IELTS Listening Practice Test | 2026-01-13

**Narrator:** Now turn to Section One. You will hear a student and an adviser talking about facilities at a college. First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5. Now we shall begin. You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.
**Student:** Hi, I wonder if you could help me. I'm starting a course at Glenfield in a few weeks. I was just a bit worried about what facilities there will be and what I'll have to do. I'm especially interested in health and welfare stuff.
**Adviser:** Certainly. We normally send out a copy of our leaflet, "Staying Healthy at Glenfield." I'm not sure why you haven't had it.
**Student:** Well, could you answer a few questions for me? Firstly, I'm wondering about how I get a doctor when I arrive.
**Adviser:** Well, you can register with the University Health Center on North Campus.
**Student:** And do I have to pay for that?
**Adviser:** Not to register, but if you have to get medicines, there's a prescription charge of £6.50.
**Student:** Okay. Well, I'm not planning to get ill. That's only going to arise if I have any problems. So, should I just go along when I arrive?
**Adviser:** That's what we recommend for peace of mind, but it's not compulsory. And if you don't live inside the catchment area, you can't in fact register there. Where do you live?
**Student:** Well, at the moment I'm staying at the backpacker's hostel in Hill Street, but I will be moving from there shortly somewhere nearer.
**Adviser:** Well, there's a map at the center which shows you the area that the university practice can accept people from. It's what we call the yellow zone. If you live outside that area, you have to find another medical center to register with.
**Student:** It sounds like I'll only qualify after I move.
**Adviser:** I think you might be right. Then in addition to the health center, there's a free counseling service for all students situated on the north campus. You don't have to register. They also have drop-in sessions. I say it's free, but that's only for up to eight sessions. Beyond that, they normally refer people elsewhere.
**Student:** Sounds serious.
**Adviser:** Well, it's not just for big problems. People go there for advice on housing, workload, whatever really. They can even arrange financial help.
**Student:** Is it confidential?
**Adviser:** Absolutely. Then again, a lot of students prefer to phone the night line service, which is run from an office on the central campus. They don't really encourage people to drop in.
**Student:** I see. So, it's basically a free phone line.
**Adviser:** The number, if you want to make a note, is 09007625913. I'll say it again: 09007625913.
**Student:** Fine. Well, I hope I won't need any of these. What I will want is access to some gym facilities.
**Adviser:** Right. Well, you'll find those on the south campus in the sports center. The sports center is great, but it's not free. You have to present your student card and pay a fee of £22 to get a pass, but that will last you for the whole year.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 6 to 10.
**Student:** Is this information on the website?
**Adviser:** I'm afraid not. I can send you some leaflets or even resend the whole information pack if you give me your details.
**Student:** Uh, could you send the whole information pack, please?
**Adviser:** Yes, that's fine. I'll have to take down some details. Could you tell me your full name?
**Student:** Sonia Orr.
**Adviser:** S-O-N-Y?
**Student:** Uh, no. I'll spell it: S-O-N-I-A. Then O-R-R.
**Adviser:** Orr. Okay. And you said you were on Hills Road?
**Student:** Yes. But don't send it there as I'm about to move. I'll give you my new address, which is 22 Winter Gardens. That's Glenfield.
**Adviser:** And the postcode?
**Student:** Oh, yeah. That's GF23 9BQ.
**Adviser:** Fine. Now, we're doing a bit of data collection about who uses our services at the moment. Can I just ask a few more questions?
**Student:** Yes, that's fine.
**Adviser:** Okay. If you're an international student, what country are you from?
**Student:** I'm from Switzerland.
**Adviser:** And how old are you?
**Student:** I'm 24. And finally, which course are you enrolled on?
**Student:** Right. Well, that's a bit complicated since I'm hoping to switch to economics and history, but at the moment I'm down to do economics and sociology. It's a joint degree.
**Adviser:** Okay, I'll put that. Great. Well, I'll pop the information pack in the post and you should get it soon.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Part One. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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**Narrator:** Now turn to Section Two. Part Two. A discussion between a college receptionist Denise and a student named VJ about learning a language. In the first part of the discussion, they are talking about the course VJ will study. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 17. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 17.
**Denise:** Hello. May I help you?
**VJ:** Hello. Uh, is this the right place for me to register to study foreign languages?
**Denise:** Yes, it is. May I have your name, please?
**VJ:** VJ. My family name is Pares.
**Denise:** VJ Pares. Okay. Do you have a telephone number?
**VJ:** Yeah. 9092467.
**Denise:** Thank you. Now, which language would you like to learn? We offer French, Italian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese.
**VJ:** Um, I'd like to learn Spanish, please.
**Denise:** Okay. Our classes are conducted in lots of different places. We have classrooms in the city and here in this building.
**VJ:** What's this building called?
**Denise:** This is Building A. I work here, so it would be best to study in Building A.
**VJ:** What time do you want to come to lessons? They go on for 3 hours, and they start at 10:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
**VJ:** I wish I could come to the daytime lessons, but I can't. So, 6:00 p.m., please.
**Denise:** That's our most popular time, of course. Um, have you ever studied Spanish before?
**VJ:** No, I haven't.
**Denise:** We describe our classes by level and number. Your class is called Elementary 1.
**VJ:** Okay. Uh, when will classes start?
**Denise:** Elementary 1 begins, uh, just a minute. Uh, it begins on August 10.
**VJ:** Great. Now, what else do I have to do?
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 18 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 18 to 20.
**Denise:** I'm sorry, VJ. What were you saying?
**VJ:** I wanted to know what else I had to do.
**Denise:** Oh, of course. Please go to the building on the other side of Smith Street. I want you to go to the reception area first. It's just inside the door on the left as you enter from Smith Street. Give them this form.
**VJ:** Okay. Do I pay my fees there?
**Denise:** No, but the fees office is in the same building. Go past the escalators and you'll see a games shop. It's in the corner. The fees office is between the games shop and the toilets.
**VJ:** Thanks. And where can I buy books?
**Denise:** The bookshop is opposite the lifts. It's right next to the entrance from Robert Street.
**VJ:** Your offices are spread out.
**Denise:** Not as badly as they used to be. By the way, we offer very competitive overseas travel rates to our students.
**VJ:** Oh, I'd like to look into that.
**Denise:** Of course. The travel agency is at the Smith Street end of the building in the corner next to the insurance office.
**VJ:** Thank you very much. Bye.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Part Two. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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**Narrator:** Now turn to Section Three. Section Three. You will hear a student called Sarah talking to her college tutor about some research she has to do as part of her course. First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 27. Now listen and answer questions 21 to 27.
**Tutor:** Hello Sarah.
**Sarah:** Hi. So, you want to talk about your research project?
**Tutor:** That's right. I want to find out how many people use the tourist information office and what they think of the service they get.
**Sarah:** Interesting. Have you written your proposal yet?
**Tutor:** No, that's what I wanted to ask you about. What should I include? Someone said I should make a list of my aims first.
**Sarah:** Well, I don't know about a list. A statement of aims is the correct term. It's just a quick summary of what you hope to get out of the project.
**Tutor:** Okay. And should I include other documents I've prepared like the questionnaire? I'm still working on that.
**Sarah:** I can check that later. But I think it's good to prepare an information sheet for participants. It would help you to think about interview methods. It would be good to see that soon.
**Tutor:** Oh, right. And I want the project to have statistical data, not just to be a collection of opinions.
**Sarah:** That's good. So that should be clear from the proposal, too.
**Tutor:** Great. So, what else must I include in the proposal? Or are some things optional?
**Sarah:** Okay. Some things that people normally put in a research proposal don't really apply to you, like any costs involved. That can be really important in some research projects, but as we don't have a budget, it's not something you need to include. Any costs have to come out of your own pocket, I'm afraid.
**Tutor:** Yes, I understand that.
**Sarah:** But I do need to know your criteria for choosing who to interview. I've got to check that you're using good sampling principles, for example.
**Tutor:** Sure. And what about the way I'm going to analyze my findings?
**Sarah:** That's not essential at the proposal stage on this project, but if you've got some ideas, include them because it could save time later.
**Tutor:** Okay. And do I need to make it clear how the report will be organized?
**Sarah:** Oh, I'm going to be giving you a template to use, so there's no need to go into that in the proposal.
**Tutor:** Great. Thanks.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 28 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 28 to 30.
**Sarah:** Actually, another thing we could discuss now is making sound recordings of interviews.
**Tutor:** Oh, right. Do I have to record them all? I could try to get as many as possible, but it would be rather expensive.
**Sarah:** Yes, don't worry. You only need a few chosen randomly just to give an idea of how the interviews are going. You can send one in each time you update me on your progress.
**Tutor:** Okay. How often should I do that? I haven't done a timetable for the interviews yet, but they'll be spread over 3 or 4 weeks with about 200 in total. I reckon on doing 20 a day.
**Sarah:** Let me know how you're getting on at the end of each day's interviewing then, whether you've had any problems or not. It can be a lonely job.
**Tutor:** Thanks. I appreciate that.
**Sarah:** And what about the confidentiality of participants? Because that can cause problems.
**Tutor:** Well, I'm getting them to sign a consent form. It says that I'll only use the information for my research, that I won't pass it on to anyone else. But that's the only promise I'm making. They have to give me their names and agree to their data being stored on the college computer network.
**Sarah:** That sounds good. You won't put names in your report, I know. And the data will all get deleted at the end of the year. But we don't promise any of that.
**Tutor:** Sure.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Section Three. You now have half a minute to check your answer.
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**Narrator:** Now turn to Section Four. Part Four. Listen to part of a lecture that an architect is giving about the Millennium Dome. First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
**Lecturer:** Ask why the Millennium Dome is so unpopular, why people are so upset by it. After all, there are ugly buildings all over the world. Blocks of flats and office blocks in every city in the world are truly unpleasant to look at. I'm sure you have plenty of ugly buildings in your city.
However, the important difference is that the Millennium Dome was not constructed quickly and cheaply like some 1950s block of flats. It was built to celebrate a special occasion. It took years of planning and years of construction, and it cost an enormous amount of money, not far off a billion pounds.
The Millennium Dome is supposed to be beautiful. It is, however, quite horrible. It was built to bring one of the world's great cities into the 21st century. Now, less than 10 years later, nobody wants to look at it. I am afraid that it will always be famous for its ugliness.
In the United States, we have our ugly buildings, too. The Chicago Public Library is a good example, and the Experience Project Museum in Seattle is awful. But there is something about the Millennium Dome that makes it worse, in my opinion, at least. I admit that the design of the building is ambitious and of course is a great achievement of engineering. However, I'm afraid that for me, that is not enough. To my mind, the Millennium Dome was and is a huge disappointment.
So, what will become of the building? Now, I understand that it has been bought by a company that hoped to turn it into a venue for entertainment events like shows and concerts. I suppose that considering how much it cost, it is good that it will be used for something. Personally, however, I would prefer to see it pulled down.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Section Four. You now have half a minute to check your answers. That is the end of the listening test.