Lecture: The Garden City Movement: Listening Answers & Explanations
IELTS Listening practice test · 10 questionsPart 4hard
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About this recording
The recording opens: “Right, let's begin. This week we're looking at an idea that shaped how cities were built across the twentieth century — the garden city movement.”
- Transcript length: about 513 words
- Questions: 10
- Question types: Note Completion, Table Completion, Sentence Completion, Short Answer
“Lecture: The Garden City Movement” 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
Lecture: The Garden City Movement answers with explanations
Questions 1–3: Note Completion
Background to the garden city idea
Complete the notes below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- 1
The garden city was the idea of Ebenezer ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: howard
Why: The answer is found at the beginning of the passage, where it states that the garden city movement was the creation of an Englishman named Ebenezer Howard, who detailed his vision in a book published in 1898.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 1 “It was the brainchild of an Englishman called Ebenezer Howard, who set out his vision in a book published in eighteen ninety-eight.”
- 2
He set out his vision in a book published in ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: 1898
Why: The answer is found in the second sentence of the passage, where it mentions that Ebenezer Howard outlined his vision in a book released in the year eighteen ninety-eight.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 1 “It was the brainchild of an Englishman called Ebenezer Howard, who set out his vision in a book published in eighteen ninety-eight.”
- 3
Each town was to be surrounded by a permanent belt of ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: countryside
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it explains that the garden city was designed to be a new, planned town, intentionally kept small and surrounded by a permanent belt of open countryside.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 3 “His answer was the garden city — a brand-new, planned town, deliberately kept small, surrounded by a permanent belt of open countryside.”
Questions 4–7: Table Completion
Key features of Howard's garden city
Complete the table below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- 4
Population: strictly limited to ______ thousand people per town.(max 2 words)
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Answer: 32 (also accepted: thirty-two / thirty two)
Why: The passage states that Howard proposed a strict population limit of thirty-two thousand people per town to prevent sprawl and encourage the creation of new towns once this number was reached.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “Howard proposed a strict limit of thirty-two thousand people per town.”
- 5
Land: owned by the whole ______, not by private landlords.(max 1 word)
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Answer: community
Why: The answer is found in the section discussing land ownership, where it's stated that the land should be collectively owned by the entire community, ensuring that any increase in value benefits all residents.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “The land was to be owned by the whole community, not by private landlords, so that any rise in its value benefited everyone.”
- 6
Layout: arranged in concentric rings with a public ______ at the centre.(max 1 word)
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Answer: garden
Why: The answer is found in the section where the speaker describes the layout of the garden city, mentioning that the town is designed in concentric circles with a public garden located at the very center.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “And third, layout: the town was arranged in concentric rings, with a public garden at the very centre and factories placed on the outer edge, away from homes.”
- 7
Layout: factories placed on the outer ______ of the town.(max 1 word)
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Answer: edge
Why: The answer is found in the section where the speaker describes the town's layout, mentioning that factories were positioned on the outer edge, away from residential areas, to ensure a separation between industrial and living spaces.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “And third, layout: the town was arranged in concentric rings, with a public garden at the very centre and factories placed on the outer edge, away from homes.”
Questions 8–9: Sentence Completion
What was built and its legacy
Complete the sentences below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- 8
The first garden city was ______, begun in 1903.(max 1 word)
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Answer: letchworth
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it states that the first garden city, Letchworth, was initiated in 1903.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 5 “The first garden city was Letchworth, begun in nineteen oh three.”
- 9
Howard's most lasting contribution is the protected green ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: belt
Why: The answer is found where the passage discusses Howard's lasting contribution, stating that the concept of a protected ring of countryside around a city, known as the green belt, is now part of planning law in many countries.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 6 “The principle that a ring of countryside around a city should be protected from development is now written into planning law in many countries.”
Question 10: Short Answer
Answer the question below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS .
- 10
According to critics, which social group did the garden cities actually attract?(max 3 words)
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Answer: the middle classes (also accepted: middle classes / middle class / the comfortable middle classes)
Why: The answer is found near the end of the passage, where it mentions that critics argued the garden cities attracted the comfortable middle classes instead of the poor workers that Howard originally intended to help.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 7 “Others complained that in practice the garden cities attracted the comfortable middle classes rather than the poor workers Howard most wanted to help.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 10 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 |
|---|---|
| 10 / 10 | 9.0 |
| 9 / 10 | 8.0 |
| 8 / 10 | 7.5 |
| 7 / 10 | 6.5 |
| 6 / 10 | 6.0 |
| 5 / 10 | 5.5 |
| 4 / 10 | 5.0 |
| 3 / 10 | 4.0 |
| 2 / 10 | 3.5 |
| 1 / 10 | 2.5 |
| 0 / 10 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Listening Part 4
- Spend the whole preparation time on the notes: the headings tell you the lecture’s sections, and each gap’s surrounding words tell you the grammar and meaning of its answer.
- Predict the word class for every gap — noun, adjective, number — and any obvious semantic field (a material, an animal, a place).
Common trap: Losing your position mid-lecture and missing a run of answers — the single biggest cause of Part 4 disasters.
Full Listening Part 4 strategyPractise “Lecture: The Garden City Movement” under exam conditions
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