First Sounds in Familiar Words — A1 English Pronunciation Practice Test
About this practice test
Practise A1 English pronunciation by listening for first sounds in familiar words in recorded word groups, then review the sound contrasts.
What you’ll practice
Hear the difference
Recognise vowel and consonant contrasts in clear recordings.
Stress and rhythm
Identify strong syllables and emphasized words.
Listen and review
Replay each recording and learn from answer explanations.
What to expect:
5 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- A1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Single choice
How to approach this practice
Read the instructions and work through the questions before opening the answers.
Recording 1
Read the transcript
pen. park. pink. ball.
Recording 2
Read the transcript
boy. door. book. big.
Recording 3
Read the transcript
key. tea. ten. two.
Recording 4
Read the transcript
cat. cup. bus. cake.
Recording 5
Read the transcript
sun. fish. five. food.
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Question 1 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Listen to the four words. Which word begins with a different sound from the other three?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- pen
- park
- pink
- ball
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- ball
Pen, park and pink share /p/ at the beginning; ball has /b/.
pen: This word shares /p/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /b/ sound.
park: This word shares /p/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /b/ sound.
pink: This word shares /p/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /b/ sound.
ball: Pen, park and pink share /p/ at the beginning; ball has /b/.
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Question 2 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Listen to the four words. Which word begins with a different sound from the other three?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- boy
- door
- book
- big
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- door
Boy, book and big share /b/ at the beginning; door has /d/.
boy: This word shares /b/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /d/ sound.
door: Boy, book and big share /b/ at the beginning; door has /d/.
book: This word shares /b/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /d/ sound.
big: This word shares /b/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /d/ sound.
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Question 3 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Listen to the four words. Which word begins with a different sound from the other three?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- key
- tea
- ten
- two
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- key
Tea, ten and two share /t/ at the beginning; key has /k/.
key: Tea, ten and two share /t/ at the beginning; key has /k/.
tea: This word shares /t/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /k/ sound.
ten: This word shares /t/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /k/ sound.
two: This word shares /t/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /k/ sound.
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Question 4 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Listen to the four words. Which word begins with a different sound from the other three?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- cat
- cup
- bus
- cake
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- bus
Cat, cup and cake share /k/ at the beginning; bus has /b/.
cat: This word shares /k/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /b/ sound.
cup: This word shares /k/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /b/ sound.
bus: Cat, cup and cake share /k/ at the beginning; bus has /b/.
cake: This word shares /k/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /b/ sound.
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Question 5 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Listen to the four words. Which word begins with a different sound from the other three?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- sun
- fish
- five
- food
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- sun
Fish, five and food share /f/ at the beginning; sun has /s/.
sun: Fish, five and food share /f/ at the beginning; sun has /s/.
fish: This word shares /f/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /s/ sound.
five: This word shares /f/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /s/ sound.
food: This word shares /f/ with the matching group. Listen for the different /s/ sound.
What to review next
Review the feedback and revisit the topics you found difficult before trying again.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.