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B1–C2 · IELTS General Training

IELTS General Training Practice Test 48

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. Booking made under the name of: ______

2. Date of party: Saturday ______ November

3. Name of room: the ______ Room

4. Expected number of guests: ______

5. Room hire charge: ______ pounds

6. Price of buffet per person: ______ pounds

7. Sister can enter the room at ______

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

8. Isla asks for somewhere to sit near the bar for

9. Drinks will be paid for

10. Who will help Isla test the laptop?

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. Number of powered sites: ______

12. Check-out time: by ______

13. Cost of a load of washing: ______ dollars

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

14. Reception

15. The Amenities Block

16. The Camp Kitchen

17. The Pool

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

18. The Dump Station is

19. Wifi is available

20. Firewood bundles cost

Part 3

Listen and answer questions 21–30.

21. What is the students' main problem?

22. Why does Dr. Adams recommend correlation?

23. What does Dr. Adams say about dividing students into two groups?

24. What should the students do first with their data?

25. What should they do about the student who slept twenty hours?

26. What does Dr. Adams think of the sample size?

27. What is Dr. Adams's warning about correlation?

What will the students do for each of these? Choose your answers from the list, A-E: A Use the university software; B Mention stress as another factor; C Attend a workshop on Thursday; D Submit the raw data file; E Repeat the survey.

28. Calculations

29. Discussion of causes

30. Learning the software

Part 4

Listen and answer questions 31–40.

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

31. The word sandwich is credited to John Montagu, the ______ Earl of Sandwich.

32. The Earl was a notably enthusiastic ______ player.

33. He reportedly wanted to eat without greasing the ______.

34. The sandwich's practicality made it popular during ______.

35. New urban workforces needed a quick, convenient midday ______.

36. New York delis are known for sandwiches piled high with ______.

37. England is known for delicately crustless, neatly cut finger ______.

38. Sliced bread was widely introduced commercially in the ______.

39. The plastic-wrapped supermarket sandwich is designed for fast, on-the-go ______.

40. Today the sandwich remains a genuinely global food ______.

Reading

Section 1: Notices

You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 1.

NOTICE A — Starstep Dance Academy: Class Fee Restructuring From next term, class fees will be restructured from a flat monthly rate to a per-class rate, allowing families to pay only for the specific classes their child actually attends rather than a fixed monthly amount regardless of attendance. The new per-class rate is £8 for a 45-minute class, with a 10% discount automatically applied when five or more classes are purchased in a single block booking. Families currently on a monthly rate will be moved to the new system from the start of next term, with any credit remaining on an existing account carried forward and applied automatically to future per-class bookings. Costume fees for the annual end-of-year show remain separate and unchanged, charged directly by the costume supplier rather than through the academy itself. Students are reminded that block-booked classes are non-refundable but can be transferred to a different class time within the same term if needed. NOTICE B — Millfield Apartments: Communal WiFi Installation Free communal WiFi will be installed in the lobby, laundry room, and rooftop terrace from next month, funded through this year's communal improvement budget following a residents' vote at the last AGM. The network will be accessible to all residents using a password provided by the building manager, with the same password valid across all three communal locations for simplicity. The communal network is intended for light browsing and video calls rather than heavy downloading or streaming, as bandwidth is shared among all users connected at any given time. Residents are reminded that this communal WiFi is entirely separate from their own individual in-flat broadband service and does not replace the need for a personal internet contract. Technical issues with the communal WiFi should be reported to the building manager rather than to any individual resident's internet provider.

Questions 1–4. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. How much does a 45-minute class cost under the new per-class rate?

2. What prompted the installation of communal WiFi at Millfield Apartments?

3. Where will the new communal WiFi be installed?

4. What will happen to families currently on a monthly rate?

Questions 5–6. 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.

5. A 10% discount applies automatically when five or more classes are purchased at once.

6. Costume fees are included in the new per-class rate.

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

7. Block-booked classes are non-refundable but can be transferred to a different __________ within the same term.

8. Costume fees are charged directly by the __________ rather than through the academy.

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

9. What happens to credit remaining on an existing monthly account?

Questions 10–12. 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. The same password is valid across all three communal locations.

11. The communal WiFi replaces the need for a personal internet contract.

12. Bandwidth on the communal WiFi is shared among all users connected at any given time.

Question 13. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice B for each answer.

13. The communal network is intended for light browsing and __________ rather than heavy downloading.

Question 14. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice B.

14. Who should residents report technical issues with the communal WiFi to?

Section 2: Workplace

You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 2.

TEXT A — Reward Team: New Employee Stock Purchase Plan A new employee stock purchase plan will launch next quarter, allowing eligible staff to purchase company shares at a 15% discount to the prevailing market price through regular deductions from their monthly salary, up to a maximum contribution of 10% of gross salary per year. Shares purchased under the plan must generally be held for a minimum of twelve months before they can be sold, in order to qualify for certain favourable tax treatment available under current relevant legislation. The plan is entirely voluntary, and staff can adjust their contribution percentage or withdraw from the plan entirely at any point, though a change will only take effect from the start of the following payroll cycle rather than immediately. An independent financial webinar, unaffiliated with the company itself, will be offered to help staff understand the plan's genuine risks as well as its potential benefits before enrolling. Staff leaving the company will have any shares already purchased released to them, though any funds not yet used to purchase shares at the point of departure will simply be returned as cash. TEXT B — Facilities: Office Desk Phone Removal Notice (Regional Offices) Following the successful rollout of softphone technology at the head office, the same desk phone removal programme will now extend to all regional offices over the coming two months, on a office-by-office rolling basis coordinated with each regional office manager individually. Each regional office will receive a two-week advance notice period before its specific desk phones are collected, along with a brief on-site training session for staff on using the softphone application effectively. Regional offices with historically poor or unreliable internet connectivity will be assessed individually before removal to confirm the softphone system will function reliably in that specific location, with desk phones retained temporarily in any location where connectivity concerns are identified. Feedback from the head office rollout, mainly concerning headset comfort during extended calls, has been used to select an improved headset model for the regional office rollout.

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

15. What discount will staff receive on company shares under the new plan?

16. How will the desk phone removal be coordinated across regional offices?

17. What has been selected for the regional office rollout based on feedback?

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. Shares must generally be held for a minimum of twelve months before being sold.

19. Contribution changes take effect immediately upon request.

20. Funds not yet used to purchase shares will be returned as cash if an employee leaves.

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

21. Staff can contribute up to a maximum of __________ of gross salary per year.

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

22. What will be offered to help staff understand the plan's risks and benefits?

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. Each regional office will receive a two-week advance notice period.

24. Offices with poor internet connectivity will have desk phones removed regardless.

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

25. Feedback from the head office rollout mainly concerned __________ during extended calls.

26. Each regional office will receive a brief on-site __________ on using the softphone application.

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

27. What will be assessed individually before removal in offices with connectivity concerns?

Section 3: The Hidden World of Fungi Networks

You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 3.

Beneath the visible forest floor familiar to any casual walker lies an extensive, largely hidden biological network of fungal threads, called mycelium, that recent ecological research has revealed to be considerably more ecologically significant and functionally sophisticated than scientists had generally assumed even just a few decades ago, fundamentally reshaping how ecologists now understand forest ecosystems as genuinely interconnected biological systems rather than collections of essentially independent, competing individual trees. The specific relationship between these underground fungal networks and tree roots, termed mycorrhizal association, is now understood as a form of genuine, mutually beneficial biological symbiosis rather than simple soil-dwelling decomposition: fungi supply trees with water and essential soil nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, that fungal threads can access far more efficiently than tree roots alone due to their vastly greater relative surface area and correspondingly superior nutrient-absorbing capacity, while trees reciprocally supply fungi with carbon-rich sugars produced through photosynthesis that fungi, lacking chlorophyll entirely, cannot independently produce for themselves. Research conducted by forest ecologist Suzanne Simard and other researchers working in the same specific field has revealed an even more genuinely remarkable dimension to these extensive underground fungal networks: individual trees, once thought to compete purely and directly for resources as fully independent, isolated organisms, appear in some documented cases to actively share carbon, nutrients, and even specific defensive warning chemical signals with other trees through these shared fungal network connections, including, in some well-documented instances, distinctly different tree species rather than only other trees of precisely the same species. Older, larger, more established trees, sometimes informally termed 'mother trees' in some popular but scientifically simplified accounts of this research, appear in some studies to preferentially direct additional resources specifically toward their own genetic offspring or toward other struggling, resource-limited seedlings within the same broader network, through mechanisms that remain, admittedly, still incompletely understood by researchers. This body of research, while undeniably genuinely fascinating and increasingly well-supported empirically, has also attracted some notable and legitimate scientific caution regarding potential overinterpretation and inappropriate popular anthropomorphising in some enthusiastic popular media coverage. Some forest ecologists studying this specific phenomenon have specifically cautioned against uncritically interpreting these observed network resource transfer patterns as evidence of deliberate, intentional cooperation or genuine altruistic motivation in any meaningful cognitive sense, noting that the same underlying observed resource-sharing patterns could plausibly arise from simple, undirected concentration-gradient-driven chemical diffusion through shared fungal tissue, entirely without invoking any implied active, intentional decision-making by either the fungi or trees involved in the process. Regardless of the ultimately correct underlying mechanistic explanation, the clear practical and conservation-relevant implications of this substantial body of research are increasingly significant and increasingly widely acknowledged: forest management and active conservation practices that disturb, disrupt, or entirely remove these extensive underground mycorrhizal networks, for instance through certain particularly intensive logging practices, may measurably and substantially impair broader forest ecosystem health and specific individual tree resilience in ways considerably more significant and ecologically consequential than traditional forest management approaches, historically focused narrowly on individual, visible trees in isolation, had previously and adequately accounted for.

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

28. What is the underground network of fungal threads called, according to the passage?

29. What informal term is sometimes used for older, larger, more established trees in this research?

30. What have forests traditionally been understood as, before this research, 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. Mycorrhizal association is a form of mutually beneficial biological symbiosis.

32. Fungi can independently produce carbon-rich sugars through photosynthesis.

33. Resource sharing through fungal networks has only ever been observed between trees of exactly the same species.

34. Fungal threads have a greater relative surface area for nutrient absorption than tree roots alone.

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

35. Fungi supply trees with water and essential soil nutrients, particularly __________ and nitrogen.

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

36. Which forest ecologist's research is specifically mentioned in relation to tree resource sharing?

37. What alternative explanation do some ecologists propose instead of intentional cooperation?

38. What besides carbon and nutrients do trees appear to share through fungal networks in some documented cases?

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. Some researchers caution against interpreting resource-sharing patterns as evidence of deliberate, intentional cooperation.

40. The writer believes intensive logging practices that disrupt fungal networks may impair forest ecosystem health.

Speaking

Part 1: Introduction and interview

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

Part 1 (Laughing / Happiness) — the examiner asks about two familiar topics. Topic 1: Laughing Q1. Do you laugh a lot? Q2. What kind of things make you laugh? Topic 2: Happiness Q3. What makes you feel happy? Q4. Do you think money can make people happy?
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: 1. Quite a lot, I think. My friends say I have a very loud laugh, and I sometimes get embarrassed when it happens in a quiet place like a cinema. 2. Silly situations, mostly. Videos of animals doing unexpected things, or my brother's terrible attempts at telling jokes, which he always ruins by laughing before the end. 3. Simple things, honestly: a good meal with my family, finishing a difficult piece of work, or a walk in the sunshine after a long week indoors. 4. To an extent. Having enough money removes a lot of worries, so it certainly helps. But beyond that point I don't think more money brings much extra happiness; relationships matter far more.

Part 2: Individual long turn

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

Describe a piece of advice that someone gave you which you found useful. You should say: - who gave you the advice - what the advice was - when they gave it to you and explain why you found it useful. Take one minute to prepare and then speak on the topic for one to two minutes.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: A piece of advice I still remember clearly came from my first manager, shortly after I started my very first full-time job. I was quite anxious in those early weeks, worried about making mistakes in front of more experienced colleagues, so I tended to stay quiet in meetings rather than ask questions I thought might sound stupid. One afternoon she pulled me aside and told me something like, 'The only bad question is the one you were too afraid to ask and that ends up costing everyone more time later.' She said it quite casually, almost in passing, but it stuck with me because it came from someone I really respected, who clearly wasn't judging me for not knowing everything yet. After that conversation I started speaking up much more in meetings, asking for clarification whenever I genuinely wasn't sure about something, rather than pretending to understand and getting it wrong later. I found it useful because it completely changed how I approached learning at work; instead of seeing questions as a weakness, I began to see them as a normal, sensible part of doing a good job. I've actually passed that same advice on to newer colleagues myself since then.

Part 3: Two-way discussion

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

Part 3 (retirement) — the examiner asks four related questions. Q1. What do you think makes retirement a difficult adjustment for some people? Q2. Should the retirement age be raised as life expectancy increases? Q3. How can older people stay active and engaged after retiring from work? Q4. How might attitudes towards retirement change in the future?
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: 1. Losing a daily routine and a sense of purpose can be difficult, along with reduced social contact, since many friendships are built through workplaces that suddenly disappear after retiring. 2. To some extent, yes, given people are living and staying healthy for longer, though this needs to be balanced carefully against physically demanding jobs that become harder with age. 3. Volunteering, part-time work, or hobbies that involve other people can help a lot, since they replace some of the structure and social interaction that a job used to provide. 4. I expect more flexible, gradual retirement becoming common, where people reduce their hours slowly rather than stopping work completely overnight, easing the transition considerably.

Writing Task 1

A removal company you hired to help you move house damaged several pieces of furniture during the move. Write a letter to the removal company. In your letter: describe the damage, explain when and how it happened, and say what you would like them to do. Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write your own address. Begin your letter 'Dear Sir or Madam,'

Writing Task 2

Some people believe that the retirement age should be flexible, allowing individuals to choose when they stop working, while others think a fixed retirement age is fairer and simpler. 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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