Short Story Competition Listening Practice Test with Answers
Here is how you can prepare for the IELTS listening section properly with IELTS exam like questions with their answer key. The topic covered on this page is for short story competition listening answers. If you appear for the listening section without preparation, it can be a blunder! However, practicing with different topics can improve your score in this section.
Thus, you will find this topic covered along with several others on the linked resources. These are to help you prepare well for your IELTS listening sub-test. The best way to solve the following is to set a timer of 30 minutes and give your best. Further, you can check your answers using the answer key given below!
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Transcript for Short Story Competition
Dave: Good morning. Dave speaking.
Girl: Oh hi. I'm phoning about a short story competition. Um, I saw an advert in a magazine and I was just calling to get some details.
Dave: Yes - certainly. I'm the competition organizer so I should be able to help. What kind of details are you looking for?
Girl: Well - erm - does it cost anything to enter?
Dave: Yes - there's an entry fee of five pounds.
Girl: OK - that should be fine.
Girl: It's a short story competition - so how many words is that?
Dave: Well – we want to give people a reasonable amount of freedom but the guidelines are around 3,000 words.
Girl: Oh - that sounds quite a lot.
Dave: Well - it's not as much as it used to be. We did have a limit of 5,000 words but some people thought that was too many so this year we've reduced it.
Girl: Right - and does the story need to be about anything in particular?
Dave: No - you can write about any topic you like. But the main point of the competition is that it has to have a surprise ending.
Girl: Oh - I see. That sounds interesting. I don't think I've ever written a story like that before.
Dave: Yes - it's something we've introduced for this year's competition.
Girl: Right. Um – I'm eighteen. Is there any age limit?
Dave: Yes – you need to be sixteen or over, so if you're eighteen that's fine.
Girl: Great. So you have the competition once a year. Is that right?
Dave: Yes - we start advertising in January and the competition takes up a lot of the year. We give people a few months to write their story and then it takes quite a long time to judge all the entries and to announce the winners.
Girl: I see. So when is the closing date for the competition? It's already April - I hope I'm not too late.
Dave: No you've still got plenty of time. You need to submit your entry by the 1st of August. After that, it will be too late, although you can always enter next year's competition!
Girl: OK good. So how do I enter?
Dave: Well we have a website and the best way to enter is to complete the entry form online. We also have more details of the competition on the site. Shall I give you the web address?
Girl: Yes, please.
Dave: OK - it's www dot C-O-M-P-4-S-S dot com. And that's the number four not the word four.
Girl: OK - thanks. I've got that. So - I can complete the entry form online but how do I send the story? Do I print it out and send it to you?
Dave: Well you may want to print the story out so you can review it but don't post it to us. When you've finished your story you will need to email it to us. The email address is on the website I gave you.
Girl: OK - that's fine.
Girl: Um can you tell me a bit about how the competition is judged and what the prizes are?
Dave: Yes of course. Well, once we have all the tries I send them to all the judges. Our competition is quite popular so we are lucky to be able to use famous authors who are very interested in the competition.
Girl: That's fantastic. It's great to know that someone famous will be reading my story!
Dave: Yes that's right. It takes them quite a while to read through the entries but eventually they decide on the top five stories.
Girl: I see - and what happens then?
Dave: Well, they will be published online so everyone can read them. They will not be in any order at this point. They will just be the five stories that the judges think are the best.
Girl: And do all the top five stories get prizes?
Dave: No - it's just the top story and the runner-up.
Girl: So how is the top story decided?
Dave: Well once the top five stories are available, it will be the public who will vote for their favorite story.
Girl: Right - I see. So I need to get all my friends to vote for me then!
Dave: Er, yes - that's a good idea.
Girl: And what is the prize?
Dave: Well, the runner-up gets a prize of £300, but the winner gets a trip to Spain to attend a workshop for writers.
Girl: Wow – that's brilliant! I'd better get writing straight away.
Dave: Yes - good luck!
Girl: Thanks.
Questions for the Short Story Competition Listening Test
Questions 1—6
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Length of story: approximately 1______
Story must include: a 2______
Minimum age: 3______
Last entry date: 1st 4_________
Web address: www. 5_______ . com
Don’t: 6_______ the story to the organizers.
Questions 7-10
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Judging and Prize Details
The competition is judged by 7______
The top five stories will be available 8________
The top story will be chosen by the 9________
The first prize is a place at a writers’ workshop in 10________
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Answers for Short Story Competition Listening Test
Hopefully, you were able to solve the questions above. Now, it is time to take a look at the short story competition IELTS listening answers . Match your answers with the answer key below:
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
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Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7
Question 8
Question 9
Question 10
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Important Links for IELTS Exam
Explore Free IELTS Mock Tests
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Practice Every IELTS Module
Essential IELTS Tools & Resources
Study Abroad Consultants in India
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Quick Links
As noted before, it is crucial for an IELTS aspirant to practice with more than one topic to ace the listening section on your first attempt. Above are the answers of short story competition listening test to help you polish your English listening skills. When you listen to the audio, it is important to remember what the speaker is trying to convey. Hearing and listening are two different activities.
For example, the above audio was a conversation between two people about a short story competition. The caller and the receiver spoke about the details of this competition. The caller called to enquire about the competition and its details. The receiver happened to be the organizer of this event. Now, as test takers, you must have an idea of what the conversation was about.
Now, it will be easier for you to deal with the questions. For more practice, you can get the IELTS listening mock test to try more similar questions along with a time restriction for better assessment of abilities. Moreover, to ace all the sections of the IELTS exam, you can also refer to the IELTS self-help kit to learn, practice, and clear your doubts!
Key Highlights of the IELTS Listening Section
In the IELTS listening section, there is no difference in the type of questions in General and Academic tests. Here are some vital details on the test:
- Firstly, the entire listening sub-test is 30 minutes long. Besides, you will get 10 extra minutes to transfer your answers to the sheet.
- You will come across 4 audios. You can also call them 4 tasks with 10 questions each!
- You will get to hear the audio only once. Hence, be careful and attentive.
- Lastly, this section aims to assess your ability to listen and understand spoken English.
Task Types in Short Story Competition Listening Answers
There are a total of 6 types of questions in IELTS listening tasks. The above short story competition listening test covers two types of questions. They are:
Note Completion (Questions 1 to 6)
In this, you had to select words from the recording that fit into the gaps on the question paper. Moreover, it also requires you to stick to the word limit that are given in the instructions. Also, mostly, you are not required to change the words you heard in the recording in any way.
Sentence Completion (Questions 7 to 10)
The second set of questions required you to complete the sentences that are given in the question. You do not have to write more than two words or a number. You must note that hyphenated words like “check-in” will count as one.
IELTS Band Calculation for Listening Section
Here is how you can assess yourself based on how many correct answers you have. As you know, there are 40 questions in the listening section that are divided into 4 parts. The score chart below is to help you figure out the pattern of scoring in the IELTS listening section. Based on every correct answer, you can score yourself out of 40 and see what band score you get. For instance, your marks are between 37 and 38 out of 40, which means you will get an 8.5 band score. That is how you can use the following chart to understand the scoring system:
| Band Score | Score / 40 |
|---|---|
| 9 | 39-40 |
| 8.5 | 37-38 |
| 8 | 35-36 |
| 7.5 | 33-34 |
| 7 | 30-32 |
| 6.5 | 27-29 |
| 6 | 23-26 |
| 5.5 | 19-22 |
| 5 | 15-18 |
| 4.5 | 13-14 |
| 4 | 10-12 |
| 3.5 | 8-9 |
| 3 | 6-7 |
| 2.5 | 4-5 |
Conclusion
This was the short story competition listening answers with audio. After the audio, there is a transcript as well to help you understand the audio and the conversation or monologue in it. This will also help you improve your pronunciation. Make sure you take a look at the questions carefully before playing the audio. Also, do not repeat the audio or even a part of it. After being aware of the gist of the conversation and having read the questions, it will be easy for you to answer them. However, as a beginner, you might need expert assistance in studying for IELTS. Thus, enrolling in IELTS online coaching can be a good option and can help you with additional tips and guidance.
