Level B1 (approx. band 4-5) · Academic and General Training North American voices feel familiar to many learners because of films and online videos. But in the test, familiar is not the same as exact. An American speaker says "thirdy" and the learner writes 13 instead of 30. In this episode: • The strong r • The flap t • Vowel differences • Names, numbers and floors • Listening lab • Language bridge • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key points: • in North American voices, a heard r is a written r. • a quick d sound between vowels is often a written t. • listen for stress to separate "can" and "can't", and expect a higher start in Canadian "about". • "zee" and "zed" are the same letter, and the first floor can be street level. IELTS Complete Course: a self-study podcast from A1 to C2 for Academic and General Training. Listen, pause and answer, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair. Independent course, not affiliated with the IELTS test owners.