IELTS Listening: Short Answers: Ecosystems Get Priced

Check the questions before the recording begins so that you know what kind of word is coming. Quickly write down some synonyms/rewording of the  words and phrases in the questions.

The questions in this lesson are pretty straightforward and require only that you pick out the information correctly from the recording.

The story is from Scientific American and can be found here.

https://soundcloud.com/user87197793/episode-3031-june-30-2020

Listen to the recording and answer the following questions using no more than ONE word.

1. Using only the traditional measure for economic output causes some what?
2. What part of our lives do some aspects of the environment help?
3. The “E” in GEP stands for what?
4. Which phrase verb is used when describing the adding up of various financial benefits?
5. What do the tiny animals do to the food growing in the fields?

IELTS Listening: Sentence Completion: Alien Life

Skim the questions before the recording begins to play. Underline the keywords. Think of synonyms for those keywords. For example the first sentence you need to complete in the quiz contains the keyword cosmos.

cosmos: universe/ space/  galaxy

Write those synonyms on your question paper and then listen out for them when the recording begins.

This lesson is about intelligent life out there in the universe. The original is here.

Listen to the recording and use no more than ONE WORD or a number to complete the sentences.

1. So-called technosignatures let scientists ______ that there is advanced life out there in the cosmos.
2. In recent decades, astronomers have found over ______ worlds beyond our sun that could sustain life.
3. The first question asks whether we might be able to view technosignatures created by a ______ on an exoplanet.
4. ______ might be an indication that advanced technology exists on other worlds.
5. Another technosignature is suggestions of ______ in the gasses surrounding exoplants.

IELTS Vocabulary: Education

You might be directly asked to talk about your education; or you might be able to talk about it when asked about your childhood or memories. So the vocabulary below is going to be very useful for you.

College and University
the campus / live on campus / campus life
live in a dorm / share a dorm with classmates /dorm life

enrol in a school / register for a class / take a class / flunk a course
further education / higher education / pay the tuition / win a scholarship

IELTS Listening: Sentence Completion: Speech Evolution

How to tackle sentence-completion questions:

Sentence completion: These are simply gap-fill questions. You must read sentences that summarise important information from either all of the audio clip or from one part of it. You have to fill in a gap in each sentence using information from the recording. The gap is usually at the end of the sentence, but not always.

The questions might be worded differently from what’s heard on the recording — they will use synonyms (type/kind; focus on/specialize in), and paraphrasing. But always write down the exact  words you hear.

So this type of question focuses on your ability to identify the important information in a recording. You may also need to understand relationships between ideas/facts/events, such as causes and effects.

The recording is about the evolution of human speech and the original can be found here.

Listen to the recording and use no more than THREE words to complete the following sentences:

1. In scientific research, how speech evolution occurred has been a  ______ problem.
2. With regard to their changes over time and their similarity to humans , chimpanzees are our ______.
3. Speech rhythms, shown in lip-smacking, are seen deep in our ape ancestors and form a ______ of the natural selection occurring in how we talk.
4. When conducting their research, scientists observed the chimps when they were indulging in social ______.
5. In addition to genes, three things affect how chimps interact: the surroundings, the differences in the chimps themselves and ______.

IELTS Listening: Short Answers: Mt St Helens

A short answer is going to be a specific piece of information that you hear in the recording. It could be:

• a synonym you hear for something being described.
• a metaphor used to describe something.
• a reason.
• a number of something; or a ranking (1st, 2nd, etc).
• something lacking.
•  … an so on.

This is a story about a volcano in Washington state and the original is over at npr: here.

Here’s an IELTS reading lesson about the same topic: Mt St Helens 

https://soundcloud.com/user87197793/volcaniceruption

Listen to the recording and answer the following questions using no more than ONE word.

1. Which synonym for “eruption” is used to describe what happened to the volcano?
2. Trees are described as being like what?
3. The president described the altered terrain as appearing like a what?
4. Which huge objects were left melting near the volcano?
5. What kind of scientist is described as vanishing among the volcanic debris?

IELTS Listening: Short Answers: Your Place in the Universe

Sometimes you’ll hear more than one speaker all using different accents. This lesson will prepare you for that. Listen carefully and repeat several times.

The clip is about a storybook for children about the universe. The original is over at npr, here.

Listen to the recording and answer the following five questions using no more than THREE words.

1. Which chemical element in your skeleton was made in stars?
2. The professor investigates planets outside of Earth’s what?
3. Which word in the title of the influential film means a long journey?
4. The illustrations in the book show two parts of the cosmos: the real and which other part?
5. The famous photograph of Earth taken from far away is called the what?

IELTS Listening: Sentence Completion: Going Cashless

Gap fill exercises are things that you probably practised in school, so you should be familiar with this question-type. You MUST read the questions carefully before the recording begins and figure out what is being asked. Write things on the question sheet.

This story is about the disappearance of cash. The original is over at VOA Learning English and can be found here.

As you listen to the recording, use no more than ONE WORD or a number to complete the following sentences:

1. Once the origin of dreams, cash can now lead to ______.
2. The third reason offered by the professor is the ______ of mobile communication devices.
3. In Germany the percentage of people paying by card is ______
4. In Iran, ______ mean that international credit agencies can’t operate.
5. The business-school teacher says that only when the Internet is everywhere will we become ______

IELTS Listening: Sentence Completion: Prohibition

Skim the questions before the recording begins to play. Underline the keywords. Think of synonyms for those keywords. For example the first sentence you need to complete in the quiz contains the keyword cracking down on.

nightlife venues: clubs/ bars/  KTVs / nightclubs

Write those synonyms on your question paper and then listen out for them when the recording begins.

This lesson is about a time when America banned alcohol. The original is here.

Listen to the recording and write no more than TWO words for each answer to questions 1 to 5

1. Right now, many nightlife venues are ______ shut.
2. The prohibition legislation outlawed brewing and retailing alcohol. People weren’t even allowed to ______ it.
3. The actions of protesting women started small but flourished into a genuine ______
4. Politicians denouncing the freedom to drink were known as ______
5. The most common excuse given by people caught with alcohol was that it was for ______

IELTS Listening: Short Answers: Ancient Egyptian Beer

When answering this sort of question, the answers are the exact words you hear in the recording. So if the speaker says “brewed”, don’t write “brew” or “brewer”  … you must write “brewed”.

This lesson is about how ancient Egyptians made beer; and the original is from Scientific American: here.

https://soundcloud.com/user87197793/egyptianbeer

Listen to the recording and write no more than ONE word for each answer to questions 1 to 4

1. The containers that once held the beer are described as being what?
2. Besides barley, what other grain did the ancients use to make beer?
3. Fruits were used as an ingredient in order to add what to the drink?
4. Beer was drunk not only to avoid thirst and for its nourishment, but also in what kind of ceremonies?

IELTS Listening: Notes Completion: Escobar’s Hippos

Completing notes is usually pretty straightforward. Take time to prepare by figuring out what kinds of answers you are going to listen out for (nouns. adjectives, etc) and scribble those things on the paper. Pay attention to the sub-headings — they help guide you through the clip.

What do you know about hippos? You are about to find out some interesting facts. (Original story over Scientific American here.)

As you listen to the clip, complete the following notes in not more than TWO words for each answer:

Pablo Escobar

• • Drug lord.
  • Lived in Colombia.

Personal Zoo

• • Many (1) ______ animals were moved after Escobar’s world collapsed.
  • The hippo population, originally (2) ______ from the USA, now totals (3) ______.

Hippos in General

• • Found mainly in  Africa.
  • Big effect on (4) ______
  • Droppings in the water release nutrients.

Extra Photosynthesis

• • Algae + aquatic plants + (5) ______
  • Daytime water overloaded with (6) ______, but at night-time the levels decline.

Population Control

• • Numbers might (7) ______ in next 20/30 years
  • Play havoc with hydrology
  • (8) ______ management is necessary sooner rather than later