Cambridge IELTS 14 Academic Listening Test 1

• Each audio plays once. You CANNOT pause or rewind during the exam.
• Take notes on the question section as you listen.
• After audio ends, you have 10 minutes to review and finalize answers.

Cambridge IELTS 14 Academic Listening Test 1 sits at the harder end of the Cambridge 14 set if you do not pre-read every gap during the thirty-second preview. Section 1 features a rental accommodation enquiry; Section 2 moves into a public safety briefing; Section 3 shifts into students preparing a joint presentation; and Section 4 closes with a marine biology lecture on whales.

Section 1 uses form completion; Section 2 uses multi-answer multiple choice plus completion; Section 3 uses multiple choice plus completion; Section 4 uses note completion. Section 1's word-limit warning is the silent killer here — three-word answers in a TWO WORD AND/OR A NUMBER task are scored zero even when the content is right, so circle the limit instruction before the audio begins.

Read the preview gaps backwards from the last to the first — this forces you to notice the late-section cues that students normally miss. Pencil rough answers and circle anything you doubted, then resolve those during transfer. Watch your word limits: a four-word answer in a NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS task is automatically wrong. Steady, methodical work earns a clean band 7.

New to this skill? Read the Listening question types guide for tactics, scoring rules, and frequency analysis across Cambridge 10–20. Or browse all Listening practice tests.

Looking for written strategy? See the IELTS Blog for in-depth posts.