IELTS Listening Practice Test | 2026-01-14

**Narrator:** Now turn to Section 1. Section 1. You will hear a woman talking on the telephone to a man about a car he is selling. First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 4. 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 4.
**Woman:** Hello, Brian Park speaking.
**Man:** Oh, hello. I'm calling about the advert in the paper for the car.
**Woman:** Uh, yes, the Mini you've got advertised for sale.
**Man:** Oh, yes.
**Woman:** I just wanted to find out a bit more information.
**Man:** Of course. What would you like to know?
**Woman:** It's my brother who's interested actually, but he's not in today, so he asked me to call you.
**Man:** Fine.
**Woman:** Great. Thanks. So, it's Minnie.
**Man:** Yep. And how old is it? Just coming up to 13 years old.
**Woman:** And I seem to remember from the ad that it's gray.
**Man:** That's it. Doesn't show the dirt.
**Woman:** Absolutely. Anyway, the color shouldn't be a problem for Jeff. You know, the important thing is the quality.
**Man:** Yes, of course.
**Woman:** And what about mileage? With it being pretty old, it's probably over a 100,000.
**Man:** Actually, it's 40,000 less than that. 62,000 on the clock.
**Woman:** Great. I remember now. I'm confusing it with another ad I was looking at.
**Man:** Right. Pleasant surprise then.
**Woman:** Yeah. Have you been the only owner or was there a previous one?
**Man:** I'm the second one. Before it was owned by a teacher who was a very careful driver. Didn't have any accidents.
**Woman:** Very good. And what about you? What do you tend to use it for?
**Man:** I haven't used it all that much. Mostly for shopping, you know, the sort of thing.
**Woman:** So, not much wear and tear. I'll make a note of that. I know Jeff wanted me to check that.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.
**Woman:** Now about the price, I see you've got it down as 1,250. I'm not sure Jeff will be able to come up with that amount.
**Man:** In the ad, I did say 1,250 or nearest offer.
**Woman:** So would you be prepared to go down to 1,000?
**Man:** That's really too low, I'm afraid. 1,100.
**Woman:** I might be able to go to that.
**Man:** Okay, I'll make a note of that. What about tax? Is it due soon?
**Woman:** Got another 5 months before it's due.
**Man:** Oh, that's a real plus. Yes. I'll make a note of that.
**Woman:** Now, you say it's in good condition.
**Man:** For its age, I'd say yes, definitely. It's just been serviced and there were no major problems. I'd be able to show you the service report. The only thing is you'd have to get a new tire in the near future, though it's still okay. You know, it's certainly absolutely safe at the moment.
**Woman:** Okay, fair enough. Yes, I understand.
**Man:** And the garage also mentioned that one headlight could probably do with replacing. They think there's a fault there, you know, intermittent.
**Woman:** Well, we'd obviously look at all the documents, but that sounds very straightforward. Of course. I've got all the service documents up to date and you can look at those.
**Man:** Well, it all sounds pretty good. And I know my brother will be interested. So, would it be possible for him to see the car? He's back from his trip tomorrow and away tonight. So, how about tomorrow?
**Woman:** Tomorrow? Wednesday? I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm out pretty much all day.
**Man:** Well, Thursday then?
**Woman:** That'll be fine. Yeah. In the morning.
**Man:** Yes, that would suit me perfectly. Great.
**Woman:** Now, you'll need my address.
**Man:** Oh, yes, of course. What is it?
**Woman:** It's number 238.
**Man:** 238.
**Woman:** London Road.
**Man:** Oh, that's easy enough.
**Woman:** Yes, very straightforward.
**Man:** So, I'll pass on these notes to Jeff and he'll see you in a couple.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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**Narrator:** Now turn to Section 2. Section 2. You will hear Joanne describing her home city of Darwin in Australia to a man called Rob who hopes to go there. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.
**Joanne:** Hi. You must be Rob. Nice to meet you. So, I hear you're planning to visit Australia.
**Rob:** Yeah. And I really wanted to talk to you because I was thinking of spending some time in Darwin and my sister told me you're from there.
**Joanne:** That's right.
**Rob:** So, tell me about it.
**Joanne:** Well, where shall I start? Well, Darwin's in what they call the top end cuz it's right up at the northern end of Australia and it's quite different from the rest of Australia in terms of cultural influences. In fact, it's nearer to Jakarta in Indonesia than it is to Sydney. So you get a very strong Asian influence there. That means we get lots of tourists. People from other parts of Australia are attracted by this sort of international cosmopolitan image. And as well as that, we've got the same laidback atmosphere you get all over Australia, probably more so, if anything, because of the climate. But what a lot of the tourists don't realize until they get there, is that the city's also got a very young population. The average age is just 29 and this makes the whole place very buzzy. Some people think that there might not be that much going on as far as art and music and dancing and so on are concerned because it's so remote. I mean, we don't really get things like theater and opera in the same way as cities down in the south, like Sydney for example, because of the transport expenses. But in fact, what happens is that we just do it ourselves. Lots of people play music, classical as well as pop. And there are things like artists groups and writers groups and dance classes. Everyone does something. We don't just sit and watch other people.
**Rob:** You said it's very international.
**Joanne:** Yeah. They say there's over 70 different nationalities in Darwin. For instance, there's been a Chinese population there for over a hundred years. We've even got a Chinese temple. It was built way back in 1887, but um when a very bad storm, a cyclone in fact, hit Darwin in the 1970s, it was almost completely destroyed. The only parts of the temple that survived were part of the altars and the stone lions, but after the storm, they reconstructed it using modern materials. It's still used as a religious center today, but it's open to tourists, too, and it's definitely worth going to share. Oh, and as far as getting around goes, you'll see places that advertise bicycles for hire, but I wouldn't recommend it. A lot of the year, it's just so hot and humid. Some tourists think it'll be fine because there's not much in the way of hills and the traffic is quite light compared with some places, but believe me, you're better off with public transport. It's fine and not expensive. Or you can hire a car, but it's not really worth it.
**Rob:** What's the swimming like?
**Joanne:** Well, there are some good beaches, but the trouble is that there's this nasty creature called the box jellyfish, and if it stings you, you're in bad trouble. So, you have to be very careful most of the year, especially in the winter months. You can wear a Lycra suit to cover your arms and legs, but I wouldn't like to risk it even so, personally. And there are the saltwater crocodiles, too. I mean, I don't want to put you off. There are protected swimming areas netted off where you'll be safe from jellyfish and crocs. Or there are the public swimming pools. They're fine, of course.
**Narrator:** You now have some time to look at questions 16 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.
**Rob:** So which places would you specially recommend?
**Joanne:** Well, one of the most popular attractions is called Aquascene. What happens is every day at high tide, hundreds of fish come in from the sea. All different sorts, including some really big deep sea fish. And some of them will even take food from your hand. It's right in the middle of town at the end of the esplanade. It's not free. I think you have to pay about $5, but it's definitely something you have to experience. Then, of course, Darwin has a great range of food. Being such a cosmopolitan place and if you don't have lots to spend, the best place to go is to Smith Street Mall where they have stalls selling stuff to eat. There's all sorts of different things including Southeast Asian dishes which I really like. You'd think there'd be plenty of fresh fish in Darwin as it's on the coast, but in fact, because of the climate, it mostly gets frozen straight away. But you can get fresh fish in the restaurants on Cullen Bay Marina. It's a nice place to go for a special meal. And they have some good shops in that area, too. What else? Well, there's the Botanic Garden. It's over 100 years old, and there's lots to see. An orchid farm, rainforest, a collection of palm trees, uh a wetlands area. You can easily spend an afternoon there. That's at Fanny Bay, a couple of kilometers out to the north. Then if you've got any energy left in the evening, the place to go is Mitchell Street. That's where it all happens as far as clubs and music and things are concerned. You'll bump into lots of my friends there. Talking of friends, why don't I give you some email addresses? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you...
**Narrator:** That is the end of Section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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**Narrator:** Now turn to Section 3. Section 3. You will hear two business studies students discussing a presentation they'll do on an article on working effectively in groups. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26. Now listen and answer questions 21 to 26.
**Helen:** So Brad, what did you think of the article on group work?
**Brad:** Oh, hi Helen. Uh, yeah, it was pretty good with helpful pieces of advice on how to make group work effective. I think we were lucky to be given such a straightforward text to present at the management skills seminar.
**Helen:** Yeah, actually shall we discuss it now? Have you got time?
**Brad:** Sure. It's only a 10-minute presentation. So, we just need to explain and then give our views on the main points raised in the article.
**Helen:** I'll jot down some notes. Right.
**Brad:** So, there are three main sections. I suggest we start with listening.
**Helen:** Yeah. Effective listening in groups because it's not something that's frequently covered on courses in our field.
**Brad:** No. And we should say that in the presentation.
**Helen:** Yeah. And also effective listening is pretty simple. You know, I don't think it's hard to learn.
**Brad:** Well, people think it's easy, but in my experience, most of us tend to be very lazy listeners.
**Helen:** Okay, I wouldn't argue with that. Something I do think we should emphasize is the power of the listener's posture, gestures, etc. in making speakers feel respected.
**Brad:** Not that you're just waiting for them to finish before jumping in with your own ideas.
**Helen:** Uh-huh. Okay. Right. Uh, the next section is on goal setting. Let's make sure we're clear what the article says on this.
**Brad:** Yeah. Well, firstly, it says that all group members must be given time to explain their own goals.
**Helen:** That's it. Yeah. And then did it say that the whole group should agree on common goals?
**Brad:** That's a bit too strong. It's more that everyone's agendas should be equally acceptable. But it does say that goals have to be realistic. You know, achievable within a particular time.
**Helen:** You've got it. That's really what the article's saying. There isn't really any point in having ideals if group members know they won't come to anything within a reasonable period. So, I think a summary covering those points will be enough for that part of the presentation, don't you?
**Brad:** Yeah. Now, the last section is about conflict resolution.
**Helen:** Actually, I thought it was the worst part of the article.
**Brad:** Me, too. I don't think it went into sufficient detail on the issue.
**Helen:** Actually, I thought it devoted too much space to it, but that it was all rather boring. You know, it didn't mention some of the more radical theories.
**Brad:** Absolutely. I found that really irritating. Right. And also I think it could have said more about conflict sometimes being healthy in groups.
**Helen:** Absolutely. It just mentioned rather glibly about how we should avoid thinking of winners and losers and that quick resolution of conflict is always desirable without explaining what these terms mean.
**Brad:** Well, it gives quite detailed definitions but doesn't develop a proper argument.
**Helen:** Right. So for the presentation, I think we just give some definitions and then explain what we felt were the weaknesses in the article's treatment of conflict resolution.
**Brad:** Yeah, good.
**Narrator:** Now you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30.
**Brad:** So let's think about what we have to prepare for the actual presentation. Well, I suppose we'll use PowerPoint, but I'm hopeless at using it, especially if it has any visuals. I really have to look into doing a course on it because I know I'll need it in the future.
**Helen:** Don't worry. I'm quite happy using PowerPoint and I'll put it together when everything else is ready.
**Brad:** That's a relief. But yes, do that later.
**Helen:** Okay. Now, I heard the tutor saying we have to include some well-chosen quotations from the article.
**Brad:** I'm not sure if we do. I'll email him to find out.
**Helen:** No need. I can just have a look at the specs he gave us when he set the task.
**Brad:** That'll be quicker.
**Helen:** But the tutor definitely said we have to prepare a handout to go with the talk. I'm not really sure how we do that.
**Brad:** Sarah did one last year.
**Helen:** Is she?
**Brad:** She's doing the same option as me on marketing. I'll ask her advice on what to include.
**Helen:** Great. So, that just leaves the bibliography at the end. I suppose it'll mainly be articles.
**Brad:** Yeah. So, we'll just look on the web and we can leave that to later.
**Helen:** But we've been advised against that.
**Brad:** Well, we could have a look through some journals in the library.
**Helen:** I think we should start by looking through module handbooks. I think that'll give us some good leads.
**Brad:** Yeah, you're probably right. So, that's all the topics.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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**Narrator:** Now turn to Section 4. Section 4. You will hear a talk on the effect of architecture on people's mood. First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
**Speaker:** My group has been doing a project on the importance of architecture in people's lives and whether it has any impact on the lives of people in general. The main part I have played is in the collection of data to find out what effect if any various buildings have on people's mood i.e. whether ugly buildings make people unhappy and whether beautiful buildings do the opposite.
We had originally thought of starting measuring people's reactions by using a questionnaire with about 40 questions which we were going to hand out to people including students at the university. But we were worried that doing the questionnaire would be too time-consuming for people to fill in. So we gave up the idea.
I then asked several of the post-graduate students for advice. One of them came up with the simple idea of showing people images of various buildings from different eras and styles instead of giving out the questionnaire and asking them to indicate how they felt on a scale of 1 to five about the images where one was unhappy and five was very happy. People would also be given the option of not saying what they felt. Using the scale meant that it would be much simpler to record people's reactions. I decided to follow this advice.
And so the first stage was to collect a large number of images. I used Google to print off color images of views of houses and apartment blocks where people live and different types of buildings where they work. I started with about 30 or 40 and then reduced them to 10 images. Media resources in the Amory building at the Jud Street branch of the university helped me produce the final images. I had them blown up to A4 size and we used color rather than black and white to make the detail on the images clearer. We made five sets of images and for protection when handling, we pasted the images onto hard card. Then using a machine to wrap them with plastic, we laminated the cards.
Five of us targeted different age groups. We went to a local school where we obtained permission to ask a group of teenagers between 11 and 18. We also asked a sample of the general public, including tourists from all over the world as they exited the Tate Modern in London, what they thought. We aim to ask people from different age groups, namely 20 to 40 and 50 and over.
What our group learned most from the project was first of all the value of teamwork. And secondly, we found that we had to appoint a leader to stop us pulling in different directions and falling apart. So this turned out to be an invaluable lesson for all of us.
As to the findings, for us, they proved intriguing. In the end, the sample consisted of 311 respondents. I thought initially that people wouldn't be interested in taking part. With the youngest age group, their reaction was very mixed. It was clear that the youngest group had no pattern of preference at all as they frequently gave no reaction to the pictures.
For the 20 to 40 age group, we found that they tended to score more in the middle range around three. We found that out of the three groups, the most likely to be favorably affected by the images, that is, they were more likely to score the images as five, were those aged 50 and above. And nobody in this age group failed to say what their reaction was, which was unique for the three groups. In total, I have to say that about 71 people indicated that they had no reaction at all to an image.
Our general conclusion is that we need to find out more about why people react as they do by perhaps giving them a chance to give reasons for their decisions. I would like to finish there and give my teammates a chance to add anything I've missed or take any questions or suggestions.
**Narrator:** That is the end of Section 4. You now have half a minute to check your answers. That is the end of the listening test.
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