Aptis Practice Listening Exam

1. Listen to the message. Where is Amandas bag?

A On the table. B In the window. C Under the table. D Near the table.
C (easy)

2. Listen to the message from Simon. Where should Ben get off the train?
A Dandenong B the university C Huntingdale D North Road
C (easy)

3. Listen to the message. What is Matildas room number?

A 427 B 472 C 274 D 247
A (easy)

4. Listen to Sandy and Brad. What does Brad decide to do?

Brad decides to
A ride his bike. B go for a walk. C eat something. D do his homework.
D (easy)

5. Listen to the arrangements for an office visit. What is the most important part of the visit?
The most important part of the visit is
A making a good impression. B the welcome dinner on Tuesday. C sight-seeing around the city. D the factory visit
on Wednesday.
D (easy)

6. Who or what is the woman describing?

A Angelina Jolie B A film she saw C A great actress D A cinema
B (tricky)
Its confusing as she does begin by describing Angelina Jolie as part of her description of the film.

7. Listen to the airport announcement. Which gate should you go to if youre travelling to Odessa, Ukraine?
A 11 B 17 C 12 D 9
C (fairly easy)
Very long and she does mention two places called Odessa, one is Odessa Texas, not in Ukraine!

8. Listen to this message from a friend. Find out the best place to park your car. Your friend says the best place to park is
A in the car park next to the cinema. B in the supermarket car park. C outside the restaurant. D at the
underground station.
A (tricky)
There are several red herrings here, but the answer is clear if you follow the clues:

9. Listen to part of the radio programme. What makes the man angry?
A dropping litter B pollution from factories C not enough recycling D too many cars on the roads
A (tricky)
He mentions all as problems. The clue is when he says: I suppose the thing that makes me really mad is when I see
people dropping rubbish on the streets. It would be so easy for them to use litter bins instead.

10. Two students are discussing their studies. What does the man think of their new teacher?
A He doesnt like her. B Hes generally unfavourable. C He likes her. D Hes generally favourable.
D (very difficult)
See Analysis below.

11. Listen to the message. How many cups of water are needed?
A 2 B 4 C 1 D 5
C (fairly easy)
Youll need two cups of milk and half that amount of water.

12. Listen to the message. What time does Sallys train get in?
A 4.00pm B 4.13pm C 4.15pm D 4.30pm
D (easy)

13. A guest is talking to a hotel worker. Where is the small coffee shop?
A On the second floor. B Next to Business Centre One. C Opposite the shop. D Across the road from the hotel.
B (tricky)
This one is confusing because shes explaining where the business centre is, but we need to understand the location of
the coffee shop. The answer is given fairly clearly:
Keep going to a small coffee shop. On the right of it you should see a sign that says Business Centre One.

14. Listen to the message. Why must the two friends meet one hour before the game starts?
A They must find the ground. B There will be lots of people. C Peter was late the last time. D They must
buy their tickets.
B (tricky)
I think we should meet one hour before the kick off so we can be sure to get to our seats in time. This is a big match
and theyre expecting a crowd of at least 50,000. Try not to be late this time, we dont want to miss the first goal again

15. Listen and find out what can you see in the Great Hall of a museum.
In the Great Hall you can see
A the soldiers weapons. B the kings crown. C the kings uniform. D the princesses jewellery.
D (tricky)
See Analysis below.

16. Listen to the announcement about the boat to Green Mountain. The Boat to Green Mountain
A leaves at 7am. B leaves at 9am. C doesnt sail today. D leaves in the evening.
D (fairly easy)

17. You hear an architect talking about her latest project. Listen and decide what she is designing.
The architect is designing
A a retirement home. B a medical institution. C a holiday resort. D a military centre.
B (difficult)
See Analysis below.

18. Listen to the message. When does Peter want to meet Janet?
A Friday B Tuesday C Wednesday D Thursday
C (easy)

19. Two colleagues are talking together. Who is Mary describing?

A Their new boss B Kate Winslet C An actress D Jane
A (fairly easy)

20. Listen to Jennifer talking about her plans for this weekend and decide what shes going to do on Sunday.
On Sunday Jennifer is
A going for a long swim. B meeting Sally for lunch. C going dancing with Greg. D meeting Sara for a coffee.
D (fairly easy)

21. Listen to a woman talking about running. How far does she usually run?
A 7 miles B 5 miles C 3 miles D 4 miles
B (easy)

22. Listen to two friends talking. What does Jane suggest doing?
Jane suggests
A going for a swim. B walking around the park. C going to the library. D going to see a film.
D (fairly easy)

23. Listen to a man talking about a difficult journey. how was he travelling?
A by car B by plane C by coach D by train
D (tricky)
The speaker doesnt mention the answer. We have to guess from the vocabulary he uses, but there are several clear clues.

24. What are the friends discussing?

The friends are discussing
A what was in the news. B financial redundancies C employment opportunities D a new local project
A (difficult)
See Analysis below.

25. Listen to Alan and Jodie talking about travel. What does Alan think of travelling?
Alan thinks travelling is
A luxurious. B a lot of fun. C very difficult. D better than staying at home.
C (tricky)
All the words in all 4 answers are mentioned, but there are several clues to the right answer.
 Analysis of 4 Difficult Answers
Here are 4 of the more challenging questions and the tapescript of the listening. Read the tapescript
carefully and underline any information that indicates the answer:

Question 10
Two students are discussing their studies. What does the man think of their new teacher?
A He doesnt like her. B Hes generally unfavourable.
C He likes her. D Hes generally favourable.

The answer is D. This one is challenging even for native speakers, due to apparently conflicting information. But D is
definitely the best answer:
M: Shes really good at explaining things but she sets so much homework after every class. Theres no way Ill have
time to do what shes given us by Monday.
W: Yeah, but you knew that this course would be difficult when you signed up for it.
M: Of course but not this hard. Im thinking of dropping it. Really its the subject matter that I object to.
W: Why dont you talk to her and see if she can offer any advice?
M: Its a good idea. Shes really easy to talk to even though Im scared of how intelligent she is.

Question 15
Listen and find out what can you see in the Great Hall of a museum.
In the Great Hall you can see
A the soldiers weapons. B the kings crown. C the kings uniform. D the princesses
jewellery.

The answer is D. Although its clearly stated, notice how the answer is hidden at the end of a long sentence and a red
herring is added afterwards:
including the uniform he wore in the great war of 1430. You can also see some of the weapons his soldiers used.
They are on display in the Oak Room, which is at the end of the Great Hall, where we have a display of some of the
jewellery he gave to the princesses. His crown, which is usually on display in the Great Hall has been removed for
cleaning

Question 17
You hear an architect talking about her latest project. Listen and decide what she is designing.
The architect is designing
A a retirement home. B a medical institution. C a holiday resort. D a military centre.

The answer is B. She never gives the name of the place, but vocabulary clues infer the best answer:
Well my new project is quite a tricky one, not only because the building needs to be functional as well as visually
pleasing, but also because a diverse range of people will be using it every day. And to add to the challenge I need to
take unusual needs into consideration. For example: How will injured or disabled people move around the building?
How do we stop the transmission of disease from one section to the other? But at the core of it all for me anyway is
the main purpose of the place rest and recovery. And for that I will be designing a building that offers tranquillity,
comfort and healing to everyone who enters.

Question 24
What are the friends discussing?
The friends are discussing
A what was in the news. B financial redundancies C employment opportunities D a new local project

The answer is A. The friends mention D, C and B, meaning they can only be describing the news. Only an
understanding of the full conversation content can reveal the right answer:
M: Did you watch television earlier on this evening?
F: No. Why do you ask?
M: In the news they said theres some sort of new project down the road from here. It looks like thousands of jobs
could be created.
F: Are they opening a new factory or what?
M: Well they havent announced the full details yet, but it seems as though a big foreign company is launching a joint
venture with a local firm.
F: Wow! Thats good news for people around here.
M: Thats right. Another thing they reported was that the national unemployment rate has gone up by 5% compared
to this time last year.
F: Yeah, a lot of jobs have been lost this year in the financial services industry