IELTS Listening Practice Test | 2026-02-19

**Narrator:** Now look at part one. Part one, you will hear part of a conversation between a customer and the owner of an IT store. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 8. 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 8.
**Owner:** So before we go any further, can we just confirm what has been agreed so far as it's starting to get a little complicated?
**Customer:** Certainly.
**Owner:** Tell you what, why don't I start to make out the invoice? Should I address it to you personally or is there a business name you'd like me to use?
**Customer:** We trade under the name Ben and D Enterprises.
**Owner:** Okay. Now, as you were talking to one of my sales reps to start with, I'm going to put him down as the contact on the invoice. That way, he'll get the commission on this sale. You see, his name was Rowan Lever. Is that right? Rather peculiar name, but a lovely man.
**Customer:** You almost got it. It's Rome, as in the city, and Lever. L-A-V-E-R.
**Owner:** Your order number is 6589 B 521. You're paying in full, is that right?
**Customer:** Yes.
**Owner:** Okay. Today's the 4th of April, so we'll put a due date of the 10th on there. Now, do you remember your order details?
**Customer:** Yes. First, there was the filing cabinets.
**Owner:** Of course, for a rate of £15 each. Didn't you order print paper as well?
**Customer:** Yes, we're taking 20 glossy photo paper bundles. What's the unit price again?
**Owner:** It works out at £20 per bundle and £400 in total. And Rome said we could do a deal on the software packages. Isn't that right?
**Customer:** Yes.
**Owner:** Seeing as you bought five at once, we'll reduce the unit price to £100 from £120, leaving us with a total amount of £500. I need to remind you that there is an additional fixed charge totaling £40 specifically for the software installation.
**Customer:** Of course.
**Owner:** So getting to a total figure then including sales tax 16% VAT is added on that gives us £1,160 by my reckoning.
**Customer:** By VAT do you mean sales tax? Isn't that 10%?
**Owner:** It's 25% on some products and 10% on others. We work out an aggregate figure and apply it to all goods sold. In this case, it was 16% as I've mentioned.
**Customer:** Fair enough.
**Narrator:** Before listening to the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 9 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 9 to 10.
**Customer:** Listen, I know the due date isn't for a week, but do you mind if I write you out a check today?
**Owner:** Not at all. You can make it out to me, Michael McCloskey.
**Customer:** How do you spell that then?
**Owner:** What? McCloskey? It's capital M, capital C, L, O, S, K, E, Y.
**Customer:** Got it. And how much should I make it out for in total?
**Owner:** £1,500, please.
**Customer:** £1,500?
**Owner:** Yes, that's including my consultancy service fees.
**Customer:** Oh, I almost forgot about that. Let me make a note here on the check. Includes consultancy fees. Now we're almost done.
**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, you'll hear a dialogue between a foreign student and a student union officer. First, look at questions 11 to 13. As you listen to the first part of the interview, answer questions 11 to 13.
**Officer:** Good morning. Can I help you?
**Student:** Yes. I'd like to know something about the British medical scheme.
**Officer:** Yes. What's your question?
**Student:** Can I use British doctors if I fall ill?
**Officer:** That will depend on how long your course of study is. If it is 6 months or more, then you are entitled to treatment from the British Medical Scheme called the National Health Service, NHS, as if you were a British citizen. With the NHS, consultations with doctors are free, but you will be asked to pay something towards the cost of medicines. In 1987, this is £2.40 for each item of medicine. You are also entitled to free treatment in British hospitals. Always make sure the doctor knows you want treatment from the NHS as doctors also take private patients who pay the full cost of all their treatment.
**Student:** How do I make sure I can be treated by the NHS?
**Officer:** If you are eligible for treatment, that is you are registered on the course of 6 months or longer, then the first thing you should do is to register with a doctor. You should register with any doctor close to where you live. Local post offices have lists.
**Narrator:** Now look at questions 14 to 20. Now listen carefully and answer questions 14 to 20.
**Officer:** All you need to do is visit the doctor or the doctor's receptionist during consulting hours and ask to be included on the doctor's list of patients. If the doctor decides to accept you, you will then be sent a medical card by post which will carry your national health service number. Take great care not to lose this. If the doctor cannot accept you, try elsewhere or contact the local family practitioner committee. You can get the address from the post office or any doctor. Find out your doctor's consulting hours from the doctor or the receptionist and ask whether or not you need to make an appointment before seeing the doctor. Remember to be on time for any appointment you make. You can see him or her during those hours unless you are seriously ill. If you are seriously ill, the doctor can be called out to see you. Once you have registered, you should tell your warden, landlord, landlady, or a friend the name, address, and telephone number of your doctor so that if you are suddenly taken ill, the doctor can be called out to see you.
**Student:** I see. Could you tell me something about British hospitals?
**Officer:** Yes, hospitals provide specialist treatments or treatment for which any kind of extended stay is required. Your doctor will recommend you to go if it is necessary. Casualty or emergency treatment following accidents is free for everyone. As not all hospitals provide such services, you should find out which local hospitals do in case you ever need treatment.
**Student:** How about dental care in Britain?
**Officer:** You can find lists of dentists who give National Health Service treatment at local main post offices. You do not register with a dentist, but you should ask whether they are willing to give you NHS treatment as dentists are free to accept or refuse patients and to provide private treatment only. If you are accepted, you should give the dentist the NHS number which is on your medical card. There is a charge for all dental treatment. For basic treatment, this could be up to £17. More extensive dental treatment will cost more if you are not registered with a doctor. You will have to pay the full cost of dental treatment as a private patient. You will have to make an appointment to see your dentist and should give notice if you are unable to attend an appointment or you will be charged for loss of time. You should try to have your teeth checked at least once per year by the dentist. From the NHS, you are entitled to a free 6 monthly checkup.
**Student:** Thank you very much. This helps me a lot.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part two. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turn to section three.

**Narrator:** Section three, you will hear a female and a male student talking about the mock exams that they have just taken. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.
**Male Student:** So what did you think of the practice exams last week?
**Female Student:** You mean the mock exams?
**Male Student:** Yeah, I thought some of them were tough.
**Female Student:** They were certainly hard and generally they were very long. Yeah, they were spread over a whole week which made it impossible to relax.
**Male Student:** Exactly. But what did you think of each test?
**Female Student:** Of the seven exams we did, the least enjoyable for me were the two 3-hour essay papers.
**Male Student:** Why didn't you like the essay papers?
**Female Student:** I'm not particularly good at writing things down like that in a short space of time. And I don't think it's a good way of testing our theoretical knowledge of medicine.
**Male Student:** I'm the opposite. I'm afraid I'm much better in the written essay exams than the other types of tests. But what about the two multiple-choice exam papers in basic science and anatomy?
**Female Student:** They weren't too bad. If you didn't know the answer, all you had to do was guess.
**Male Student:** That's okay, but I never feel comfortable with guessing. And you know that there is research that shows that women are disadvantaged when doing multiple choice questions compared to men.
**Female Student:** You've mentioned this before. But I'm not sure I believe it.
**Male Student:** It's true. Multiple-choice questions benefit men more than women. They are a male construct.
**Female Student:** If you say so.
**Male Student:** It's not if I say so. Anyway, you have to be careful with multiple choice questions because of the negative marking. That can really bring the score down if you keep guessing and get all of the guesses wrong. It's double negative.
**Female Student:** Yeah, that is a danger. What about the role play? Did you like that?
**Male Student:** Yeah, with the actors and actresses as simulated patients. Yeah, I thought that was by far the best part of the exam.
**Female Student:** Why was that?
**Male Student:** Well, what I liked about it was during the 24 test stations, we had a chance to show what we know about communicating with patients and show practical medical knowledge, etc.
**Female Student:** Yes, I think I agree with you there. I enjoyed all of the stations, but I can tell you I was tired at the end. I have done a practice exam with 12 test stations, but not 24. It was exhausting, but also exhilarating.
**Male Student:** I agree completely. It lasted nearly 4 hours in total with the break.
**Narrator:** For the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30. Now listen carefully and answer questions 26 to 30.
**Female Student:** What did you think of the other two exams?
**Male Student:** The two problem solving tests. I didn't think I was going to handle them very well, but in the end I think they went better than I thought they would. What I liked most was the test where we had to work in groups of four and to solve a problem we had to prioritize actions.
**Female Student:** That was very interesting. I'm not sure I did very well in that though. Did you feel comfortable being in a group of four and having four examiners watching you as you discuss the problem?
**Male Student:** We did practice it several times before. You learn to forget that someone is watching you. But some people are better at speaking in group situations like that and they get the best marks.
**Female Student:** The test doesn't just assess whether people can talk a lot. It's about showing you can listen, organize your thoughts, and then show you can be part of a team, allowing other people to speak.
**Male Student:** Well, we'll have to see how it goes. When do the results of the mocks come out?
**Female Student:** They said next week, and then it's the finals two weeks later.
**Male Student:** Yeah, we've got that to look forward to. What is the policy on resets?
**Female Student:** Why are you planning to fail?
**Male Student:** No, but well, you know what I mean.
**Female Student:** The resets are held in September, and if there is any problem after that, it goes to appeal.
**Male Student:** We'll just have to make sure we don't fail any part of the whole examination. I certainly wouldn't want to do any of it again.
**Female Student:** Me neither. It's hard when you are not allowed to fail any of the exams. I bet they don't have that policy in any other subject.
**Male Student:** Probably not.
**Narrator:** That is the end of section three. You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now it turns to part four.

**Narrator:** Part four, you are going to hear a lecturer giving a talk on a type of fundraising for business called crowdfunding. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
**Lecturer:** Good morning everyone. Today we're continuing our look at funding opportunities for small startup businesses. The emergence of social media has given companies the ability to connect with fans and potential customers directly. On the back of the growth in social media, a model of raising finance has emerged known as crowdfunding. This revolutionary way of raising finance began with micro-lending in the '90s. More recently, an equity-based model has emerged that allows people to invest directly in a new company. We're going to examine this in more detail later, but let's turn first to a third model, which I'll term a fan-based model.
With this model of crowdfunding, individuals are encouraged to give an amount of money to support the launch of a project or initiative without the promise of any financial return. Instead, there's a reward for donating. This contrasts with the micro-lending model which would require a return on investment and the equity-based scheme which may offer shares.
Crowdfunding portals or websites allow the business concerned to present the initiative along with the financial target required. There's a fixed time limit for fundraising and if the target amount is reached, all donations are paid to the company or individual.
Whether it's an author planning to write a new book, an independent film company looking to make a new film, or a technology company with an idea for an app, the person or company needing funding would turn to its fan base for support. This is managed through one of the many crowdfunding online portals that have emerged.
Of course, a fan or supporter of a particular initiative is likely to give money anyway, but donation-based crowdfunding will often make donating even more attractive by offering a rewards-based incentive scheme. Let's take a film company for example that needs funding for a new film. For a small set donation, the donor might be offered a free ticket to the premiere or a DVD of the film. A larger set donation might be rewarded by the chance to attend a launch event when the film goes live. Those people who make bigger donations could even be offered the chance to meet the cast of the film, whilst the highest level donation could see the person's name mentioned in the film credits.
For companies that already have a significant fan base, crowdfunding offers a fantastic opportunity to raise money quickly from a large number of people, each of whom donates just a small amount of money. Compare this to the time and effort that would be needed to sell your idea to investors or your bank manager, particularly in an age when raising finance can be difficult. The company may also have links with partner companies or organizations that run fundraising events. In this case, you can significantly increase participation by working with these organizations to promote your crowdfunding project. Another significant advantage is that you can reach out to your fan base for feedback on the project while it's being developed, thus making the final product more appealing. Crowdfunding enables you to raise awareness of the product at an early stage, thus increasing the potential for sales. With so many people behind you, it can also act as a great incentive to get the best possible product out on time and on budget.
However, there are disadvantages to bear in mind. The model can be described as all or nothing. If you don't reach the monetary target required in the agreed time, all promises of donations are cancelled and no money is paid, leaving you back at square one. Should this happen, or still worse, you receive the funding but are unable to come up with the product, not only will your fans end up disappointed, but the portal will record the fact that you failed to reach your target or that the initiative failed. Fulfilling all the pledges that you've made to people can also be very time-consuming. For example, remembering to send out copies of books or free cinema tickets can sometimes be forgotten in the excitement and frenzy of launching your product. People sometimes forget to factor in the cost of rewards when calculating profit margins, but these can be significant. And finally, if you have a small fan base, for example, you're a new company or have a small social media footprint, raising awareness of your initiative will be challenging.
These drawbacks aside, donation-based crowdfunding is a wonderful opportunity for individuals or small startups to raise funds for that exciting new project, whilst reaching out and connecting to the people who are most likely to support and promote your work for you.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part four. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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*End of Test*