IELTS Listening Practice Test 161
4 parts · 40 questions · about 33 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 woman describing her day-to-day duties and shift patterns in a technical operations centre.
Questions 1–7
Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Operations Role Details
Role requirements
- Personal quality needed: highly when dealing with varied colleagues
- Core team’s planning covers capture and operations
- The same team attends the vehicle’s
Technical details
- Payload location: the vehicle’s
- Station speed: approximately miles per hour
- Overnight work: the shift
Working arrangements
- Term for adjusting sleep:
Questions 8–10
Answer the questions below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a language tutor reviewing a listener's written message about her birthday.
Questions 11–15
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–G, next to Questions 11–15.
- A A single comparison term would be sufficient.
- B A verb of comparable meaning should be replaced by a noun.
- C An alternative past-tense verb is preferable for the age.
- D The date is better expressed in the present tense.
- E The indefinite pronoun should open the clause.
- F One of the comparison words is an adverb, not a preposition.
- G The verb's meaning spans both planning and inventing.
Questions 16–20
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a science interview about a study of dogs as indicators of mosquito-borne virus exposure.
Questions 21–26
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Background and Laboratory Methods
Dogs often seroconvert after exposure to mosquito-borne viruses, yet they rarely display of illness. For humans, may be available, but vaccines and therapeutics remain limited. Mexico was selected because it is for dengue and similar viruses, unlike most of the United States. In the laboratory, canine blood is combined with live virus in ; neutralizing antibodies then inhibit viral growth and the formation of . A high antibody titre generally suggests that the animal will be against subsequent exposure.
Questions 27–28
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Questions 29–30
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear a talk about a drug-resistant fungal skin infection.
Questions 31–35
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Fungal Skin Infection
The organism
- A mould that obtains nourishment from the protein found in nails, hair and skin.
- Members of this fungal complex are hard to tell apart visually; identification requires .
- Varieties adapted to humans are called .
Spread and management
- Infection may pass via contaminated objects such as towels, bedding and .
- Treatment can consist of oral or topical .
Questions 36–40
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technical Operations Shift Routines | 1–10 | Form completion, Short-answer questions |
| 2 | Improving a Birthday Message | 11–20 | Matching features, Sentence completion |
| 3 | Using Dogs to Detect Viral Exposure | 21–30 | Summary completion, Multiple choice (choose more than one) |
| 4 | Treating a Resistant Skin Fungus | 31–40 | Note 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: Mission Control (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: Reviewing Your Birthday Message. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 3: Domestic Dogs as Sentinels for West Nile Virus, Mexico (CDC, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast (work of the US federal government, public domain)
- Part 4: Detection of Antifungal-Resistant Trichophyton Strain in France (CDC, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast (work of the US federal government, public domain)