IELTS Listening Summary

There are four parts to the IELTS listening test. Each part is about a different topic and gets increasingly more difficult.

The first audio is usually an informal dialogue in a social or everyday situation. For example, a conversation about opening a bank account, or someone inquiring about accommodation or a training course.

The second audio is usually a non-academic monologue. This could be one person giving information on something such as a guided museum tour, information about a conference or tourist information.

The third audio is usually a discussion (between 3-4 people) related to education/training. This may be a discussion between 2 students and a tutor about a group assignment, or among a group of students talking about a project.

The fourth and final audio is usually a university style lecture. This could be related to any academic topic.

1.  Part 1 – Social context (2 speakers)
2.  Part 2 – Social context (1 speaker)
3.  Part 3 – Education/training (2-4 speakers)
4.  Part 4 – Academic context (1 speaker)

No specialist subject knowledge is necessary. All the answers you need will be provided in the recordings.

The total test time is 40 minutes: 30 minutes of listening, and 10 minutes to transfer your answers from the test sheet onto the answer sheet. There will be 40 questions in total.

Top 70 Most Popular British Slang Words and Phrases – Guide to English Slang

1. Blighty – Britain 2. Give You A Bell – Call you 3. Blimey! – My Goodness 4. Gutted – Devastated 5. Bespoke – Custom Made 6. Chuffed – Proud 7. Fancy – Like 8. Lost the Plot – Gone Crazy 9. Fortnight – Two Weeks 10. Sorted – Arranged 11. Hoover – Vacuum 12. Kip – Sleep or nap 13. Bee’s Knees – Awesome 14.  Know Your Onions – Knowledgeable 15. Dodgy – Suspicious 16. Wonky – Not right 17. Wicked – Cool! 18. Whinge – Whine 19. Tad – Little bit 20. Tenner – £10 21. Fiver – £5 22. Skive – Lazy or avoid doing something 23. Toff – Upper Class Person 24. Punter – Customer/Prostitute’s Client 25. Scouser – Someone from Liverpool 26. Quid – £ 27. Taking the Piss – Screwing around32. Pissed – Drunk 28. Loo – Toilet 29. Nicked – Stolen 30. Nutter – Crazy Person 31. Knackered – Tired 32. Gobsmacked – Amazed 33. Dog’s Bollocks – Awesome 34. Chap – Male or friend 35. Bob’s Your Uncle – There you go! 36. Anti-Clockwise – We Say Counter Clockwise 37. C of E – Church of England 38.  Ace – Cool! 39. Absobloodylootely – YES! 40. Nosh – Food 41. One Off – One time only 42. Shambles – Mess 43. Brilliant! – Great! 44. Dog’s Dinner – Dressed Nicely 45. Made Redundant – Fired from a job 46. Easy Peasy – Easy 47. See a Man About a Dog – Do a deal or take a dump 48. Up the Duff – Pregnant 49. DIY – Do It Yourself home improvements 50. Chat Up – Flirt 51. Fit – Hot 52. Ponce – Poser 53. Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist – Don’t Get worked up 54. The Telly – Television 55. Bangers – Sausage 56. Chips – French Fries 57. Daft Cow – Idiot 58. Do – Party 59. Uni – College/University 60. Starkers – Naked 61. Bits ‘n Bobs – Various things 62. Anorak – A person weirdly interested in something 63. Shambles – bad shape/plan gone wrong 64. I’m Off to Bedfordshire – Going to bed 65. Bloody – Damn 66. Rubbish – Garbage 67. Plastered – Drunk 68. Chav – White trash 69. It`s monkeys outside – it is very cold 70. Stag Night – Bachelor Party

Sonnet 109

William Shakespeare (Уильям Шекспир)

Sonnet 109. O never say that I was false of heart

O never say that I was false of heart,
Though absence seemed my flame to qualify,
As easy might I from my self depart,
As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie:
That is my home of love, if I have ranged,
Like him that travels I return again,
Just to the time, not with the time exchanged,
So that my self bring water for my stain,
Never believe though in my nature reigned,
All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,
That it could so preposterously be stained,
To leave for nothing all thy sum of good:
For nothing this wide universe I call,
Save thou my rose, in it thou art my all.

Перевод на русский язык

Сонет 109. Меня неверным другом не зови

Меня неверным другом не зови.
Как мог я изменить иль измениться?
Моя душа, душа моей любви,
В твоей груди, как мой залог, хранится.

Ты - мой приют, дарованный судьбой.
Я уходил и приходил обратно
Таким, как был, и приносил с собой
Живую воду, что смывает пятна.

Пускай грехи мою сжигают кровь,
Но не дошел я до последней грани,
Чтоб из скитаний не вернуться вновь
К тебе, источник всех благодеяний.

Что без тебя просторный этот свет?
Ты в нем одна. Другого счастья нет.

Перевод С.Я. Маршака

Memorize and recite this sonnet

IELTS Listening Test 2019

New Scottish Words in the Oxford Dictionary, March 2019

• baffie, n.: “A slipper, esp. one that is old and worn out (cf. bauchle n. 1). Usually in plural. Cf. baff n.2”

• bam, n.2: “A foolish, annoying, or obnoxious person; (also spec.) a belligerent or disruptive person. Often as a contemptuous form of address. Cf. bampot n…”

• bampot, n.: “A foolish, annoying, or obnoxious person; (also spec.) a belligerent or disruptive person. Often as a contemptuous form of address. Cf. bam n.2…”

• bamstick, n.: “A foolish, annoying, or obnoxious person; (also spec.) a belligerent or disruptive person. Often as a contemptuous form of address. Cf. bam n.2…”

• bawbag, n.: “The scrotum. Cf. ball bag n. 2.”

• bealach, n.: “A narrow mountain pass.”

• bide-in, n.: “= bidie-in n.”

• bidie-in, n.: “A person who lives with his or her partner in a non-marital relationship; a cohabiting partner.”

• bosie, n.1: “A person’s bosom.”

• bowf, n. and adj.: “An unpleasant smell; a stink. Also figurative.”

• bowfing, adj.: “Foul-smelling, stinking. Also more generally: unpleasant, horrible.”

• coorie, v.: “intransitive. To crouch, stoop, or keep low, esp. for protection. Usually with down, in.”

• fantoosh, adj.: “Fancy, showy, flashy; stylish, sophisticated; fashionable, exotic. Often used disparagingly, implying ostentation or pretentiousness.”

• geggie, n.2: “A person’s mouth. Frequently in shut your geggie: ‘be quiet’, ‘shut up’.”

• rooked, adj.: “Originally: deprived of money through fraudulent or underhand means; swindled, fleeced. In later use also (chiefly Scottish): without money…”

• sitooterie, n.: “A secluded area within a building where people can sit apart from others; an alcove, recess. Now rare.”

• Weegie, n. and adj.: “A native or inhabitant of Glasgow; a Glaswegian.”

Weather and Temperature

WEATHER

Describing the weather

good, great, nice, fine, lovely, beautiful, wonderful, excellent, gorgeous, fair, mild, pleasant;

bad, awful, terrible, nasty, lousy, foul, rotten, miserable, unpleasant, dull, gloomy, ugly;

sunny, warm, hot, mild, cool, chilly, cold, freezing, icy, frosty; very cold; bitter cold;

rainy, wet, humid, dry, arid, frigid, foggy, windy, stormy, breezy, windless, calm, still;

a spell of good weather; a two-day spell of sunny weather; a spell of rainy weather;

Sky: cloudy, overcast, cloudless, clear, bright, blue, gray (BrE grey), dark; a patch of blue sky.

Examples

What's the weather like? How's the weather?

The weather is nice today. The weather is good today. The weather is awful today.

Nice weather, isn't it? Terrible weather, isn't it? It's a nice day, isn't it?

It's warm today. It's hot today. It's cold today. It is cold and windy. It's getting colder.

The wind is blowing. The wind was cold and strong. A strong wind was blowing.

It's humid. It's hot and humid. It's cloudy, but there's no rain. Maybe it will rain at night.

It looks like rain. It's going to rain. It's supposed to get warmer in the afternoon.

It's raining. It's raining hard. It's snowing. It's snowing hard. I wish it would stop raining.

Weather phenomena and related words

Sunshine

warm sun; hot sun; blazing sun; sunshine, sunlight, sunrays, sunbeams;

bright sunshine; bright sunlight; a patch of sunlight; daylight, moonlight;

sunrise, sunset, day, night, dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, twilight, nightfall, midnight.

Wind

wind, breeze; a gust of wind; a blast of wind; strong wind; high wind; light wind;

cool wind; warm wind; brisk wind; fresh wind; cold wind; piercing wind;

easterly wind; northerly wind; southerly wind; westerly wind;

hurricane, windstorm, whirlwind, tornado, typhoon, gale, dust storm, sandstorm, tropical storm.

Rain

heavy rain; pouring rain; steady rain; constant rain; cold rain; warm rain; light rain; gentle rain;

rain, rainfall, rain shower, downpour, deluge, rainstorm, drizzle, hail, sleet;

a drop of rain, a droplet, a raindrop; rainbow.

Fog

fog, haze, mist, smog; foggy, hazy, misty, smoggy; dew; dewy;

thick fog; dense fog; heavy fog; patchy fog; a blanket of fog;

pea soup (informal) – thick yellow fog.

Thunder and lightning

thunder; thunderstorm; thundercloud; distant thunder; faint thunder; loud thunder;

a clap of thunder, a thunderclap; a bolt of thunder, a thunderbolt;

lightning; a flash of lightning; a bright flash of lightning; a bolt of lightning.

Snow

heavy snow; deep snow; fresh snow; light snow; wet snow; falling snow; melting snow;

snow, snowfall, snowstorm, blizzard, frost; thaw; slippery roads;

snowflake, snowdrift, snowbank; ice, icicle.

Seasons

winter, spring, summer, autumn; fall (AmE); early spring; late autumn; Indian summer;

springtime, summertime, wintertime; spring season; summer season; fall season; winter season;

dry season; wet season; rainy season; cold season; warm season;

cold winters; extremely cold winters; mild winters; cool summers; warm summers; hot summers.

Climate

Climate: cold, cool, warm, hot; mild, moderate, temperate, severe; wet, damp, humid, dry, arid;

a cold climate; a relatively mild climate; a dry climate; a warm climate; a hot climate;

a continental climate; a maritime climate; cold climates; hot climates; a wide variety of climates;

The climate of Siberia is continental, with cold winters and warm summers. The climate of this region is cold and wet.

Ireland has a cool maritime climate. Yalta has a warm subtropical climate. I would like to live in a warm climate.

France has three types of climate. Agriculture in mountainous regions is restricted by climate and relief.

Disasters

earthquake, volcanic eruption, hurricane, landslide, landslip, avalanche;

flood, deluge, tidal wave, tsunami, drought, fire;

disaster, catastrophe, cataclysm.

After the Children Have Grown