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B1–C2 · IELTS General Training

IELTS General Training Practice Test 20

AI-generated practice paper in the style of IELTS General Training — original material, not a reproduction of any real exam paper, following the official four-module structure (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking). Listening audio is read aloud by your browser's voice, Writing tasks can be scored by AI, and for Speaking you can record yourself and compare with a model answer.

Listening

Part 1

Listen and answer questions 1–10.

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

1. Name: Ben ______

2. Flat on: ______ Terrace

3. Rent per month: ______ pounds

4. Viewing time on Friday: ______

5. Phone number: ______

6. Extra deposit for a ______

7. Available from: 1 ______

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

8. The flat is

9. Ben can park

10. At the viewing, he should bring

Part 2

Listen and answer questions 11–20.

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

11. New fish spend at least ______ weeks in quarantine

12. Amount of food prepared daily: about ______ kilograms

13. The behind-the-scenes tour starts at: ______

What does the guide say about each of the following areas? Choose the correct letter, A-F, for questions 4 to 7.

14. The Quarantine Room

15. The Filtration Plant

16. The Shark Tank

17. The Coral Nursery

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

18. Sharks are fed by hand on

19. The behind-the-scenes tour costs

20. Photography without flash is requested near

Part 3

Listen and answer questions 21–30.

21. What are the students planning to do?

22. Who must give permission before the students start?

23. What should the information sheet be like?

24. What should the students do about people with memory problems?

25. Where should recordings be saved?

26. How should people be named in the report?

27. By what date must the ethics form be submitted?

What does Dr. Lee say about each item? Choose your answers from the list, A-E: A Use large print; B Get permission before publishing; C Return promptly; D Move to the server; E Use false names.

28. Information sheet

29. Family photographs

30. Audio recordings

Part 4

Listen and answer questions 31–40.

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

31. The dance performed by returning worker bees is called the ______ dance.

32. The straight-line portion of the dance is called the waggle ______.

33. The angle of the waggle run relative to straight up indicates the ______ of the food source.

34. The duration of the waggling indicates roughly how ______ away the source is.

35. The dance was first decoded scientifically by the researcher ______.

36. Von Frisch shared a Nobel Prize in ______.

37. Bees memorise the angle and duration rather than following a ______ trail.

38. If a hive is tilted, bees adjust their angle relative to ______ instead of the sun.

39. Recent studies used tiny radar ______ attached to individual bees.

40. Tagged bees fly to roughly the correct location on their first ______.

Reading

Section 1: Notices

You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 1.

NOTICE A — Riverbank Council: Road Closure for Repairs Mill Road will be closed to through traffic between the junction with Station Street and the bridge from Monday to Friday next week, between 8am and 5pm each day, to allow contractors to carry out resurfacing work. Access for residents living on the closed section will be maintained on foot at all times, though vehicle access will only be possible outside working hours. A signed diversion route via Church Lane and Bridge Street will be in place for other traffic, adding approximately five minutes to journey times. Bus route 14 will be diverted along the same route for the duration of the works, with the Mill Road stop temporarily relocated to Church Lane. The council apologises for any inconvenience and will display updates on its website if the schedule changes due to weather. NOTICE B — Riverbank Community Centre: New Children's Holiday Programme A new holiday programme for children aged 5 to 11 will run during the upcoming school holidays, offering a mix of sports, arts and crafts, and outdoor activities from 9am to 3pm each weekday. An early drop-off from 8am and late pick-up until 5:30pm are available for an additional fee, useful for working parents. Places are limited to 30 children per day and must be booked in advance online, with siblings guaranteed places on the same days where possible. A packed lunch should be provided by parents, though a small snack will be provided mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Children with allergies or additional needs should be registered in advance so that staff can make appropriate arrangements.

Questions 1–3. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. Between what hours will Mill Road be closed each day?

2. What age group is the new holiday programme designed for?

3. What will the council display if the road closure schedule changes due to weather?

Questions 4–6. Do the following statements agree with the information in Notice A? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

4. Residents can walk into the closed section of the road during working hours.

5. Bus route 14 will be cancelled entirely during the works.

6. Residents can drive into the closed section of the road during working hours.

Questions 7–8. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice A for each answer.

7. The diversion route adds approximately __________ to journey times.

8. The signed diversion route goes via Church Lane and __________.

Question 9. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice A.

9. Where will the Mill Road bus stop be temporarily relocated to?

Questions 10–11. Do the following statements agree with the information in Notice B? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

10. Early drop-off and late pick-up are available at an additional cost.

11. A full lunch will be provided by the programme every day.

Question 12. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice B for each answer.

12. Places are limited to __________ per day.

Questions 13–14. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice B.

13. What should parents do in advance if their child has allergies?

14. What service is available for parents from 8am, besides late pick-up?

Section 2: Workplace

You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 2.

TEXT A — Human Resources: Overtime Pay Policy Update Following a review of working practices, all overtime must now be approved in advance by a line manager before it is worked, rather than claimed retrospectively, except in genuine emergency situations where prior approval is not practically possible. Overtime worked on weekdays will continue to be paid at 1.5 times the standard hourly rate, while overtime worked on weekends or public holidays will now be paid at double the standard rate, an increase from the previous rate of 1.5 times. Staff should submit overtime claims through the payroll system within one week of the overtime being worked; late claims may be delayed until the following pay cycle. Managers are reminded that persistent reliance on overtime within a team may indicate understaffing and should be raised with senior management rather than treated as a routine solution. TEXT B — Facilities: New Office Security Badge System A new contactless security badge system will replace the current keypad entry system at all building entrances from next Monday. New badges will be distributed to all staff during the week beforehand and must be collected from the reception desk with photo identification. The old keypad codes will stop working immediately once the new system goes live, with no overlap period, so staff are strongly advised to collect their new badge before then. Visitors will continue to sign in at reception as before and will be issued a temporary visitor badge for the duration of their visit. Lost or stolen badges must be reported to Facilities immediately, as they will be deactivated remotely within minutes of being reported.

Questions 15–17. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

15. How must overtime now generally be handled?

16. What will replace the current keypad entry system?

17. How quickly will a lost or stolen badge be deactivated once reported?

Questions 18–20. Do the following statements agree with the information in Text A? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

18. Weekend and public holiday overtime will now be paid at double the standard rate.

19. Weekday overtime pay rates are changing under the new policy.

20. Prior approval for overtime is not required in genuine emergency situations.

Question 21. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text A for each answer.

21. Overtime claims should be submitted through the payroll system within __________ of the overtime being worked.

Question 22. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text A.

22. What might persistent reliance on overtime within a team indicate?

Questions 23–24. Do the following statements agree with the information in Text B? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

23. There will be an overlap period where both systems work together.

24. Visitors will be issued a temporary visitor badge.

Questions 25–26. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text B for each answer.

25. New badges must be collected from the reception desk with __________.

26. Staff are strongly advised to collect their new badge before the old keypad codes __________.

Question 27. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text B.

27. What should staff do if their badge is lost or stolen?

Section 3: The Art and Science of Storytelling

You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 3.

Long before the invention of writing, human communities relied on oral storytelling to preserve history, transmit practical knowledge, and reinforce shared values across generations, and cognitive scientists increasingly argue that our brains retain a deep, evolved preference for information delivered in narrative form over abstract lists of facts or statistics. This preference has measurable consequences: studies consistently find that people remember information embedded in a story considerably better, and for considerably longer, than the same information presented as a bare list of facts. <br/> One influential explanation involves what researchers term 'narrative transportation,' the psychological experience of becoming immersed in a story to the point of temporarily losing awareness of one's immediate surroundings. Brain imaging studies suggest that during a genuinely engaging story, listeners' brain activity, particularly in regions associated with sensory and motor processing, begins to mirror the brain activity of a person actually experiencing the events described, a phenomenon sometimes called neural coupling. When a story describes a character running, for instance, areas of the listener's motor cortex associated with running show measurably increased activity, essentially simulating the experience rather than merely processing it as abstract information. This transportation effect appears to have significant persuasive power, a fact long exploited by advertisers, political campaigners, and public health communicators alike. Comparative studies have found that a single, vivid, emotionally resonant story about one identifiable individual affected by a policy issue often shifts audience attitudes more effectively than a comprehensive statistical presentation of the same issue affecting millions of people, a pattern researchers have termed the 'identifiable victim effect.' While this effect can be leveraged for beneficial purposes, such as increasing charitable donations or vaccine uptake, critics note it can equally be exploited to distort genuine risk perception, since a single vivid anecdote often overwhelms statistically far more significant but less emotionally engaging data. Effective storytelling, according to researchers who study its structure across cultures, tends to share certain recurring elements regardless of the specific culture of origin: a relatable protagonist facing a genuine obstacle, rising tension before some form of resolution, and often an unexpected element that violates the listener's expectations, all elements that appear across wildly different narrative traditions from ancient folklore to modern film. This structural consistency has led some researchers to propose that narrative itself constitutes a kind of cognitive technology, an evolved tool for compressing complex, socially relevant information into a format optimised for memory, transmission, and emotional engagement. Educators, increasingly aware of these findings, have begun incorporating narrative techniques into fields traditionally reliant on dry factual presentation, including science communication and corporate training, with some studies suggesting that even technical, abstract material such as statistical concepts can be taught more effectively when embedded within a narrative framework rather than presented as isolated formulas.

Questions 28–30. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

28. According to the passage, information embedded in a story compared with a bare list of facts is...

29. What recurring elements do researchers find across storytelling traditions from different cultures?

30. Who has long exploited the persuasive power of narrative transportation, according to the passage?

Questions 31–34. Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

31. Narrative transportation involves temporarily losing awareness of one's immediate surroundings.

32. Brain imaging shows no relationship between hearing a story and motor cortex activity.

33. Some researchers propose that narrative is a kind of cognitive technology.

34. A vivid anecdote can sometimes overwhelm more statistically significant data.

Question 35. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

35. The phenomenon where a listener's brain activity mirrors that of someone experiencing the events described is called __________.

Questions 36–38. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.

36. What is the name given to the effect where a single vivid story shifts attitudes more than statistics?

37. What field, besides science communication, is mentioned as incorporating narrative techniques?

38. What did communities rely on before writing was invented to preserve history?

Questions 39–40. Do the following statements agree with the writer's claims? Write YES if the statement agrees with the writer's claims, NO if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks.

39. The identifiable victim effect can only ever be used for harmful purposes.

40. The writer believes even abstract statistical concepts can be taught more effectively through narrative.

Speaking

Part 1: Introduction and interview

The examiner asks you questions about yourself and familiar topics (4–5 minutes).

Part 1 (Work / Getting to work) — the examiner asks about two familiar topics. Topic 1: Work Q1. Do you work, or are you a student? Q2. What do you enjoy most about your work or studies? Topic 2: Getting to work Q3. How do you get to your workplace or school every day? Q4. Would you like to change the way you travel? Why or why not?
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: 1. I work as an administrator in a small dental clinic. I book appointments, answer the phone and make sure the patients have everything they need. 2. What I enjoy most is talking to people. Some patients arrive nervous, and it's satisfying when I can make them feel a bit calmer before they see the dentist. 3. I take a bus for about twenty-five minutes. It isn't the fastest way, but it stops right outside the clinic, so it's very convenient. 4. I'd love to cycle, actually, because it would be healthier and cheaper. The problem is that the main road is quite dangerous, so I'll wait until they build a proper bike lane.

Part 2: Individual long turn

You have one minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.

Describe a film that you watched recently. You should say: - what the film was - who was in it - what it was about and explain whether you would recommend it to other people. You'll have a minute to prepare, then discuss it for one to two minutes.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The most recent film that made an impression on me is a documentary about a group of women who set up a football team in a small mountain village. I watched it last weekend at home, and I chose it mostly because the reviews were so positive. There aren't any famous actors in it, because it's made up of real people and archive footage, although the film is narrated by a well-known radio presenter with a very warm voice. The story follows the team for a year, from the first training session on a rocky field with no goalposts to their first proper match against a team from the next valley. Along the way we see the obstacles they face, such as families who think that football isn't for women, or having to work on the farm before practice. What I loved was the humour and the way the players supported each other even when they were losing. I'd definitely recommend it, particularly to people who think documentaries are boring. It's uplifting without being sentimental, and it made me think about how much confidence a group activity can give somebody. I've already suggested it to two of my friends.

Part 3: Two-way discussion

The examiner asks more abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic.

Part 3 (government and citizens) — the examiner asks four related questions. Q1. What responsibilities do you think a government has towards its citizens? Q2. Do you think ordinary citizens have enough influence over government decisions? Q3. Should voting be made compulsory? Q4. How might the relationship between citizens and government change in the future?
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: 1. A government should provide basic safety, fair laws, and essential services like healthcare and education, while also being genuinely accountable for how public money is spent. 2. Often not enough, in my view, since decisions can feel distant from ordinary daily concerns, though voting and public consultations at least offer some, even if limited, influence. 3. I have mixed feelings; compulsory voting could increase engagement, but forcing people who feel uninformed to vote might not necessarily lead to genuinely better decisions overall. 4. I imagine more direct digital consultation on specific policies, giving citizens more regular input beyond just periodic elections, as technology makes gathering public opinion easier.

Writing Task 1

You paid in advance for a fitness class at your local gym, but the class was cancelled at short notice without any warning or refund. Write a letter to the gym manager. In your letter: explain what happened, describe how it inconvenienced you, and say what you would like the manager to do. Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write your own address. Begin your letter 'Dear ...,'

Writing Task 2

Some people think that studying abroad offers many advantages, while others believe it is better to study in one's own country. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
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