Two first-year students, Noor and Callum, talking with an
IELTS Listening — IELTS Practice Originals, Listening Practice Test 7, Section 3
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{# Shown in full, as the review screen does after a sitting: it is the text a searcher is looking for, and hiding it would leave this page with nothing on it but a heading. #}Section 3. You will hear two first-year students, Noor and Callum, talking with an accommodation adviser about choosing where to live next year. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.
Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.
ADVISER: So, you're both deciding whether to stay in halls or move into a shared house next year. Noor, where are you leaning?
NOOR: I was set on a private house, mainly to save money, but when I actually added it up, once you put the bills on top of the rent, a house isn't really cheaper than halls at all. So now I'm staying in halls for the certainty.
ADVISER: A lot of students get caught out by the bills. Callum?
CALLUM: I'm going the other way, into a house. For me it was never about the cost, it's the kitchen. In halls you share a tiny kitchen with fifteen people, and I want to actually cook properly.
ADVISER: Fair enough. Now, location. What should they weigh up there?
NOOR: Everyone obsesses over being close to campus, but honestly the thing that changed my mind was noticing which places were near a supermarket. When you've no car, that matters far more day to day than shaving five minutes off the walk to lectures.
ADVISER: A very practical point. And Callum, any regrets about this year's room?
CALLUM: One. My room this year is cheap but it faces the car park and it's noisy at night. Next time I'm prioritising a quiet room over a cheap one, I've learned my lesson on sleep.
Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.
ADVISER: Now, a warning about contracts, this trips people up. Callum, when do the private house contracts start?
CALLUM: That caught us out. Most halls contracts only run through term, but the house we looked at is a full twelve months, so you're paying rent over the summer even if you go home.
ADVISER: Exactly, do read that clause. And the deposit, Noor?
NOOR: We were shocked, it's usually more than a month's rent, so you need a big sum up front, that's the bit students forget to budget for.
ADVISER: And who do you go to if something breaks in a private house?
CALLUM: The landlord, or their agent, and that's the risk, some are slow. In halls you just ring the university and they fix it fast, which is one thing I'll miss.
ADVISER: All good lessons. Let me give you both a checklist to take away.
That is the end of Section 3. You now have some time to check your answers.