Design Review: A Student Footbridge Project: Listening Answers & Explanations
IELTS Listening practice test · 9 questionsPart 3medium
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About this recording
The recording opens: “Right, let's review your footbridge design. You were asked to bridge a fifteen-metre gap across the campus stream.”
- Transcript length: about 402 words
- Questions: 9
- Question types: Multiple Choice, Matching Features, Sentence Completion
“Design Review: A Student Footbridge Project” is an original IELTS-style practice recording written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
Design Review: A Student Footbridge Project answers with explanations
Question 1: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Why did the students reject a suspension design?
- A. It would look too plain for the setting.
- B. It was too complex and costly for the span.
- C. It could not carry the required load.
- 1
They chose a beam bridge because a suspension design was
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Answer: B — It was too complex and costly for the span.
Why: The students rejected a suspension design because it was unnecessarily complex and expensive for the fifteen-metre span, as Yasmin explained that a beam bridge was the sensible choice for this situation.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 2 (Yasmin) “We did consider a suspension design, which looks more impressive, but for a fifteen-metre span it would have been unnecessarily complex and expensive.”
Question 2: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
What is the main advantage of the weathering steel they chose?
- A. It never needs to be painted.
- B. It is the cheapest steel available.
- C. It is much lighter than ordinary steel.
- 2
According to Yasmin, weathering steel's key benefit is that
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Answer: A — It never needs to be painted.
Why: Yasmin states that the main advantage of weathering steel is that it forms a protective rust layer, eliminating the need for painting and significantly reducing maintenance costs.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 5 (Yasmin) “But mainly, weathering steel forms its own protective rust layer, so it never needs painting.”
Question 3: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
What problem does the tutor find in the load calculations?
- A. The dead load was miscalculated.
- B. They ignored crowds walking in step.
- C. They overestimated the number of users.
- 3
The live-load calculation failed to account for
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Answer: B — They ignored crowds walking in step.
Why: The tutor identifies that the live-load calculation failed because it did not consider the potential for a crowd walking in step, which could cause vibrations, as mentioned by Tom and Dr Price.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 7 (Tom) “We calculated for an average crowd of people, but we didn't account for everyone moving in step — a group walking in rhythm could set up a vibration.”
Questions 4–6: Matching Features
Who will carry out each revision?
Choose your answer from the list of people A–C and select the correct letter for each task.
- A. Yasmin
- B. Tom
- C. Dr Price
- 4
redoing the live-load calculations
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Answer: B — Tom
Why: Tom is responsible for redoing the live-load calculations because he acknowledged the initial oversight and volunteered to correct it, as indicated by his statement, "I'll redo the live-load calculations with the damping factor.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 12 (Tom) “I'll redo the live-load calculations with the damping factor — it was my section that had the gap, so I should fix it.”
- 5
updating the technical drawings
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Answer: A — Yasmin
Why: Yasmin is responsible for updating the technical drawings because she originally created them in the software, making her the quickest to implement the necessary changes.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 11 (Dr Price) “Someone redoes the live-load maths, someone updates the technical drawings, and I'll review your cost estimate.”
- 6
reviewing the cost estimate
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Answer: C — Dr Price
Why: Dr Price is responsible for reviewing the cost estimate, as he states, "I'll review your cost estimate" and later confirms, "I'll go through your costings and flag anything unrealistic.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 11 (Dr Price) “Someone redoes the live-load maths, someone updates the technical drawings, and I'll review your cost estimate.”
Questions 7–9: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- 7
To control the vibration, they will add a ______ rather than more steel.(max 1 word)
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Answer: damper
Why: Yasmin mentions that adding a damper is preferable to making the beam heavier with more steel, as it is a more elegant solution to control the vibration caused by synchronised footsteps.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 9 (Yasmin) “I'd rather add a damper than make the whole beam heavier, which is what Tom first suggested.”
- 8
The footbridge must cross a gap of ______ metres.(max 1 word)
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Answer: fifteen (also accepted: 15)
Why: The answer is found at the beginning of the passage where Dr Price mentions that the footbridge design needs to span a fifteen-metre gap across the campus stream.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 1 (Dr Price) “You were asked to bridge a fifteen-metre gap across the campus stream.”
- 9
The revised package is due by the end of week ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: seven (also accepted: 7)
Why: Dr Price instructs Yasmin and Tom to submit the revised package by the end of week seven, which Yasmin acknowledges by repeating the deadline in her response.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 14 (Dr Price) “Submit the revised package by the end of week seven, and make sure the drawings are all to the same scale this time.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 9 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Listening conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single recording is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 9 / 9 | 9.0 |
| 8 / 9 | 8.0 |
| 7 / 9 | 7.0 |
| 6 / 9 | 6.5 |
| 4–5 / 9 | 5.5 |
| 3 / 9 | 4.5 |
| 2 / 9 | 3.5 |
| 1 / 9 | 2.5 |
| 0 / 9 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Listening Part 3
- Before the audio, read the questions and note whose view each one asks about — "What does Marta think…" is answered by Marta’s words, not her tutor’s.
- Learn the voices in the first few seconds: names are always exchanged early, and attaching name to voice immediately pays off for the whole part.
Common trap: Attributing one speaker’s opinion to another, especially when a speaker summarises someone else’s view before disagreeing with it.
Full Listening Part 3 strategyPractise “Design Review: A Student Footbridge Project” under exam conditions
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