IELTS Listening Practice Test 146
4 parts · 40 questions · about 31 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 podcast interview about an engineer’s career choices and her role in recovering a capsule from the ocean.
Questions 1–10
Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Engineer Profile and Retrieval Briefing
Professional Background
- Initial task: producing for a station module
- Discipline sought by agency at the time:
- Area of greater personal competence: operations
- Climatic feature least appreciated locally: heat and
Retrieval Arrangement
- Approximate offshore distance: nautical miles
- Official military partner in retrieval:
- Official role assuming control after splashdown: NASA director
- Water depth at the sill: about feet
- Mechanism used to pull the capsule inside: a
- Apollo-era lifting equipment: a
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a language teacher comparing the meanings of two English verbs.
Questions 11–12
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Questions 13–14
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Questions 15–20
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Later examples of 'soar'
Later examples of 'soar'
- A parachutist felt as though she were moving through the after leaving the aircraft.
- A vocalist's rose above the rest of the ensemble.
- That ensemble is described as a .
- Her lifted when she received good news.
- The skyscraper rises above every other in New York City.
- Its elevation is metres.
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a podcast interview about the economic value of ocean information and the reasons for attending a seafood industry event.
Questions 21–26
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–H, next to Questions 21–26.
- A was hampered by imprecise modelling in the past
- B involves converting raw data into decision-support tools
- C demonstrates how customised forecasts can be commercially exploited
- D operates without the aid of environmental intelligence
- E requires clarification of separate public and private responsibilities
- F constitutes an earlier model of commercialising atmospheric information
- G should be treated similarly to extracted or living resources
- H gains from superior observation and prediction systems
Questions 27–30
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear a programme manager describing how a large technical project is updated and approved.
Questions 31–35
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Planning Priorities
Merancy explains that an early objective is to gather lunar and return it to Earth. Although some material can be handled during the journey home, the team is keen to retrieve substantial from the surface. Achieving this will require an additional system capable of transporting substantial to Earth. Planners also examine the available for future work and then determine an method, rather than pursuing isolated opportunities.
Questions 36–40
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Offshore Retrieval Operations | 1–10 | Form completion |
| 2 | Comparing Two English Verbs | 11–20 | Multiple choice (choose more than one), Note completion |
| 3 | Monetising Marine Information | 21–30 | Matching features, Multiple choice |
| 4 | Refining a Long-Term Engineering Plan | 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: Artemis Recovery (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 2: Surge and Soar. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 3: NOAA Leadership Insights on U.S. Seafood (NOAA Fisheries, Dive In podcast). NOAA Fisheries, Dive In with NOAA Fisheries podcast (work of the US federal government, public domain)
- Part 4: Moon to Mars: Reviewing the Architecture (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)