Listening practice - mistake log IELTS Practice Set 16 listening test 3
1 Cambridge IELTS 16 - listening test 4
- Total Score: 34/40
- Date: 18/08/2025
2 Performance Summary
2.0.1 ✅ Recording 1 – Cycle Camp
Result: 10/10, no mistakes.
Strengths: Careful with everyday details (colours, numbers, places). Excellent concentration.
What to Learn: Trap signals like “first… then… actually”. Review singular/plural in daily items.
2.0.2 ⚠️ Recording 2 – Agriculture & Horticulture Jobs
Mistakes: Q14, Q17, Q19, Q20.
Problem Areas:
Misinterpreted disadvantages vs requirements.
Confused training vs experience.
Didn’t catch contrast phrases clearly.
Theme to Study: Employment vocabulary (contract, promotion, training course, accommodation, overtime).
Key Learning: Watch for “not… but…” / “instead of…” signals.
2.0.3 ⚠️ Recording 3 – Calories & Nutrition
Mistakes (you told me earlier): Q11, Q12, Q16, Q27.
Problem Areas:
Misheard numbers/details about calorie calculations.
Distracted by fast speech and lost focus on key data.
Theme to Study: Food, health, measurements (calorie, portion, intake, nutrients, balanced diet).
Key Learning: Practice listening for numbers + units carefully (kcal, grams, percentages).
2.0.4 ⚠️ Recording 4 – Hand Knitting
Mistakes: Q33 (equipment not equipments), Q40 (sheep not sheeps).
Problem Areas: Grammar slips with uncountable nouns and irregular plurals.
Theme to Study: History & crafts (garment, yarn, wool, technique, tradition).
Key Learning: Revise common uncountable nouns + irregular plurals list.
3 📌 Overall Pattern Today
Strengths: You can follow lectures and everyday dialogues well. You catch main ideas and sequences.
Weaknesses:
Plural vs singular forms (equipments, sheeps).
Numbers & details (nutrition test).
Traps with contrast (job test).
4 🎯 Next Steps
Daily Grammar Fix: Drill 10 uncountable nouns + 10 irregular plurals.
Numbers Practice: Do 5 “mini listening” clips where you only write down numbers/units.
Trap Training: Highlight but, however, instead, rather than during practice and pause to predict the change.
Vocabulary Notebook: Split by IELTS themes (Work, Health, History, Daily Life). Add 5 new collocations each day.
5 Recording 1
Question 7: “central heating and stove that burns …”
You wrote: woods
Correct answer: wood
Analysis:
In the recording, Shirley says:
“We can provide all the wood you need for it. It smells so much nicer than coal…”
Why not “woods”?
“Wood” in English is uncountable when referring to the material used for burning.
“Woods” (plural) usually refers to a forest or a collection of trees, not the material for a fire.
Tip to know:
Listen for “all the wood” — singular/uncountable is correct here.
Key phrases: “all the … you need” or “some …” → usually uncountable nouns.
Other notes on your mistakes:
Q3: You wrote CHIRVIL, correct spelling: CHERVIL
Shirley spells it: “Chervil. C-H-E-R-V for Victor I-L.”
Listening tip: Pay attention to spelling clues in conversations.
Q5: You wrote BACKYARD, correct: GARDEN
Shirley says: “Yes, you get to it from the living room through French doors…”
“Garden” is the standard word in the UK for what Americans might call a backyard.
Tip: Note context: outdoor area directly attached to the house is often “garden” in UK English.
6 Recording 2
6.0.1 Q16: New Cricket Pitch
You answered: I
Correct answer: F
Recording clue:
“As we’ve now purchased additional space to the east of the recreation ground, beyond the trees, we plan to move it away from its current location, which is rather near the road, into this new area beyond the line of trees.”
Why F?
The speaker specifies “beyond the line of trees” to the east of the recreation ground.
On the map, the letter F corresponds to this new eastern location beyond the trees, not I.
Tip: Always pay attention to directional clues (north/south/east/west) and references like “beyond” or “near the road.”
6.0.2 Q18: Skateboard Ramp
You answered: D
Correct answer: I
Recording clue:
“The skateboard ramp is very popular … we decided to have it in the southeast corner near the road.”
Why I?
On the map, I corresponds to the southeast corner near the road, exactly as described.
D might have been near the river, which was considered but rejected.
Tip: Notice decisions vs. considerations. If the speaker mentions “we considered X but decided Y,” you must pick Y, the final location.
✅ Summary of the error pattern:
You chose either planned/considered location instead of final location, or misread directional cues.
Always mark final decisions and track positional words: near, beyond, east, southeast, etc.
7 Recording 3
7.0.1 Q25: Amsterdam
You answered: E (well designed)
Correct answer: C (surprised it has been so successful)
Recording clue:
Amy: “In a way it’s strange that there was such a demand for bike-sharing because you’d have thought most people would have used their own bikes.”
Why C?
Both speakers express surprise that Amsterdam’s scheme is so well used given the strong cycling culture.
“Well designed” is not mentioned; the key is unexpected success.
Tip: Focus on adjectives that show emotion or surprise.
7.0.2 Q27: London
You answered: G (expanded too quickly)
Correct answer: D (more investment is required)
Recording clue:
Jake: “Basically, not enough’s been spent on increasing the number of cycle lanes. Hopefully that’ll change.”
Why D?
The problem is underinvestment, not rapid expansion.
“Expanded too quickly” is the opposite of what was said.
Tip: Look for words like not enough / insufficient / lacking, which often indicate the correct answer.
7.0.3 Q28: Buenos Aires
You answered: D (more investment required)
Correct answer: E (system well designed)
Recording clue:
Amy: “Mmm. They built a huge network of cycle lanes to support the introduction of the scheme … An example of good planning.”
Why E?
- “Good planning” implies the scheme is well designed, not that more investment is needed.
Tip: Words like good planning, successful introduction point to well-designed system.
7.0.4 Q30: Sydney
You answered: C (expanded too quickly)
Correct answer: A (disappointing)
Recording clue:
Jake: “I can’t quite work out why it hasn’t been an instant success like some of the others. It’s a shame really.”
Why A?
The speakers are disappointed because Sydney’s scheme hasn’t grown quickly.
“Expanded too quickly” is clearly incorrect, the opposite problem.
Tip: Listen for phrases like “it’s a shame / disappointing / not as expected” — these indicate disappointment.
✅ Summary of error pattern:
Confused emotions/opinions (surprised vs. well designed, disappointing vs. too fast).
Misinterpreted investment vs. expansion.
Need to pay attention to phrases that indicate judgment: “strange,” “it’s a shame,” “hopefully that’ll change.”
8 Recording 4
8.0.1 Q31: Portuguese ships transporting …
You wrote: SPICIES
Correct answer: SPICE(S)
Why?
In the recording, it says: “The sailors were carrying spices back to Europe…”
The word is uncountable in general form but plural “spices” is also acceptable, depending on IELTS transcript.
You added an extra “i” → spelling mistake.
Tip: For listening, always double-check spelling of commonly confused words. In IELTS, singular vs plural is important only if explicitly indicated. Here spice(s) is accepted.
8.0.2 Q40: The arrival of farming meant the … was destroyed
You wrote: FORESTS
Correct answer: FOREST
Why?
Recording: “This meant that the forest that has once covered all the island… was cut down…”
Even though there were multiple forested areas, the text refers to the forest as one entity covering the island, so singular is correct.
Tip: Look for “the” + noun in the recording; singular form is usually required.
✅ Key takeaways:
Plural vs singular: Listen carefully for “the” — often signals singular.
Spelling: Watch for small errors in familiar words like spice(s).
IELTS Listening is strict: one-word answers must match the recording exactly.