Shadowing Practice: IELTS Listening Practice Section-1(Family Excursions) with answers - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Section 1 You will hear a man inquiring in a tourist's centre about activities suitable for families.
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Section 1 You will hear a man inquiring in a tourist's centre about activities suitable for families.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 4.
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You will see that there is an example that has been done for you.
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On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first.
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Hi, can I help you?
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I'd like to find out if you have any excursions suitable for families.
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Sure.
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How about taking your family for a cruise?
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We have a steamship that takes passengers out several times a day.
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It's over a hundred years old.
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The cruise takes place on a steamship.
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So steamship has been written in the space.
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Now we shall begin.
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You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time.
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Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 4.
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Hi, can I help you?
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I'd like to find out if you have any excursions suitable for families.
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Sure.
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How about taking your family for a cruise?
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We have a steamship that takes passengers out several times a day.
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It's over a hundred years old.
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That sounds interesting.
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How long is the trip?
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About an hour and a half.
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And don't forget to take pictures of the mountains.
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They're all around you when you're on the boat and they look fantastic.
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OK.
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And I assume there's a cafe or something on board?
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Sure.
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How old are your children?
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My daughter's 15 and my son's 7.
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Right.
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Well, there are various things you can do once you've crossed the lake to make a day of it.
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One thing that's very popular is a visit to the country farm.
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You're met off the boat by the farmer and he'll take you to the holding pens where the sheep are kept.
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Children love feeding them.
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My son would love that.
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He really likes animals.
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Well, there's also a 40-minute trek round the farm on a horse if he wants.
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Do you think he'd manage it?
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He hasn't done that before.
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Sure.
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It's suitable for complete beginners.
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Good.
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And again, visitors are welcome to explore the farm on their own,
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as long as they take care to close gates and so on.
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There are some very beautiful gardens along the side of the lake which also belong to the farm.
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They'll be just at their best now.
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You could easily spend an hour or two there.
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OK, well, that all sounds good.
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And can we get lunch there?
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You can, and it's very good,
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though it's not included in the basic cost.
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You pay when you get there.
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Right.
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Before you hear the rest of the conversation,
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you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10.
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Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.
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So, is there anything else to do over on that side of the lake?
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Well, what you can do is take a bike over on the ship and then go on a cycling trip.
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There's a trail there called the Back Road.
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You could easily spend three or four hours exploring it,
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and the scenery's wonderful.
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They'll give you a map when you get your ticket for the cruise.
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There's no extra charge.
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What's the trail like in terms of difficulty?
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Quite challenging in places.
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It wouldn't be suitable for your seven-year-old.
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It needs someone who's got a bit more experience.
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Hmm.
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Well, my daughter loves cycling,
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and so do I, so maybe the two of us could go,
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and my wife and son could stay on the farm.
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That might work out quite well.
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But we don't have bikes here.
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Is there somewhere we could rent them?
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Yes.
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There's a place here in the city.
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It's called Ratchesons.
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I'll just make a note of that.
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How do you spell it?
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R-A-T-C-H-E-S-O-N-S.
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It's just by the cruise ship terminal.
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OK.
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You'd also need to pick up a repair kit for the bike from there to take along with you,
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and you'd need to take along a snack and some water.
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It'd be best to get those in the city.
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Fine.
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That shouldn't be a problem.
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And I assume I can rent a helmet from the bike place.
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Sure.
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You should definitely get that.
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It's a great ride, but you want to be well prepared
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because it's very remote you won't see any shops around there
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or anywhere to stay so you need to get back in time for the last boat yeah
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so what sort of prices are we looking at here let's see that'd be one adult
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and one child for the cruise with farm tour that's 117 dollars
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and an adult and a child for the cruise only
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so that's 214 dollars all together oh wait a minute how old did you say your daughter was?
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Fifteen.
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Then I'm afraid it's two hundred and sixty-seven dollars,
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because she has to pay the adult fare,
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which is seventy-five dollars, instead of the child fare, which is twenty-two dollars.
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Sorry about that.
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That's okay.
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So how do we find out...
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That is the end of Section 1.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Thank you.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will engage in a realistic listening exercise focused on family excursions, modeled on the IELTS listening format. As you listen to a conversation between a tourist and a representative at a visitor center, you will hone your comprehension skills. This exercise will help you practice answering questions based on auditory information, which is crucial for IELTS listening success. By the end of the session, you will not only improve your listening abilities but also enhance your overall English speaking practice capabilities.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Excursions: Short trips or outings, especially organized for a specific purpose.
  • Cruise: A pleasurable journey on water, often for recreation.
  • Steamship: A type of boat powered by steam, historically significant for travel.
  • Holding pens: Enclosed areas for keeping animals, usually for feeding or milking.
  • Trek: A long and challenging journey, often on foot or horseback.
  • Beginner: Someone who is just starting to learn something.
  • Explore: To travel through an area to learn more about it.
  • Gardens: Areas cultivated for growing plants, often scenic and tranquil.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning experience, implement the shadowing technique while practicing with this listening exercise. Shadowing involves listening to the audio and simultaneously repeating what you hear, which helps reinforce pronunciation and intonation. Since the conversation is delivered at a natural pace, it provides an excellent opportunity to work on your English speaking practice. Try to mimic not just the words but also the tone and rhythm of the speakers. Start by listening to a small segment, then pause to repeat after hearing it. Gradually increase the length of the sections as you become more comfortable.

It may be beneficial to play the audio multiple times, focusing on different aspects each time—such as vocabulary, pronunciation, or the context of the conversation. Remember, effective IELTS speaking practice is about understanding and using language fluently, so don’t rush through this process. For continuous improvement, consider using the shadowspeaks technique by finding other resources or a shadowing site to incorporate varied accents and contexts into your preparation.

This focused practice on listening and speaking skills will not only prepare you for the IELTS exam but will also enhance your natural conversational abilities in English.

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.

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