Shadowing Practice: Car for sale (Mini) Listening test #ieltslisteningtestforpractice - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
321 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
This is the IELTS listening test.
2
You will hear a number of different recordings, and you will have to answer questions on what you hear.
3
There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions, and you will have a chance to check your work.
4
All the recordings will be played once only.
5
The test is in four parts.
6
At the end of the test, you will be given ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
7
Now turn to part one.
8
Part one.
9
You will hear a woman talking on the telephone to a man about a car he is selling.
10
First, you have some time to look at questions one to four.
11
Thank you.
12
Hello, Brian Park speaking.
13
Oh, hello.
14
I'm calling about the advert in the paper.
15
For the car?
16
Yes, the Mini you've got advertised for sale.
17
Oh, yes.
18
I just wanted to find out a bit more information. Of course.
19
What would you like to know?
20
It's my brother who's interested, actually.
21
But he's not in today, so he asked me to call you.
22
Fine.
23
Great, thanks.
24
So, it's a mini?
25
Yep.
26
And how old is it?
27
Just coming up to 13 years old.
28
And I seem to remember from the ad that it's grey.
29
That's it.
30
Doesn't show the dirt.
31
Absolutely.
32
Anyway, the colour shouldn't be a problem for Geoff.
33
You know, the important thing is the quality.
34
Yes, of course.
35
And what about mileage?
36
With it being pretty old, it's probably over 100,000?
37
Actually, it's 40,000 less than that.
38
62,000 on the clock.
39
Great!
40
I remember now.
41
I'm confusing it with another ad I was looking at.
42
Right.
43
Pleasant surprise then.
44
Yeah!
45
Have you been the only owner, or was there a previous one?
46
I'm the second one.
47
Before, it was owned by a teacher, who was a very careful driver.
48
Didn't have any accidents.
49
Very good.
50
And what about you?
51
What do you tend to use it for?
52
I haven't used it all that much.
53
Mostly for shopping.
54
You know, this sort of thing.
55
So, not much wear and tear.
56
I'll make a note of that.
57
I know Geoff wanted me to check that.
58
Right.
59
Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10.
60
Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.
61
Now, about the price, I see you've got it down as £1,250.
62
I'm not sure Jeff will be able to come up with that amount.
63
In the ad, I did say £1,250 or nearest offer.
64
So would you be prepared to go down to £1,000?
65
That's really too low, I'm afraid.
66
£1,100?
67
I might be able to go to that.
68
OK, I'll make a note of that.
69
What about tax?
70
Is it due soon?
71
Got another five months before it's due.
72
Oh, that's a real plus, yes.
73
I'll make a note of that.
74
OK.
75
Now, you say it's in good condition?
76
For its age, I'd say yes, definitely.
77
It's just been serviced and there were no major problems.
78
Major?
79
I'd be able to show you the service report.
80
The only thing is, you'd have to get a new tyre in the near future.
81
Though it's still OK, you know.
82
It's certainly absolutely safe at the moment.
83
OK, fair enough.
84
Yes, I understand.
85
And the garage also mentioned that one headlight could probably do with replacing.
86
They think there's a fault there.
87
You know, intermittent… Well, we'd obviously look at all the documents, but that sounds very straightforward. Of course.
88
I've got all the service documents up to date and you can look at those.
89
Well, it all sounds pretty good and I know my brother will be interested.
90
So would it be possible for him to see the car?
91
He's back from his trip tomorrow and away tonight.
92
So, how about tomorrow?
93
Tomorrow?
94
Wednesday?
95
I'm afraid that's not possible.
96
I'm out pretty much all day.
97
Well, Thursday then?
98
That'd be fine, yeah.
99
In the morning?
100
Yes, that'd suit me perfectly.
101
Great.
102
Now, you'll need my address.
103
Oh, yes, of course.
104
What is it?
105
It's number 238.
106
238?
107
London Road.
108
Oh, that's easy enough.
109
Yes, very straightforward.
110
So, I'll pass on these notes to Geoff and he'll see you in a couple...
111
That is the end of part one.
112
You now have one minute to check your answers to part one.
113
Part 2
114
Now listen and answer questions 11 to 14.
115
The valley and estuary of the River Treloor forms an unspoiled,
116
beautiful landscape, rich in both wildlife and sites of historic interest.
117
There are many ways to explore the area, and public transport links are good.
118
It is possible to leave your car behind and travel by boat, train, or bus, with just short walks in between stops.
119
The Treloar Valley Passenger Ferry runs between villages along the river estuary and provides a link with a train station at Barry,
120
which is about ten minutes' walk from the riverside village of Calton.
121
In the past, the river was the main form of transport in the area, and as in the past, today's ferry service operates according to nature.
122
The river estuary is tidal, and so the ferry timetable differs from day to day, according to the times and height of the tide.
123
The ferry is also seasonal, normally running between April and September, depending on the weather.
124
A timetable for the whole year can be downloaded from the Internet by visiting www.treloreferry.co.uk.
125
If you just want to sit and relax and enjoy the lovely scenery, you can take a river cruise to Calton and back from the nearby city of Plymouth.
126
In the past, steamships brought early tourists along the same route.
127
Queen Victoria and her family enjoyed such a trip in 1856.
128
The journey is quicker these days.
129
The round trip takes between four and five hours, depending on tides and weather.
130
If you prefer, you can travel upriver by boat and return to Plymouth by train.
131
All cruise boats and trains have wheelchair access.
132
For more information and for departure times,
133
ring Plymouth Boat Cruises on 017-528-23104.
134
Trains run several times a day throughout the year between Kelton and Plymouth, with various stops in between.
135
They're used by both local commuters and tourists who want to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
136
The highlight of the journey is crossing the river on the stunning viaduct,
137
which was built at the beginning of the 20th century and towers 120 feet over the water.
138
It is unnecessary to book, and tickets can be bought on the train.
139
For information about fares and timetables, contact National Rail Enquiries by phone or online.
140
The bus service in the Treloar Valley now connects all train stations and villages in the area.
141
Especially for holidaymakers, there's a rover ticket, which can be used at weekends and on national holidays, and allows unlimited journeys on those days.
142
The rover ticket provides great value for money, and is now even cheaper than it was last year.
143
An adult ticket costs £5.50 a day.
144
Senior citizens can travel for £4.50, and a family ticket for up to five people costs just £12.
145
Tickets can be bought on the bus.
146
Now you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.
147
Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.
148
At the center of the Treloar Estuary area is the historic Riverside village of Kelton.
149
The main road comes into the village from the south, and for those of you who are arriving by bus,
150
it turns left just before the bridge and stops in the lay-by on the left-hand side.
151
From there, it's just a short walk to Calton's various attractions.
152
If you're arriving by car, you have to leave it in the main car park.
153
Go over the bridge and take the first turning on the right.
154
Then go on until you come to the end of that road.
155
It's the only place to park in Calton, but there's no charge.
156
If you're interested in local history, there's a museum in Calton with farming, fishing, and household implements from the late 19th century.
157
As you come in from the south, cross the river and go straight on the same road until you reach the end.
158
Also, on the subject of history, you can go and see the old mill, which has recently been renovated and put back into use.
159
Turn left before you come to the bridge.
160
Then go straight on and then take the first turning on the right.
161
This leads straight there.
162
If you're interested in arts and crafts, there's a potter's studio where you can watch the artist at work.
163
After crossing the bridge, turn left and it's the second building on the left.
164
Finally, when you feel in need of refreshments, there's a cafe opposite the old boathouse and a picnic area near the mill.
165
That is the end of part two.
166
You now have half a minute to check your answers to part two.
167
Part 3 You will hear two geography students talking.
168
An older student, called Howard, is giving advice to a younger student, called Joanne, on writing her dissertation.
169
First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.
170
Thank you.
171
Now listen and answer questions 21 to 24.
172
Hi, Howard.
173
I haven't seen you for a while.
174
Hi Joanne.
175
Yeah, they're keeping us really busy on the postgraduate programme.
176
But how are you?
177
You'll be starting your dissertation soon, won't you?
178
Yeah, tutorials start next week.
179
I've got Dr Peterson.
180
You'll remember it all from last year, of course.
181
It's not something you forget easily.
182
But seriously, although I didn't expect to enjoy writing my dissertation, and, in fact, I didn't really find it much fun,
183
I wouldn't have missed the experience.
184
I found it really improved my understanding of the whole degree programme, you know, from the first year on.
185
Right.
186
So, what are you doing yours on?
187
Glaciated landscapes.
188
Although I haven't decided exactly what aspect yet.
189
I did mine on climate systems, so I can't help you much, I'm afraid.
190
But you'll be fine once you start your tutorials.
191
Dr Peterson will help you focus.
192
I know, and he'll set me deadlines for the different stages, which is what I need.
193
My concern is that I've got tons of material on the topic, and I won't be able to stick to the word limit, you know.
194
I remember I had different concerns when I was doing my dissertation.
195
Last year.
196
Yeah, before my first tutorial, I did a lot of fairly general reading because I hadn't fixed on my topic at that stage.
197
I actually enjoyed that quite a lot and really improved my reading speed, you know, so I was getting through a lot of material.
198
I was frightened I wouldn't remember it all, though, so I got into the habit of making very detailed notes.
199
So did you find your tutor helpful in getting you started?
200
Yeah, we certainly had some interesting discussions, but it's funny.
201
I saw a brilliant programme about climate change, and it was that that really fired me up.
202
It was talking about some recent research which seemed to contradict some of the articles I'd been reading.
203
Now you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.
204
Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.
205
So you say your tutorials start next week?
206
Yeah.
207
Well, the first month's crucial.
208
You've got to meet your tutor and decide on your focus, but don't become too dependent on him.
209
You know, don't see him every week, only when you want to check something.
210
Right.
211
Once you've got the focus, you've got to get reading.
212
It's helpful to look through the bibliographies for all the course modules relating to your topic.
213
And get hold of any books you think you'll need.
214
I haven't got much money.
215
I mean, get the books from the library.
216
Far better.
217
And I suppose I should prepare a detailed outline of the chapters?
218
Yeah, absolutely.
219
But don't feel you have to follow it slavishly.
220
It's meant to be flexible.
221
OK.
222
Now, I'm someone who likes to get writing quickly.
223
I can't just sit and read for a month.
224
Not like me then.
225
But if that's what suits you, you know, your natural approach, then you really ought to start immediately and write the first chapter.
226
Right.
227
Now, Joanne, about the library, it's worthwhile getting on good terms with the staff.
228
They aren't always helpful with undergraduates.
229
I suppose they focus on post-grads more.
230
Maybe.
231
But show them you're serious about wanting to do good work.
232
And what if I can't find what I need?
233
Well, there's interlibrary loans.
234
Borrowing books from other libraries.
235
But I've heard it isn't all that reliable.
236
You're right.
237
But you probably won't need it anyway. Be positive.
238
The library is likely to have most things you need.
239
And during the dissertation writing period, you can take out 15 instead of the usual 10 books.
240
Should I look at previous year's dissertations?
241
You can do.
242
But I won't know which are the good ones.
243
The library only keeps the best, and the staff can advise you.
244
Are they willing to do that?
245
Oh, yeah.
246
And I'm worried about getting journal articles from the electronic library.
247
Have you tried to find any yet?
248
No. Well, you should.
249
It's really straightforward.
250
That's obviously something I'll have to look into.
251
Dr Peterson will help.
252
Yeah, I know I can go to him if I have any worries.
253
Except he will be away in the second month.
254
It's the holidays.
255
You should ask him what to do while he's away.
256
Gosh, yeah.
257
But I suppose I can get a lot of support from coursemates.
258
I know a couple of people who are thinking of doing the same topic as me.
259
Take care.
260
Collaboration can become dependency.
261
I think you'd better see how that works out, what the people are like.
262
You're probably right.
263
About other reading, I suppose Dr Peterson will recommend plenty of good articles to get me started.
264
One thing I'd find out is what his attitude is to internet sources.
265
Surely not in this day and age.
266
I'd better get that sorted out right at the beginning.
267
I would if I were you.
268
And I've also got some questions about the research sections.
269
How much time I should spend explaining the process?
270
Well, I think that's up to you.
271
You can see how it develops as you're writing.
272
OK.
273
It's the same with things like time management.
274
That's something a tutor can't really help you with.
275
I agree.
276
So, is there anything else you need me to go over?
277
That is the end of part three.
278
You now have half a minute to check your answers to part three.
279
Listening, Part 4 You will hear a psychology undergraduate describing the research she is currently doing on expertise in creative writing.
280
First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
281
Now listen and answer questions 31 to 40.
282
For my short presentation today, I'm going to summarise the work I've done so far on my research project to explore expertise in creative writing.
283
Essentially, I'll share with you the process I underwent to gather my interim findings.
284
First of all, I should give a little relevant background information about myself.
285
Before I started my current degree course in cognitive psychology, I studied English literature.
286
And, as you can imagine, this meant I spent a great deal of time thinking about the notion of creativity
287
and what makes people develop into successful writers.
288
However, the idea for this research project came from a very specific source.
289
I became fascinated with the idea of what makes an expert creative writer when I read a well-known 20th century writer's autobiography.
290
I won't say which one at this stage, because I think that might prejudice your interpretation.
291
Anyway, this got me thinking about the different routes to expertise.
292
Specifically, I wondered why some people become experts at things whilst others fail to do so,
293
in spite of the fact that they may be equally gifted and work equally hard.
294
I started to read about how other researchers had explored similar questions in other fields.
295
I began to see a pattern that those studies which involved research in a lab were too controlled for my purposes, and I decided to avoid reading them.
296
I was quite surprised to find that the clearest guidance for my topic came from investigations into what I call practical skills,
297
such as hairdressing or waiting tables.
298
Most of these studies tended to use a similar set of procedures, which I eventually adopted for my own project.
299
I'll now explain what these procedures were.
300
I decided to compare what inexperienced writers do with what experienced writers do do.
301
In order to investigate this, I looked for four people whom I regarded as real novices in this field,
302
which proved easy, perhaps unsurprisingly.
303
It proved much harder to locate people with suitably extensive experience who were willing to take part in my study.
304
I asked the first four to do a set writing task and, as they wrote, to talk into a tape recorder, a technique known as think aloud.
305
This was in order to get experimental data.
306
Whilst they were doing this, a research assistant recorded them using video.
307
I thought it might be helpful for me in my transcriptions later on.
308
I then asked four experienced writers to do exactly the same task.
309
After this, I made a comparison between the two sets of data, and this helped me to produce a framework for analysis.
310
In particular, I identified five major stages which all creative writers seem to go through when generating this genre of text.
311
I think it was fairly effective, but still needs some work, so I intend to tighten this up later for use with subsequent datasets.
312
I then wanted to see whether experienced writers were actually producing the better pieces of writing.
313
So I asked an editor, an expert in reviewing creative writing, to decide which were the best pieces of writing.
314
This person put the eight pieces of work in order of quality, in rank order, and using his evaluations I was then able to work out
315
which sequence of the five stages seemed to lead to the best quality writing.
316
Now my findings are by no means conclusive at this point, I still have a long way to go but
317
if any of you have any questions i'd be happy to answer them and go
318
that is the end of part four you now have one minute to check your answers to part four
319
Thank you.
320
Thank you. so Thank
321
you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B23
316 sentences
IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE TEST 2026 WITH ANSWERS | 02.09.2026
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
326 sentences
Car for sale (mini) listening practice test with answers | IELTS Final Exam
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
307 sentences
Cambridge 16 Listening Test 1 with Answer | #english #ieltslistening
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
![[VOL 5] IELTS Listening Test 7](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_bSI6BER9L0/mqdefault.jpg)
B21
275 sentences
[VOL 5] IELTS Listening Test 7
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
54 sentences
IELTS listening - Driving license (Actual test 11/2024) - with answer and transcript
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
274 sentences
Details of Customer Purchase Listening Test
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
722 sentences
1 Hour IELTS Listening Podcast & Test - Part 3 Only for Practice and ASMR October 2025 #ib8
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B21
289 sentences
IELTS LISTENING ACTUAL TEST 6-4
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
597 sentences
Drury's Electrical Store | Test 101 | IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
307 sentences
Revision note - IELTS Listening practice Test 2022 With answers | IELTS Listening
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B2300 sentences
IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE TEST 2027 WITH ANSWERS | Test 33 | Latest Full Exam Preparation 2027
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B24
150 sentences
IELTS Speaking Part 1 – Cars
IELTS PrepInterview EnglishUniversity Students
Who Will Benefit from This Video?
This video is perfect for intermediate English learners prepping for exams like IELTS or anyone wanting to sharpen real-world listening and speaking skills. The casual phone conversation about a car sale mirrors everyday interactions, making it ideal for practicing how to extract key details—like age, mileage, and ownership—while getting comfortable with natural speech pacing. If you’re working on shadowing technique to improve fluency, the clear, conversational tone makes it a great tool to mimic.
Useful Words & Phrases to Add to Your Toolkit
The dialogue is packed with practical expressions. Here are a few to note:
- "Coming up to": Means nearly reaching a age or time (e.g., "coming up to 13 years old").
- "On the clock": Refers to a car’s mileage (e.g., "62,000 on the clock").
- "Pleasant surprise": Something better than expected (e.g., "the low mileage was a pleasant surprise").
Tips for Nailing the Accent & Pacing
The speaker uses a relaxed, conversational tone with slight pauses—perfect for shadow speech practice. Notice how words like "Yep" and "Absolutely" are shortened or emphasized to sound friendly. To mimic this, focus on reducing "want to" to "wanna" and "got to" to "gotta" in similar contexts. The pace isn’t too fast, so pause the video, repeat lines, and match the rhythm. A shadowing site could help, but even repeating directly from the video will boost your ability to keep up with real-life conversations. Pay attention to the rising intonation when asking questions ("And what about you?")—it’s a small detail that makes a big difference in sounding natural.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | will be played · will be given · was owned |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | Have you been · haven't used · It's just been serviced |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | ticket, which can · mill, which has · stages, which is |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.