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IELTS 21 Academic Listening Test 1

Registering for a city library card, a museum late-opening programme, a tutorial on choosing a dissertation case study, and a lecture on the archaeology of ancient roads.

4 parts · 40 questions · 3,221 words 30 minutesListening Practice SeriesTopics: Libraries & Study, Museums & Culture, Education, Archaeology

Part of the Pro library — sign in to sit the guided test with each recording playing once, exactly like the real exam. The full answer key, with reasoning drawn from the transcript, is on its own page — open it after you finish, not before.

Start IELTS 21 Academic Listening Test 1

The four parts

What's in this test

  • Part 1

    Registering for a City Library Card

    Form & note completion

    10 questions · 534 words

  • Part 2

    Museum Lates Evening Programme

    Multiple choice + matching

    10 questions · 729 words

  • Part 3

    Choosing a Dissertation Case Study

    Multiple choice

    10 questions · 1,029 words

  • Part 4

    Ancient Roads: Construction, Dating, and Trade

    Sentence & summary completion

    10 questions · 929 words

Try one

A sample question from Part 2

This one question is answerable here with no sign-up — it is worth zero marks and isn't recorded anywhere. The real test has 40 of these behind a one-play recording.

1.

What is the main reason for the museum holding 'Museum Lates' events?

About this test

How many questions are in IELTS 21 Academic Listening Test 1?

40, across four parts of 10 marks each, exactly as the real Listening paper is structured. Each part's recording plays once, and you get about 30 minutes in total.

Do I need an account to take this test?

Yes — sitting the guided test requires a free account, so your progress across parts can be saved and resumed. This landing page and the answer key need no account.

Where are the answers?

On a separate page — the answer key for this test lists every correct answer with the reasoning drawn from the transcript, plus the full transcript itself.

Is this a Cambridge IELTS test?

It is written in the same style as the real paper, not taken from a published volume: four parts rising in difficulty, the same question types, and a recording that plays once. Original material written for this library — nobody can legally hand you a scanned past paper.

Answer key and transcript for this test

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