IELTS Listening Practice Test 7 – Part 4: The History of Space Exploration

Take a Listen!

Reading and Practice Time: 15 Minutes

Tips for Answering Part 4 Questions

IELTS Listening Part 4 is often considered the most challenging section of the listening test. It features a university-style lecture delivered by a single speaker, usually about an academic topic such as science, history, or education. The speaker talks continuously for several minutes, and there is just one short pause. Because of this, it’s crucial to stay focused and follow the lecture’s structure carefully.

Tip One

One of the best ways to succeed is to read the questions before the audio begins. This helps you predict what kind of information you’ll need to listen for — a date, a name, a number, or perhaps a reason or result. Look for keywords in each question, and try to think of possible paraphrases that might appear in the recording. For example, if a question mentions “began in the year…”, the speaker might say “it started in…” or “it was first launched in…”.

Tip Two

Because the lecture is academic, you’ll also hear a lot of signposting language — words like “firstly,” “however,” “on the other hand,” or “to conclude.” These phrases help you track the organization of ideas and identify when the speaker moves to a new topic. Listening for them can prevent you from getting lost, especially in long sentences or detailed explanations.

Tip Three

Another useful tip is to write short, clear answers as you listen. Don’t wait until the end of the recording to fill in all the blanks. In Part 4, answers usually appear in order, so once you’ve written one, quickly move to the next. You don’t have time to go back and double-check during the audio, so it’s better to keep moving forward.

Tip Four

Finally, practice is key. The more you expose yourself to academic recordings, the more comfortable you’ll become with the vocabulary, rhythm, and pace of university lectures. Try to listen actively — not just for meaning, but also for how information is structured and how paraphrases are used.

Now that you’ve reviewed these essential tips for approaching IELTS Listening Part 4, it’s time to put them into practice. In the following exercise, you’ll listen to a university lecture on The History of Space Exploration. The speaker traces the development of space travel from its early beginnings to modern missions.

Listen carefully and follow the lecture.

↓↓↓ Test Audio Only ↓↓↓

IELTS Listening Part 4 

The History of Space Exploration

You will hear a lecture on the development of space exploration.
Answer the questions 31–40.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Questions 31–35

Complete the notes below.

Early Developments in Space Travel

31. In 1903, Tsiolkovsky proved that rockets could function in a ________.

32. The German V-2 missile later provided useful scientific ________.

33. The year ________ marked the official beginning of the space age.

34. The launch of Sputnik 1 caused a major sense of ________ worldwide.

35. Gagarin’s flight showed that human beings could live and work in ________.

 

Questions 36–38

Complete the summary below.

From the Moon to the Space Station

After Gagarin’s achievement, the United States began the Apollo Program, which reached its goal in 1969 when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon.
Following this, attention moved to orbiting stations such as Salyut and Mir, where astronauts practiced long-term human spaceflight.
In 1981, the first reusable spacecraft—the 36 ________—was launched.
Later, the International Space Station was built through a spirit of global 37 ________.
Since 1998, it has been permanently 38 ________.

36. __________

37. __________

38. __________

 

Questions 39–40

Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.

39. What is said about private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin?

A. They mainly focus on research satellites.

B. They have reduced government control over spaceflight.

C. They are only working with the U.S. government.

40. According to the lecturer, future space exploration will need both . . .

A. more funding and stricter laws.

B. stronger competition between nations.

C. new technology and ethical reflection.

 

In conclusion 

Preparing for the IELTS Listening test, especially Part 4, requires consistent effort, sharp focus, and plenty of guided practice. By training your ear to follow academic lectures and understand paraphrased information, you’ll gain the confidence needed to reach your target band score. To help you achieve that, IFI’s IELTS Preparation Courses provide expert-led lessons, authentic practice materials, and personalized feedback designed to strengthen all four skills — Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. With the right strategies and professional guidance from IFI, you can approach every part of the IELTS test with clarity, confidence, and control.

 

Click here to learn more about IFI IELTS courses!

 

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IELTS Listening – Practice Test 7 – Part 4 Audio Script

The History of Space Exploration

 

Paragraph 1

Lecturer:

Good afternoon, everyone. Today’s lecture will trace the history of space exploration, from its earliest beginnings to the modern era of private spaceflight and international cooperation. Understanding this progression helps us see how human curiosity, technology, and politics have all shaped our journey beyond Earth.

Paragraph 2

Let’s start with the origins. The idea of space travel long predates the technology to achieve it. As early as the seventeenth century, scientists such as Johannes Kepler speculated about journeys to the Moon and planets. But the first real progress came in the early twentieth century with the development of rocket science. A key figure here was Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian schoolteacher who, in 1903, published theoretical work showing that rockets could operate in the vacuum of space. He’s often called the father of astronautics because his calculations laid the foundation for everything that followed.

Paragraph 3

By the 1930s, both Germany and the United States were experimenting with rockets for military and research purposes. The most advanced at the time was the German V-2 missile, which, despite its destructive use in World War Two, later provided crucial knowledge for future space missions. Many of the engineers who worked on it, including Wernher von Braun, were later recruited by the U.S. to develop its own space program.

Paragraph 4

Now, the real space age began in 1957. On October 4th of that year, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. Although it was only about the size of a beach ball, Sputnik’s success shocked the world and marked the start of what became known as the Space Race — a period of intense competition between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Paragraph 5

The next major milestone came just a few years later, in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin, also Soviet, became the first human to travel into space and orbit the Earth. His flight lasted only 108 minutes, but it demonstrated that humans could survive and function in orbit. The United States responded by intensifying its own efforts, and President John F. Kennedy soon announced the ambitious goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.

Paragraph 6

That challenge culminated in the Apollo Program. After several test missions, the United States achieved its goal on July 20th, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Armstrong’s famous words — “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” — became symbols of human achievement. The Apollo program continued until 1972, with a total of six successful Moon landings.

Paragraph 7

After the excitement of the Moon missions, the focus of space exploration began to change. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union turned their attention to space stations — platforms that allowed astronauts to live and work in orbit for long periods. The Soviet Salyut stations and later Mir provided valuable experience in long-term human spaceflight. The United States, for its part, developed the Space Shuttle, first launched in 1981. The Shuttle was unique because it could be reused, making it cheaper to transport satellites and supplies into orbit.

Paragraph 8

In the 1990s, with the end of the Cold War, space exploration became more cooperative. One of the greatest examples of this is the International Space Station, or ISS, a joint project involving NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, and others. Since its first module was launched in 1998, the ISS has been continuously inhabited, serving as both a laboratory and a symbol of international collaboration.

Paragraph 9

Meanwhile, robotic missions have also expanded our understanding of the Solar System. Unmanned spacecraft have visited every major planet. The Voyager probes, launched in 1977, continue to send data from the edge of interstellar space. More recently, the Mars rovers, such as Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance, have provided detailed information about the Red Planet’s surface and its potential for life.

Paragraph 10

In the twenty-first century, we’ve also witnessed the rise of private space companies. Firms such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have transformed what used to be the exclusive domain of governments. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, achieved a major milestone in 2020 when its Crew Dragon spacecraft carried astronauts to the ISS — the first time a private company had done so. These companies are also developing reusable rockets and exploring commercial space travel for civilians.

Paragraph 11

As for the future, attention is turning once again to the Moon and beyond. NASA’s Artemis Program aims to return humans to the lunar surface by the late 2020s, this time with greater international participation and even female astronauts. The Moon is seen not just as a destination but as a potential launch point for missions to Mars. Both government agencies and private companies are investigating how humans might live and work on the Martian surface in the coming decades.

Paragraph 12

Yet, despite the rapid progress, space exploration remains challenging and expensive. The extreme conditions of space, radiation exposure, and psychological strain of long missions all pose serious difficulties. Ethical questions are also emerging: should we mine asteroids for resources, or alter other planets? These issues will require not just scientific solutions but thoughtful global discussions.

Paragraph 13

To conclude, the history of space exploration is a story of imagination, competition, and cooperation. From the early theories of Tsiolkovsky to today’s reusable rockets and Mars missions, each generation has built upon the discoveries of the last. What began as a rivalry between nations has evolved into a shared human endeavor — one that continues to push the boundaries of what we know and what we dream is possible.

Thank you for listening.

 

Answer Guide — IELTS Listening Part 4: The History of Space Exploration