IELTS Listening Practice Test 196
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 talk about anthrax infections associated with shaving brushes.
Questions 1–6
Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Anthrax and Shaving Brushes
Anthrax infection in humans
- Routes of infection include skin penetration, inhalation, ingestion, or accidental injection of tainted .
- Cutaneous anthrax on the head or neck can be fatal because swelling may block the .
Wartime shaving brushes
- Before the war, brushes were made from hair.
- Bacillus anthracis spores are extremely resilient and can persist for in severe conditions.
- Brushes deemed hazardous included Japanese horsehair and those made with fibres.
- For pale brushes, high-temperature may have been avoided.
Questions 7–10
Answer the questions below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a weekly public-health briefing about recent disease reports.
Questions 11–16
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Briefing Notes
Respiratory infections
- Predominantly affects younger
- Severe cases can necessitate
- Numbers climbed after September
- Treatment resistance was characterised as
Imported animals
- Primates must be and screened
- A delivery of animals was brought in
Questions 17–18
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Questions 19–20
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a podcast interview about a study of an unexpected drop in tuberculosis cases.
Questions 21–25
Complete the sentences below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Questions 26–30
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–H, next to Questions 26–30.
- A It was selected because earlier records were unavailable.
- B It was used to construct the forecasting models.
- C It draws on past counts and seasonal patterns.
- D It represents a direct line between two datasets.
- E It supplied the latest pre-pandemic comparison point.
- F It leaves out people treated in public facilities.
- G It was assessed against model predictions to see whether the fall exceeded expectations.
- H It suggested that reported cases may have been undercounted.
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear a podcast interview about a nationwide study of bloodstream infections in Finland.
Questions 31–35
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Questions 36–40
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Questions 36–40
| Information collected | How it was obtained |
|---|---|
Legal basis for notification | Required by |
Matching records between databases | Use of each person’s unique |
Establishing whether patients died | Retrieval of the |
Information on hospital admissions | National hospital |
Limitations of the data | No details on treatment suitability or possible |
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthrax and Wartime Shaving Brushes | 1–10 | Form completion, Short-answer questions |
| 2 | Infectious Disease Surveillance | 11–20 | Note completion, Multiple choice (choose more than one) |
| 3 | Investigating a Sudden Decline | 21–30 | Sentence completion, Matching features |
| 4 | Tracking Bloodstream Infection Trends | 31–40 | Multiple choice, 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: Anthrax in Vintage Animal-hair Shaving Brushes (CDC, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast (work of the US federal government, public domain)
- Part 2: Week of February 19, 2024 (CDC podcast). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC podcast (work of the US federal government, public domain)
- Part 3: Decrease in TB Cases during 2020, United States (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: Bloodstream Infections, Finland, 2004−2018 (CDC, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast (work of the US federal government, public domain)