The spirit bear: listening answers and explanations
A lecture in a series on ecology and conservation about the spirit bear, a rare white member of the black bear family. The speaker explains where its colour comes from, how it depends on and feeds the old-growth rainforest, what threatens it, and what is being done to protect it.
Ten gaps in order under four headings, and the lecture follows the same headings. 'The white bear's habitat is quite interesting' starts the Habitat notes, 'The greatest threat' starts Threats, and 'what's the situation going forward?' starts the last section. Each gap is one noun the lecturer says almost word for word.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: One word only, and almost every answer is a noun, so check whether it should be singular or plural from the words around the gap ('a small number of', 'an uncommon'). The lecturer often says the answer in a longer phrase, like 'erosion of the soil' or 'logging method', so take just the one word the note needs.
Question 31
Answer: geneRight at the start, after 'One in ten black bears'
Where does the bear's white colour come from?
One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat, which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few.
Question says → You hear
Its colour comes from an uncommonthe result of a special gene that surfaces in a few
Why: The white coat is 'the result of' a gene, which matches 'comes from'. 'Special' and 'surfaces in a few' together give you 'uncommon'.
The trap: Coat and colour are nearby, but the note asks what causes the colour. 'An uncommon' also needs a singular noun, so gene, not genes.
Question 32
Answer: powerWhen the lecturer explains the name 'the spirit bear'
Also accepted: powers
What do local people believe the bear has?
And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power.
Question says → You hear
Local people believeaccording to the legends of these communities
unusuala special power
Why: The legends are what local people believe, and 'special' becomes 'unusual'. Power and powers are both accepted.
The trap: Spirit is in the bear's name, but the note asks what it has. Fur is what brings the power, not the power itself.
Question 33
Answer: strangersWhen the lecturer says they don't speak of seeing it to anyone else
Who do local people protect the bear from?
It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.
Question says → You hear
They protect the bear fromtheir way of protecting it when strangers visit the area
Why: They keep quiet about the bear so that visitors from outside won't find it. The people they protect it from are strangers, plural.
The trap: 'Anyone else' is said just before, but it's not a single word that fits. Hunters or tourists might seem logical, but they're never said.
Question 34
Answer: erosionThe first example in the Habitat section, about the old-growth trees
What do tree roots stop along the salmon streams?
the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the
Question says → You hear
Tree roots stoplong roots that help prevent erosion
Why: 'Prevent' is 'stop', and what the roots prevent is erosion of the soil. One word only, so erosion.
The trap: Soil is right after erosion and is tempting, but the roots don't stop soil, they hold it in place. They stop its erosion.
Question 35
Answer: islands'Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast'
Where is the spirit bear found today?
Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands.
Question says → You hear
currently found on a small number ofToday … lives … on a few islands
Why: 'Today' is 'currently' and 'a few' is 'a small number of'. After 'a number of' you need the plural: islands.
The trap: British Columbia and the coast are both there, but the note needs a plural place word, and the province is one place.
Question 36
Answer: roadsStart of the Threats section, after the trees being cut down
What have logging companies built that destroys habitat?
built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds
Question says → You hear
construction ofbuilt roads
Why: The note has deforestation (cutting down trees) and then construction, which matches 'built'. What they built is roads, plural.
The trap: Trees comes just before but goes with deforestation. Hibernation sites are what was lost, not what was built.
Question 37
Answer: fishing'To make matters worse', after the damage to fishing places
What unlimited activity is reducing the number of salmon?
To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on
Question says → You hear
Unrestrictedno legal limit on
affecting the salmon supplythe number of salmon in those streams is declining
Why: 'No legal limit' is 'unrestricted', and the thing with no limit is fishing (the bank's text misprints the word, but it's clearly fishing). That's why the salmon are declining.
The trap: Logging is all over this section, and 'logging of the trees along the streams' comes just before. But that damaged the fishing places, it wasn't unrestricted.
Question 38
Answer: reproductionThe end of the Threats section, 'All these influences'
What do the bears have a low rate of?
All these influences have a negative impact on the spirit bear's very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been
Question says → You hear
their low rate ofreproduction among these bears has always been
Why: Reproduction 'has always been disappointingly low', which the note turns into 'low rate of'. The gap needs the noun reproduction.
The trap: Existence and survival both appear in this part, but they're what's threatened, not what's low.
Question 39
Answer: method'And so, what's the situation going forward?'
Also accepted: methods
What must logging companies improve?
The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method, which is a positive step.
Question says → You hear
must improve their ... of loggingrequiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method
Why: 'Requiring' is 'must' and 'adopt a better' is 'improve'. The note rearranges 'logging method' into 'method of logging'. Method and methods are both accepted.
The trap: Don't write logging again: it's already printed after the gap. Steps and measures are also said, but about the wider plan.
Question 40
Answer: expansionThe last point, 'Other steps also need to be taken'
Besides maintenance, what does the bears' territory need?
While it is important to maintain the spirit bear's habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion.
Question says → You hear
Maintenance andWhile it is important to maintain … there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion
Why: The note pairs two nouns: maintenance (maintain) and expansion. Habitat becomes territory.
The trap: Protection or preservation would make sense, but the lecturer's word here is expansion. Write the word you hear.
There's no 'protect from' in the recording. Local people don't talk about seeing the bear, as a way of protecting it 'when strangers visit the area'. You have to link the idea to the right word.
Logging comes up again and again in this section, so people write it here. But the salmon are declining because there's no legal limit on fishing. Unrestricted means no limit.
The note already has 'Maintenance and', and the lecturer says 'maintain' first. You need the second idea, expansion, and it must be a noun to match maintenance.
Words from this recording worth keeping
endangered(General facts)
at risk of dying out
old-growth rainforest(Habitat)
ancient forest that has never been cut down
erosion(Habitat)
the gradual wearing away of soil or rock
nutrients(Habitat)
substances that help plants and animals grow
ecosystem(Habitat)
all the living things in an area and how they depend on each other
hibernation(Threats)
a long sleep through the winter
fragile(Threats)
easily damaged or broken
sustains(Habitat)
keeps alive
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The full Cambridge 10 Test 1 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 1, Listening Part 4. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
