IELTS Listening Practice Test 13
4 parts · 40 questions · about 29 minutes of audio. Below are all the questions. Take the test in your free dashboard to play the recordings, answer as you listen, and get your band score with the transcript of every answer.
Part 1: Questions 1–10
You will hear a conversation among employees at a media company before a staff meeting.
Questions 1–7
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Rumours at The Studio
The rumour
- Topic of concern: budget
- Person spreading information: Mark in
Staff jobs
- Kaveh's current job:
- Amelia's current job:
- Amelia's former job:
- Kaveh's former job:
Advice
- Penelope should update her
Questions 8–10
Answer the questions below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a talk about microcredentials and their use in education and work.
Questions 11–14
Answer the questions below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Questions 15–20
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Microcredentials: finding and paying for courses
Finding the right microcredential
- Credential Finder: search by field of study or
- Business administration: take a Google course
Government help
- Ukraine: an initiative to meet its shortage of skilled
Cost
- Materials can be free, but payment is needed to earn
- Coursera Plus: $59 per month or per year
Translation
- Coursera also offers automatic of course materials into many languages
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear part of a podcast in which two NASA scientists discuss growing plants in space.
Questions 21–25
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Questions 26–30
Complete the flow-chart below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Growing crops in a controlled environment
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear a report about the state of school segregation in the United States.
Questions 31–36
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
The Brown decision of declared segregated schools unconstitutional. President Eisenhower sent to southern states to enforce it. The number of “intensely segregated” schools tripled from 1988 to . Such schools were defined as having white populations of less than percent. Non-white districts receive $ billion less funding than mostly white districts. The UCLA study describes a trend toward increasing , by both race or ethnicity and poverty.
Questions 37–40
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rumours at work | 1–10 | Note completion, Short-answer questions |
| 2 | Microcredentials | 11–20 | Short-answer questions, Note completion |
| 3 | Growing plants in space | 21–30 | Multiple choice, Flow-chart completion |
| 4 | School segregation in the US | 31–40 | Summary completion, Multiple choice |
How to use it
- Open the test in your dashboard. Each part has its own track with the spoken instructions and the time to read the questions, as in the real exam.
- For exam practice, play each part once at 1× speed. To train your ear, slow it down or replay sections.
- Select words in a question to highlight the keywords you are listening for.
- After submitting, use “Show in transcript” to see exactly where each answer was said.
Audio sources
The recordings are real, copyright-free audio. The questions are written by Sprechify, and the spoken instructions use a synthetic voice.
- Part 1: Let's Learn English, Lesson 1: Budget Cuts. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 2: Learn New Skills with Microcredentials. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 3: Plants in Space (NASA Houston We Have a Podcast). NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston We Have a Podcast (NASA audio is generally not subject to copyright in the US)
- Part 4: 70 Years after Brown Decision, School Segregation Getting Worse. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain