Shadowing Practice: CAMBRIDGE BOOK 20 LISTENING TEST 4 || RECENT LISTENING TESTS WITH ANSWERS 2025 || - Learn English Speaking with Video

IELTS 20, published by Cambridge University Press and Assessment 2025.

This recording is copyright.

Test 4.

This is the IELTS Listening Test.

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 four parts.

At the end of the test, you will be given ten minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet.

Now turn to part one.

Part one.

You will hear a man asking a friend for advice on things to do in the city with a family of visitors.

First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 6.

Sandra, I seem to remember you had some family visitors staying with you recently.

Yeah, that's right.

My brother and his family were here a couple of months ago.

OK, good.

Well, I wanted to ask your advice.

I've got my cousin and her family visiting next month, and as I don't have kids, I've no idea where to take them.

Right.

What about accommodation?

Are they going to stay with you in your flat?

No, thankfully.

There wouldn't be room.

My cousin wants me to recommend a hotel.

Do you know anywhere?

Yes, I do, actually.

I always recommend people stay at the King's Hotel.

Where's that near?

It's about five minutes' walk from Murray Station, so nice and central.

It's actually on George Street.

Oh, yes, I know.

I think they're on quite a tight budget, so how much, roughly, is it to stay there?

If you book a family room, it's about £125 per night.

My brother paid for two double rooms in the end, and I think that was around £95 for each room.

Oh, that's not too bad.

So how old are your cousin's kids?

Twelve and nine.

So I want to organise some trips while they're here.

I was thinking of doing a bus tour of the city centre, as none of them have been here before.

Those bus tours are quite expensive.

I think it's better to do a walking tour.

It gives you a much better feel for the city.

There's one that starts from Colton Square.

It takes a couple of hours and doesn't cost that much.

Sounds good.

I'll look that up.

Thanks.

If the weather's nice, one thing you could do is visit the old fort.

You could get there by boat.

The whole trip takes half a day.

That's a really good idea.

I'd like to do that myself.

And if the weather's bad, I was thinking they could go to the Science Museum.

But maybe they could do that when I'm at work.

Yeah, don't forget, it's closed on Mondays.

They're here from Saturday for four nights, so Tuesday would be best, I think.

And it won't be so crowded then.

Saturdays are terrible.

I took my kids to the exhibition on old computers there, and it was far too crowded.

I wanted to go back, but it's finished now.

That's a shame.

My cousin's kids would have enjoyed that.

There's another one starting soon on space, which looks really good too.

OK, well, I'll mention that to my cousin.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10.

Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.

Have you thought about where to take them to eat?

Well, I really like all the food stalls at Clacton Market.

My cousin's vegetarian.

I know it's one of the best places for that kind of food.

Definitely.

And there'll be loads of choice for the kids, too.

You need to get there quite early, though.

At the weekend, most of the stores stop serving lunch at 2 .30.

Good point.

It's all going to need careful planning.

My cousin said she'd love to take the kids to a show at the theatre, but tickets are so expensive.

I know.

But you can get some good deals if you book online with BargainTickets .com for the following day.

On some seats there's a 75 % discount.

Really?

I must try and get some.

Yeah.

There are lots of things you can do for free as well.

No need to spend a fortune.

Like what?

They're coming next month, right?

Well, check and see if it's the same weekend as the Roots Music Festival in Blakewell Gardens.

R -double -O -T -S?

Yeah, check it out online.

It's always a family -friendly event, and there's no entry charge.

That sounds perfect.

And if you're in Blakewell Gardens, climb Telegraph Hill.

You'll be able to look right down on the port.

Everyone's always really impressed because it's so huge.

Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to do that for ages.

I've heard the view's amazing.

100

Yeah, it's really worth the effort.

101

Well, that's given me loads of ideas.

102

Thanks so much for...

103

Part 2 You will hear a guide talking to members of the public who are visiting a football stadium in the UK.

104

First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.

105

Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

106

Good morning and welcome to City Football Club.

107

I'd like to give you some useful information about your visit to the stadium today,

108

and then we'll start the tour of the areas of the stadium that are open to visitors.

109

I can see lots of children here today, so just to let mums and dads know a few things before we start.

110

The stadium has lots of stairs and the players' tunnel is very dark.

111

Please don't let your children wander off on their own, even for a minute.

112

We don't want any accidents or anyone getting frightened.

113

Cameras are permitted everywhere and you can take pictures of your child shooting a penalty.

114

Assistants are helping to organise this and hopefully the queue won't be too long.

115

It's very hot and sunny out on the pitch today.

116

You can get food and drink at the cafe and I really recommend the healthy lunch boxes for children.

117

Also in the cafe, children are invited to do a football -themed drawing.

118

We'll pick the best one at the end of the afternoon, so don't forget to put your name and contact details on the back.

119

That way, if you've left the stadium before then, we'll send your prize, but sadly we can't return drawings.

120

I'd like to mention some features of the tour.

121

We'll start with the 360 cinema experience, which has been very popular over the years,

122

and then I'll take you to the players' dressing rooms before going outside to the seating area and the pitch.

123

I should say if you'd prefer your visit to be self -guided,

124

please collect headphones from the reception and then you can listen to the pre -recorded information at your own speed.

125

We've only just introduced this feature and would appreciate your feedback.

126

We're thinking of offering tours in other languages in future, so if you have any thoughts on that, we'd welcome those too.

127

If you plan to return another time, you might like to book one of our VIP tours.

128

We've only just started offering these, and they can be booked online.

129

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

130

Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

131

Now, the stadium you see today was built in 1989 as part of a three -year redevelopment project.

132

While that project was going on, the team had to play its matches at the ground of another club.

133

Apart from that, the club has been here on this site since 1870.

134

As some of you may know,

135

that was the start of a really important decade in the history of football in this country. For example,

136

1870 was also the year that football teams started to include a player whose role it was to guard the goal.

137

It's hard to imagine what the game must have been like without someone in that position, isn't it?

138

In 1872 and 73, many other clubs were established, both here and abroad.

139

And the following year, in 1874, referees were allowed to send players off if they committed certain offences.

140

And also in that year, teams started having to swap ends at half -time time.

141

One fact I was interested to discover was

142

that in early football games the aim was for the scorer to get the ball between two flag posts,

143

and later between sticks joined at the top with a piece of tape.

144

In 1875 that tape was replaced with the solid crossbar that we're familiar with today.

145

1877 saw the founding of further new clubs, and the history books tell us that in the same year,

146

all the clubs decided to set a limit of 90 minutes for each match.

147

Before that, it was a more casual arrangement,

148

and this sometimes caused huge arguments and sometimes fights during matches

149

when one team called the end of the game

150

and the other team wanted to play on to try and score a winning goal.

151

By 1878, the number of teams in the Football League increased again.

152

In addition, referees started using whistles and electric lamps were installed on certain pitches.

153

This was a significant change, as games could then be played in the evenings all year round.

154

In 1880, clubs began to charge fans for admission to games,

155

even though players were still amateurs and had other proper jobs.

156

That's hard to imagine in the modern professional game,

157

where top players earn significant sums of money from both playing and commercial activities.

158

That is the end of part two.

159

You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part two.

160

Thank you.

161

Part 3.

162

You will hear two education students discussing an assignment on teaching handwriting to children.

163

First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.

164

Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.

165

How are you getting on with the assignment on handwriting?

166

Not too bad.

167

You know, I hadn't realised that children benefit in so many ways from learning to write.

168

It's such an important skill,

169

and yet most people think handwriting is less important than in the past because people hardly ever write by hand these days.

170

Yes, and all the evidence suggests children should learn to write by hand before they learn to type, not least because it helps their memory.

171

That's right.

172

The physical act of writing helps children to remember letters.

173

That seems pretty obvious when you think about it.

174

What's less obvious is how it helps develop their concentration.

175

They have to sit still and focus on one thing.

176

Yeah, that aspect of handwriting had never occurred to me before.

177

Same here.

178

I'm not sure I understand how it improves children's imagination, though.

179

Well, there was that study which showed that primary age children generated more ideas

180

when they were writing by hand than using a keyboard.

181

I would have guessed that would be the case.

182

Hmm, yeah.

183

I'd never associated spatial awareness with handwriting either.

184

I thought spatial awareness was more to do with knowing where you are in relation to objects or other people.

185

Hmm, I thought that too.

186

But good spatial awareness is essential for writing because you have to space words correctly.

187

It's not just fine motor skills that improve through writing, as I'd always assumed.

188

Handwriting is so much harder for children with dyspraxia, who have problems coordinating movement.

189

It's good there are lots of things you can do in the classroom to help them.

190

They need so much more support with letter formation.

191

You need to play lots of games to help them distinguish letter shapes.

192

It takes a lot of patience.

193

Yeah, I like the idea of using one of those pens that lights up if you press too hard.

194

That seems like a really simple solution.

195

Yes, absolutely.

196

I'm not sure there's much you can do about children with dyspraxia writing very slowly.

197

It's more important to focus on accuracy, and as they get more confident, I think they eventually speed up.

198

One quite simple thing you can do is to use grid paper

199

so they write each letter in a box and that trains them to space the letters correctly.

200

Indeed, that's more important for legibility than trying to get them to write in a straight line.

201

Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.

202

Thank you.

203

Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.

204

For some children, it might be better to teach them to write on a laptop rather than by hand, And like children with dyslexia,

205

they often really struggle with handwriting and some just give up.

206

Yeah, it's not as frustrating for them if they get things wrong.

207

On a keyboard they can be more willing to have a go.

208

But I read that developing fluency isn't any faster.

209

That's right.

210

Did you read that article on the benefits of teaching print rather than cursive handwriting, where the letters are joined up?

211

Yes.

212

Well, in the past, cursive writing was certainly considered more stylish and educated, but not anymore.

213

Sure.

214

Teachers' attitudes have changed because it's been proved that cursive is more difficult to learn,

215

especially for children with learning difficulties who find joining up letters really challenging.

216

I agree.

217

I was always worried that my poor handwriting affected my exam results, and now research shows that I was right to worry.

218

I'm sure a lot of students think it's unfair that they're being judged on their handwriting, not just their knowledge.

219

Marks are definitely affected if examiners can't read the script.

220

That's why it's always been so important to teach children to write legibly.

221

Do you think the role of handwriting will change in the future?

222

I can't see that changing much.

223

Touch typing still isn't taught in most schools, which is a shame.

224

But maybe that won't be necessary in the future, because people will also be able to write by hand on digital devices.

225

Anyway, teachers understand the value of handwriting.

226

It's a basic life skill.

227

True.

228

However, the fact is that people are writing by hand less and less and relying on digital devices.

229

That does cause some problems.

230

Hmm, you mean like note -taking?

231

There are lots of apps for that.

232

And for reading historical documents, apparently.

233

But my mum is shocked by my awful spelling and the fact that my punctuation is really inconsistent.

234

I think you can put that down to lack of practice.

235

I expect so.

236

Personally, I miss writing by hand.

237

I hardly ever write anything now.

238

I remember my grandparents had such beautiful handwriting and it was so individual.

239

Nobody I know would be able to identify my handwriting now.

240

It's a shame.

241

I know.

242

I feel the same way.

243

I used to write a diary by hand, and now I do that digitally.

244

It just seems less effort to do it that way.

245

So it's not just a problem...

246

That is the end of part three.

247

You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part three.

248

Part 4.

249

You will hear part of an environmental science lecture about the impact of birds of prey on a farming community in Africa.

250

First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

251

Thank you.

252

Thank you.

253

Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

254

We've been looking at different types of conflicts that may arise between wildlife and humans at the boundaries of protected areas,

255

such as national parks and animal sanctuaries.

256

I'd like to illustrate this by telling you about some research

257

that I've been involved in recently in the Central African country of Zambia in the area around the Chembe Bird Sanctuary,

258

which contains over 300 of the listed birds of Zambia.

259

These include a number of birds of prey such as eagles, hawks and owls that live by hunting and killing other birds and animals.

260

Now, most of the people living in the local communities near to the bird sanctuary are small -scale farmers,

261

and these birds of prey provide important social and ecological benefits to them.

262

For example, a lot of damage can be caused to farmers' crops by rodents, such as rats, which would consume the crops as they grow in the fields,

263

as well as after harvesting if they weren't hunted and killed by the birds.

264

And the predatory habits of these birds also protect farmers in other ways For example,

265

a major danger to rural workers is snakes Whose bite may be dangerous

266

or even fatal

267

And birds of prey have a major role in keeping their

268

populations under control Local people have always been aware of these benefits And for years,

269

even before the sanctuary was opened in 1973 the birds played a key role in the culture of the region.

270

However, more recently, the sanctuary and its birds have also become increasingly important to the community in economic terms,

271

because at present, after a relatively slow start, tourism has become an important source of revenue for them.

272

However, although these birds of prey are protected by the government, their numbers are falling.

273

Some of these deaths are accidental.

274

Fatalities occur when birds alight on roads to catch and eat their prey and are hit by fast -moving traffic.

275

Drivers in Zambia have to take special care at night as birds may regard the quieter roads as safe places to sleep.

276

Accidental deaths may also occur if these birds fly close to high -voltage power lines as they may be electrocuted.

277

This is a particular danger in the heavy rain, which can occur in the region in the months from December to April.

278

And local farmers also pose a threat to these birds.

279

As well as growing crops, small -scale farmers in the area also rear chickens.

280

These provide food for the farmers' families, as well as being an important source of income

281

but they're also an easy target for birds of prey and

282

so farmers may shoot these birds which is illegal but understandable

283

or they may poison the birds which again is illegal and can have negative effects on the ecosystem

284

so how else can farmers protect their chickens from birds of prey some people believe

285

that to prevent the predators from settling near the area where the chickens are kept, it's best to keep this area free from vegetation.

286

But in fact, this is counterproductive, as it means the chickens have no cover to hide in, and they'll be easier for the birds to see.

287

Another possibility would be to prevent the chickens from going outside at all, and to keep them safe from predators inside a building,

288

but this would cost far too much to be a practical solution.

289

Nearly all the farmers reported that they spent a lot of time

290

and effort trying to frighten off the birds of prey without actually harming them.

291

Most of the farmers had at least one dog and said this was a big help at scaring away the predators.

292

Some of the farmers also reported that during the breeding season

293

When the chickens were particularly vulnerable They encouraged their children to watch over the chickens

294

And to hit pans with a metal spoon So

295

that the resulting noise would succeed in driving away birds

296

That were trying to seize the young chicks None of these methods was 100 % effective So as a result,

297

the village people told us that rather than just using one method, they were forced to use a combination for them to have any effect.

298

And even so, these birds of prey remain a major threat to the chickens' survival and cause considerable economic loss to farmers.

299

So, we looked at the possibility of a longer -term solution to...

300

That is the end of part four.

301

You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.

302

Thank you.

303

That is the end of the listening test.

304

In the IELTS test, you would now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet.

305

The Great.

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing Practice: CAMBRIDGE BOOK 20 LISTENING TEST 4 || RECENT LISTENING TESTS WITH ANSWERS 2025 || - Learn English Speaking with Video

Boost Your Speaking with This Real-Life Dialogue

Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions for Daily Chats

Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation & Rhythm

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?