Succeed in IELTS Volume 6

Listening Practice Test 2

HOW TO USE
You have 2 ways to access the listening audio

1. Open this URL http://link.intergreat.com/tG8B5 on your computer

2. Use your mobile device to scan the QR code attached

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 1

Questions 1–2
Circle the correct answer A–C.

Example

The festival is about

A. rivers.
B. the inhabitants.
(C). arts and music

1 The festival ends on

A Friday afternoon

B Sunday afternoon

C Sunday evening

2 It will take place on

A 14th July.

B 4th July.

C 4th August.

Questions 3–4
Circle TWO answers A – E.

You can buy tickets from

A the Town Hall.

B the festival office.

C libraries.

D tourist advice centres.

E post offices.

Questions 5-7
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each space.

It is forecast that the festival will take place during the 5 weekends of
Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 2
the year.

Food will be available from 6

There will be a bar selling soft drinks, 7

Questions 8-10
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORD in each space.

Name of band Where they come from What kind of music

Petie’s Dozen 8 Jazz

Strings Poland Poland 9

The Fiddlers 10 Folk

Questions 11-20
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS or A NUMBER from the audio in the spaces.

Current Account Overdraft Application Form

Full name Micheal O’ Drew

Current Account no: 39261916

Address: 24, Kilverton Drive, 11

Post code: 12

Tel: 0458 88320

Date of birth: 23th of 13 , 1967

Work: Culver Engineering - 30 14 , Carbury

Tel: 15

Number of years in job: approx. 3 years

Current salary: £ 16

Outgoings: Mortgage: £ 17

Cards: £45 in credit card 18 , £19 for store cards

Personal loans: 19

Overdraft facility approved? Y/N

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 3

Overdraft limit: £ 20

Questions 21-25
Complete each sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for
each space.

Student Union Elections

There are 21 colleges in the university.

There are 22 positions in the student union.

Two positions will be arranged officially after the election are the president and
23 .

The total number of candidates in the second round are 24

Last year, only roughly 25 of the total number of students eligible to vote
actually care about the election.

Questions 26-30
Complete the notes below.

For questions 24-25 select ONE WORD for each answer.

For questions 26 -30 select the letter A–D . Write

A if Maria approves

B if David approves

C it both approve

D if neither approves.

CANDIDATE Good choice?

Jenny de Groot - Women’sOfficer 26

Michael McCarthy - Entertainments Officer 27

Wu Bing Lei - Overseas Officer 28

Charles Law - Finance Officer 29

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 4

CANDIDATE Good choice?
Brian McKay - Liaison Officer 30

Questions 31-32
Choose TWO answers.

The main topics of the lecture are

A introduction lo linguistics

B the history of European languages

C various languages

D how languages develop

E the evolution of written languages

Questions 33–40
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each space.

Examples of natural languages are English, French, 33

In reality, natural languages are always 34

PIDGIN CREOLE
Came into being when two groups couldn’t Developed from pidgin
Orgins
communicate in 35 into 36

In Papua New Guinea, the Caribbean, China, In, for example,

Spoken
38 37

As complex as natural
Simplified form of one of the two groups’ languages. languages.
Features
Words often have more than 39 Have to fight to get the
40

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 5

 Solution:

33 German, Greek/Greek, German 34 changing

35 each other’s language 36 a full language

37 New Orleans 38 India, the Pacific

39 one meaning 40 language recognised

1 C 2 C

3-4 B,E 5 hottest and sunniest

6 (several) stands 7 beer and wine

8 New Orleans 9 Classical music

10 Ireland 11 Chalvey

12 SA39ER

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 6

 13 February 14 Works Yard

15 091279509 16 18,000,18000

17 450 18 charges

19 none 20 250

21 4/four 22 seven/7

23 the vice-president 24 20/twenty

25 a quarter 26 C

27 B 28 D

29 B 30 A

31
32
C,D

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 7

 Audio Script:

Section 1
You will hear a guide introducing tourists to the Red River Festival.

Now, as I’m sure you know, the Red River festival – that is, the Red River International
Example Music and Arts Festival, to give it its full name – is on while you are here, and I’m sure
I speak for all the inhabitants of Red River in inviting you most cordially to attend. Q1 The
festival takes place over a long weekend – that is, it starts on the Friday afternoon and runs until
Sunday evening. Normally the festival would take place on the 4th of july , the same day as
American independence Day, but Q2 this year we have rescheduled it for the fourth of August.

Now, you can buy tickets for this festival either by the day or for the whole festival. The second
option is cheaper, although of course not everyone can attend for the whole time. A day’s ticket
is $10 , and it’s $25 for the whole festival. That’s very good value. If you want tickets, you
are advised to get them early, because there are always more visitors than tickets. Space is
limited, so buy early! Q3 Q4 You can get them direct from the festival
organisers’ headquarters , the festival office, and I’ll give you that address later, or you can get
them from any of our three post offices or one of the many book shops in the town. Last year
we issued them from tourist advice centres and the Town Hall, but this year it was decided to
limit the number of outlets to cut down on administrative costs.

The weather is looking good. The forecast expect it to be one of the Q5 hottest
and sunniest weekends of the year, so it’s perfect for the festival, although I would remind you
to cover up and be aware of the dangers of too much sunshine . If it gets too hot for you, you
could always stay inside for some of the indoor events. And of course you’ll be able to get food
– from sandwiches and snacks to barbecues, as well as ethnic fast food – from several
Q6 stands. There will be a bar this year, but after last year we will only be selling soft drinks,
Q7 beer and wine. We have decided not to bother with a spirits license , there won’t be
any whiskey on sale.

So, what’s on? Well, I can only give you a flavour of the many attractions we have coming this
year, but if I can name one of my personal favourites, you must see Petie’s Dozen, a traditional
Q8 New Orleans jazz band. They were here last year, and were so popular that we’ve invited
them back. If you like Q9 classical music, we’ve got a string quartet from
Poland, appropriately called Strings, playing classical favourites. We’ve also got rock bands, a
blues band from the UK, a group of traditional bavarian beer hall singers, and another of my
favourites, The Fiddlers, who come from Q10 Ireland. Their special brand of folk music is
popular all over the world. Moving on, then, to other attractions in the Red River area. For
Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 8
children, there’s lots to do and see, from museums to theme parks … (fade)

Section 2
You will hear a man and a female bank employee talking about getting a loan.

(phone rings)

Woman: Good afternoon, County and District Bank Customer Services. Can I help you?

Man: Hello? I need to speak to someone about getting a loan, an overdraft .

Woman: Yes, perhaps I can help you. Do you bank with us, sir?

Man: Yes. My name is Mick O’Drew.

Woman: Sorry, sir. Your surname is …

Man: O’Drew. Mick O’Drew but my full name is Michael.

Woman: And can I have your account number, please, Mr O’Drew?

Man: Yes, ifs three .

Woman: That’s … fine. Now, I just need to confirm some details for security reasons. What is
your address?

Man: It’s 24, Kilverton Drive. Q11 That’s in Chalvey.

That’s C-H-A-L-V-E-Y. Er … Q12 the postcode is SA39ER .

Woman: And your telephone number?

Man: 045888320.

Woman: And can you tell me your date of birth, Mr O’Drew?

Man: Yes. It’s Q13 23rd of February 1967 .

Woman: Thank you. Now, there are some gaps in your file here. I don’t seem to have an

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 9

address for you at work.

Man: No, when I joined your bank, I didn’t have a job.

Woman: Ah …

Man: But I do now. I work for Culver Engineering. Thats in Carbury. The address is 30,
Q14 Works Yard. Carbury.

Woman: Could you repeat that?

Man: Works Yard. W-O-R-K-S Y-A-R-D. It’s two words.

Woman: Right. Thank you. Do you have a work telephone number where we can contact you,
please?

Man: Yes, it's Q15 091279509 .

Woman: 7509.

Man: No it’s 79509.

Woman: Oh, right. Thank you. How long have you been there, Mr O Drew?

Man: Urn… I started in 1997…no, 1998.

Woman: OK, that’s fine. And can you tell me your current salary, please?

Man: Well, I’m not sure exactly, but it’s about Q16 18,000 pounds.

Woman: Now, you would like an overdraft. Do have any other major debts?

Man: What do you mean?

Woman: Well, are you paying a mortgage on your house?

Man: Yes…

Woman: How much is that every month?

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 10

Man: It’s about Q17 four hundred and fifty pounds .

Woman: I see… And do you have any credit cards or store cards ?

Man: Yes. I pay 45 pounds a month in credit card Q18 charges. Oh, and about 19 pounds a
month for my store card – that’s with J.H. Ohney, the clothes shop.

Woman: Do you have any personal loans, or hire agreements?

Man: Q19 None what so ever.

Woman: Right, well, the loan shouldn’t be a problem. I can set it up for you in the morning. I’ve
set your limit at Q20 two hundred and fifty pounds , although you can raise this to three
hundred pounds if you’re still having problems. Just give us a ring if you need to.

Man: Oh, that’s great. Thank you. Goodbye.

Woman: Goodbye, sir.

Section 3
You will hear a conversation between two students, David and Maria, about the candidates for
an election for student officers.

David: Hi Maria. Have you voted yet?

Maria: Oh, hello. David. Erm, what did you say?

David: Have you voted yet? You know, in the student union elections?

Maria: Well, no… I mean, they’ve only just released the names of the final candidates. The first
round elections were only held last week.

David: But I’ve voted already!

Maria: Yes… but that’s the first round. You know how this works, don’t you?

David: Well, not exactly. I mean, I thought you just voted…

Maria: It’s pretty simple, but it’s made more complicated because this university has
Q21 four colleges , not just one. Each college can have many candidates for each post. These
Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 11
are reduced to a logical number, then the real voting takes place.

David: So what did I vote for last week?

Maria: That was the first round, like I said. You voted for the candidates for
Peterborough College, that's all. There are also candidates from the other three colleges.

David: Oh, I see.

Maria: Well, Q22 there are seven positions to apply for in the union, although two of those are
dealt with later in the year. Q23 That’s the president and the vice-president . Anyway, each
college sends one candidate on to the second round, so that’s four in all for each post – in other
words …

David: In other words, Q24 it’s 20 candidates. That’s quite a lot!

Maria: It isn’t when you think that there are 14,000 students at this college!

David: No, I suppose not. Can they all vote?

Maria: Yes. Part-time and full-time students – everyone. But most don’t. Q25 Only about a
quarter of those eligible to actually bothered.
David: So who are the candidates from our college?

Maria: There was a leaflet about it this week.

Some of the students stood as candidates for several posts before the final ones were selected.
I think Jenny de Groot is standing for Women’s Officer. She wanted to be Finance Officer but
Law got that post.

David: Q26 She seems to be more suited to working for the female students here.

Maria: Q26 Yes, I like her – she’s the best person for the job, fm not sure I’d support Michael
McCarthy for his post Q27 . He’s putting up for Entertainments Officer.

David: Q27 Doesn’t he arrange the Saturday night band for the college? And the sports
events? Surely he’d be ideal — he has so much experience.

Maria: Maybe. I don’t think he chooses the right kind of groups for the college — he’s too
wayout. He’s not my choice.

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 12

David: Who’s the candidate to be Q28 overseas Officer?

Maria: A Chinese student who’s been here for just over a year. She’s the president of the
Chinese club and she organizes some interesting cultural evenings for them. She seems to be
quite capable

David: Q28 Do you really think so? She’s in my seminar group for linguistics . Her English is
quite poor and she’s so shy she never mixes with us.

Maria: Q28 Oh, there are 30 different nationalities here, so she’d need to be more sociable .
Perhaps Vikram Patel would have been a better choice.

David: Yes, I think so. Who did you say was finance officer? Law? Q29 Charles Law? he
does accountancy so he should be able to cope with the post. He’d be responsible for a lot of
money.

Maria: I’ve always thought he was unreliable and didn’t he fail some of his exams in the first
year? Doesn’t sound too competent to me.

David: OK. yes. You’re probably right! Who’s the other person on the list?

Maria: Q30 It’s Brian McKay.

David: Oh, McKay. He’s quite a character. What position is he standing for?

Maria: He wants to be the Liaison Officer. The person who lets the teaching staff know about
any problems the students might have. He’s such a sociable person he’d be a
great communicator .

David: Yes3 he’s articulate and well organized but he wouldn’t be my first choice. Anyway
they’re only the candidates from Peterborough College so we’ll have to wait for the results of
the real election next week to see who actually gets each post.

Maria: Yes, we can discuss this again.

Section 4
You will hear a lecturer giving a talk on languages.

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 13

[Lecturer]

Thank you all for coming. Are we all here …? Right, well, let’s begin …

This lecture, as you know, is the third in our course. Introduction to linguistics . Q31 Today
we’ll be looking at a variety of different languages, not any one speci c one, and we’ll be
looking especially at languages which can help us understand how both language and
languages evolve. Q32 Another issue that we will be exploring is the way in which languages
have changed over time. These are fairly complex areas, and they have proved to be rather
difficult to grasp, and there are many different theories , some of which we’ll look at today.

[Lecturer]

But rst I want to talk brie y about a few different ways of looking at a language. Now, the
language we all speak – English – is what is called a “natural” language, like French,
Q33 German, Greek. What do we mean by that? Well, it’s a dif cult term to de ne, because
most languages have evolved naturally, except for a very few such as Esperanto , which was
invented in the 19th century. So I suppose that what we mean by “natural” is a language which
we consider stable , xed, not constantly Q34 changing. Now, as we know, all languages are
in fact constantly changing, so it’s something of a misnomer , but let’s put it another way:
“natural” languages are considered by us to be permanent: they didn’t appear suddenly, they
grew up out of other things.

Now, I want to contrast these languages with two other kinds of language, pidgin languages
and creole languages. A pidgin language is a language which is forced into being
by circumstances – usually some sort of situation where two groups meet and don’t speak
Q35 each other’s language, and they invent an intermediary language, usually for the purpose
of trade, or sometimes war. An example is Tok Pisin, which is a pidgin spoken in Papua New
Guinea.

A creole language, on the other hand, develops from a pidgin into Q36 a full language. This
happens when the pidgin starts having native speakers – that is, people whose rst language is
the pidgin. This happened in the case of the French creole spoken in Q37 New Orleans, for
example.

Pidgins are found all over the world, especially in areas which are or were once important
trade routes . The Caribbean, China, Q38 India, the Paci c _ Basically, pidgins can
be identi ed with one or two important characteristics hmm . They are made up of parts of the
two languages spoken by the group that have met – the trading groups or whatever – and they
are usually based on a simpli ed form of one of those languages. That is, their grammar is a

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 14

less complicated version of the grammar in one language. They use vocabulary from both
languages, but there are fewer words, so each word often has more Q39 than one meaning.
For example, in Tok Pisin, “gras-bi long-face” means “hair” or “beard”. The pronunciation is also
made simpler, as pidgins lose the complex vowels of the parent languages.

Creoles, on the other hand, formed when pidgins are learnt as a rst language, are just as
complex as so- called natural languages. They are expanded pidgins. There is often a
considerable element of politicalization , as the emphasis moves from communication, which to
pidgin speakers is most important, to community, which is the mark of a creole. That is, a creole
is a community who speak a different, marginalized language. They often have to struggle to
get their Q40 language recognized.

As to where pidgins come from, there are basically two theories. The rst claims that all pidgins
are descended from a medieval trading language, what you might call the rst pidgin, called
Sabir. This is believed to have been based on Portuguese . It was spread as the Portuguese
traders went from place to place. (fade)

Access https://ieltsonlinetests.com for more practices page 15