Candidate Number

Candidate Name ______________________________________________

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING SYSTEM

Listening

PRACTICE TEST 30 minutes

Time 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Do not open this question paper until you are told to do so.
Write your name and candidate number in the spaces at the top of this page.
Listen to the instructions for each part of the paper carefully.
Answer all the questions.
While you are listening, write your answers on the question paper.
You will have 10 minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers onto the separate
answer sheet. Use a pencil.
At the end of the test, hand in this question paper.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

There are four parts to the test.
You will hear each part once only.
There are 40 questions.
Each question carries one mark.
For each part of the test, there will be time for you to look through the questions and time for
you to check your answers.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 1



SECTION 1 Questions 1–10

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

BEST FITNESS CENTRE

Registration form

Example
Membership Status: New (Example)

Member details

Name: Tom 1. _________

Reason for joining: To train for a 2. ____________.

Extra activities: Tennis, 3. ___________

Home telephone: 4. ______________________

Date of Birth: 5. __________________January 1977

© British Council. All rights reserved. 2



Questions 6–10

Complete the table below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

BEST FITNESS MEMBERSHIP GUIDE

STARTER SILVER GOLD

Cost (monthly) £10 6. _____________ £50

7. _______________ NO YES YES

class included.

USE OF NO NO YES

8. _______________

RENEW DATE Every 9. ____________ Yearly Yearly

months

EXTRAS NONE Discount at Discount at restaurant

restaurant One free session with

10._________________

© British Council. All rights reserved. 3



SECTION 2 Questions 11–20

Choose ONE letter, A, B or C.

11. In 1482, Brimley Castle

A. Was destroyed by fire.
B. Was re-built.
C. Was built for the first time.

12. The castle was originally built as

A. A gift.
B. Defence against attacks
C. A prison.

13. The castle first opened to the public in

A. 1944
B. 1964
C. 1924

14. The most unusual feature of the castle is

A. The tower
B. The water-mill
C. The window.

Questions 15-20

Complete the notes below.

Write no more than TWO WORDS AND / OR A NUMBER for each answer.

BRIMLEY CASTLE FACTSHEET

KEY FEATURES FUTURE ADDITIONAL

DEVELOPMENTS INFORMATION

GARDENS Plants shaped like New Mill not working.

15. ___________________ 16. __________________

TOWER 17. _______- sided. Building work Created in 1495

FOREST Different tree and plant varieties Complete 19. ______________

18. _________________. made by local
children

WALLS Highest point: 20. _______ metres Tea-rooms Created in 1490

© British Council. All rights reserved. 4



SECTION 3 Questions 21–30

Complete the notes below

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Sally and Ben are from the: 21.________________________

New library planning meeting notes – Sally Winter

Projected time until opening: 22. ____________months

Improvements:

l 23. ________________design

l Reading rooms with 24. _____________pods for quiet study

l Over 20% use of 25. _____________ energy.

Issue Response

- Enough computers? - 26. ________ terminals in total; bring own devices

- Internet speed - Funding from 27. ___________; fastest in U.K.

- Book availability - Reduced browsing space; computer booking system

- 28. _________library access - Greatly increased selection

- Seating - 29. ___________near to bookshelves; will review later

- Disabled access - Will address in next meeting; wheelchair ramps

Next meeting: 30. ______________January

© British Council. All rights reserved. 5



Section 4 Questions 31-40

Complete the notes below. Write no more than one word and/or number for each
answer.

Lecture Notes

Topic: Great Pacific Garbage Patch

I. General info
- A swirl of marine litter 31. _____
- Located in the North Pacific Ocean
- Large area. Not sure of exact size

II. Description
- Made of: plastics, chemical 32. _____, other litter
- Low density, hard to see
- Held together by 33. _____ and movement of the water

III. History
- First described in 34. ____
- Measured plastic in the North Pacific using estimates from Sea of Japan
- Named by Curtis 35. _____

© British Council. All rights reserved. 6



Questions 36-40

Choose the best option, A, B or C

36. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is formed by…

A. coastal waters.
B. wind material.
C. oceanic currents.

37. The scientific information about where ocean plastics come from…
A. does not exist
B. has been published
C. is very definitive

38. How much of the ocean litter consists of fishing gear?

A. less than half
B. more than half
C. half

39. What is the most surprising thing about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
A. how big it is
B. how easy it is to clean up
C. how there is one identifiable source

40. Why do the size estimates of the Garbage Patch vary so much?
A. the media exaggerates the problem
B. concentration standards are too high
C. sampling is a complicated process

© British Council. All rights reserved. 7



Listening practice test 7 tapescripts

NARRATOR:
You will hear a number of different recordings and you will have to answer questions on
what you hear. There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions and you will
have a chance to check your work. All the recordings will be played once only. The test is in
4 sections. At the end of the test you will be given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an
answer sheet. Now turn to section 1.

Section 1
You will hear a telephone conversation between a person wanting to join a fitness centre
and a member of staff. First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5.

You will see that there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only the
conversation relating to this will be played first.

W: Good morning, Best Fitness!

M: Hello Best Fitness! Help me, I need to get fit!
W: Well then you’ve certainly phoned the right place. Here at Best Fitness we offer a
wide range of activities and facilities to help people of all sizes and ages improve
their fitness levels.
M: Sounds perfect for me. So what do I need to do?
W: Well the first thing is to take some details from you… wait, have you been a
member here before?
M: No I’m new. In fact, this is the first time I’ve been to a fitness center of any kind.

The M: is a new member, so “new” has been written in the space. Now we shall begin.
You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a
second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.

W: Good morning, Best Fitness!

M: Hello Best Fitness! Help me, I need to get fit!
W: Well then, you’ve certainly phoned the right place. Here at Best Fitness we offer a
wide range of activities and facilities to help people of all sizes and ages improve
their fitness levels.
M: Sounds perfect for me. So, what do I need to do?

© British Council. All rights reserved. 1



W: Well the first thing is to take some details from you… wait, have you been a
member here before?
M: No, I’m new. In fact this is the first time I’ve been to a fitness centre of any kind.
W: No need to worry about that, we’ll look after you. So can I ask your name?
M: Yes, it’s Tom Wintle.
W: Ah, like the season, you know I prefer the summer…
M: No no! Wintle. W-I-N-T-L-E. Everybody makes that mistake!
W: Oh ok, sorry about that. Right got it now. So, why do you want to join Best Fitness?
M: Well, that’s actually a bit of a long story… basically I’ve decided to raise some
money for charity, for personal reasons, and I thought of several things to do, like
organise a 24-hour football match, or have a cake sale…
W: I see….
M: But then my friends suggested I try and do a charity run and I thought yes, that’s a
great idea, and then I thought, I need to join a gym!
W: Haha! Absolutely, yes! Ok that’s great. I’m sure we can find the right course of
training for you. Apart from that are you interested in any other activities?
M: What have you got?
W: What haven’t we got! There’s tennis coaching, spinning… we have a climbing wall
too….
M: Hmm I think I’ll do mountain climbing for the next charity event! But put me down
for tennis, definitely. And of course you have a swimming pool…
W: Of course! The biggest in the region!
M: Well I’ll certainly use that too.
W: Great, so just a few more details…Can I get a contact phone number from you?
M: Right yes it’s not always easy to catch me at work, and my mobile’s not working at
the moment, so the best thing is to reach me at home in the evening at 3138859.
W: 3138855…
M: Not 5 at the end, 9!.
W: 3138859. Got it. Ok, and we also need your date of birth please.
M: Thirteenth of January nineteen seventy-seven.
W: You said the thirteenth not the thirtieth right?
M: That’s right!

© British Council. All rights reserved. 2



Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to
10.
Now listen and answer questions 6 to 10.

W: Now that’s sorted, let’s talk about some membership options.

M: Yes, that’s probably a good idea! How much is it going to cost me to get fit?
W: Well that depends on you of course. Basically we have three membership
packages, Starter, Silver and Gold, and obviously the bigger package you choose
the more benefits you get.
M: I’m guessing Starter is the cheapest…
W: Correct! And obviously the most basic, but for access to all our main facilities, apart
from the pool, we think that 10 pounds a month is very reasonable.
M: Pool’s extra eh? Does Silver include the pool?
W: It does, and it’s half the price of our Gold package which includes everything of
course, unlimited access for £50 a month.
M: So £25 a month for Silver? Hmmm…
W: Well with Silver there are some excellent benefits which you don’t get with Starter.
If you fancy yourself on the dance floor you can join our lessons every Thursday,
learn to move to the music!
M: I’ll save my dancing shoes for Saturday night I think! Tell me more about the Gold
membership…
W: Well, one very exclusive advantage of choosing this package is not only unlimited
access to all the facilities, as well as the dance classes I mentioned, but a chance
to relax in the club lounge after your session. There’ are complementary drinks and
we also have a massage room for those aches and pains.
M: Now that’s tempting… anything else?
W: Yes, with Gold and Silver we ask you to renew your membership every year, every
12 months to be precise, but people who choose Starter are usually those who are
not so serious about training, and obviously we want them to continue so….
M: It’s a six-month renewal then.
W: Actually, it’s three months! We think it encourages people to keep coming back.
M: I can see why.
W: One last thing, we have a restaurant on site too. You can get a discount there on
other food and drinks - that’s included in the Silver package too, I forgot to say - but
with Gold we also offer you one private session with one of our personal trainers -
now that’ll really help your training!

© British Council. All rights reserved. 3



M: Haha you’re a good saleswoman! But I must say that does sound interesting - let
me have a think and get back to you…..
W: No problem, we’re always ready at Best Fitness!

That is the end of section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to Section 2.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 4



Section 2
NARRATOR:

You will hear a tour guide talking about an historic building. First you have some time to look
at questions 11-14.

Listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

Good morning everyone and welcome to historic Brimley Castle! My name is Brian Thomas and
I will be your guide for the duration of this morning’s tour. We will be exploring the castle and its
grounds from the past to the present, learning about some of the most important events and
personalities that have made this site such a unique and wonderful place.
So, first of all, a question! Can anyone tell me when the castle was built? Anyone…what’s that I
heard? 1520? Haha well, that’s what most people think! Actually, that was when it was
constructed for a second time, after it was burnt down in 1502. No, the original castle was
founded on this site in 1482, in the reign of Edward the Fourth
Now does anyone know why the castle was built in the first place? Well, some of
you might have noticed that the castle is positioned not on a hill but on a relatively flat piece of
land near the River Brim, certainly not well-protected from invaders! Now then, if you look up at
the tower you can see a series of little barred windows which suggest that prisoners were kept
here, and certainly they were at some point, although this wasn’t the castle’s main function. No,
perhaps surprisingly, the castle was in fact created by the second Lord Brimley as a present for
his wife! Imagine if this had been built for your birthday!
The running of the castle was taken over in 1872, and I’m afraid some of the
descendants didn’t do a very good job. As you can see a large part of the main building, here,
had to be rebuilt. The castle didn’t open its doors until 1964 even though the original plan had
been to let in the public in 1924, then things were delayed even further by the war.
Right, history lesson over for now, let’s have a look at some of the distinctive
features. The tower is the obvious one; its style is such a good example of that time. And look
at that magnificent window! Some of you also probably know the castle was the first in this
region to have its own water-mill. But have another look at the glass up there! Yes the strangest
thing is that when the sun shines, you can see reflections of the second Lord Brimley on the
floor!

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.
Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 5



…..So please have your fact sheets ready now as we move through the gardens. Now, can
anyone see a dog? Yes? What about a snake? Well done! And look, there’s a sleeping lion.
The most noticeable things about the gardens are these interestingly-formed hedges and
bushes; we’ve counted over a hundred different animals in the grounds. What the gardens
themselves are lacking, I’m sure you’ll agree, is any kind of distinctive water feature. The mill of
course used to be a main attraction but the stream has long dried up and there are not currently
any plans to re-route it, but, more excitingly, over the next year work will start on a river system
through the lands, connecting the different ponds.
Now, from here, there’s an excellent view of the tower, built in 1495. Towers in
those days were built in the classic way, four sides usually, and sometimes eight, but can
anyone tell me something curious about the tower on Brimley Castle? That’s right, there are
only three walls, so it forms a kind of triangle. As you can see it needs some reconstruction and
work will be under way in the next few months.
Over there, you see the forest. We hope to finish a full nature survey of the area by next
February but I can tell you there are over a thousand different plant and tree varieties -- and it’s
also the site of some of our most interesting activities, like nature night walks and there is also
an amazing tree house which pupils from Brimley school put up last year.
And finally, we get to what remain of the castle walls, built after the main castle in 1490.
They’re not very impressive now but I can tell you that when they were constructed they ran the
whole way around the castle, approximately twelve metres high, in some places even higher
than that. Early records state that this part, where we are now, stood an incredible fourteen
metres, way above the rest! Soon this section will house the Wall tea-rooms, a perfect place for
refreshment. Well, that concludes the tour, I hope...

That is the end of section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to section 3.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 6



Section 3
You will hear a conversation between a university employee and two student representatives
who are discussing the planning of a new university library. First you have some time to look
at questions 21 to 25.

Liz: Hi there, thanks for coming today. I’m Liz Shaw, the Project Manager for the
construction of the new university library.

Sally: Hi, we’re Sally and Ben from the Student Association. Thanks for inviting us
today.

Ben: Yeah, hi Liz.

Liz: As you know, planning permission for the new site was granted last week, so
we are all very excited about that.

Ben: Yeah, great news! We had a big meeting last week and everyone cheered
when it was announced; I think they’ve all had enough of the old place.

Liz: Ha, yes it can get a little chilly in winter! Now, we are currently consulting with
different interest groups. Obviously, students are going to be the main users of
the library so any thoughts you guys can offer will be extremely valuable.

Sally: OK, great. So, opening should be in around 9 months, is that right?

Ben: Longer than that, about 18 months isn’t it?

Liz: That’s right, Ben, although delays are also possible. Now, I just wanted to go
over some of the key points in the document, things that will be of most interest
to students.

Ben: Fire away.

Liz: Well, perhaps the biggest change for the new library is the open plan design.
We basically wanted to get away from having all the rooms separated from
each other; that old traditional stuffy library atmosphere. Our plan is more like a
shopping mall, with escalators taking students from one level to the next and
then different browsing sections along the walls of each floor.

Sally: Erm, but won’t it get a bit noisy?

Liz: Well it might, but also on each floor there will be soundproof reading rooms, so
there will be no noise coming in. These rooms will also contain individual pods
that can be hired for an even more focused study experience.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 7



Sally: Oh, sounds impressive.

Ben: Um, Liz, obviously nowadays with building design there are concerns about
environmental impact, but I think I saw something in the plans about making use of
green energy?

Liz: That’s right! The library will have over 200 windows, including what will be the
U.K.’s largest oval-shaped window at the top of the building, to allow as much
natural light into the building as possible, good for sunny days! The roof of the
building will also have a number of small wind turbines, and our target is that
these will generate at least 20% of the energy needs of the building.

Ben: Oh, that’s great.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 26 to
30.
Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.

LIZ: So, those are a few of the core features of the new library; so now
feel free to ask any questions you have.

Sally: Thanks. Well, as Ben mentioned earlier, a few questions came up in our
meeting last week. Firstly, the proposal to get rid of a lot of the library
computers is a concern for some.

LIZ: Well, yes, it’s true that we are reducing the number of provided computers
to 30 from the previous 100. What we would prefer is for students to bring
their own laptops, and we are significantly increasing the number of plug-in
points for these.

Ben: OK, that sounds reasonable. On a related point, Internet speed is

something of an issue in the current place, especially when the library is
full, presumably those problems will be ironed out?

LIZ: Yes, that is a priority, and also the local council have promised us extra
funds - they want this to be a flagship project for Wi-Fi connectivity in the
city, and the aim is to make it the fastest among national universities.

Ben: Fantastic! Oh, another thing that came up was book availability - with the
new building design it seems like the number of books on shelves at a
given time will decrease.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 8



LIZ: Yes, it’s true that we are moving away from rooms stuffed with books
towards a more modern and spacious environment. However, we will still
have the computer stations so that students can find and order books to
borrow. Also, we are developing our digital library considerably.

Sally: I was just about to ask about digital access! Erm, about seating - with the
new place being more spacious will there still be room for chairs and
tables? Lots of students like to be near the books when they are studying
so they can just get up and grab something.

LIZ: Well, for browsing bookshelves, we are more likely to just be having
benches, as our research shows that most users prefer a separation of
browsing and study areas, but that’s something that can be adjusted if
necessary.

Ben: I also wanted to ask about disabled access, but we are waiting on
feedback from a survey sent out to the Equal Access Committee.

LIZ: OK, but rest assured that easy access for people with disabilities is a
priority for the project management team, especially things like wheelchair
ramps.

Sally: Liz, thanks again for meeting with us today, the new library sounds
amazing! Lots to report back to the association. Oh, before we finish could
we fix a date with you for the next meeting? How about 21st of January, 2
weeks from today?

LIZ: Erm, let me just check my diary…well I’m actually pretty busy that day,
how about the day after, at 10am, same place?

Sally: OK with you Ben? Great, well, see you then

That is the end of Section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.
Now turn to Section 4.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 9



Section 4
NARRATOR:

You will hear a lecture from professor about ocean pollution. First you have some
time to look at questions 31 to 35

Listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 35

Morning, everyone. Please take your seats and open your books to Chapter 3.
Today, we’ll be talking about the ocean environment; specifically, The Great Pacific
Garbage Patch. I know it’s a maybe a little strange to be talking about oceans and
garbage at the same time. Generally, we think of broader terms, like pollution, when
considering these areas of the Earth. But this garbage patch is actually a swirl of
marine litter particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It was discovered between
1985 and 1988 and extends over a very large but uncertain area. I say uncertain
because its range depends on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the
area. That is to say, the scientists measuring the density of these particles can’t
always agree on what standard to use when considering an area to be polluted or
not.

Now, the patch itself is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of ocean

plastics, chemical waste and other litter that have been trapped by the currents of the
North Pacific ocean. But, its low density prevents detection by satellite photography
or people in the area. The structure and movement of the ocean’s waters push and
hold this litter together over time.

The great Pacific garbage patch was first described in a 1988 research paper based
on results obtained in the mid 1980s. What they did was measure plastic in the North
Pacific Ocean, finding high concentrations of marine litter piling up in regions
controlled by ocean currents. They then used their findings from the Sea of Japan to
estimate that similar conditions would occur in other parts of the Pacific where the
main currents were favorable to the creation of relatively stable waters. Turns out
they were right.

It was a Mister Curtis Meyer, that’s M-E-Y-E-R, who actually named the region of the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch and we’ve been using that name, ever since. Of course,
that name is used whenever the area is featured in media reports as an exceptional
example of marine pollution. But, even up close, the patch is not easily seen because
it consists of tiny pieces almost invisible to the naked eye. Most of its contents are
trapped beneath the surface of the ocean due to the structure and movement of
currents mentioned just a moment ago. More recently, a similar patch was found in
the Atlantic Ocean by a Mister Christopher Norman, N-O-R-M-A-N, and, as you might
imagine, is called the North Atlantic garbage patch. We scientists are a creative
bunch!

© British Council. All rights reserved. 10



Narrator:

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 36 to
40

Now listen and answer questions 36 to 40

Moving on, it is thought that, like other areas of concentrated marine litter in the
world's oceans, the Great Pacific garbage patch formed gradually as a result of
ocean or marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents. As you can see on page 83
in your books, the garbage patch occupies a large and relatively stable region of the
North Pacific Ocean. The rotational pattern of the currents in this region draws in
waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean, including the coastal waters off
both North America and Japan. As material is captured in the currents, wind-driven
surface currents gradually move floating litter toward the center, trapping it in the
region.

Despite some strong opinions, there’s actually no definite scientific data concerning
the origins of ocean plastics. In a study published in 2014, researchers sampled
many locations throughout the world’s oceans and determined that discarding fishing
gear, such as buoys, lines, and nets, accounted for more than 60% of the mass of
plastic marine litter. A 2011 report indicated, and I quote, "The primary source of
marine litter is the improper waste disposal or management of garbage and
manufacturing products, including plastics from littering and illegal dumping… this
litter is generated on land at ports, rivers, harbors, docks, and storm drains and at
sea from fishing vessels, fixed platforms and transport ships.” That’s a lot of potential
sources, so it’s really just too difficult to find and blame any one industry or country. If
we could do that, we might be able to get someone to clean it all up. But, as it stands,
that’s simply not the case.

I suppose that the most shocking part of all this is the size of the garbage patch.
Estimates of size range from 700,000 square kilometers, about the size of Texas in
the U.S., to more than 15,000,000 square kilometers, which is up to 8% of the size of
the entire Pacific Ocean, or, in some media reports, up to twice the size of the
continental United States. Such estimates, however, are uncertain, given the
complexities of sampling and the need to compare findings against other areas.
Finally, although the size of the patch is determined by a higher-than-normal degree
of concentration of ocean litter, there is no standard for determining the boundary
between normal and elevated levels of pollutants to provide a firm estimate of the
affected area.

NARRATOR:
That is the end of Section 4.
You now have half a minute to check your answers.

That is the end of the Listening Test. You now have ten minutes to transfer your
answers to the listening answer sheet.

© British Council. All rights reserved. 11



Listening practice test 7 Answer Key

Section 1, Questions 1–10
1. Wintle
2. Run / Charity run
3. swimming
4. 3138859
5. 13th / thirteenth
6. £25 / 25 pounds
7. Dance
8. club lounge
9. 3
10. personal trainer

Section 2, Questions 11–20

11. C
12. A
13. B
14. C
15. animals
16. river / river system
17. 3 / three
18. nature survey
19. tree house
20. 14 / fourteen

Section 3, Questions 21–30

21. Student Association
22. 18
23. open plan
24. individual
25. wind
26. 30
27. local council
28. digital
29. benches
30. 22 / 22nd / twenty-second

Section 4, Questions 31–40

31. particles
32. waste
33. structure
34. 1988
35. Meyer
36. C
37. A
38. B
39. A
40. C

© British Council. All rights reserved. 12