IELTS Listening Practice Test 14
4 parts · 40 questions · about 30 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 boy giving a sightseeing tour in Washington, D.C.
Questions 1–10
Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Tour notes
| Place or subject | Detail |
|---|---|
Lincoln Memorial | A word inside was carved |
Building passed on the right | |
Object flying overhead | An |
Vehicle ability | It drives and |
Place where money is made | U.S. |
U.S. Capitol tunnels | Connect the Capitol and lawmakers' |
Reason for the tunnels | Lawmakers did not want to walk in bad |
Union Station | There was a funeral |
Tour guide's relationship to the captain | His |
Captain's claim about the boy | Never seen him in his |
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a radio report about how Americans celebrate Halloween and how much they spend on it.
Questions 11–12
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Questions 13–14
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Questions 15–20
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Halloween celebrations in the USA
Costumes
- Competitions give prizes for the most frightening, inventive or costumes
- Expected spending on costumes: $ billion
- Expected spending on Halloween : $3.5 billion
Decorating homes
- People hang fake , witches and spiders around their doors
- They cut scary faces into and light them
- Expected spending on decorations: about $ billion
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a conversation between a podcast host and a NASA food scientist about feeding astronauts on space missions.
Questions 21–25
Complete the sentences below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Questions 26–30
What does Grace say about each of the following? Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–G, next to Questions 26–30.
- A It remains safe if the packaging is intact.
- B They often consume fewer calories than provided.
- C It is supplied only rarely.
- D It can cause illness or loss of life.
- E It can help crews eat enough.
- F It can alter the texture of food.
- G It can extend storage times.
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear a science report about new evidence of water ice near the equator of Mars.
Questions 31–36
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Notes on the Mars Express discovery
The Mars Express orbiter
- Launched by the European Space Agency in
- Main goal: use its scientific instruments to search for water beneath the surface
The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF)
- Probably formed from wind-blown dust or volcanic ash
- Volcanic activity may have taken place up to billion years ago
The MARSIS instrument
- a subsurface radar sounder with a -metre-long antenna
- can search for water up to kilometres below the surface
- areas containing ice produce signals
Questions 37–40
Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Findings about the MFF deposits
| Feature | Information |
|---|---|
Depth of the deposits | they extend to depths of up to kilometres |
Layers | dust and ice covered by a protective layer of dry dust or |
Total amount of water | enough to cover the surface of Mars to a depth of about to 3 metres |
Future exploration | the area could be an ideal landing for spacecraft |
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A tour of Washington, D.C. | 1–10 | Table completion |
| 2 | Halloween in America | 11–20 | Multiple choice (choose more than one), Note completion |
| 3 | Food for long space missions | 21–30 | Sentence completion, Matching features |
| 4 | Water ice on Mars | 31–40 | Note completion, Table completion |
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 7: Tip Your Tour Guide. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 2: Halloween in America: Costumes, Candy, Costs for Night of Fright. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 3: Eat Like a Martian (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: New Evidence Suggests Large Water Ice Supply near Mars’ Equator. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain