CELPIP Listening Practice Test
Updated October 28, 2026
A Surprise on the Hydro Bill
Show transcript
Narrator: You will hear a conversation between two roommates. They are talking in the kitchen of the apartment they share.
Owen: Hey, Priya, did you see the hydro bill came in? It's two hundred and ten dollars this month.
Priya: What? It's usually about ninety. Are you sure it's not a mistake?
Owen: I checked online. It's not a mistake. Our usage almost doubled since October, and the rate per kilowatt hour didn't change at all.
Priya: Hmm. Well, it's colder now, but we have gas heat, so that shouldn't matter, right?
Owen: That's what I thought too. But, um, I've been running that little space heater in my room at night. My window's really drafty.
Priya: Oh. Those things use a ton of electricity. My cousin had the same thing happen last winter.
Owen: Yeah, I looked it up. Running it eight hours a night could easily cost sixty or seventy dollars a month.
Priya: Okay, so that explains most of it. Honestly, I don't mind splitting the normal part, but...
Owen: No, no, you're right. I'll pay the extra. That's only fair.
Priya: Thanks. But you still need to fix that draft, or you'll freeze. Did you tell the landlord about the window?
Owen: Not yet. I figured he wouldn't do anything until spring.
Priya: You should at least ask. When my bathroom fan broke, he sent someone over in two days. And in the meantime, the hardware store sells plastic window film. You put it on with a hair dryer. It's about ten dollars.
Owen: Really? That's way cheaper than running the heater. Could you help me put it up? I'm terrible with that kind of thing.
Priya: Sure, I'm free Saturday morning. You buy the kit, and I'll bring my hair dryer.
Owen: Deal. And I'll email the landlord tonight.
Priya: Good. And maybe keep the heater on low until then, okay? I'd rather not see another bill like this one.
Listening is the first component of the CELPIP-General test. It has 38 scored questions in six parts, and the official overview gives 46 to 55 minutes for it. This page has a real Listening Part 2 clip, a short conversation between two roommates, with eight questions about it. Each question shows the answer and the reason as soon as you pick.
The clip, its script and the questions are original practice written in the official CELPIP format, with Canadian speakers. They are not official CELPIP material.
How to use the clip
On the real test, every audio clip plays once only, and you can’t pause or replay it. To practise the way the test works:
- Play the clip once, without reading the transcript, and take notes on paper.
- Answer the questions below from your notes.
- Only then read the transcript, or replay the clip, to check what you missed.
The real Part 2 has five questions, so this page asks more than the test would, to cover more of the details you need to catch. On the real test, the questions in Parts 1 to 3 are also read aloud, and you have about 30 seconds to hear and answer each one.
The six Listening parts
| Part | What you hear | Questions | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving | One conversation in three sections, with questions after each | 8 | 8 minutes |
| Part 2: Listening to a Daily Life Conversation | Two people who know each other, about 1.5 to 2 minutes | 5 | 5 minutes |
| Part 3: Listening for Information | One person gets information from another | 6 | 6 minutes |
| Part 4: Listening to a News Item | A local news report | 5 | 5 minutes |
| Part 5: Listening to a Discussion | A video of three people deciding something | 8 | 9 minutes |
| Part 6: Listening for Viewpoints | A report presenting different opinions on an issue | 6 | 8 minutes |
Question counts and timings are the approximate figures from the 2026 Listening study pack. Also worth knowing:
- The questions come after the audio, and each has four options.
- In conversations with two speakers, one is a man and one is a woman, and all speakers have Canadian accents.
- You get paper and a pen at the test centre for notes. Nobody looks at them.
- When time runs out, the test moves on and you can’t go back. Wrong answers cost nothing, so answer every question.
- The test may include an unscored part. You won’t know which one, so treat every part as scored.
Free CELPIP Listening practice questions
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About how much is the roommates' hydro bill in a usual month?Answer: BPriya says, "It's usually about ninety." The $210 is this month's bill, and $60 to $70 is what Owen thinks the heater costs.
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What did Owen find when he checked the bill online?Answer: COwen says, "Our usage almost doubled since October, and the rate per kilowatt hour didn't change at all." The right option paraphrases "usage almost doubled".
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Why does Priya first think the cold weather shouldn't affect the bill?Answer: AShe says, "It's colder now, but we have gas heat, so that shouldn't matter, right?" Gas heat doesn't appear on the electricity bill.
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Why has Owen been running a space heater at night?Answer: COwen explains, "My window's really drafty." A draft is cold air coming in, which the right option describes in different words.
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When Priya says, "Honestly, I don't mind splitting the normal part, but...", what does she mean?Answer: BShe stops before finishing, but her meaning is clear: sharing the usual amount is fine, the extra is not. Owen understands this and answers, "I'll pay the extra." This is an inference question: the meaning comes from what she implies, not from a direct statement.
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Why hasn't Owen told the landlord about the window yet?Answer: AOwen says, "I figured he wouldn't do anything until spring." Priya then points out that the landlord fixed her fan within two days.
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What does Priya say about the plastic window film?Answer: BPriya explains that the hardware store sells it, "You put it on with a hair dryer. It's about ten dollars." Owen agrees it is much cheaper than running the heater.
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What will Owen most probably do tonight?Answer: COwen says, "And I'll email the landlord tonight." They plan to put up the film on Saturday morning, not tonight.
Note-taking that works when audio plays once
- Notes in order. Questions come in roughly the same order as the answers in the audio, so write down the line and keep going.
- Key words, not sentences. “$210, usually ~90, usage x2, rate same” is enough to answer three of the questions above.
- Who said what. Mark each note with the speaker (O / P). Many wrong options give one person’s idea to the other.
- Listen for how people sound. Speakers rarely say “I’m annoyed”. Priya’s “I don’t mind splitting the normal part, but…” tells you how she feels without saying it.
- Expect paraphrase. The right option almost never repeats the audio word for word. “Usage almost doubled” may come back as “they used much more electricity”.
- Basic questions to answer for every clip: Who are the speakers and how do they know each other? What is the problem? How does each feel about it? What do they decide?
Next steps
Our home page has free sample questions with audio for all six Listening parts, including the Part 5 discussion. The later parts are longer and harder, so practise those too before test day. For how many correct answers relate to each CELPIP level, see the CELPIP score chart: the 2026 study pack’s ranges overlap (for example, 27 to 31 of 38 for Listening level 7), and the level also weighs how hard the questions were, so treat any raw score as a guide. Then try the Reading practice test, or read the CELPIP test guide for the whole test.
Get the CELPIP score your PR application needs
- All 304 Listening and Reading questions, with full audio
- An explanation for every answer, quoting the audio or text
- Unlimited Listening and Reading practice exams in the real part order, scored to CLB 7