IELTS vs Cambridge English Exams - Which One Is Best For You?

Today we’re going to look at what’s  different between the IELTS and Cambridge  

今天我们就来看看雅思考试和剑桥

exams. This can give you a better idea  of which exam is the right one for you!

考试有什么不同。这可以让您更好地了解哪项考试适合您！

Hi, I’m Anna from English like a Native  dot com and welcome to my series on exam  

大家好，我是 Anna，来自 English like native dot com，欢迎收看我的考试

preparation. You asked so I’m delivering!   If you are new here, drop a comment below  

准备系列。你问，所以我交付！如果您是新来的，请在下方留言

telling me what video lessons you need and then  be sure to subscribe for more English lessons. 

告诉我您需要哪些视频课程，然后一定要订阅更多英语课程。

Let’s take a closer look at the differences and  

让我们仔细看看

similarities between the  IELTS and Cambridge exams.

雅思考试和剑桥考试之间的异同。

Firstly, and the most important thing you should  know is that the IELTS exam is the same test  

首先，您应该知道的最重要的一点是，雅思考试

for all candidates. So you take the exam and  IELTS tells you what level you are. Whereas,  

对所有考生都是一样的考试。所以你参加考试，雅思告诉你你是什么水平。而

with the Cambridge exams, there are different  tests for each level. These levels go from A2 Key  

在剑桥考试中，每个级别都有不同的考试。这些级别从 A2 Key

to C2 Proficiency. So you need to know which level  you are before you start to prepare for the exam. 

到 C2 Proficiency。所以在开始备考之前，你需要知道自己处于哪个级别。

Secondly, the IELTS exam expires after two  years so you may need to take the IELTS exam  

其次，雅思考试两年后到期，因此您一生中可能需要多次参加雅思考试

more than once in your life, if you need it for  university entry and then a few years later,  

，如果您需要参加大学入学考试，然后在几年后

for visa requirements, for example. The Cambridge  exams don’t expire, so they are valid for life. 

申请签证，例如。剑桥考试不会过期，因此终身有效。

Thirdly, there are two versions of the IELTS exam  - General Training and Academic Training. The  

第三，雅思考试有两个版本——普通培训和学术培训。 所有考生的 口语

Speaking and Listening papers are the same for all  candidates but the Writing and Reading papers are  

和听力试卷都相同，但

different for the General and Academic versions.  The General version concentrates on more every day  

普通版和学术版的写作和阅读试卷不同。通用版侧重于更多日常

types of contexts and text types and the Academic  one is, well…more academic. The number of correct  

类型的上下文和文本类型，而学术版则……更学术。 阅读试卷的不同分数所需的

answers you need for different band scores is  different for the Reading paper too. Take a look  

正确答案数量 也不同。 看看

on the screen to see what I mean. The one that’s  best for you depends on why you need the exam.  

屏幕就明白我的意思了。最适合您的取决于您为什么需要参加考试。

If you need the exam to get into university, you  probably need the Academic version but if you need  

如果您需要通过考试才能进入大学，您可能需要学术版，但如果您需要

to for a visa requirement, you’ll probably need  the General version. With the Cambridge exams,  

签证要求，您可能需要通用版。对于剑桥考试，

there’s just one version of each exam  for each level. Everyone answers the  

每个级别的每个考试只有一个版本。 每个人都 用相同类型的文本

same kinds of questions with the same kinds  of texts. There is one small thing to mention  

回答 相同类型的问题。这里 有一件小事要提一下

here - three exams - the A2 Key, B1 Preliminary  and B2 First have a ‘for schools’ exam with  

——三门考试——A2 Key、B1 Preliminary 和 B2 First 有一个“学校”考试，主题

topics that are appropriate for younger  people. But the same things are tested!

适合年轻人。但是同样的事情被测试了！

Fourth, you can’t fail the IELTS exam. You just  get a score and that gives you your level. People  

第四，雅思考试不能挂。你只要得到一个分数，它就会给你你的水平。人们

say they failed the exam but they mean they didn’t  get the score they needed. You can fail Cambridge  

说他们考试不及格，但他们的意思是他们没有得到他们需要的分数。你可以不及格剑桥

exams. On the bright side, if you get a grade A,  you get a higher level on your certificate. So,  

考试。从好的方面来说，如果您获得 A 级，您的证书将获得更高级别。因此，

if you take the B2 First exam and get more than  one hundred and eighty points, your certificate  

如果您参加 B2 First 考试并获得超过 180 分，您的证书

will say your level is C1. This is true for  all the exams from A2 Key to C1 Advanced.

将显示您的级别为 C1。从 A2 Key 到 C1 Advanced 的所有考试都是如此。

Fifth, on the IELTS exam, there is no specific  part that tests your grammar but your grammar is  

第五，雅思考试，没有专门考语法的部分，但是考的是语法

tested! There’s just no dedicated section. If,  in the listening paper you write a word in the  

！只是没有专门的部分。如果在听力试卷中你写了一个单词的

plural, like informations but the answer  should be the uncountable, information,  

复数形式，比如 informations 但答案应该是不可数的 information，

then it’s marked as wrong. You don’t get  any points for knowing the answer if the  

那么它就会被标记为错误。 如果 语法不适合所提供的空间，

grammar doesn’t fit the space provided. What a  shame! However, on the Cambridge exam there is  

您不会因为知道答案而获得任何分数 。 真丢脸！然而，在剑桥考试中，有

a specific part that tests your knowledge  of grammar and vocabulary on the B2 First,  

一个特定的部分测试你在 B2 First、

C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, there is a  section at the end of the Reading paper called  

C1 Advanced 和 C2 Proficiency 的语法和词汇知识，在阅读试卷的末尾有一个部分叫做

‘Use of English’. This has exercises designed  to test very specific language like verb tenses,  

“英语的使用”。这有一些练习旨在测试非常具体的语言，例如动词时态、

collocations, idioms and verb  patterns, to name just a few.

搭配、习语和动词模式，仅举几例。

There are four papers on the IELTS exam -  Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You take  

雅思考试有四篇试卷——听力、阅读、写作和口语。 你

them in that order on the test day, so Listening,  Reading, Writing, then Speaking. On the Cambridge  

在考试当天按照这个顺序 做 ，所以听力，阅读，写作，然后是口语。 剑桥

A2 Key exam there are just three papers, Reading  and Writing together as one, and Listening and  

A2 Key考试只有三篇试卷，Reading and Writing together，以及Listening and

Speaking. On the B1 Preliminary exam and up to C2  Proficiency, all exams have four papers - Reading,  

Speaking。在 B1 Preliminary 考试和 C2 Proficiency 之前，所有考试都有四篇试卷——阅读、

Writing, Listening and Speaking and they are  taken in that order, except for the speaking. 

写作、听力和口语，除了口语之外，它们都是按照这个顺序进行的。

Speaking of the speaking exam, for the IELTS, it’s  just you and an examiner having a conversation in  

说到口语考试，对于雅思考试来说，就是你和考官在一个房间里对话

a room. For all the Cambridge exams, there  are two candidates and two examiners - one  

。对于所有的剑桥考试，有两名考生和两名考官 - 一个

who speaks to you and the other who just  listens. For both IELTS and Cambridge,  

对你说话，另一个只是听。对于雅思和剑桥，

the Speaking paper can be on the same day as the  other papers or up to seven days before or after.

口语试卷可以与其他试卷在同一天，也可以前后最多 7 天。

There’s a difference in the time the  examinations take. The IELTS exam is about two  

考试时间有区别。雅思考试

hours and forty-five minutes in total, while the  Cambridge exams can take up to four hours. They  

总共大约需要两小时四十五分钟，而剑桥考试可能需要长达四个小时。

start at two hours for the A2 Key and each  higher level test takes more and more time.

对于 A2 Key， 他们

And that’s a brief outline of the main  differences and similarities between the  

从两个小时开始，并且每个更高级别的测试都需要越来越多的时间。 这是

IELTS and Cambridge exams. If you want to  know about test questions in more detail,  

雅思考试和剑桥考试之间主要区别和相似之处的简要概述。如果您想更详细地了解试题，

look out for my other videos  in this examination series.

请查看我在本考试系列中的其他视频。

Remember, when trying to decide which test is  best for you, you should think about why you  

请记住，在决定哪种考试最适合您时，您应该考虑为什么

need an official English qualification. If you  need the exam to go to a specific university,  

需要官方英语资格证书。如果您需要参加特定大学的考试，

please check what exams your  university accepts. Similarly,  

请查看您的大学接受哪些考试。同样，

if your employer has asked you to take an  official exam, check with them what they take.

如果您的雇主要求您参加官方考试，请与他们核实他们参加的考试。

If you are happy to stick with me for a little  longer then why not look at my video ‘10 Common  

如果你愿意和我多呆一会儿，那么为什么不看看我的视频“10 个常见的

Grammar Mistakes’ so you’ll know what not  to do whichever exam you decide to take!

语法错误”，这样你就会知道无论你决定参加什么考试，什么都不该做！

Until next time, take care and goodbye!

下次见，保重，再见！