Try another mock IELTS Listening Test! (#4) – YouTube Dictation Transcript & Vocabulary

1.hi welcome to another Iz video in this video we are going to work through mock listening test 4 together if you find this video helpful join us at The Forum Al network.com and for more exercises like this one visit iistening blog.com today we want to focus on practicing these listening strategies so the first is to predict the answer and U this doesn't mean to actually predict what the answer is going to be it's more predicting what type of word we're going to be listening for word or words we're going to be listening for whether it's an adjective or a noun a date um a number uh a name proper noun so we want to look at the questions that were given and try to guess what sort of information will be filled in to them we want to note how the information is organized uh there's always an organizational pattern to every I's listening task so whether it's chronological or or in uh groups we need to figure out how this information is organized and this will help position us as we listen for the answers we want to note the question words that could be stated in the listening so for example if some of the words are in a list and we were asked to choose um maybe two or three items from that list if that's the question type to choose from a list often these words will appear exactly as they're written in the listening so we don't have to go searching for a synonym or anything like that often the words will will be exactly as they're listed and so we want to practice this um identifying strategy in the listening today let's go to the exam itself myself I will start the recording IELTS listening blog.com mock IELTS listening test four okay and so as you know there's a bit of Preamble in the beginning of any is listening test so at this point our our test papers would be down uh at uh uh when the when the recording says turn to section one we can turn our papers up and we can start focusing on previewing the questions my advice to you is to um it's important to listen to what the recording is saying during this time but if you've done many practice tests before you will more or less know what's being said so you can kind of more focus on what the question types are and start previewing them for for the exam 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet now turn to section one section one you will hear a father book a birthday party for his son at a children's activity center first you have some time to look at questions 1 to S okay so we're looking for one word and or a number uh so if we look at uh the answers down here June June these are going to be numbers uh what does f which day does fun Runners Clos this will be a day of the week if we look down here four activities does fundr Runners offer on Sunday okay uh mini you see that there is an example stated in the listing on this occasion only the conversation relating to this will be played first let's listen for the example hello fun Runners this is Jenna how may I help you yes I'm looking to speak to someone about booking my son's birthday party I can do that for you sir how many children will be attending please my wife has confirmed approximately 15 thus far but we're anticipating more there will also likely be several parents lieutenants do I need to confirm the number of parents for the booking H okay it depends on the type of party you'd like to book if they want to eat with the kids and play games then I'll need an estimate on the number the caller indicates the birthday party is for his son so father has been written in the appropriate section 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 1 to 7 hello fun Runners this is how may I help you yes I'm looking to speak to someone about booking my son's birthday party I can do that for you sir how many children will be attending please my wife has confirmed approximately 15 thus far but we're anticipating more there will also likely be several parents lieutenants do I need to confirm the number of parents for the booking H okay it depends on the type of party you'd like to book if they want to eat with the kids and play games then I'll need an estimate on the number but let's check availability first uh what's the date and time of the party please June the 15th at 1: p.m

2.oh I'm sorry sir but we're booked up solid for June the 15th uh the next available Saturday that have for a 1 p.m

3.party would be June 22nd would you like me to book you in then well that's no good my son's birthday is the 17th of June my wife has already told the other parents to save the date H maybe we could ask the parents about Sunday the 16th uh do you have anything available then we don't run all activities on Sundays as we close at 4 pm uh but I can book your group in for noon if that works for you do you want me to list what comes with the package sure okay we have a variety of activities open on Sunday for kids age 6 through to 16 if you want a basic level package it'll give the kids each two hours of unlimited activities including Laser Tag Games bumper cars mini put and a pizza lunch the only activity we do not offer on Sundays is is the rock climbing wall we just hired a clown to be on site for the smaller children and that's gone over really well you'll also be provided with an activity host um and this person will keep the kids organized and ensure everyone's having a good time that sounds all right let's book a package that will give the kids up to four hours of playtime and a meal I want to have extra food for the adults say around 10 extra people can you arrange this the maximum amount of playtime is 2 and 1 half hours followed by a meal we provide a birthday cake for an addition $25 and that feeds up to 20 children but honestly I don't think it would feed 15 kids and 10 adults all right we'll take one cake so long as the kids get some it should be fine before you hear the rest of the conversation okay so before we continue let's go and review these questions and uh stick in the the correct answers so we're coming up with one word or number um the callers preferred date for the party now there were several dates that were thrown around there and they they finally decide on one but uh his preferred date was the 15th so you should have had that as your answer 15 uh the child's real birth date was June the 17th which day does fundr Runners close at 4 p.m

4.the answer here is Sunday choose four items from the list a to F these sorts of lists often will be stated exactly as they're written in the listening not always but often and in this case that's true so she the the woman on the phone runs through four items that are included she mentions the raw climbing wall but she says that this would not be available on Sunday she does not mention basketball so the answers here are a c d and f get these answers here acdf okay so let's continue with the listening you have some time to look at questions 8 to 10 okay only three questions this should be fairly easy uh choose three items from the list which three foods have gluten free options again uh these foods will likely be stated exactly as they're written here in the listening so chicken fingers cheese pepperoni pizza macaroni and cheese samosas hot dogs and chips nachos key here is glutenfree now listen and answer questions 8 to 10 okay then fund Runners needs to get a down payment via credit card prior to booking we also need you to complete our questionnaire outlining what meal you'd like to serve the children you can do this online once I finish punching it into our system may I have your name and email for the reservation book it under Patrick Morrow I guess you can send the information to my home email it's C Morrow that's m w yahoo.com m o w yes are we all set for Sunday yeah I think so we've got a party of 15 children reserved for Sunday June 16th at noon and it's the advanced package which includes 2 and a half hours of activity play with lunch and cake as well as food for 10 adults good I will fill out the food choices when I get a moment uh do you have gluten free options we do we have gluten-free cheese or pepperoni pizza slices we have hot dogs and chips or chicken fingers sounds just like a bunch of junk food do you have salad or vegetarian options we don't we have a limited Kitchen on site but would be happy to cater in speciality options for you from our sister site if you don't mind an extra fee we've got salads and sugarless options yes yes I would like those options please send them to me by email I will select the ones I need okay then is there anything else I can help you with today sir no no thank you perfect thank you for calling Fun Runners sir we look forward to having your son's party next weekend okay so which three foods have glutenfree options she mentions chicken fingers cheese and pepperoni pizza slices and hot dogs and chips and there uh the the man starts to talk about other food options but um this is information that we don't need to answer this question so the answers are a b and e let's continue that is the end of section one you now have half a minute to check your answers we're not going to do that we're going to continue on to section two to preview here so choose no more than three words for each answer spectral bat details okay listening to uh information about an animal located in somewhere in America can live in okay probably a climate something like that very similar to The Vampire Bat but the vampir of spectrum bat does not probably a verb hunts using its olfactory system otherwise known as KY word here this will appear in in the listening o Factory typically feeds on animals equal size or section two you will hear a nature discussion about the spectral bat first you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15 probably a word to do with its size number 15 uh okay and then we're going to get more time to look at 16 anyway we have time let's look at them now label the spectral bat dimensions of the diagram these will likely uh they will be uh Dimensions probably in centimeters or inches we'll have to listen for those now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15 right everyone gather around please let's get this week's nature group discussion started picture a dense forest in Mexico in the dead of night a thick warm air hangs as a predator calculates its attack from the bow of a tree in Silence the Predator launches itself downward towards the ground gliding inches above the thick grass with its 3ft wingspan with Precision it snatches an unsuspecting mouth and its claws and whisks back up into the dark trees the night Returns the dead silence and the spectral bat begins to feed as you may have guessed I'm going to talk this week about a creature that is little known the spectral bat or vamper Spectrum as it's biologically classified the spectral bat is the largest species of bat in North and South America generally localized in southern Mexico Ecuador Peru Northern Brazil and the island of Trinidad but not Tobago strangly enough the spectral bat tends to inhabit Hollow trees trees caves or Rock crevices and is even known to nest in man-made structures as forages this species of bat has acclimatized itself to several different habitats such as dense floor environments like forests swamps and Marshy areas its diet which we'll discuss in a second is equally varied the spectral bat is commonly confused with a vampire bat although the two species resemble each other physically they have several other differences the most prominent being that the spectral bat does not drink the blood out of its prey spectral bats are patient hunters and use their highly developed alfal system otherwise known as a scent of smell to pinpoint precisely where their prey are located on the forest floor in the dead of night in fact spectral bats are such skilled Hunters that they attack success rate is among the highest of all mammals in South America feeding on animals it's size or smaller the spectral bat typically uses its claws and Jaws to crush the bodies of its prey prior to consuming its diet is made up prominantly of other bats Birds small rodents amphibians and lizards before you hear the rest of the talk you have some time to look at questions okay let's go over the answers very quickly for this section spectrite details located in and this was a very straightforward answer North and South America can live in I believe he says it has several different habitats that that it uh it can live in so a word that would fit here would be varied varied environments very similar to The Vampire Bat but the vampire Spectrum does not and you probably caught it drink blood hunting using its ol factory system now you heard that key word in the listening and then he goes on to explain that this is a word that means the sense of smell and we knew that this was going to be a noun because we had ah typically feeds on animals equal in size or uh we knew it was going to be something about size smaller and then he shares information that we don't need it eats small lizards it eats other bats okay let's continue 16 to 20 okay previewing 16 to 20 we already talked about those let's look at these ones write the correct letter ABCDE e next to questions okay dark orange or rust in color now these look like different parts of the of the bat uh body fur rounded ears Wings membrane located between its legs used by males to keep mates and Offspring warm Offspring means its babies mates means the animal that it has produced the babies with so looks like we're going to have to match these body parts with these descriptions now listen and answer questions 16 to 20 as I alluded to in my intro the vrum Spectrum has a wingspan that can extend up to 3 ft and a body length of 6 to 8 in the very short stubby fur on the upper parts of its body is generally dark or chestnut brown or rust orang in color it has rounded large ears and a long narrow muzzle but is most distinguishable by its lance-shaped nose Leaf unlike many other species of bat the spectral bat has a flap of membrane between its legs instead of a tail spectral bats mate once per year and typically only produce a single pup both adults are attentive to their offspring and will habitually sleep together with the wings of the male enveloping the mother and her young similarly both parents will assist in the feeding routine while roosting and will continue to do so until a young reaches full Independence most births have been recorded to occur between May and July which correlates with a transition from dry to rainy Seasons the vampirin spectrum is rarely prayed upon by other animals although certain snake species have been known to hunt baby spectral bats from The Nest by far the most major cause of the decline in spectral bat numbers is climate change and ecosystem destruction due to human activity despite this spectral bats are not yet on the endanger species list and enjoy population numbers much greater than many other bat species okay right you should now be able to distinguish the vampin spectral species from other bats does anyone have any questions that is the end of section two okay uh let's go back and punch in these numbers here uh so right away we found out the answer to this one the length of the vampire vampir spectrums uh Wings can be 3 feet he says long and if we want to just standardize so we're going to put three ft here and then we'll put uh digits here as well and the the wings or the body is uh 6 to 8 in write the correct letter uh dark orange or rust in color this was the body fur and we had to be um quick because the answers for the previous questions came almost at the exact same time as the answers for these questions so this is the body F located between it its legs this is a membrane used by males to keep mates and Offspring warm uh so he doesn't use this vocabulary in he in when he's talking about it he says the male will envelop or cover the female and any babies with its wings so the answer here would be D let's continue you now have half a minute to check your answers let's go ahead to section three and preview the questions okay we're talking about dwali why do so many Canadians celebrate dwali uh because Dali closely resembles Christmas because it's a national holiday because Canada is ethnically diverse a variety of religions celebrate dwali for different reasons why uh which is not an example of why Dali is celebrated okay Rama now who is Rama I'm sure this will appear in our lisening Rama's return after Exile Rama's surrender to raana another person that will hear the continuing battle evil section three you will hear a radio show discuss the celebration of devali first you will have some time to look at questions 21 to 24 Dali is celebrated by Hindu siks and James exclusively key word here by people of varied religious backgrounds by people whose ancestors celebrated deepali okay we'll have to listen for some key words there Dali is marked by an official holiday in some countries outside of South Asia because interest in Indian culture and Cuisine is high the history of British colonialism in India okay a lot of these are going to be focusing on key language so uh try to listen for a couple of these words that we've highlighted if if they talk about British colonialism at all it's probably answer B um Indian immigration to countries like Canada perhaps let's listen now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24 welcome back to COV 93.4 FM live with Richard and Allen on this week's cultural Roundup we'll be discussing the ancient Hindu festival of Diwali or deepavali also better known as the Festival of Lights with almost a million indoc Canadians some of the biggest celebrations occur right here in Canada that's especially true in cities with large indoc Canadian communities such as Toronto and Vancouver and the surrounding cities of Brampton and Sur Diwali celebrations date back thousands of years for many Hindus Diwali represents the perseverance of good over evil in the struggle of light versus Darkness it celebrates the victory of the god Rama over ravana and Rama's return after 14 years of Exile to Mark the original event it is said that 20 candles were lit in a row to celebrate deeper Valley which is the ancient Sanskrit for a row of lamps over time deeper Valley was shortened to Diwali which is the modern name we know the festival by today to Mark the modern version of the festival candles are lit homes are decorated with bright lights and sweets and gifts are handed out you know alen doesn't that remind you a lot of Christmas the lights candles and the exchanging of gifts it does Richard it's got all the Hallmarks of Christmas sa for the tree and reindeer but all jokes aside diali is just as important to Hindus as Christmas is to Christians the really striking thing about dwali is just how important it is in South Asia not just for Hindus but almost everyone it's Unique because it extends Beyond religious barriers Hindus siks and Janes all celebrate one form of dwali or another across South Asia it extends even past South Asia Richard it's not only a national holiday in India Sri Lanka Malaysia and other South Asian countries but it's also a holiday in Fiji and has even spread to the Western hemisphere in places like Trinidad and Tobago and Guana movements of a sizable East Indian Community within the British Empire brought Diwali to the new world several centuries ago really fascinating how that happened I think even more amazing is that these groups haven't always gotten along but they still share a common holiday three religions on three continents in just one really big holiday before you hear the rest of the conversation you have some time okay so let's go through these questions why does so many Canadians celebrate dwali uh it's not because it resembles Christmas uh it's because Canada is ethnically diverse so they were mentioning that there are large indoc Canadian populations and this is uh the reason why it's a very popular holiday so the answer answer here would be c a variety of religions celebrate dwali for different reasons which is not an example of why Dali is celebrated uh now they talk about Rama's return after Exile uh they talk about uh I can't remember exactly what they said something about light over Darkness good over evil the reason uh that doesn't fit or that they didn't talk about was Rama's surrender to raana so remember I mean the word not here is in bold and its caps Rama's surrender to raana is the reason uh is an example of why Dali is not an example of why Dali is celebrated Dali is celebrated by Hindus siks and Janes exclusively now they mentioned Hindu seeks and Janss for sure um exclusively though no because they they mentioned that there were several religions all over the world in addition to these three that celebrate dwali by people of varied religious backgrounds yes could be by people whose ancestors celebrated deep of OI um no real mention of that so the answer would be B dwali is marked as an official holiday in some countries outside of South Asia because interest in Indian culture and Cuisine is high could be but there's no mention uh of the history of British colonialism in India and the West Indies yes likely because they they mentioned that this brought with it certain cultures certain cultural practices and religious practices so likely number B Indian immigration to countries like Canada um no real clear mention of that the answer here is B conversation you have some time to look at questions 25 to 28 okay so let's quickly go through these uh there is blank among the manner in which Hindu Community celebrate dwali probably an adjective or noun uh seeks use Dali to commemorate the release of the sixth Guru this will appear in the listing for sure this is a name which is believed to have occurred in the year a number of of course Otherwise Known Rangoli are created so something it's going to be a noun created using rice flour and sand uh purpose of welcoming Hindu gods this will likely appear in the listening too they are sometimes adorned with which means to be decorated with something so listen for that now listen and answer questions 25 28 ironically Hindus siks and Janes all celebrate Diwali for different reasons and use the festival to commemorate different things this even variation among the Hindu communities themselves for example the killing of narakasura by Lord Krishna is an especially important religious event in Nepal siks on the other hand celebrate the release of the six guru from the prison of emperor jangar in 1619 for James it dates back 2 and a half Millennia to 527 BC where according to ancient tradition mahaa a very important spiritual leader attained Nana the complete liberation of the Soul such a rich history but you know the Wally celebrations also create breathtaking and extremely elaborate artwork I get to see it firsthand oh really how's that well every year my neighbors create the most stunning floor decorations as part of dwali celebrations my kids can't get enough of them they always impress us our neighbors make them by spreading rice flour and sand in intricate and beautiful patterns using traditional motifs called Rangoli they'll even put flower petals on them it's meant as an elaborate sign of Welcome to important deities I bet it's a job trying to stop the kids from touching them it is but I wind up handing that task over to my wife poor Susan I'm just kidding but you're right getting children not to touch the intricate patterns is a real test I traveled to India after college and saw many of those patterns in public places it's almost the equivalent of the street out in Canada since it's so ubiquitous just a little less permanent right yes and I guess a little more tasteful graffiti is often an unwelcomed addition to a city I think we can conclude that what Canada needs is more yes all right on that note listeners we're signing off on this week's cultural rounder we hope you've learned more about Canada's cultural Mosaic and the significance of Diwali celebrations next week join us as we talk about one of Mexico's most infamous holidays de deas muos or the Day of the Dead stay tuned for more of COV 94.3 FM that is the end of okay so uh let's go over the answers here uh so for number 25 there is among the manner in which Hindu communities celebrate Dali and they mention that there are are uh differences so I suppose we could write that or we could write the word variation so there is uh because um the sentence begins with there is so if we want to keep it grammatically correct we use variation seeks used dwali to commemorate the release of the sixth Guru as we predicted this was shared actually I believe the the uh I believe it was the woman mentioned the she stated the entire sentence pretty much word for word and this is uh believed to have occurred in the year and then she shares the year 1619 otherwise known as Rangoli are created using rice flour and sand for the purpose of welcoming Hindu gods so this was floor decorations you could write that would be correct or Motif floor patterns but floor decorations would be fine too they are sometimes adorned with they are sometimes decorated with and then the answer is flower pedals okay so as we we predicted obviously this was going to be a date and these two are nouns let's continue than SE three you now have half a minute to check your answers so once again we're going to preview the next section uh okay complete uh choose no more than three words um these look like notes of some kind and lots of gesturing so this is likely the topic gesturing is used by probably a noun to communicate a message gesturing is controlled by the same area of the brain that controls okay listen for brain gesturing means different things when exercised in and then we're given an example the example probably appears in what we're listening to thumbs up at a taxi stand glad now turn to section four section four you will hear a lecture on the subject of human gesturing first you have some time to look at questions 29 to 40 okay gesturing has no message so likely an adjective message is uh it is meaning given by something this is also true for okay listen number two things we must therefore broaden our definition of language gesturing has become a part an adjective in here of spoken English I give that album a thumbs up another example let's listen for this example Society has in gesture's ability to communicate uh gesture is becoming Universal because of another example listen for in most places today thumbs up uh gesturing is at this moment okay um might be a verb or an adjective modern gesturing mobile phone use some more examples looks like an example with a comma and a comma around it now listen carefully and then a third questions 29 to 40 the ongoing evolution of gesture providing a congratulatory high five in celebration avoiding the use of the left hand while eating demonstrating respect through bearing the head these are all examples of widely used and misused gestures but where do the cultural variations among gestures stem from and why do human beings gesture at all when we have perfectly good spoken language in the following lecture I am going to examine the science behind gesturing its sensitivity to context and the relationship between gestures and the spoken word at the heart of gesturing is the desire to communicate we humans are not alone in this desire as I'm sure you've seen on any nature TV show animals use all sorts of gestures to communicate a message like for example that they are fertile and in need of a mate in the human brain gesturing is controlled by the same area that produces speech and this has led to all sorts of interesting discoveries regarding how we communicate let's use the renowned thumbs up as a case study the thumbs up gesture is performed by extending your thumb upwards while closing your other fingers into a fist while the exact origin of the sign is unclear it is a gesture that has been adopted by most societies throughout history and not all of them Associated the gesture with affirmation thus the context within which a gesture is exercised is key what would the thumbs up represent when one is standing in front of a taxi stand what does it mean when accompanied by a sarcastic expression what would you communicating as a spectator in a Roman gladiator ring as these rhetorical questions demonstrate our thumbs possess no intrinsic message by themselves the message is only delivered after it has been filtered through a society's predetermined meaning for the gesture the same is of course true for spoken language which is really nothing more than sounds being projected and interpreted by a predefined code of understanding it is for this reason that we must broaden how we of traditionally defined language in fact the thumbs up gesture has now become a metaphorical part of spoken English commonly you hear people describe restaurants movies and music with language like I give that album a thumbs up or my friends and I feel that movie deserves a thumbs down this use of the spoken word to describe a physical cue indicates our confidence in a gesture's ability to communicate a message perhaps we feel the gesture communicates our message better than our words do now it's important to remember that culture and with it language are in a constant state of evolution thus with the world's cultures becoming more and more alike through globalization it is no surprise that gestures too are becoming Universal in some Asian countries for example giving someone a thumbs up was at a time seen as offensive or even aggressive akin to raising a middle finger in the way Western world today but now there are very few places anywhere that viewer thumbs up as anything but affirmative take this a step further and you'll notice how gesturing is evolving all around you at this very moment for example it is not uncommon today for people in public situations to poke at their iPhones in an effort to communicate to those around them that they do not want to be bothered emoticons on a computer are usually cartoonish representations of physical gestures flicking your high beams in your car all of these are examples of the dynamic and evolving power of gesture so when you leave this room today try to notice your gesturing and the gesturing around you being conscious of how we gesture can make us better communicators that is the end of section four you now have half a minute to check your answers all right let's go through these uh answers so gesturing is used by and she clearly states um humans or people people and animals and animals gesturing is controlled by the same area of the brain that controls the answer there is speech and she says this answer almost word for word gesturing means different things when exercised in and as we predicted she shared both examples so a thumbs up at a at a taxi stand is different than a thumbs up at a gladiator uh ring uh so the answer here would be exercised in different contexts which is what she said in her uh in her lecture gesturing has no message and the word she used was intrinsic message is meaning given by and then again I think she states this almost word for word it's given by Society this is also true for and uh she equates this to spoken language oops okay uh we must therefore broaden our definition of language this is a nice little marker because um when we hear her say this we know that you know everything before it has been has been said so we know that we can start focusing on the uh the remaining questions gesturing has become a part of spoken English I give that album's album a thumbs up and she used the word metaphorical uh Society has in gestures ability to communicate a message so she mentioned something about Society having um grown a certain confidence to the ability of a gesture to uh communicate a message so the answer here is confidence gesturing is coming Universal because of globalization and depending on what part of the world you come from this spelled differently we better stick to the British spelling um a thumbs up is in most places today so I think she shares an example of um how before in some parts of Asia thumbs up was negative so today most places see a thumbs up as affirmative gesturing is at this moment and she says it's evolving at this moment modern gesturing uh so then she gives three examples mobile phone use flicking high beams in a car the middle one was emoticons like we see uh on the internet okay and that concludes the fourth mock listening test I hope you found the exercise helpful for for more come join me at IELTS network.com and for additional exercises like this one please go to ielt listening blog.com thanks for watching and have a nice afternoon