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    IELTS Listening · Practice test

    Linwood: IELTS Listening practice test

    Buying a bicycle, a new bus network, a commuting survey and a lecture on the bicycle's history.

    • 4 parts
    • 40 questions
    • About 35 minutes
    Sit this test with the recording

    Part 1 · Questions 1–10

    Buying a bicycle

    You will hear a conversation between a woman and an assistant in a bicycle shop.

    Questions 1–5

    Complete the form below.

    Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

    Customer Enquiry

    Name
    Nia 1
    Journey
    just under 2 miles each way
    Route
    mostly the old 3 path, then half a mile on the road
    Bike recommended
    a 4
    Budget
    £5

    Questions 6–10

    Complete the notes below.

    Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

    What else to buy

    Lights: the 6 light matters most for safety
    A lock costing about 7% of the price of the bike
    A rack and 8 rather than a rucksack
    9, which make winter riding possible
    Return after 10 weeks for a free first service

    Part 2 · Questions 11–20

    A new bus network

    You will hear a transport planner explaining changes to a town's bus network at a public meeting.

    Questions 11–16

    Complete the notes below.

    Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

    The new bus network

    At present there are 11 routes, most running once an hour
    Passenger numbers have fallen by about a 12 in ten years
    Above a frequency of every 13 minutes, people stop consulting a timetable
    Four main routes will run every 12 minutes until 14 at night
    About 15% of households will be more than 400 m from a stop
    A flat fare of £2, with free 16 between routes within an hour

    Questions 17–20

    What does the speaker say about each of the following routes? Choose the correct letter, A–F, next to questions 17–20.

    Comments

    • AIt carries the largest share of passengers.
    • BExtra vehicles run at school times.
    • CIt avoids the town centre completely.
    • DIt runs less often than the others.
    • EIt will be introduced a year later.
    • FIt is operated by a different company.
    1. 17Route A
    2. 18Route B
    3. 19Route C
    4. 20Route D

    Part 3 · Questions 21–30

    A commuting survey

    You will hear two students, Rosa and Dev, discussing a survey of how people travel to work.

    Questions 21–25

    Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

    1. 21What is wrong with asking how people usually travel?
      • AIt hides people who use more than one mode.
      • BIt takes too long to answer.
      • CPeople do not understand the word.
    2. 22Why do they decide against surveying at the station?
      • AIt would only reach one kind of traveller.
      • BPermission would be difficult to obtain.
      • CIt would be too noisy.
    3. 23What will persuade employers to take part?
      • Abeing given the findings for their own site
      • Ba payment from the research budget
      • Ca report from the council
    4. 24Why do they want the total number of staff?
      • Ato know what proportion replied
      • Bto decide how many forms to print
      • Cto compare employers with each other
    5. 25How will they establish how far people travel?
      • Aby asking for part of a postcode
      • Bby asking people to estimate it
      • Cby using the council's data

    Question 26

    Answer the question below.

    Write ONE NUMBER ONLY.

    1. 26How many minutes should the questionnaire take at most?

    Questions 27–30

    What do the students decide about each of the following? Choose the correct letter, A–F, next to questions 27–30.

    Decisions

    • ADo it with fewer people than planned.
    • BUse it to check their own findings.
    • CIt should shape when the survey is run.
    • DNo decision has been reached.
    • ELeave it out of the study.
    • FAsk the council to collect it.
    1. 27the travel diaries
    2. 28the council's traffic counts
    3. 29the weather
    4. 30interviewing the parking managers

    Part 4 · Questions 31–40

    The bicycle

    You will hear part of a lecture about the history of the bicycle.

    Questions 31–40

    Complete the notes below.

    Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

    The bicycle

    The puzzle

    nothing in a bicycle could not have been made 31 years earlier

    Stages

    1817: the draisine, with no 32; the rider pushed along the ground
    - it established that a two-wheeled vehicle can be 33
    1860s: pedals fixed to the front wheel; the machine was called the 34
    the high bicycle had a huge front wheel because speed was limited by the rider's 35 length
    c. 1885: the safety bicycle, whose key part is the 36 drive
    1888: Dunlop's 37 tyre made it comfortable

    Consequences

    it gave women mobility and helped end the long heavy 38
    the distance between the birthplaces of married couples began to 39
    bicycle makers later built cars and aircraft

    The Netherlands

    Dutch cycling also collapsed; it was restored by 40 in the 1970s

    Question types in this test

    Next step

    Hear the recording once, on the clock, and get every mark explained

    Sit this Listening test