IELTS Listening Practice Test 59
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 with the director of the Kennedy Space Center about her tenure and earlier career.
Questions 1–5
Complete the form below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Leadership Profile: Kennedy Space Center
Duration in current post:
Assumed leadership during the
Initially managed a predominantly workforce
Concerned about becoming the first center director in the center's history
Characterised the current period as one of the in the center's annals
Questions 6–10
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Personal History and Career Path
| Stage | Key detail |
|---|---|
Family relocation to Florida | occurred in the |
First Space Transportation System rollout | observed during college |
Military academy | graduated in |
Army service | flew for roughly five years |
NASA appointment | began in 2007 as |
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a radio report about an unusually early drought in the Amazon Basin.
Questions 11–15
Complete the summary using the list of words, A–I, below.
Consequences of the drought
During last year's exceptional dry spell, remote communities lost their Drop or choose answer links when rivers became impassable. Concurrently, Drop or choose answer produced by wildfires rendered urban air harmful, and abnormally warm water caused the deaths of over a hundred Drop or choose answer. This year, the Madeira — a key artery for agricultural exports such as Drop or choose answer — has seen less nighttime vessel traffic, and two major Drop or choose answer facilities risk ceasing generation.
- A dolphins
- B fertiliser
- C hydroelectric
- D irrigation
- E smoke
- F soybeans
- G timber
- H transportation
- I consensus
Questions 16–20
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Amazon drought: key notes
Community impacts
- In Envira, officials advised elderly inhabitants and those who were to move to the town centre
- The cost of a staple root crop, , more than doubled once growers lost market access
Fire and flood
- Nearly blazes were recorded in the first seven months of the year
- Acre suffered extensive in most of its communities the previous year
Official warning
- Acre's environment secretary warned that the state might soon run out of
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a podcast discussion between engineers about changes to a water dispenser used in space.
Questions 21–26
Complete the flow-chart below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Evolution of the dispenser servicing procedure
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 report about geothermal energy development in Southeast Asia.
Questions 31–35
Complete the summary below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Geothermal capacity in Southeast Asia is projected to grow times between 2020 and 2050, reaching million megawatt-hours. Indonesia, despite its potential, exploits under one-tenth of its . The Philippines has harnessed roughly eight percent of its and plans to add nearly 1.5 of capacity.
Questions 36–40
Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
| Barrier | Country/Organisation | Specific information |
|---|---|---|
Financial risk | Developers | Cannot bear the entire risk alone |
Government initiative | Philippines | Intends to projects |
Bureaucratic delay | Indonesia | Aims to shorten time to obtain |
Safety concern | Indonesia | Past incidents involving leaks |
Community engagement | International Geothermal Association | Urges collaboration with local |
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kennedy Space Center Director Interview | 1–10 | Form completion, Table completion |
| 2 | Amazon Drought | 11–20 | Summary completion (word list), Note completion |
| 3 | Deep Space Hydration: Dispenser Redesign | 21–30 | Flow-chart completion, Multiple choice (choose more than one) |
| 4 | Geothermal Development in Southeast Asia | 31–40 | Summary 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: Leading the Space Coast (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: Severe Drought Returns to the Amazon Earlier Than Expected. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain
- Part 3: Deep Space Hydration (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: Geothermal Development Faces Barriers in Southeast Asia. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain