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.
Transcript (available after checking)
Emma: Sweet Pea Cakes, Emma speaking.
Ben: Hello, my fiancée and I are getting married in May and we'd like to order a wedding cake.
Emma: Congratulations! What's the date?
Ben: The 17th of May. It's a Saturday.
Emma: Let me check the diary. Yes, we've got space. How many guests?
Ben: A hundred and twenty for the meal, but a few more in the evening. So we'll need to be able to cut a lot of slices.
Emma: A three-tier cake would serve about 150. What flavours were you thinking of?
Ben: Vanilla for the bottom layer, chocolate in the middle, and something fruity on top.
Emma: Lovely. Do you want to stick with vanilla for the bottom?
Ben: Actually, my fiancée just texted me. She'd prefer lemon. So lemon on the bottom.
Emma: Lemon it is. And how would you like it decorated?
Ben: We both love wild flowers. Could you do something with sugar flowers?
Emma: Certainly, I can make them by hand in blue and white. It's 40 pounds extra for that. What's your surname, please, for the order?
Ben: Achterberg. A-C-H-T-E-R-B-E-R-G. Ben Achterberg.
Emma: Thank you. That comes to 480 pounds altogether. A deposit of 100 pounds secures the date.
Ben: I'll pay that today by card. Now, do you deliver?
Emma: Yes, within thirty miles. Where's the venue?
Ben: The Grange, on Wexford Road, near Stanley.
Emma: That's fine. Delivery is 25 pounds. We'd bring it about two hours before the meal so it can settle. Would 11 o'clock work?
Ben: The wedding breakfast is at one, so that's perfect.
Emma: We'd also like to offer a tasting session, so you can try the flavours. It's free if you order the cake.
Ben: We'd love that. Could we come on a Thursday?
Emma: Of course. And bring your cake topper if you have one.
Complete the order form below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
1. Wedding date: 17 ______
2. Number of tiers: ______
3. Bottom layer flavour: ______
4. Decoration: hand-made ______ flowers
5. Surname: ______
6. Total price: ______ pounds
7. Venue: The Grange on ______ Road
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
8. Delivery to the venue will be at
9. The tasting session
10. At the tasting, the couple should bring
Part 2
Listen and answer questions 11–20.
Transcript (available after checking)
Hi everyone, welcome to Locked In Escapes, I'm Isla, and before your game starts I need to run through the rules, which takes about five minutes. We're open every day from ten until eleven at night, and a room booking is 25 dollars per person, with a minimum of three players and a maximum of six. We'll start by the Reception Desk, where you check in and store any bags or coats in a locker, since you can't take personal items into the room. Just through the doors is the Briefing Room, a small space with a screen where our host explains the story behind tonight's room before you go in. Once inside, you'll find the Main Puzzle Room itself, our largest and most popular being the Pharaoh's Tomb, which has a 60-minute time limit and an escape rate of about 35 percent. If you get stuck, there's a Hint Screen mounted on the wall, which gives you a clue every time you tap it, though using too many hints does affect your final score. There's also a Camera Room, unseen by players, where our game masters watch every group and can step in remotely if something isn't working properly. After your game, everyone gathers in the Photo Booth area, where a group photo is taken and emailed to you afterwards for a small fee. Groups of eight or more should book at least a week ahead, since we sometimes combine two rooms for a longer, connected experience. Right, let's head over to reception to get you checked in.
Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
11. Room booking price: ______ dollars per person
12. Maximum number of players per room: ______
13. Time limit for the Pharaoh’s Tomb: ______ minutes
What does the speaker say about each of the following areas? Choose the correct letter, A-F, for questions 4 to 7.
14. The Reception Desk
15. The Briefing Room
16. The Hint Screen
17. The Camera Room
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
18. The escape rate for the Pharaoh's Tomb is about
19. Using too many hints
20. Groups of eight or more should book
Part 3
Listen and answer questions 21–30.
Transcript (available after checking)
Dr. Lee: Emma, Frank, let's go over your case notes for the barn owl you brought in.
Emma: We weighed it at three hundred and ten grams, which seemed low.
Frank: I thought it was normal for a barn owl, but Emma looked it up and found it's underweight.
Dr. Lee: Good catch, Emma, three-ten is thin for an adult. What about the wing?
Frank: There's a small fracture near the tip, we think it needs a splint.
Dr. Lee: A splint would help, but at that location a simple bandage support is gentler and heals just as well.
Emma: We also noticed it wasn't blinking properly in one eye.
Dr. Lee: That could be from hitting a window. Keep that eye lubricated and monitor it daily.
Frank: Should we start it on solid food straight away?
Dr. Lee: Not yet, it's too weak. Begin with a liquid supplement for two days, then move to small pieces of mouse.
Emma: What about housing? We were going to put it in the large outdoor aviary.
Dr. Lee: Too much stimulation this early. Keep it in a quiet indoor box until the eye improves.
Frank: I read that owls should be handled a lot to get used to people.
Dr. Lee: Actually the opposite, minimal handling reduces stress and helps recovery.
Emma: Do we need to report the case to the wildlife trust?
Dr. Lee: Yes, and include the location where it was found, they track incidents involving windows.
Frank: Should we ring it for later identification?
Dr. Lee: Ringing comes later, once it's stable, don't do it during initial treatment.
Emma: One more thing, the record sheet asks for an estimated age.
Dr. Lee: From the feather pattern, call it a first-year bird. Update the chart, and check on it again this afternoon before the clinic closes.
Frank: Should we contact the local rescue centre for extra advice?
Dr. Lee: Only if her condition worsens, for now our own notes are thorough enough to continue treatment safely.
21. What does Dr. Lee say about the owl's weight?
22. What treatment will they use for the wing?
23. What might have caused the eye problem?
24. What will the owl be given first for food?
25. Where should the owl be kept at first?
26. What does Dr. Lee say about handling the owl?
27. What information must go in the report to the wildlife trust?
What does Dr. Lee decide about each of these? Choose your answers from the list, A-E: A Do it once the bird is stable; B Estimate as first-year; C Check again this afternoon; D Use lubrication daily; E Begin with liquid food.
28. Ringing the bird
29. Age on the record
30. End of the session
Part 4
Listen and answer questions 31–40.
Transcript (available after checking)
This lecture looks at the zipper, a small mechanical fastener now found on almost every kind of clothing and bag, and the surprisingly long, frustrating road it took to reach its now-familiar reliable modern form. An American inventor named Whitcomb Judson patented an early hook-and-eye style fastening device in 1893, marketed at the time under the name the Clasp Locker, but this first version was genuinely unreliable, prone to suddenly springing open at inconvenient moments, and it consequently failed to attract any significant lasting commercial success. The design that actually works reliably, using small interlocking teeth guided smoothly together by a sliding pull tab, was developed considerably later by a Swedish-born engineer named Gideon Sundback, who patented his substantially improved version in 1917 after years of careful, methodical refinement specifically aimed at solving the persistent reliability problems of Judson's much earlier design. Sundback's key practical improvement involved carefully increasing the number of interlocking teeth per unit of length and refining their precise shape so they meshed together considerably more securely, dramatically reducing the frustrating tendency of earlier fasteners to spring open unexpectedly under everyday strain. Despite this genuine technical improvement, adoption still remained relatively slow for a further decade or so, since manufacturers and clothing designers alike remained cautious and cost-conscious about switching away from buttons, a simpler, cheaper, and thoroughly well-established existing technology already familiar to everyone. The zipper's fortunes changed decisively when B.F. Goodrich, a rubber and footwear company, began using the fastener on rubber boots and galoshes in 1923, and it was that same company that coined the catchy name zipper itself, directly inspired by the distinctive zipping sound the new device made when it was quickly opened or closed. Clothing designers gradually began incorporating zippers into everyday trousers and jackets through the 1930s, initially marketed partly on the practical grounds of convenience and speed, and the fastener achieved final, lasting mainstream acceptance once prominent fashion designers began actively promoting it as a genuinely modern, sleek styling feature rather than merely a hidden practical convenience. Today the zipper remains essentially unchanged in its core mechanical operating principle from Sundback's original 1917 design, a rare example of an early twentieth-century invention that has needed remarkably little fundamental modification since.
Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
31. Whitcomb Judson patented an early fastening device in ______.
32. Judson's device was marketed under the name the Clasp ______.
33. The reliable modern design was developed by the engineer ______.
34. Sundback patented his improved version in ______.
35. Sundback increased the number of interlocking ______ per unit of length.
36. Adoption remained slow because manufacturers were cautious about switching from ______.
37. The company ______ began using the fastener on rubber boots in 1923.
38. This company coined the name ______ itself.
39. The name was inspired by the zipping ______ the device made.
40. Fashion designers eventually promoted it as a modern, sleek ______ feature.
Reading
Section 1: Notices
You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 1.
NOTICE A — Regal Theatre: Ticket Information
Tickets for our autumn season are now on sale, with prices ranging from £15 for restricted-view seats to £45 for premium stalls seating. Concession prices, offering a 20% discount, are available for students, senior citizens, and unemployed visitors on production of valid identification at the box office; this discount is not available for online bookings. Group bookings of eight or more receive a 15% discount when booked at least two weeks before the performance date. Tickets can be exchanged for a different performance date up to 48 hours before the original booking, subject to availability, for an administration fee of £3 per ticket. Refunds are only available if a performance is cancelled by the theatre itself.
NOTICE B — Lost Wallet
A brown leather wallet was found on the number 12 bus on Monday morning, containing some cash and several cards but no photo identification. The bus company has handed the wallet to the local council's lost property office, located at the town hall, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm. To claim the wallet, you will need to describe its exact contents accurately and provide proof of your identity, such as a passport or driving licence. Items unclaimed after 90 days are disposed of in accordance with council policy. The lost property office cannot provide information about found items over the phone; enquiries must be made in person.
Questions 1–4. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
1. What is the price of the most expensive tickets?
2. Where was the wallet found?
3. What are the opening hours of the lost property office?
4. Where is the lost property office located?
Questions 5–7. 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. The concession discount is available for online bookings.
6. Group bookings of eight or more receive a 15% discount.
7. Refunds are given if a customer changes their mind about attending.
Question 8. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice A for each answer.
8. Tickets can be exchanged up to __________ before the original booking.
Questions 9–10. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice A.
9. How much is the administration fee for exchanging a ticket?
10. What is the price of the cheapest tickets?
Questions 11–12. 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.
11. The wallet contains photo identification.
12. The lost property office can give information by phone.
Question 13. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice B for each answer.
13. Items unclaimed after __________ are disposed of according to council policy.
Question 14. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Notice B.
14. Which document is given as an example of acceptable proof of identity?
Section 2: Workplace
You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 2.
TEXT A — Flexible Working Trial: Staff Update
Following positive feedback from the pilot scheme conducted in the customer service department, flexible start and finish times will now be extended to all departments from next month. Staff can choose to start any time between 7:30am and 9:30am, provided they complete a full working day and are available during the core hours of 10am to 3pm, when most meetings are scheduled. Staff wishing to participate should discuss their preferred pattern with their line manager and confirm it in writing via email for their records. This arrangement does not apply to staff whose roles require fixed attendance for operational reasons, such as reception and warehouse staff, who should continue with their existing agreed hours.
TEXT B — Office Kitchen Rules Memo
To keep our shared kitchen area pleasant for everyone, please observe the following: label any food stored in the fridge with your name and the date, as unlabelled items will be discarded every Friday afternoon. Please wash your own mugs and plates promptly after use rather than leaving them in the sink for others to clean. The dishwasher runs automatically at 6pm each evening; please ensure any dishes you wish to be washed are loaded before this time. Strong-smelling foods, such as fish, should ideally be reheated using the microwave in the smaller kitchenette on the second floor rather than the main kitchen, out of consideration for colleagues working nearby.
Questions 15–18. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
15. Which department did the flexible working pilot scheme take place in?
16. When are unlabelled items in the fridge discarded?
17. What should staff label food in the fridge with?
18. Which staff continue with their existing agreed hours rather than flexible start times?
Questions 19–20. 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.
19. Staff can start work any time between 7:30am and 9:30am.
20. Warehouse staff can also choose flexible start times.
Question 21. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text A for each answer.
21. Core hours, when most meetings are scheduled, are from __________.
Question 22. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text A.
22. How should staff confirm their preferred working pattern?
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. The dishwasher runs automatically at 6pm each evening.
24. Fish should be reheated in the main kitchen microwave.
Questions 25–26. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text B for each answer.
25. Strong-smelling foods should be reheated in the kitchenette on the __________.
26. Dishes intended for the dishwasher must be loaded before __________.
Question 27. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Text B.
27. What should staff wash promptly after use?
Section 3: The History of the Neighbourhood Bakery
You should spend about 20 minutes on Section 3.
Long before large supermarket chains began offering mass-produced bread at low prices, the neighbourhood bakery served as an essential daily fixture in communities across much of Europe, with many households visiting their local bakery every single morning to purchase fresh bread for that day's meals, a practice reflecting both practical necessity, since bread without preservatives stales quickly, and deeply embedded cultural tradition.
The industrialisation of bread production throughout the twentieth century fundamentally transformed this landscape. Large-scale industrial bakeries, capable of producing bread far more cheaply through mechanisation and economies of scale, gradually displaced many small independent bakeries unable to match their prices, while supermarkets' convenient one-stop shopping model further reduced the practical necessity of separate daily bakery visits for busy modern households increasingly purchasing a full week's groceries in a single trip.
Despite this substantial industry consolidation, recent decades have witnessed a modest but genuine revival of interest in traditionally made, artisanal bread, driven partly by growing consumer appreciation for bread quality and craftsmanship that mass-produced alternatives, however convenient, generally cannot replicate. This renewed appreciation has supported a resurgence of small bakeries specifically positioning themselves around traditional techniques, including lengthy fermentation processes and traditional ingredients, differentiating themselves clearly from both industrial mass production and the moderate-quality, in-store bakery sections that many larger supermarkets have introduced to capture some of this renewed consumer interest themselves.
Economically, successful artisanal bakeries generally occupy a distinct market position from their historical predecessors, commanding premium prices that reflect genuinely higher production costs, including more expensive ingredients, longer production times requiring more skilled labour, and lower overall output volume compared with either historical everyday bakeries or contemporary industrial alternatives. This premium positioning means artisanal bread, while genuinely popular among certain consumer segments willing to pay accordingly, occupies a fundamentally different market niche from the everyday, affordable staple that neighbourhood bakeries historically represented for the broader population regardless of income level.
Some food historians and industry commentators express measured concern that this bifurcation between premium artisanal bread and everyday mass-produced alternatives risks creating a troubling two-tier bread market, where genuinely high-quality traditional bread becomes primarily accessible to wealthier consumers able to afford premium prices, while the broader population remains dependent on industrially produced alternatives, representing a genuine departure from bread's historical role as an affordable, universally accessible dietary staple rather than an increasingly stratified consumer product differentiated substantially by price and perceived quality.
Questions 28–30. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
28. Why did many households visit their local bakery every morning historically?
29. What concern do some food historians express?
30. What drove the renewed interest in artisanal bread in recent decades?
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. Industrial bakeries produce bread more cheaply through mechanisation.
32. Supermarkets reduced the practical necessity of daily bakery visits.
33. Bread historically represented an affordable staple accessible to all income levels.
34. Bread without preservatives stales quickly.
Question 35. Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
35. Artisanal bakeries differentiate themselves through traditional techniques, including lengthy __________ processes.
Questions 36–38. Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.
36. What have larger supermarkets introduced to capture renewed consumer interest?
37. What kind of labour do artisanal bakeries require more of?
38. What does artisanal bread's market position differ from, compared with historical bakeries?
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.
40. Wealthier consumers are more likely to access genuinely high-quality traditional bread under the current market bifurcation.
Speaking
Part 1: Introduction and interview
The examiner asks you questions about yourself and familiar topics (4–5 minutes).
Part 1 (Hot drinks / Breakfast) — the examiner asks about two familiar topics.
Topic 1: Hot drinks
Q1. Do you prefer coffee or tea?
Q2. When do you usually have a hot drink?
Topic 2: Breakfast
Q3. What do you normally eat for breakfast?
Q4. Is breakfast the same everywhere in your country?
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer:
1. Tea, definitely. I grew up in a family of tea drinkers, and coffee makes me a bit jittery, so I only have it very occasionally after a big meal.
2. Mostly first thing in the morning and again around four in the afternoon, when I need a little break. I don't usually drink anything hot in the evening.
3. Something quite simple: bread with cheese and olives, and sometimes a boiled egg. On busy days I might just grab a banana on my way out.
4. Not really. In the north people eat a lot of porridge and dairy, while along the coast you're more likely to get fish or salty pastries. It's interesting how much it changes.
Part 2: Individual long turn
You have one minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.
Describe a holiday you have enjoyed.
You should say:
- where you went
- who you went with
- what you did there
and explain why the holiday was memorable.
You will be given one minute to prepare, then talk for between one and two minutes.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The best holiday I've ever had was a ten-day trip to Croatia with my two closest friends, three summers ago. We'd saved up for months, and we decided to travel along the coast by bus and ferry, instead of staying in one place. We began in Split, where we explored the old Roman palace and ate grilled fish by the harbour, and then we took a boat to a small island called Hvar. The water there was so clear that you could see the bottom from the boat, and we spent almost every afternoon swimming and reading on the rocks. One evening we joined a local family for a barbecue, after the owner of our apartment invited us, and we ended up singing and dancing until midnight. We also hired kayaks and paddled to a hidden cave, which was a real highlight. What made the holiday so memorable was the freedom of it. We didn't have a strict timetable, so if we liked a place we simply stayed longer, and I discovered how much I enjoy travelling with people who are relaxed and curious. We still talk about it all the time and we're already planning another trip.
Part 3: Two-way discussion
The examiner asks more abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic.
Part 3 (reading habits) — the examiner asks four related questions.
Q1. Do you think people read less than they used to?
Q2. What are the benefits of reading for pleasure, compared with reading for study or work?
Q3. Should parents encourage children to read from a young age?
Q4. How might reading habits change in the future?
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer:
1. In terms of traditional books, probably yes, since phones and video content offer quicker entertainment, though people may actually read more short text overall through messages and articles online.
2. Reading for pleasure allows the mind to relax and imagine freely, whereas reading for study is more goal-driven and can feel like a task rather than something genuinely enjoyable.
3. Absolutely, since early reading habits build vocabulary, concentration, and imagination, and children who see reading modelled at home are far more likely to continue it naturally as they grow older.
4. I think audiobooks and digital formats will keep growing in popularity, making reading more convenient for busy lifestyles, even if the total time spent on traditional printed books continues to decline.
Writing Task 1
Building work is taking place near your home and the noise is disturbing you. Write a letter to the company responsible for the building work. In your letter: describe the problem, explain how it is affecting you, and ask them to take action to reduce the noise. Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write your own address. Begin your letter 'Dear ...,'
Writing Task 2
Some people prefer to live in a large city, while others prefer life in a small town or village. 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.