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IELTS Practice Listening: Choose Single Answer ID: #57018 Medium Exam papers
Instructions ›
Choose the correct option for the following.
You will hear a conversation between students discussing a learning circle and how they plan to prepare for their exams. Now listen carefully and answer the questions. There are only five of us and you know us all. Well, I've been researching some past exam papers, so I'd be happy to contribute those to the circle if I join. One of the others suggested doing that too. He thought that we should try and identify any trends or common questions that were included in the past papers, and that way we could prepare a little better for the final exam. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. In fact, I've already started looking at last year's exams. Great! We're also going to hold mock tutorials so we can practice our presentations on a smaller group before we have to do the real thing. I am so worried about that. I'm dreading that first presentation. I've never done any kind of public speaking before. Well, you're not alone. I think we're all pretty nervous about it, but we're hoping that the mocks will give us all a bit of confidence for the real tutorial. We don't want the group to be competitive, just collaborative. You know, working together and helping each other. It sounds like you've really thought the learning circle idea through. It seemed well planned. It's just that when we all met last week to discuss the idea, we all had a list of objectives. You know, what we wanted to get out of a learning circle. That made the planning quite easy. Look, why don't you come next week to our first Circle and you can see if it's what you're looking for. If not, well, you won't have lost anything and you can always organise a tutor for yourself afterwards. Yeah, I think I will. When and where are you going to meet? Our inaugural meeting of the Circle is on Thursday evening from six to eight in Ryan Hall. OK, I'll be there. We plan to talk about any material that we've had trouble with from the lecture first, and then we thought we'd talk about our individual learning styles. Even though we all know each other as friends, we thought that because it will be our first time together as a study group, it might be useful. I'm not exactly sure what my learning style is. Give it some thought during the week and try to notice how you study. Some people summarise everything or rewrite lecture notes every week. Others like to highlight the important points or group similar bits of information together. People like me, well, I have to read material at least three times before I can really comprehend it. Really? I'm a writer, I guess. I have to write everything down or I forget it straight away. I use the computer a lot. See, you do know how you learn. You just had to think about it. I'll bring the exam papers and the research that I've started. We probably won't have time to look through them at our first meeting. I'll bring them anyway, just in case. I think this learning circle idea is going to be a great success.
1
The purpose of studying past exam papers is to
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.

Question Focus: Purpose question - asks why the students study past exam papers

Correct Answer: A

Why this is correct: The answer is do well in the end of term exam because the speaker explains that studying past papers helps them prepare a little better for the final exam. The purpose is exam success, not just discussion.

Passage Reference: He thought that we should try and identify any trends or common questions that were included in the past papers, and that way we could prepare a little better for the final exam.

Paraphrasing: Transcript: 'prepare a little better for the final exam' = Option: 'do well in the end of term exam'

Tips: Listen for phrases like so that or that way, which often explain the purpose.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • B: Students may choose this because the speaker says they can contribute those to the circle. However, that is just what they bring, not the purpose of studying them. This is a context shift trap.
  • C: This sounds logical, but the speaker never mentions comparing answers with others. They talk about identifying trends, not checking answers together. This is a Not Given trap.

Key Vocabulary:

  • trends = patterns
  • final exam = end of term exam

Question Focus: Detail question - asks what the students hope to achieve from mock tutorials

Correct Answer: C

Passage Reference: but we're hoping that the mocks will give us all a bit of confidence for the real tutorial.

Why this is correct: The answer is gain self-confidence because the speaker clearly says the mocks will give us all a bit of confidence before the real tutorial.

Paraphrasing: Transcript: 'give us all a bit of confidence' = Option: 'gain self-confidence'

Tips: When speakers explain hopes or aims, listen for emotional words like worried, nervous, or confidence.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Students might think this because they hear practice our presentations, but it is done in a group, not by themselves. This is a partial truth trap.
  • B: Helping each other sounds reasonable, but the speaker focuses on confidence, not giving advice. This is a paraphrase trap.

Key Vocabulary:

  • mock = practice
  • tutorial = class discussion

Question Focus: Purpose question - asks what Hamish suggests Anita should do

Correct Answer: C

Passage Reference: Look, why don't you come next week to our first Circle and you can see if it's what you're looking for. If not, well, you won't have lost anything and you can always organise a tutor for yourself afterwards.

Why this is correct: The answer is trial the learning circle first because Hamish suggests she should come next week and see if it suits her before deciding.

Paraphrasing: Transcript: 'come next week and you can see' = Option: 'trial the learning circle first'

Tips: Advice often starts with soft phrases like why don't you or you could.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: This is tempting because objectives are mentioned earlier, but that happened last week and was already done. This is a context shift trap.
  • B: Hamish actually says she can get a tutor afterwards if she wants, not that she must commit first. This is a sequence trap.

Key Vocabulary:

  • trial = try
  • afterwards = later

Question Focus: Detail question - asks when the first learning circle session is

Correct Answer: B

Passage Reference: why don't you come next week to our first Circle and you can see if it's what you're looking for. If not, well, you won't have lost anything and you can always organise a tutor for yourself afterwards. Yeah, I think I will. When and where are you going to meet? Our inaugural meeting of the Circle is on Thursday evening from six to eight in Ryan Hall.

Why this is correct: The answer is next week because the speaker clearly invites her to come next week and then gives the exact day and time.

Paraphrasing: Transcript: 'come next week' = Option: 'next week'

Tips: Be careful with time references like last week, next week, and this week.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Last week is mentioned, but it refers to a planning meeting, not the study session. This is a context shift trap.
  • C: The speaker never says 6th August. Adding a date that sounds specific is a number trap.

Key Vocabulary:

  • inaugural = first
  • session = meeting

Question Focus: Detail question - asks what will be discussed at the next meeting besides learning styles

Correct Answer: B

Passage Reference: We plan to talk about any material that we've had trouble with from the lecture first, and then we thought we'd talk about our individual learning styles.

Why this is correct: The answer is lecture notes because the group plans to talk about material we've had trouble with from the lecture, which refers to lecture content.

Paraphrasing: Transcript: 'material from the lecture' = Option: 'lecture notes'

Tips: Listen for first, then, or we plan to, which show the order of activities.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Past exam papers are mentioned, but the speaker says we probably won't have time to look at them. This is a distractor trap.
  • C: Reading comprehension is discussed later as a personal learning habit, not a group topic. This is a context shift trap.

Key Vocabulary:

  • material = content
  • lecture = class talk

General Tips:

  • MCQ questions follow the order of the recording, so use one answer to predict where the next one is.
  • Listen for signpost words like but, actually, and in fact. The real answer often comes after them.
  • Do not choose answers just because they sound sensible in real life. Choose what the speaker actually says.
  • If you hear an option mentioned and then corrected, the first idea is usually a distractor.
  • Time words and purpose phrases are common traps. Always check when and why carefully.

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