Predicting and anticipating in IELTS

Rugby International – receipt

Predicting and anticipating practice for IELTS listening

In a previous post we looked at the importance of predicting and anticipating in the IELTS listening test. Practice your skills with these 10 questions by predicting as much as you can.

NOTE: there is no audio for this exercise – this is to improve your predicting skills.

Questions 1 to 5. Complete the missing information. Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Name of ticket holder: Carl Hawkins

1. Payment method: (1)_____________ Click to show answer Looking for a method of payment. Likely answers: cash or credit card; could also be telephone, Internet, or in person..

2. New Zealand All Blacks v (2)____________​ Click to show answer Expect a country or team name (e.g. South Africa / Springboks). The answer will be the opposing national team..

3. Starts at: (3) _____________​ Click to show answer Very likely a clock time, probably in the afternoon. There is a small chance the date is required too..

4. Number of people (4)______________​ Click to show answer This asks how many people are included in this transaction (not total attendance). Likely answer: 2 (based on space for two seat numbers and later questions)..

5. Seat number(s) K112 and (5)_____________​ Click to show answer Look for one additional seat number. Likely sequential (K111 or K113) but could also be same row different letter (e.g. J112 or L112)..

Questions 6 – 10.

Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

6. Why didn’t Carl Hawkins go to the match?​ Click to show answer This requires a reason. Expect a short reason phrase (for example: ‘he was ill’ or ‘work commitments’)..

7. Where had they planned to meet?​ Click to show answer A location related to the stadium (e.g. ‘outside gate 3’, ‘in front of the east stand’). Listen for a preposition of place..

8. Why was Jane angry?​ Click to show answer Probable causes: she was left waiting or couldn’t go herself because the ticket was in Carl’s name but he didn’t attend..

9. What are they doing next Saturday?​ Click to show answer Expect a future action using Saturday (e.g. meeting Jane’s brother, cleaning the house, picking him up at the airport). Listen for an action verb..

10. When is Jane’s brother arriving?​ Click to show answer This could be a day of the week, a date, or a clock time. Listen for specific time language (e.g. ‘Saturday morning’, ‘on the 12th’, ‘at 3pm’)..

BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY! Here’s a glossary of key words from this post: