IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE TEST 2026 WITH ANSWERS | 15.10.2026 — Transcript

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1. 0:08Now look at part one.
2. 0:11>> Part one,
3. 0:13>> you will hear a female and a male
4. 0:15student talking to a female tutor about
5. 0:18a self-evaluation form.
6. 0:20>> First, you have some time to look at
7. 0:23questions 1 to six.
8. 0:55Now we shall begin. You should answer
9. 0:58the questions as you listen because you
10. 1:00will not hear the recording a second
11. 1:02time.
12. 1:04Listen carefully and answer questions 1
13. 1:07to six.
14. 1:09Now, Mark and Anna, I have to say that I
15. 1:12thoroughly enjoyed your joint
16. 1:14presentation on the application of
17. 1:16robotics in a non-industrial setting to
18. 1:18the group on the 2nd of December, and it
19. 1:21is clear that you have both devoted
20. 1:23quite a lot of time and effort to it.
21. 1:26Have you had a chance to fill in the
22. 1:27self-ealuation form for the session?
23. 1:30Yeah, we have. So, Mark, what do you
24. 1:33think overall? Well, generally, I felt
25. 1:36the presentation worked very well. In
26. 1:38fact, we seem to hold the attention of
27. 1:40the others throughout, and the pace of
28. 1:42delivery was fairly even, as were the
29. 1:44range of activities we organized.
30. 1:46>> I agree with Mark, but I'm not sure we
31. 1:49were comprehensive or academic enough.
32. 1:52>> No comment really, except that I don't
33. 1:54think there was any question of it not
34. 1:56being thorough.
35. 1:57>> I think we were a bit too chatty and too
36. 2:00jokey at times rather than formal.
37. 2:03>> Okay. What do you think were the best
38. 2:05areas and which do you think can be
39. 2:07improved on?
40. 2:08>> Well, everything could have been
41. 2:09improved on. I felt very good about the
42. 2:12handouts. We'd spent a lot of time
43. 2:14putting them together. They had a very
44. 2:16professional appearance as we bound them
45. 2:19into a booklet.
46. 2:20>> To me, the handouts were the best part
47. 2:22as we had a very extensive bibliography
48. 2:24and the booklet seemed to go down well.
49. 2:27The booklet you did for the handout
50. 2:29certainly showed you had done a lot of
51. 2:30work, but I think that you put too much
52. 2:33material into it and people got
53. 2:35distracted by it. Perhaps you could have
54. 2:38cut the handouts by about a third. I
55. 2:40see. When I come to think about it,
56. 2:43maybe you're right.
57. 2:44>> Okay.
58. 2:45>> But there were times in the middle of
59. 2:46the presentation where things did go a
60. 2:48bit astray. I think that was my fault
61. 2:51when I got the PowerPoint slides out of
62. 2:53sequence and I had difficulty getting
63. 2:55back on track.
64. 2:57I also think we rated our technical
65. 2:59ability too highly, especially when
66. 3:02operating under pressure. I had never
67. 3:05done a presentation with technical
68. 3:06equipment before, so it was a steep
69. 3:09learning curve for me in particular.
70. 3:11>> Yes, I think you could have done with a
71. 3:13bit more practice with the equipment
72. 3:15beforehand.
73. 3:17>> Before you hear the rest of the
74. 3:18conversation, you have some time to look
75. 3:21at questions 7 to 10.
76. 3:53Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.
77. 3:57>> What about the next item on the feedback
78. 4:00form? The aims and objectives. No, I
79. 4:03think they were very focused and we
80. 4:04followed them through. Well, I think we
81. 4:07wanted to show how Europe was lagging
82. 4:09behind other areas of the world.
83. 4:11>> Yeah, I think they were clearly set out.
84. 4:13Yes, agreed. No comment there. The
85. 4:17diagrams and charts were appropriate.
86. 4:19>> Yes, I have put that too.
87. 4:22>> They did work well in helping to
88. 4:24illustrate and break up the presentation
89. 4:26by cutting down on the number of words
90. 4:28and text on the screen. What about
91. 4:32delivery? Well, I think our performance
92. 4:34was average.
93. 4:36>> It was difficult to coordinate speaking
94. 4:38and presenting the material at the same
95. 4:40time. I was quite self-conscious of what
96. 4:43I was doing. It was down to a lack of
97. 4:46experience.
98. 4:47>> Unfortunately, both of you had the habit
99. 4:49of standing in front of the projector,
100. 4:51so you kept blocking the image on the
101. 4:54screen. To me, this is the area that
102. 4:57requires the most improvement. The
103. 4:59section on the predictions of the
104. 5:00commercial application in the future, I
105. 5:03think, appeared a bit haphazard. To me,
106. 5:05it was a weak point of the presentation.
107. 5:08And I think that some of the slides
108. 5:10could have had fewer words
109. 5:11>> and we could have done some fancy
110. 5:13graphics with the words.
111. 5:15>> If you had to give yourselves a mark
112. 5:17overall, how much would you give out of
113. 5:1910?
114. 5:20>> A six, maybe? I'd be happy with that,
115. 5:24though. Bits were probably nearer a
116. 5:26seven. So, I'd say a six. Anna, what do
117. 5:29you think?
118. 5:30>> I think for me, it's perhaps a seven.
119. 5:33>> Okay. Did you find the task and the
120. 5:36evaluation useful?
121. 5:38>> That is the end of part one.
122. 5:41>> You now have half a minute to check your
123. 5:43answers.
124. 6:18Before we move to the second section, if
125. 6:20you want to practice IEL speaking with
126. 6:22teacher for free, then download the baby
127. 6:25code app link in the pin comment.
128. 6:30>> Now turns to part two. Part two.
129. 6:35You will hear a library assistant
130. 6:37talking about the library she works in.
131. 6:40You now have 30 seconds to read
132. 6:42questions 11 to 15.
133. 7:15Now listen carefully and answer
134. 7:17questions 11 to 15.
135. 7:20>> Hi, can I help you? Um, yes. I wanted to
136. 7:25join the library. Okay, first of all,
137. 7:28let me show you around the library and
138. 7:31explain a few things for you.
139. 7:34Okay, now we're here at the main
140. 7:37entrance. You can see the reception,
141. 7:40which is where you bring back and take
142. 7:42out books and also we can order books
143. 7:46and answer your questions there. Mhm.
144. 7:49Next to the reception where you can see
145. 7:52those old desks is where we keep the
146. 7:55magazines because you can sit down and
147. 7:59read there. They're divided into
148. 8:01sections for sciences, geography, arts,
149. 8:05etc. Then at the back of the library,
150. 8:09you can see the section for old books.
151. 8:12And next to that is where the books
152. 8:14proper start. That used to be the
153. 8:17science section, but now on those
154. 8:20shelves, you'll find the art section. We
155. 8:24had a big reorganization in the summer,
156. 8:26which I think has made it clearer.
157. 8:30The numbering is standard, so you should
158. 8:32be able to find what you want quite
159. 8:34easily. However, if you can't find
160. 8:37something, it probably means it's been
161. 8:40borrowed.
162. 8:42Okay, then in the corner next to the
163. 8:45reference section is where we thought it
164. 8:48was quietest and away from the phones
165. 8:50and printers and things. So, we've put
166. 8:53the study desks there. They all have
167. 8:56computer access if you need it for your
168. 8:59laptop.
169. 9:00We do ask that you don't just read
170. 9:03magazines there, though.
171. 9:06Okay. Uh then there's the reference
172. 9:08section where you can look up the files.
173. 9:13Then as we come back to the main
174. 9:15entrance is the next section where we
175. 9:18used to have the languages. It got very
176. 9:21busy and noisy. So when we moved
177. 9:24everything round, we decided to put the
178. 9:27law books here. Also, because it's a
179. 9:30smaller section, it fits quite well
180. 9:33here.
181. 9:35Okay, then we're back at the main
182. 9:37entrance.
183. 9:38Over there by reception, there's a door
184. 9:41that goes to the extension, and we have
185. 9:44further sections such as languages and
186. 9:48study desks through there. So, you could
187. 9:51have a look around when we finished.
188. 9:54Then just between reception and the door
189. 9:57here is where we decided to put the
190. 10:00computers. But the computer magazines
191. 10:03are in the magazine section as we found
192. 10:06too many went missing here.
193. 10:09Okay. Is that everything?
194. 10:13You now have 30 seconds to read
195. 10:16questions 16 to 20.
196. 10:49Now listen carefully and answer
197. 10:51questions 16 to 20.
198. 10:54>> That's great. Thanks. Can you just tell
199. 10:57me a bit about borrowing and the rules
200. 10:59and whatever? Of course, over the last 2
201. 11:03months, we've been introducing a new
202. 11:05system for this, and you can now take
203. 11:08books out for 6 weeks. That's generally
204. 11:12enough for most people. We usually get
205. 11:15books back within 30 days.
206. 11:18Of course, you may decide to renew the
207. 11:20period. You used to have to come in to
208. 11:24get the book stamped because we don't
209. 11:27like doing it over the phone as there's
210. 11:29no record of it. But now you can do all
211. 11:32that via email.
212. 11:35If you do forget to renew then we do
213. 11:38make a charge I'm afraid that helps our
214. 11:41costs of course but we do insist on it.
215. 11:46The good news is that there is only one
216. 11:48charge. I know some libraries charge £1
217. 11:52for one week and then it goes up with
218. 11:54each week it's late. We ask for £150 as
219. 11:59we think that's high enough to stop
220. 12:01people being overdue.
221. 12:05The other thing you may want to know is
222. 12:07what you do about books that are not on
223. 12:09the shelves. We do have a system for
224. 12:12reserving them. All you have to do is
225. 12:15fill in a yellow form behind those blue
226. 12:18ones on the desk and give it to someone
227. 12:21at reception. We'll let you know when it
228. 12:24comes in. Also, sometimes you'll need a
229. 12:28journal article that we don't have, but
230. 12:31can get from other libraries. So, we
231. 12:34offer an ordering service if you need
232. 12:36it. Now, if you'd like to fill in this
233. 12:39form here,
234. 12:40>> that is the end of section two. You now
235. 12:43have half a minute to check your
236. 12:45answers.
237. 13:16now turns to part three. Part three, you
238. 13:20will hear two students discussing a
239. 13:22project they have to do as part of a
240. 13:24literature course on great books. First,
241. 13:28you have some time to look at questions
242. 13:3021 to 25.
243. 14:02Now listen carefully and answer
244. 14:05questions 21 to 25.
245. 14:08>> Hi Joey. How are you doing? I heard you
246. 14:11were sick.
247. 14:12>> Oh, hi Olivia. Yeah, I had a virus last
248. 14:15week and I missed a whole pile of
249. 14:17lectures like the first one on the great
250. 14:19books in literature where Dr. Castle
251. 14:22gave us all the information about the
252. 14:23semester projects.
253. 14:25>> I can give you copies of the handouts.
254. 14:27I've got them right here.
255. 14:28>> That's okay. I already collected the
256. 14:30handouts, but I'm not very clear about
257. 14:32all the details. I know we each have to
258. 14:35choose an individual author. I think I'm
259. 14:38going to do Carlos Castanada. I'm really
260. 14:40interested in South American literature.
261. 14:43>> Have you checked? He's on the list that
262. 14:44Dr. Castle gave us. We can't just choose
263. 14:47anyone.
264. 14:48>> Yeah, I checked. It's okay. Who did you
265. 14:50choose? Well, I was thinking of choosing
266. 14:53Ernest Hemingway, but then I thought,
267. 14:55"No, I'll do a British author, not an
268. 14:57American one." So, I chose Emily Bronte.
269. 15:00>> Okay. And first of all, it says we have
270. 15:03to read a biography of our author. I
271. 15:06guess it's okay if we just look up
272. 15:08information about him on the internet.
273. 15:10>> No, it's got to be a fulllength book. I
274. 15:13think the minimum length's 250 pages.
275. 15:16There's a list of biographies. Didn't
276. 15:18you get that?
277. 15:19>> All right. I didn't realize we had to
278. 15:21stick with that. So, what do we have to
279. 15:24do when we've read the biography?
280. 15:26>> Well, then we have to choose one work by
281. 15:28the writer. Again, it's got to be
282. 15:31something quite long. We can't just read
283. 15:32a short story.
284. 15:34>> But I guess a collection of short
285. 15:35stories would be okay.
286. 15:36>> Yes. Or even a collection of poems, they
287. 15:38said. But I think most people are doing
288. 15:41novels. I'm going to do Wthering
289. 15:44Heights. I've read it before, but I
290. 15:46really want to read it again now. found
291. 15:48out more about the writer
292. 15:50>> and then the video. We have to make a
293. 15:52short video about our author and about
294. 15:54the book. How long has it got to be?
295. 15:57>> A minute.
296. 15:58>> What? Like 60 seconds? We got to give
297. 16:02all the important information about
298. 16:03their life and the book we choose.
299. 16:06>> Well, you can't do everything. I wrote
300. 16:08it down somewhere. Yes. Dr. Castle said
301. 16:12we had to find or write a short passage
302. 16:15that helps to explain the author's
303. 16:17passion for writing, why they're a
304. 16:19writer. So, we can back this up with
305. 16:22reference to important events in the
306. 16:25writer's life, if they're relevant, but
307. 16:28it's up to us really. The video is meant
308. 16:31to portray the essence of the writer's
309. 16:33life and the piece of writing we choose.
310. 16:36So when we read the biography, we have
311. 16:38to think about what kind of person our
312. 16:40writer is.
313. 16:41>> Yes. And the historical context and so
314. 16:44on. So for my writer, Emily Bronte, the
315. 16:48biography gave a really strong
316. 16:50impression of the place where she lived
317. 16:52and the countryside around.
318. 16:54>> Right. I'm beginning to get the idea.
319. 16:58Before you hear the rest of the talk,
320. 17:00you have some time to look at questions
321. 17:0226 to 30.
322. 17:34Now listen and answer questions 26 to
323. 17:3830.
324. 17:40>> Uh, can I check the other requirements
325. 17:42with you?
326. 17:42>> Sure.
327. 17:44The handout said after we'd read the
328. 17:46biography, we had to read the work we'd
329. 17:48chosen by our author and choose a
330. 17:51passage that's typical in some way that
331. 17:53typifies the author's interests and
332. 17:55style.
333. 17:56>> Yes, but at the same time, it has to
334. 17:59relate to the biographical extract you
335. 18:01choose. There's got to be some sort of
336. 18:04theme linking them.
337. 18:05>> Okay, I'm with you.
338. 18:07>> And then you have to think about the
339. 18:08video.
340. 18:09>> So, are we meant to dramatize the scene
341. 18:11we choose? I guess we could, but there's
342. 18:14not a lot of time for that. I think it's
343. 18:16more how we can use things like sound
344. 18:18effects to create the atmosphere, the
345. 18:20feeling we want.
346. 18:22>> And presumably visuals as well.
347. 18:24>> Yeah, of course. I mean, I suppose
348. 18:27that's the whole point of making a
349. 18:28video, but whatever we use has to be
350. 18:31historically in keeping with the author.
351. 18:34We can use things like digital image
352. 18:36processing to do it all.
353. 18:38>> So, we can use any computer software we
354. 18:40want. Sure. And it's important that we
355. 18:43use a range, not just one software
356. 18:46program. That's actually one of the
357. 18:48things we're assessed on.
358. 18:50>> Okay. Oh, and something else that's
359. 18:53apparently really important is to keep
360. 18:55track of the materials we use and to
361. 18:57acknowledge them,
362. 18:59>> including stuff we download off the
363. 19:00internet presumably.
364. 19:02>> Yeah. So, our video has to list all the
365. 19:04material used with details of the source
366. 19:07in a bibliography at the end.
367. 19:09>> Okay.
368. 19:10And you were talking about assessment of
369. 19:12the project. Did they give us the
370. 19:15criteria? I couldn't find anything on
371. 19:17the handout.
372. 19:18>> Sure. He gave us them in the lecture.
373. 19:21Let's see. You get 25% just for getting
374. 19:25all the components done. That's both
375. 19:27sets of reading and the video. Then the
376. 19:30second part is actually how successful
377. 19:32we are at getting the essence of the
378. 19:34work. They call that content and that
379. 19:38counts for 50%. Then the last 25% is on
380. 19:42the video itself, the artistic and
381. 19:44technical side.
382. 19:45>> Great. Well, that sounds a lot of work,
383. 19:48but a whole lot better than just handing
384. 19:50in a paper. But thanks a lot, Olivia.
385. 19:53>> You're welcome.
386. 19:54>> That is the end of section 3. You now
387. 19:57have half a minute to check your
388. 19:59answers.
389. 20:30Now turns to part four. Part four.
390. 20:35You will hear a lecturer talking to a
391. 20:37group of engineering students about the
392. 20:39design of a greenhouse.
393. 20:41Before you listen, you have some time to
394. 20:44look at questions 31 to 40.
395. 21:17Now listen and answer questions 31 to
396. 21:2140.
397. 21:23Good afternoon. This is the first of a
398. 21:26series of lectures I'll be giving about
399. 21:28engineering for sustainable development.
400. 21:31I'll be presenting examples of
401. 21:34engineering projects from a variety of
402. 21:36contexts. And today I'm going to talk
403. 21:39about a project to design a new kind of
404. 21:42greenhouse for use in the Himalayan
405. 21:44mountain regions.
406. 21:47First of all, I'll tell you about the
407. 21:49problem which was the context for this
408. 21:51project. In the Himalayan mountains,
409. 21:54fresh vegetables and other crops can
410. 21:57only be grown outside for about 90 days
411. 22:00during the summer because the altitude
412. 22:02of the region is around 3,500 m and
413. 22:07because the rainfall is so low. In
414. 22:10winter, temperatures fall below -25°
415. 22:14centigrade, so fresh vegetables have to
416. 22:17be imported. They arrive by truck in
417. 22:20summer or by air in winter, which makes
418. 22:23them expensive.
419. 22:25Local people rely on dried leafy
420. 22:28vegetables and stored root crops during
421. 22:31the winter and rarely eat fresh
422. 22:33vegetables.
423. 22:35But despite the sub-zero temperatures,
424. 22:38the skies over the region are cloudless
425. 22:41and there are over 300 sunny days per
426. 22:44year. So, an engineering solution was
427. 22:47needed to exploit the sun's energy and
428. 22:50protect locally produced plants from
429. 22:53freezing during winter.
430. 22:55And in fact, there had been programs in
431. 22:58the past to provide green houses, but
432. 23:01these were unsuccessful.
433. 23:03The green houses weren't adapted for
434. 23:05local conditions, so they tended to fall
435. 23:07into disuse.
436. 23:10So a few years ago, a project was
437. 23:13initiated to design a better greenhouse,
438. 23:16one which would meet the criteria for
439. 23:18sustainability.
440. 23:22So what are the criteria for
441. 23:24sustainability?
442. 23:25Well, first of all, the new greenhouse
443. 23:28is designed to be relatively simple, so
444. 23:31construction is cheap. Locally available
445. 23:34materials are used wherever possible.
446. 23:37The walls are generally constructed of
447. 23:39mud bricks made locally although in
448. 23:42areas of high snowfall more resilient
449. 23:45walls of stone are needed. Rammed earth
450. 23:49is also used. The main roof is generally
451. 23:53made from locally available popular wood
452. 23:56with waterresistant local grass for the
453. 23:58covering. In addition, the construction
454. 24:01and maintenance of the greenhouse is
455. 24:03done by local craftsmen. So local
456. 24:06stonemasons are employed to build the
457. 24:09greenhouse walls and specialized
458. 24:11training is provided for them wherever
459. 24:14necessary.
460. 24:15Then the greenhouse is designed to run
461. 24:18on solar power alone. There's no
462. 24:21supplementary heating. And lastly,
463. 24:25families are selected to own one of the
464. 24:27new green houses with great care. They
465. 24:31have to have a site which is suitable
466. 24:33for constructing it on. They also have
467. 24:36to be keen to make a success of using it
468. 24:38and also to share the produce with the
469. 24:41wider community through sale or barter.
470. 24:45Potential owners are taken to see
471. 24:47existing green houses before they make a
472. 24:50final decision about having one.
473. 24:53So those are the features which make the
474. 24:56project sustainable.
475. 24:58And now I'll briefly describe the design
476. 25:01of the greenhouse. The green houses are
477. 25:04orientated very carefully along an east
478. 25:07west axis so that there's a long
479. 25:10southacing side. The transparent cover
480. 25:14on the south facing side is made from a
481. 25:17heavyduty polyine which should last for
482. 25:20at least 5 years. On the inside of the
483. 25:23greenhouse, the walls are painted. The
484. 25:26rear and west facing walls are black to
485. 25:30improve heat absorption, but the
486. 25:33eastfacing wall is white to reflect the
487. 25:36morning sunlight onto the crops inside.
488. 25:39Finally, there's a door in the wall at
489. 25:42one end and vents are incorporated into
490. 25:45the roof, the door, and the wall at the
491. 25:48other end to enable control of humidity
492. 25:51and prevent overheating.
493. 25:53I'll turn now to the benefits which have
494. 25:55resulted from the introduction of these
495. 25:57new green houses.
496. 26:00These benefits are of various kinds, but
497. 26:03for now I'll just mention the social
498. 26:06benefits.
499. 26:08First of all, people who own a
500. 26:10greenhouse gain social standing in their
501. 26:12communities because they provide
502. 26:14vegetables for the wider community for
503. 26:17regular consumption as well as for
504. 26:19festivals and they also earn income.
505. 26:23Secondly, because in rural areas it is
506. 26:26women who usually grow the food, the
507. 26:29green houses have increased their
508. 26:31opportunities.
509. 26:33They bring the benefits of improved
510. 26:35nutrition and increased family income
511. 26:38from the sale of surplus produce. And
512. 26:41thirdly, as a result of their improved
513. 26:44financial position, some families can
514. 26:47now afford to educate their children for
515. 26:49the first time.
516. 26:52>> That is the end of section 4. You now
517. 26:55have half a minute to check your
518. 26:57answers.
519. 27:29Before result I forget to tell baby code
520. 27:32app also provide free IELTS live classes
521. 27:35mock test and free speaking listening
522. 27:38reading writing practice test. So try
523. 27:40now link in the pin comment.
524. 27:48Heat. Heat.
525. 27:58Heat. Heat.
526. 28:19Give me
527. 28:46Heat. Heat. N.
528. 29:02Heat. Heat.