2.1. The Listening Test at a Glance
Get the shape of the Listening test: the clock, the recordings and where your answers go.
The short version
30 minutes of recording.
4 recordings, in a fixed order.
You hear each recording once only.
40 questions, each worth one mark.
Thirty minutes, forty questions
The recordings run for about thirty minutes. You answer the forty questions while you listen. Academic and General Training sit exactly the same Listening test.
You hear each recording once
There is no replay button. If you miss an answer, let it go and stay with the speaker. Falling behind costs far more than the single mark you just lost.
Where your answers go
You take the test on a computer. You type or click each answer on screen while the recording plays. What you type or choose is what is marked.
A little time to check that part's answers before the next part starts.
2 minutes to check all your answers before the Listening test ends.
Quiz time3 questions
Three quick questions on the shape of the test.
The recordings
Choose the number of recordings.
How many recordings do you hear?
How many times
Choose how often each recording is played.
How many times do you hear each recording?
The extra time
Choose what the two minutes at the end are for.
What are the two minutes at the end for?
Recap
Four recordings, about thirty minutes, forty questions.
You hear each recording once only.
You answer on screen as you listen, then get two minutes to check.
Next: what each of the four parts actually sounds like.