IELTS Listening Practice Test 74
4 parts · 40 questions · about 32 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 professionals who moved from science backgrounds into education and public engagement roles.
Questions 1–7
Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Career History Form
Jamie Semple
- Sport coached before career change:
- Year of joining the education team:
- Duration in science education (years):
Mike McGlone
- Teaching level before NASA:
- Type of education practised in nonprofit:
- Reason for leaving NASA initially:
- Current project focus:
Questions 8–10
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Part 2: Questions 11–20
You will hear a talk about how international students in the United States experience American holidays.
Questions 11–15
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Thanksgiving for International Students
Thanksgiving
- Falls on the fourth of November
- American students leave campus to spend time with their
- Many international students cannot afford to travel home
Learning about the holiday
- Aimee Sanata watched YouTube videos made for
First taste of turkey
- Some turkeys weigh more than kilograms
- Cooking can take three to hours
Questions 16–20
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Part 3: Questions 21–30
You will hear a podcast discussion about a group preparing for a long-duration isolation experiment.
Questions 21–26
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Training and Initial Meeting
The crew's preparation involved extensive use of to simulate conditions. They spent approximately hours on this training. Their daily schedule was demanding, with -hour days on average, and these sessions were technically complex, requiring . The team first met during a trip that formed part of a process for astronaut candidates. Anca Selariu stated that her only mindset was that the mission must be a .
Questions 27–30
Choose FOUR answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–G, next to Questions 27–30.
- A It enables understanding without words.
- B It differs significantly between individuals.
- C It is difficult to match but generally positive.
- D It depends on awareness of others' preferences.
- E It generates deep shared motivation.
- F It demands empathy and sensitivity.
- G It relies mainly on complementary skills.
Part 4: Questions 31–40
You will hear a talk about recent trials of a small experimental aircraft and efforts to develop a more advanced version.
Questions 31–35
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Flight Statistics and Operating Constraints
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
Originally scheduled number of experimental flights | |
Total flights completed to date | |
Performance measures doubled over nine months | maximum speed and |
Factors restricting most flights | energy and temperature |
Consequence of excessive flight speed | issues with the |
Questions 36–40
Complete the summary using the list of words, A–I, below. Write the correct letter, A–I, in each gap.
New Rotor Blade Trials
Engineers on Earth have been experimenting with new rotor blades for future helicopters. The blades are made of Drop or choose answer material and are over ten centimetres Drop or choose answer than Ingenuity's. The tests were carried out in Drop or choose answer inside a Drop or choose answer at the laboratory. After many trials, the team said the more efficient blades are now Drop or choose answer.
- A space simulator
- B hypothetical exercise
- C carbon
- D Mach 1
- E September
- F crashes
- G longer
- H ready to fly
- I sensors
About this listening test
| Part | Recording | Questions | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transition to Educational Outreach | 1–10 | Form completion, Sentence completion |
| 2 | Celebrating American Holidays | 11–20 | Note completion, Multiple choice |
| 3 | Teamwork in a Year-Long Isolation Study | 21–30 | Summary completion, Matching features |
| 4 | Improving Experimental Aircraft Performance | 31–40 | Table completion, Summary completion (word list) |
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: Next Gen STEM (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: International Students in US Experience American Holidays. Gena Bennett and Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English.
- Part 3: A Year 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: NASA Continues Mars Helicopter Experiments, Tests New Design on Earth. VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), public domain