Listening Practice Test 1
IELTS Mock Test 2018 - September Listening Practice Test 1 HOW TO USE You have 2 ways to access the listening audio 1. Open this URL //link.intergreat.com/tgvbm on your computer 2. Use your mobile device to scan the QR code attached page 1
Questions 1-10 Complete the form below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer REQUEST FOR SPECIAL LEAVE Name Student number [Example] Address 1 Telephone number 2 Course Teacher s name 3 Visa expiry date 4 Term 5 Leave dates 6 to June 4 Absence 7 work days Reason 8 Distance 9 When leaving 10 Questions 11-15 hcomplete the table below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer page 2
Items Date 11 Friday 22nd, Friday 29th, Friday 5th 12 Tuesday 19th charity box [old clothes and 13 ] 14 15 on washing machine Sunday the 31st Questions 16-20 Answer the questions below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. Which places does Martha hope to get to? 16 What else has been planned later in the conference? 17 How has contact been maintained between Martha and her teacher? 18 What has Martha forgotten to do? 19 What is the code to set the burglar alarm? 20 Questions 21-27 Complete the note below page 3
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer GOVERNMENT OF PATONGA Criticism of education policies increasing 21 affects 22 and older workers jobs lost because of 23 Schemes implemented by government financial assistance and retraining allowance paid for 24 work in the community learning practical work skills Assessment of these schemes difficult to administer program need job training more suited to country's 25 necessary because of unskilled workers Retraining programs funding for employee training in the use of 26 tax deductions for employers for new technology country needs skilled workers if successful, 27 will disappear Questions 28-30 Which opinion does each person express about the government's educational policy and the employment of the young? Choose your answer from the box below and write the correct letter, A-F, next to questions 28-30. A government's track record could be improved B educational programs for long-term unemployed don't go far enough page 4
C government policy only addresses the basic educational needs of long-term unemployed D E F youth unemployment is not as dire as people think the status of vocational training needs to be improved vocational education has successfully grown by 40 percent Question 31 Choose the correct letter, A, B or C. 31 Problems that were inherited by many major cities are the result of A B C roads being built when there weren't many cars. using goat tracks to develop a road system. poor planning by the early inhabitants. Questions 32-36 Complete the table below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. CITY TYPE OF ROAD COMMENTS London 32 understandably confusing because it's an old city New York grid huge city but easy to get around sheer number of cars 33 roads Sydney mainly found in the CBD 34 cannot keep up with increasing traffic Paris 35 inherited structural problems, similar to Rome and Edinburgh page 5
Tokyo inherent problems are intensified because of 36 Questions 37-40 Complete the summary below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. There are several major cities with effective public transportation systems. Beginning with London, it not only has an effective underground called the Tube, but a 37 transport system above ground. Equally effective, but also 38 and fast are the Mass Transit Railway, buses and ferries in Hong Kong. Carrying thousands of people 39, Paris has an effective underground railroad, and though New York's subway system is as efficient, it is considered to be dangerous by many because of 40 Finally, Sydney also falls in the category of having good transportation but its system is only partly underground. page 6
Solution: 1 10 Bridge Street 2 810 6745 3 Green 4 July 15/15 July 5 One/1 6 May 31 7 3/three 8 visit aunt May/visit aunt 9 50 kilometres/50km 10 [in] 12 months 11 garbage 12 waste paper 13 bed linen 14 Monday [the] 25th 15 filters 16 theatres and museums/theatres/museums 17 [exciting] events 18 through letters/letters 19 cancel [an/the] appointment 20 9120 enter 21 [problem of] unemployment 22 young people 23 changes in technology 24 voluntary 25 technological future 26 upgraded equipment 27 bottlenecks 28 30 B,D,E 31 B 32 ring roads 33 strangles 34 road works 35 wide streets 36 [huge] population 37 comprehensive 38 cheap 39 daily 40 nasty attacks page 7
Audio Script: SECTION 1 Bob: Hello, International Student Adviser's office. This is Bob Wills speaking. Can I help you? Angela: It s Angela Tung here, Bob. I'd like to. make a request for special leave. Can I do that over the phone? Bob: Hello Angela. You can make that request by phone but I ll have to fill the form out. Let me get the special leave form. Um. Okay. Here it is. Can you give me your Example student number, please. Angela: It's H for Harry 5712. Bob: H5712. Okay. And what's your address, Angela? Angela: I live at Q1 10 Bridge Street, Tamworth. Bob: 10 Bridge Street, Tamworth. And your phone number? Angela: The telephone number's Q2 810 6745. Bob: Thanks. What course are you doing? Angela: I m in the writing class. Bob: Writing. Who's your teacher this term? Angela: Mrs Q3 Green she spells her name like the colour. Bob: Thanks. Hmm. When does your student visa expire? Angela: Let me look. Q4 July 15. Bob: July 15. Okay. Which term do you want to take leave? Angela: Do you want dates? Bob: First, I have to write a term number. When do you want to take leave? Angela: In term Q5 one. Bob: Okay. Term one. Now can you tell me what the exact dates are? Angela: I'd like to be away Q6 May 31 to June 4 Bob: Okay. I've got that. You'll miss five working days between May 31 and June 4. Is that right? page 8
Angela: Only Q7 three. I'll be away over a weekend. I'll be back at my classes on June 5, so that's three days away. Bob: Why do you want to take leave, Angela? Angela: I m going to Q8 visit my aunt May. She's my mother's sister. She and her husband are my guardians while I'm here. Bob: Where do they live? Angela: About Q9 fifty kilometres from here, near Armidale. Bob: Do you have to take so long if they live nearby? Angela: My mother is coming with me. She's come for a holiday, so she wants to have some time with May, and I want to spend some time with my mother, too. Bob: Aren't you going home soon? Angela: I've applied to extend my time here. I expect to go home in Q10 twelve months. Section 2 Martha: Hello, John. Welcome to the house. I'm really pleased that you can be here to look after my house while I m away. Here are some things you need to know about the house. Important stuff like when the garbage is collected. In fact, let's start with the garbage, which is collected on Friday. Just write Q11 garbage" on the calendar on the days they take it away. Put it out on Friday every week, that'll be Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th. It's a really good service. The trucks are quiet and the service is efficient. The bin will be put back outside the house empty. It's a good idea to put it away quickly. This street can be quite windy. I once watched my next door neighbour chase her bin the whole length of the street. Every time she nearly caught up with it, it got away again. The waste paper will be collected this Tuesday, that's Q12 Tuesday the 19th. There's a plastic box full of paper in the front room: please put it out on Tuesday. The truck will come during the day. If you don't mind collecting old newspapers and other paper and putting them in the box, I'll put it out when I come home the paper people only come monthly. I have some things to give to charity in a box in the front room. Would you put it out on Q13 Monday the 25th please? It's a box of old clothes and some page 9
Q14 bed linen which I've collected, plus a few other bits and pieces. Be careful when you pick it up, because it s heavier than you might expect. The charity truck will come by during the day on the last Monday of the month. If you want to use the library, you ll find it on Darling Street. I ve left my borrower's card near the telephone. It has a very good local reference section if you want to find out more about this city. I'm sorry to say we don't have a cleaner. Oh, yes! Filters! Please would you change the Q15 filters on the washing machine on the last day of the month, which is Sunday the 31st. We find that the machine works much better if we change the filters regularly. The gas company reads the meter outside the house, so don t worry about that. I think that s all the information about our calendar of events. Martha Well, John, I'm trying to think what else l should be telling you. As you know, I'm going to a conference in London. I hope lo have a little time to look around. It s a great city! I do hope I manage to get to at least some of the Q16 theatres and museums. I'm looking forward to all the things I have to do at the conference, loo. I'm giving a paper on Tuesday the 26th and there are; a couple of really Q17 exciting events planned later in the conference program. I hope to meet up with an old teacher of mine at the conference. She taught English Literature at my old high school and we've kept in touch Q18 through letters over the years. She teaches now at the University of Durham, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her again.by the way, I expect you'r e hungry after your trip. I ve left a meal in the refrigerator for you. I hope you like cheese and onion pie. Would you do me a favour please? I haven't had time to Q19 cancel an appointment. It was made a long time ago and I forgot about it until this morning. It's with my dentist, for a check-up on Thursday the 28th. Could you please call the dentist on 816 2525 and cancel the appointment for me? Thanks a lot, John. Oh, one last thing. When you leave the house, make sure the windows and doors are shut, and so! the burglar alarm. The alarm code number is Q20 9-1- 2-0 enter. Have fun! I'll see you when I get back. This is your friend Martha, saying goodbye. page 10
Section 3 In this section you will hear a tutorial group discussing a case study relating to the education policies of the Government of Patonga. First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 27. Now listen to the recording and answer questions 21 to 27. Julia Now, we need to consider the education policies of the Government of Patonga and its success in satisfying the country's future needs for an educated workforce. There's been much criticism of this government's policies because of the growing Q21 problem of unemployment, especially among the young people. How accurate is this criticism Jeremy? Would you say that the government isn't helping unemployed young people to find jobs? Jeremy Well, it's not accurate at all, in my opinion. I think the government is well aware of the difficulties faced by these Q22 young people who are just coming out of high school and facing the prospect of finding a job. And not only that, but it's also aware of the problems of older workers whose jobs have disappeared because of the recent Q23 changes in technology. The government has, in fact, implemented several very successful Schemes of financial support and retraining to address this problem. Julia It was suggested that the government link unemployment benefits to a nationwide system of community service. So, in such a system like that the unemployed would be paid an allowance, as long as they do Q24 voluntary work in the community. So, they're being paid, they're learning basic and practical work skills, and the community is being helped. What do you think of this suggestion, Angela? Angela Mm, yes, er, it's true that young people especially, would gain some work experience that way, but administratively it would be quite difficult to try and follow through with a community service system for all unemployed people. Er, more importantly, I think it's better if they provided job training suited to the country's Q25 technological future. What I mean is more vocational development and on-the-job training. Er, the problem is that there is a lack of skilled workers in the areas of hightech industries. That's really what Patonga's young people and the economy need. The country can't continue to rely on fishing and tourism. Julia Jeremy, you mentioned something about retraining programs. Can you tell page 11
us more about how these programs operate? Jeremy Yes, certainly. Er, for example, the, 'Upgrade' program provides funding to employers who set aside a fixed part of their expenditure to train their employees in the use of Q26 upgraded equipment, er, and it assists the employers in the form of, er, tax deductions in the purchase of new technology. Angela Mm, but Jeremy isn't this program only helping those people who already have jobs in those industries? What's going to happen to all those people who are unemployed, and after 6,12, 18 months still can't find a job? Will the 'Upgrade' program really be of any use to them? Jeremy Well, er, I think those people will be helped. Urn, you've got to look at the reasons why they're out of a job. The first reason is their lack of skills. Er, second is the problem most people seem to see with Patonga's economy. That is that, um, industry can't go ahead without skilled workers, and that is what the country lacks. Bottlenecks have been created in the industry because of this. Now, if these workers can be trained, these so-called Q27 bottlenecks to the expansion of industry, will disappear. Um, the high-tech industries will expand and, and more jobs will be created. Narrator Now took at questions 28-30. Now listen to the next part of the discussion and answer questions 28-30. Julia But, let's consider the criticism the government is facing at the moment. Universities and other institutions in Patonga are deteriorating due to overcrowding. There just isn't enough space for these people who want to learn new skills. Would you agree with that Jeremy? Jeremy Well, I, I'd have to disagree that they're deteriorating. In fact, Patonga has been really very successful in creating new education opportunities. 80 percent of alt students complete high school. 10 years ago the rate was only 50 percent. 190,000 new places have been created in universities in the last 9 years. I believe it's not a problem of places in colleges. It's a matter of balancing the skills to cover vocational education. Julia Could you elaborate on that, Jeremy? Jeremy Well, what I mean is that the actual number of graduates from universities and colleges has grown by Q28 40 percent, but the number of graduates in the technical and vocational areas has fallen, by 10 percent. So, that is the problem Patonga needs to address in its education policies. Technical education has got to be more prestigious. page 12
Angela Alright, Jeremy, but this still leaves out people who are without basic education, and who've been unemployed fora long period. Jeremy Oh, well, well, for people out of work for longer than 6 months, the government set up a new scheme called the 'Jobfind Scheme'. Now, the 'Jobfind Scheme encourages employers to take on those kinds of people, er, Q29 the long-term unemployed, again by providing tax incentives. Angela But is that enough? Julia Oh, look, er, maybe things should be put into perspective. Q30 It's true that unemployment is high, but compared to 2008, when things were worse than they are now, there are fewer young people actually looking for a job. Just look at the statistics. There were about 450,000 people out of work in 2008, and now there are 290,000. And the actual percentage of young people unemployed is now 8 percent, compared to 12 percent previously. So the Government s record in helping young people is actually quite good. Section 4 You will hear an extract from a lecture on traffic management. First you have some time to look at the questions 31 to 36. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 36. Tom Fisher Good afternoon. I'm Tom Fisher, and I'll be lecturing on traffic management this term. Before we go any further, I thought you should look at the sort of problems we've inherited and 'inherited', or received as a legacy from those before us, is just the word for our situation. Q31 Many of our major cities were built long before the car was thought of, and the road system evolved from the goat tracks followed by the early inhabitants. These we can refer to as old-structure problems, and you can take the expression oldstructure' to refer to problems which were in place before we saw the need to build efficient road systems. Old-structure problems are easily demonstrated in London, New York, Sydney and Paris. Let's look at each city in turn. London has a most confusing road system, which is forgiveable because it's a very old city. I'll talk more about the Q32 ring roads later. New York is laid out on a grid which makes it easier to find your way around, but it's an enormous city and the sheer pressure of numbers Q33 strangles the roads. Sydney has narrow streets in the centre of the city, and the new Q34 road works are not keeping up. Paris has Q35 wide streets, but it's still the victim of old-structure problems, like Rome and Edinburgh. Tokyo is another city with old-structure problems compounded by a page 13
Q36 huge population, like New York. Cities which do not have these oldstructure problems are Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas. Narrator Now look at questions 37 to 40. Listen to the second half and answer questions 37 to 40. Tom Fisher The thing which saves some of these cities is an effective public transport system, usually below ground. London has an old but effective underground train system known as the Tube, and a Q37 comprehensive bus and train system above ground. Hong Kong has Q38 cheap, swift and effective public transport in the form of Mass Transit Railway, buses and ferries. Paris has the Metro underground railway which carries tens of thousands of people Q39 daily, and a large bus system. New York has a comprehensive underground train system, but many people feel that it's dangerous to ride on it there have been some Q40 nasty attacks. However, the trains themselves are efficient, so we have to call it a good system. Sydney has a good public transport system, but only part of it is underground. page 14