IELTS Listening Practice Test 81

SECTION 1

Questions 1-7

Listen to a conversation and complete the market list below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each ansiver.

MARKET LIST

Questions 8-10

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

8. Who is Barbara going to shop wiih?

9. How is Barbara traveling to the shops tomorrow?

10. What time are they going to meet?

SECTION 2

Questions 11-16

Complete the table below as you listen.

Write either A NUMBER or NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to fill each space.

Number of participants in the survey: 4373

Questions 17-20

Circle the correct answer.

17. Regarding the message Voice box, the number of complaints

A has gone up and down in recent weeks.
B has gone down.
C has remained static.
D has risen in the recent week.

18. The praise for the music on the Wake-up show has come

A only from Australia.
B only from New Zealand.
C from all over South-east Asia.
D from all over Asia.

19. Regarding English Worldwide, the number of listeners

A has increased ten times.
B has remained fairly static.
C has decreased tenfold.
D will increase in the future.

20. The radio station broadcasts

A 14 hours per day.
B 19 hours per day.
C 24 hours per day.
D 22 hours per day.

SECTION 3

Questions 21-30

Complete the form below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

OUTLINE OF BOOK REVIEW

Introduction

• Title                                                                              21___________________

• Author                                                                          Robert Winston

• Category                                                                      22___________________

• Subject area                                                                brain

• Intended readers                                                       23___________________

Overview        

• Author’s                                                                      purpose to inform and advise on maximising use of the brain

• Main topics                                                                history of 24_____________ about brain
what enables brain to 25____________________
brain’s contribution to development of 26_____________________
how to increase intelligence

Analysis and evaluation

• Writer’s                                                             qualifications professor at the University of London who carries out 27_________________research
• Strengths                                                           readable, particularly through use of 28_______________contains a useful 29_____________________
• Weaknesses                                                       none

Conclusion

Overall response                                                        a very interesting book that aims high and achieves its 30___________________

SECTION 4

Questions 31-33

Complete the following table.

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer.

Questions 34-37

Complete tfie notes on the time line below.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE

1831                    Design for bridge chosen by 34_______________.
Work begun, but soon halted by political events. 1836 Work resumed.

1843                   Work stopped when 35_______________.

1851                    Ironwork sold to pay 36_______________.

1860                   Second-hand 37___________________ became available.

1862                   Work resumed.

1864                   Bridge completed.

Questions 38-40

Complete the table.

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer.

Answer keys:

Section 1, Questions 1-10

1. Mon. – Fri./Monday to Friday

2. Petticoat/Peticote

3. Aldgate

4. 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

5. Central Line

6. Brixton

7. Sun./Sundays

8. Tom & Mary

9. by/take underground/tube/subway

10. 9:30 a.m.

Section 2, Questions 11-20

11. 83/eighty-three

12. 7/seven

13. 3/three

14. a real hit

15. Wine Show

16. downright boring

17. D

18. C

19. A

20. B

Section 3, Questions 21-30

21. The Human Mind

22. popular science

23. non-specialists

24. theories

25. function

26. personality

27. medical

28. stories

29. word list

30. goal

Section 4, Questions 31-40

31. 3200

32. rope (and) wood

33. China

34. competition

35. money ran out/finished

36. (back) (the) creditors (crediters is an acceptable misspelling]

37. chains

38. extreme cold/ (very/extremely) cold location

39. depth of water/ (very) deep water

40. 2.5

BONUS EXERCISE: GAP-FILLING 

The texts below are transcript for your IELTS Listening Practice Test. To make the most out of this transcript, we removed some words from the texts and replaced with spaces. You have to fill each space with the missing word by listening to the audio for this IELTS listening practice test. 

SECTION 1

T = Tom          B = Barbara

T: Hi, Barbara. What will you do this weekend?

B: Well, I’d like to do some shopping, but I have no idea where to go. I’ve only been here a few days. I was told London is an [………………………………]place to live.

T: Yes, but that’s not completely true. London can be an expensive place to live, but if you shop in the right places, you can live [………………………………]cheaply.

B: Is that true? Could you tell me something about the shops?

T: All right. You know food tends to be [………………………………]in the big [………………………………]like Sainsburys and Tescos. Most of them have quite a good [………………………………]of food and household items. You can buy your fruit and [………………………………]on the street. You will find these street markets in almost every part of London. You can also buy clothes, shoes and [………………………………]items in these markets for a real [………………………………]. Have you got a market list provided by the Student Union?

B: Yes. Here you are.

T: This might give you some ideas. Let me see. East Street SE17. This market sells cheap food, clothes and [………………………………]. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

B: Yes, but how can I get there?

T: You can take the [………………………………]. We call it tube. You see, there is a tube station on the list.

B: Let me see. Yes, it’s Castle Station.

T: Right. You can get off at the Castle.

B: Good. Look at Leather Lane WC1.

T: Yes, that’s a good central London market for clothes, food and [………………………………]. It’s open at lunch times from Monday to Friday. It’s near Chancery Lane Station.

B: Well, what about the one in Petticoat Lane?

T: Oh, Petticoat Lane El. It sells clothes, shoes and household goods. It opens only on [………………………………]mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

B: Yes. We can get off at Aldgate Station. What about the one in Walthamstow El7?

T: Oh, that’s a big market for clothes and food. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays to Saturdays, [………………………………]Wednesdays and Sundays.

B: Let me see, yes, we can get there on the Central Line. What about Brixton?

T: That’s Brixton SW9. It’s an indoor and outdoor market with a lively [………………………………]. It sells vegetables from all over the world. It opens from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays to Sundays and half day on Wednesdays.

B: Oh, it’s close to Brixton [………………………………]. Very near my place. Great, it’s very [………………………………]. Tell me more details about Camden Lock.

T: Yes. There are several markets on Camden High Street and plenty of shops. They sell [………………………………]clothes, [………………………………], recorders and pottery. The most famous one is Camden Hight St.NWl. It’s good for buying [………………………………], very close to Chalk Farm and Camden Town Station.

B: I see. It says it opens on Sundays only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Well, I think these markets might help to keep my costs down.

T: Well, if you need to buy new [………………………………]goods or large household items, you can wait until the January sales when all shops sells goods at [………………………………]prices.

B: Thank you so much for your help. Tom, shall we go to Brixton together this weekend?

T:         I’d love to.

B:        Oh, I’m afraid I’ve got to go to a [………………………………]. I’ll ring you tonight.

T:         [………………………………]?

B:        Hello, is that you, Tom?

T:         Hi Barbara. Have you decided where to go tomorrow?

B: Yes, I’d like to go to Camden Town to shop. Would you like to go there with me?

T: Yes, I’d love to. That’s a good market. Mary is here with me now. She wants to go there too. Shall we meet at Camden Town Station?

B: OK. How are you going there?

T: We will go there by bus. It’s only three stops from my place. Well, we might walk there if the weather is fine. How will you get there?

B: I think I’ll have to take the [………………………………]. I’m at Bond Street and I’ll take the Central Line first and get off at Tottenham Court Road.

T: OK. Take the Central Line and get off at Tottenham Court Road. Then you want the Northern Line to Camden Town. It’s only about [………………………………] stops. Make sure you get a [………………………………]train though. You want northbound Camden Town. OK?

B: OK I think I can find the way. I have an underground map with me now. What time shall we meet tomorrow?

T: How about one hour earlier, say [………………………………]?

B: Fine, That will be all right. See you tomorrow.

T: Bye.

SECTION 2

Welcome and [………………………………]welcome every Friday afternoon at 2:15 to Post-bag, your chance as listeners to let us know what you think about our [………………………………]and current issues.

This week our Post-bag has been [………………………………]overflowing-not that we are complaining, mind you Many of you, in fact, a staggering [………………………………]of you to be [………………………………], have completed Radio South’s listener phone-in [………………………………]. Some general points-83% of you think that the radio station has [………………………………]over the nast year: and only 7% that it has got worse. Most of you think’ that the radio station provides an [………………………………]service! That’s a big thumbs up for Radio South. Some more statistics-a rather [………………………………]64% of you did not like the start of the new [………………………………]Radio Soap that began on Wednesday evenings last month. Many of you said that it was too [………………………………]and [………………………………], with no plot, no excitement’ And only 17% said they liked it.

We passed on your messages to the [………………………………]and he said that he had received a number of letters and [………………………………]phone calls, saying how [………………………………]and modem the plot was. In fact, those figures for those listening had more than doubled for the second [………………………………]! We’ll have to wait and see how this one develops!

And for [………………………………] of you, the new starting time of 5 a.m. for the Wake-up show went down really well! Only a small [………………………………]rating for this one: in fact, only 3%. Many of you said the earlier time is a real hit.

Unfortunately, the Wine Show has not gone down well at all. It had a [………………………………] approval rating and 25% who did not like it and [………………………………]didn’t know! Sadly, the main [………………………………]was that the programme is downright boring. Maybe, wine’s going out of fashion.

The full survey will be [………………………………]next month and it is free on request! And now to our weekly letters slot.

Sharon from Tasmania has written in to say that she has tried to get through on the [………………………………]to our new Message Line to leave a [………………………………]on the Voicebox, but she finds it too [………………………………]. She says, and I quote: Every time I press a number after the main menu the line won’t [………………………………]my message. It is so frustrating. Maybe your [………………………………]should come with a health warning! Well, I can tell you that you’re not the first person to have [………………………………]about this; in feet, we had 67 letters this past week alone and complaints have been going up at the rate of 10% a week recently. And we’re now looking into the problem.

On a more [………………………………]note, Mary from Sydney, Australia, wrote in to say how refreshing and cheerful she found our station was. She says the music and the morning Wake-up show she finds really [………………………………]. We’ve had lots of [………………………………]letters from all around South-east Asia saving the same thing: from Terry in Auckland, New Zealand, Yuko in Japan and Ahmed in Indonesia. Robyn in Australia says it’s really an excellent new [………………………………]to the radio scene in the area and [………………………………]us to keep going. Thank you Robyn for your support.

Pangapom from Thailand wants to know if there are any plans to repeat the English [………………………………], English Worldwide, on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. or whether we are going to [………………………………]the programme. We’ve had so many letters over the past weeks ago, the number of people tuning in has grown [………………………………]. There are no plans at the moment to increase the 2-hour slot on Friday morning, but if numbers keep increasing at the rate they are we may have to.

Many of you have asked when we are becoming a [………………………………]service. The answer is as soon as we can. We now [………………………………]19 hours a day and hope to be on air 24 hours a day within the next six months.

And now it’s over to Marco, who’s going to look at the latest cinema and video [………………………………].

SECTION 3

Rachel: Oh, hello, can you [………………………………]me a few minutes, please?

Tutor: Yes, of course, Rachel, what can I do for you?

Rachel: It’s about the book [………………………………]you’ve asked us to write as part of the [………………………………]Writing course. You said we should ask if we didn’t know how to set about it.

Tutor: OK. Well, sit down, and let’s talk about it. I presume you’ve chosen the book you want to write about.

Rachel: Yes.

Tutor: Good. Then have a look at this outline. If we talk it through and you make notes on it, it’ll help you to [………………………………]your review. Right, first of all, what’s the name of the book?

Rachel: The Human Mind.

Tutor: Ah yes, by Robert Winston. It was tied in with a very good [………………………………]series, wasn’t it? So you should start your review with the title and author. The next question is, what [………………………………]would you put it in? For example, fiction, history, math…

Rachel:            Well, I [………………………………]it’s science.

Tutor:  Cân you limit the field a little?

Rachel:            How about popular science?

Tutor:  Yes, I think that’s more [………………………………].

Rachel:            Then I suppose the subject area is the [………………………………].

Tutor: OK. And it’s important to mention the intended [………………………………], because you can’t [………………………………]how effective a book is without [………………………………]who it’s meant for.

Rachel: Well, it doesn’t [………………………………]you know a lot about the subject, so I’d say it’s for non-specialists. It was [………………………………]in general bookshops.

Tutor: Right. Now the overview. What would vou say Winston is trying to do?

Rachel: Er…it’s very informative, but I think he’s also telling us how to make the most of our brains.

Tutor: Then you should briefly [………………………………]the main topics. I’d recommend [………………………………]the ones that you found the most [………………………………]and interesting.

Rachel: Well, it starts by looking back at the last few thousand years, and looks briefly at some of the [………………………………]that have been developed about the brain, and about its [………………………………]. It wasn’t always considered as important as we now believe.

Tutor: True. And the next topic?

Rachel: I think it should be the [………………………………]and activities of the brain that make it [………………………………]. I found that chapter very interesting, but it was [………………………………]the hardest to understand.

Tutor: Mm, I’d probably agree with you. Any more topics you want to mention?

Rachel: Oh, it covers so much, like the emotions, memory…but I think the role of the brain in creating [………………………………]should be mentioned, because I think that’s an important [………………………………]of the book. And then there’s the [………………………………]on how we can use our brains to boost our [………………………………]. I’ve already started acting on some of the [………………………………]!

Tutor: Good luck! Now let’s look at the next [………………………………]of your review, where you should [………………………………]and [………………………………]the book. This is the main section where you give your own [………………………………]. This first point is really a question of whether we should take the writer seriously. A [………………………………]may be [………………………………]to write about music, but not [………………………………]to write about the brain, for instance.

Rachel: Mm. Winston is a professor at the University of London, and he’s done a lot of research in various [………………………………]fields. So he’s very well qualified to write about this subject.

Tutor: What would you say are the [………………………………]of the book?

Rachel: Mm…it’s a complex subject, but he makes it as [………………………………]as it can be for the general reader. That’s partly because he [………………………………]his points with a lot of stories, both about [………………………………]people, like Einstein, and from his own life.

Tutor: OK. Are there any other strengths you want to add?

Rachel: I was glad he included a word list to explain the meanings of medical [………………………………]. And I didn’t find any [………………………………].

Tutor: Mm. Right. Then that brings us to the [………………………………]. How would you sum up your overall [………………………………]to the book?

Rachel: Well, I found it [………………………………]. I think Winston is quite [………………………………]in the goal he’s set, himself, but he’s succeeded in reaching it.

Tutor: Well, there you are-you’ve got the [………………………………]of your review. Keep that in front of you while you’re reading it up, and it should be fine.

Rachel: Thank you very much.

Tutor: You’re welcome.

SECTION 4

This is the first of a series of lectures on [………………………………]engineering structures. Today, we’re looking at the Clifton [………………………………]Bridge in Bristol, which we hope to visit later this term, and I’d like to begin with a brief word about the [………………………………]and about bridge building in general.

Now, people have been building bridges since [………………………………]times. Over the centuries, bridge design has [………………………………]using a variety of engineering techniques, but the [………………………………]has always been the same: to get to the other side.

One of the most basic types of bridge is the arch, and there’s [………………………………]from the Middle East that people knew how to [………………………………]arches using stone or brick as earlv as [………………………………]. The stone arch had the [………………………………]of being quite simple to build, and it remained the main type of bridge design from Roman times until the early [………………………………].

Another type of bridge with a long history is the [………………………………]bridge, where the road is suspended from [………………………………]hanging between towers. The first suspension bridges were simple [………………………………], made of rope and wood, and the earliest recorded examples were [………………………………]around A.D. 550 in China. But rope has [………………………………]strength, and it only became possible to build longer [………………………………]when iron became available. The first major iron suspension bridge in [………………………………], completed in [………………………………], was the Menai Strait Bridge in Wales.

The story of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol began just three years later, in [………………………………]. At that time, the city [………………………………]wanted to build a bridge over the River Avon. In order to choose the best design, they organized a [………………………………], and the winner, [………………………………]in 1831, was an engineer by the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunei. Work began the same year, but was almost [………………………………]interrupted when serious riots [………………………………]in the city. As a result, investors lost [………………………………], and work stopped until 1836. The two supporting piers had been completed by [………………………………], but unfortunately, at this point the money ran out, and work on the [………………………………]came to a halt for a second time. Then, in 1851, all the [………………………………]for the bridge was sold off in order to pay back the [………………………………], and the project seemed to have reached an end. However, in [………………………………]there was a stroke of luck when a suspension bridge in London was [………………………………]. That bridge had chains which were almost the same as the ones designed for Clifton, and these chains were available to buy. Events moved quickly after that. Money was raised, and work went ahead again in [………………………………]. The bridge was finally completed amid great [………………………………]two years later, in 1864.

We’ll be examining some of the design [………………………………]in more details in the second half of this talk. But just as a [………………………………]to this section, it’s worth looking ahead to the fixture, and a couple of [………………………………]for “super bridges” linking not only river banks or even countries, but [………………………………].

One of these is for a bridge between Alaska and [………………………………], which would be six lanes wide and [………………………………]s long. The water of the Bering Sea beneath is only about [………………………………]deep, but the biggest challenge is the [………………………………]cold of the location. This would restrict [………………………………]to five months a year and also close the road during winter.

There’s a different [………………………………]facing a second proposal, a bridge linking Europe and Africa across the Straits of Gibraltar, and that’s the depth of water. Although it’s only [………………………………]across, the water is as deep as [………………………………]in places. In such deep water, a bridge may not be able to [………………………………]its own weight, so engineers are [………………………………]using bridge structures which have never been [………………………………]before.

A third seaway that engineers hope to cross in the near [………………………………]is the Straits of Messina, between the island of Sicily and [………………………………]Italy. Unlike the other two [………………………………], the Messina Bridge only [………………………………]one national government, and the distance is relatively short at two and a half kilometres, so there’s a good chance it will be built. In this case, it’s just a matter of who will [………………………………]the cash!

OK, let’s take a break at this point and then…

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