IELTS Listening Sentence Completion

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“Struggling to answer IELTS Listening sentence completion questions? Don't worry! Read our guide and boost your IELTS Listening score with essential sentence completion strategies! Check out IELTS listening sentence completion tips, sample questions, and techniques to master this task and achieve your target band score.“

IELTS Listening Sentence Completion tasks in the IELTS Listening tests how well you can listen for specific information, such as details, numbers, dates, and names. In this task, you'll complete sentences by filling in missing words, based on the audio. This type of question trains you to listen carefully and jot down exact words and phrases as stated in the audio.

Understanding IELTS Listening Sentence Completion

Sentence completion questions in IELTS Listening typically present a series of incomplete sentences. These tasks require careful listening to capture precise details without changing the meaning or spelling of what you hear. Here’s how to navigate it successfully:

Question Format Focus Tip
Complete the sentence using no more than 1, 2, or 3 words Tests for specific information like places, times, or descriptions Watch the word limit closely to avoid penalties

Common Challenges in IELTS Listening Sentence Completion

IELTS candidates often struggle with IELTS Listening sentence completion due to fast-paced audio and similar-sounding information that can be confusing. Here’s how to tackle these challenges:

  1. Fast Pace of the Audio: Stay focused! Develop a habit of predicting the answer type (e.g., number, name, location) based on the context of the sentence.
  2. Distraction by Extra Information: Speakers often provide additional, unnecessary details. Recognize keywords and listen for cues, helping you avoid writing down irrelevant information.
  3. Synonyms and Paraphrasing: Sentence completion questions may use synonyms, so focus on understanding meaning rather than just words. If the audio mentions “cost-effective,” the answer may actually be “affordable.”

Common Mistakes to Avoid in IELTS Listening Sentence Completion

  1. Ignoring Word Limits: Always check the word limit for each answer. If it states “no more than two words,” avoid writing three, even if it seems to make more sense grammatically.
  2. Guessing Randomly: In sentence completion, context matters. Guessing without listening carefully may result in illogical answers. If you miss an answer, stay calm and move on to avoid missing the next answer.
  3. Overlooking Grammar Rules: Make sure your answers fit grammatically within the sentence. For instance, if the sentence is “The project was completed in ___,” ensure your answer aligns grammatically, like using “April” instead of “the month of April.”

Now that you're aware of the challenges and mistakes to avoid in IELTS Listening Sentence Completion, Listen to the audio and answer the questions below:

IELTS Listening Sentence Completion /Note completion:

Complete the sentences using no more than two words.

  1. Doing crosswords or playing computer games challenges the ……………. and ………….
  2. Studies show that regular physical exercise puts you in a more ………………… of mind
  3. We have to be ………………when creating study plans.
  4. Studying in the ………………….. is inspiring.
  5. When planning for a study we must decide on time, place and ……………………

IELTS Listening Audio Transcript:

Section 4

How many of you know people who hate studying, but love doing crosswords or playing computer games that challenge their minds and their reflexes? Lots of you, I’m sure. Well, one objective is to learn to enjoy studying in the same way, we enjoy those crosswords and computer games. Okay, we’ll come back to that later. Now, I want to discuss a few basics. One, regular exercise. Countless studies show that regular physical exercise, say, 40 minutes or so, five days a week of jogging, fast walking, weight training,

tennis, whatever you enjoy, puts you in a more positive frame of mind and also increases creativity and memory for hours after the exercise. Other important things are to eat good healthy food, get enough sleep and try not to spend too much time and money in the student bar. There’s nothing worse than trying to learn something or solve a problem than when you have a hangover. So, as the Romans used to say men Sana in corpore Sano, a healthy mind in a healthy body. Right. Now we’re all going to keep fit and healthy. What about the studying? First, you must work out the times that you will use for study. When I say study, I mean all the school work. Writing essays, reading etc that you do out of class. Be realistic, don’t plan to spend 60 hours a week on it. It’s too much for most of us. Set aside one or two blocks of time each of say, two or two and a half hours a day, that are your study time.

As I say be realistic. Don’t set yourself such an ambitious goal that you will never stick to it. And it’s also a good idea to leave one day a week, Sunday, perhaps, completely free so you can relax and occasionally do some schoolwork at those times when it builds up a bit. That’s time, settled. Now for place. We are creatures of habit. We do things better when we do them in places that we associate with the particular activity, in this case studying. So it’s best to try and set aside a quiet place. Perhaps your bedroom, a study if you have one which is where you study. When the weather is nice, it could be our doors. Nothing is nicer than reading and thinking about that novel, you have to read for English literature 101 on a quiet grassy bank by a stream on a sunny day.

And we mustn’t forget the library. Most of us find that studying surrounded by the learning of centuries is inspiring as though studying is the only proper thing to do in a library. Okay, time, place, what next? It is, questions. Before you set out to read something, always ask yourself,

Answers:

  1. Mind, reflex
  2. Positive frame
  3. realistic
  4. Library
  5. questions

Explanation

For the first question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus :

How many of you know people who hate studying, but love doing crosswords or playing computer games that challenge their minds and their reflexes?

So the answer is “mind, reflex”.

For the second question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus :

Countless studies show that regular physical exercise, say, 40 minutes or so, five days a week of jogging, fast walking, weight training, tennis, whatever you enjoy, puts you in a more positive frame of mind.

So the answer is “positive frame”.

For the third question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus :

When I say study, I mean all the school work. Writing essays, reading etc that you do out of class. Be realistic, don’t plan to spend 60 hours a week on it.

So the answer is “realistic”

For the fourth question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus :

And we mustn’t forget the library.Most of us find that studying surrounded by the learning of centuries is inspiring.

So the answer is “Library”.

For the fifth question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus :

Okay, time, place, what next? It is, questions.

So the answer is “questions”

IELTS Listening Diagram Completion:

Listen to the audio and answer the questions below:

Questions 8-10

Label the diagram/plan below. Write the correct letter, A–G, next to questions 8–10.

Questions:

  1. traffic lights …………………..
  2. petrol station …………………..
  3. blue van ………………….

IELTS Listening Sentence Completion

IELTS Listening Audio Transcript:

Assistant 2: OK, just let me draw the road layout… Right. OK?

Elizabeth: When you leave New Town there’s a sharp bend in the road and then there’s a railway bridge.

Assistant 2: OK.

Elizabeth: And then about half a kilometre further on there’s a crossroads with traffic lights. And I was just in between the two when it happened. I wasn’t going very fast, in fact, I definitely…

Assistant 2: So you’d already gone over the bridge?

Elizabeth: Yes. And I’d passed the park – that’s on the right-hand side. And I was just

approaching the petrol station…

Assistant 2: Where’s that then?

Elizabeth: It’s a bit further along, on the opposite side.

Assistant 2: So, on your near side then?

Elizabeth: Yes. As I was approaching it I saw a blue van coming towards me. The driver had stopped in the middle of the road.

Assistant 2: Was he indicating?

Elizabeth: Yes. He was waiting to turn into the petrol station. But then at the last minute, he decided to turn right in front of me. He must have thought he had enough time, but I had to swerve to avoid him. And I came off the road and landed in a ditch on the opposite side. Assistant 2: Mmm. I don’t suppose he stopped, did he?

Elizabeth: Oh, yes. He came over to see if I was OK, but he tried to say it was my fault. And there wasn’t (anyone)…

Answers:

  1. G
  2. C
  3. D

Explanation

For the first question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Assistant 2: OK, just let me draw the road layout… Right. OK?

Elizabeth: When you leave New Town there’s a sharp bend in the road and then there’s a railway bridge.

Assistant 2: OK.

Elizabeth: And then about half a kilometre further on there’s a crossroads with traffic lights. So the answer for traffic lights is “G”

For the second question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Assistant 2: So you’d already gone over the bridge?

Elizabeth: Yes. And I’d passed the park – that’s on the right-hand side. And I was just approaching the petrol station…

Assistant 2: Where’s that then?

Elizabeth: It’s a bit further along, on the opposite side.

Assistant 2: So, on your nearside then?

So the answer for petrol station is “C”

For the third question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Elizabeth: Yes. As I was approaching it I saw a blue van coming towards me. The driver had stopped in the middle of the road.

Assistant 2: Was he indicating?

So the answer for the “blue van” is “D”.

IELTS Listening Table completion:

Listen to the audio and answer the questions below:

Questions:

Name of the health

centre

 Number of doctors Other information Information about

doctors
Dean End (about) 6/six

(doctors)

 Appointment

system faster than

South Hay

 Dr. Jones is good

with old patients .

Dr. Shaw is good

with 3………………
1………………… (about) 4/four

(doctors)

 Building

2…………….. Than

Dead end

 4…………… helps

people with back

problems

IELTS Listening Audio Transcript:

Section 1

WOMAN: There’s the Dean End Health Centre about ten minutes’ walk away and there’s another practice in South Hay. That’s about five minutes away going towards the town centre. We’re registered at the Dean End one, but they’re both OK. There are about six doctors in our practice and four in the other. So ours is quite big in comparison. And the building and everything’s a bit more modern. South Hay is a bit old-fashioned but the doctors are OK. Their only problem is that they don’t have a proper appointment system. Sometimes you have to wait for ages there to see someone. Anyway, you go to the receptionist in whichever health centre and ask her to register you with a doctor there. You have to fill in a form, but it doesn’t take long. Ours is called Dr Jones and we’ve been going to him for years – ever since we moved here fifteen years ago. I wouldn’t say he’s brilliant but I suppose he’s alright really. We’re used to him now. They say he’s very good with elderly people, but he does tend to get a bit impatient with children. Listen, the one who’s supposed to be really good with small children is Dr Shaw. I’ve heard lots of people say that. She’s young and she’s got small children of her own. So you could try registering with her. And if her list is full, I heard somebody say the other day that there’s a really nice young doctor at South Hay, Dr Williams. He holds special clinics for people with back trouble. But that’s not really your problem, is it?

Answers

  1. South Hay
  2. Less modern
  3. Small children
  4. Dr. Williams

Explanation

For the first question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

MRS.SMITH: There’s the Dean End Health Centre about ten minutes’ walk away and there’s another practice in South Hay. That’s about five minutes away going towards the town centre. We’re registered at the Dean End one, but they’re both OK. There are about six doctors in our practice and four in the other.

So the answer is “South Hay”

For the second question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus : MRS.SMITH: South Hay is a bit old-fashioned but the doctors are OK.

So the answer is “old fashioned or less modern”.

For the third question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

MRS.SMITH: Listen, the one who’s supposed to be really good with small children is Dr Shaw.

So the answer is “small children”.

For the fourth question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

MRS.SMITH: I heard somebody say the other day that there’s a really nice young doctor at South Hay, Dr Williams. He holds special clinics for people with back trouble.

So the answer is “Dr.Williams”.

Overall, mastering IELTS Listening Sentence Completion is a valuable skill that requires practice, prediction, and focused listening. By following these strategies, you can improve your accuracy and confidence in handling sentence completion tasks. Make the most of IELTS practice resources and work on refining your listening skills to catch the details that matter. Remember, every correct answer brings you one step closer to your target IELTS band score!

Here are the 10 Examples for the IELTS Listening Sentence Completion:

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