Found Ate

4
Fighter Answer Key
Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States
Fighter4_TB_FM.indd 1 8/14/2023 2:01:20 PM

TASK TYPE 1 Sentence Completion
ANSWER KEY
A About the task D Skills-building exercises

1 4
Answers Answers
1 NO–There may be one, two or three 1 a number – The phrase ‘a total of’ gives you
speakers. this clue.
2 YES 2 a noun – The article ‘a’ tells you it will be
3 NO–The instructions tell you how many a noun.
words to write. 3 a noun – The gap will be a word that
4 YES gives an adjective – you more
5 NO–You hear the same information, but the information about the facilities
exact words are different. in the conference centre.
6 YES 4 a date – The phrase ‘in the year’ gives
7 NO–You only hear it once. you this clue.
B Sample questions 5 02
2 01
Answers
1 350/400/650
Answers
2 a fire/museum doors reopened/restaurant
1 England was rebuilt
2 (soft) ball 3 exhibition hall/restaurant/conference
3 wood 4 1896/1898/1902
4 yellow
5 200
Audioscript 02
Audioscript 01 The National Motorcycle Museum opened its doors on
the first of October 1984, with a collection of more than
The game of squash is essentially a variant of other racquet 350 motorcycles on display. Since then, it has become
sports and is a close cousin of tennis and badminton. The the largest motorcycle museum in the world, with five
game was developed at Harrow School in England in the exhibition halls containing 650 machines, fully restored to
nineteenth century, and soon spread to the USA and other the manufacturers’ original specifications.
parts of the world. On the sixteenth of September 2003, the museum suffered
Unlike tennis, squash has no net, and the small court is a serious fire, resulting in damage to 75 per cent of the
surrounded by high walls against which the ball is hit. The structure and some 400 machines. Due to the determination
word ‘squash’ was originally used to refer to the soft ball of the owners, staff and contractors, the museum doors
that is used in the sport. These are made of rubber and have re-opened on the first of December 2004. As well as the
to be ‘warmed up’ before a match because when they’re exhibition hall, the museum also offers other facilities for
cold, they don’t have a great deal of bounce. Racquets were visitors. The restaurant was also rebuilt in 2004 and now
originally made from wood, although these days synthetic seats 950 diners, whilst the new conference centre offers
materials have become the norm. state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment.
Squash balls come in different qualities and a coloured The museum’s oldest exhibits are over a hundred years
dot tells you what type of player they are most suitable old. The oldest two-wheeler is actually a bicycle with an
for. For example, a beginner’s ball would have a blue dot, engine attached, which dates back to 1902. Even older
an advanced player’s yellow, while an intermediate player still, however, is the Beeston motorised tricycle which was
would use a ball with a red dot on it. constructed in 1898 to celebrate the raising of the speed
When top players hit the ball, it typically flies through the air limit to 12 miles per hour in 1896.
at a speed of 200 kilometres an hour, although the fastest
recorded example is of a ball travelling at 280 kilometres an
hour.
2 LISTENING
Fighter4_AnswerKey.indd 2 8/29/2023 3:34:00 PM

6 02 11 03
Answers Answers
1 350 3 audio(-)visual 1 More than two words – write numbers in
2 (serious) fire 4 1902 figures not in words, e.g. 1938
2 Three words – don’t copy words that are
already in the sentence, e.g. ‘a new’.
8 02 3 Wrong information
4 Three words – don’t include information
that is already in the sentence, e.g. ‘around’
Answers means the same as ‘approximately’.
1 a year 4 a number/percentage 5 Spelling – ‘weight’ not ‘wait’.
2 a noun or fraction 6 Wrong information
3 a number 5 a noun
6 a number
9 03
Answers
1 1938 4 a/one third
2 speed record 5 weight
3 51/fifty-one 6 160
Audioscript 03
Welcome to the National Motorcycle Museum. Today I’m
going to tell you the story of an incredible motorcycle. It’s
called the Brough Superior and was designed by a man
called George Brough, who was one of the early pioneers
of motorcycle construction. During the early 1900s, George
Brough set up a workshop in the English city of Nottingham.
He soon developed a reputation for producing motorcycles
that were not cheap to buy, but which performed to very high
standards.
The first Brough Superior was built in the year 1919 and
continued in production until 1940, and you can see one here
in the museum that was built in 1938. The bike was an instant
success and by 1922??? Brough himself was competing
in races at the world-famous Brooklands racetrack. At first,
Brough’s fellow competitors laughed at his careful attention to
detail as he got his beautiful bike ready for the race, but their
attitude changed after he’d not only come first, but also broken
the speed record for the track.
Suddenly the Brough Superior was news and soon came to
be the bike of choice for celebrities and adventurers. Brough,
meanwhile, went on to win 51 of the 52 races he went in for,
being denied victory in the last one only because he fell off,
although the bike went on to cross the finishing line without
him!
Brough produced around 3,000 superior machines over a
twenty-year period until the factory ceased production in 1940.
Those that are still in existence, and that’s around a third of
them, are now mostly to be found in private collections.
Every new Brough Superior motorcycle was specifically
built for its owner, the design taking into account how tall
that person was, his weight and also his particular style of
riding a motorbike. The new bike was then test ridden to
ensure that it performed to specification, and was personally
certified by George Brough. The SS100 model was ridden at
160 kilometres per hour or more before being handed over
to its new owner, whilst the SS80 model was ridden at 130
kilometres per hour or more before delivery. If any motorcycle
did not meet specification, it returned to the workshop for refit
until it performed properly. Often compared to a Rolls Royce
car, in terms of fit and finish, the Brough Superior was the
most expensive road-going motorcycle in the world.
LISTENING 3

VIDEO: Mega Green Museum Videoscript

Before you watch The California Academy of Sciences is the largest green
museum, not just in San Francisco, California, but in the world.
12 ‘From the first day was, really, the idea to make the roof like
Suggested answers a flying carpet, like, like a piece of the park flying.’ Architect
Renzo Piano designed this ‘home’ to thousands of animals
1 live exhibits (animals, plants, insects, sea and beautiful sea creatures, a unique modern model of living
creatures), aquariums, aviaries, skeletons, architecture, and it’s the only one on the planet. Its visual impact
fossils, educational displays, interactive is stunning, but this mega green museum’s impact on the
displays, etc. environment must be very, very low. ‘We felt very strongly that
2 the impact it has on the environment, i.e. the the building should be built to the highest level of sustainability
materials it is built from, how sustainable it is, possible.’ Architect Renzo Piano is ready for that challenge. ‘As
its carbon footprint, how energy efficient it is, an architect, the first thing you have to do when you have a job
how waste is recycled, etc. is to walk on the site and trying to understand the topography
of the land.’ And what a beautiful piece of land it is, Golden
Gate Park in San Francisco, California. ‘It was immediately
While you watch clear that the potential of designing a science museum in the
14 centre of the Golden Gate Park; it was immense.’ He starts to
sketch an idea into a simple line drawing. ‘I think when I first
Suggested answers saw some of Renzo’s drawings, it was hard to understand the
1 warm air scope and extent of what he was proposing, and there was a
2 recycled simplicity and an elegance to that design. But the more you
3 21/twenty-one metres look at it, the more you realise how complicated the building
is.’ The sketched out design shows one of the largest state-
4 60,000
of-the-art, visionary public buildings in the world. The roof will
be a ‘living roof’, floating above the ceiling, covered with many
flowers and plants. Openings in the front will let cool air flow
15 into the museum and warm air will exit through the roof. All the
Answers materials: concrete, steel, even insulation, must be recycled
materials. Most of the building’s floors are 12 metres high,
1 land but the planetarium and rain forest domes will be as tall as 21
2 line drawing metres.‘ When we drew, when we sketched all those curves,
3 complicated I knew, before, that that was going to be a great challenge for
4 (visionary) public engineers.’ The solar cells actually play the game of nature. They
5 roof are like little leaves in the forest. The solar cells take the energy
from the sun and they project a shadow underneath, to create
a canopy. Sixty thousand solar panels later, the roof is almost
complete – time for the architect to sign off on his innovative
project. The team is waiting to hear what master architect
Renzo Piano will say. ‘A long time ago Roberto Rossellini, was a
great Italian filmmaker, he told me something. He said, ‘Renzo,
don’t watch the building. Watch the face of people coming to
the building’. My face was smiling because all the people’s
faces were smiling. I’m a very lucky man, I have to say, and,
yes, I was happy today.’ The master architect has approved the
building and now the next phase of work can begin.
4 LISTENING

IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 04 Audioscript 04

You will hear an announcement about a wildlife project
Answers in Scotland. Look at the task, then listen and answer
1 sixteenth/16th – The speaker mentions two questions 1 to 4.
different centuries, but only one completes The Scottish Beaver Trial is a unique and exciting 21st-
the sentence with the correct information. century conservation project. It is the first official project of
2 water quality – Listen for the word its kind in Britain and a groundbreaking study to explore how
‘improve’– it matches ‘make better’ in the beavers can enhance and restore natural environments. Wild
sentence. beavers have been reintroduced back into Scotland after
3 four/4 – The phrase ‘a total of’ tells you that being extinct for centuries. Beavers are a native species to
you’re listening for a number. the UK, hunted to extinction in the sixteenth century.
4 monitoring programme – The phrase ‘what’s So why have these animals been reintroduced? One reason
called a ..’ tells you that you’re listening for a is that beavers are known as a ‘keynote’ species. This is
specific term. because they create ponds by building dams, which can
5 internship – Eileen says that she’s not ‘an help to improve water quality – something which has wider
employee’ the word ‘internship’ tells us her benefits for the local environment.
role in the project. The beavers were released into Knapdale Forest in Scotland
in 2009. They have since been busy settling into their
6 biodiversity – Eileen tells us that this is her
new home; building lodges and nurturing newborn family
‘speciality’.
members. Four beaver families have now been reintroduced
7 building – Three types of behaviours are and visitors are welcome to explore this beautiful woodland
mentioned – but Eileen is only studying one and spot the signs of beaver activity. The trial will continue
of them. for five years.
8 boat – Eileen mentions two forms of Throughout the trial, to assess the effect beavers have on
transport – but she only used one of them the local environment, a scientific monitoring programme
that evening. will be carried out. The results of the trial will help decide the
9 measure – The word ‘to’ before the gap future of beavers in Scotland.
tells us that we are listening for a verb. You will hear a woman called Eileen talking about her
10 camera trap – The words ‘what’s called’ tell work on the Scottish Beaver Trial project. Look at the
you that you’re listening for a term. task, then listen and answer questions 5 to 10.
Hallo, my name’s Eileen and I’ve come along to tell you
about my work with beavers. I’m not actually an employee
on the Scottish Beaver Trial project, but I work alongside the
team because I’m actually doing a two-month internship
as part of the first year of my Masters degree at university.
I’m specialising in biodiversity and I’m very interested in
seeing animal species conservation projects like the one
here at Knapdale. Working on a reintroduction trial like this
is a great opportunity. All aspects of beaver behaviour are
being studied here, and some people are studying feeding
behaviours, others reproductive behaviours, whereas my
project is to compare the building behaviours of the four
beaver families.
Beavers are surprisingly interesting animals. I had not
studied them before coming here and I was really impressed
by what they can do. I’ve been very lucky and I saw beavers
on the first day. You can see the beavers from the bank of
the lake, and we have a hide there, which you can reach by
bicycle, but we went out at night in a boat and we saw some
beavers swimming around the lodge. One of them popped
up really close – just a few metres in front of me.
I help Rob, the SBT Field Officer with fieldwork tasks,
which is very interesting, and allows me to discover the
beautiful area of the Knapdale forest. He has to monitor
various aspects of the beavers’ environment, and build up a
database. My part in that project is to measure every beaver
construction, such as dams and lodges. It wasn’t easy to
figure out how to do this in a standardised method, but I
managed to find a way. I’m now using a camera trap to try
to get some video footage of beavers at work, which I can
then study carefully. I’m even beginning to recognise the
individual animals.
LISTENING 5


You will hear part of a lecture about a scientific
Answers expedition at sea in the nineteenth century.
1 steam engine – Challenger was unusual Today I’m talking about a round-the-world expedition that
took place between 1872 and 1876 aboard a sailing ship
in being powered by a steam engine as well
called HMS Challenger. This expedition is widely regarded
as by sails. This made the ship perfect for
as representing the birth of the subject we now know as
exploration and scientific research. oceanography – the study of the world’s seas and oceans.
2 chemistry – As well as other facilities for Built in 1853, Challenger was unusual in being powered by a
research into subjects such as natural history steam engine as well as by sails. This made the ship perfect
and chemistry. for exploration and scientific research, because it wasn’t as
3 navigation – He was also a writer, who’d dependent on the wind as the traditional sailing ships of its
published an influential book on the subject day. The ship was specially adapted for the voyage, and there
of navigation. were laboratories on board, as well as other facilities for
4 botany – Charles Thomson, whose research into subjects such as natural history and chemistry.
speciality was botany. The captain of the ship was a man named George Nares,
5 glass – Samples of water from different who had previously been a chart maker, working for the
locations were collected – each securely British Navy in Australia and the Middle East. He was also a
sealed in a glass container. writer, who’d published an influential book on the subject of
6 rock – Scientists aboard the ship were navigation. Nares was chosen as captain of the Challenger
able to collect many rock samples from the because of the scientific approach he took to all his work,
sea bed. which made him very well-suited to lead an expedition of
7 constant – Scientists had long thought this sort.
that, away from the surface and the The expedition was led by a man called Charles Thomson,
effects of the sun, the temperature of the whose speciality was botany. Challenger was to travel more
deep oceans must be constant. By taking than 125,000 kilometres under his leadership. A total of
4,000 new species of marine life were discovered during the
measurements in different oceans, scientists
expedition, which took samples of the sea bed as well as
aboard Challenger were able to show that
analysing the waters near the surface. Nearly 1,500 samples
this was not the case. of sea water from different locations were collected – each
8 depth – Challenger also discovered the securely sealed in a glass container and returned to Britain –
existence of the Mariana Trench in the quite a difficult thing to achieve on board a ship at that time.
Pacific, where the ocean is at its greatest So, what was the most important achievement of this
depth. expedition? Using a technique known as dredging, scientists
9 nineteen/19 years – It was nineteen years aboard the ship were able to collect many rock samples
before all the final findings of the expedition from the sea bed that contributed enormously to the
had been written up and published. understanding of mineralogy. But the expedition’s greatest
10 fifty/50 – The report came out gradually in achievements concerned the water of the oceans itself.
fifty separate sections known as volumes. Scientists had long thought that, away from the surface and
effects of the sun, the temperature of the deep oceans must
be constant. By taking measurements in different oceans,
scientists aboard Challenger were able to show that this was
not the case.
Challenger also discovered the existence of the Mariana
Trench in the Pacific, where the ocean is at its greatest
depth, as well as the underwater ridges in the Atlantic,
above which the water is relatively shallow. The existence
of such variations was another major discovery in what was
one of the most significant expeditions of the nineteenth
century.
Once back in Britain, the work didn’t stop, and it was
nineteen years before all the final findings of the expedition
had been written up and published. The impact and
influence of the expedition has been immeasurable
and is still felt today. The report came out gradually in
fifty separate sections known as volumes, each one
contributing significantly to scientific knowledge. In
recognition of the scientists’ achievements, the American
space shuttle Challenger was named after the expedition in
the twentieth century.
6 LISTENING

LISTENING 7

TASK TYPE 2
1 Note, Form, Table, Flow-chart
Completion and Short Answer Questions
ANSWER KEY
Lake Titicaca, where it was reassembled; the journey from
A About the task England taking a total of six years.
1 As well as transporting people and essential supplies to
communities around the lake, the Yavari spent most of
Answers its working life collecting raw materials such as precious
1 You hear one or two speakers. metals and wool from around the lake and bringing them
2 Yes. to a central collection point from where they could be
3 The written instructions tell you how many transported down to the coast.
words to write. Lake Titicaca is so high that no trees grow there, and wood
4 Yes. is not readily available, and there are no coal reserves
5 Yes – you must spell the words correctly. locally. Even so, the ship was originally driven by a steam
6 Only once. engine and needed a source of fuel. Until 1914, when a
diesel engine was fitted, llama droppings provided the
answer – a total of fourteen hundred bags of the stuff being
B Sample questions needed to fuel a trip all the way around the lake.
2 06
D Skills-building exercises
Answers 4 c
1 (big) hotel you can see the Yavari in Puno Bay, 5
near to the big hotel.
2 guided tour and a guided tour is available Answers
3 1862 it was constructed in the city of 1 You follow the information from top to
Birmingham in England in 1862. bottom. The numbered questions help you
4 iron The ship, which is made mostly of iron follow the order of information.
5 train the coast. From there, it continued its 2 a – numerical information? Q5
journey by train b – an adjective describing ability? Q7
6 wool raw materials such as precious metals c – the name of an activity? Q8
and wool d – a word which is likely to be spelled for
7 steam (engine) the ship was originally driven you? Q1/2/3
by a steam engine
6 07
Audioscript 06
You will hear part of a talk about a ship called the Yavari. Answers
Good evening. Tonight I’m going to tell you an amazing story 1 THWAITE John-Paul Thwaite. That’s T-H-W-
about a remarkable ship called the Yavari. If you go to Lake A-I-T-E.
Titicaca in Peru, which lies at 3,800 metres above sea level 2 HASLEWORTH No. H-A-S-L-E-W-O-R-T-H.
in the Andes mountains, you can see the Yavari in Puno Bay, 3 PREBEND F: P-R-E-B-E-N-D?
near to the big hotel. The boat is open to visitors everyday M: That’s it.
and a guided tour is available. You can even stay overnight 4 Medicine F: Shall I put Medicine?
on the boat, floating on the world’s highest navigable 5 23(rd) July 1996 / 23/07/1996 / 07/23/1996
waterway. It’s quite an experience. 6 Canadian I was born in Montreal, so I have
But the Yavari didn’t begin its life in Peru. When the rotting a Canadian passport.
remains of the ship were discovered in Puno in 1983, 7 Intermediate
people believed that it’d been built at Glasgow in Scotland in F: So shall we say intermediate level?
1905, but this proved not to be the case. It’s actually much M: Isn’t there anything between beginner and
older and research has shown that it was constructed in the intermediate?
city of Birmingham in England in 1862. F: I’m afraid not.
The ship, which is made mostly of iron, was ordered by M: That’ll have to do then.
the Peruvian government and constructed according to 8 squash (club)
what was known as the ‘pin-built’ method. In other words, M: I did join the squash club last year, but
the ship was made in England, then taken to pieces and I didn’t go to many sessions, and I’m not
shipped to Peru in small sections, arriving at the port of renewing my membership.
Arica on the coast. From there, it continued its journey by F: Well, I’ll put that down for the record.
train – around 55 kilometres across the Atacama Desert to
the foothills of the Andes. At which point the ship, split into
2,766 separate sections, was carried on horseback up to
8 LISTENING

TASK TYPE 2 Note, Form, Table, Flow-chart Completion and Short Answer Questions
Audioscript 07
9 07
F: Hello, Student Services. Tamsin speaking. How can I help
you? Answer
M: Hello. I’d like to join the tennis club, please.
F: Sure. There’s a form you need to fill in. Do you have it? b.
M: No. Where can I get one?
F: I could email it to you.
M: Oh, sorry. I’m afraid my internet connection’s down at the
10
moment. Answers
F: No problem. I can ask you the questions over the phone if 1 From left to right (not up and down in
you like and fill it in for you? columns). The numbered questions help you
M: Oh fine – yes, let’s do that. follow the order of information.
F: OK. So your name is …? 2 a a location? Q3 and 6
M: Thwaite. John Paul Thwaite. That’s T-H-W-A-I-T-E.
b part of a compound noun? Q1, 4, 8
F: OK. So that’s Mr John Paul Thwaite.
c a word which is likely to be spelled for
M: Correct.
F: And your address?
you? Q2
M: Room 42, Hasleworth Hall of Residence.
F: Is that H-A-Z ..? 11 08
M: No. H-A-S-L-E-W-O-R-T-H.
F: Right. I don’t know that one. Answers
M: It’s in Prebend Street.
F: P-R-E-B-E-N-D? 1 structural He’s a structural engineer – and
M: That’s it. that’s what his presentation’s going to be about.
F: And the postcode? 2 NDJUMA – that’s N-D-J-U-M-A.
M: CD3 7GB. 3 Red Room The red one’s slightly bigger, so
F: OK. And your email address, please? we’ve gone for that one
M: johnpaul24@spl.ed.uk 4 marine I wasn’t sure whether he was doing
F: Got it. And do you have a contact number – like a mobile marine biology or not so I left that blank
phone? – but he is apparently.
M: Sure. The number’s 09114 87877. 5 pronunciation she’s going to be talking
F: And which faculty are you studying in? about pronunciation.
M: Dentistry. 6 Quiet Room It’s called the Quiet Room
F: That’s a department, not a faculty. Shall I put Medicine? 7 online courses He’s going to be talking
M: I guess so. Or is it the Faculty of Life Sciences? about online courses after all.
F: Um, we don’t have one with that name, actually. Do you 8 (the) medal it’s actually the medal ceremony.
want me to check online?
M: No, it’s OK. I’m sure you’re right.
F: OK. And your student ID card number. Audioscript 08
M: JPR440021. M: Hi, Jill. I wanted to ask you about the conference –
F: Thanks. Next I need your date of birth. whether we’ve got the draft programme finalised yet,
M: The twenty-third of July 1996. because I need to put something on the website.
F: Are you a UK passport holder? F: Yes, I’ve emailed you a draft, but there’ve been some
M: No, I’m not actually. My mum’s British, but I was born in changes.
Montreal, so I have a Canadian passport. M: Oh. I’ve got the draft here – let’s run through it. I’ll make a
F: OK – and you’ve played tennis before? note of any amendments.
M: Well, I’m not much good, but I’m not a beginner. F: Great. Well, as you know, we’re starting at 10.30 with
F: So shall we say intermediate level? three parallel sessions. In the first session, three students
M: Isn’t there anything between beginner and intermediate? from different faculties will be presenting their research
F: I’m afraid not. findings.
M: That’ll have to do then. M: So we’ve got three rooms operating at the same time.
F: Any disabilities? F: Correct. We’ve got one speaker in the main auditorium.
M: None. He’s called Pedro Novak, and he’s from the faculty of
F: And finally. Have you signed up for any other sports clubs? engineering.
M: I went along to a taster session for the badminton club, M: Yes, I’ve got that here – but not his subject area. Is it
but I’ve decided to do tennis instead, so I never actually mechanical engineering or electrical engineering?
joined that one. I did join the squash club last year, but F: Neither, actually. He’s a structural engineer – and that’s
I didn’t go to many sessions, and I’m not renewing my what his presentation’s going to be about.
membership. M: OK. Then there are two more rooms with speakers at 10.30.
F: Well, I’ll put that down for the record – but I’ll leave the F: That’s right. We’ve got the Green Room, and that’s the law
badminton off for the moment. faculty, but there we’ve got a change of speaker. The topic
M: OK. is still copyright law, but instead of Tom Wilson, we’ve now
F: That’s it then. I’ll get this processed and you’ll get a text got Grace Ndjuma.
telling you when the first session is and all the details. You M: Right. How do you spell that?
can pick up your membership card then. F: Grace – G-R-A-C-E – then Ndjuma – that’s N-D-J-U-M-A.
M: OK – you’ve been very helpful. Thanks.
F: No problem. Enjoy your tennis.
M: Thanks. Bye.
LISTENING 9

M: Thanks. I’ve got that now.

F: And the third speaker at 10.30 will be Maria Bruni, who’s VIDEO: Songs Under a Big Sky
talking about international banking. Before you watch
M: Yeah – that’s unchanged. But I don’t have a note of the
room for that. Are we still using the library? 14
F: No, we thought it wouldn’t be big enough in the end. We Answers
were offered either the Red Room or the Yellow Room.
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Cornwall,
The red one’s slightly bigger, so we’ve gone for that one
– even if the yellow one would’ve been closer to the main north-west France (Brittany), north-west Spain
auditorium. (Galicia)
M: I see. Then after lunch?
F: We start again at two, with three more parallel sessions. While you watch
We’ve got Alex Lorusso in the main auditorium. He’s from
the Life Sciences faculty. I wasn’t sure whether he was 17
doing marine biology or not so I left that blank – but he is Answers
apparently.
M: OK. I’ll put that in then.
1 Ireland / Cork
F: And we’ve got Kathy Lin in the Green Room. That’s LIN, 2 5 / (about) five
L-I-N.
M: Yes, I’ve got that, but no subject.
F: Well, she’s from the Linguistics Faculty, and she’s going to 18
be talking about pronunciation. Suggested answers
M: Interesting.
F: Yes, should be. Then we’re in yet another room for the 1 He was ‘born to an Irish-speaking family
third afternoon session, I’m afraid. It’s called the Quiet famous for generations of singers’ and ‘grew
Room – not ideal, but apart from the canteen, it was all up singing Sean nós in Gaelic’. So these facts
they had available. And that’s where Declan Boyd from the probably influenced him to become a singer.
Physics Faculty is going to be talking about astronomy. 2 a mix of song and oral history
M: OK. Was that Boyle, B-O-Y-L-E? 3 She lifted him up and stood him on a desk
F: No, Boyd. B-O-Y-D. and said ‘Sing!’. So this probably reinforced his
M: Ah, OK. Then we’re all together in the main auditorium for family influences and his identity as a singer.
the last two sessions. 4 He realised that Sean nós was only popular to
F: That’s right. After the break at 3.45, we’ll hear Professor those with whom he grew up and felt it was
Makin’s lecture. I didn’t have a title from him when I did leading nowhere (a dead-end street), so he
the draft. He’s going to be talking about online courses gave up singing. Then he was invited to play
after all. He had considered doing something on work with some African musicians and this inspired
placements and links with industry, but changed his mind. him to sing again.
M: OK – so that just leaves the Vice Chancellor at four. Is that
the closing ceremony?
F: Well – it’s actually the medal ceremony. The student After you watch
who gives the best presentation is going to get a medal,
19
remember?
M: Oh, yes, of course. Thanks, Jill. So there isn’t a formal Suggested answers
closing ceremony? 1 It was expected he’d be a singer, it was a
F: Not really. family tradition.
M: OK, thanks. I’ll get all that keyed in and uploaded 2 His music wasn’t viewed as modern, but old-
straightaway. fashioned.
13 3 He couldn’t see a future for himself singing
Answers traditional songs.
4 It’s authentic and makes everyone feel
1 electrical = wrong information
included or part of the tradition, no matter
2 ENDYUNA = wrong spelling
what your background is, everyone is
3 Yellow Library = wrong information
welcome to join in.
4 Life Sciences = wrong information
5 pronunciation = wrong spelling
6 in the red room = too many words
7 online courses not work placements = too
many words + some wrong information
8 closing = wrong information
10 LISTENING

Videoscript IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 09

‘My name is Iarla Ó Lionáird and I’m an Irishman. I come
from Cork, West Cork, and I’m a person who sings.’
Iarla was the eighth of twelve children, born to an Irish- Answers
speaking family, famous for generations of singers. He was
five years old before he learned English. Iarla grew up singing 1 (Arctic) wolf/wolves as well as on Arctic
Sean nós in Gaelic, the old way – a dark passionate style that wolves
melds song and oral history. 2 observational (study) Dr Gray’s research was
‘I remember my first day at school, Mrs McSweeney, Mrs what’s termed an observational study
Mac, was my teacher. I remember she lifted me up, and she 3 600 metres The study area is about 600
stood me on a desk, first day I was ever in school, and I was metres above sea level
about five – and she said, ‘Sing!’ It was almost as if there 4 (the/its) toe(s) it’s usually possible to make out
was, there was kind of shoes there, waiting for me to put my the toe marks of an Arctic hare
feet into it.’
All through his youth, Iarla sang the old way. But as he
5 (around) rocks Such evidence is often found
came of age, his enthusiasm flagged. ‘I felt a little bit like around rocks
a museum piece, really. I had spent like 20 years of my life 6 dried/dry apples dried apples were placed
perfecting, as best I could, this way of singing, to find out inside.
that nobody was interested, except the people I grew up 7 2/two kilometres some hares could be
with. And that was a horrible realisation. That was like the identified from up to two kilometres away
coldest breakfast you ever had to eat.‘ 8 midnight (shift) more effort was spent on the
Frustrated, despairing, Iarla found himself on a dead-end midnight shift
street. He quit singing entirely, until fortune revealed a path.
Without so much as an audition he was invited to work with Audioscript 09
the Afro-Celt Sound System. ‘I’ve been so fortunate that I
have the real experience of being there with these people You will hear part of a presentation about a biologist who
when they sing and make music. And in a way, they’re Irish, has studied an animal called the Arctic hare.
to some extent – the brevity of everything they do, and the Good evening. My presentation tonight is about the work of Dr
levity of everything they do. And so there’s a genuineness David Gray. Dr Gray is a biologist and writer whose love of the
and a largeness of heart that I experienced in African music
Arctic led him to study birds and mammals in Canada’s far north
that, I suppose, it just shook me to the foundations, you
over many decades.
know? I’d never really experienced it before.‘
Inspired by his encounter with the African artists, Iarla Dr Gray’s work mainly focused on the behaviour of the Arctic
reclaimed his sound, and began bringing it to audiences hare, a member of the rabbit family, as well as on Arctic wolves
again. and other species found in the far north of Canada. David
‘Thank you. Thank you very much for listening to me. I really planned and carried out a research project on the behaviour of
appreciate it. Thank you very much, thank you. Thanks a lot, Arctic hares, making seven research trips to the Nunavut area
thank you.’ of northern Canada over a period of twenty years. Dr Gray’s
research was what’s termed an observational study, and the
photographs and video footage that document the research are
stored in the archives of the Canadian Museum of Nature.
The study area chosen for the project was a seven-kilometre
stretch of the Sverdrup Pass, which is an 80-kilometre-long
pass that runs across northern Ellesmere Island in Nunavut. The
study area is about 600 metres above sea level, and is bounded
on the north side by mountains rising to 1,500 metres above
sea level, and to the south by mountains and a valley glacier
leading up to a major icecap rising to more than 2,000 metres.
Within the study area of the pass, the sandy flats in mid-valley
are scattered with clumps of Arctic willow trees and other
types of vegetation.
The animals are white in colour in winter, providing the perfect
camouflage in snowy conditions. So how does a researcher
go about finding Arctic hares in this type of landscape? Arctic
hares can be tracked by following fresh tracks in snow. Even on
hard snow drifts, it’s usually possible to make out the toe marks
of an Arctic hare, even when the shape of the whole foot can’t
be discerned. But finding the animals themselves is basically a
visual search, which is fairly easy in the High Arctic because the
hares don’t have much vegetation to hide in. The presence or
lack of droppings is a good indication of whether hares can be
expected in an area. Such evidence is often found around rocks,
which are a better starting place when looking for hares than
wooded areas or open meadowland.
Dr Gray’s research team also trapped live Arctic hares before
marking them and releasing them. Wire-mesh traps were found
to be effective for this purpose. As bait to lure the hares in,
LISTENING 11

dried apples were placed inside. Both single-door and double-

door traps were used. Once inside the trap, each hare was IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2 10
weighed, measured, colour-marked with picric acid, and tagged
with a small coloured and numbered ear tag. Using different Answers
combinations of coloured tags in one or both ears allowed 1 client’s needs An architect will use this
at least twenty hares to be identified individually, even when stage to get an understanding of the client’s
tag numbers couldn’t be read. When using a telescope, some needs.
hares could be identified from up to two kilometres away in
2 materials This is also when an architect will
good light conditions, and the tag number could be read from a
start selecting the materials that will be used
175 metres away.
in the design.
The standard hare-watching equipment is a binocular
telescope mounted on a tripod. The tripod makes watching for 3 plans This is when the details of how
long periods possible and frees the hands for note-taking or to build the project are put together in a
photography. Researchers worked in shifts and watched Arctic thorough set of plans.
hares 24 hours a day, but usually concentrated on the early- 4 estimates/bids This is when the
morning and mid-afternoon shifts which corresponded to active construction documents have been approved
feeding cycles. During the breeding season, however, more and an owner gets estimates, or bids, from
effort was spent on the midnight shift because late evening potential contractors.
and early morning are prime times for breeding activity. 5 clarifying the architect’s in charge of
After the young were born, summer observation hours were clarifying the drawings for those doing the
determined by the nursing schedule of the mother hares. work.
So, before I go on to …
Audioscript 10
You will hear part of a lecture about the design process
in architecture.
There are five stages in the design process that every
architect follows. It’s a natural progression that takes you
from initial idea through to completion of the project. While
the design itself can benefit from free-flowing ideas, the
process itself needs to be very scientific, with checks and
balances at each stage to keep you on track.
The first stage is called ‘schematic design’. An architect
will use this stage to get an understanding of the client’s
needs. At this stage, an architect will use tools such as an
adjacency matrix and a bubble diagram to help gather and
analyse these ideas.
The second stage is what’s known as ‘design development’.
This is when the design is starting to take shape and the
spaces are understood and recognised. This is also when an
architect will start selecting the materials that will be used
in the design.
The term ‘construction documents’ is used to define
the third stage. This is when the details of how to build
the project are put together in a thorough set of plans.
These consist of things like a set of drawings and a set of
specifications such as electrical diagrams. They are kept
together so that a contractor has all the information needed
to build the project.
The fourth stage goes by the name ‘bidding and
negotiations’ stage. This is when the construction
documents have been approved and an owner gets
estimates, or bids, from potential contractors.
The final stage is referred to as ‘construction administration’.
This is when the project’s underway and the architect’s in
charge of clarifying the drawings for those doing the work.
It can be a time-consuming aspect of the process, with
different variables coming into play. For example, materials
that were available during the construction documents
stage are no longer available, so alternatives have to be
found, approved and ordered.
12 LISTENING

M: And when it gets warmer, they go camping, right?

IELTS PRACTICE TASK 3 11
F: Yes, at least twice. They really look forward to that.
Answers M: And my oldest boy is fourteen.
1 basement 6 sailing F: That’s the Voyagers group – eleven to fifteen. They do
2 nature 7 Solbakken Fridays, and a bit longer, from 5.00 to 7.00 p.m.
3 Tuesday 8 clothes M: And where do they meet?
4 camping 9 competition F: Well, a lot of their activities take place on the beach and
5 Flag/flag 10 9585661-00 so we use the room that leads out onto that, room one. You
can either go through the hall to get there, or use the beach-
Audioscript 11 side entrance. It’s called the Flag Room – because of all the
different types that ships use for signalling.
You will hear a telephone conversation between a
M: So for this age group, they’re out on the water a lot, are
woman who works at a club for children and a man
they? I mean, are they learning some of the basics about
who is calling to get some information about the
sailing?
club’s activities.
F: That’s right. Techniques that’ll give them a good start if
F: North Beach Active Kids Club. How may I help you?
they choose to take it up seriously. And we also train them
M: Oh, hello. I’m just calling to get some general in life-saving, how to resuscitate someone – deal with a
information about the club – to find out if it’s suitable for broken arm – that kind of thing.
my three boys.
M: That’s great …
F: Oh, sure. And your name is?
M: … Now, do you have any of this information in a leaflet
M: Peter Marsh. or something like that?
F: And how old are your sons? F: I’m afraid not. We working on putting it on our website
M: Well the youngest is seven. but it’s not up there yet. What I suggest you do is contact
F: Seven? Well, for the younger children, they join a our programme co-ordinator – he’s the one that schedules
group called the Adventurers. And they meet up on a all the activities for the year. His name is Greg Solbakken. I’ll
Wednesday – from, er, 3.30 to 4.45. spell that for you: S-O-L-B-A-K-K-E-N.
M: OK, that’s fine. Your building is right next to the old M: How do I get a hold of him?
library, isn’t it? F: Use the same number and call any time after midday.
F: That’s right. Now, the Adventurers usually get together He’s here most afternoons.
in the main hall, but that’s being done up at the moment, M: OK, good. And what do my children need to bring when
so for the time being, they’re down in the basement. they come along? Spare clothes, I suppose?
Don’t worry – it’s heated and it’s a really nice, bright F: I would say that’s a must. It’s either paint or glue or
space for running around. mud or – they simply get wet quite a lot of the time – so
M: OK, and what kind of activities do the children do? something clean and dry to change into is a good idea. Food
F: A lot of creative crafts – you know, like painting, and drink is included in the fees, though, so no need to
making stuff out of clay, that kind of thing. But we’ve bring anything like that.
also put together some simple lessons on the subject M: And do you expect us to give a hand with the activities? I
of nature and the kids watch some film clips and do mean, are the parents supposed to help in any way?
worksheets all about that. It’s fun but informative. F: Generally that’s not necessary. Our group leaders have
M: I see. And I’ve also got a ten-year-old that’s keen to assistants to help and the caretaker deals with the cleaning
join the club. He’s got a friend at school that already up and any mess that gets left behind! The one thing we
comes to you. might need you for is the competition that takes place at
F: So he’d be joining the Explorers; the nine to eleven the end of term four. The older boys – the Voyagers – they
age group. race against another club. We need parents in boats out on
the water just to supervise things.
M: And that’s on a Tuesday, so I understand?
M: Sure – put my name down. And what’s the best way to
F: Er, Thursdays, I think. No, hang on, you were right. pay you?
I was thinking about last term. And, er, that group
gets together in room three, or as it’s also known, the F: Internet banking, please. Shall I give you the account
Captain’s Room. number?
M: OK. M: Please.
F: Yes, and it becomes a bit more challenging with this F: It’s the National Bank – the code is 02-41-77. And the
group, because they’re taught how to read maps and account number is 9585661–00.
use a compass, how to use ropes and tie different kinds M: Great – I’ll go and do that now.
of knots. F: OK. We look forward to meeting the boys next week.
M: I heard about that from my son’s friend. And you do a M: Bye.
lot of outdoor activities, I’m told. In summer and winter?
F: At the moment, they’re running and swimming –
swimming in the indoor pool, of course – too cold to be
outside.
LISTENING 13

TASK TYPE 3
1 Multiple Choice
people never bother to lock the screen with a passcode – so
ANSWER KEY this is the first thing you should do and it’s really easy. Less
of a surprise is the finding that if someone comes across a
lost phone, they’re highly likely to go through it looking for
A About the task personal information to identify the owner, even if they don’t
1 have criminal intent.
Answers What’s more, leaving an unlocked phone somewhere
silly opens up your personal life to whoever wants to take
1 You have to choose one of the three options a look, even if you don’t actually lose it. It’s bad enough
in each set. allowing easy access to emails, notes, contact lists and
2 The questions are in the same order as the personal photos – but when it comes to shopping apps, it’s
information in the passage. really foolish to stay logged in on your handset – you really
3 The incorrect options refer to information you shouldn’t do that, no matter how secure the site claims to be.
hear find in the recording. Have a browse through your apps later and take a moment to
4 You are unlikely to hear the actual words used consider the impact of a dishonest person getting hold of all
in the options in the recording. that information.
5 You write a letter on the answer sheet. So what if you do lose your phone? When you first realise
it’s not in your pocket, do check that you haven’t just dropped
it, like under the seat in a car or whatever. Missing phones
can also be located by sending what’s called a ‘scream’
B Sample questions instruction to your device, so that it makes a loud noise
2 12 wherever it is. This might help if you’ve simply forgotten
where you put it in your room – less so in the case of theft
or if you’ve left it behind on a bus. But if you still can’t find it,
Answers there are apps available to help you locate a missing phone
1 A According to recent research, an via GPS – just search the relevant app store for something
incredible 70 per cent of people never like ‘find my phone’. But whichever option you go for, make
bother to lock the screen with a sure you enable the app and register before you leave home.
passcode. Some of these apps also have a lock and complete data-wipe
2 B when it comes to shopping apps, it’s feature for use in the worst-case scenario where you don’t
really foolish to stay logged in on your get your phone back. Although you have to pay extra for
handset – you really shouldn’t do that this, it’s probably worth it to give you peace of mind – even
3 B This might help if you’ve simply forgotten though you’ll probably never use it. But, of course, it goes
where you put it in your room without saying that you need to have your data backed up
4 C for use in the worst-case scenario where somewhere else if you go for this option.
you don’t get your phone back. Passcodes, however, can be a pain. People have been
5 A if you’ve sensibly locked yours with a known to forget them, especially new ones, or need to keep
passcode, how is the kind person who a written record of them somewhere for fear of forgetting
comes across it by chance, and wants to them, which also compromises the security of the phone.
return it to you, able to do that? But more significantly, not every lost phone falls into criminal
6 C Finders and losers are linked up hands. And if you’ve sensibly locked yours with a passcode,
anonymously so they can organise the how is the kind person who comes across it by chance, and
return of the item directly. wants to return it to you, able to do that? One great solution
is to stick on a tag from a global lost-and-found service that
uses QR code stickers to mark an item. This allows anyone
finding your phone to log on to a website and arrange how
Audioscript 12
to get it back to you. When you register a tagged item, you
Now, I know that many of you are going travelling during provide contact details and can even offer a reward if you like,
the long summer vacation and I’m sure that one thing you’ll using a credit card or PayPal account to fund it. Finders and
certainly take with you is your smart phone, whatever type losers are linked up anonymously so they can organise the
you happen to have. Now losing your phone is a horrible return of the item directly. What a great use of the QR code,
feeling at any time, but when it’s your main link to your life and one that gives essential peace of mind for every smart
back home, it can be really upsetting. What’s more, we traveller.
generally keep a lot of sensitive information on our phones –
so if they fall into the wrong hands, it can lead to all sorts of
problems.
So what should you be doing to protect your phone?
According to recent research, an incredible 70 per cent of
14 LISTENING

TASK TYPE 3 Multiple Choice
D Skills-building exercises lead to your conclusion. For example, you might be

researching the history of a new experimental procedure,
4 or you might be researching all of an author’s work – but
Answers the key thing is that the procedure is providing you with
the evidence you need to back up any claims you’re going
1 main point, proposals to make in the final analysis; it shouldn’t just copy the way
2 topic, beginning with other people do things and hope for the best.
3 best procedure to adopt
In order to complete your proposal for research, you need to
4 outcome, research project
have a possible outcome for your research in your head. For
instance, if you’re researching vaccinations, your outcome
5 could be to answer whether, in your opinion and from
Answers your research, they work, whereas if you’re researching
an author, you might strive to find out what his motivation
1 E One of the key aspects of the proposal is was, or what her enduring influence will be. For space
getting off on the right track. exploration, your outcome might revolve on whether the
2 C The topic you start with should be quite space programme is moving forward. Once you have an
wide, so that you can narrow it down as you outcome in your sights, you’ll be able to come up with the
get more ideas. right research ideas.
3 A After you have a topic, you’ll want to
focus on the procedure that you’ll follow to 7
do the research. Answers
4 B In order to complete your idea for 1 A 2 B 3 B 4 C
research, you need to have a possible 5 C 6 B
outcome for your research in your head.
6 13 8 14
Answers Answers
1 B One of the key aspects of the proposal 1 B
The deadline is the 21st of May – but
is getting off on the right track – a hastily that’s Wednesday – not Tuesday!
chosen focus might be regretted half-way 2 B I list the points I’d like to include on the
through if you discover it’s too thin to plan itself – like stuff I already know –
support your research or too complex for and leave a space for new information
you to complete in the time available. I come across as I’m going through my
2 A The topic you start with should be quite background reading around those points.
wide, so that you can narrow it down as 3 C I write the paper and cite the reference.
you get more ideas. I mean that is important. But it’s only
3 B you’ll want to focus on the procedure worth doing if you can find those notes
that you’ll follow to do the research. This again. I spend half my life searching for
should ultimately lead to your conclusion. stuff.
4 B In order to complete your proposal for 4 A G: It’s a nice idea, but it didn’t work for
research, you need to have a possible me when I tried it.
outcome for your research in your head. L: Oh good – because I found the
same thing.
Audioscript 13 5 B L: but you have to make it clear in your
notes what’s a direct quote and what isn’t
OK, today I’m going to be talking about your research
…
projects because you have to submit your proposals by the
G: … otherwise you risk forgetting and
end of the month. One of the key aspects of the proposal is
accidentally plagiarising someone’s work.
getting off on the right track – a hastily chosen focus might
be regretted halfway through if you discover it’s too thin to 6 C And if you have to do any kind of oral
support your research or too complex for you to complete presentation about your research project,
in the time available. To avoid these sorts of issues, I’ll be the same notes come in handy then too.
going through some practical ideas and tips to help you on
your way.
The first thing to think about is the topic. Obviously, your
ideas should relate to your field of study. The topic you
start with should be quite wide, so that you can narrow it
down as you get more ideas. Topics for science students,
for example, might include looking at a new bacteria,
researching the history of electricity or looking at space
exploration. It may or may not be something you’ve already
looked at closely.
After you have a topic, you’ll want to focus on the procedure
that you’ll follow to do the research. This should ultimately
LISTENING 15

Audioscript 14 VIDEO: Picture Perfect

L = Lisa, G = Graeme While you watch
L: Hi, Graeme – how’s your research project going? It’s the
deadline next Tuesday, isn’t it? The twenty-first of May. 10
G: I thought it was Thursday actually, Lisa – let me have a
look. No, we’re both wrong, the deadline is the 21st of
Answers
May, but that’s Wednesday not Tuesday! Anyway, how’s 1 NOT GIVEN He says he started his
it going? photography career in college, but there’s
L: Well, Graeme, I’m struggling a bit with note-taking no mention of if he studied photography in
strategies – you know, knowing what to make a note college.
of and in how much detail – like when I’m doing my 2 NOT GIVEN He says he’s been working
background reading. almost continually for National Geographic,
G: It helps to be organised certainly. When I research an but there’s no mention of retirement.
item on the outline plan I’ve made for my research 3 TRUE Steve is looking for 36 picture
project, I list the points I’d like to include on the plan perfect frames to shoot on this final roll of
itself – like stuff I already know – and leave a space for Kodachrome.
new information I come across as I’m going through my 4 NOT GIVEN I think it could really work for
background reading around those points. I can’t see the one of my 36 shots.
point of setting up a separate file.
L: Good idea – I’ll have to start doing that. I make a note
of detailed references, like dates, people’s names and 11
theories – stuff like that. And I write down any source
and page numbers so that I can refer back to it when Answers
I write the paper and cite the reference. I mean that is 1 C But my real ambition was to find a
important. But it’s only worth doing if you can find those profession, hopefully in photography which
notes again. I spend half my life searching for stuff. would allow me to travel and see the world.
G: I use my outline plan for annotations like that too. And 2 A To go back and do that action again was a
I also write any questions I have about the references bit strange, a little bit nostalgic …
there as well so that I remember to follow them up 3 B life is out there and you just improvise. It’s
afterwards. My problem is I go too far off my main topic really about observation, walking around and
if I’m not careful – get interested in the details of the
then discovering.
stuff I read that have no relevance to my main idea.
4 B where there’s some play of light and
L: Yeah, I know what you mean. Somebody suggested
shadow
doing a mind map – you know putting a question inside
a circle in the centre of a blank page and as you branch
off of the main idea, making notes in bubbles around it.
Then you should be able to connect your ideas together
Videoscript
by drawing a straight line from one circle to another. If
you can’t, then you’ve wandered off track. ‘My name is Steve McCurry. I’m a photographer. I started
G: It’s a nice idea, but it didn’t work for me when I tried it. my photography career in college. When I got out of school,
L: Oh good, because I found the same thing. But one the first job that came along was working on a newspaper.
piece of advice I did find useful is about direct quotes. But my real ambition was to find a profession, hopefully in
You know, remembering to use your own words, and if photography, which would allow me to travel and see the
you quote someone, to give them proper credit. world. I’ve been working almost continually for National
G: Yeah, it’s so easy when taking notes just to copy what’s Geographic for 30 years.’ What would you take pictures of if
written in your source but you need to avoid using you had the last roll of Kodachrome film ever made?
‘Here’s the last roll right here. When I loaded that last roll
those exact words again when you write up your paper.
of film into my camera, it was kind of a strange feeling
L: Well, you can use a direct quote in your research paper
because I had done it thousands and thousands of times
if you believe it’s the best way to say it, but you have and it became second nature. To go back and do that
to make it clear in your notes what’s a direct quote and action again was a bit strange, a little bit nostalgic, kind of
what isn’t … a remorse, somehow, that this was the last time I would
G: … otherwise you risk forgetting and accidentally do that. OK, there we go. It’s all set, all ready to go. I’ve
plagiarising someone’s work. worked on so many assignments over the years and I
L: That’s right. But I think the real value of note-taking wanted this to be something from me, something from
is that it gives you the time to learn what it is you’re my heart, something that … photograph things that spoke
researching. Rather than just looking up information to me personally. For me, the most fun of photography is
and rewriting it in your own words, it allows you to the walk out the front door of your home or the hotel and
internalise it as you read and write about the new life is out there and you just improvise. It’s really about
information you’re coming across. observation, walking around and then discovering.’ Steve
G: Yeah, it’s a process that helps you when you begin is looking for 36 picture perfect frames to shoot on this
writing the research paper. It comes more easily than if final roll of Kodachrome.‘You’re constantly evaluating things
you hadn’t taken notes first. And if you have to do any moment to moment and trying to find something that’s
kind of oral presentation about your research project, inspiring and, you know, visually interesting and something
the same notes come in handy then too. that, you know, that moves you.’
L: Right – I hadn’t thought of that – like when you have
to present the stuff in a new form, you go back to your
notes. I’ll remember that.
16 LISTENING

Steve is in the heart of New York City. ‘This is probably as to no avail.

good as it gets in New York City, right here. And I think it’s F: Then Jack came up with the idea that it
an amazing place and I think it could really work for one of might be electromagnetic noise – like radio
my 36 shots. It could just as easily happen maybe not in the waves. Honestly, I didn’t think that this could
grand hall at Grand Central. Maybe it’s in one of the lower make much difference, but by that time, we
corridors where there’s some play of light and shadow and were willing to try almost anything to get
some little human story happening.’ these birds to show their natural behaviour.
Steve finds his first photo, only 35 to go. T: And so you started screening out the
electromagnetic fields using a piece of
equipment called a Faraday Cage. What did
IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 15 you start to see? Jack?
J: The birds started to orient just like they were
supposed to do – back to normal. I was
Answers like, ‘Really?’ That was very unexpected,
1 A with the aim of identifying any variations but anyway, I was happy because we could
in long-term patterns of behaviour. resume our normal experiments – and that’s
2 B: F: And what made it all the more just what we did.
F: But it also became clear to me that if the
incredible was that it happened all of a
improved orientation was really due to the
sudden, didn’t it, Jack?
screening out of the electromagnetic noise,
M: That’s right. then that was a very important finding in
3 A I was convinced that it was going to be its own right. So I convinced Jack that we
something like diet, so we changed the food should start to investigate which particular
we gave our captive birds, but that made no frequencies were interfering with the birds.
difference. J: It was this that allowed us to identify
4 B Honestly, I didn’t think that this could medium-wave radio as the source rather than
make much difference, but by that time, we say electricity power lines of mobile phone
were willing to try almost anything to get communication.
these birds to show their natural behaviour. T: So, what do you think the implications of this
5 A I was happy because we could resume are?
our normal experiments F: Well, the birds needed to be quite near to the
6 C Which suggests a correlation with source – in this case the radio receiver – for
density of human population and activity – the effect to be present. Which suggests a
therefore robins in urban areas are at greater correlation with density of human population
risk. and activity – therefore robins in urban areas
are at greater risk.
M: Which also goes a long way to explaining
Audioscript 15 why this seemed to affect our birds and not
all robins in general and why it happened
T = Tutor, F = Fiona, J = Jack suddenly. Somebody must’ve started
T: So Fiona, Jack, tell me about your research with listening to the radio nearby who hadn’t been
robins. How did it start, Fiona? doing so before. It was as simple as that.
F: Well, we were originally doing some simple
experiments to see how birds know which way to
fly when they migrate. It’s a study involving small
European birds called robins, and it’s been going on
for years – with the aim of identifying any variations in
long-term patterns of behaviour.
J: When it’s time for the birds to migrate, they start to
feel what’s called migratory restlessness and they
fly off northwest in spring and fly back southeast in
autumn.
F: The strange thing was that for some reason, the birds
we were studying stopped doing it. They’d become
disorientated, going in one direction one day and in
the opposite direction the next. And what made it
all the more incredible was that it happened all of a
sudden, didn’t it, Jack?
J: That’s right. This wasn’t a gradual thing – it was
overnight. Something was interfering with the bird’s
navigation system, but we didn’t know what.
F: I was convinced that it was going to be something
like diet, so we changed the food we gave our captive
birds, but that made no difference. Then I wondered if
air pollution was the cause, so we put some birds in a
protected environment – and that made no difference
either.
J: Then we did the same with light pollution at night – all
LISTENING 17


E = Emily, J = John
Answers E: So, John, the tutor wants us to write a joint report. We
talked about doing it on the Bapoppo Broom Project in
1 B But the thing is, this one has done so
Africa. Have you started thinking about it, yet?
well, hasn’t it, in terms of employment and J: Yeah, a bit, but, Emily, I need your input, really.
profits – that’s what attracted me to it. (A is E: OK, well, how do you think we should start the
wrong because lots of small communities are report?
working on similar ideas; C is wrong because J: I guess we should describe the project, and why we
there has been hardly any press coverage.). first became interested in it.
2 A So you couldn’t have found a better E: Well, it’s a business project, isn’t it? In the village of
place, because what you needed was right Bapoppo, which is in Central Africa. And the idea is
there. (B is wrong because the local people to make brooms, you know, for sweeping the floor.
were a bit suspicious. C is wrong because They’d been making these brooms in Bapoppo for
the roads were terrible.) generations, on a small scale, and selling them locally.
3 C ... but then seemed to do everything J: Exactly, very simple, very obvious in some ways –
they could to stop it going ahead. How can many small communities in developing countries are
you explain that? John: It doesn’t make working on similar ideas.
sense, does it? (A is wrong because the E: But the thing is, this one has done so well, hasn’t
financial contribution never came about. B is it, in terms of employment and profits – that’s what
wrong because there was no planning.) attracted me to it.
4 A They started to get orders from J: Yeah, me too. But there’s been hardly any press
countries in Asia and Europe. (B is wrong coverage – it’s not well known at all.
because they’d made brooms for generations. E: But that’s what makes it such a good topic for our
report, something a bit different.
C is wrong because no foreigners visited the
J: Good point. So, then in the report, maybe we should
village, only the trade fair in the capital.)
start off by talking about the location?
5 B IWhat I like though, was that they E: Yes, the village of Bapoppo itself. Well, the local
encouraged husbands, wives, their grown- people had never been involved with a business
up children, whole groups of relatives to project like this before. They just made brooms for
get trained up, so as to generate some local use. They were a bit suspicious.
income for the whole household. (A is wrong J: But in the surrounding countryside, a species of tree
because the training was basic. C is wrong called ‘fireweed’ grows wild. You find it everywhere.
because $5 is a lot in that part of the world.) And its small branches are ideal for making brooms.
6 C And I think that’s what makes it such So you couldn’t have found a better place, because
a great example – the fact that it could be what you needed was right there.
replicated elsewhere (A is wrong because it E: Except the roads are so terrible, so they’d never
was a group effort. B is wrong because the thought about wider markets.
village still isn’t wealthy.) J: That’s true. Then I think we should write about the
local government in Bapoppo, which was important in
the early stages of setting up the project.
E: Well, yeah, important all right, but for the wrong
reasons. Because they said they were all in favour of
the broom project, but then seemed to do everything
they could to stop it going ahead. How can you
explain that?
J: It doesn’t make sense, does it? The much talked-about
financial contribution never actually came about, did
it?
E: No, puzzling really. But the next thing was a group
of villagers took their brooms to a regional trade fair
being held in the capital. That helped a lot.
J: Because at the trade fair they started to get some
international interest. They started to get orders from
countries in Asia and Europe. It showed the villagers
that the demand was there, if they could only produce
more brooms.
18 LISTENING

E: Right, so on the basis of that, the villagers set up

a training programme in Bapoppo, didn’t they? So
they could increase the workforce and produce more
brooms.
J: Yeah, and it cost about $5 per person to take part. That
might not sound like much, but actually, it was a lot of
money in that part of the world.
E: Yes, it was. What I like though, was that they
encouraged husbands, wives, their grown-up children,
whole groups of relatives to get trained up,so as to
generate some income for the whole household.
J: Yeah, I thought that was a great idea too. And actually
the training was quite basic. Most of the villagers
already knew how to make the brooms anyway. It
was more about standardising the design, so all the
workers were making an identical product – nothing
too difficult.
E: OK, that’s a good point to make in our report. And
then, how do you think we should finish our report?
What conclusions can we draw about the broom
project?
J: Well, it was a group effort, wasn’t it – a number of
villagers worked together to make it happen. And I
think that’s what makes it such a great example – the
fact that it could be replicated elsewhere – a way of
using local skills and local resources.
E: Yeah, I think you’re right. Bapoppo still isn’t a rich
settlement, but they’ve created a sustainable small-
scale industry and really improved the lives of local
people.
J: Well, I think that’ll be the basis of a good report for
the tutor ...
LISTENING 19

VOCABULARY 1
ANSWER KEY
Times, dates and numbers 12

2 Answers
Answers 1 structural 4 finalise
1 e 2 h 3 i 4 f 5 b 2 placement 5 industrial
6 d 7 c 8 a 9 g 3 presentation 6 amendments
The words in column A are more formal/academic.
Research data
3
14
Answers
1 immediate/instant
Answers
1 stretch 5 shifts
2 a minimum of/at least
2 live 6 corresponded
3 At first/Originally
3 tagged 7 season
4 Meanwhile/At the same time
4 frees the hands 8 prime
Phrasal and prepositional verbs
Formal and informal synonyms
5
16
Answers
4 appeared unexpectedly
Answers
1 created
2 continued 5 develop 1 h 2 b 3 d 4 i 5 c
3 conducted 6 understand 6 f 7 e 8 a 9 g
Column A has more formal words.
Compound nouns 17
7 Answers
Answers 1 select
1 c 2 h 3 f 4 a 5 g 2 significant
6 d/e 7 b 8 d/e 3 mislaid
8 Guessing the meaning from context

Suggested answers 18
1 is rising/has risen over the last twenty years. Answers
2 two and seven hours. 1 private 4 it is obvious
3 wool or metal. 2 take the trouble 5 annoying
3 brief look 6 finds
Suffixes
10
Nouns, verbs and adjectives
Answers 20
1 adjective 4 verb Answers
2 verb (participle) 5 noun 1 verb 4 verb
3 noun 6 noun 2 verb 5 adjective
3 noun (compound) 6 verb
11
Answers
1 finalise – verb 4 presentation – noun
2 amendment – noun 5 placement – noun
3 structural – adjective 6 industrial – adjective
20 LISTENING

VOCABULARY 1
21
Answers
1 submission 4 plagiarism
2 relevance 5 quote
3 relationship 6 cite
22
Answers
1 cite 4 submit
2 relationship 5 relevant
3 Plagiarism 6 quote
Common IELTS topic: The natural

world
Phrasal and prepositional verbs
24
Answers
1 C 2 A 3 D 4 C 5 B
6 A 7 D 8 D
Wordbuilding
25
Answers
1 specifications 6 indication
2 illustration 7 intelligently
3 variations 8 volunteered
4 inadequacies 9 beneficial
5 incorrectly 10 Theoretically
Common IELTS topic: Academic life

Formal and informal synonyms
26
Answers
1 D 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 D
6 A 7 B 8 D 9 B 10 C
LISTENING 21

LISTENING PRACTICE TEST
out any other research there’s been on the
ANSWER KEY subject.
M: Yes, that’s true. We don’t want to do
stuff that’s already been done!
Answers 25 B F: or something more attitudinal. Like,
Part 1 what motivates people to do it, what they
1 DANIEL Is that D A N I E L? get out of it, what difference it makes to their
2 410623 The number is 410623. lives.
3 0779 435354 Yes, that’s 0779 435354. M: Yes, I like that. Let’s go with that.
4 Art History I’ve enrolled to do Art History. 26 B M: Well, she said specifically … to go to
5 4(th) Aug(ust) / 04/08 / 08/04 The fourth of her once we had a definite proposal – with
August. the details in place.
6 Self catering Self-catering, please. F: OK. Let’s do that then.
7 single let’s say single. 27 C F: I think that’s going to be the hardest
8 private F: So shall I put ‘private’? part. … finding what level of detail to go into.
M: Yes, OK. Let’s do that. M: I think you’re right.
9 car Yes, it’s for a car. 28 B but the creeping buttercup doesn’t have
10 100 Oh, one hundred, please. little leaves which point downwards just
under the flower – they’re called sepals –
Part 2
whilst the bulbous buttercup does.
11 A The clean stuff is kept just inside the 29 C M: And then it has polygonal-shaped
kitchen – OK? The same place where the chef leaves rather than triangular-shaped leaves.
leaves the plates of food that are ready to be So if the leaf is divided into five sections
served. rather than three, then it’s the creeping
12 F Clean table linen is kept in a cupboard buttercup.
here below the till 30 G but only the creeping buttercup sends out
13 D the stand by the front door. There are new stems from the base, which creep along
always spares there if you need one. the ground – and these are called stolons.
14 C in a bucket of water beside the door that Part 4
leads into the yard behind the restaurant.
31 fragmentation the wildlife that remains –
15 E there’s a supply of disposable towels next
even in pristine, untouched habitat – is under
to the barman’s sink.
threat due to the effects of a process known
16 G there’s a red box on the wall by the door
as fragmentation
into the restroom which you share with the
32 fruit small areas of rainforest don’t have
kitchen staff.
the same volume of vegetation as larger
17 C If, … customers complain when the first
areas, and so provide less of the food – in
enter the restaurant … This is something the
particular fruit – needed to support complex
head waiter will deal with.
ecosystems.
18 C with complaints about the food … always
33 genetic diversity This leads to a reduction in
go through the head waiter.
genetic diversity.
19 A Now when it comes to complaints about
34 temperature Farming practices change
the whole meal … then I do want to know.
the quality of the habitat where it meets
… I want to speak to the customers myself
the forest, affecting the amount of light and
20 A Finally, if the customer has already paid,
shade and the temperature.
and then complains about anything, then this
35 hunting Additionally, rainforest bordering
is something only the manager can sort out
farmland is more likely to attract hunting
Part 3 parties.
21 A/C F: I guess we could look at local records 36 diet However, small animals are also
to see why this particular site was chosen. vulnerable, especially if they rely on a very
M: OK, I’ll do that then. specific diet.
22 C/A M: Really – now that is interesting. I 37 monkeys keep your eyes and ears open for
could look to see whether anyone’s applied the animals themselves or signs of them. This
for permission to the local council’s Planning works for noisy animals such as monkeys
Office?. 38 snakes or creatures with predictable hiding
F: Exactly. habits such as some snakes.
23 E/D M: I guess we need to ask somebody 39 buckets usually a long sheet of plastic. In
if it’s OK before we go over there and start trying to get around it, the animals fall into
talking to people. buckets dug into the ground.
F: Yes – the land belongs to the city 40 microchip a microchip can be inserted
council, and somebody there manages it. I’ll under the skin so it can be identified if caught
give them a call. again.
24 D/E F: Then I thought I ought to check
22 LISTENING

Audioscript M: Oh, yes, please.

F: I need to put here the type of vehicle – just whether it’s
Part 1 17 a bicycle, a motorbike or a car, you know.
You will hear a telephone conversation between the M: Yes, it’s for a car.
accommodation officer at a university and a student. F: OK. Well, that’s all. I’ll email you this now and you can
check it and send it in with your deposit.
F: Good morning. National University Accommodation M: Thanks.
Office. Rosemary speaking. How can I help you? F: Did you want to pay fifty pounds or one hundred
M: Hi. I’m coming to do a short course at the university pounds as your initial deposit?
this summer, and I’d like to book some accommodation, M: Oh, one hundred please.
please. F: Thank you. A credit card payment will be prompted
F: OK. Have you seen the online booking form on our when you submit the form.
website? M: OK.
M: Oh no, sorry. I didn’t realise … F: Is there anything else I can help you with?
F: Don’t worry – I can fill it in for you now if you like – then M: No, that’s all. Thank you very much.
I can email it to you so you can check it and submit it F: My pleasure. Goodbye.
online. Will that be OK?
M: Oh yes, thanks. Part 2 18
F: OK. First of all, what’s your surname?
You will hear a restaurant manager giving a briefing
M: BLAKE – that’s B-L-A-K-E.
F: OK … and your first name? to new staff.
M: Daniel. OK – so it’s really good that the three of you are starting
F: Is that D-A-N-I-E-L? today. I can give you this briefing all together and save time.
M: Yes, that’s right. Basically, you’re all going to be waiting at table – moving
F: Thank you. And have you studied with us before? between the kitchen, the dining room and the bar – taking
M: Yes, I have. the customer’s orders and bringing them their food and
F: Great – then you’ll have an ID document with a number. drinks. Most things are fairly obvious but sometimes when
Have you got that to hand? it gets busy you have to find things in a hurry and there’s
M: Yes … um … here we are. The number is 410623. nobody to ask, so I’m going to show you where one or two
F: Thank you. And I’m putting ‘male’ for gender. key items are kept.
M: That’s correct. First, cutlery – knives, forks, spoons – that kind of thing.
F: Could I take an email address, please? As soon as each table is vacated, when the diners get up
M: Sure, it’s d.blake@internet.com – all lower case. to leave, you should come and clear the table and relay it.
F: OK … so that’s d.blake@internet.com. The clean stuff is kept just inside the kitchen – OK? – the
M: That’s correct. same place where the chef leaves the plates of food that
F: And do you have a phone number where you can be are ready to be served. Remember waiters aren’t allowed to
reached if there’s a problem? enter the food preparation area itself, so you needn’t go any
M: Yes, that’s 0779 435354 further into the kitchen than that.
F: 453354? But before you can lay the table, you’ll need to put on fresh
M: No, 435354. table linen: obviously the napkins, but also the cloth, even
F: OK. I’ve got it. if it looks clean, will need changing. Clean table linen is
So, you said you’re going to be studying with us in the kept in a cupboard here below the till, where we deal with
summer. What course are you doing? the customer’s payments, so you may have to be patient
M: I’ve enrolled to do Art History. if somebody’s waiting for a credit card authorisation or
F: And which start date have you selected? The first of July? something.
M: No, the later one. Umm …
F: The fourth of August. Now, customers are given menus when they first enter the
M: That’s it. restaurant to look at while they’re waiting at the bar to be
F: And what type of accommodation would you like to book shown to their table. All you have to do is collect these up
– was it full board, half board, bed and breakfast or self- after you’ve taken the order and return them to the stand
catering? by the front door. There are always spares there if you need
M: Self-catering, please. one.
F: OK – and did you want a single room or a shared room? There are real flowers on each table. These don’t usually get
M: Oh, I hadn’t thought about that really. Is there a difference changed between customers, but if people want to take
in price? them, they can or sometimes they get damaged. Anyway,
F: Yes, the shared room is much cheaper, but I can’t if you need new ones, you can find them in a bucket of
guarantee who you’d be sharing with at this stage. water beside the door that leads into the yard behind the
M: I see … no, I don’t want to share – let’s say single. I restaurant.
can see the prices here in the prospectus – it’s not too And finally, if there’s a spill or a glass gets knocked over
expensive. or you need something to clean up the mess, there’s a
F: Good. And you’ll see you can also pay extra for a private supply of disposable towels next to the barman’s sink. That’s
bathroom if you want. something you’re sure to be needing sooner or later. And if
M: Ah yes – that sounds like a good idea. anyone actually gets injured, there is always a first aider on
F: So shall I put ‘private’? You can always change it before duty – there’s a duty list on the wall in my office and there’s
you send the form in if you have second thoughts. a red box on the wall by the door into the restroom which
M: Yes, OK. Let’s do that. you share with the kitchen staff. That’s got all the necessary
F: And finally, Daniel, will you need a parking place? stuff in, you know, bandages, plasters and so on. So, has
anyone got any questions so far …?
LISTENING 23

M: Well, I think you can ask them that – we don’t need to

And now, just a word about complaints. Ideally we don’t get
research it ourselves.
any, but sometimes things can go wrong, and sometimes
K: Yes, you’re right. But I did read a newspaper report that
you also get difficult customers. Anyway, as the waiter you
said the site was under threat of development – you know
will often be the person who gets to hear the complaint
somebody wants to build housing there.
first. It’s important not to respond, however, but to refer the
M: Really – now that is interesting. I could look to see
complaint to the responsible person who will deal with it.
whether anyone’s applied for permission to the local
As manager, I like to hear about all complaints, but I don’t
council’s Planning Office.
need to be directly involved in minor ones.
K: Exactly.
If, for example, customers complain when they first enter M: OK, great … Right then. I guess we need to ask
the restaurant – perhaps they don’t like their table, or somebody if it’s OK before we go over there and start
they’re kept waiting too long – then there’s no need to call talking to people.
me. This is something the head waiter will deal with. K: Yes – the land belongs to the city council, and somebody
When it comes to the food itself, however – particular there manages it. I’ll give them a call.
dishes that people don’t like or whatever – there’s a need to M: Great. He should be able to give you a plan of the site too.
be cautious. The head chef is quite a strong character who K: Yes, and maybe some indication of who amongst the
doesn’t like to be criticised. So although in the end he will gardeners it might be best to approach – like who’s been
be responsible for dealing with complaints about the food, there the longest or whatever.
please don’t approach him directly, always go through the M: Yeah, OK. It might be good to have an introduction rather
head waiter. than just approaching them out of the blue, actually.
Now when it comes to complaints about the whole meal K: I agree. Then I thought I ought to check out any other
– whether it’s the food or the service in general – then I do research there’s been on the subject.
want to know. The head chef and the head waiter will be M: Yes – that’s true. We don’t want to do stuff that’s already
involved in sorting out the problem, but I want to speak to been done!
the customers myself and find out what’s gone wrong, and M: Have you got any idea what we should actually focus on in
offer them a free meal or a discount. our research?
K: Well, I think it’s a choice between a survey about use –
Finally, if the customer has already paid, and then complains
how many people use the land, how often they go, how
about anything, then this is something only the manager
productive it is, you know – or something more attitudinal.
can sort out because it could be a refund, perhaps on a
Like, what motivates people to do it, what they get out of
credit card – and this will need authorisation. I’m generally
it, what difference it makes to their lives.
in my office if I’m not actually in the dining room, so don’t
M: Yes, I like that. Let’s go with that. But what about issues,
hesitate to call me. So, if there are no further questions …
you know, disputes between the gardeners, difficulties
they have with the management – things like that?
Part 3 19 K: Well, I don’t think we can make that our aim – there may
You will hear two students talking about a research not be any problems.
project they have to do together. M: Yes, you’re right. Let’s stick to the attitudinal focus then.
K: OK.
K = Kirsty, M = Mark M: I think the next stage is to do some preliminary work –
K: Hi, Mark. find out if we can get permission, see if anyone will talk to
M: Kirsty! Hi. So we’ve got this research project to us, whether there are any specific issues we could focus
organise. I really like the idea of doing it on the on.
allotment gardens opposite the college – brilliant idea of K: Shouldn’t we consult our tutor before doing all that – get
yours. the go-ahead for the topic in principle?
K: Oh, not really! I walk past there every day, and see M: Well, she said specifically not to do that – to go to her
people working on little plots of land, growing their own once we had a definite proposal – with the details in
food and I thought it’d be interesting to find out more place.
about it. F: OK. Let’s do that then. I think that’s going to be the
M: Great. So we’d better decide who’s doing what in terms hardest part.
of gathering some background data. M: What, writing the proposal?
K: Right. I thought we ought to do two things – do some K: No, finding what level of detail to go into. You know, we
background reading, then actually go and interview could interview lots of people and try and find their overall
some of the people involved. views – or just pick a few and really do in-depth interviews
M: Sure. I guess we could start by looking into why with lots of questions.
the allotment gardens are there; whose idea it was, M: I think you’re right. But I think once we start, we’ll see
when they were established, etc., looking at historical what’s going to work best with this particular context.
records. K: OK ...
K: Well, I’ve already discovered that it was a national M: Actually there is one issue we could look into.
programme in the 1920s, so our local one would’ve K: Really?
been a part of that. I guess we could look at local M: Yes, there’s a particularly invasive wild plant species that
records to see why this particular site was chosen. grows round here. The college gardener said it’s really
M: OK, I’ll do that then. I guess it was waste land or hard to get rid of and it makes growing other stuff difficult.
something. There’s quite interesting geology and soils I’m sure the gardeners on the allotments must have a
round here, actually … problem with it. It’s called creeping buttercup.
K: Oh, I don’t think we need to go into all that. K: OK – what does it look like?
M: Oh, OK. M: Well, there are two types actually. Bulbous buttercup,
K: But what you could do is find out what the terms and which is not a problem – and creeping buttercup
conditions are for the gardeners – do they pay rent, do which is. To tell the two apart you have to look at the
they have a contract, etc. flowers. They are identical with yellow petals, but the
creeping buttercup doesn’t have little leaves which point
downwards just under the flower – they’re called sepals –
24 LISTENING

nests, or creatures with predictable hiding habits, such as some

whilst the bulbous buttercup does.
snakes. Despite being simple, this technique does need careful
K: OK.
consideration – timing and location are everything.
M: And then it has polygonal-shaped leaves rather than
triangular-shaped leaves. So if the leaf is divided into Trapping methods are useful for a wide range of different
five sections rather than three, then it’s the creeping animals which are harder to spot. Small, ground-dwelling
buttercup. animals such as rodents and frogs can all be assessed with
K: Right. traps, for example, a temporary fence is put up – usually a long
M: Both plants have a long stem, which grows out of a sheet of plastic. In trying to get around it, the animals fall into
bulb – which is below ground – but only the creeping buckets dug into the ground. These have a layer of soil and
buttercup sends out new stems from the base, which leaves at the bottom and the animals stay there until they can
creep along the ground – and these are called stolons. be checked, recorded and released. Flying species such as bats
It’s these things which make the plant such a problem. and low-flying birds can be trapped using fine nets called mist
K: Interesting. nets.
For those animals that are elusive and more difficult to trap,
Part 4 20 camera traps are great for determining the presence of that
You will hear an ecologist talking about how levels of species but are unlikely to be able to provide a good estimate
biodiversity are calculated. of the number of individuals in a population.
Today I’m going to be talking about the work of scientists For those animals that can be caught, a microchip can be
who have the job of trying to calculate the level of inserted under the skin so it can be identified if caught again.
biodiversity in rainforest areas – particularly in those places Calculating how many captures are actually ‘recaptures’
where only small areas of forest remain – surrounded by provides an estimate of how many of that species there are in
land which has been cleared for human exploitation, usually total.
farming.
It is well known that deforestation has a directly detrimental
effect on many species of animals by destroying their
habitats. However, in all of these ecosystems across the
world, the wildlife that remains – even in pristine, untouched
habitat – is under threat due to the effects of a process
known as fragmentation, in which one large forest gets
broken up into many smaller areas.
This is very bad news for wildlife for many reasons. Firstly,
small areas of rainforest don’t have the same volume of
vegetation as larger areas, and so provide less of the food –
in particular fruit – needed to support complex ecosystems.
This means it can support fewer plant-eating animals, and
even fewer of the large animals which prey on them.
Secondly, large animals need large territories, but they also
need access to the territories of other populations of their
own species. Unfortunately for many species of land animal,
a piece of forest a kilometre away on the other side of a
cattle farm may as well be on the other side of the world
because it can’t cross the farmland. This leads to a reduction
in genetic diversity.
Finally, another problem occurs when a large proportion of
a rainforest habitat is bordering farmland. This is known as
the edge effect. Farming practices change the quality of
the habitat where it meets the forest, affecting the amount
of light and shade and the temperature. Evidence of this
can be found in poor tree growth and the absence of many
animal species up to one hundred metres in from the forest
edge. Additionally, rainforest bordering farmland is more
likely to attract hunting parties.
Often it is the biggest species that are absent in these small
areas of rainforest: large grazing mammals which need a lot
of land and vegetation, like elephants, or those at the top of
their food chain like lions. However, small animals are also
vulnerable, especially if they rely on a very specific diet.
Indeed, many of the most endangered species in the world
are small animals that live a fragile existence.
Assessing biodiversity starts with trying to work out how
many species there are in an area, and estimating how
many individuals there are of each species based on how
many you find. The most basic method is to simply walk
through a habitat and keep your eyes and ears open for
the animals themselves or signs of them. This works for
noisy animals such as monkeys, or birds with identifiable
LISTENING 25

TASK TYPE 1 Note, Table, Flow-chart Completion and Diagram
Labelling
ANSWER KEY D Skills-building exercises

4
Answer
A About the task The vocabulary describes an industrial process.
1
Answers 6
1 Yes – that’s correct. Answers
2 No – the instructions will tell you how many
words to write in each gap. Traditional methods: fibre discs, heavy stones,
3 No – the notes may take different forms, e.g. ladders, millstones, wooden spoons
a set of notes under headings, a set of notes Commercial methods: assembly line, electronic
in a table, a diagram or flow chart with labels. tongs, fans, hammermill, industrial decanter, large
4 Not always – This is correct for notes, tables nets, nitrogen
and flow charts, but in diagrams the answers
may not come in the same order as the 7
information in the passage. Answers
5 Yes it is – the words you write must be
spelled correctly. 1 ladders
6 No – write the words exactly as you see them workers on ladders simply pick the olives by
in the passage – you mustn’t change them in hand
any way. 2 Electronic tongs
7 Yes – that’s correct. Commercial processors use electric tongs to
strip olives off the branches
3 large nets
B Sample questions and drop them into large nets spread out
below the trees
2 4 Fans
Answers Fans blow away the majority of smaller
1 supplementary services particles.
Some supplementary services, such as 5 (large) Millstones
food for the workers, can be in the hands of Large ‘millstones’ are used for this purpose
private companies 6 hammermill
2 economic inefficiences involves the use of a mechanised alternative,
Economic inefficiencies have led to a decline known as a hammermill.
in the number of service ports in recent years 7 wooden spoons
3 Port Authority This is done with wooden spoons
called the Port Authority 8 Nitrogen
4 transitional stage may fill the malaxation chamber with an inert
for many ports, the tool port stage represents gas such as nitrogen
a transitional stage. 9 fibre discs
5 rent the paste is spread on to fibre discs
in exchange for rent 10 Heavy stones
6 port equipment heavy stones are placed on top of the discs
to maintain port equipment and keep it up to 11 industrial decanter
date. uses a machine called an industrial decanter
7 stock 12 Assembly line
public agencies own a majority of the stock while commercial producers use an assembly
8 port activities line
but must agree to only develop port activities
9 regulatory
8
the government operates in just a regulatory
capacity Answers
1 Student has written the wrong word.
5 Student has written ‘milstones’ instead of
‘millstones’.
11 Student has spelled the answer incorrectly.
12 Wrong answer: the answer should be about
the commercial method.
26 ACADEMIC READING

TASK TYPE 1 Note, Table, Flow-chart Completion and Diagram Labelling
IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 IELTS PRACTICE TASK 3
Answers Answers
1 the Heliosheath 1 oceans
Both are currently in the Heliosheath One reason for this was that the natural
2 copper environment was a perfect source of food
The Golden Records are 12-inch gold-plated to support the bird population, particularly
copper discs from the enormous oceans that surround the
3 aluminium jackets country.
sealed in aluminium jackets Both are currently in the Heliosheath
4 a committee 2 mammals .
selected for NASA by a committee. Another important factor was that the birds
5 scientific had no predators on land because, with the
The first images are mainly of scientific exception of a single species of bat, there
interest weren’t any mammals at all in the country
6 cultures that would otherwise have killed birds and
Images of humanity depict a wide range of kept their numbers down.
cultures 3 wings
7 fifty-five/55 languages For example, they didn’t have to defend
spoken greetings in fifty-five languages themselves from predators, so many birds
8 classical lived on the ground and didn’t have wings
In addition to such classical pieces because they didn’t need to fly, such as the
9 world music iconic kiwi bird and also the much larger,
what we would call ‘world music’ today ostrich-like bird called the moa.
10 kiss 4 eggs
The final sound is that of a kiss. One final development was that many of
these birds now made their nests on the
ground rather than in trees and the eggs that
IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2 they laid became much bigger over time.
5 (Pacific) rats
Unfortunately, however, they unintentionally
Answers brought Pacific rats with them, a species
1 tongue previously unknown in New Zealand, and
its tongue can stretch as far as forty-six these killed many birds that were unable to
centimetres. fly away.
2 180 degrees/180° 6 (fish) hooks
it can move its head through 180 degrees Birds were useful in other ways, too. Fish
3 ball-and-socket hooks were frequently manufactured from
ball and socket are joined together by what bones, while feathers were highly prized as
are known as ball-and-socket joints. decorations to be worn in the hair or clothing.
4 flexibility 7 fast
the ones that join the neck to the back. These ...and he has concluded that New Zealand is
have the same type of joints as the cervical a unique example because bird species were
vertebrae, which gives the giraffe great wiped out so fast, relative to other countries.
flexibility, as well as explaining why it has its 8 (hunting) dogs
characteristic hump The journals of the earliest European
5 Tight skin explorers in the country are full of references
a concentration of red blood cells and tight to how they relied on their hunting dogs to
skin, especially around the legs catch birds in order to supply the expedition
6 One-way valves with food.
This doesn’t happen because of one-way 9 deforestation
valves … but before this was possible it was
7 standing position necessary to clear the land of trees, and
to rise to a standing position on its spindly this process of deforestation had serious
legs consequences for many birds ...
10 (small) islands
The location for nearly all of these sanctuaries
has been small islands scattered around the
coastline.
ACADEMIC READING 27

TASK TYPE 2 Short Answer Questions
ANSWER KEY
4
A About the task Answers
1 1 The question is looking for the name of a
Answers person.
2 A technical name for a part of the eye.
1 Classmate A You are mostly reading for facts
3 A number.
and figures.
4 Names of colours (more than one).
2 Classmate B The questions usually follow
5 A technical name for a type of light.
the order of the passage.
6 The name of an animal.
3 Classmate A You have to check the
instructions to see how many words you can
write. 5
4 Classmate B You have to write the exact
words you find in the passage.
Answers
5 Classmate A All answers must be spelled 1 Who discovered that white light breaks into
correctly. component colours?
2 Which part of the human eye is sensitive to
colour?
3 How many colours is the human eye able to
B Sample questions distinguish?
4 Which colours are dogs unable to perceive?
2 5 What type of light can bees see that humans
Answers can’t see?
1 (a/the) supercontinent 6 Which animal has the most complicated
that fuses continents together into a single colour vision?
land mass – or supercontinent – and then
forces them apart again
2 Two hundred/200 million years 7
the most recent evidence coming from the Answers
splitting up of the single land mass called 1✓ The Gold Rush
Pangaea about 200 million years ago The region had just seen the rapid
3 about 300/three hundred kilometres development associated with the Gold Rush
It is made up of six distinct segments that 2✗ (a) bookseller
together span a distance of about 300 Muybridge initially set himself up as a
kilometres bookseller in the city
4 (significant) earthquakes 3✓ landscape
Part of the reason is that the region has been soon began to develop a reputation for his
the site of significant earthquakes images of the local landscape
5 (a/the) tectonic map 4✓ Alaska
combined them to create a new tectonic map As part of his new role, Muybridge travelled
of the seafloor to Alaska, which had just become US
6 embryonic territory, to produce a photographic record
‘It is not a fully developed subduction, but an 5✗ wet-plate techniques
embryonic one,’ But his first efforts, using wet-plate
7 (the) oceanic section techniques, were not conclusive
the oceanic section – which is made 6✓ projecting the images
of denser rock – will dive beneath the by projecting images on to a screen … using
continental section a device called a zoopraxiscope which he also
8 (the) Mediterranean (Sea) invented
could also pull Africa and Europe together, 7✗ (in) 1882
causing the Mediterranean Sea to vanish. Muybridge’s public demonstration of this
technique in 1882
8✗ Thomas Edison
is regarded as having inspired Thomas Edison
who was to invent the cinecamera.
28 ACADEMIC READING

TASK TYPE 2 Short Answer Questions
Answers Answers
1 biomimicry 1 fighter planes / Lightening planes / lightning
Through a process known as biomimicry, they planes / planes
aim to use designs inspired by the natural Earl had been inspired by the twin tail fins
world to address human problems. he’d seen on the Lightning fighter planes
2 non-renewable energy used during the war and ...
Human manufacturers, on the other hand, 2 (a) race
use large inputs of non-renewable energy So, in the 1950s, a race began between
3 air pockets/natural ventilation system American car manufacturers to see
The insects accomplish that feat by creating who could produce cars with the most
air pockets in strategic places in the mounds pronounced ...
they inhabit. This clever design creates a 3 (national) optimism
natural ventilation system, But in the 1950s and 60s the American
4 (near/at/in) the/its core people were filled with a sense of national
which ends up warming the blood that is optimism, because theirs was a young
closer to the animal’s core country...
5 heat exchangers 4 Firebird III / Firebird 3
Heat exchangers in industrial-scale heating General Motors’ Firebird III had no fewer than
and cooling systems use a similar type of nine fins – still a world record ...
principle 5 (new) laws
6 brown dog tick The result was that the Federal Government
similar to the liquid that a parasitic insect passed a number of new laws that
called the brown dog tick secretes to absorb transformed the automotive industry.
water from the air. 6 (abnormal) shrimp
7 (bumpy) (whale) flipper In 1998, Chinese researchers found a fossil,
thanks to an idea inspired by the bumpy deep beneath the ground, of a species they
design of a humpback whale’s flipper named the abnormal shrimp.
8 twenty-five per cent/25%
WhalePower says its fans move 25 per cent
more air than conventional fans
ACADEMIC READING 29

TASK TYPE 3 Matching Headings
ANSWER KEY 6
A About the task Answers

1 A iv This refers to the international study,
which is suggesting a new explanation.
Answers B ii Evidence was gathered through an
1 You cannot use the headings more than once. analysis of ancient plant samples, a study
2 You should read the passage carefully. of ice cores and computer modelling..
3 There are more headings than paragraphs.
4 You are unlikely to see the words in the
headings repeated in the passage. IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1
5 You write a numeral on the answer sheet.
Answers
B Sample questions 1/A viii ‘the find’ refers to the fish hooks and
2 ‘the age’ to the radiocarbon dating.
2/B iii ‘That these types of fish were being
Answers
routinely caught ... shows that early
1 iii Three reasons are mentioned: to modern humans in Southeast Asia had
reduce cross-contamination; to protect amazingly advanced maritime skills.’
patients from infection; to protect health 3/C vi ‘researchers can only speculate about
professionals from infection. exactly how these ancestral fishermen
2 vi Two main varieties are mentioned: managed to catch the deep-sea fish.’
surgical gloves and exam gloves, as well 4/D iv ‘these areas may have disappeared
as other variations such as sterile/non- owing to a rise in sea levels over time’.
sterile and powdered/unpowdered. 5/E i These new finds ... go a long way
3 v The paragraph talks about the towards solving that puzzle’.
‘innovations’ that led to the use of
gloves.
4 vii mentions the publication of Bloodgood’s
report
5 i Criminals wrongly assumed gloves would
protect their identity.
4
Answers
1/A i We read about various special features:
largest flower, most bizarre, only found
in Southeast Asia, but scientists are not
mentioned in this paragraph.
2/B i The paragraph is referring to the unusual
features of the Rafflesia rather than the
Tetrastigma vine.
3/C ii This paragraph is all about ‘reproduction’ –
how the plant spreads.
4/D i We read that the plant is classified as
‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’ in this
paragraph – and why – but not about what
should be done.
5/E ii We read how the plant is becoming well-
known and of interest to tourists – but this
helps to protect it rather than threatening
it.
6/F i We read that the Titum arum is also
smelly and very large, but there are
botanical differences that mean it doesn’t
threaten the Rafflesia’s ‘record’.
30 ACADEMIC READING

TASK TYPE 3 Matching Headings
IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2

Answers
1/A iv This paragraph says when and where
the first malls were built and how the
‘craze’ for mall shopping went global.
But it then goes on to state that many
malls are becoming less popular today
in the face of competition from the
Internet. Thus, malls have gone in and
out of fashion.
2/B vi ‘This paragraph outlines the ideas
behind all the first malls – i.e. to create
a focal point in the suburbs, rather like a
town square. NB, the reference to
Cleveland Arcade is misleading and
may lead some students to choose
option i. However, the text goes on to
say that the Cleveland Arcade cannot be
considered the forebear to today’s malls.
3/C i This paragraph focusses on the
writer’s local mall and the efforts it
has made to promote itself over the
years. The writer extrapolates from this
comment on malls in general, but the
focus remains overwhelmingly on ‘my
local mall’.
4/D vii This paragraph emphasises the
importance of supermarkets – one type
of shop. Supermarkets draw consumers
into malls. They also started the process
of exploiting shopper behaviour.
5/E iii This paragraph describes ‘on-
going’ research – ‘these days it’s not an
understatement’, ‘It’s commonplace
today’ etc. It describes how all malls
promote themselves, not just one mall
(item i).
ACADEMIC READING 31

TASK TYPE 4 Matching Information
6
ANSWER KEY Answers

1 C it won’t be long before locally grown –
A About the task and less expensive – quinoa becomes an
everyday option.
1 2 B farmers are struggling to meet demand,
Answers and some urban populations are unable
1 Incorrect – you are reading for main ideas to afford the resultant price increases.
and arguments too. 3 C The long-term objective is diversity,
2 Incorrect – they are lettered. says Kevin Murphy, a plant breeder at
3 Correct Washington State University. ‘There are
4 Incorrect – you see the same ideas, but not hundreds of varieties of quinoa, and our
the same words. goal is to develop the ideal one for each
5 Correct climate.’
6 Correct – but check the instructions 4 A other cultures have developed a taste for
about this. it too, with imports to the US rising from
7 Correct 3 million kilograms per year to 30 million
5 B because the UN hopes its high protein
content will help to alleviate hunger.
6 B To cash in on the crop’s popularity,
B Sample questions countries on other continents have
begun moving from customer to
2
cultivator. There are now quinoa farms in
Answers 56 countries ...
1 B ... very many kinds of monkeys, when
pleased, utter a reiterated sound,
clearly analogous to our laughter.’ ...
chimpanzees play and chase each other,
they make noises strikingly like human
laughter, and that dogs have a similar Answers
response. 1 E To avoid damaging original portions of
2 E The capacity to laugh appears early in Vasari’s painting, museum curators
childhood, as anyone who has tickled a permitted them to drill only into existing
baby knows. cracks and recently restored spots.
3 C Researchers must use special electronic 2 F da Vinci’s most famous painting,
receivers that convert the chirps to La Giaconda. That Seracini found
sounds that humans can hear. components unique to Renaissance
4 B In an experiment Pankseep had painting leads him to call the results
performed earlier ‘encouraging evidence’.
5 A Ancestral forms of play and laughter 3 B but at least one source describes Vasari
existed in other animals long before as a Leonardo fan who couldn’t bring
they did in humans. himself to destroy the work.
6 C rats are especially ticklish in the area 4 F further samples couldn’t be collected
around the back of the neck, which is because he was only permitted to work
also the area young rats tend to nip each on the project within a very narrow time
other during chases and play. period.
7 F are the same in humans and other 5 C rather than doing what had been asked,
mammals underscores our similarity to Vasari had built a false wall in front of da
other species and ... Vinci’s work and painted his mural on
that surface instead.
6 C has spent 40 years on a quest to find out
D Skills-building exercises what happened to da Vinci’s painting.
4 7 A Da Vinci, it is said, used the opportunity
Answers to try out a new oil-painting technique,
but it was not very successful
1F 2I 3A 4J 5E 8 D Martin Kemp of Oxford University, who
6 C 7 G 8H 9B 10 D wasn’t involved in the work. ‘That kind of
damage can be repaired invisibly.’
5
Answers
1A 2A 3A 4B
32 ACADEMIC READING

TASK TYPE 4 Matching Information

Answers
1 C Professor Blaser’s laboratory was ahead
of the field and developed the original
blood analysis techniques to identify
the bacterium, and most of them are
commonly in use today.
2 D In 1998 Professor Blaser’s findings
appeared in the British Medical Journal.’
etc.
3 C ... in addition to his medical work, he
helped to set up an important magazine
of literary criticism in the United States.
And perhaps it was this diversity of
perspective that first caused him to
wonder about H. pylori.
4 A However, it would be a mistake to
assume from its diminutive proportions
or the fact that it occurs so frequently
that the bacteria is a benign presence in
the human body.
5 D H. pylori might actually help promote
human health, such as by regulating the
level of acidity in the stomach.
6 A … to give a sense of scale, a grain of
sand is about three hundred microns
long. Sand is a familiar natural substance.
7 B In the 1980s doctors realised that
antibiotic medications could free the
body of the bacterium and thus cure
various illnesses including gastritis and
stomach ulcers.
ACADEMIC READING 33

TASK TYPE 5 Matching Features
5
ANSWER KEY
Answers
A About the task 1 A John Humphrys John Humphrys, the
BBC broadcaster, once dismissed texters
1 as ‘vandals’ intent on destroying the
Answers language. He’s wrong.
2 C Laura Mickes A recent study by Laura
1 No, you are also reading for ideas and
Mickes … found that people were much
arguments.
better at remembering casual writing …
2 Yes, they are.
that’s probably why Twitter and Facebook
3 No, they include the same ideas, but the
are so successful.
words will be different.
3 B George Orwell His ideal was writing that
4 Yes.
sounded like speech. It seems that thanks
5 Yes.
to modern communications technology,
6 Yes.
we’re getting there at last
B Sample questions 6
2
Answers
Answers 1 email Email kicked off an unprecedented
1 C London...The tunnelling has unearthed expansion in writing.
archaeological remains of great interest, 2 blogs By 2006, the analysis firm NM Incite
a factor that held up construction projects. had identified 36 million blogs worldwide; five
2 C a forward-thinking conclusion reached by years later, there were 173 million.
city leaders in London ... Today, there are 3 texts/texting Her own study of primary
more than 160 subway systems around school students suggested that texting
the world that have followed that model. improved their reading ability.
3 B In New York City, the subway system 4 social media (Twitter) People on Twitter often
is currently in the middle of a massive omit redundant words which waste space,
renovation project that involves boring and use vocabulary which is more succinct.
a number of new tunnels using what’s 5 social media (Facebook) people were much
known as a tunnel-boring machine better at remembering casual writing like
4 A Paris metro … you’re never more than Facebook posts than lines from books…
500 metres from a station 6 social media (Twitter) Nobel prize-winning
5 A in Paris, soft mud rather than hard rock scientists tweet too. You can express quite
is the main headache for tunnelling thought-provoking new concepts in everyday
engineers, whose solution has been to language, and conversational prose actually
freeze it using calcium chloride so that it improves your chances of being heard and
can be removed easily. understood.
6 C while the original tunnelling in London was
marked by a high level of both injuries and
fatalities. 8
Answers
1 A 2 E 3 C 4 B 5 D
4
Answers
a academics: John McWhorter, Clare Wood,
Laura Mickes
b professional writers: Tom White, Jane Austen,
George Orwell
c other people: John Humphrys (broadcaster)
34 ACADEMIC READING

TASK TYPE 5 Matching Features

Answers
1 B One girl was rated by the psychologist
doing the analysis as ‘the perfect tennis
talent’ ... went on to win twenty-two
grand-slam titles.
2 D John McEnroe enjoyed going for a burger
much more than going to the gym.
3 C To protect his joints, Lendl pioneered
aerobic training on bikes rather than road
running.
4 C He used nurture, if you like, to make up
for a shortfall in nature. And it worked.
Lendl overhauled his rivals and spent 270
weeks as the world number one.
5 E ‘His DNA’, says Rafael Nadal, ‘seems
perfectly adapted to tennis.’
6 A That is what happened within 20 years.
The upshot was that for 302 weeks
between 2004 and 2009, the world
number one was Roger Federer, widely
rated the most talented player ever to pick
up a racket.
Answers
1 B simple = ‘ design is not that hard ‘;
universal = ‘faced by every urban
centre’; practical = ‘roads, water,
sewage’.
2 C ... but the smaller heritage sites, the
homes of lesser writers or community
leaders for example, which also give
our cities a sense of common ancestry,
are too often torn down by property
developers and replaced with glass
towers.
3 A each city is different, it has its own
climate and landscape, its own types
of stone, wood and traditional building
methods.
4 B ... creating urban facilities intended for
all residents, whether that be galleries,
museums, recreational centres, or
open areas such as parks and squares.
5 D She also thinks there’s too much
repetition in urban architecture and
that planners need to conceive of
architecture in far more innovative and
individual ways.
6 A I can think of no other form of design
that incorporates such a broad range of
factors ...
ACADEMIC READING 35

TASK TYPE 6 Matching Sentence Endings
ANSWER KEY
4
Suggested words to underline
A About the task
1 A experiment/Dublin/1944/sought to/
1 disprove popular misconception
Answers 1 B experiment/Dublin/1944/sought to/
1 ideas and opinions demonstrate/accepted principle/correct
2 the same order as the passage 2 A Parnell/set up/experiment/hoping/show/
3 more pitch/drop/given period/time
4 sometimes 2 B Parnell/set up/experiment/unaware/how
5 letter long/pitch/take/drop
6 None 3 A Mainstone/experience shows/original
experiment/based on/miscalculation
3 B Mainstone/experience shows/
impossible/make precise predictions/
B Sample questions when/drop/occur
2 4 A Bergin’s innovation/designed/prove a
point/rival scientists
Answers 4 B Bergin’s innovation/designed/share/
1 E because many people predict that there experience/more widely
will be significantly higher levels of the 5 A writer feels/public/better opinion/
gas everywhere by the middle of this science/thanks to experiment
century. 5 B writer feels/public/fail to appreciate/wider
2 A produced twice as many seeds as those significance/experiment
grown under normal conditions ...‘If
anything, they actually seem to be slightly
6
better seeds rather than more seeds of
poorer quality.’ Answers
3 G a previous study established that grasses 1 B The point of the experiment, however, is
and other herbaceous plants tend to to prove the long-held belief
produce a greater number of seeds under 2 A Parnell ... who wanted to see if his
high CO2, but of inferior quality. calculations regarding the viscosity of
4 D ‘Even if both groups were producing pitch were correct.
twice as many seeds, if the trees 3 B The Queensland experiment, however,
are producing high-quality seeds and has demonstrated that calculating the
the herbaceous species aren’t, then exact moment when a drop is likely to
competitively you can get a shift, occur is hardly an easy matter.
5 C will depend how other comparable trees 4 B Shane Bergin set up a webcam so that
respond to high CO2 levels ...’We don’t the world at large could witness a pitch
know that yet, because we only have drop.
estimates for loblolly pines’. 5 A Science, in the public imagination is often
perceived as data-driven and analytical,
by design divorced from human emotion.
But this ... is a nice reminder of the
excitement that can be embedded in
even the dullest of experiments.

Answers
1 C Nowadays we are less likely than our
ancestors to believe that dreams have a
predictive function
2 G Incredibly enough, the idea that the
symbolic meaning of our dream is there,
waiting to be interpreted, remains very
appealing.
3 B But adopting such a scientific attitude to
dreams doesn’t imply that they are no
longer a source of fascination to us.
4 E thinking about them could be a helpful
way of exploring our own thoughts.
36 ACADEMIC READING

TASK TYPE 6 Matching Sentence Endings

Answers
1 E In the years since, that view has been
completely rejected and the amount of
training has increased: now runners are
out on the track for hours at a time, each
and every day.
2 D … the design and construction of
racetracks have come a long way, and
sport shoe technology has seen similar
improvement. Both these developments
could be giving today’s runners an edge.
3 A In top athletes, the maximal oxygen
uptake … will be far higher than the
capacity of non-athletes, meaning that
cardiac output, the amount of blood
pumped per minute, will also be better.
4 G Some runners in their forties, even
fifties, are able to go the distance due
to their commitment to tough training
programmes.
5 C … the likelihood of any one person having
the exact grouping of genes required to
become a natural champion is minimal.
LISTENING 37

TASK TYPE 7
1 Sentence Completion
ANSWER KEY 7
Answers
A About the task 1 a scientific term
1 2 a type of food or meal or ingredient
3 a word describing what a product is used for
Answers
4 a technical term
1 facts and figures
2 the same order as the information in the
passage 8
3 the number of words indicated in the
instructions
Answers
4 words from the passage 1 chemical composition
5 find words which already fit 2 seaweed
6 important 3 food additive
4 taste receptors
B Sample questions
2 10
Answers
Answers
1 wood engravings
2 natural history 1 wrong information (The student didn’t read the
3 bankrupt passage carefully enough.)
4 (humble) clerk 2 This is the name of the dish – not what it is
5 1687 made from. (The student didn’t read the
question carefully enough.)
3 wrong spelling (The student didn’t copy
carefully enough.)
D Skills-building exercises 4 too many words (The student didn’t read the
4 instructions carefully enough.)
Answers
1 an occupation or job
2 the name of a publication
3 a place – perhaps a city, a region or a country
4 a person or an institution
5 a word describing an aspect of his work. Look
out for words meaning ‘difficulty’ in
the passage.
6 the name of a relatively small animal. Check
all the names of animals in the passage.
5
Answers
1 cook, scientist, philosopher
2 cells, keyholes, scientists,
shapes, tastes
3 sweet, salty
4 visual image, map, diagram
6
Answers
1 (Greek) philosopher
2 (tiny) keyholes
3 sweet
4 (tongue) map
38 ACADEMIC READING

Answers Answers
1 the developing world 1 thermal expansion
But in the developing world the majority of About a third of its rise comes from thermal
active volcanoes, ... have no local monitoring expansion – from the fact that water grows in
or warning system. volume as it warms.
2 molten rock 2 ice sheets
... InSAR is the most revealing way to show … but for the future the big concern is the
slight deformations in the ground due to giant ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.
movements of molten rock below. 3 property
3 interferograms … 150 million inhabitants of the world’s
This is displayed in the form of rainbow- large port cities will be at risk from coastal
coloured interference patterns, or flooding, along with $35 trillion worth of
interferograms as they are known, property, …
4 cloud (cover) 4 barriers
InSAR is particularly useful for tropical He proposes two barriers: one constructed at
volcanoes, where cloud cover can obscure Throgs Neck, to keep floods from Long Island
visual observations, because the radar beam Sound out of the East River, and a second
can see through it. one spanning the harbor south of the city.
5 uplift 5 artificial reefs
Radar data from Envisat showed a nine- Orff suggests that throughout the harbor,
centimetre uplift over two years in the there would be dozens of artificial reefs
volcano, built from stone, rope, and wood pilings and
6 long duration seeded with oysters and other shellfish.
... it is still a new technique that relies on 6 car park
frequent observations and long-duration … including an underground car park
space missions. designed to hold 10,000 cubic meters – more
7 six-day cycle than 2.5 million gallons – of rainwater.
Sentinel is expected to observe all land 7 domes
masses regularly, with a six-day cycle in He also mentions Rotterdam’s Floating
operation for the next two decades. Pavilion, a group of three connected,
8 false alarms transparent domes on a platform in a harbor
Unrest usually subsides without an eruption, off the Meuse river. These are about three
and false alarms can undermine public trust. storeys tall, and made of a plastic …
8 insurance
… people like John Van Leer, an
oceanographer at the University of Miami,
worry that one day they will no longer be able
acquire insurance for their houses.
ACADEMIC READING 39

TASK TYPE
VOCABULARY 2
ANSWER KEY
Dependent prepositions
12
Prefixes and suffixes Answers

2 method of
Suffixes 3 speculate about
4 experts at
3
5 capable of
Answers 6 sheds light on
1 dispose (verb) / disposable (adj) (disposal is 7 as a consequence of
also possible)
2 sensitive (adj) / sensitivity (noun)
3 easy (adj) / easier (comparative adj) (easily, Wordbuilding
easiness are also possible)
4 irritate (verb) / irritation (noun) (irritable is also 15
possible)
5 strange (adj) / strangely (adverb) (stranger, Answers
strangeness are also possible)
1 joy, pleased
6 thin (adj) / thinness (noun) (thinly is also
2 laugh
possible)
3 laughter
7 clinic (noun) / clinical (adj)
4 giggle
5 joke, jokes (to joke is also a verb)
Negative prefixes 6 humour, sense of humour
7 ticklish
5
Answers
1 improbable 5 inappropriate
2 unpowdered 6 illegal Collocation: adjective + noun
3 non-medical 7 immodest 16
4 non-sterile
Answers
1 developing
6 2 private
Answers 3 direct
1 m, p 2 l 4 controlling
5 distinct
6 basic
Synonyms and paraphrases
8
18
Answers
1 largest 5 rare Answers
2 bizarre 6 endangered
7 depicted 1 e
3 lack
2 f
4 foul
3 a
4 d
5 g
Antonyms 6 c
7 b
10
Answers
1 balmy/cool
2 consensus/disagreement
3 onset/conclusion
4 reduction/increase
5 rapid/slow
6 suddenly/gradually
40 ACADEMIC READING

VOCABULARY 2
Commonly confused words Common IELTS topic: Industry and

technology
20
Collocation: adjective + preposition
Answers 23
1 thick
2 eventually Answers
3 decades 1 to 5 for
4 momentous 2 of 6 of
5 hardly 3 to 7 to
6 reminder 4 with 8 for
Common IELTS topic: History Collocation: verb + noun

Suffixes 24
21
Answers Answers
1 invention 1 hold
2 development 2 conclusion
3 environmentally 3 meet
4 traditional 4 implement
5 individuality 5 perform
6 instruction 6 maintain
7 regional 7 place
8 validity 8 solve
9 involvement
10 specifically
Wordbuilding
22
Answers
1 unbelievable
2 essential
3 disapproval
4 creation
5 insecurity
6 uneconomic(al)
7 irregular
8 varieties
ACADEMIC READING 41

TASK TYPE READING PRACTICE TEST
ACADEMIC
ANSWER KEY
Answers 28 YES a group of researchers from Boston in

1 TRUE because they look quite similar to each the USA have been exploring in the unlikely
other, are often confused. ... Although closely setting of Ethiopia
related, however, the two species are in fact 29 YES Negroponte and Matt Keller … have
quite distinct. launched an experiment so bold it might be
2 FALSE Part of the confusion arises out of the science fiction.
fact that both species are characterised by 30 NO No instructions were left with the
considerable colour variations. packages, aside from telling the village elders
3 FALSE and there are also variations in size and that the iPads were designed for kids aged
weight four to eleven.
4 TRUE Black bears are primarily adapted to 31 NO they didn’t sit with a machine each on
forested areas and their edges and clearings. their laps in isolation as western kids might
Although grizzly bears make substantial use of be expected to do.
forested areas 32 NOT GIVEN (we don’t know their attitude
5 FALSE Black bears have short, curved claws towards this decision by the Ethiopian
better suited to climbing trees than digging .... government)
This enables grizzlies to forage efficiently for 33 NO More startling still, one gang of kids even
foods which must be dug from the soil worked out how to disable a block that the
6 NOT GIVEN The primary difference between the Boston-based researchers had installed into
dietary habits of black bears and grizzly bears is the machines, which was supposed to stop
the amount of meat, fish, and root foods eaten them taking pictures of themselves.
(but we don’t know whether they prefer fish) 34 J This experiment still has much further to
7 TRUE Grizzly bears tend to be more carnivorous run
8 NOT GIVEN Black bear cubs are born in the 35 M they have the ability to figure out
winter hibernation den (no information regarding sophisticated technology,
Grizzly bears) 36 C no matter how remote children are, or how
9 climb trees Black bears ... rely on their ability illiterate their community,
to climb trees to .... escape predators 37 I Instead they huddled together, touching and
10 defensive attack If come within three to six watching each other’s machines, constantly
metres of a grizzly bear, and it suddenly notices swapping knowledge.
you, may react defensively and even attack out 38 A instead of pouring money into shiny
of response to a possible threat ... buildings and teacher training, aid groups
11 play dead you should play dead might do better just to distribute mobile
12 run Shout! Wave your arms and try to appear phones and laptops with those self-teaching
as large as possible. Don’t run. games.
13 rocks If actually attacked, throw rocks at them. 39 C Should someone who worries about the
failures of the US education system to reach
14 ix the American poor, for example, be looking to
15 viii iPads for a possible solution?
16 iii 40 D Or is the ability to decode an electronic
17 x gadget innate to all young human brains,
18 i irrespective of where they live? (Para 1) The
19 vii results were thought-provoking, particularly
20 v for anyone involved in the education business
21 1944 (para 4) Negroponte and Keller’s experiments
22 copper raise questions in my mind. Firstly, what is
23 twelfth/12th all this technology doing to our kids’ neural
24 duits networks and the way future societies will
25 (Dutch) ship conceive of the world … Those devices may
26 antique weaponry now be unleashing an evolutionary leap. (final
27 YES explore its functions – something people para)
of my generation never seem to have the skill or
patience to do.
42 ACADEMIC READING

STUDENT’S BOOK PRACTICE TEST
F: Well, remember these are people who’ve already paid
ANSWER KEY their annual subscription – so these are specific charges
in addition to that.
Answers M:
F:
I see. And does that go for the gym too?
Well, you have to be a member to use the gym – no
guests are allowed in there at all. Members pay ten
LISTENING (pages 112–115) pounds for every fifty minutes they spend in the
Part 1 gym, and they can book blocks of time of up to three
1 court An hour on the squash court is charged at sessions at that rate.
M: OK.
£10.00 – but that’s not per person, of course, that’s
F: Then there’s the swimming pool – that’s a bit more
for the court.
flexible. Members pay £5.00 for each 45 minutes, and
2 fifty/50 min(ute)s Members pay ten pounds for can book as many consecutive sessions as they like.
every fifty minutes they spend in the gym Non-members are allowed to book, but not for the
3 weekday afternoons So you can only accept their busy periods – that means evenings and weekends
bookings for weekday afternoons in practice. So you can only accept their bookings for
4 £10.50 Anyone can book a place on a session, and weekday afternoons.
the fee is £10.50 M: At the same price as members?
5 twelve/12 limit on the number of non-members F: Yes – that’s right. Then, there’s volleyball practice. There
who can be accepted – that’s capped at twelve per the sessions last two hours and it’s free for members,
session. but they do have to sign up in advance. Anyone can
6 team captain But anyone else wanting to go along book a place on a session, and the fee is £10.50 – but
needs to get in touch with the team captain one thing you’ve got to keep an eye on is that there’s
7 password Then you ask the member for their a limit on the number of non-members who can be
password accepted – that’s capped at twelve per session.
8 2.5% / per cent / percent But there’s a 2.5% M: OK. And is there also a limit on the number of members
surcharge if it’s a credit card who can sign up?
9 smart casual our policy is smart casual F: Yes – you’ll see boxes to fill in on the screen – it tells
10 name badge But we do ask you to keep your you when the session is fully subscribed.
name badge on at all times. M: Ah yes, of course.
F: But it doesn’t happen often. Basketball practice is
the other thing and that’s a little different. The two-
Audioscript hour sessions are also free to members and you take
bookings from members in the same way. But anyone
Part 1 21 else wanting to go along needs to get in touch with the
You will hear a conversation between a sports centre team captain. So you need to refer on that one. He’ll let
manager and a new member of staff. you know if he’s accepted the booking and at that point
you can add the name to the list. There’s no payment to
F: Come in.
take though.
M: Hello. I was asked to come and see you – Roland
M: OK.
Hadstock.
F: So, is there anything you’d like to ask me?
F: Ah yes – Roland. You’re going to be working here from
M: Yes, how do I know who’s a member and who isn’t – do
Monday, aren’t you?
they have photocards or something?
M: That’s right.
F: Well, they have membership cards with their
F: So I just wanted to give you a quick briefing.
membership number written on it. You swipe the card
M: Thanks.
when you take the booking in person.
F: Now, you’re mostly going to be working on bookings,
M: And on the phone?
and that means phone bookings, email bookings and
F: You ask for the membership number and enter that
some face-to-face client contact.
on the computer. Then you ask the member for their
M: OK.
password – that should appear in the pop-up box on the
F: Basically, we have five bookable activities, so I’ll just run
screen when you enter the number. You just check that
through those for you and tell you a few details.
they match.
M: Sure.
M: And if they can’t remember it?
F: Firstly, there are the squash courts. Only members
F: Then you can send them the reminder email – it means
can book those, although they may bring guests along
you can’t complete the booking until they’ve got it
as partners. An hour on the squash court is charged at
sorted – but it doesn’t happen often.
£10.00 – but that’s not per person, of course, that’s for
M: And what types of card can I accept?
the court.
F: Debit cards are fine – you need to get authorisation, of
M: Seems cheap.
course. I’ll show you how to do that in a moment.
M: Is there a surcharge for using a card?
F: Not for the debit card. But there’s a 2.5% surcharge if
it’s a credit card – and you need to explain that to the
client.
M: Sure. And how would you like me to dress? Is there a
uniform?
STUDENT’S BOOK PRACTICE TEST 43

Student’s Book Practice Test Answer Key and Audioscript
F: No, but we’d like you to be recognisable as a member located in the suburbs. Similarly, live music events are
of the admin staff – so a tracksuit and trainers are not popular in some areas, but not in others. One thing the
very suitable! But our policy is smart casual – what outlets do have in common, however, is the company’s
you’re wearing today is fine. loyalty card. Buy ten coffees in any Tasca outlet, and you get
M: Great. the eleventh one free.
F: But we do ask you to keep your name badge on at all We like the idea that not all the outlets are exactly the
times – that also helps to show that you’re a member of same, and it means managers with good ideas can try them
staff. out and if they work, tell their colleagues. For example, one
M: I see. That’s no problem. large outlet introduced a silent reading room for people
F: Is there anything else ... who wanted a really quiet cup of coffee. It was a success,
but other outlets didn’t have the space to do the same.
Part 2 Providing free internet access has been widely popular,
11 A So ten years ago, we sold our coffee bar and however, and nearly every outlet has that now. One idea
founded the Tasca Coffee company. that didn’t work was all night opening – nobody wants
12 A with a total of thirty-four. These are mostly in coffee at three in the morning apparently!
England. We also like to look after our staff. We leave it to the
13 B the company’s loyalty card. Buy ten coffees in local managers to decide whether or not employees get
discounts for family and friends, or other perks like private
any Tasca outlet, and you get the eleventh one free.
medical insurance, but the basic salary package includes a
14 B Providing free internet access has been widely
bonus based on the company’s profits – everyone gets that.
popular, however, and nearly every outlet has that We also collect customer feedback. Most of it’s positive
now. – some people mention how good the service is, others
15 C but the basic salary package includes a bonus say that they like the atmosphere in the outlets. The one
based on the company’s profits – everyone gets that. thing that everybody agrees about, however, is the coffee –
16 C The one thing that everybody agrees about, nobody’s in any doubt that a Tasca cappuccino or latte is the
however, is the coffee – nobody’s in any doubt that a best you can get!
Tasca cappuccino or latte is the best you can get!
17 A So we told managers to make sure that there So what’s new in Tasca Coffee outlets? We’ve been
are always good changing facilities in the bathrooms. developing some new ideas for customer service, and
18 B So we have these things, but Mums have to ask four areas have proved quite interesting. Our outlets are
for them. becoming very popular with young families. They’re good
19 C video games to try and attract more teenagers places for young mums to meet when they’re out in town
– but I’m afraid lots of people complained about the with their babies and toddlers. So we told managers to
noise – so we’ve decided to ban them. make sure that there are always good changing facilities in
20 B but they’re also in the cupboard or behind the the bathrooms – and that’s proving very popular.
bar, available if anybody wants to use them. Other stuff for kids – like boxes of toys – can put some
customers off, however. Older people looking for
somewhere to have a nice chat with a friend don’t want to
Audioscript feel they’re in a kindergarten. So we have these things, but
mums have to ask for them, and they’re tidied away once
Part 2 22
the kids have gone.
You will hear a talk by a woman who helped set up a Some outlets tried installing video games to try and attract
coffee company. more teenagers but I’m afraid lots of people complained
Hello there. My name’s Leila Haddon and I’m co-founder of about the noise so we’ve decided to ban them! That taught
the Tasca Coffee Company. I’ve come along this evening to us a good lesson about who our real target customers are!
tell you something about how we started the company up Board games, on the other hand, like chess and scrabble
and why we think it’s been so successful. did meet with general approval – but they’re also in the
So, first of all, a bit of history. The story of Tasca Coffee cupboard or behind the bar, available if anybody wants to
begins about fifteen years ago, when my husband and I use them. We’ve told managers that they need to publicise.
opened our first coffee shop back in my home town. It this fact, however, in case people don’t realise that these
wasn’t called Tasca Coffee, because we’d bought a franchise things are there.
from a much larger company. We sold their coffee and used
their brand name and advertising and in return they took
Part 3
twenty per cent of our profits. Well, my husband, Leo Tasca, 21 B/E because that figure’s 1.9 per cent lower than it
is Italian by birth and takes his coffee very seriously. He was two years ago.
soon realised that we could import better coffee from Italy, 22 E/B people are buying a lot less frozen fish than
and build up our own chain of coffee outlets. So, ten years they used to, and sales of that have gone down even
ago, we sold our coffee bar and founded the Tasca Coffee more sharply than sales of fast food like pizza
company. 23 A/C F: We ought to design a questionnaire – ask
Although we started in Wales, where I was born, we now local people how often they buy frozen food and
have outlets across the United Kingdom with a total of 34. whether they’ve changed their shopping habits.
These are mostly in England, but we’ve recently opened M: Sure. I’ll leave that to you, drawing up the
some in Scotland too. actual questions
The people who run our outlets work for us and sell our 24 C/A F: I don’t mind doing the inputting if you’ll do
coffee, but they have some freedom to choose the services the analysis.
they offer to their local customers. For example, city centre M: That sounds like a good plan. Let’s go for it.
outlets offer a delivery service to people working in nearby
offices, but that’s not something that’s offered in outlets
44 STUDENT’S BOOK PRACTICE TEST

25 D he points out that in the last two years many graphs and tables.
families have had less money to spend, and that F: OK. Then I thought we ought to design a questionnaire
buying frozen food is often more expensive. – ask local people how often they buy frozen food and
26 A Glenda Williams, says that it’s more to do with whether they’ve changed their shopping habits.
cooking programmes on the television that have M: Sure. I’ll leave that to you, drawing up the actual
made people more interested in cooking. questions, but I’d be quite interested in trying to get
27 B he says that many young people cook everyday together a random sample of people to ask.
– devote an hour or so to it – much more than their F: What, you mean getting a representative mix of age,
parents used to apparently income level and stuff?
M: Exactly.
28 C She says that adverts for frozen food just aren’t
F: OK – that sounds like a good division of labour – I could
as imaginative and interesting as those for other
also set up a spreadsheet based on the questionnaire
food products. so that we can analyse our findings statistically.
29 G but these days you can do your shopping online M: Great.
and get it delivered whenever you want. F: I don’t mind doing the inputting if you’ll do the analysis.
30 H Anna Carey says that frozen foods aren’t always M: That sounds like a good plan. Let’s go for it.
up to that sort of standard M: OK, I’ve been looking at the article – it’s quite
interesting.
Audioscript F: Yeah?
M: Because the experts all have different ideas about what
Part 3 23 might be causing the changes.
F: That’s right. Although I think a lot of that is speculation
You will hear two students talking about a research
really – that’s another thing we could try and find out
project they are doing on the topic of frozen food.
more about in our research.
F: I’ve found a really good article to use as a basis for our M: Good idea. Like, what’s his name ... um, yes, Eric
research project. Look, it’s about the fact that people Davies – he reckons that the food itself hasn’t changed
are buying less frozen food than they used to. much – it’s not that there’s been a fall in quality or
M: Oh right. So you’ve got the figures there? anything – but he points out that in the last two years
F: Yes, look – it says here that on average, each family many families have had less money to spend, and that
in the country gets through about fifteen kilograms of buying frozen food is often more expensive than buying
frozen food each year. fresh stuff and cooking it.
M: Wow – so much? F: Yeah – another expert, her name’s Glenda Williams,
F: Yes, but that’s not the point – because that figure’s 1.9 says that it’s more to do with cooking programmes on
per cent lower than it was two years ago. the television that have made people more interested
M: That’s quite a significant fall. And is that all frozen food, in cooking – that also means buying more fresh
or are some products affected more than others? I ingredients and less pre-prepared frozen stuff.
mean I can’t believe that it’s true of frozen pizza, for M: Yes, and John Hall actually quotes some research on
example. that. He says that many young people cook everyday
F: Well, there are differences, but it says that actually – devote an hour or so to it – much more than their
sales have fallen across the board. So, like, people are parents used to apparently.
buying a lot less frozen fish than they used to, and sales F: It’s a cultural change – in the late twentieth century,
of that have gone down even more sharply than sales quick and easy frozen meals were seen as a good thing
of fast food like pizza – but everything’s down compared – that idea’s now going out of fashion. Mary Butcher
to two years ago. also talked about marketing. She says that adverts for
M: Right – and are there differences between different frozen food just aren’t as imaginative and interesting as
parts of the country? those for other food products.
F: The article doesn’t go into that actually – but I was M: Well, I’m not sure about that but Steve Fullet makes
thinking that could be the basis for our project. a good point about shopping. People used to buy
M: You mean, doing a study to find out whether sales of frozen stuff because it meant you didn’t have to go to
frozen food have fallen in our region too. the supermarket so often. I’m sure that’s true – but
F: Well, they probably have, but have they fallen to the these days you can do your shopping online and get it
same extent, and are there any differences between delivered whenever you want, so it doesn’t have to be
what’s happened in our area and what’s happened frozen stuff.
nationwide? F: Yeah, and you can get all sorts of really nice ingredients
M: That’s a great idea. But how would we go about it? really easily that way. Anna Carey says that frozen foods
F: Well, I thought we could start off by checking out the aren’t always up to that sort of standard – that they’ve
original research. There are lots of experts mentioned fallen behind in that respect – and I think she’s right.
in the article, so if we put their names into a search M: So, we need to test out some of these views in our
engine, we could probably find stuff they’ve written research.
about it. F: OK. That sounds interesting
M: Maybe – but the actual figures probably come from
some sort of report. Perhaps we should find out what
the source was and go to that – I could do that – it’s
probably cited at the end of the article, or next to the

One of the problems they faced was that the seeds they
Part 4 collect might be low in fertility, leading to poor germination.
31 coastal mountains The trees are conifers and they Where they believed this was likely, the team supplements
grow in the wild in Chile in South America, where the seed by taking cuttings. However, they always take
they once occupied large areas of the country’s care to select parent plants for seed collections which
coastal mountains. they believe contain good seed. As the project leader
32 hydro(-)electric(ity) Priority was given to trees that pointed out to me, it’s easy to leave Scotland with targets
are growing in a valley that will soon be flooded to for the number of seeds that will be collected, but in
make way for a hydro-electricity scheme. practice there’s a need to be flexible. It’s often a matter of
33 by hand This meant that it was possible to gather responding to what you find.
the cones by hand. So, on to the next stage in the process. Once harvested,
34 fifteen/15 meters/meters and the team only found the seeds and cones are transported back to Scotland,
a few trees left exceeding 15 metres in height. where each seed is logged in a database, where it is given
35 cuttings Where they believed this was likely, the its identification tag, with information on where and when
team supplements the seed by taking cuttings. it was collected. Eventually seeds will be selected from
36 flexible As the project leader pointed out to this database and used in the cultivation of young plants in
me, it’s easy to leave Scotland with targets for Scotland.
the number of seeds that will be collected, but in Once established, the young trees will be planted out
practice there’s a need to be flexible. in plantations in Scotland. But initially, the seed will be
37 identification tag each seed is logged in a germinated under what are called controlled conditions.
database, where it is given its unique identification These young trees and the seeds they themselves go on to
tag, with information on where and when it was produce can then form the basis of a long-term cultivation
collected programme in which seeds can be returned to Chile, helping
38 controlled conditions initially, the seed will to create a healthy population of trees there for the future.
be germinated under what are called controlled So why is this project, and projects like it, important? This
conditions is by no means a solution to the problems of deforestation
and the loss of specific species. Doing this sort of rescue
39 tree growth the Scottish project team is also
work is what can only be called a last resort for saving
gathering essential information about tree growth,
depleted natural populations. As well as saving threatened
data which might otherwise have been lost.
populations and conserving important genotypes, the
40 restoration ecology This type of project is part of a Scottish project team is also gathering essential information
wider discipline known as ‘restoration ecology’ about tree growth – data which might otherwise have been
lost. To be able to effectively restore natural forests and
Audioscript ecosystems, we have to know how to cultivate the plants.
Part 4 24 It is this horticultural knowledge that is going to prove so
vital in the future restoration and management of native
You will hear a university teacher giving his students areas. This type of project is part of a wider discipline known
some information about a research project. as ‘restoration ecology’, where, as the name suggests,
whole ecosystems are restored artificially. And the key to
In my presentation today, I’m talking about the conservation
this whole process, to almost all the world’s ecosystems, is
of endangered species of tree, and in particular the work of
plants.
a group of scientists from Edinburgh in Scotland.
A small team of conservationists from Edinburgh, has been
involved in a project called Iconic, which aims to save some
of the world’s most endangered trees from extinction. The
trees are conifers and they grow in the wild in Chile in South
America, where they once occupied large areas of the
country’s coastal mountains. Today only tiny fragments of
the natural forest remain.
Members of the project team have been to South America
on a mission to gather seeds from the few trees that
survive in the wild. Priority was given to trees that are
growing in a valley that will soon be flooded to make way
for a hydro-electricity scheme. The project aims to save the
trees from extinction and because trees take a long time to
grow, it’s a very long-term one.
The seeds of conifer trees grow in cones. Out in Chile, the
team found collecting the cones quite simple. There was no
need for climbing because few of the targeted species are
high-growing trees with tall canopies. This meant that it was
possible to gather the cones by hand. Some of the species,
like the one called Fitzroya should be very tall trees, but the
remnant populations contain mostly small trees with low
branches. Fitzroya can reach about 45 metres, but there are
few trees of that size left in Chile, and the team only found
a few trees left exceeding 15 metres in height. The team
typically gathers around fifty seeds from each species, and
takes samples from between five and ten trees of each.
46 STUDENT’S BOOK PRACTICE TEST

ACADEMIC READING (pages 116–123) 22 E /B But in the experiments, the pills used were all
placebos – in other words fake pills – there was no
1 TRUE Only recently, however, has ‘rammed earth’ pain-killer, there was no stimulant.
as the building material is called, appeared on to the 23 title as the title ‘Colour psychology and colour
curricula of modern architecture and engineering therapy: Caveat emptor’ makes clear.
schools. 24 marketers meaning of colours has been picked up,
2 TRUE ‘It became a poor man’s material and the of course, by marketers.
image is hard to shake off’. 25 authoritative The information available is often
3 NOT GIVEN ‘Rauch has used the material to build presented in an authoritative manner,
a range of structures including a cinema and his own 26 outdated However, evidence is rarely cited and,
family home in Austria.’ (but we don’t know whether when it is, it’s often in reference to findings that are
this was encouraged by anyone or not) outdated
4 FALSE What’s more, the ability of earth to 27 NO But is there more to the decision than
moderate humidity and temperature is another expense and convenience? The answer suggested
advantage by numerous studies into the neuroscience and
5 TRUE Not everybody accepts that the future lies psychology of reading in different formats is
in rammed earth construction, however. A central emphatically that there is.
concern of sceptics is durability. 28 YES her more negative speculations have been
6 FALSE Rauch designs for ‘calculated erosion’. picked up in the media and amplified in far more
Every few layers, he inserts stone blocks into the strident terms
surface of earth walls 29 NOT GIVEN (The figures are quoted, but the writer
7 NOT GIVEN The writer tells us ‘The longevity of makes no comment on the findings.)
earth buildings in the past was due, in part, to the 30 NO it is actually doing something far more
regular maintenance regimes that were integral to interesting than telling us which medium is superior.
traditional practice.’ (but we don’t know what Rauch 31 NOT GIVEN (The writer talks about the two ideas,
thinks about this) and seems to accept them both as valid.)
8 TRUE The earth is then quite literally rammed into 32 NO she found that the electronic devices
this, layer by layer, either manually or by pneumatic promoted more deep reading and less active
rammers. learning.
9 labour intensive Anna Heringer ... views the labour 33 NO Another related, widely replicated finding, is
intensive nature of this form of construction as a that people read more slowly on screens than from
bonus paper. Sara Margolin ...
10 community (spirit) Building with earth, you can 34 YES it forces the reader to process the text in
have a lot of people involved – it’s about community order, and preserves the organisational structure the
spirit too.’ And those communities have choices. author wanted us to follow’.
11 (the) ceilings Rauch is aware of the limits of the 35 C while straightforward reading encourages them
material, however. Certain parts of structures, such to take in and believe what’s on the page in front of
as the ceilings, aren’t possible in earth. them.
12 contamination He feels that the climatic and 36 B Having a device that requires a lot of attention
environmental qualities of the material are lost with to operate could essentially steal working memory
such contamination. resources,’
13 recycle Heringer adds that when cement is mixed 37 B It is equally important not to jump to rash
with earth, ‘You can’t recycle it. conclusions about either form of reading
14 E The Whorfian hypothesis has been largely 38 E She thinks the main reason for this is that the
discredited device is small, light and portable, and you can pull it
15 E The fact that we distinguish indigo and violet as out at odd moments, such as ‘when waiting for the
separate colours is largely down to Sir Isaac Newton, bus to arrive’
who named and split up the colours of the rainbow 39 C For Margolin, ‘the preference for reading
completely arbitrarily. on paper or a screen seems to be just that: a
16 A football teams wearing red were statistically preference.’
more likely to win than teams in other colours 40 A Mangen suggests that we need more
17 C there are apps on the market now, that change longitudinal studies, conducted over decades, before
your lighting before you go to bed, to get you ready we can figure out which effects of different reading
for sleep. media are due to familiarity or lack of it
18 C This is the product of billions of years of
evolution. ... ‘You’ve got a much better chance of
detecting an object against a background if you have
colour vision.’
19 D ‘I can make you see blue or yellow, depending
on what surrounds it,’ he says.
20 B ‘Most other mammals have two, meaning they
can only detect green and blue wavelengths.’
21 B /E blue pills appeared to be more effective in
curing insomnia than orange ones

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4

Fighter Answer Key

Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States

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A About the task D Skills-building exercises

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VIDEO: Mega Green Museum Videoscript

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IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 04 Audioscript 04

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IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2 05 Audioscript 05

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M: Thanks. I’ve got that now.

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Videoscript IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 09

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dried apples were placed inside. Both single-door and double-

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M: And when it gets warmer, they go camping, right?

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D Skills-building exercises lead to your conclusion. For example, you might be

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Audioscript 14 VIDEO: Picture Perfect

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Steve is in the heart of New York City. ‘This is probably as to no avail.

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IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2 16 Audioscript 16

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E: Right, so on the basis of that, the villagers set up

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Times, dates and numbers 12

8 Guessing the meaning from context

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Common IELTS topic: The natural

Common IELTS topic: Academic life

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Audioscript M: Oh, yes, please.

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M: Well, I think you can ask them that – we don’t need to

Fighter4_AnswerKey.indd 24 8/29/2023 3:34:01 PM

nests, or creatures with predictable hiding habits, such as some

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ANSWER KEY D Skills-building exercises

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IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 IELTS PRACTICE TASK 3

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Fighter4_AnswerKey.indd 28 8/29/2023 3:34:02 PM

IELTS PRACTICE TASK 1 IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2

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A About the task Answers

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IELTS PRACTICE TASK 2

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