IELTS Listening: Distractors related to tenses (Dinosaur museum)

28-Day Planner Day 21: How to spot distractors [related to tenses]

There is no grammar test in IELTS, but grammar is tested in different ways.

Listening Part 2 and 3 often contain questions which require an understanding of tenses – usually you have to decide if something

has already happened
is happening at the moment
is going to happen in the future.

Tenses are often used as distractors, as we can see in the example below.

See also: How to spot distractors related to tenses in a Listening about a Theatre refurbishment.

Listen while you do the test:

Gapfill Questions

THE DINOSAUR MUSEUM

SECTION 2

Write NO MORE THAN 2 words for each answer

The museum closes at _______ p.m. on Mondays.
The museum is not open on _______________.
School groups are met by tour guides in the ___________.
The whole visit takes 90 minutes, including ________________minutes for the guided tour.
There are _______________behind the museum where students can have lunch.

Answers: Gapfill

Write NO MORE THAN 2 words for each answer

The museum closes at 1.30 p.m. on Mondays.

Let me give you some of the basic information first. In regard to opening hours, we’re open every day of the week from 9.00 am to 8.00 pm except on Mondays when we close at 1.30 pm.

The museum is not open on 25th of December.

And in fact the only day in the year when we’re closed is on the 25th of December.

School groups are met by tour guides in the car park.

If you bring a school group to the museum, when you arrive we ask you to remain with your group in the car park. One or more of the tour guides will welcome you there.

The whole visit takes 90 minutes, including 45 minutes for the guided tour.

As far as the amount of time you’ll need goes, if you bring a school group you should plan on allowing a minimum of 90 minutes for the visit. This allows 15 minutes to get on and off the coach, 45 minutes for the guided tour and 30 minutes for after-tour activities.

There are tables behind the museum where students can have lunch.

If you’re going to have lunch at the museum you will have to allow more time. There are two cafes in the museum with seating for 80 people. If you want to eat there you’ll need to reserve some seating as they can get quite crowded at lunch time. Then outside the museum at the back there are tables, and students can bring their own lunch and eat it there in the open air.

Choosing from a list

Q16 – 18 Choose THREE letters, A – G

Which THREE things can students have with them in the museum?

A food

B water

C cameras

D books

E bags

F pens

G worksheets

Questions 19 and 20

Choose TWO letters, A – E

Which TWO activities can students do after the tour at present?

A build model dinosaurs

B watch films

C draw dinosaurs

D find dinosaur eggs

E play computer games

Answers: Choosing from a list

Which THREE things can students have with them in the museum?

When the students come into the museum foyer we ask them to check in their backpacks with their books, lunch boxes etc, at the cloakroom before they enter the museum. In the past we have had a few things gone missing after school visits so this is a strict rule. Also, some of the exhibits are fragile and we don’t want them to be accidentally knocked.

But we do provide school students with handouts with questions and quizzes on them.

There’s so much that students can learn in the museum and it’s fun for them to have something to do. Of course they’ll need to bring something to write with for these. We do allow students to take photographs. For students who are doing projects it’s useful to make some kind of visual record of what they see that they can add to their reports. And finally, they should not bring anything to eat into the museum, or drinks of any kind.

~~A food~~

~~B water~~

C cameras

~~D books~~

E ~~bags~~

F pens

G worksheets

Questions 19 and 20

Choose TWO letters, A – E

Which TWO activities can students do after the tour at present?

There are also a few things the students can do after the tour. In the theatre on the ground floor there are continuous screenings of short documentaries about dinosaurs which they can see at any time. ***We used to have*** an activity room with more interactive things like making models of dinosaurs and drawing and painting pictures, even hunting for dinosaur eggs, but unfortunately the room was damaged in a bad storm recently when water came in the roof, so that’s closed at the moment. But we do have an IT centre where students have access to CD ROMS with a range of dinosaur games. These games are a lot of fun but they also teach the students about the lives of dinosaurs, how they found food, protected their habitat, survived threats, that kind of thing.

~~A build model dinosaurs~~

B watch films

~~C draw dinosaurs~~

~~D find dinosaur eggs~~

E play computer games

***Notice the trick with ‘We used to have’ – meaning of course that they don’t have these things AT PRESENT. This is a common trick in IELTS Listening.

Full Listening Course included in the Members Academy.

In the Members Academy, you’ll find everything you need in one place.

All the materials have been designed by me, so that you get exactly what you need to prepare efficiently and effectively.

You also get access to me when you need help.

Listen to the podcast

If you found this activity helpful and you’re ready to make a commitment to improving your IELTS score with more materials like this, then come and join the Members Academy.

In the Members Academy, you’ll find everything you need in one place. All the materials have been selected and written by me, so that you get exactly what you need to prepare efficiently and effectively.

You also get access to me when you need help!