Unit 2: LISTENING SKILL

Exercise 1

In this unit, you will practise the skills you need to answer short-answer questions in the
IELTS Listening test.  

The conversation in this unit is about food and drink. This is a common topic in IELTS, so it
is a good idea to think about some vocabulary you might hear.

Match the words in the box with the definitions.

Diet eat in eat out habit prepare ready-made meal takeaway

unhealthy

1. the food and drink usually eaten or drunk by a person or group: _________________
2. to have a meal at home rather than in a restaurant: ________________
3. food that has already been prepared and can be eaten after it has been heated in an
oven or microwave: ________________
4. a meal cooked and bought at a shop or restaurant but eaten somewhere else, often at
home: ________________
5. a type of food or drink that isn’t good for you: ________________
6. to have a meal in a restaurant rather than at home:  ________________
7. to get something ready, for example to cut vegetables, before you cook: 
________________
8. something that you do often and regularly: ________________

Exercise 2

Read the information. Then listen to part of a conversation about how the diet and eating
habits of people in the UK have changed over time.  

Choose the correct decades for the food eating habits.

1. Watching cooking on TV and rarely cooking at home

o 1960s
o 1970s
o 1990s
o NOW

2. Staying at home and eating the same food every week

 o 1960s
o 1970s
o 1990s
o NOW

3. Buying more frozen foods such as fish and vegetables

o 1960s
o 1970s
o 1990s
o NOW

4. Eating out in restaurants

o 1960s
o 1970s
o 1990s
o NOW

5. Sitting at home and eating takeaway food

o 1960s
o 1970s
o 1990s
o NOW

Exercise 3

Read the information. Then choose the one word in each list that does not have the same
meaning as the others.

Talking about trends, such as changes in diet and eating habits, is an important skill in
IELTS. It is also important to recognise words or phrases that don’t fit a particular group or
set of words and phrases.

Example
takeaway
fast-food
ready-made meal
unhealthy

In the list above, takeaway, fast-food and ready-made meal are all types of meals. Therefore,
the word that doesn’t fit the group is unhealthy.

1.
 o Fall
o Go down
o Decrease
o rise
2.
o Increase
o Drop
o Grow
o Go up
3.
o Sugar
o Water
o Fizzy drink
o Fruit juice
4.
o Nowadays
o At the present time
o These days
o previously
5.
o Development
o Introduction
o Change
o trend

Exercise 4

Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.

1. The number of customers decreased/ dropped/ increased from 45 people a day in

2011 to 105 in 2016. 
2. Fizzy drinks are unhealthy because of the very large amount/data/ figure of sugar in
every bottle.
3. Nowadays/ Previously/ These days you could only buy British food at this café, but
now the food is more international. 
4. There was a big change/ introduction/trend in the way people shopped for food in the
1980s. 
5. Although the number of burgers we sold last year dropped/ went up/ will decrease ,
sales of sandwiches rose. 

6. Eating sushi became popular in Britain in the 1990s and this figure/trend/rise
continues today.

Exercise 5

Listen to eight speakers spelling out names and numbers. Listen carefully and decide which
names and numbers have been written down correctly.

Choose the correct answers.

 1. HEBBURN

o Correct
o Incorrect

2. EASTWOOD

o Correct
o Incorrect

3. BRAMPTON

o Correct
o Incorrect

4. WORROW

o Correct
o Incorrect

5. MIDDLEDOM

o Correct
o Incorrect

6. KIMBERLEY

o Correct
o Incorrect

7. 0141 768112

o Correct
o Incorrect

8. £948.75

o Correct
o Incorrect

Exercise 6

In IELTS Listening short-answer questions, you must spell words correctly, so it is important
to know how the letters of the alphabet are pronounced.

Listen to each recording. Write the words you hear.

 --- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- ---

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Exercise 7

Listen to the recording. Choose the correct answers to complete the sentences.

1. The problem is that many people ... have an unhealthy diet.

o Nowadays
o these days

2. The trend for buying Indian takeaways has risen by … since 2016.

o 16%
o 6%

3. Doctors are worried about the increase in heart disease among … and
 over.

o men aged 35
o men aged 45

4. Good-quality food can be found in many of the city’s ...

o fine hotel restaurants.

o five hotel restaurants.

5. Sales of our … pies have fallen over the last three months.

o ready-made fish
o ready-made fish

Exercise 8

Read the information. Then think about the type of information you will need to listen for to
answer these questions. 

Match the types of information with the short-answer questions.

a kind of drink a person’s name a place a street name a type of food

a type of medical problem a word and/or number(s)

1. What is the surname of the writer that Sarah likes? ____________________
2. What is the password for the university library website? ____________________

3. Which drink does Joe say people should stop drinking? ____________________
4. Where are many families getting their meals from? ____________________
5. What problem does Sarah say is increasing because of unhealthy eating?
____________________
6. Which kind of fast food is most popular with other university students?
____________________

7. In which street is the sushi café? ____________________

Exercise 9

Questions 1–7

Answer the questions.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

 1. What is the surname of the writer that Sarah likes? ________________
2. What is the password for the university library website? ________________
3. Which drink does Joe say people should stop drinking? ________________
4. Where are many families getting their meals from? ________________
5. What problem does Sarah say is increasing because of unhealthy eating?
________________
6. Which kind of fast food is most popular with other university students?
________________
7. In which street is the sushi café? ________________

Exercise 10

Think about what you’ve learnt from doing this unit.  

Complete the summary. Use the words in the box.

Facts hyphen instructions numbers predict pronunciation

1. For IELTS short-answer questions, you need to listen carefully for _______________
such as the name of a person, a place, a date or a phone number.
2. Always read the _______________ carefully to find out exactly how many
_________________ you have to write and if you need to write any
_________________ such as prices or amounts as well.
3. Remember that words with a _________________ , such as ready-made, count as
one word only.
4. To prepare for the text, it is a good idea to revise the _________________ of the
alphabet in English. Practise listening to how the vowels a, e, i, o and u are
pronounced, and any consonants that may sound similar to you (e.g. t and d).
5. Before you hear the recording, read the questions and try to _______________ what
kind of information you will need to write your answers.