IELTS Listening Practice Test | 2026-03-04

**Narrator:** Now turn to section one. You will hear a conversation between a university counselor and two students, Joseph and Cara. 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.
**Counselor:** Hi Joseph, how are you today?
**Joseph:** Fine, thanks.
**Counselor:** And Cara, how are you?
**Cara:** Good.
**Counselor:** As we discussed on the phone earlier, I wanted to speak with both of you about the subjects you have chosen to study and how you are managing your time. Okay.
**Cara:** Yes, I think so.
**Counselor:** Okay. So, I'll start with Cara. You've been here for how many months now?
**Cara:** I've been here for 6 months.
**Counselor:** How are you finding it?
**Cara:** It's good. I'm enjoying the course.
**Counselor:** And what about life outside? Are you making friends and socializing?
**Cara:** Not really. People here are quite closed. They don't talk to you.
**Counselor:** I see. So, what do you do after classes?
**Cara:** I usually go home and study and I might go out for a walk, but never really with anyone. Sometimes my roommate Louisa comes with me, but she always seems to be busy.
**Counselor:** How is this affecting your schoolwork?
**Cara:** I don't think it is, but I miss home.
**Counselor:** Cara, what I suggest for now is that you look into joining one of the social clubs on campus. There are a variety of them. You can go camping, skiing, snorkeling, painting, dancing, reading, horse riding, rowing. There's a list on the school website. Have a look and work out which one you're interested in and which suits your timetable. You'll meet friends that way and people who have the same career interests as you. As for the subjects you've chosen for a career in microbiology, I think you should look into dropping one of your subjects and picking it up again next year as a minor. You have a lot on your plate and this will just cause great pressure. It doesn't mean that you aren't coping, but you're doing about 10 hours more than the average student a week. Think about it and we can make another appointment to discuss it. When are you free?
**Cara:** I have an hour free usually on Wednesdays at 11:30.
**Counselor:** Okay, good. Come to my office at 11:45 and wait in reception. Okay.
**Cara:** Okay. I'll see you then.
**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.
**Counselor:** Joseph, how are you finding the university?
**Joseph:** I love it. It's very different from home. Life here is very much focused on study and also socializing through sport. People have been very friendly and curious about my culture.
**Counselor:** So, you've managed to integrate well,
**Joseph:** I think. So, I've joined the rugby team, something I'd never thought I'd be interested in.
**Counselor:** And how are your studies going?
**Joseph:** I think I am doing well. I have a few assignments that need some work, but overall, I'm coping.
**Counselor:** That's good. I'm happy that you're enjoying the university, but remember, don't let your schoolwork get too far behind because it will pile up and before you know it, you will be late handing in work. You know that there's a penalty for handing in work late.
**Joseph:** No, I didn't.
**Counselor:** You would have been told at the start of the course during orientation.
**Joseph:** I don't remember.
**Counselor:** You need to remember these things. They are very important. You might be an excellent student, but if you consistently hand in work late, you'll be penalized and you might end up losing your degree over it. That's a lot of years of work. Okay.
**Joseph:** Yes, I'll remember that.
**Counselor:** And also remember that you have to attend 90% of your classes. So far, you have missed five tutorials. Be careful here. These could also cost you your degree. Is there any particular reason you missed these classes?
**Joseph:** I'd been training for our rugby match the night before and well, we went out afterwards and I slept past my alarm clock.
**Counselor:** Joseph, I know this culture must be very different from where you come from, but please try and be a little more conservative with your time. I think maybe you should spend more time on your studies and less time on socializing. The subjects you've chosen are intensive. I want you to spend 3 hours a night studying before you decide to do anything else. I'll make an appointment to see you in a month and we can assess your progress. I'll give you my business card. All my contact details are there. Call me in 3 weeks to organize another meeting. Do you have any questions for me?
**Joseph:** No, none.
**Counselor:** Okay. I'll see you in a month.
**Narrator:** That is the end of part one. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

**Narrator:** Now turn to section two. Section two, you are going to hear an orientation talk. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15. Now listen to the tape and answer questions 11 to 15.
**Interviewer:** Welcome to orientation week. Today I am here with the captain of our school's women's gymnastics team. Her name is Elizabeth Rain and she is a fourth year student. I hope you can all see her as an example of a responsible student and athlete, a role model for everyone. Hi, Elizabeth. Thank you for stopping by our orientation week.
**Elizabeth:** Thank you for having me. Welcome to our university, everyone. If there are any of you thinking about joining our school's athletic program, I would strongly encourage you to do it. Being a part of the gymnastics team has been one of my best experiences during my time at this school. It has taught me so much about teamwork and friendship and has even taught me how to improve my academics by prioritizing my time.
**Interviewer:** I have some questions that I am sure the students will want to know the answers to as well. First of all, how did you find the time to do well in classes as well as train for gymnastics?
**Elizabeth:** Prioritizing is the key. You must be very organized. Every day I wake up and I know what I must do for the day. I plan things in order of importance. For example, if today I have a competition for gymnastics in the afternoon, then I know I have to finish my homework and studying in the morning. In other words, keeping an organized schedule of your priorities is very important.
**Interviewer:** Can you explain to the students a little bit about your study habits?
**Elizabeth:** Well, I usually try to take classes that I'm interested in. This way, I have no excuse not to study because I chose the classes out of my own preference. I separate my study time by class. For example, if I have five classes for this semester, I will study for one class a day from Monday through Friday and then review for all of them on the weekend. I won't try and study for all five of my classes at one time. It is too hard to do that to remember everything and not feel like you are going crazy. It is very important to focus the time that you set aside for studying. I do not study with the television on. I try to keep away from all distractions because I find that I learn better that way. But of course, how each individual will study depends on each person.
**Narrator:** Now look at questions 16 to 20. Now listen to the tape and answer questions 16 to 20.
**Interviewer:** That sounds like good advice. Let's talk a little bit about your gymnastics career. How long have you been doing this sport for? And what has been the best moment of your college participation?
**Elizabeth:** Well, I've been participating in gymnastics since I was a kid. My parents got me involved in the sport. The best moment. I would have to say that there is not one single instance that stands out in my mind as the best moment, but more of a whole experience. My first year in university was definitely one of the best years of my life. I met my best friends that year and really learned to grow up and be independent. Our team went to the national championships that year and it was an incredible experience. So, I would count the whole year as my best experience in college.
**Interviewer:** How about the worst moment?
**Elizabeth:** It is true. Everyone goes through bad experiences. My worst experience would have to be the fall of last year when I broke my wrist. I was unable to participate in sports for the remainder of the year and had to learn how to write with my left hand. I guess when I look back at it though, even though I wouldn't wish this to happen to anyone, this experience definitely made me stronger as a person. It taught me to look at life with a new perspective and to really value the friends and family that are important and close to me.
**Interviewer:** Thanks for your time, Elizabeth. Do you have anything else you want to tell the new students?
**Elizabeth:** Just have a good time. Don't stress out too much, but be responsible for your actions. Work hard and play hard. That's my motto for life.
**Narrator:** This is the end of section two. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers.

**Narrator:** Now it turns to part three. Part three. You are going to listen to a conversation between a tutor and two students. In the first part of the discussion, they talk about a fellow student. First look at questions 21 to 23. As you listen, answer the questions 21 to 23.
**Tutor:** Ah, Francis and Steve. Hi. Now, before we start the tutorial, am I right in thinking that you haven't heard about Lorraine?
**Francis:** No. What about her?
**Tutor:** Um, she's already left.
**Francis:** What?
**Steve:** Well, she hasn't told anyone.
**Francis:** You sound surprised. Weren't you half expecting it?
**Steve:** Yes, but she could at least have told us, though. We've been on the course together for the past 3 years, and it would have been nice to know. She always was the sort to keep herself to herself.
**Francis:** Yes, I know what you mean. Did she give any reason?
**Tutor:** Well, she got that job.
**Francis:** What?
**Tutor:** Yes, and she's been given permission to leave as there's only a week to go before the end of the course, but she'll be back for the exam week.
**Steve:** Oh well, we'll just have to catch her on the mobile after the class.
**Tutor:** She's gone back to Wales first.
**Steve:** Oh dear.
**Francis:** We'll get hold of her on the mobile. She did say that it might not be possible to contact her for a couple of weeks.
**Tutor:** Oh, okay. If that is what she wants.
**Narrator:** Before the conversation continues, look at questions 24 to 30. Now listen to the second part of the discussion. The tutor and the two students are talking about assessment marks. Now listen carefully and answer questions 24 to 30.
**Tutor:** Right to work. We're here to look at your assessment marks for your coursework. I take it you haven't seen them yet.
**Francis:** No, not yet.
**Tutor:** Well, you'll both be pleased. In fact, very pleased. Yes, Francis, you have come out with the top mark in the year.
**Francis:** Oh,
**Tutor:** you have in fact got a starred first. Wow, aren't you pleased, Francis?
**Francis:** Yes, I'm just speechless.
**Steve:** And um what about me?
**Tutor:** Well, Steve, you got a first as well.
**Steve:** I don't believe it.
**Tutor:** You might have done even better, but there were a few faults with the 5,000 word project you did on traffic management. And what about the book review we had to do? Yours was, I can safely say, the best we have ever had.
**Steve:** You're kidding.
**Tutor:** I'm not. In fact, you have won the departmental prize for the piece. It's a pity really that your project wasn't of the same caliber. It's still not bad at all, though, is it?
**Steve:** It certainly isn't. What do you think were the faults with your project?
**Steve:** Uh, I just wasn't very happy with the conclusion and I got myself in a bit of a twist with the argument about road pricing.
**Tutor:** By and large, your overall conclusions were okay. And I would say that your thoughts on road pricing were quite original. The problem was more with the actual end. It was a bit disappointing. You started off well, but then it ended rather suddenly, as if you got fed up with it.
**Steve:** Yes, I did kind of stop fairly abruptly. I couldn't think of much to say, even though I knew it was important.
**Tutor:** Yes, that section needed a bit more work on it, but as I said, by and large, it was very good. And Francis, your project was excellent. So much so that we think you should take it further and perhaps do a PhD or at least an MPhil. What do you think?
**Francis:** Um, I hadn't really thought about it. I've just been concerned with getting through this final year and getting all the coursework and exams out of the way.
**Tutor:** I can understand that. But I do think that you ought to consider it seriously. If you perform as well in your exams as in your project work, you're on course for a first.
**Francis:** Do you think that I'd get funding for it?
**Tutor:** Well, any grant will be discretionary, but you have as good a chance as anyone else. I'd even say a much better one. If you do get a first, it'll be the only one we've had in this department for 3 years. And I'd be happy to be your supervisor.
**Francis:** Thanks. I'd like that. Do you think I should start applying for it now or wait until after the exams?
**Tutor:** I think you must really start thinking about it as soon as you can.
**Francis:** And Steve, what about you? Have you thought about going on to do research?
**Steve:** I have thought about it, but I have a job lined up if I get a good degree, and quite honestly, I am fed up with not having enough money to do the things I would like to do.
**Tutor:** I can understand that. Is there anything that either of you would like to talk about?
**Steve:** Yeah, I have a couple of things I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
**Tutor:** Okay, we have roughly uh 20 minutes left. So, Steve, would you like to go first?
**Steve:** Right. Um,
**Narrator:** That is the end of part three. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

**Narrator:** Now turn to section four. Section four, you'll hear a lecturer talking to a group of science students. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 34. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 34.
**Lecturer:** Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the science faculty. As you may know my field of study is neurobiology. Though you may be wondering what I have to say to those of you who are studying physics or chemistry or geology, even those of you who intend to become doctors. In fact, what I have to say is aimed especially at those who wish to enter the medical profession though the main point applies to all of you. And what is my main point? Basically, it is that you shouldn't get stuck in too narrow a specialization. What I mean is too often doctors and scientists become experts on one small aspect of their subject and neglect the rest. Perhaps you have heard the joke about a doctor being introduced to another doctor as an expert on the nose. Oh yes, said the other doctor. Which nostril? I know that more and more it is necessary to specialize because when you finish your studies, you have to find a place in the job market, but I do believe that it is damaging both to you personally and to the profession.
You may be surprised to know how many physicians in the past were men of wide culture. Many were interested in the humanities, from the arts to literature to philosophy. A surprising number of them from Rob to William Carlos Williams became poets, novelists and playwrights. Men of science have written clearly and intelligently about society, psychology and politics. This tradition is not dead. Today, such eminent scientists as Steven J. Gould, Jared Diamond, and Richard Dawkins are well known as popularizers of science while maintaining high standards. But more of them in a minute. I'm not saying that while you are studying anatomy, you should sign up for a course in English literature. But reading a few works of fiction in your own time will show you the human mind, just as your anatomy classes show you the human body. Science faculties and medical schools, it seems to me, now largely ignore this human dimension. Furthermore, the study of medicine and psychology for that matter is largely about what has gone wrong with the body and the mind. That is, it mostly deals with the abnormal.
**Narrator:** Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 35 to 40. Now listen and answer questions 35 to 40.
**Lecturer:** So to try and correct this situation, if only in a small way, I have come up with some extra reading for you to do. Don't worry, I wouldn't have chosen them if I didn't think they were enjoyable as well as interesting. The first on my list, I'm sure you've all heard of, even if you haven't read it. It's Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Now, don't turn your noses up at it just because it's now officially a school book and is written to entertain as well as inform. In fact, I found it a very good bedside book.
Next come a couple of the writers I mentioned earlier. Any collection of essays by Steven J. Gould is worth reading. He writes clearly in a language non-scientists can easily understand. In fact, a lot of his essays are responses to questions about science from the general public. He's also entertaining on the subject of baseball. Perhaps you should start with Gould's Wonderful Life. He writes brilliantly about natural history and shows how much imagination and excitement there is in scientific discovery.
Then there's Jared Diamond's The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee, which shows us how close we are to the apes and forces us to look at some of the darker aspects of human nature. After reading it, you won't forget your animal ancestry. But don't let that put you off. It's very readable.
You're probably saying to yourselves, "Just a minute. These are all science books. What about the fiction?" I'll come to those in a later lecture. At the moment, I'm just trying to get you to read away from your chosen field of study. However, I will recommend one work of fiction now, though it might come as a bit of a surprise. If it does, it means you haven't read it. The book is The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. I can see I have surprised you. Well, it is in fact the first fictional response to Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Yes, it is a children's book, but full of surreal fantasy and wit.
The fourth, no, the fifth book on the list is a biography, The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr. To my mind, it's not particularly well written, but it is a fascinating story. It is about Luca Turin, a biophysicist who becomes an expert on perfume and about how he missed getting the Nobel Prize. If any of you are thinking of a career in scientific research, this book might make you think again. It's a very tough dog eat dog business.
Which brings us to the book that inspired Kingsley's Water Babies, that classic of the genre, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. If you haven't read it already, perhaps you shouldn't be here. If you have, it won't hurt to read it again. or if you prefer, read his The Voyage of the Beagle, which as well as being of interest to any natural historian or anyone interested in scientific method, also makes a great travel book.
Well, I think that's enough to be going on with, and I can see that it's time to finish up. So please bear in mind throughout whatever course you are studying not to neglect other aspects of your wider non-academic education. Thank you.
**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.