IELTS Listening Practice Test | 2026-01-06

**Narrator:** Now look at part one. Part one, you'll hear a lecturer talking to students about the ozone layer and CFC's. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 7. Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 7.
**Lecturer:** Today it is well known that CFC's or chlorofluorocarbons can do immense damage to the ozone layer which protects the earth from harmful radiation from the sun. However, it was as recently as the mid 1970s when the connection between CFC's and ozone layer destruction was first established. The story starts back in 1957 when James Lovelock invented the electron capture detector. This is a machine that can detect very small amounts of a chemical compound in the atmosphere. Indeed, using the machine, it was Lovelock who was the first person to detect the widespread presence of CFC's in the Earth's atmosphere. In 1973, Lovelock on a research trip which he funded himself measured the amount of CFCs in the atmosphere in the Arctic and in Antarctica, but unfortunately came to the wrong conclusion that CFCs are not harmful to the environment. Following on from this work though, in 1974, Sher Roland and Mario Molina published the very first scientific paper on the connection between CFC's and ozone depletion. This quickly prompted the world's first ban on the use of CFC's, which was enacted in 1975 by the US state of Oregon. Further bans followed. In 1978, the United States and several European countries banned the use of CFC's in spray cans. CFC's were still allowed to be used though for refrigeration and in solvents. It was in the mid 1980s that scientists in Antarctica observed a huge depletion in the ozone layer above them, often called the hole in the ozone layer. This led in 1987 to the signing of the Montreal Protocol which called for further reductions in the production and use of CFC's and then 2 years later to a European Union agreement to ban the production of all CFCs by the end of the century.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 8 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 8 to 10.
**Lecturer:** So why exactly are CFCs so harmful? One of the reasons CFCs were so popular in the production of solvents and refrigeration coolants is that they are unreactive. that is they don't react easily or at all with other chemical compounds. It's this property, however, that also makes them dangerous. Because they are unreactive, it's very difficult for them to be broken down. This gives them a long lifespan, more than 100 years in some cases, and allows them to rise into the upper levels of the atmosphere, the stratosphere, unchanged. there. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun starts to break them down, freeing the chlorine atoms from the CFC's. It's this chlorine that helps destroy the ozone there.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part one. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

**Narrator:** Now it turns to part two. Part two, you'll hear two teachers discussing a school trip. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.
**Jean:** Oh, there you are. Paul, do you have a few minutes? Can we think about this year's school trip?
**Paul:** Hi, Jean. Yes, of course. Have you got any ideas?
**Jean:** I've been looking through some information and I've brought a few leaflets with me. Here you are.
**Paul:** Okay, thanks. Just remind me when the trip is.
**Jean:** Next Friday. We'll be leaving at 9:00 and be back here at around 4. So, we've probably got time to visit a couple of places. Let's see. What leaflet have you got there?
**Jean:** Central Gardens looks like a nice place. It's open from 9 until 6:00, so we could go there anytime we wanted, really. What about there in the morning and then somewhere else in the afternoon?
**Paul:** Farmers Market would be an option first as well, at least until they close at 1:00. Or we could try Grey Castle. That should be possible in the morning or in the afternoon. Oh, hang on. That's at the weekend. The last admission is at noon on weekdays. Greenhole says the same thing.
**Jean:** Queen's Park opens at 8, so we could go there first. Or according to these times, we could go there on the way back to school because they don't close the gates until sunset during the week.
**Paul:** Okay, that gives us a few options. We went to Queens Park a couple of years ago, didn't we? I seem to remember that the pupils really enjoyed it. It'd be nice to go somewhere new as well. I've seen groups from other schools going around Gay Castle.
**Jean:** So have I. But then again, maybe we should play it safe and go to Green Hall. At least we've got experience of taking classes around there. Farmers Market is popular with other schools, though, so it must be interesting.
**Paul:** It'd be good to go somewhere where someone can show the pupils around, you know, explain things to them. I've been on a tour around the castle and they do a really good job. I think they have guides at the hall, too, don't they?
**Jean:** It says here that they used to, but don't anymore. You can get shown around Central Gardens, though. I think we'd have to do any explaining if we took the pupils to the market or the park. That wouldn't be a problem, though.
**Paul:** No. And at least those two would be free, wouldn't they? I think all the others charge and we'd have to get the parents to pay some money.
**Jean:** I'm sure they wouldn't mind paying if it was a small amount. Let me check the leaflets. There's a special price for large groups at Great Castle. Oh, but you can get into Central Gardens for nothing.
**Paul:** Right. Oh, I've just thought of something. We wouldn't need to book anything if we were going to Queen's Park. But what about the other places? Uh, Central Gardens say you need to let them know if there are more than 10 people in your group, which would include us. The same at Great Castle. Farmers Market says you can just turn up. And so does Green Hall.
**Jean:** right? Well, I suggest we take the pupils to Gray Castle for a tour in the morning. How does that sound?
**Paul:** Yes, sounds good. We should contact them to book it as soon as possible. In the afternoon, we can do something a bit more relaxed at the park and we'll have to think about going to Green Hall another year. Shame farmers market isn't open, but we can't change the day.
**Jean:** So, that's a decision then. Now, let's think about what we're going to get the pupils to do. It's a school trip after all, and we should give them some work to do.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.
**Paul:** I think they should know something about the place before they go. That way they know what they're looking at and they'll be able to write about it better when they get back. I'll put some information together to look at at home and give them copies after the next lesson.
**Jean:** Good idea. I'll write something for them to do as they're going around the place. We did a quiz last year and that worked really well. I'll do the same kind of thing this time.
**Paul:** Okay. Now, what about the travel arrangements? How are we getting there?
**Jean:** What do you think? I remember one year Mrs. Jackson took her group by bus and that was a complete nightmare.
**Paul:** It's quite a long way, isn't it? We could hire a coach for the day, which is what we usually do. Or there's the train.
**Jean:** It's rush hour, though, isn't it? So, it'll be really crowded and it'll be more convenient for the rest of the day if we've got our own transport.
**Paul:** Yes, we'll do that then. Anything else?
**Jean:** Oh, we need to let the parents know what's happening. We could ask the office to call everyone.
**Paul:** It would take too long with so many. I know when we send a letter home, there are always a few pupils who lose it, but not all the parents have email yet. So, I don't think we have any choice really. I'll write something and take it to the school office this afternoon.
**Jean:** Right. I'll go and tell the pupils the good news.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part two. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

**Narrator:** Part three. You are going to hear a conversation between Sally and Ben. They are new college students. You now have some time to read questions 21 to 25. Now listen to the first part of the conversation and answer questions 21 to 25.
**Ben:** Hi Ben
**Sally:** Sally.
**Ben:** How are you? Fine.
**Sally:** I wondered if I'd run into you. When did you get here?
**Ben:** I only arrived last night just in time. I prefer to travel on Sundays to miss the working rush. I suppose you arrived in plenty of time.
**Sally:** Oh, I've been here for 4 days now. So, it must have been Thursday that I arrived. I'd like to have a good chance to look around and settle in.
**Ben:** I should have come earlier, too. I'm hoping to get a part-time job. We have no time today, I suppose. Do you still plan to be an architect?
**Sally:** Yes, it's what I've always wanted to do. And you were planning to do economics, weren't you?
**Ben:** Yes, I was. But I've decided on psychology instead.
**Sally:** How many textbooks do you have to get? I've been given this long list, and I'm sure they'll cost a fortune. See,
**Ben:** that looks a lot. It's longer than my list. Well, it's 14 all told, so I might use library copies instead of buying some of them. What about you?
**Sally:** I'll probably buy the whole lot of mine because I only have five on my list. Although, I'm sure there are many more I'll have to read.
**Ben:** Luckily, we don't have to read them all straight away. Have you got your class timet yet?
**Sally:** They came with a book list. When do your lectures start?
**Ben:** Tuesday. That's tomorrow. How about yours? But I've got an extra day. The day after your start.
**Narrator:** Now you have some time to read questions 26 to 30. As the conversation continues, they are talking about their new college life. Listen carefully and answer questions 26 to 30.
**Sally:** It's nothing like school, is it? Not so far. And the lectures will certainly be different. Do you have any special approach for keeping up with lectures and the amount we have to read?
**Ben:** Well, I usually try to read every word in a book in case I miss something important. So, I suppose I'll try to write down every word of the lecture if I can.
**Sally:** Oh, I couldn't do that. I'd get cramp in my fingers and I wouldn't really hear what was being said. I usually skim a book when I read and underline key parts. So, I guess I'll try to make notes on the main points of the lecture. Have you thought of using a cassette recorder?
**Ben:** You mean to record the lecture?
**Sally:** Yep. Then you could make really good notes.
**Ben:** Is it allowed?
**Sally:** I think so. It must be. Plenty of people seem to do it. It has to be better than trying to write every word as you listen.
**Ben:** Anyway, what's your first lecture about?
**Sally:** Oh, it's on the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution sounds boring to me.
**Ben:** Not really. It made a big difference to everything, including architecture eventually. So, what's your first lecture about?
**Sally:** It's about what separates humans from other animals.
**Ben:** Okay. Look, I was on my way to the library to check out some of these books on my list. I have a tutorial paper to give in a couple of weeks.
**Sally:** Oh, what's the topic?
**Ben:** Well, I think our lecturer must have trouble thinking up topics. The topic is why study architecture?
**Sally:** I don't know. It could give you a chance to set out what you want to do.
**Ben:** I guess so. Have you been given any tutorials to do yet?
**Sally:** Yes. Mine is called needs for sleep.
**Ben:** Sounds almost as interesting as mine.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part three. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

**Narrator:** Now turns to part four. Part four, you will hear a lecturer in education talking about some experiments done in the USA to investigate the effects of reducing class sizes. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
**Lecturer:** All over the world there are passionate arguments going on about how educational systems can be improved. And of all the ideas for improving education, few are as simple or attractive as reducing the number of pupils per teacher. It seems like common sense. But do these ideas have any theoretical basis? Today I want to look at the situation in the USA and at some of the research that has been done here in America on the effects of reducing class sizes. In the last couple of decades or so, there has been considerable concern in the United States over educational standards here following revelations that the country's secondary school students perform poorly relative to many Asian and European students. In addition, statistics have shown that students in the nation's lower income schools in the urban areas have achievement levels far below those of middle class and upper middle class schools. So would reducing class sizes solve these problems? Well, we have to remember that it does have one obvious drawback. It's expensive. It requires more teachers and possibly more classrooms, equipment, and so on. On the other hand, if smaller classes really do work, the eventual economic benefits could be huge. Better education would mean that workers did their jobs more efficiently, saving the country millions of dollars. It would also mean that people were better informed about their health, bringing savings and things like medical costs and days off sick. So, what reliable information do we have about the effects of reducing class sizes? There's plenty of anecdotal evidence about the effect on students behavior, but what reliable evidence do we have for this? Let's have a look at three research projects that have been carried out in the USA in the last couple of decades or so. The first study I'm going to look at took place in the state of Tennessee in the late 1980s. It involved some 70 schools. In its first year, about 6,400 students were involved and by the end of the study 4 years later, the total number involved had grown to 12,000. What happened was that students entering kindergarten were randomly assigned to either small classes of 13 to 17 students or regularsized classes of 22 to 26. The students remained in whatever category they had been assigned to through the third grade and then after that they joined a regular classroom. After the study ended in 1989, researchers conducted dozens of analyses of the data. Researchers agree that there was significant benefit for students in attending smaller classes and it also appears that the beneficial effect was stronger for minority students. However, there's no agreement on the implications of this. We still don't know the answer to questions like how long students have to be in smaller classes to get a benefit and how big that benefit is. For example, the second project was much larger and took place in California. Like the Tennessee study, it focused on students from kindergarten through to grade 3, but in this case, all schools throughout the state were involved. The experiment is still continuing but results have been very inconclusive with very little improvement noted and the project has in fact also had several negative aspects. It meant an increased demand for teachers in almost all California districts. So the better paying districts got a lot of the best teachers including a fair number that moved over from the poorer districts. And there were a lot of other problems with the project. For example, there weren't any effective procedures for evaluation. All in all, this project stands as a model of what not to do in a major research project. A third initiative took place in the state of Wisconsin at around the same time as the California project began. And it's interesting to compare the two. The Wisconsin project was small. Class sizes were reduced in just 14 schools, but it was noteworthy because it targeted schools at which a significant proportion of the students were from poor families compared with California's one-sizefits-all approach. Analysts have found that the results are very similar to the Tennessee project with students making gains that are statistically significant and that are considerably larger than those calculated for the California initiative. Now, I'd like to apply some of these ideas to the latest.
**Narrator:** That is the end of section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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**END OF LISTENING TEST**