IELTS Listening Practice Test 72
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 a woman who arrived in the United States as a child refugee.
Questions 1–6
Complete the form below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Refugee Arrival Experience
Personal History
Age at arrival:
Duration stranded at sea (in days):
Aid organisation that supplied initial necessities:
Season she had never experienced before:
Preferred footwear from childhood:
Illness contracted due to inappropriate shoes:
Questions 7–10
Answer the questions below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a radio report about small colleges in the United States that have recently closed their doors.
Questions 11–15
Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
College Closures in the United States
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
Institutions that shut or said they would shut in 2023 | |
Year Alliance University was founded | |
Group that originally established the university | Christian |
Highest number of students in the past | close to |
Final day of operation | August |
Questions 16–20
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a discussion between two engineers about the challenges of delivering heavy equipment and people safely to a distant surface.
Questions 21–26
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Landing Heavy Loads Safely
- Robotic craft often enter on a path, so their descent cannot be steered.
- Uncontrolled landings require enormous, level expanses with no .
- Guided entry reduced the uncertainty radius from around 100 km to roughly km.
- For crewed operations, equipment and the ascent vehicle are sent the crew.
- The crewed vehicle must reach a target only one in diameter.
- Work continues on sensors that identify the intended touchdown point.
Questions 27–30
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear an engineer describing how an early trial led to improvements in a prototype vehicle.
Questions 31–35
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Labelled Components
Labelled components
- Structural support attached beneath the crew compartment:
- Outer protective layer exposed to extreme frictional heating:
- Removable cover that shields the parachute storage area:
- Small canopies used to stabilise the descending craft:
- Large orange-and-white canopies used for the final landing:
Questions 36–40
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Design Lessons
After the trial, engineers examined production methods and performance data. The main body had originally required thirty-five joins, but the later version needed only ; this cut the total by around two hundred pounds. Measurements from the prompted revisions to the computer models. The test also made it possible to decrease the built into calculations. Finally, the descent procedure was initiated at an altitude of .
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Child Refugee's Cultural Adjustment | 1–10 | Form completion, Short-answer questions |
| 2 | Financial Pressure on Small Colleges | 11–20 | Table completion, Multiple choice |
| 3 | Engineering Heavy Payload Delivery | 21–30 | Note completion, Multiple choice |
| 4 | Learning from a Prototype Test | 31–40 | Note completion, Summary 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: Stories of Unity (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: US College Closings Worry Educators. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English.
- Part 3: Sticking the Landing on Mars (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: Orion (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)