IELTS Listening practice test

The Later Life of Thor HeyerdahlIELTS Listening Practice Test with Answers

Practise this IELTS Listening test about The Later Life of Thor Heyerdahl. The recording features two students planningPractise this IELTS Listening test about The Later Life of Thor Heyerdahl. The recording features two students planning a presentation. Answer 10 choose two and multiple choice questions, then check your score and read the explanations.

—Min Audio

10Questions

2 typesTask Types

Audio included10 questionsChoose Multiple, Multiple Choice

Choose the answers

IELTS Listening practice

Play The Later Life of Thor Heyerdahl audioAudio -Listen, answer, then check your score and explanations.

Play the audio, type your answers as you listen, then check them.

Instructions

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1× speed

The transcript is not available in the real IELTS Listening

0:000:00

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Audio TranscriptIt will not be available during the real IELTS Listening exam.

M
Man
Right, well, for our presentation, shall I start with the early life of Thor Heyerdahl?
W
Woman
Sure. Why don’t you begin with describing the type of boy he was, especially his passion for collecting things.
M
Man
That’s right, he had his own little museum. And I think it’s unusual for children to develop their own values and not join in their parents’ hobbies; I’m thinking of how Heyerdahl wouldn’t go hunting with his dad, for example.
W
Woman
Yeah, he preferred to learn about nature by listening to his mother read to him. And quite early on he knew he wanted to become an explorer when he grew up. That came from his camping trips he went on in Norway, I think...
M
Man
No, it was climbing that he spent his time on as a young man.
W
Woman
Oh, right... After university, he married a classmate and together, they decided to experience living on a small island, to find out how harsh weather conditions shaped people’s lifestyles.
M
Man
As part of their preparation before they left home, they learnt basic survival skills like building a shelter. I guess they needed that knowledge in order to live wild in a remote location with few inhabitants, cut off by the sea, which is what they were aiming to do.
W
Woman
An important part of your talk should be the radical theory Heyerdahl formed from examining the mysterious ancient carvings that he happened to find on the island. I think you should finish with that.
W
Woman
All right, Victor, so after your part I’ll talk about Thor Heyerdahl’s adult life, continuing from the theory he had about Polynesian migration. Up until that time, of course, academics had believed that humans first migrated to the islands in Polynesia from Asia, in the west.
M
Man
Yes, they thought that travel from the east was impossible, because of the huge, empty stretch of ocean that lies between the islands and the nearest inhabited land.
W
Woman
Yes, but Heyerdahl spent ages studying the cloud movements, ocean currents and wind patterns to find if it was actually possible. And another community lying to the east of Polynesia. But Heyerdahl knew they made lots of coastal voyages in locally built canoes.
M
Man
Yes, or sailing on rafts, as was shown by the long voyage that Heyerdahl did next. It was an incredibly risky journey to undertake - sometimes I wonder if he did that trip for private reasons, you know? To show others that he could have spectacular adventures. What do you think, Olivia?
W
Woman
Well, I think it was more a matter of simply trying out his idea, to see if migration from the east was possible.
M
Man
Yes, that's probably it. And the poor guy suffered a bit at that time because the war forced him to stop his work for some years ...
W
Woman
Yes. When he got started again and planned his epic voyage, do you think it was important to him that he achieve it before anyone else did?
M
Man
Urn, I haven’t read anywhere that that was his motivation. The most important factor seems to have been that he used only ancient techniques and local materials to build his raft.
W
Woman
Yes. I wonder how fast it went.
M
Man
Well, it took them 97 days from South America to the Pacific Islands.
W
Woman
Mm. And after that, Heyerdahl went to Easter Island, didn't he? We should mention the purpose of that trip. I think he sailed there in a boat made out of reeds.
M
Man
No, that was later on in Egypt, Olivia.
W
Woman
Oh, yes, that’s right.
M
Man
But what he wanted to do was talk to the local people about their old stone carvings and then make one himself to learn more about the process.
W
Woman
I see. Well, what a great life. Even though many of his theories have been disproven, he certainly left a lasting impression on many disciplines, didn’t he? To my mind, he was the first person to establish what modern academics call practical archaeology. I mean, that they try to recreate something from the past today, like he did with his raft trip. It’s unfortunate that his ideas about where Polynesians originated from have been completely discredited.
M
Man
Yes. Right, well, I'll prepare a PowerPoint slide at the end that acknowledges our sources. I mainly used The Life and Work of Thor Heyerdahl by William Oliver. I thought the research methods he used were very sound, although I must say I found the overall tone somewhat old-fashioned. I think they need to do a new, revised edition.
W
Woman
Yeah, I agree. What about the subject matter - I found it really challenging!
M
Man
Well, it's a complex issue ...
W
Woman
I thought the book had lots of good points. What did you think of...

Try to answer first and read the transcript afterwards. It is most useful for finding out why an answer was missed.

Questions for The Later Life of Thor Heyerdahl

Questions 1–2

Choose Multiple

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO hobbies was Thor Heyerdahl very interested in as a youth?(0/2 selected)

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Scoring

IELTS band calculation for the Listening section.

Enter your score to see your band, or check the table below for the full scoring pattern.

Your raw score

0/ 10

035810

NABand

Your estimated band

Answer the questions and press Show answers to see your band.

Band scoresSwipe

2.54–5

36–7

3.58–9

410–12

4.513–15

516–17

5.518–22

623–25

6.526–29

730–31

7.532–34

835–36

8.537–38

939–40

Scoring

IELTS band calculation for the Listening section.

Enter your score to see your band, or go through the table below to know the scoring pattern of the listening section.

Your raw score

0/ 10

00204060810

Your estimated band

NABand

Answer the questions and press Show answers to see your band.

Conclusion

You have finished this practice test. Review your answers and read the explanations to see where you lost marks and why. Try more practice to build your accuracy.

About the test

Understand the task before you practise it.

You’ve now gone through the The Later Life of Thor Heyerdahl answers. Understanding the context of the recording will help you approach similar Section 1 tasks with more confidence. Here’s a short summary of the passage.

Summary of the passage

Two students plan their presentation on Thor Heyerdahl, from his early life and hobbies to his later life. Listen carefully to the conversation and choose or match the correct answer for each question.

Want the real exam format? Try the IELTS Listening mock test.You can also opt for the IELTS Listening mock test to understand the format of the listening section.

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Task types in The Later Life of Thor Heyerdahl listening answers

1–4

Choose Multiple

Questions 1 to 4

Here, you pick more than one correct option from a list. The answers can be given in any order, but every option you choose must be mentioned in the recording.

5–10

Multiple Choice

Questions 5 to 10

Here, you choose the correct option for each question. Read the question and all options before the audio starts, and listen for paraphrases rather than exact words.

Key highlights of the IELTS Listening section

Remember

1time only

Each recording plays only once, so stay focused throughout the task.

In total

40questions

Divided into 4 different sections of 10 questions each.

Same pattern

Academic=General Training

The Listening test is identical for Academic and General Training.

The audio can be

A Social Conversation

A Social Monologue

An Academic Discussion

An Academic Lecture

Remember

1time only

Each recording plays only once, so stay focused throughout the task.

In total

40questions

Divided into 4 sections of 10 questions each.

Same pattern

Academic=General Training

The Listening test is identical for Academic and General Training.

The audio can be

A Social Conversation

A Social Monologue

An Academic Discussion

An Academic Lecture

IELTS Listening common mistakes

4 mistakes that cost marks

Candidates most often lose marks in this section because of the following errors:

Answering before listening to the entire audio.

Not reading the questions carefully before attempting.

Lack of practice before taking the test.

Ignoring grammatical and spelling errors.

Take a listening mock test

IELTS Listening common mistakes

4 mistakes that cost marks

Candidates most often lose marks in this section because of the following errors:

Take a listening mock test

Answering before listening to the entire audio.

Not reading the questions carefully before attempting.

Lack of practice before taking the test.

Ignoring grammatical and spelling errors.

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