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    IELTS Listening · Practice test

    Marlowe: IELTS Listening practice test

    Joining a birdwatching club, a new wetland centre, a bird-tracking project and a lecture on migration.

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

    Part 1 · Questions 1–10

    Joining a birdwatching club

    You will hear a conversation between a woman and the membership secretary of a birdwatching club.

    Questions 1–5

    Complete the form below.

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

    Club Membership

    Name
    Gwen 1
    Type of membership
    2, at £24 a year
    Indoor meetings
    10 a year, at the 3 hut on Fenn Lane
    Field trips
    about 4 a year, mostly on Sunday mornings
    First event
    a field trip on the 5 of November

    Questions 6–10

    Complete the notes below.

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

    Advice for a first field trip

    No need to buy a telescope; members 6 theirs
    7 are essential, as the path is wet
    The group leaves at 8 and does not wait
    9 questions: pretending to see a bird is worse than asking
    Bring food and a flask; there is nothing at the 10

    Part 2 · Questions 11–20

    A new wetland centre

    You will hear the manager of a new wetland centre talking about it on the radio.

    Questions 11–14

    Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

    1. 11The site of the wetland centre was previously
      • Afarmland.
      • Ba quarry.
      • Ca reservoir.
    2. 12Most of the funding for the centre came from
      • Aa lottery grant.
      • Bthe company that owned the land.
      • Clocal fundraising.
    3. 13Why are dogs not allowed anywhere on the site?
      • ASome birds nest on the ground.
      • BThe paths are too narrow.
      • CThere is nowhere to leave them.
    4. 14What does the speaker warn visitors about?
      • ASome days there is little to see.
      • BThe centre may close in bad weather.
      • CThe walk round the site is long.

    Questions 15–19

    What does the speaker say about each of the following? Choose the correct letter, A–F, next to questions 15–19.

    Comments

    • ANo arrangement of any kind is needed.
    • BPut your name down when you arrive.
    • CThere is an extra charge for it.
    • DIt is only available during school holidays.
    • EIt is offered on only two dates.
    • FIt is suitable for wheelchair users.
    1. 15the hides
    2. 16the guided walks
    3. 17the photography hide
    4. 18pond dipping
    5. 19the dawn chorus mornings

    Question 20

    Answer the question below.

    Write ONE NUMBER ONLY.

    1. 20How much does a dawn chorus morning cost, in pounds?

    Part 3 · Questions 21–30

    A bird-tracking project

    You will hear two zoology students, Ade and Marta, discussing a bird-tracking project with their tutor.

    Questions 21–24

    Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

    1. 21What does the tutor say about the students' original question?
      • AIt has already been answered.
      • BIt would take too long to investigate.
      • CIt cannot be answered with tracking data.
    2. 22Why can satellite tags not be used on this species?
      • AThey are too expensive.
      • BThey are too heavy for the bird.
      • CThey are not accurate enough.
    3. 23The main drawback of a geolocator is that
      • Athe bird must be caught a second time.
      • Bit only works in daylight.
      • Cit stops working after six months.
    4. 24Which birds does the tutor advise them to tag?
      • Athe heaviest individuals
      • Bbirds known to return to the same nest site
      • Cbirds caught for the first time

    Questions 25–26

    Answer the questions below.

    Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

    1. 25Which group will actually attach the devices to the birds?
    2. 26Who must the students write to this week?

    Questions 27–30

    What does the tutor say about each of the following? Choose the correct letter, A–F, next to questions 27–30.

    Advice

    • APrepare for it during the holidays.
    • BIt would spoil an already small sample.
    • CIt is quick and will strengthen the work.
    • DThe decision is theirs to make.
    • EIt is a requirement of the module.
    • FAnother department will supply it.
    1. 27learning the analysis software
    2. 28adding a second species
    3. 29using the weather data
    4. 30publishing the data in an open archive

    Part 4 · Questions 31–40

    How animals navigate

    You will hear part of a lecture about animal navigation.

    Questions 31–40

    Complete the notes below.

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

    Animal navigation

    Two different problems

    orientation = knowing which way is north
    navigation = knowing your own 31 as well

    Four compasses

    the sun, corrected by the animal's internal 32
    - shown by the clock-33 experiment with pigeons
    the stars: young birds learn the point of 34 in the night sky
    the magnetic field: birds read its 35, not its polarity
    - one theory involves crystals of 36 in the head
    - the better-supported theory involves a protein in the 37
    38 light, which reveals the sun's position under cloud

    Knowing where you are

    magnetic intensity and inclination both change with 39
    pigeons also appear to use a map built from 40 carried on the wind

    Question types in this test

    Next step

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

    Sit this Listening test