what
do you plan to investigate next week?
PROFESSOR: Well, it sounds like you two are all set. But as always in this
course, I urge you both to pay much more attention to the advertisement
(Q30) extensions. That’s often the key. Alright, any questions for me before
you go.
Part 4
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to take this opportunity to
welcome you to our exhibition, “Two Centuries of the Bike”.
Although there were a few early efforts back in the 1700s, you didn’t really
see many bikes till, say, the 1830s in England. Bikes were a response to the
rapid growth of cities early in the 19th century. Cities like London were
getting too big to walk across! The early bike let people travel with less
effort (Q31) than walking. Plus a bike was a lot cheaper than a horse!
Think of it. No one invented a bike for, what, five thousand years of human
history? Why did people do it then? Probably because this was the start of
the Machine Age: people wanted machines to do all the work.
There were some drawbacks, however. For one thing, there were no pedals.
You simply pushed yourself along using your feet. Kind of like today’s
skateboard. That meant you went fairly slowly. And uphill, you actually
worked harder, pushing that two-wheeler. Plus, the wheels were made of
wood covered with metal, as you can see from this model. So the downside
was that the ride was quite uncomfortable (Q32) on most roads. Only a
few gadget lovers had or used them.
By the 1860s (Q33), though, improvements were being made. As you can
see from this specimen, metal frames had become the rule. They’re more
durable than wood, and they don’t warp in the rain. The biggest
improvement however was the development of the chain and sprocket
system. They are connected (Q34). This meant you did not push the bike.
You used pedals just like today. You had to try harder to balance, so it took
some practice to figure out how to use the pedals. But it made the ride so
much easier. As a result, the good thing was that you could ride a lot more
smoothly (Q35) and with very little effort.
By the 1880s, another big change was the use of rubber wheels (Q36).
These became pretty common at that time. Though the first ones were solid
rubber, the ride was a good deal more comfortable than the old iron and
wood system. This is a big consideration because the faster you go, the
more you feel every bump. Air-filled tyres – “pneumatic tyres” – didn’t
really come into use till around the year 1900, as you can see from this
exhibition over here. That made the ride even more comfortable.
So, by 1890 or so, people were going a lot faster and a lot more smoothly.
There was one problem when you were going quickly and comfortably: “OH
NO! HOW DO I STOP?” Yes, we all laugh now.
But for a long time, the only way to stop was drag your feet. That didn’t
work very well and it would be dangerous if you were going fast. In the
crowded cities of those years – New York, Chicago, and so on, you would
get killed if you couldn’t stop for, say, a streetcar.
Plus look at this bike. The front wheel is nearly a metre and two thirds tall!
They made them that way so you could see over people and wagons. But
you couldn’t drag your feet. This model is called a “velocipede” – a “speed
pedal”. Another characteristic of the bike in this period is that it has two
equal-sized wheels, which signalled a big change in bikes.
For with the velocipede, brakes appeared. If you wanted to stop, you just
pushed the pedal backwards. Doing that stopped the back wheel of the
bike. This technique worked a lot better than dragging your feet or jumping
off the high seat there! This meant that bikes became a great deal safer
(Q37). It would have been safer if people wore helmets, but the first bicycle
helmet wasn’t invented until years later, and even then it was little more
than a leather ballcap. It really wasn’t until the 1970s that the bike helmet
was modified to provide some real protection.
A good rule to remember is, if you’re going faster than the cars, slow down.
And please wear a helmet. Nearly one quarter of the epilepsy cases come
from head injuries in accidents on bikes and motorcycles. I didn’t mean to
scare you, but safety is everyone’s business.
What? Now that’s a good question. Why are today’s bikes so much faster?
Well, it’s not just that today’s athletes are faster. The answer is partly
mechanical. If you look closely here, at the back wheel you’ll see a number
of gears. Changing gears is what makes those fast speeds possible (Q38).
You can shift gears depending on the terrain and how hard you wish to
pedal. So you can put it on a higher gear for downhill, and a lower gear for
uphill travel to make it easier to climb that slope (Q39). You’ll notice this
gear-shifting mechanism is attached at the back wheel, and when the rider
shifts on the handlebar gear shifter, the chain moves to the appropriate
sprocket (Q40). And, speaking of changing gears, let’s look over here at
our “Tour de France” exhibit…