Shadowing Practice: [VOL 5] IELTS Listening Test 4 - Learn English Speaking with Video

IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening IELTS Listening

IELTS Listening 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 sections.

Write all your answers in the Listening Question booklet.

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

now turn to section 1 on page 2 of your question booklet

section 1 you will hear a telephone conversation between a travel agent

and a customer first you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6 on page 2

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.

Hello, Bakewell Travel.

How can I help?

Oh, hello.

My name's Sarah Carter.

I wonder if you could tell me about the price of plane tickets to Dubai.

The customer wants to travel to Dubai.

So, Dubai 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 one to six.

Hello, Bakewell Travel.

How can I help?

Oh, hello.

My name's Sarah Carter.

I wonder if you could tell me about the price of plane tickets to Dubai.

Our computers are down, so what I can do is take some details about you

and your travel plans then when everything's OK again, I can call you back, all right?

OK, then.

Right.

So, some details first.

Your name was Sarah Carter, wasn't it?

That's right.

And can I take a contact phone number?

07 958 847 222.

Now, I'll probably need to get back to you on this.

Shall I call you back tomorrow morning?

Oh, I work on Wednesdays.

Can you call me back on Thursday, before 12?

Fine.

OK, so, Mrs Carter, how many tickets will you need?

Three adults and four children.

So, seven altogether.

Are all the children under the age of 14?

They are, yes.

Which date do you wish to travel on?

Well, we definitely need to be there for the 24th.

So, if we leave the UK on the 22nd, we'll have time to recover on the 23rd.

So, the 22nd of October?

Not this month.

Next month.

November right and I assume these are return tickets yes we want to fly back on the Tuesday is

that the 25th or the 26th it's the 25th

so it's going to be a short holiday we're going to

a wedding we're not going for a holiday oh that's nice

now do any travelers have any special requirements you know special assistance with mobility

and that sort of thing oh well actually yes my son's allergic to cheese it makes him really really ill fine So, as soon as I can,

I'll look into finding some tickets for you.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10 on page 2.

Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.

Now, I wonder if I could just ask you a couple of questions as part of our market research.

Would you be happy to do that?

Will this take long?

Just a couple of minutes, that's all.

OK.

So, how many foreign visits have you made in the last 12 months?

About six, I suppose.

And where was your last foreign trip?

Well, I was in Egypt in May, then most recently India.

Oh, nice.

Yes, I'm off for some IT training in Bangalore next month, actually.

And was that a vacation?

I'd love to go back there for a holiday, but it was for business this time.

And I presume you use the internet?

I do, yes.

And so you've seen our website?

Yes, I had a look this morning, actually.

Well, we had it redesigned a month ago, and we're keen to get feedback on how our customers find it, so...

Oh, right.

OK.

Well, I have to say I found it terribly slow, so I just gave up and thought I'd give you a call.

Oh.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that.

But yes, it does happen sometimes.

Would it be OK for us to email you with any promotional offers?

I suppose so.

Well, OK.

My address is carter .s at speedtech .com.

Is that S -P -E -E -D -T -E -C -H?

Yes.

That's great.

And can I ask how you found out about Bakewell Travel?

That is the end of Section 1.

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section 2 on page 3.

Part 2.

You will hear the manager of Cretan Running Sports Club called Dave giving some information about the running competition

which will be held next month.

First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 17.

100

Now, listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 17.

101

Good morning everyone.

102

I'm Dave, the manager of Cretan Running Sports Club.

103

Today I'll tell you something about the running competition which will be held next month.

104

As we know, the annual run is one of the most popular events in our town, and it attracts young and old every year.

105

This year we will continue the tradition, but there will be some small adjustments.

106

First, about the date.

107

The exact time of the run is still on the first Saturday of May, but we'll inform you in advance if it's to be delayed due to bad weather.

108

The run used to start at the park, which is being refurbished at the moment, so this time all the runners are expected to gather in front of the castle and start from there.

109

The actual run begins at 9am, but the runners start arriving at about 8 .45,

110

so some of you might have to get up early that morning if you live far away.

111

Someone has asked how long you'll be required to run.

112

In the past few years, the runners have had to complete the distance of 5 miles.

113

But most people want to do a bit more than that, so we will lengthen it to 7 miles this time.

114

Some of you might not be sure whether you can run that far, so you'd better start doing a bit of training.

115

I'm excited to tell you

116

that this year we've got the sponsorship from a big company who has promised to cover all the competition expenses, including the prize for the champion.

117

The runner with the shortest time will be awarded sports equipment worth about £1 ,000.

118

Each runner will be timed from the starting point until the end.

119

When you cross the finish line marked on the ground of the station, You'll be given a barcode, and you should take this to one of the run volunteers who will scan it.

120

Then you can get your time on the computer immediately, and the volunteers will collect all the results.

121

If you are interested in the run, I suggest you register as soon as possible.

122

The deadline is next Sunday.

123

However, I should tell you this year you can't enrol through the internet, but have to go to the town hall and give all the personal information and sign your name.

124

It doesn't cost anything to register.

125

As I've just said, all the costs related to the competition will be paid by our sponsor.

126

As for the age limit, you have to be at least 16, and the top limit is now 70,

127

though you need to obtain a health certificate from your doctor if you're over 60 years old.

128

If you do come and participate in the run, I definitely recommend that you should prepare an extra pair of shoes,

129

as last year one of the runners got something wrong with his shoes during the running

130

and had to give up halfway through the competition.

131

Besides, a jacket will also be advisable, so you don't catch a cold after sweating a lot during the running.

132

There is no need to worry about snacks or drinks, as every runner will be supplied with chocolates and bottled water.

133

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 18 to 20.

134

Now listen and answer questions 18 to 20.

135

to prepare for this annual running competition our club is going

136

to organize a training class for all the participants in the

137

class an experienced trainer will teach you the professional steps on

138

how to do a running competition like warming up before running

139

for those who plan to do training by yourselves there are

140

some suggestions for you first don't just do morning jogging with your dog remember

141

that you're going to compete with others i know some people like to exercise in groups

142

but it's more effective to run with your friend who can be your rival

143

and stimulate your potential then i suggest you make a record

144

of your running time it can show whether you've made any

145

progress day by day what's more you'd better get used to different roads

146

and paths in the countryside or village as you won't just be running on level ground during the competition.

147

By the way, you don't have to run in all kinds of weather.

148

As I've just said, our competition is going to be held in good weather.

149

Well, that's all the details about the running competition.

150

If you have any other questions, please call our club at 8345 6234.

151

Anyone who is interested in the run just gets started.

152

That is the end of part 2 You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part 2

153

Section 3.

154

You'll hear two students named Rick and Nina discussing about selective courses.

155

First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.

156

Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.

157

Hey, Nina.

158

Have you chosen a selective course yet?

159

Not really, Rick.

160

I haven't made up my mind yet.

161

What about you?

162

Me either.

163

We have to decide as soon as possible, though.

164

Why?

165

Today's not the final day for choosing selective courses, is it?

166

No, but they'll be booked up very soon.

167

Actually, some courses are already full.

168

Really?

169

That's too bad.

170

Thank you.

171

Well, I was thinking of taking a language course.

172

What do you think?

173

Yes, you can do that.

174

You can choose all courses on the school website except mathematics, since it's a required course for all students.

175

By the way, I think business course is a good choice.

176

Yeah, it's not bad.

177

I think it's going to be quite helpful after we graduate.

178

I think so.

179

Guess what?

180

I wanted to choose information statistics.

181

Why?

182

It's related to our major, so I think it's very useful for us.

183

I mean, we will have an advantage in job hunting.

184

But the bad thing is, it's in the morning, so we have to skip other classes in order to take it.

185

That's not good.

186

We need to find an alternative that is more convenient for us.

187

I know, it's a shame.

188

Nina, I think we need to get to know the courses more before choosing them.

189

otherwise we may end up studying something that's either boring or useless.

190

You're right.

191

Maybe we can look online to see if there's information about it.

192

We could also ask our parents for advice.

193

I don't think that's going to help much.

194

People have all kinds of opinions online.

195

We wouldn't know which one to listen to.

196

And our parents probably don't know much about our field.

197

I think the best way is asking the former students who have taken the class themselves.

198

They can tell us how they thought about it from their own experience.

199

Oh yes, they know it better than anyone.

200

Just like how much we know the art design class.

201

Yes, before we took it last year, many people said on the internet that it was quite confusing.

202

But it turned out to be quite easy and helpful, right?

203

Mm -hmm.

204

It didn't let us down.

205

I definitely value the course.

206

Design is an important skill in today's world.

207

Well, whatever course we want to choose, there are still things I need to figure out.

208

What do you mean?

209

Do you mean things like the time of the courses?

210

Since it's the first time we can choose selective courses, I need to know how to register.

211

I think there will be instruction on our school website for registration.

212

I'll let you know.

213

You are so considerate, Nina.

214

I think that's necessary.

215

We need to make sure we can register as soon as we make up our mind.

216

Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30.

217

Now, listen and answer questions 27 to 30.

218

The courses we studied last semester were quite interesting.

219

Maybe we could get some inspiration from those courses.

220

Do you think so?

221

Well, yeah, some of them were quite fun for me, such as metallurgy, though there were quite a lot of terms to remember.

222

But there's also a lot of useful information about it on the internet, which made things easier.

223

That's right.

224

I can refer to many things when I was working on the paper.

225

And the professor in Fluid Mechanics was really patient.

226

His explanation was crystal clear, so students had no difficulty understanding it.

227

Yes, that's true.

228

I was good at this course.

229

What do you think of computing?

230

I think it was kind of boring in the beginning.

231

Do you think so?

232

That's exactly how I felt.

233

There are a lot of numbers to deal with.

234

But thankfully, it got more interesting when the course went on.

235

Right, because later we could relate the theories to real -life examples.

236

Exactly.

237

Another course that I think was really practical is Energy Economy.

238

Oh, yes.

239

There are a lot of practical works in the course.

240

What we learned can come in handy in our future jobs.

241

We should make the decision based on our own experience and preference.

242

Yeah.

243

Anyway, we really need to hurry up.

244

I'm sure we can reach a conclusion today.

245

That is the end of Section 3.

246

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

247

Practice 1 You will hear a lecture about the situation of wild animals, especially wild boar.

248

First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 10.

249

Thank you.

250

Now, listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 10.

251

Good morning.

252

My name's Jim Robinson and today we're going to look at the control of wild animals, specifically wild boar.

253

Now, boar have been natural inhabitants of Western Europe for thousands of years,

254

but in recent years, there has been a surge in boar activity that poses real threat.

255

Boars are not currently on the protected animals list, which is perhaps why there has been a spike in their breeding activity.

256

Boars are an indigenous species and are particularly plentiful in rural France and the Bavarian uplands of Germany.

257

Boar hunting is a European tradition that goes back to Roman times and became particularly popular among courtiers during the Middle Ages.

258

Even during the 20th century, boar hunting was seen as an integral part of rural life.

259

The decline in boar hunting has obviously led to a rise in the boar populations of Europe,

260

and the situation has reached a critical point, with boar posing a critical threat to the environment.

261

Proponents of boar hunting cite this factor as a major reason why boar populations should be contained.

262

Boar also pose a threat to humans too, with countless reports of people being injured during boar attacks.

263

The origins of the wild boar have roots in Germanic, and this perhaps explains their prevalence in Germany.

264

The problems with the boar population, Germany have ramifications for the rest of Europe,

265

as boar packs migrate towards Central and Eastern Europe.

266

One of the main issues that is of great concern is the transmission of diseases that infect other species

267

dairy farmers in france are particularly concerned as many of them

268

have seen their herds depleted by infections the methods for containing boar populations have been looked at in great detail

269

and numerous options are available one is to encourage more boar hunting in wild regions such as mountains and forests.

270

Hunters would be given licenses to hunt, either for food or sport.

271

Of course, boar do pose a threat to human life, so this possibility must be looked at with caution.

272

One method that must be ruled out is poison, as legislation has been introduced prohibiting this.

273

Such methods were tried with rabbits in the 1960s, and this had a disastrous impact on the food chain.

274

The introduction of natural predators into the ecosystem is also an option that can't be considered.

275

The only known predators of boar in the world are wild cats, like lions and tigers.

276

Obviously, there's no way such animals can be allowed to roam the mountains and forests of Europe.

277

given the threat that boars posed to humans it is imperative

278

that forest dwelling boar are kept well away from people in

279

cities this is absolutely essential as human safety must be the

280

main priority of policy makers by the 11th century boars in

281

several european countries were becoming increasingly rare in great britain King

282

Charles attempted to reintroduce boars in the New Forest area of the country,

283

yet the entire population was almost wiped out during the battles of the English Civil War

284

when roaming soldiers hunted them for food.

285

During the 1980s, wild boar rearing was encouraged and boar populations began to rise again.

286

By the 1990s, there was a huge rise in the number of boar across England,

287

due in large part to the species no longer forced to live in captivity.

288

Many boar have broken free from farms across England and are breeding at a rapid rate.

289

Aside from their environmental threat, boars also pose a problem for farmers growing crops and vegetables.

290

Other species such as red deer are a threat to farm produce like grain and potatoes,

291

but boars certainly present the most serious risk.

292

The damage done to the farming industry is estimated to cost millions of pounds

293

and insurance payments as a result of this have spiked in the last decade.

294

Red deer are predominantly confined to forest areas and it is unusual to see them outside their habitats during the summer months.

295

However, as the weather gets colder, they can be seen looking for food around local villages and fields.

296

Red deer have their origins in Asia and are ruminant species,

297

which means they have a stomach that consists of four compartments, much like cows.

298

They are slaughtered for food and their meat is sold as venison and is increasingly popular among consumers.

299

There are nine subspecies of red deer, with three of them on the endangered species list.

300

The deer population doesn't pose the same threat as the boar population, but it certainly needs to be addressed.

301

Forest areas are their main habitats, and they are now breeding at a much higher rate than in previous years. Of course,

302

deer are an important part of the food chain and are an important part of the hunting traditions of the UK,

303

so it is important that their population is kept stable for this reason.

304

Though the real concern is the problems that deer present for farmers who have seen their crops suffer in devastating ways.

305

Protection needs to be offered and many farmers report building large perimeter fences around their fields to keep deer out,

306

which costs them a huge amount of money.

307

Government funding is so far inadequate to offer the protection farmers need,

308

but ways are being looked at to provide subsidies through other means.

309

That is the end of practice one.

310

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “[VOL 5] IELTS Listening Test 4”. This video has 309 sentences and 3323 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:55. The speaker talks at a steady 119 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
deer noun	/dɪɹ/	A ruminant mammal with hooves and often antlers, of the family Cervidae, or one of several similar animals from related families of the order Artiodactyla…
runner noun	/ˈɹʌnɚ/	A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete.
pose verb	/poʊz/	To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect.
carter noun	/ˈkɑɹtɚ/	A person who transports a load on a cart that is drawn by a beast of burden.
farmer noun	/ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/	A person who works the land and/or who keeps livestock; anyone engaged in agriculture on a farm.
carefully adverb	/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/	With care; attentively, circumspectly.
selective adjective	/səˈlɛktɪv/	Of or relating to the process of selection.
breed verb	/ˈbɹiːd/	To give birth to; to be the native place of.
practical adjective	/ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/	Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
encourage verb	/ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/	To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
helpful adjective	/ˈhɛlp.fl̩/	Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.
increasingly adverb		Increasing in amount or intensity.
volunteer noun	/ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/	One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
relate verb	/ɹɪˈleɪt/	To tell in a descriptive way.
crop noun	/kɹɑp/	A plant, grown for it, or its fruits or seeds, to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, or fuel or for any other economic purpose.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
give up verb		To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
make up verb	/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/	To constitute, to compose.
book up verb		To reserve or book all of something, for example by purchasing all the tickets.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
get back to verb		Return to (an activity)
get up verb		To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb.
go back verb		To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Shall I call you back tomorrow morning?
Which date do you wish to travel on?
Would you be happy to do that?
Have you chosen a selective course yet?
What do you think of computing?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been done · has been written · you've seen
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	will be played · will be given · has been done
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	competition which will · park, which is · those who plan

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 45 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/, lengthen /ˈlɛŋθən/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/
Long words — get the stress right: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like deer, runner, pose.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?