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IELTS Listening Practice Test 12: Part 1
Renting a holiday cottage. A man phones a holiday cottage agency to book a cottage for a family week and hears about three that might suit him.
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You hear the recording once, as in the real test.
Questions 1–10
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Westmoor Holiday Cottages: booking enquiry
- Number of people: 6 (example)
- Name: Daniel 1
- Arrival date: Saturday 2 June
- Needs a ground-floor bedroom for his 3
- Maximum budget: £4 per week
- Heard about the agency from a 5
- Cottage should be close to a 6
Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Cottages available
| Cottage | Location | Good points | Problems | Price per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Cottage | in the village centre | the garden runs down to the water | no 7 | £8 |
| Heron Lodge | on a 9 | children can help to feed the animals | ground-floor bedroom is very small | £790 |
| Brook House | 3 miles from the village | a large 10 overlooking the water | over budget | £940 |
Show the answers and explanations
- PrentissThe surname is spelled letter by letter: P-R-E-N-T-I-S-S (note the double S at the end).
- 21 / 21st / twenty-firstTrap: they land on Thursday the nineteenth, but spend two nights in London and arrive on Saturday the twenty-first.
- father / dadHis father has had a knee operation and can't manage stairs. His mother is fine.
- 900 / nine hundred / £900 / 900 poundsTrap: they first thought of a thousand pounds, but the flights cost more, so the maximum is nine hundred.
- colleagueHe had seen the ads online but ignored them. A colleague at work recommended the agency.
- riverTrap: the children would love the beach, but it isn't essential because they have a car. His father wants a river for fishing.
- dishwasherIt has wifi, a washing machine and a modern kitchen. The kitchen is too small for a dishwasher.
- 875 / £875 / 875 poundsTrap: nine hundred and twenty pounds is the July and August price. In June it costs eight hundred and seventy-five.
- farmTrap: people expect it to be beside the river because of its name, but it is on a farm, ten minutes' walk from the river.
- balconyThe hot tub was taken out last year. The house has a large balcony looking over the river.
Show the transcript
Narrator: Part 1. You will hear a man phoning an agency that rents out holiday cottages.
Narrator: First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6.
Narrator: You will see that there is an example that has been done for you.
Narrator: Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 6.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Good afternoon, Westmoor Holiday Cottages, Fiona speaking.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Hi there. I'm calling from the States, actually. We're planning a family vacation in England this summer, and I'm hoping to rent one of your cottages for a week.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Lovely. I can certainly help with that. How many people would the cottage need to sleep?
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): There'll be six of us. My wife and I, our two kids, and my parents, who are flying over to join us.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Six. And can I have your name, please?
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Sure. It's Daniel Prentiss. That's P-R-E-N-T-I-S-S.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Thank you. And when would you like to arrive? Our cottages are all let from Saturday to Saturday.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): OK. Well, we land in London on Thursday the nineteenth of June, and we're spending a couple of nights in the city first, so we'd drive down on the Saturday. That would be the twenty-first.
Lettings agent (Fiona): The twenty-first of June. That's fine. Now, is there anything in particular the cottage needs to have?
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Yes, one thing is really important. We need a bedroom on the ground floor. It's for my father. He had a knee operation in the spring, and he still can't manage stairs. My mother's fine. She's fitter than I am, to be honest.
Lettings agent (Fiona): I'll make a note of that. And do you have a budget in mind?
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): We were originally thinking of a thousand pounds for the week, but the flights cost more than we expected, so let's say nine hundred at the most.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Nine hundred maximum. That still gives us plenty of choice in June. Can I just ask how you heard about us? We like to keep track.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Well, I'd seen your ads online, but I didn't really pay any attention to them. It was a colleague at work who told me about you. She stayed in one of your cottages last year and loved it.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Oh, that's nice to hear. And is there any particular area you'd like to be in?
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): The kids would love to be right on the beach, of course, but we'll have a car, so the beach isn't essential. What would really make the week for my dad is a river close by, so he can do some fishing. He's been talking about it for months.
Lettings agent (Fiona): So, somewhere near a river. That's no problem. A lot of our cottages are in the river valleys.
Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10.
Narrator: Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.
Lettings agent (Fiona): Right, I've found three that might suit you. The first one is Mill Cottage. It's right in the centre of the village, so you can walk to the shops and the pub, and the river runs along the bottom of the garden.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): That sounds ideal. Does it have everything we'd need?
Lettings agent (Fiona): It's very well equipped. There's wifi, a washing machine and a modern kitchen. The one thing it doesn't have is a dishwasher, I'm afraid. The owners say the kitchen's too small to fit one in.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Well, we can live with that. The kids can do the washing up for once. What's the price?
Lettings agent (Fiona): Let me see. It says nine hundred and twenty pounds here. Oh, no, hang on, that's the price in July and August. For your week in June, it's eight hundred and seventy-five.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): OK, so that's within our budget. What's the second one?
Lettings agent (Fiona): The second is Heron Lodge. People often expect it to be beside the river because of the name, but it's actually on a farm, about a mile outside the village. It's a ten-minute walk down to the river.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): A farm? The kids would love that.
Lettings agent (Fiona): They would. The farmer lets children help feed the animals in the mornings. The ground-floor bedroom is very small, though. There's room for a single bed and not much else.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Hmm. My dad might find that a little cramped. What does it cost?
Lettings agent (Fiona): That one's seven hundred and ninety pounds for the week.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): And the third?
Lettings agent (Fiona): The third is Brook House. It's about three miles from the village, right on the river. It has a ground-floor bedroom with its own bathroom, and upstairs there's a large balcony looking out over the water. It used to have a hot tub as well, but the owners took that out last year.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): A balcony over the river sounds wonderful. How much is that one?
Lettings agent (Fiona): I'm afraid it's nine hundred and forty.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): Ah. That's a little over what we said. Look, I'll talk it over with my wife tonight and call you back tomorrow, if that's OK?
Lettings agent (Fiona): Of course. I can hold Mill Cottage for you until tomorrow evening, if you like.
Caller (Daniel Prentiss): That would be great. Thanks so much for your help, Fiona.
Narrator: That is the end of Part 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers to Part 1.