One task from each skill, run back-to-back in the real exam's exact order — Listening, Reading, Writing, then Speaking — using the real official section timings, not shortened ones. Total time: approximately 2 hours 45 minutes, matching the real IELTS testing time.
There are no breaks between Listening, Reading, and Writing, exactly as in the real test. Once you start, try to stay in the seat until Writing finishes before moving on to Speaking.
You will hear a conversation between two people. Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer. The audio plays once only.
No break, just like the real test.
Read the passage and answer the 10 questions below.
Over the past two decades, a striking number of cities around the world have seen a quiet resurgence of an ancient practice: beekeeping. Rooftops in major cities now host thousands of honeybee colonies, tended not by rural farmers but by hobbyists, restaurant owners, and community groups working within dense urban environments. This shift has been driven by two overlapping concerns: widely reported declines in wild and managed bee populations, and a renewed public interest in understanding where food actually comes from.
Bees matter far beyond the honey they produce. As they move from flower to flower collecting nectar, they transfer pollen between plants, a process essential to the reproduction of a very large share of the crops humans rely on for food. Estimates commonly suggest that roughly a third of global food production depends, at least partly, on pollinators such as bees. Without sufficient pollination, yields of fruits, vegetables, and nuts can fall sharply, which is one reason bee health has become a subject of serious agricultural and environmental concern.
Setting up a hive in a city is rather different from doing so on a farm. Urban beekeepers typically place hives on flat rooftops, in community gardens, or on balconies, often after completing a short training course covering hive management, seasonal care, and basic safety. Regulations vary considerably between cities; some require hives to be registered with a local authority, while others place few restrictions on beekeeping at all, leaving responsible practice largely up to individual beekeepers.
The benefits of urban beekeeping extend well beyond the honey harvested each summer. Many community gardens use hives as an educational tool, teaching people about pollination and food production in a hands-on way. Hives can also strengthen a sense of community. Increasingly, businesses have joined in too, installing rooftop hives as part of broader sustainability initiatives.
However, urban beekeeping is not without its critics. Some ecologists warn that a high concentration of managed honeybee hives in a small area can create intense competition for limited urban flowers, potentially disadvantaging wild native pollinator species such as solitary bees and bumblebees, which often receive far less public attention despite playing an equally important ecological role. Disease and parasite management is also more difficult when hives are placed close together, since infections can spread rapidly between colonies.
Despite these challenges, most experts agree that urban beekeeping can be a genuinely positive development when practised responsibly. This typically means keeping hive density reasonable for the available local flora and planting diverse, pollinator-friendly gardens alongside hives, ensuring that enthusiasm for honeybees doesn't come at the expense of protecting the wider population of wild pollinators that cities also depend on.
No break, just like the real test.
Both tasks are timed together, exactly as in the real test. You manage your own time between them — a 20/40-minute split is recommended, but not enforced.
The bar chart compares the percentage of households using renewable energy in three countries in 2015 and 2023. Overall, all three countries saw substantial growth, with Country C recording both the highest usage and the largest increase throughout the period.
Country A rose from 12% in 2015 to 34% in 2023, roughly tripling over the eight-year period. Country B saw more modest growth, climbing from 8% to 19%, meaning it remained the lowest of the three countries at both points measured.
Country C recorded the highest renewable energy usage in both years, rising from 21% to 45%, an increase of 24 percentage points, the largest absolute rise among the three countries.
In summary, while all three countries expanded their renewable energy usage considerably, Country C maintained a clear lead throughout, and Country B lagged behind the other two at both the start and end of the period.
There is an ongoing debate about whether traditional examinations remain the best way to assess students, or whether alternative methods offer a fairer picture of ability. This essay will consider both views before giving my own opinion.
Supporters of examinations argue that they provide a standardised, objective measure that allows fair comparison between students, since everyone answers the same questions under the same conditions. Exams also assess how well students perform under pressure and recall information independently, both valuable skills beyond education itself.
On the other hand, critics argue that exams favour students who perform well under stress or who excel at memorisation, rather than necessarily those with the deepest understanding. Alternative methods, such as coursework, projects, and presentations, can assess a wider range of skills, including creativity, collaboration, and sustained independent research, which a single timed exam cannot easily capture.
In my opinion, a combination of both methods is most effective. Examinations still have value for certain core skills, but relying on them exclusively risks overlooking students who demonstrate genuine ability through other means. A blended approach, using both exams and coursework, would likely provide the fairest overall picture of a student's true capability.
In conclusion, while examinations offer useful standardisation, alternative assessment methods capture abilities that exams alone cannot, and a balanced combination of both is likely the most effective approach overall.