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IELTS Listening Practice Test 16: Part 1
Reporting problems in a rented flat. A tenant phones her letting agent to report several problems in her flat and arrange a repair visit.
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You hear the recording once, as in the real test.
Questions 1–10
Complete the form below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Harbour Lettings: Repair Request
Tenant details
- Building: Chandler (example) House, Mill Road
- Flat number: 1
- Name: Chloe 2
- Moved in: 3
Problems reported
- Kitchen: water leaking from under the 4
- Living room: the 5 next to the sofa is not working
- Bathroom: the 6 is very noisy
- Bedroom: the door of the 7 has come off
Repair visit
- Day: 8
- Spare key: collect from the 9
- Call-out charge if the contractor cannot get in: £10
Show the answers and explanations
- 30 / thirtyTrap: the agent hears 'thirteen', but Chloe corrects him: 'thirty. Three, zero.'
- WhitlamThe surname is spelled letter by letter: W-H-I-T-L-A-M.
- JanuaryTrap: the contract was signed in December, but she did not move in until January.
- dishwasher / dish-washerTrap: she first thought the water came from the sink, but it is coming from under the dishwasher.
- socketThe lights and the other sockets are fine; the socket next to the sofa does not work.
- fanThe shower and the light are fine. The fan is the noisy part.
- wardrobeThe wardrobe door has come off. The hall cupboard is only a bit loose and does not bother her.
- ThursdayTrap: Tuesday was offered, but it has just been taken, so the visit is on Thursday.
- caretakerThe office no longer keeps keys and the neighbour is away, so the contractor will collect the key from the caretaker.
- 60 / £60 / 60 pounds / sixtyTrap: the charge used to be forty-five pounds. It has just gone up to sixty.
Show the transcript
Narrator: Part 1. You will hear a woman phoning a letting agency to report some problems in her flat.
Narrator: First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 5.
Narrator: You will see that there is an example that has been done for you.
Narrator: Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 5.
Letting agent (Simon): Good morning, Harbour Lettings, Simon speaking.
Tenant (Chloe): Hi, good morning. I'm one of your tenants, and I need to report a few problems in my apartment. Sorry, my flat. I'm still getting used to saying that.
Letting agent (Simon): No problem at all.
Tenant (Chloe): I did send an email about it on Friday, but I haven't heard anything back, so I thought I'd better call.
Letting agent (Simon): I'm sorry about that. We've had a lot of emails this week. Let me take the details now. Which building are you in?
Tenant (Chloe): Chandler House, on Mill Road.
Letting agent (Simon): Chandler House. And which flat is it?
Tenant (Chloe): It's flat thirty.
Letting agent (Simon): Thirteen?
Tenant (Chloe): No, thirty. Three, zero. It's on the top floor.
Letting agent (Simon): Sorry, thirty. And can I take your name?
Tenant (Chloe): It's Chloe Whitlam.
Letting agent (Simon): How do you spell your surname?
Tenant (Chloe): W-H-I-T-L-A-M.
Letting agent (Simon): Thank you. Hmm, I can't seem to find you on the system under that name. When did you move in?
Tenant (Chloe): Ah, that might be why. The contract was signed in December, but it was only in my partner's name at first. I didn't actually move in until January, and that's when my name was added.
Letting agent (Simon): Right, January. Yes, here you are now. Sorry about that. So, what seems to be the problem?
Tenant (Chloe): Well, the main thing is in the kitchen. There's a puddle of water on the floor every morning. At first I thought it was coming from the sink, but I've checked, and it's definitely coming from under the dishwasher.
Letting agent (Simon): Under the dishwasher. Have you been using it since you noticed?
Tenant (Chloe): No, I've been washing everything by hand, just in case.
Letting agent (Simon): Good, that's sensible. Has the water damaged the floor at all?
Tenant (Chloe): I don't think so. I've been mopping it up every morning, and the floor's tiled, so it seems fine so far.
Letting agent (Simon): That's good. Is there anything else?
Tenant (Chloe): Yes, in the living room. One of the sockets has stopped working. The lights are all fine, and so are the other sockets, but the one next to the sofa is completely dead. I've tried plugging in a few different things, and nothing works.
Letting agent (Simon): OK, I'll mark that one as urgent, because it could be a safety issue. Please don't try to fix it yourself.
Narrator: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 6 to 10.
Narrator: Now listen and answer questions 6 to 10.
Tenant (Chloe): Don't worry, I won't. There are a couple of smaller things as well, while I've got you.
Letting agent (Simon): Go ahead.
Tenant (Chloe): In the bathroom, the fan makes a terrible noise. The shower's fine, and so is the light, but as soon as you switch the light on, the fan starts up, and it sounds like a plane taking off. You can hear it all over the flat.
Letting agent (Simon): A noisy fan. OK. How long has it been like that?
Tenant (Chloe): About a month, and it gets worse every week. And in the bedroom, the door of the wardrobe has come off. I think one of the hinges is broken. There's a cupboard in the hall that's a bit loose too, but honestly, that one doesn't bother me.
Letting agent (Simon): So just the wardrobe for now. Right, let's get someone round to look at all of this. Our contractor has a free slot on Tuesday. Would that work?
Tenant (Chloe): Tuesday's difficult. My partner and I are both at work all day, and we can't really take time off at the moment.
Letting agent (Simon): Well, he doesn't need you to be there, as long as he can get a key. Oh, hang on, I'm sorry, Tuesday's just been taken by someone else. The next available day is Thursday. He'd probably come in the morning.
Tenant (Chloe): Thursday's fine. But how would he get in?
Letting agent (Simon): That's the question. We don't keep spare keys at the office any more, I'm afraid.
Tenant (Chloe): Well, my neighbour has one, but she's away on holiday this week. But the caretaker has a spare set for all the flats. He lives on the ground floor, so he's nearly always around.
Letting agent (Simon): Perfect. I'll ask the contractor to collect it from the caretaker, then.
Tenant (Chloe): Great. Is there anything I need to do before Thursday?
Letting agent (Simon): Just one thing I have to mention. If the contractor arrives and can't get into the flat, there's a call-out charge, and we have to pass that on to the tenant.
Tenant (Chloe): Oh, I didn't know that. How much is it?
Letting agent (Simon): It used to be forty-five pounds, but it's just gone up to sixty.
Tenant (Chloe): Well, the caretaker's very reliable, so I'm sure it'll be fine.
Letting agent (Simon): I'm sure it will. I'll send you a text later today to confirm everything. And would you like the contractor to ring you when he's finished?
Tenant (Chloe): Yes, please. Then I'll know whether it's safe to use the kitchen as normal again. Thanks, Simon. That's really helpful.
Narrator: That is the end of Part 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers to Part 1.