B1 Preliminary (PET) Listening – Practice Test 1 — Explanation

Welcome to this free Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET) Listening practice test. It follows the real exam format exactly — the same four parts, the same question types and the same number of questions — so you know what to expect on exam day. Play the audio for each part, answer the questions, and check your answers instantly with a short explanation.

The B1 Preliminary Listening test lasts about 30 minutes and is worth 25% of your total mark. In the real exam you hear every recording twice, so don't worry if you miss something the first time.

What is the B1 Preliminary (PET) Listening exam?

The Listening paper shows that you can understand spoken English about everyday topics: conversations, phone calls, announcements, interviews and talks. You need to catch both the details (times, prices, places) and the general meaning — a speaker's feelings, opinions and reasons. There are four parts and 25 questions in total.

The four parts, one by one

• Part 1 (Questions 1–7) — Listen to seven short recordings. For each one, answer a question by choosing A, B or C.
• Part 2 (Questions 8–13) — Listen to six short conversations. For each one, choose the answer (A, B or C) that shows how a speaker feels, or what they decide or mean.
• Part 3 (Questions 14–19) — Listen to one person speaking (for example, someone describing a trip) and complete a set of notes. Write one or two words, or a number, in each gap.
• Part 4 (Questions 20–25) — Listen to one longer interview or discussion and answer six multiple-choice questions (A, B or C) about opinions, reasons and attitudes.

How to get a good score

• Read the questions before you listen. You get time to do this in the real exam — use it to guess what you will hear.
• Listen for the whole idea, not single words. In Parts 2 and 4, the wrong options often repeat words from the recording but change the meaning.
• Watch for "distractors". Speakers often mention a wrong answer first and then correct it ("We were going to fly, but in the end we took the train"). Listen to the end.
• In Part 3, keep to one or two words and check they fit the grammar of the sentence.
• Use the second listening to check answers you weren't sure about, and never leave a blank.

How to use this test: each exercise below has an audio player at the top. Press play, answer the questions, and then choose "View Result" to see your score and explanations. Ready? Start with Part 1.