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Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3

Take Book 21 Test 3 online with the audio, free. Then see where real students lost their marks, part by part, and the traps that caught them.

There are no answers on this page, so you can read it before you take the test.

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  • Questions40
  • Parts4
  • DifficultyEasy start, hard Part 3
  • Average score29 / 40 · Band 6.5

Cambridge 21 Listening Test 3 at a glance

Parts 1 and 2 are the friendliest of the test, with most questions answered by eight or nine in ten students. Part 3 is where the average drops sharply: its matching set holds the hardest question in the test.

PartSituationQuestion typeQuestionsAvg. correct
1Two friends talk about a ferry tripNote completionONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER1–108.4of 10
2Talk: starting a street food businessChoose TWO (two sets)Letters A–EMultiple choiceA, B or CMatching: business to problemLetters A–F11–208.6of 10
3Two students research sustainable fashionChoose TWO (two sets)Letters A–EMatching: fabric to commentLetters A–H21–305.6of 10
4Lecture: invasive speciesNote completionONE WORD ONLY31–406.9of 10

How students did on this test

These figures come from complete attempts on IELTSNexa up to 2026-10-22, not from the book. The average was 29 out of 40, which is Band 6.5. Parts 1 and 2 are both above 8 out of 10, and Part 3 falls below 6.

  • 29/40Average score
  • 6.5Average band
  • Part 3Hardest part
Part 18.4
Part 28.6
Part 35.6
Part 46.9
Average correct answers per part, out of 10

Source: IELTSNexa student attempts, up to 2026-10-22

Part by part: what it is about and where marks go

For each part: what the recording is about, the question types, and how many students got each question right. Tap a bar for the details. The recordings, question papers and answers are only inside the test.

Part 1

Two friends talk about a ferry trip

Questions 1–10 · Average 8.4 of 10

A woman asks a friend about the ferry he took to a group of Scottish islands. He tells her about the ferry company, how often it sails, the price and what happens if you cancel, the cabins, travelling with children and a dog, and what to do in the port town before the ferry leaves.

% of students who got each question right
Note completion 84% This test · 67% All Cambridge tests

Question 2Note completion · ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER

69% got it right

The hardest question in Part 1. 2 points above the average for gap-fill questions.

  • This test
  • Under 50% correct
  • Average for this question type across all Cambridge tests on IELTSNexa
Watch for

Most answers are said once and plainly, so the marks go on detail. Names have to be spelled exactly, and a frequency is easy to blur with the one he is unsure about. When something is ruled out first (“I don’t think it’s their policy to…”), the answer is what comes after it.

Practise Part 1 only →
Part 2

Talk: starting a street food business

Questions 11–20 · Average 8.6 of 10

The owner of a vegan street food van talks to people thinking of starting their own street food business. He covers why street food is popular, where to sell it, equipment and how to serve the food, and then four businesses he knows that ran into problems.

% of students who got each question right
Choose TWO (two sets) 82% This test · 67% All Cambridge tests
Multiple choice 91% This test · 64% All Cambridge tests
Matching: business to problem 87% This test · 63% All Cambridge tests

Question 12Choose TWO (two sets) · Letters A–E

65% got it right

The hardest question in Part 2. 2 points below the average for choose-two questions.

  • This test
  • Under 50% correct
  • Average for this question type across all Cambridge tests on IELTSNexa
Watch for

This is the easiest part of the test: half of its questions are answered by nine in ten students or more. The marks that go are in the first choose-two set. The speaker compares street food with fast food, and the comparison puts fast food’s strengths in your head; make sure each reason you pick is one he gives for street food.

Practise Part 2 only →
Part 3

Two students research sustainable fashion

Questions 21–30 · Average 5.6 of 10

Two students compare their research for a project on sustainable fashion: what “ethical” and “sustainable” really mean, the arguments about wool, and then six newer semi-synthetic fabrics, from one made from tree pulp to one made from cork.

% of students who got each question right
Choose TWO (two sets) 64% This test · 67% All Cambridge tests
Matching: fabric to comment 51% This test · 63% All Cambridge tests

Question 27Matching: fabric to comment · Letters A–H

26% got it right

The hardest question in Part 3. 37 points below the average for matching questions.

Why people miss it →
  • This test
  • Under 50% correct
  • Average for this question type across all Cambridge tests on IELTSNexa
Watch for

The matching set is the hardest stretch of the test. Each fabric gets a short exchange that mentions manufacturing, energy or chemicals, so several comments in the box seem to fit every time. Match the whole option, not one word in it, and listen for the speaker’s verdict, which is often softened (“I’m not sure how…”).

Practise Part 3 only →
Part 4

Lecture: invasive species

Questions 31–40 · Average 6.9 of 10

A lecture on invasive species: what makes a species invasive, how they harm native wildlife, and how they spread. It continues with examples from Australia and the UK and ends with what scientists and the public can do.

% of students who got each question right
Note completion 69% This test · 67% All Cambridge tests

Question 33Note completion · ONE WORD ONLY

45% got it right

The hardest question in Part 4. 22 points below the average for gap-fill questions.

Why people miss it →
  • This test
  • Under 50% correct
  • Average for this question type across all Cambridge tests on IELTSNexa
Watch for

The lecture moves quickly through its examples, and each gap sits inside one. Several gaps follow a list of causes or harms, and only one item fits the note. Check the form: some gaps take a single noun that people tend to make plural, and the note’s grammar tells you which.

Practise Part 4 only →

The 3 questions most students miss, and the traps behind them

Ranked by how few students got them right. Each note explains how the question catches people without giving away the answer, so you can still use it as practice.

1Question 27Part 326% got it right

The speakers make one claim about this fabric, with a condition attached, and then mention that making most of it is chemically intensive. That mention of chemicals pulled a quarter of students towards the box’s option about chemicals, but that option says something specific about them that nobody says here. Others chose a general verdict on how sustainable it is. Match what the option says as a whole, not the one word you heard.

The trap

Match the whole option, not one word

When you hear a word that appears in an option, it feels like a match. Often it is the trap: the option says something more specific about that word than the speaker does. Read each option as a full claim, and ask whether the speaker made that claim.

On IELTSNexa Learn: Level 21, “শুনে paraphrase ধরা” (trap #18) (in Bangla) →
2Question 26Part 345% got it right

One student describes what this fabric is made from, then says he is not sure how sustainable it really is, and gives a reason to do with its manufacture. The reason pulled more than a quarter of students to an option about how the fabric has to be produced. The doubt is the verdict; the reason only supports it.

The trap

A polite doubt is a verdict

Speakers rarely say “this is bad”. They say “I’m not sure how good this really is” or “I wasn’t convinced”. Treat that as a firm negative opinion, and do not let the reason that follows pull you to a different option.

On IELTSNexa Learn: Level 37, “লেখক রাজি, না রাজি নন?” (trap #31) (in Bangla) →
3Question 33Part 445% got it right

The lecturer gives an example of species spreading by accident: people coming back from a trip abroad with seeds on their clothes. The word the note needs is said once, in the singular, inside a longer phrase. About one in five students wrote it in the plural and lost the mark, and others wrote where the people came back to, or what the seeds were stuck to.

The trap

Right word, wrong form

You hear the right word but write it in the wrong form, usually plural when the speaker and the note use the singular. Read the words around the gap: “a”, “an” or a singular verb tells you the form.

On this test, about 1 in 8 wrong written answers was the right word in the wrong form.

On IELTSNexa Learn: Level 18, “ছোট ভুলে বড় ক্ষতি” (trap #16) (in Bangla) →

Learn to beat these traps

IELTSNexa Learn teaches 61 exam traps in short lessons with audio, one trap in each lesson. Start free, no account needed for the first lessons.

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Explanation cards

Understand the reasoning behind every question

A score tells you what you got wrong. IELTSNexa shows you why. After you submit, each question opens an explanation card that takes you to the exact moment in the recording, explains why the answer is right, and shows the reasoning that made the wrong answer feel right.

  • The exact line in the recording, with the timestamp
  • Why the right answer is right
  • Why the trap answer was tempting
Start Cambridge 21 Test 3

Explanation cards come with an IELTSNexa pass. The test, your score and the answer key are free.

Words students misspelled on this test

On this test, about 1 in 5 wrong written answers was the right word, misspelled. The student heard it and still lost the mark. Here are some of the words behind them.

  • northern

    Written asnorthennothernnorthannouthern

    north + ern: keep the “th” and the “r”.

  • dolphins

    Written asdolfinsdolphinesdolpensdolpine

    “ph”, not “f”, and no “e” before the s.

  • disease

    Written asdesease

    dis-ease: it starts with “dis”, not “des”.

  • voucher

    Written asbouchervauchervouchar

    “vou” as in “you”, and “-er” at the end.

  • sugar

    Written assuger

    Ends in “-ar”, not “-er”.

Useful vocabulary from this test

Words and phrases you will hear in the recordings, with our own explanations and example sentences.

WordMeaning and example
peak seasonnounthe busiest time of year for travel, when prices are highestHotels by the sea double their prices in peak season.
kennelnouna small shelter or cage where a dog sleeps or is keptThe ship has kennels for passengers travelling with dogs.
refundnounmoney paid back to you when you return something or cancelIf the concert is cancelled, you will get a full refund.
second-handadjectiveowned and used by someone else before youHe furnished his flat with second-hand furniture.
licencenounan official document that gives you permission to do somethingYou need a licence to sell food on the street.
make a profitphraseto earn more money than you spendThe café took two years to make a profit.
interchangeablyadverbin a way that treats two things as if they mean the samePeople often use “weather” and “climate” interchangeably, but they are different.
biodegradableadjectiveable to break down naturally without harming the environmentThe shop only uses biodegradable bags.
renewableadjectiveable to be replaced naturally, so it does not run outWind and solar power are renewable sources of energy.
nativeadjectiveliving or growing naturally in a place, not brought from elsewhereThe park plants only native trees.
eradicateverbto get rid of something completelyThe campaign aims to eradicate the weed from the river banks.
outcompeteverbto do better than another species in getting food or space, so that it declinesFast-growing weeds can outcompete young crops.

From raw score to band

Each correct answer is one mark out of 40. This is the conversion IELTSNexa uses to score this test. You can also try the band score calculator.

Correct answersBand
39–409.0
37–388.5
35–368.0
33–347.5
30–327.0
27–296.5Average on this test
23–266.0
20–225.5
16–195.0
13–154.5
10–124.0

IELTSNexa

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Frequently asked questions

Is Cambridge 21 Listening Test 3 hard?
It starts easy and gets hard in Part 3. Across the full attempts on IELTSNexa, students averaged about 29 out of 40. Parts 1 and 2 score above 8 out of 10, while the Part 3 matching set holds the hardest question in the test.
Can I take Cambridge 21 Listening Test 3 online with audio?
Yes. IELTSNexa runs the full test free in a computer-delivered layout, with the audio, the timer and automatic scoring. You need a free account so your score and answers are saved.
Where can I find the answers for Cambridge 21 Listening Test 3?
We do not publish the answer key on this page, so it cannot spoil the test. After you submit on IELTSNexa you see your score and the answer key straight away. Detailed explanation cards, which show why each answer is right and where it is in the recording, come with an IELTSNexa pass.
How long does Cambridge 21 Listening Test 3 take?
About 30 minutes of audio for 40 questions in four parts, with short reading pauses before each section. You can also practise one part at a time.
What band is 29 out of 40 in IELTS Listening?
29 correct answers is Band 6.5 on the Listening conversion table. Band 7.0 needs 30 correct, and Band 8.0 needs 35.
Is Cambridge 21 Listening the same for Academic and General Training?
Yes. Academic and General Training candidates take the same Listening test, so this test is good practice for both.

More Listening practice

Last updated 2026-10-22. IELTSNexa is not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Cambridge IELTS 21 is their publication; this page is our own independent analysis.