Free

IELTS Listening Practice Test 5 (free, with answer key)

Last updated September 17, 2026

Short answer: Listening Test 5 is a full IELTS-format Listening test: four recorded sections (sailing club, open-air museum, podcast, the lighthouse), 40 questions, about 30 minutes on the exam clock, each recording played once as in the real exam, and your raw score, estimated band and per-section breakdown the moment you submit. Free, no sign-up. Take the test first, then check the answer key below; reading it before the test makes the band meaningless.

Start Listening Test 5
4
recorded sections, from a two-person conversation to a lecture
40
questions, scored automatically and converted to an estimated band
0
sign-up, email or card to take the test and see your band

This page describes what is in Listening Test 5 and gives the answer key for its 40 questions. The test itself runs on the ParrotTalk Listening page: the button above opens it with Test 5 already selected. The recordings are produced by ParrotTalk, with distinct voices for each section, and follow the shape of the IELTS Listening test, from a booking conversation to a lecture. This is not an official IELTS test.

What is in this test

SectionTopicQuestionsQuestion types
Section 1 Riverside Sailing Club: Membership Enquiry 1 to 10 Completion (Q1 to 10)
Section 2 Millbrook Open-Air Museum: Volunteer Induction 11 to 20 Plan labelling (Q11 to 15), multiple choice (Q16 to 17), completion (Q18 to 20)
Section 3 Tutorial: A Local History Podcast 21 to 30 Multiple choice (Q21 to 23), matching (Q24 to 27), note completion (Q28 to 30)
Section 4 Lecture: A Short History of the Lighthouse 31 to 40 Note completion (Q31 to 40)

Allow about 30 minutes: the test clock runs for 30 minutes plus 2 minutes to check your answers before submitting, as in the computer-delivered exam. In exam mode the audio of each section plays once, without pause, the questions appear as the recording reaches them, and Section 2 unlocks only after Section 1 has been played. Your progress is saved in your browser, so a reload does not lose your answers.

Answer key

Take the test first. The answer key is here so that you can check your work afterwards; if you read it before you start, the band you get at the end tells you nothing about your level.

The answers below are the ones accepted by the automatic scoring, including the accepted variants where the recording allows more than one wording. ParrotTalk does not publish the transcripts of the recordings: the practice is in the listening, and the questions themselves are on the test page once the audio starts.

Show the answers for Section 1: Riverside Sailing Club: Membership Enquiry

Completion, questions 1 to 10

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

  1. Surname: KAVANAGH
  2. Type of membership chosen: INDIVIDUAL (also accepted: individual membership)
  3. Cost of membership for one year (£): 320 (also accepted: £320, three hundred and twenty, 320 pounds)
  4. Date membership will begin: 15 MARCH (also accepted: fifteenth of march, 15th march, march 15, 15 mar)
  5. Day on which the introductory course runs: SATURDAY (also accepted: saturdays, saturday mornings, saturday morning)
  6. Members should bring a change of clothes and a: TOWEL (also accepted: a towel)
  7. Number of the bus that stops outside the club: 42 (also accepted: forty-two, forty two, number 42)
  8. Before the course, beginners come in for a short: CHAT (also accepted: talk, interview, chat with the instructor, conversation)
  9. Name of the instructor to ask for: MARCUS
  10. Membership number: RS7194 (also accepted: rs 7194)
Show the answers for Section 2: Millbrook Open-Air Museum: Volunteer Induction

Plan labelling, questions 11 to 15

Label the plan below. Write the correct letter, A to H, next to each place.

  1. Ticket office: B
  2. Old schoolhouse: G
  3. Blacksmith's workshop: D
  4. Staff room: A
  5. Picnic area: F

Multiple choice, questions 16 to 17

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

  1. What is the minimum commitment asked of volunteers? B, one shift a fortnight
  2. What must volunteers wear on every shift? B, a green fleece

Completion, questions 18 to 20

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

  1. Length of the online safety training: 40 MINUTES (also accepted: forty minutes, 40 mins, 40 min)
  2. Item to collect from the ticket office: RADIO (also accepted: a radio)
  3. Place where the monthly volunteers' evening is held: TEAROOM (also accepted: tea room, the tearoom)
Show the answers for Section 3: Tutorial: A Local History Podcast

Multiple choice, questions 21 to 23

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

  1. Who is the podcast intended for? B, new residents
  2. How long will each episode last? A, fifteen minutes
  3. Where will most of the material come from? C, interviews with residents

Matching, questions 24 to 27

Who will do each task? Write A (Sam), B (Priya) or C (Dr Osei).

  1. Recording the interviews: A
  2. Editing the episodes: B
  3. Writing the introductions: A
  4. Checking the historical facts: C

Note completion, questions 28 to 30

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

  1. Number of episodes required: 3 (also accepted: three, three episodes, 3 episodes)
  2. Episodes will be published on the department: WEBSITE (also accepted: web site)
  3. Submission deadline: 30 NOVEMBER (also accepted: thirtieth of november, 30th november, november 30, 30 nov)
Show the answers for Section 4: Lecture: A Short History of the Lighthouse

Note completion, questions 31 to 40

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

  1. The earliest known lighthouse was built in: EGYPT (also accepted: alexandria)
  2. Early lights were fires of wood and later of: COAL (also accepted: coal fires)
  3. Smeaton's tower was built from blocks of: GRANITE (also accepted: granite blocks)
  4. Smeaton took the shape of the tower from an: OAK TREE (also accepted: oak, tree)
  5. Fresnel's lens was made of rings of: GLASS (also accepted: glass rings)
  6. The keeper's one duty was to keep the light: BURNING (also accepted: lit, alight, on)
  7. Number of keepers in isolated towers after the notorious case: 3 (also accepted: three, threes, in threes)
  8. Automation became possible with the arrival of: ELECTRICITY (also accepted: electric power)
  9. Year the last keepers in Britain left: 1998 (also accepted: nineteen ninety-eight)
  10. A visible light still works when the electronics: FAIL (also accepted: fails, stop working, break down)

Quick answers

Is this Listening test free?

Yes. Listening Test 5 is completely free, with no sign-up, no email and no card, and you can run it as many times as you like. The four sections, the 40 questions, the automatic scoring and the band are all included.

Is the audio played once, like in the real exam?

Yes, by default. In exam mode each section plays once, with no pause and no rewind, the questions appear progressively as the recording reaches them, and the next section unlocks once the previous one has been played. A practice mode, chosen before you start, allows pausing and replaying; the page then warns that the score is not comparable to exam conditions.

How is the Listening band calculated?

From your raw score out of 40, converted to a band with the official-style table, which is the same for Academic and General Training. The raw score, the band and a per-section breakdown appear the moment you submit. The full conversion table is on the band score calculator.

Is this an official IELTS test?

No. It is practice material in the format of the IELTS Listening test, with recordings produced by ParrotTalk, and the band is an estimate to track your progress, not an official result. ParrotTalk is independent and not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP, or Cambridge English.

Start Listening Test 5 All Listening practice tests All Listening practice tests

ParrotTalk is free, with no sign-up. Bands are estimates, not official IELTS results. See the band score calculator for the full raw score to band table, and read how to practise IELTS Listening online for free for the mistakes that cost the most marks. Before the test, the spelling and form rules that decide whether an answer counts are in IELTS Listening Spelling Rules: Plurals, Numbers, Dates.