Listening flow charts: follow the process · 听力流程图：跟住过程
A blurred copy sends the photograph back
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A process can loop after a failed check. Trace the chart before listening so a repeated step does not look like a new stage.
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IELTS Listening can ask you to complete a flow chart: boxes show stages of a process, and arrows show the direction. A blank may ask for a word from the recording or an option from a given list. Read the instructions first.
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Before the recording, trace the arrows with your finger. For each blank, predict a type of answer: a tool, a document, a material, or a problem to check. The speaker may explain why a step exists or correct a false start. Those extra sentences are useful context, but the chart still asks for the missing stage or detail.
The arrows have already done the walking. Your job is to keep up, not to interview each box.
What should you trace before a flow-chart recording begins? · 流程图录音开始前，首先该沿着什么看？
The arrows show how the process develops. Predict the kind of answer each gap needs before listening. · 箭头显示过程如何发展。听之前预测每空所需的答案类型。
Read the route before you listen
Practice flow chart — NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer
Donated photographs arrive → assign an [1] → copy them with a [2] → check the copy for [3] → keep the originals in [4].
- Read the words around each blank. An suggests a singular noun phrase at [1]. With a suggests a piece of equipment at [2]. For points to a defect at [3]. In points to a container at [4].
- These are predictions, not answers. The recording decides the words. Check the stated word limit after you fill each gap.
In 'copy them with a [2]', what kind of answer is most likely? · 在 copy them with a [2] 中，[2] 最可能是哪一类词？
'With a' suggests a singular tool or piece of equipment. The recording then supplies the exact words. · with a 暗示单数工具或设备；确切词语还要由录音给出。
Worked example from an original script
This written script is for strategy practice only. In the actual Listening test, you hear the recording once; the script is not on the question paper.
“When a donated box arrives, we give every photograph an accession code before making a copy. A volunteer writes the code on a removable tag, not on the photograph. Next we use a flatbed scanner. I used to think the copies could go straight into the database, but now a second volunteer checks them for blur. If one is blurred, we scan it again. Once the copies pass that check, we put the original photographs into acid-free sleeves and store them in the archive.”
- [1] accession code; [2] flatbed scanner; [3] blur; [4] acid-free sleeves. Each answer is taken from the script and fits its sentence.
- The removable tag and the database are tempting nouns, but neither fills the relevant stage. The return to the scanner is a repeat of a failed step, not a new stage after storage. The hyphenated acid-free counts as one word in IELTS's stated word-limit convention; acid-free sleeves fits a two-word limit.
Fill [1] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · 根据文字脚本填写 [1]，不超过两个词。
The code is assigned before copying; the removable tag is only where it is written. · 编号是在复制前分配的；可移除标签只是写编号的地方。
Fill [2] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · 根据文字脚本填写 [2]，不超过两个词。
It is the equipment used to make the copy; the database is mentioned only as a rejected next destination. · 这是用来复制照片的设备；数据库只是在说话人否定旧做法时被提到。
Fill [3] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · 根据文字脚本填写 [3]，不超过两个词。
The volunteer checks copies for blur; a blurred copy is scanned again. · 志愿者检查副本是否模糊；模糊的副本会重扫。
Fill [4] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · 根据文字脚本填写 [4]，不超过两个词。
The originals go into acid-free sleeves. 'Acid-free' is one hyphenated word, so the full answer fits the limit. · 原件放进 acid-free sleeves。带连字符的 acid-free 算一个词，因此整个答案符合词数上限。
What to do when an answer slips past
- Follow the current arrow. The stages generally appear as the process is described; do not keep looking back at a blank you missed.
- Write a short note while listening. After that part ends, check spelling, grammar and the word limit. Do not add words merely to make the answer sound elegant.
- If the speaker corrects themself, use the final version. If the process loops back after an error, keep the chart's intended route in view.
- For a box whose answer comes from a list, choose the listed option that fits the stage; for a box requiring words from the recording, use the words you heard. Never mix those two instruction types.
- Source checked on 24 September 2026: official IELTS Listening format and flow-chart completion rules. The photograph process and script above are original teaching examples, not an official or voiced test set.
When a blurred copy is scanned again, the chart gains a new final stage after storage. · 模糊的副本重扫后，流程图在存放步骤后就多了一个新的末尾阶段。
Rescanning repeats the copy step after a failed check. It is not a new stage after originals are stored. · 重扫是在检查失败后重复复制步骤，不是存放原件之后的新阶段。
A failed check can send the process back
- In the photograph script, copies with blur return to scanning. Only copies that pass the check lead to storing originals in acid-free sleeves.
- The return arrow explains a retry, not a fifth answer after storage. Follow the main stages while noting which condition changes the route.
- The script is written teaching practice. The real listening task requires audio; the arrows cannot supply a word you never heard.
- Trace stages, use final information and check each answer against the instruction.
- Apply the distinction to the transfer check below. These are original teaching cases, not official items or band predictions.
Match the distinctions in this worked case.
The return arrow explains a retry, not a fifth answer after storage. Follow the main stages while noting which condition changes the route.
What happens when a copied photograph is blurred in the script?
In the photograph script, copies with blur return to scanning. Only copies that pass the check lead to storing originals in acid-free sleeves. The return arrow explains a retry, not a fifth answer after storage. Follow the main stages while noting which condition changes the route.