Shadowing Practice: Volume 8 Test 3 - IELTS Listening Full Test - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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of different recordings and you will have to answer questions on what you hear.
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There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions and you will have a chance to check your work.
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All the recordings will be played once only.
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The test is in four sections.
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Write all your answers in the listening question booklet.
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At the end of the test, you will be given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet.
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Now turn to section 1 on page 2 of your question booklet.
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Section 1.
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You will hear a telephone conversation between a travel agent and a man who needs help planning a holiday.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 7 on page 2.
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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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Beach Heads Travel Pam speaking.
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Hi, my name's Duncan.
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Duncan, I'm hoping you'll be able to help me organise a trip to Beach Heads.
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Sure, let me just fill in our customer request sheet while I'm speaking to you.
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Could you tell me your name again, please?
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Yes, it's Duncan.
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Duncan White.
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The man's name is Duncan White.
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So, White 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 7.
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Beach Heads Travel, Pam speaking.
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Hi, my name's Duncan.
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I'm hoping you'll be able to help me organise a trip to Beach Heads.
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Sure, let me just fill in our customer request sheet while I'm speaking to you.
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Could you tell me your name again, please?
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Yes, it's Duncan.
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Duncan White.
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OK, and is the trip just for yourself?
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No, there's three adults, myself, my wife and my mother, and our two daughters, Chloe and Eden.
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So when are you thinking of travelling?
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During the next school holidays.
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So they start on the 12th of October, don't they?
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Yes, but we'll be arriving on the 15th and we want to stay for a fortnight.
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Right, got all that.
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Now I'll just take a few notes about the type of holiday you want, so I can make the bookings for you.
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Have you thought about where you want to stay while you're here?
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In the first week we'd like a bit of luxury, and we're planning on staying in a hotel on the beach if possible.
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That'll be so much better than a campsite.
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We usually stay in a tent when we go away, but we're going to treat ourselves this time.
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And do you have a figure in mind for how much you'd like to spend?
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Are we likely to get anything for under $150 a night?
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Not really.
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You'd have to spend at least $175 for a big enough room.
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OK, we can stretch to that.
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I'll just have to stop myself thinking that when we go camping we only pay about $200 for a whole week.
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Well, I'm sure it will be worth it.
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I can also organise some activities for your first week.
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Is there anything your daughters would particularly like to do?
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They want to try sailing this year.
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Last year it was surfing.
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They were mad about it.
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Kids change their minds a lot, don't they?
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Mine are into cycling at the moment.
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I know someone who can teach them to sail.
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Would you like me to organise a class for them?
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Wonderful.
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We're bringing our own boat with us.
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And what about your wife and your mother?
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Well, my mother Susan goes bowling when she's in Brisbane, but my wife Jenny doesn't really like it.
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She loves bushwalking, but obviously my mother can't manage that.
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Can I suggest golf for them both?
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It's a gentler kind of walk.
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There's a beautiful course here with magnificent views of the sea.
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Sounds perfect.
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OK, I'll organise a time.
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Thanks.
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Could you send me some leaflets about fishing in the area?
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I'd like to take the boat out myself.
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Sure, there are some good spots around.
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Great.
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Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 8 to 10 on page 2.
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Now listen and answer questions 8 to 10.
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OK, so let's think about the second week now.
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We want something totally different.
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We'd like to stay up in the mountains in the National Park.
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Very nice.
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And what kind of accommodation are you thinking of?
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There are some beautiful houses you can rent.
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Yes, we did think about renting a house, but I'm worried about the cost.
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Is there anything a bit cheaper, say a caravan or even a cabin?
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It'd have to be a caravan, because they don't have cabins at the campground but the standard is very high.
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How much does it cost?
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A hundred dollars a night, but they're very roomy with all mod cons.
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The campground's also in a really good spot.
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What activities are you thinking of doing in that second week?
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Well, it's actually going to be my wife's birthday, so I'd like to do something a bit special for her.
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I can book a really nice massage for her after lunch on that day.
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Lovely.
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Or would she rather try something more adventurous, like a walk in the treetops?
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It's really exciting.
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You go along a really high wooden bridge.
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Oh no, she'd be terrified.
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Stick with your first idea.
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Are there any nice places to eat near the campground?
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Yes, there's a fantastic wood-fired pizza restaurant called Marco's.
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Oh, good.
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I've got two very fussy daughters.
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Could you send me their menu so we can check it'll be OK?
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No problem, Duncan.
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Now, while I remember...
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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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Now turn to section 2 on page 3.
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Section 2.
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You will hear a talk about two new initiatives to encourage bicycle use in a city in Australia.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15 on page 3.
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Now, listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.
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Thank you for all coming to today's information session on bicycle use in the inner city.
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I'll start by telling you about the City Council's new bicycle hire scheme, which is called CityCycle.
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We want to provide people who don't own a bike a convenient way to get around the inner City.
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Now to use CityCycle first you need to subscribe to the service and you can do that online.
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Just go to the City Council website and follow the prompts and you'll be sent a card.
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Once you've done that you can unlock one of our bikes from any station in the inner city area.
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Just go to the station and log on at the computer terminal.
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You'll be shown a diagram of the bikes
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that are currently available at the station so you just choose the one you want by touching the screen.
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You don't need a password or anything.
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Once you've chosen your bike you can then go to where the bikes are stored and push the release button.
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After you do that you have about 10 seconds to take the bike out of the rack.
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You can now start your bike ride.
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Further down the track we're thinking about adding lockers for bags if the scheme is popular.
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Oh, at this point can I just clarify something
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that a few people have been asking and that is do I have to wear a helmet?
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Well the answer is yes you do.
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That's a requirement by law in this state so don't forget to wear one at all times when riding.
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Now at the end of your trip just come back to one of the city cycle stations
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and wheel the bike into the bike rack.
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It's important to make sure that the bike is properly secured because you could be held liable if it goes missing.
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The green light on the rack will confirm that it has been locked into place.
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So we hope that with such a simple scheme we'll have many users.
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Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20 on page 4.
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Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.
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Let's turn to another initiative, the layout of the new Council Bicycle Centre, which will be opening next week.
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This is for people who already own a bike.
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We wanted to provide a place for cyclists to store their bikes, then change before going on to work.
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Can you all see the plan?
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If you look at the bottom towards the right-hand corner, you'll see where the cyclists enter the centre.
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People want more than just a place to park their bikes.
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That's why you'll see a coffee cart.
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That's it there between the reception desk and the vending machines.
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I'm sure it'll be very popular with commuters first thing in the morning.
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Now, of course, some of our cyclists have very expensive bikes, so we'll have a totally secure place for them to park.
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That's it in the top right-hand corner.
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Now, there's another special service for the cyclists that I'd like to show you.
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Look back at the entry on the map.
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Just to the left of reception, on the Donovan Street side of the building, you'll see quite a large room.
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That's the workshop, where cyclists will be able to leave their bikes for repairs while they are at work.
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We've put a lot of thought into the facilities of the centre.
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If you have any valuables with you, you can leave these in our lockers.
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The locker room is in the top left hand corner of your plan, so you can store your bag or wallet there before you head off for a shower.
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We've installed ten state of the art power showers are located
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in this room here to the left of the hairdryers and just near the exit.
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There's also a water cooler available so you can grab a drink
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and then pick up a towel next to the water cooler there.
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That is the end of section two.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Now turn to section 3 on page 5.
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Section 3.
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You will hear two students called Sylvia and Greg discussing their project on renewable energy.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25 on page 5.
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Thank you.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.
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Greg, about this project on renewable energy,
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we've got to look at some products that use it and then see how aware people are of this kind of energy.
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Well, first we must clarify what renewable energy is.
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I've done that.
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It's energy from a source which is replaced by a natural process such as wind, tidal energy from the sea, energy from the sun, and so on.
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And I've found some very interesting examples of products using these sources.
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So have I.
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What have you got?
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Well, the first one is a company in Germany which is producing huge kites that pull ships along.
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The kites are attached by long cables, and they fly up to 500 meters above the sea.
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They must be pretty big.
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And it means that they can be powered by the wind no matter what the weather.
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That sounds like a good idea.
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But will they really help reduce energy use?
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You bet.
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As well as that, apparently, the shipping industry is one of the worst polluters on the planet, as they use cheap diesel fuel which has terrible toxic emissions.
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The company believes these kites could cut the use of these fuels by 50% and reduce the emissions by the same amount.
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Sounds good.
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And I found a company in the US which is developing a new type of car.
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Apparently, they're producing a sports car which doesn't use petrol at all, just electricity, but for the US market only.
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Sounds intriguing.
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Do we know what it'll look like?
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They're very secretive about it, and all they say is that it won't look ugly, and it'll have zero emissions.
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Wow, really?
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So they say.
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Any other products?
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Uh, I found an interesting article about a man in South Africa who's selling stoves using ethanol to the local people.
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Ethanol?
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Yes.
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It's made from the sugar of certain crops.
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Most of the local people use paraffin stoves at the moment, and they are dangerous because they can explode quite easily.
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Right.
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Now for the next part, we have to do a survey to find out how aware the public is about this kind of energy.
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who shall we approach local businesses I think it's easier to
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do a survey of the general public rather than local companies
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why well last time we sent all those email surveys to commercial organizations
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and we only had replies from five percent of them oh I forgot
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that okay then what about the other students and the lecturers here in the University you know what the lecturers alike.
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They're so busy they won't have the time, but the students will, I'm sure.
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Okay.
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And as well as that, we could target the local schools like last time.
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School kids just love doing surveys.
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I think we want to stick to adults for this, don't you?
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You're probably right.
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Maybe we could approach people who rent our own properties around here, since they're the ones who have to pay for the energy.
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Exactly.
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Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30 on page 6.
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Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.
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Now, what about the kind of questions we want to include in the survey?
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Well, we need to find out if they know what renewable energy is and how familiar people are with the concept.
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I know it's been all over the news lately, but I think a lot of people are still in the dark about it.
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Do you think so?
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I'm not sure I agree.
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But we can have that in if you want.
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We also need to find out what they think about the use of traditional energy sources like gas and coal,
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and if they know what effect these types of energy have on their environment.
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And what they cost.
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That's not so important.
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But we ought to see what they think is going to happen to the consumption of traditional energy sources.
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You're right.
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Then there's nuclear power.
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That's an interesting one, because it's cleaner and more efficient in many ways than other fuels.
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But the safety factor has always worried people.
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Yes.
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I know that the technology has improved greatly since it was first used, but I don't think everyone is convinced.
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Are there any problems with renewable energy?
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Yes, and we need to know what people think about them.
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One argument is that it's going to be too expensive to use solar or wind power.
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But once people realize the benefits to us all, the price is bound to come down.
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It's always expensive to start with.
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Once enough people want it, it'll be a viable prospect.
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That's true.
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But the other thing is they don't like it.
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They say that some of the technology is ugly, like the big windmills used.
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A lot of people think they spoil the countryside, and I agree.
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They're not that bad.
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They're pretty efficient, so perhaps it's a case of choosing the right place for them, where they look least out of place.
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Good point.
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It'll be very interesting to see the results of this survey.
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That is the end of Section 3.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Now turn to section 4 on page 7.
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Section 4.
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You will hear part of a presentation given by a business student on an assignment about absence from work.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40 on page 7.
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Thank you.
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questions 31 to 40.
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Hello everyone.
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For my assignment I did a review of the literature concerning absence in the workplace, and I am going to present a summary of what I found.
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I looked at some research on absence from work, that is, the number of days work people miss, for various reasons.
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Researchers refer to two types of absence.
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Frequent absence, which is obviously a more serious problem, and occasional absence.
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A lot of studies look at the factors involved in absence from work, and several have been identified.
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Firstly, the gender of the employee may influence his or her ability to attend work.
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For example, a female is more likely to have child care responsibility, and so could be absent as a result of that.
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The next factor that has been identified is the attitude of employees toward their work.
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But there has been a lot of debate about the extent to which this actually does influence absence, and some people argue that the research hasn't been conclusive.
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Some researchers have suggested that another reason for high levels of absence is
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that some organizations have a culture in which absence is accepted, but others have criticized this model, arguing that it's too much of a generalization.
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And then there are factors related to the type of work the employee does.
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It's been claimed that workers in industry are more likely to have high absence rates than people who work in offices.
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It's also important to recognize that groups within a single organization might behave differently.
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For example, one of the other underlying themes in the literature is
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that there is a connection between how often an employee is absent
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and what size of work group he or she belongs to.
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Specifically, it's been found that the bigger the group, the higher the levels of absence.
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On a related theme, some writers have focused on a comparison between public sector organizations and private sector ones.
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There is some evidence that absence levels are higher in the public sector.
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It's not exactly clear why this should be the case,
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but one explanation that has been often put forward is that in some cases public sector organizations may not be as efficient.
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This might be because their systems are more bureaucratic, due to factors which are external rather than internal,
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like the degree of control the government imposes on the public sector.
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However, most recent literature suggests a number of other explanations.
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Firstly, a public sector organization tends to have a workforce which is larger.
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Also, it tends to employ a higher number of female and older employees, both of which groups are likely to record higher absence rates.
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It is also suggested that public sector organizations are more likely to give their absent employees benefits for a longer period,
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and are less likely to place restrictions on these.
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In addition, it's been found that public sector employers have less of a tendency to dismiss employees for being absent.
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And all of these could be additional or alternative reasons for higher absence rates in the public sector.
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Now, I'd like to talk about the management of absence.
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That is the end of Section 4.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Thank you.
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Now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Volume 8 Test 3 - IELTS Listening Full Test”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: answer, absence, bike, energy, section. This video has 293 sentences and 3226 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:51. The speaker talks at a steady 116 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| organise verb | Non-Oxford British standard spelling of organize. | |
| cyclist noun | /ˈsaɪ.klɪst/ | A person who rides a cycle, especially a bicycle, or who habitually engages in cycling. |
| renewable adjective | /ɹɪˈnu.ə.bl̩/ | Able to be renewed; capable of renewal. |
| bicycle noun | /ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/ | A vehicle that has two primary wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s… |
| absent adjective | /ˈæb.sn̩t/ | Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; existing but not present; (sometimes) missing. |
| kite noun | /ˈkiːtɛ/ | A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae. |
| emission noun | /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/ | Something which is emitted or sent out; issue. |
| rack noun | /ɹæk/ | A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other. |
| locker noun | /ˈlɑ.kɚ/ | A type of storage compartment with a lock, usually used to store personal possessions for public use, such as in schools, railway stations, place of work… |
| campground noun | /ˈkæmpˌɡɹaʊnd/ | An area where tents are pitched. |
| ethanol noun | /ˈɛθ.ə.nɑl/ | A simple aliphatic alcohol formally derived from ethane by replacing one hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group: CH₃-CH₂-OH. |
| booklet noun | /ˈbʊk.lət/ | A small or thin book. |
| caravan noun | /ˈkæɹəvæn/ | A convoy or procession of travellers, their cargo and vehicles, and any pack animals, especially camels crossing a desert. |
| stove noun | /stoʊv/ | A heater, a closed apparatus to burn fuel for the warming of a room. |
| lecturer noun | /ˈlɛkt͡ʃəɹə/ | A person who gives lectures, especially as a profession. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. |
| go along verb | To participate, cooperate, or conform. |
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| put forward verb | To propose for consideration. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Could you tell me your name again, please?
- Have you thought about where you want to stay while you're here?
- Can I suggest golf for them both?
- Can you all see the plan?
- Do we know what it'll look like?
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 done |
| 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 | man who needs · someone who can · scheme, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 77 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: emission /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/, restriction /ɹɪˈstɹɪkʃən/, massage /məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, occasional /əˈkeɪʒ(ə)nəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: adventurous /ædˈvɛn.t͡ʃɚ.əs/, bureaucratic /ˌbjʊəɹəˈkɹætɪk/, magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, occasional /əˈkeɪʒ(ə)nəl/
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 organise, cyclist, renewable.
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.