IELTS Listening Practice Test | 2026-02-06

**Narrator:** Part one. You will hear a conversation between a clerk at the inquiry's desk of a transport company and a man who is asking for travel information. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5. 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.
**Clerk:** Good morning, Travel Link. How can I help you?
**Man:** Good morning. I live in Bazewater and I'd like to get to Harbor City tomorrow before 11:00 a.m.
**Clerk:** Well, to get to Bazewater.
**Man:** No, no, I live in Bazewater. My destination is Harbor City.
**Clerk:** Oh, sorry. Right. So, that's Bazewater to Harbor City. Are you planning to travel by bus or train?
**Man:** I don't mind really. Whichever option is faster, I suppose.
**Clerk:** Well, if you catch a railway express, they'll get you there in under an hour. Let's see. Yes, if you can make the 9:30 a.m. express, I'd recommend you do that.
**Man:** Great. Which station does that leave from?
**Clerk:** Helenale is the nearest train station to you.
**Man:** Did you say Helens?
**Clerk:** No, Helenale. That's H E L E N D A L E.
**Man:** What's the best way to get to the Helenale station, then?
**Clerk:** Well, hang on a minute while I look into that. Now, it seems to me that you have two options. Option one would be to take the 706 bus from the Bazewater Shopping Center to Central Street. When you get there, you transfer to another bus, which will take you to the station. Or the second option, if you don't mind walking a couple of kilometers, is to go directly to Central Street and get straight on the bus going to the train station.
**Man:** Okay. Which bus is that?
**Clerk:** The 792 will take you to the station.
**Man:** I guess the walk will be good for me, so that might be the better option. What time do I catch the 792?
**Clerk:** There are two buses that should get you to the station on time. One just before 9:00 and one just after. But look, at that time of the morning, it might be better to take the earlier one just in case there's a traffic jam or something. The 8:55 is probably safer than the 9:05.
**Man:** Yeah, I don't want to miss the train, so I'll be sure to get on the 8:55 bus.
**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.
**Man:** By the way, how much will I have to pay in fares?
**Clerk:** Well, you can get a ticket on the bus for $1.80 cash, and you'll need $10 each way for the train. Wait, do you have a travel link card?
**Man:** No, but I can get one before tomorrow.
**Clerk:** Okay, well, that'll make it considerably cheaper then. The bus will cost $1.50 each way. And the train to Harbor City will still cost $10 because you'll be traveling during peak hours in the morning. So, no savings there, I'm afraid. However, if you could come back at an off-peak time...
**Man:** What does that mean?
**Clerk:** Well, if you could start your return journey before 5:00 p.m. or later than 7 in the evening.
**Man:** Actually, I wasn't planning on coming back till at least 8:00 anyway.
**Clerk:** Well, in that case, you can make quite a saving if you use your travel link card. You did say you were planning to purchase one, didn't you?
**Man:** Yes, I'll pick one up later today.
**Clerk:** Good. That would mean your return train journey would only cost you $7.15 with your card.
**Man:** Thank you. Is there anything else I can help you with?
**Clerk:** Actually, there is. Do you know how I can use the Travel Link card on ferries?
**Man:** If you're thinking of the Harbor City ferries that go back and forth between the North and South Bank, those are the commuter ferries. Then yes, a one-way trip costs $4.50, but with your card, you'd make a 20% saving and only pay $3.55.
**Clerk:** So $3.55 for the commuter ferry. What about the tour boats?
**Man:** You mean the tourist ferries that go up river on sightseeing tours? No, they only take cash or credit card. They're not part of the Travel Link company.
**Clerk:** Oh, I see. I don't suppose you know the cost of a tour.
**Man:** In actual fact, I do because I took a friend on the trip up river just last week. We decided on the afternoon tour and that was $35 each. But I understand that you can do the whole day for $65.
**Clerk:** Thank you. You've been a great help.
**Man:** My pleasure. Enjoy your day out.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part one. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turns to part two.

**Narrator:** Part two. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15. Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.
**Speaker:** Starting at the beginning, you can see the on-off switch just beneath the two lights. Having turned the machine on, these lights now become very important. When the light on the left has gone out, you can begin making coffee as it means the water is now hot enough. Next to that is the water level light. If this is illuminated, it means the machine does not have enough water. It is essential that you turn the machine off and add more water the moment this light comes on. Otherwise, you could damage the heating element.
Once you have checked that both the heater light and the water level light are off, make sure the filter holder, that's the part with the handle just under the control panel, is in place. Once you have your cups ready, it is time to press the coffee delivery switch. That's the button just above the filter holder beside the boiler meter. Remember to take a quick look at the meter as it tells you the exact temperature of the water.
On both the left and right hand side of the machine on the same level as the filter holder, you can see the steam pipes used for heating milk. These steam taps need to be cleaned regularly to avoid blocking. And finally, if you do spill any coffee, don't worry. Just make sure that the drainage pipe at the bottom of the machine is leading into a sink or a suitable waste container. As with the steam taps, the drainage pipe needs regular cleaning.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20. Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.
**Speaker:** First and most importantly, I'll tell you where you should go from tomorrow for your lectures and classes. The health sciences building is on the west side of the campus opposite the library beside the history department. As you are probably aware, there are six modules to the course which will take a year to complete. That's two modules each term. In the first module of this term, you will be looking at current laws with regard to health and safety in the workplace.
Don't forget that as you progress through the course, you should be building your thesis. This will need to be completed by the end of the year. Coursework will also be credited to your final grade. But the most important part of the course is the thesis.
Now the final thing I want to tell you and again you should know this is that there will be a number of guest speakers throughout your course. They will come from a number of different medical backgrounds but they will all be giving you their views on the relevance of health sciences in their occupations.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part two. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turns to part three.

**Narrator:** Part three. You will hear a conversation between a student called Mary and her tutor, Mr. Headstone. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.
**Mary:** Hello Mr. Headstone. Is this the right time for our meeting?
**Mr. Headstone:** Yes, it is. Thanks for coming in at such a late hour, Mary. I know you've had a busy day studying and will be keen to get home. And thanks for volunteering to run this project. It's going to help you develop and practice skills needed by teachers today. Field trips are getting more and more a part of school life. So, as a student of education, it'll be wonderful training for you. It's really a great opportunity.
**Mary:** We did loads of field trips at school. So, I've got a good idea of what sort of things we could do.
**Mr. Headstone:** I expect so, but we're here to go through the basics of planning one. And the trip leader carries a load of responsibility. Right now, you're focusing on activities, but your main job is to consider the dangers and come up with ways of countering or avoiding them. There are lots of government regulations you won't have been aware of on your school trips, but they're just a guideline for your own planning.
Some of those school trips you went on would have been pretty adventurous, right?
**Mary:** Yeah.
**Mr. Headstone:** Okay. And your plan needs to be tailored to the kind of trip you're doing. On a well-planned and successfully led adventure trip, we don't often hear of problems, even though sometimes there's bad weather, for example, that a school party has managed to combat. That's because the leader created a well-thought-out hazard management plan.
**Mary:** Ah, I thought I'd just be taking my mates out on a trip. Now it's all paperwork.
**Mr. Headstone:** Yes. Well, that's why I called you in. We'll work on this together over the next few days. I just wanted to give you a heads up on what you'll need to think about. There are some aspects that every trip needs to consider. What do you think they might be?
**Mary:** Uh, well, heavy rain or high winds, I guess, and any dangers in the terrain.
**Mr. Headstone:** Yes, we call those the significant factors. And another important one is the makeup of your group. But you don't need to go overboard. There are some kinds of hazard that you won't need to think about at all. Things like hurricanes, earthquakes, radioactivity, or major diseases such as cancer. The official name for those is unlikely events because they almost certainly won't happen.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.
**Mr. Headstone:** Okay. So let's consider the hazards seen as most likely on a field trip into the countryside. Weather causes real problems. Overexposure to the sun or the cold, even the wind can have a big impact. And of course, the weather can change very suddenly and without warning.
**Mary:** Yes, people can get into trouble in the hills if they don't bring extra layers of clothes and a jacket, even if they start walking on a hot day. Oh, and a raincoat, too, of course. Um, what's next, then?
**Mr. Headstone:** Well, let's think about possible activities and what you might need.
**Mary:** Yes. Okay. Well, for hiking, of course, we need a first aid kit. Oh, and a decent topographic map of the area. And we need to make sure that more than one person can read it. I've run into lots of difficulties in the past with people who can't identify even major features like rivers. And some people have no idea about contour lines. Ah, and I suppose a compass, too.
**Mr. Headstone:** You'd need to list those. Then there are things that might be obvious but must be written down and considered seriously. For example, if there's a possibility of falling more than 2 1/2 m, that's considered life-threatening. And I'm sure you would be aware of problems near the sea, like tides or high waves. And the trouble you can get into where there's a possibility of an avalanche or a mudslide or a flash flood if you're anywhere near rivers.
**Mary:** Yes. Well, I was thinking of an adventurous route for this trip. You know, that's always more fun. And it's such a cool feeling when you've achieved something really difficult.
**Mr. Headstone:** Yes. Okay. But then you need to consider who's going to be in your party. Don't go and plan things that are beyond the reach of most people or you're asking for trouble. You need to take into account the physical strength and experience of the party as a whole. When you make your groups, make sure there's at least one person in each one who's been hiking a few times before.
**Mary:** Wow, there's a lot to write down, isn't there? I'm really keen to get started now.
**Mr. Headstone:** Well, good, because there's a lot more detail to consider. For now, I'll just mention two more of the common hazards for high school trips in particular.
**Mary:** Yes.
**Mr. Headstone:** The Ministry of Education website says, "Don't use inexperienced volunteers and don't allow student drivers to bring their own cars or to drive anyone else's car for that matter."
**Mary:** Well, now I really have something to think about. Thanks, Mr. Headstone.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now it turns to part four.

**Narrator:** Part four. Listen to the last part of the lecture. First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
**Lecturer:** Last time I said that a lot of Irish people left the country and went to England, America, and many other foreign countries. Today I'd like to talk about the immigration. The effects of immigration were not all bad. The immigrants experienced a lot of hardship in their new countries. There is a famous story about a park in Shanghai where Chinese and dogs were not allowed. Well, in England until into the 1950s, signs for jobs sometimes read, "Irish need not apply."
The immigrants often experienced discrimination, but they formed many organizations to look after their fellow immigrants. Many of these organizations later became very important in America. The Irish chose politics as the way forward and significant cities were controlled by Irish politicians. This movement reached its peak with the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960. His grandparents came from Ireland and his election had a significant impact in Ireland helping the process of recovery of self-confidence which we have today.
Today there are 70 million people of Irish descent living outside Ireland. In America alone there are 40 million people and 10 million of these people have 100% Irish background. They carried the culture of their home country with them and adapted it to their new home. They made changes which would be unthinkable in the home country and we often laughed at the Yankees Irishness. In fact, any immigrant who came back to live in Ireland, often after many years, found it very difficult to fit into Irish society again. They had been changed by the experience.
These immigrants have always had an interest in the old country. The American letter was a letter containing dollars sent back to one's family. More recently, President Clinton has been very influential in bringing peace to the north of Ireland. Riverdance itself was the idea of a dancer who is American who applied American methods to traditional dancing and the fusion was immediately popular. Modern Ireland has been able to use the disaster of the last century to learn modern marketing techniques and apply them without at the same time losing what is distinctive about itself. Riverdance is a demonstration of that distinctiveness.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part four. You now have half a minute to check your answers. That is the end of the listening test.