High-advanced level · British accent · Free
IELTS Listening Academic Test 7
A full 4-part, 40-question listening test at band 7.5 difficulty, recorded with British accent audio, taken under the real 30-minute computer-delivered timing and graded the moment you finish.
What is in this test?
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Band 7.5 (High-advanced) |
| Accent | British accent audio |
| Format | 4 parts · 40 questions · audio plays once |
| Timing | 30 minutes, computer-delivered interface |
| Grading | Instant, with standard raw-score-to-band conversion |
| Review | Per-question transcript locations after submission |
Like the real exam, the four sections climb from everyday conversation to an academic lecture, and the audio never repeats. Band 7.5 calibration means a candidate targeting band 7.5 should score about 32/40 here on a good day (the official conversion for band 7.5), and is ready for the next test at 35/40.
What do you hear in each part of Test 7?
| Part | What you hear | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Conversation | A new employee fills in paperwork with HR on his first day | Note and table completion |
| 2 · Talk | A sports centre manager announces new programmes and upgrades | Multiple choice |
| 3 · Discussion | A tutor and a student discuss a project on sound design for film | Matching, multiple choice |
| 4 · Lecture | A lecture on colour perception | Note completion |
Parts 1 and 2 are set in everyday life and Parts 3 and 4 in education, as in the real test. Each part has ten questions, so the question types above tell you what to practise before you start.
How should you approach a band-7.5 listening test?
Band-7.5 material uses academic vocabulary in Section 4 and near-native pacing throughout. What separates a 7 from a 7.5 here is precision under pressure: plurals, hyphenated words, the spelling of semi-technical terms ("questionnaire", "accommodation"). At this level you should be reviewing every lost mark by transcript to classify it: mishearing, misreading, or misspelling, each needing a different fix.
Why practice with a British accent?
Standard southern-British pronunciation drops the "r" after vowels ("car" ≈ "cah") and reduces unstressed syllables heavily. Numbers like "thirty" vs "thirteen" are distinguished by stress position: first syllable for tens, second for teens. This is the accent most official IELTS recordings favour, so comfort here pays off directly.
Try a sample question first
Summary completion. Write ONE WORD ONLY.
Audio: “Lecturer: "Coral bleaching isn't caused by temperature alone. Acidity plays a role, but the dominant driver in our data was sustained heat stress over consecutive weeks."”
Question: The study found the main cause of bleaching was prolonged ____ stress.
Answer: heat. "Dominant driver" in the audio maps to "main cause" in the summary, and "sustained" to "prolonged": double paraphrase, typical of band-7.5 Section 4.
This sample was written for this page; the 40 questions in the actual test are different.
How do I take this test?
- Create a free account (no card): the Free plan includes unlimited listening practice
- Open Listening and choose Academic Test 7
- Sit the full 30 minutes in one block, exactly as on test day
- Review every lost mark against the transcript, then drill that question type
Warm up one level down with Test 6 (band 6.5). When you clear 35/40 here, step up to Test 8 (band 8.0).
More tests at band 7.5: Test 12, Test 18. More British recordings: Test 1, Test 11, Test 15, Test 19.
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