This IELTS listening practice is based on sentence completion questions and diagram labelling. You need to prepare all questions before listening.
For the sentence completion, check what type of answer you need for each question and underline key words that will help you identify the answer when you hear it. For the diagrams, read the instructions carefully to find the type of answer you need.
IELTS Listening: The Eiffel Tower
Questions 1-5
Complete the sentences using no more than two words and/or numbers.
- In 1884, two …………… came up with the concept of building tall tower.
- The plan was for the tower to be ……….. feet in height.
- Assembly of the supports took ……………. to finish.
- During construction, precision of work was measured to …………. of a millimetre.
- The construction team has responsibility for ……………. to ………… workers.
Questions 6 – 7
Label the diagram below with the correct dates using no more than one word and/or numbers.
Answers
Click below to reveal the answers:
Answers- engineers / chief engineers (either answer is correct)
- 1000
- 22 months (the number can be written as a hyphenated word. The word “months” must be plural.)
- a tenth (“a” is needed for the answer to be correct. All sentences must be grammatically correct when completed)
- 150 300 (both numbers are needed for the correct answer. No punctuation is required between them)
- 15 March 1888 / 15th March 1888 (the full date is required)
- 12 March 1889 / 12th March 1889 (the full date is required)
The plan to build a tower 300 metres high was conceived as part of preparations for the World’s Fair of 1889. Two chief engineers in Eiffel’s company, had the idea for a very tall tower in June 1884. The tower project was a bold extension of this principle – equivalent to the symbolic figure of 1000 feet.
The assembly of the supports began on July 1, 1887 and was completed twenty-two months later. All the elements were prepared in Eiffel’s factory located on the outskirts of Paris. Each of the 18,000 pieces used to construct the Eiffel Tower were specifically designed and calculated, traced out to an accuracy of a tenth of a millimetre and then put together forming new pieces around five metres each. A team of constructors, who had worked on the great metal viaduct projects, were responsible for the 150 to 300 workers on site assembling this gigantic set.
Photographic evidence at the time showed the four stages of the construction of the Eiffel Tower. The first photo was taken after the construction of the first floor on the 15th March 1888 and the following photos were taken over a period of about a year. The constructions were finally finished on the 12th March 1889 which is when the last photo was taken. On the narrow platform at the top, Eiffel received his decoration from the Legion of Honour.
read more about the Eiffel Tower Construction
- conceived = thought up / planned
- bold = daring / courageous
- construct = build
- calculated = measured
- traced = copied
- on site – at the location of the building
- gigantic = huge
- finished / completed
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