Listening Practice: Summary Completion Questions

February 9, 2015 by 53 Comments

This IELTS listening practice for summary completion questions is about following the information as you listen and selecting the correct words or numbers to fill in the gaps. Before you listen, read through the summary and make a note of what kinds of words you need for each gap (noun, verb, adjective, number etc). Predicting answers is a key skills in IELTS listening.

Questions 1-5

Complete the summary using no more than one word and/or a number.

Buckingham Palace 

Buckingham Palace is where the Queen officially resides when she is in London and is well known for its famous(1) …………….. which was used for the first time by a royal during an official appearance in 1851. There were (2)………… bomb hits to the palace in World War II. There are a range of services available to the royal residents in the palace which has a total of (3) ………. rooms. There are 1,514 doors in the palace and 760 windows which are cleaned on a (4) …………. week rotation. The Queen hosts banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and garden parties and has over (5)………………… people visiting each year.

Transcript

Buckingham Palace is The Queen’s official London residence. The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded Royal balcony appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped onto it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. During the Second World War, Buckingham Palace suffered nine direct bomb hits.

Buckingham Palace has its own chapel, post office, swimming pool, staff cafeteria, doctor’s surgery and cinema. There are 775 rooms in the palace. Some rooms at Buckingham Palace have a Chinese theme. There are 1,514 doors and 760 windows in Buckingham Palace. All windows are cleaned every six weeks. More than 50,000 people visit the Palace annually as The Queen’s guests at banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and garden parties.

Answers
  1. balcony
  2. 9 / nine
  3. 775
  4. 6 / six
  5. 50,000

Adapted from royal.gov.uk

 

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IELTS Map Listening Practice

February 2, 2015 by 107 Comments

This lesson is to practice map completion for IELTS listening. First, there is some sentence completion and then you must do the map completion exercise.

Tips for Maps

  1. Check the location of each number on your map
  2. Think of language that might be used to describe that location
  3. Look for any arrows on the map
  4. Answers to questions will come in order (the answer for question 1 will come before the answer for question 2 in the recording)
  5. Most map recordings are similar to a guided tour which follows a logical order
  6. Don’t be distracted by extra information
  7. Don’t forget to make notes – you can write all over your question paper
    1. when you make notes, avoid writing long words – just use abbreviations or simple letters

Map Listening Practice: The Taj Mahal 

Questions 1-2

Complete the sentences below using no more than one word and/or a number.

  1. The Taj Mahal was completed in ……………..
  2. Around ………… labourers were used in its creation.

Questions 3-7

Label the map below using no more than two words and/or a number.

building map ielts listening

 

Transcript

Welcome to the Taj Mahal. This is one of the most famous monuments to love in the world. It was built between 1631 and 1653 in the city of Agra by the Mughal Emperor Shah as a mausoleum for his wife. The construction involved some 20,000 workers and incorporated materials from China, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Arabia.

We are here at the Outer Gate and directly in front of us is the forecourt. On the left hand side of the forecourt, you will see some subsidiary tombs and opposite that are the tomb attendants’ quarters. If you go straight ahead, you will come to the Great Gate and beyond that is the formal gardens. The gardens are divided into 4 sections by paths which represent the 4 rivers of paradise. Midway, where the paths intersect, is a marble pond, in which the mausoleum is beautifully reflected. Walking through the gardens, past the pond, you will come to the mausoleum itself which has a marble dome, 35m high. Each side of the building has archways which are framed by carefully chosen verses from the Qur’an in beautifully stylised calligraphy. To the left of this, is the mosque and to the right you can find a guesthouse. Now I’ll give you some time to wander round and see this marvel for yourself.

  Answers
  1. 1653
  2. 20,000
  3. forecourt (you must have the correct spelling)
  4. Great Gate (capital letters not important – see IELTS Exam FAQ page)
  5. pond / marble pond
  6. mausoleum
  7. guesthouse / guest house

 

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