80 Days to Conquer IELTS Listening

Author: Jiang Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The "Eighty Days to Conquer IELTS" series, published by the China National Petroleum Corporation Publishing House, consists of eleven books, with an initial print run of 110,000 copies nationwide. The first six books were launched in the market, totaling 60,000 copies. These six initial books include: "Listening," "Reading," "Writing," "Vocabulary," "IELTS 100 Questions and Answers," and "Study Abroad and Immigration Guide." The series breaks away from the conventional approach of compiling books with authentic IELTS test questions. Starting from the actual English proficiency and learning ability of candidates, it integrates the knowledge and skills required to achieve a Band 7 score in the IELTS exam with the themes of past IELTS test questions into eighty days of practice. The exercises follow the principle of "less and more," progressing from easy to difficult, allowing candidates to deepen their understanding of English knowledge and problem-solving techniques while gradually regaining confidence. For most IELTS candidates, listening has always been a major challenge. This is due to two key characteristics of the IELTS listening exam: First, candidates are required to fill in the content they hear. Unlike traditional listening tests, the IELTS listening exam not only tests whether you understand what you hear but also whether you can write it down correctly. Many candidates fail here, often losing points due to spelling mistakes. Second, the listening material consists of long passages rather than short conversations. Most non-native English learners experience a lag in processing auditory information, meaning they may feel they understand but struggle to grasp the exact meaning in the short term. If there is a break between questions, this lag can be compensated, but unfortunately, the IELTS listening exam does not have the 10-12-second intervals found in the CET-4/CET-6 and TOEFL exams. The relentless flow of information often leaves candidates overwhelmed. To address these characteristics, candidates should focus on developing two key skills during their preparation: · Strong dictation skills. For common, frequently heard, and widely used words, it's not enough to know how to read and listen to them—you must also know how to write them! · Resilience. For long listening passages, candidates must not only understand and keep up but also excel at taking listening notes. Additionally, they should learn to conserve energy and analyze questions to predict the upcoming listening content and key information that will appear in the questions, which is essentially the candidate's predictive ability. As the saying goes, "No distance can be traveled without taking the first step." The book is divided into three stages: first, cultivating sensitivity to numbers and locations, then gradually connecting the dots to form lines and lines to form a picture, finally reaching the IELTS listening requirements. When working through the exercises in this book, candidates should pay attention to or avoid the following points: 1. Listening dictation exercises in daily practice should not be skipped. The filled-in content should be treated as a key memory focus. 2. Do not overlook the short listening stories interspersed throughout the book. These stories are Chinese translations of actual listening test questions from past exams, commonly referred to as "test tips," with English words marked in parentheses often being the content to be filled in. As a supplementary part of listening skill development, this section provides candidates with some insight into the actual listening test questions. 3. If candidates have a strong foundation in listening, they can complete two days' worth of exercises in one day during the first 50 days, but they should not skip exercises altogether. 4. Daily practice sessions are short, and as with English, "less and more" is the key. Above all, maintaining a relaxed and progressive mindset is crucial.