IELTS Mock Test 2023 September

Published on: 21 Sep 2023
Tests taken: 457,607

Answer Keys:

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Part 1: Question 1 - 10

1 went blank
2 plugged in
3 using the internet
4 Antivirus
5 Morningside (area)

6 7:45
7 Branston
8 Sarrencen
9 60
10 half an hour

Part 2: Question 11 - 20

11 B
12 A
13 C
14 A

15 A
16 B
17 B
18 20 C,D,E

Part 3: Question 21 - 30

21 an article
22 puzzled
23 record
24 50 references
25 (the) requests

26 E
27 F
28 C
29 G
30 B

Part 4: Question 31 - 40

31 the fossil record
32 changed physically
33 reason and/or imagine
34 thought
35 experiments

36 great apes
37 presence of
38 altruism
39 social deception
40 moral and political

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IELTS reading practice test

You will be allowed 1 hour to complete all 3 sections of the IELTS Academic Reading test.

7,527

11 Jun 2018

Review & Explanations:

Part 1: Questions 1-10

Questions 1 -10

Complete the form below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Tom's Computer Maintenance
Customer Information form Date: Sunday, 12th May Example: Reason for call: computer problem ----------- What happened: the screen 1 Troubleshooting checklist: - restarted computer - The computer is 2 - not running on battery Activity when the problem occurred: 3 Possible diagnosis: a virus Name of 4 programme in use: no answer. Appointment Location: 5 Time scheduled for visit: 6 Street address: 14 7 Crescent, 2F3 Customer name: Sandra 8 Name on buzzer: the same as above Fee: £ 9 for the first hour’s work, then £40 per hour Estimated time for job: less than 10

1 Answer: went blank

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q1 must be “happened” and “screen”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a verb or a phrase.

The woman calls the computer technician to ask about her computer’s problem. From the conversation, we can imply that her computer screen suddenly went blank. As a result, she cannot use it. Therefore, the answer for Q1 must be “went blank”.

2 Answer: plugged in

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q2 must be “computer” and “not on battery”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be an adjective, a noun, a noun phrase or a phrase.

The woman directly states that her computer is plugged in, not running on battery. Therefore, the answer for Q2 must be “plugged in”.

3 Answer: using the internet

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q3 must be “activity” and “problem occurred”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a phrase.

The technician assumes that the woman was using the Internet when her screen went blank. It turns out that the technician is right. Therefore, the answer for Q3 must be “using the internet”.

4 Answer: Antivirus

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q4 must be “possible diagnosis” and “virus Anti-virus programme”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a phrase.

The technician suspects that the computer is infected with viruses. For that reason, the technician asks the woman about the name of the anti-virus software that she is using, to which she does not know. Therefore, the answer for Q4 must be “anti-virus”.

5 Answer: Morningside (area)

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q5 must be “appointment” and “location”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a place.

The woman currently resides in the Morningside area. As the technician has to pass this area on his way home, he agrees to help her. Therefore, the answer for Q5 must be “Morningside (area)”.

6 Answer: 7:45

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q6 must be “time scheduled for visit”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a time.

As the technician’s job shall finish by 7:30, he suggests meeting her at 7:45. Therefore, the answer for Q6 must be “7:45”.

Note: Some students may mistakenly believe that “7:30” is the correct answer of Q6. However, 7:30 is the time that the technician finishes his job, not the actual appointment time. As a result, “7:30” is incorrect.

7 Answer: Branston

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q7 must be “street address”, “14”, “Crescent” and “2F3”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a name.

The woman is currently living at 14 Branston Crescent 2F3. As the keywords are perfectly matched, the answer for Q7 must be “Branston”.

8 Answer: Sarrencen

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q8 must be “customer name” and “Sandra”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a name.

The woman’s full name is Sandra Sarrencen. As Sandra has already been filled in the table, the answer for Q8 must be “Sarrencen”.

9 Answer: 60

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q9 must be “fee” and “for first hour’s work” .
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a number.

It turns out that the technician charges £60 for his first hour’s work and another £40 per hour after that. Therefore, the answer for Q9 must be “60”.

10 Answer: half an hour

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q10 must be “estimated time for job” and “less than”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a period of time.

The technician expects that he will solve the problem quickly in less than half an hour. Therefore, the answer for Q10 must be “half an hour”.

Part 1

Part 2: Questions 11-20

Questions 11-17

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

The speaker’s job requires

A a great deal of walking.
B extensive travel.
C clean water.

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q11 must be “speaker’s job” and “require”.

The speaker is a project manager of a charity program. Due to the nature of her job, she needs to travel a lot. Therefore, the answer for Q11 must be “B”.

Note:

Option A: The speaker never clarifies her mode of transport. Therefore, we cannot confirm whether she walks to different locations to search for clean water. For that reason, option A is incorrect.

Option C: The speaker’s job requires travelling to search for clean water, not the water itself. For that reason, option C is incorrect.

Why is this story being told?

A to promote Charity-Water
B for entertainment purposes
C to encourage Helen

Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q12 must be “why” and “story told”.

The speaker decides to tell the story of one of the walking women to explain the work of Charity-Water. In other words, the speaker wants to promote Charity-Water. Therefore, the answer for Q12 must be “A”.

Why do the charity workers usually surprise communities?

A It makes people happy.
B It is difficult to spread news.
C It makes their work easier.

Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q13 must be “why”, “charity workers” and “surprise communities”.

Charity workers usually surprise communities as they want to check their water points without being surrounded by people. In other words, they want to make their work easier. Therefore, the answer for Q13 must be “C”.

Note:

Option A: Option A is incorrect as it is completely irrelevant to the speech.

Option B: It is implied from the speech that charity workers do not concern about local people’s awareness of their presence. In fact, their work is performed publicly, not secretly. As a result, option B is incorrect.

When villagers heard of the charity workers’ arrival, they

A had a party.
B were suspicious.
C took no notice.

Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q14 must be “villagers” and “heard charity workers’ arrival”.

It is implied from the speech that once local people are aware of the presence of charity workers, they will hold a party. Therefore, the answer for Q14 must be “A”.

Helen is feeling

A ecstatic about her new life.
B curious about the charity workers.
C nostalgic about her old life.

Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q15 must be “Helen” and “feeling”.

According to Helen, thanks to the new freshwater well in her village, she is now feeling very happy. Therefore, the answer for Q15 must be “A”.

Note: “ecstatic” means “feeling extremely happy” and “nostalgic” means “remembrance of the past”.

What did the speaker notice about Helen?

A that she had bathed recently
B the care she took with her appearance
C that she was wearing a green uniform

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q16 must be “speaker notice” and “Helen”.

Thanks to the new source of water, Helen is happier and takes good care of her appearance. In particular, she now wears fresh flowers in her hair, puts on a lovely dress and feels beautiful. Therefore, the answer for Q16 must be “B”.

Note:

Option A: The idea in option A is vague, irrelevant and not directly mentioned in the speech. As a result, option A is incorrect.

Option C: Helen wears her green dress on special occasions. As a result, we can imply that the green dress is not a uniform. Therefore, option C is incorrect.

Making someone feel beautiful was

A part of the speaker’s job description.
B an unexpected bonus for the speaker.
C of little importance to the speaker.

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q17 must be “make beautiful”.

The speaker works as a project manager of a water charity program. As a result, her job includes maintaining the sustainable development, health hygiene and sanitation of the water and ensuring the duration of the project. For that reason, caring for people’s appearance, or beauty, is not in her job description. Therefore, the fact that she makes Helen feel beautiful can be considered as an unexpected bonus for the speaker. Therefore, the answer for Q17 must be “B”.

Note:

Option A: Option A is clearly incorrect as making someone beautiful is not in the job description of the speaker.

Option C: Option C is incorrect as the speaker never clarifies her own feelings about the fact that she makes someone feel beautiful.

Questions 18-20

In what THREE ways did the new well improve Helen’s life?

Choose THREE letters A - G.

A Her children enjoyed better health
B It increased her household income
C It gave her more free time
D She got a leadership position
E She had more choices and options
F She made new friends in her village
G It allowed her to go to school.

18-20 Answer: C,D,E

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q18 must be “new well” and “improve Helen’s life”.

Thanks to the new well, Helen now has more free time, as she does not need to spend time walking and waiting for clean water. Therefore, the answer for Q18 must be “C”.

The keywords concerned in Q19 must be “new well” and “improve Helen’s life”.

Helen is now elected as the Water Committee Treasurer. In fact, this title is considered as one of the leadership positions in villages. As a result, we can conclude that the new well allows her to get a leadership position. Therefore, the answer for Q19 must be “D”.

The keywords concerned in Q20 must be “new well” and “improve Helen’s life”.

Thanks to the new well, Helen is now allowed to have more options and choices. Therefore, the answer for Q20 must be “E”.

Previous Next

Part 2

Part 3: Questions 21-30

Questions 21-25

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Jessica is interviewing Dr. Kitching for 21 for the school newspaper.

Everyone Jessica knows is rather 22 about how to ask for references.

Dr. Kitching gives Jessica permission to 23 their conversation.

Dr. Kitching writes more than 24 a year.

The majority of 25 are in the spring or early summer when students start thinking about their future.

21 Answer: an article

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q21 must be “interview Dr. Kitching” and “school newspaper”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

As Jessica is working for an article on the student newspaper, she decides to come and interview Dr. Kitching about how to ask for references. Therefore, the answer for Q21 must be “an article”.

22 Answer: puzzled

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q22 must be “everyone Jessica knows” and “ask for references”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be an adjective.

In order to apply for jobs or postgraduate studies, people will need references from professors. However, all of Jessica’s acquaintances are puzzled about how to obtain references from professors. As a result, she decides to write an article. Therefore, the answer for Q22 must be “puzzled”.

23 Answer: record

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q23 must be “permission” and “conversation”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a verb.

Jessica asks Dr. Kitching whether she can record their conversation, to which Dr. Kitching happily agrees. Therefore, the answer for Q23 must be “record”.

24 Answer: 50 references

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q24 must be “Dr. Kitching”, “write more than” and “a year”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a phrase.

According to Dr. Kitching, he writes at least 50 references a year. Therefore, the answer for Q24 must be “50 references”.

Note: Some students may mistakenly believe that “5 references” or “1 reference” is the correct answer of Q24. However, Dr. Kitching writes 5 references per month and 1 reference per week, not per year. Therefore, these are incorrect answers.

25 Answer: (the) requests

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q25 must be “majority”, “spring or summer” and “students start thinking about future”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

Dr. Kitching states that most students request references in the spring or early summer, as this is the time when they start thinking about their future after they graduate in June. Therefore, the answer for Q25 must be “(the) requests”.

Questions 26-30

Complete the flow-chart below.

A	message
B	meeting
C	information
D	exam
E	telephone call
F	course
G	email

Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter A - G next to questions 26 - 30.

Steps to take when asking for a reference after graduation
Start with a(n) 26

Say what 27 you took and when you took it.

Give any 28 to identify yourself.

Follow up with a(n) 29

Ask for a(n) 30

26 Answer: E

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q26 must be “start with a(n)”.

Dr. Kitching advises students to maintain contact with professors outside of class. In case they cannot visit professors during office hours, they can start with making a telephone call to introduce themselves. Therefore, the answer for Q26 must be “E”.

27 Answer: F

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q27 must be “say”, “what” and “you took”.

In order to impress the professors, students should introduce the course they took and the specific year and semester they took the course. Therefore, the answer for Q27 must be “F”.

28 Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q28 must be “give” and “identify yourself”.

Apart from basic information, students are encouraged to offer clues to professors so that they can specifically recall who she/he is. Thus, Dr. Kitching advises students to provide professors with any information that can identify themselves. Therefore, the answer for Q28 must be “C”.

29 Answer: G

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q29 must be “follow up” and “with”.

With a view to meeting professors, students should firstly give information over the phone and then follow up with an email. Therefore, the answer for Q29 must be “G”.

30 Answer: B
Listen from here Locate Explain Report
The keyword concerned in Q30 must be “ask for”.
Furthermore, during the telephone conversation, students should ask for a meeting with professors. Therefore, the answer for Q30 must be “B”.

Previous Next

Part 3

Part 4: Questions 31-40

Questions 31-40

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Date: 6th November

Lecture Topic: Primate Behaviour

Review - last lecture we talked about how physical features apply to:

• living primates

• classification

• 31

• Human evolution is not just about how people have 32 , but also about how our behaviour evolved.

• The most notable thing about humans is not just that they walk on two legs but that they can 33

----------------

Primate Cognitive Abilities

Cognition = the amount of 34 that goes into a behaviour,

It's difficult to come up with 35 to measure cognition.

How sentient are the 36 ?

Sentient = there is 37 conscious thought

Behaviours that support the presence of conscious thought in primates:

• Various sorts of 38 (helping others without benefit)

• "Machiavellian intelligence" or deliberate 39

• Chimps can be language trained - highly intelligent

• Cognition and intelligence in primates has deep 40 ramifications.

31 Answer: the fossil record

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q31 must be “review”, “physical features”, “living primates” and “classification”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

In earlier lectures, the lecturer have discussed about how physical features apply to primates, how to use physical features for classification and how physical features apply to the fossil record. As the keywords have been perfectly matched, the answer for Q31 must be “the fossil record”.

32 Answer: changed physically

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q32 must be “human evolution”, “have” and “behavior evolved”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a verb or a phrase.

According to the lecturer, human evolution is not only about how they have physically changed. In fact, human evolution even concerns the changes in human behaviour. Therefore, the answer for Q32 must be “changed physically”.

33 Answer: reason and/or imagine

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q33 must be “most notable thing”, “humans”, “not just walk on two legs” and “can”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a verb or a phrase.

The characteristics that define human are the ability to walk on two legs and the capacity of reasoning and imagining. Therefore, the answer for Q33 must be “reason and/or imagine”.

34 Answer: thought

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q34 must be “cognition”, “amount of” and “goes into behaviour”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

The lecturer defines cognition as the amount of thought that goes into a behaviour. Therefore, the answer for Q34 must be “thought”.

35 Answer: experiments

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q35 must be “difficult”, “come up with” and “measure cognition”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

The lecturer goes on to give several examples on cognitive activities in animals. He later concludes that experiments to measure cognition are indeed hard to invent. Therefore, the answer for Q35 must be “experiments”.

36 Answer: great apes

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q36 must be “sentient”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

The lecturer poses the question on the level of sentient of the great apes. Therefore, the answer for Q36 must be “great apes”.

37 Answer: presence of

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q37 must be “sentient” and “conscious thought”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

In the lecture, sentient is defined as the presence of conscious thought. Therefore, the answer for Q37 must be “presence of”.

38 Answer: altruism

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q38 must be “various sorts” and “help without benefit”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

One of the behaviours that support the presence of conscious thought in primates is altruism in great apes. In particular, the lecturer defines altruism as helping others without benefiting. Therefore, the answer for Q38 must be “altruism”.

39 Answer: social deception

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q39 must be “Machiavellian Intelligence” and “deliberate”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.

In the lecture, “Machiavellian Intelligence” is defined as deliberate social deception, including sneaky mating, blaming others and using infants for defense. As “deliberate” has already been given, the answer for Q39 must be “social deception”.

40 Answer: moral and political

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q40 must be “cognition and intelligence”, “primates”, “deep” and “ramifications”.

From the question, we can assume that the answer must be an adjective.

According to the lecturer, cognition and intelligence in primates have deep moral and political ramifications. Therefore, the answer for Q40 must be “moral and political”.

Note: “ramification” means “possible results/consequences of an action”.

Part 4

Change Audio Sources

Part 1

You will hear a conversation between a computer technician and a woman whose computer has crashed.

First you have some time to look at questions 1 to 4.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

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.

M = computer technician, F = woman whose computer has crashed.

M: Hello. Tom's computer maintenance; how may I help you?

F: Hello. I...um... seem to have a problem with my computer.

It's really inconvenient too, because I've a deadline tomorrow I'm rushing to meet.

The answer is "computer problem" so the reason for the phone call has been filled in for you. 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 4.

[REPEAT]

F: Suddenly the screen went blank. Blue. A blank, blue screen.

I don't know If you can do something about it?

M: Ah, the dreaded blue screen. I think I can do something about it -it's my job after all. There are a few different scenarios, though, that could be going on with your computer. You've tried re-starting it, right?

F: Oh, yes. Nothing.

M: And it's plugged in, not running on battery?

F: Yes.

M: Are you sure? Can you check again?

F: Ok, (pause) ... Yes, It's plugged in.

M: Ok. Can you give me a bit more information about what happened?

F: The screen went blank.

M: No, I mean, what activity were you doing when the problem occurred? Your computer was on, I presume; you were working, right? What did you do immediately before the blank screen appeared? Were you using the internet?

F: Yes, I was, is It a virus?

M: That seems likely. What anti-virus software are you using?

F: Uh... I'm not sure. How embarrassing!

M: Never mind. I'll have to come and have a look at your computer.

F: Ok, that's great.

M: Alright, let's see. What about tomorrow morning about 10?

F: Oh, no. That won't do I'm afraid. I've got a very Important project on the computer that absolutely must be finished and handed In by 9 a.m. tomorrow. By ten it's too late, I'm afraid. Can't you come now?

M: Well, I'm at a job at the moment, and my wife and kids are expecting me home by 8 for dinner.

F: Can you at least suggest someone else who can work? I know it's Sunday evening, but surely there's somebody, I mean, people have emergencies! (beginning to sound stressed) I've been calling numbers in the phone book, and you're the only one out of about twelve that even answered!

M: Just a moment, don't panic. Where are you located?

F: I'm in the Morningside area.

M: Well, you're in luck. I have to pass your area on my way home anyway. Now I should be finished here by half past seven, so what about around seven forty-five? Is that ok?

F: That's great, thank you.

M: What's your address?

F: 14 Branston Crescent 2F3

M: That's b-r-a-n-i-s-t

F: No, sorry, b r a n s t o n crescent

M: Oh, alright; and your name?

F: Sandra Sarrencen, That's [s a double r e n c e n]

M: And the name on the buzzer?

F: The same.

M: Alright, I'll be there shortly.

F: Thanks. Ah, can I ask you how much It's going to cost?

M: Certainly. My call-out fee is 60 pounds, and that covers the first hour's work, and after that the fee is 40 pounds an hour.

F: Oh, gosh. That's rather expensive. How long do you think it will take?

M: If we're lucky it will be fairly quick. Honestly, though, If It takes much more than half an hour I'll have to finish it tomorrow morning. But I doubt that will happen.

F: I hope not! Will you take a cheque, or do you prefer cash?

M: A cheque Is fine.

F: OK, so, I'll be waiting...

M: OK, bye.

That is the end of Part one. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now turn to Part two.

Part 2

You will now listen to a talk by the Water Project Manager of a charity called ‘Charity-Water’.

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

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 17.

As Charity-Water's Water Project Manager, I travel to some of the most desperate places on earth in search of clean water. And while the landscape changes, there's always one thing that remains the same: the women are always walking. Whether I'm in the mountains of Haiti, in rural Liberia, or the jungles of the Central African Republic, the women are always carrying water. To give you an idea of the work that Charity-Water does. I'll tell you the story of one of these women.

Driving down a bumpy road in the middle of Northern Uganda, our truck suddenly swerves off the road and up over an embankment. We usually prefer to surprise communities by our arrival because it makes it easier to monitor how our water points are functioning without hundreds of people watching. But once you visit a few communities in the neighbourhood, rumours of your presence spread like wildfire. We jump out of the truck and walk into a party.

This is when I met Helen Apis. She told me about the new freshwater well in her village. "I am happy now," Helen beamed. "I have time to eat, my children can go to school. And I can even work in my garden, take a shower and then come back for more water if I want! I am bathing so well."

A few of the men chuckled to hear a woman talk about bathing. But all I noticed was Helen's glowing face, the fresh flowers in her hair, and the lovely green dress she wore for special occasions. Touching her forearm, I replied, 'Well, you look great." "Yes," she paused. Placing both hands on my shoulders and smiling, she said, "Now, I am beautiful." That really hit me. My job is to focus on sustainable development, health, hygiene and sanitation; to make sure Charity-Water's projects are working in 20 years. But nowhere on any of my surveys or evaluations was a place to write. "Today we made someone feel beautiful."

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

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 18 to 20.

Before she had clean water, Helen would wake up before dawn, take her only two 5-gallon Jerry Cans, and walk almost a mile and a half to the nearest water point, which happens to be at a school. Because there simply wasn't enough water for the area's population, she'd wait in line with hundreds of other women who also valued clean water. Helen's only other option was to skip the wait and collect contaminated water from a pond.

Helen spent most of her day walking and. waiting. She told me each day she'd say to herself, "How should I use this water today? Should I water my garden so we can grow food? Should I wash my children's uniforms? Should I use it to cook a meal? Should we drink this water?" With two children, one husband and 10 gallons, Helen had to make choices. I saw the shame in her eyes when she described how she would return from her long trek to find her two young children waiting for her. They were often sent home from school because their uniforms were dirty.

With the new well in her village, her life was transformed. She now had choices: free time; options. Also, Helen had been chosen to be the Water Committee Treasurer, collecting nominal fees from 51 households to use for the maintenance of their well. Water Committees are often the first time women ever get elected to leadership positions in villages. Last month, Helen was standing in line waiting for water. This month, she's standing up for her community. And now, she is beautiful.

That is the end of Part two. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now turn to Part three.

Part 3

You will hear a conversation between a student, Jessica and Dr. Kitching, a university advisor.

First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.

J = Jessica K = Dr. Kitching

J: Hello Dr. Kitching, my name's Jessica. I work for the student newspaper. I called you last week to ask if I could interview you for an article about how to ask for references.

K: Oh, yes; I remember! Come in. Have a seat.

J: Thank you. Do you have a few minutes now to do the interview?

K: Yes, that's fine.

J: Great! I got the idea to do this article because, well, everyone I know is rather puzzled about how to get references from professors when they need them for applications for jobs or postgraduate studies. And I thought, since you're a professor, and you've been working as a student advisor for many years also, what better person to ask.

K: Yes, I have got some advice I can share on this topic. Where shall we begin?

J: First of all, do you mind if I record our conversation?

K: No. I don't mind.

J: Thanks. Do you write many references yourself?

K: Oh yes, I certainly do! Let's see, it's variable of course, but I'd say I average at least 50 per year.

J: My goodness! That's nearly five per month! It's more than one per week!

K: Yes, it's a lot. And of course, most of the requests are made in the spring or early summer, when students are starting to think seriously about where they will be heading after they graduate in June.

J: Do most professors do so many?

K: Yes, it's part of the job. Of course, because I'm an advisor, students probably feel like I know them rather better than some professors, so I probably get a few more than I would otherwise.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now listen and answer questions 26-30.

J: Alright, so what do we students need to know in terms of asking for references or letters of recommendation? It's incredibly daunting, actually, particularly since we have such large classes. I'm not sure if my professors even know who I am!

K: Yes, that's probably the biggest issue students face in getting references. You will invariably have to contact former Professors even if you have never spoken to them outside of class. Following on this, if I were giving a first-year student advice, I would say to make sure you've had contact with several Professors outside of class so you won't be a stranger. All it takes is visiting during office hours, even if it's just to say "Hello, I'm enjoying your lectures".

J: But what if we didn't do that?

K: Then you'll just have to contact your professor anyway.

Make a telephone call: tell him or her who you are, and what classes you attended, this sort of thing. Remember, for your professor, recalling an average student out of hundreds and hundreds isn't easy. So tell him or her what course you took, and what semester and year it was. Include what grade you got and anything memorable. Perhaps you spilled your coffee. Though at the time it wasn't funny it might be enough for Professor Brown to remember you and it won't shed any negative light on you; it was an accident. Or perhaps, although you never spoke outside of class, you went up and asked a question that was a great one. Any information you can give to identify yourself is going to help you out.

J: Should I visit Professor Brown in person?

K: Yes, that would be ideal. I would suggest giving the information first over the phone, then follow up by e-mailing it to your professor. During the phone conversation, ask if you could meet briefly. This will be both a physical reminder of who you are and also another chance to make a good impression.

J: Isn't it very difficult to write references for all these students you've never spoken to or really even met?

K: Yes; for example, I was recently called by a student from 20 years ago! He lived in another country. I really didn't recall him. He told me a little about himself and I looked back at his records. I told him that all I could do was verify that he was in my class, that he showed up for all the classes and that he received a 3.4 in my class. Sometimes I'm very surprised that students who did very poorly in my class ask me for a reference.

J: What do you do in that case? Give a poor reference?

K: I, like most Professors I know, never say anything negative about the student; however it is what is unsaid that can say it all. So you really want to make sure you're remembered in a positive way and have left a good impression.

J: Ok, thanks very much for ail this information. The story should come out in our next printing, so if you're interested I'll drop one copy over to you.

K: I'll be looking forward to seeing it.

That is the end of Part three. You now have half a minute to chock your answers.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

Now turn to Part four.

Part 4

You will hear a lecture about the behaviour of primates the group of animals that includes monkeys and humans.

First you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40

(Pause the recording for 1 minute)

Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40

Good morning; today's lecture will be about primate behaviour. Up until now I've talked mostly about physical features: how they apply to living primates; how we use them for classification; how they apply to the fossil record. But human evolution isn't simply about how we've changed physically over the last 70 million years: it's also about how our behaviour has changed.

Now, if I asked you to define what is meant by the term "human", you could probably, hopefully, give me a list of characteristics that physically define us. But at a philosophical level, I would hope that what you'd be really proud of is not that we normally walk on two legs, but that we can reason and imagine. Descartes put it succinctly: "I think, therefore I am" although, admittedly, not quite in this context.

This lecture isn't about human behaviour per se, but about primate behaviour in general, and animal behaviour too, since just as we can use the physical characteristics of living primates to give us clues and insights into the physical characteristics of human ancestors, so we hope that the behaviours of non-human primates will be similarly enlightening for the behaviour of our ancestors.

To begin, let's talk a bit about primate cognitive abilities. I don't want to mention a lot of different behaviours without first mentioning cognition. Cognition is the amount of thought that goes into a behaviour. There is a world of difference between an animal hitting a nut with a rock and cracking it by accident, and an animal thinking to itself: "I can't bite into this nut. I know, I need something to use as a hammer to crack it." However, it can be very difficult coming up with experiments to differentiate these two.

Pause (4 seconds)

We can easily test mental skills, such as recall and discrimination, using methods such as the Wisconsin general test apparatus and various training experiments. But it's much harder to work out the degree of thought required. This is still a big problem in evaluating the status of great apes. Just how nearly "sentient" are they? Sentient, for those of you who don't remember, means there is the presence of conscious thought.

There are various behaviours that could be seen to support the presence of conscious thought in primates. Various sorts of altruism, or helping others without directly benefiting, can be found in certain great apes. The animals team up to achieve various goals: for example, hunting, in chimps. This would seem to require a degree of cognition. Another feature that has come to light recently is "Machiavellian Intelligence". Work, especially with baboons, seems to indicate that there is a lot of deliberate social deception going on: sneaky mating; passing the blame onto others; using infants for defence. At first glance, this seems very complicated behaviourally, but again, it can, just about, be explained in a fairly minimally cognitive way. Highly trained chimps, such as the signing chimp, Washoe, and the computer-aided communication of Kanzi also indicate a high level of intelligence. An interesting fact is that these language-trained chimps do much better in the standardised intelligence tests too, indicating that we probably underestimate primate intelligence in our traditional experiments. It seems that primates are not all that interested in the colour of pencils; they want to know the latest gossip about their friends - sound familiar?

And of course, cognition and intelligence in primates is a thorny problem, with deep moral and political ramifications.

That is the end of Part four. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

(Pause the recording for 30 seconds)

That is the end of the listening test. In the IELTS test you would now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet.

IELTS Mock Test 2023 September

Part 1: Question 1 - 10

Part 2: Question 11 - 20

Part 3: Question 21 - 30

Part 4: Question 31 - 40

Tips for improving your ielts score

IELTS reading practice test

Questions 1 -10

Tom's Computer Maintenance

Customer Information form

Questions 11-17

Questions 18-20

Questions 21-25

Questions 26-30

Steps to take when asking for a reference after graduation

Questions 31-40

Lecture Topic: Primate Behaviour

Primate Cognitive Abilities

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Comments:

About us

Our mission

IELTS Mock Test 2023 September

Part 1: Question 1 - 10

Part 2: Question 11 - 20

Part 3: Question 21 - 30

Part 4: Question 31 - 40

Share your score

Tips for improving your ielts score

IELTS reading practice test

Questions 1 -10

Tom's Computer Maintenance

Customer Information form

Questions 11-17

Questions 18-20

Questions 21-25

Questions 26-30

Steps to take when asking for a reference after graduation

Questions 31-40

Lecture Topic: Primate Behaviour

Primate Cognitive Abilities

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Comments:

About us

Our mission