The effects of environmental change on birds: listening answers and explanations
A lecture on how mercury pollution affects wildlife. The lecturer explains where the mercury comes from, describes Claire Varian-Ramos's research on its effects on birds and their song, and then turns to what it means for humans.
Ten gaps in order. Question 31 comes in the background on mercury; 'a woman called Claire Varian-Ramos' starts the research section (32-36); 'So what are the implications here for humans?' opens the last four.
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: The notes are close to the lecture, but the wording shifts: 'learned from' for 'listening to', 'negative effect' for 'affect their chances'. Several answers come straight after a contrast like 'rather than' or 'but what wasn't known', so stay alert at those points.
Question 31
Answer: insectsAfter mercury entering the food chain through fish
Which birds have recently been found to be affected?
it's been known for some time that birds which eat fish may be affected, but what wasn't known until quite recently is that those that eat insects can also be affected
Question says → You hear
recently been foundwhat wasn't known until quite recently
feed onthose that eat insects
Why: The new finding, after 'but what wasn't known until quite recently', is about birds that eat insects. Plural: insects.
The trap: Fish-eating birds are what has been known 'for some time'. The note says 'recently'.
Question 32
Answer: behaviourWhen the lecturer introduces Claire Varian-Ramos
Also accepted: behavior
Which effect of mercury on birds is Varian-Ramos studying, besides mental processes?
And these may be to do with the behaviour of the birds, or with the effect of mercury on the way their brain works
Question says → You hear
or mental processesor with the effect of mercury on the way their brain works
Why: She's looking at the birds' behaviour or the way their brain works. The brain part is the 'mental processes' in the note, so the gap is behaviour (behavior is also accepted).
The trap: Memory is already in the note as the example. And she isn't counting how many birds are killed, which is ruled out just before.
Question 33
Answer: fatherWhen the lecturer explains how song learning happens
Who do young birds usually learn their song from?
a young bird seems to acquire this skill by listening to the songs produced by its father, rather than by any other bird
Question says → You hear
learned fromacquire this skill by listening to the songs produced by its father
Why: Young birds learn by listening to their father's songs. The gap after 'a bird's' needs father.
The trap: 'Any other bird' is ruled out with 'rather than'. Female birds come later, in a different point.
Question 34
Answer: complex'And Varian-Ramos has already found in her research'
Also accepted: complicated
How are songs from mercury-exposed birds different?
the songs they produce aren't as complex as those produced by other birds
Question says → You hear
lessaren't as complex as
Why: 'Aren't as complex as' becomes 'less ...', so the answer is complex. Complicated is also accepted.
The trap: Don't write 'simple': 'less simple' says the opposite. The note keeps 'less', so you need the word the speaker used.
Question 35
Answer: reproductionStraight after the finding about complex songs
Also accepted: breeding
What might the simpler songs harm?
it can mean that they're less attractive to female birds, and so it can affect their chances of reproduction
Question says → You hear
negative effect on birds'it can affect their chances of reproduction
Why: Being less attractive to females affects their chances of reproduction. Breeding is also accepted.
The trap: 'Attractive' or 'attractiveness' is close in meaning but not the final effect the lecturer names.
Question 36
Answer: controlWhen the lecturer explains her mix of lab and outdoor studies
What do lab-based studies give the experimenter more of?
you don't get all the variables you would in a natural setting, so the experimenter has a much higher level of control
Question says → You hear
allow more ... for the experimenterthe experimenter has a much higher level of control
Why: With fewer variables, the experimenter has more control. The noun is control.
The trap: Confidence in the results is mentioned next, but as a consequence of the control. The note says 'for the experimenter', matching 'the experimenter has'.
Question 37
Answer: duck'So what are the implications here for humans?'
Also accepted: ducks
Which migrating birds containing mercury may be eaten by people?
it's been found that ducks who'd been feeding at a contaminated site were later shot by hunters over a thousand kilometres away, and presumably eaten
Question says → You hear
may be eaten by humanspresumably eaten
Why: Ducks fed at a contaminated site, flew a long way and were shot and eaten. Duck or ducks are both accepted.
The trap: Hunters shoot the birds, but they aren't the answer: the note asks for the type of bird.
Question 38
Answer: languageWhen the lecturer goes back to song learning by birds
What can mercury make it harder for humans to learn?
in humans, mercury causes developmental delays in the acquisition of language
Question says → You hear
problems in learningdevelopmental delays in the acquisition of language
Why: 'Acquisition' is learning, and 'developmental delays' are problems. One word: language.
The trap: Song is the bird equivalent, not the human one.
Question 39
Answer: foodWhen the lecturer mentions other important implications for humans
How does mercury get into a mother's body?
if the food eaten by its mother contains high
Question says → You hear
Mercury in a mother's body fromthe food eaten by its mother
Why: A child can be affected if the food its mother eats contains high levels of mercury. The answer is food.
The trap: Fish appears earlier as how mercury enters the food chain, but here the lecturer uses the general word food.
Question 40
Answer: costAt the end, 'It's true there are new regulations'
Also accepted: costs / price / prices / bill / bills
What will new emission regulations affect for everyone?
these will need billions of dollars to implement, and increase costs for everyone
Question says → You hear
will affect everyone's energyincrease costs for everyone
Why: The regulations will increase costs for everyone. The note already has 'energy', so cost or costs fits (price and bills are also accepted).
The trap: 'Billions of dollars' is the cost of putting the rules in place, not what changes for everyone.
'Less attractive to female birds' comes first and sounds like the effect. But the gap needs a noun, and the lecturer goes on: it can affect their chances of reproduction.
'Billions of dollars' is the eye-catching figure, but the note asks what will be affected for everyone. The new rules will 'increase costs for everyone'.
Two effects are named together: behaviour, and the way the brain works, such as memory. The note already says 'or mental processes', so the gap is the other one, behaviour.
Words from this recording worth keeping
toxic(Mercury)
poisonous
ingested(Mercury)
eaten or swallowed
excreted(Mercury)
passed out of the body as waste
subtle(Research on birds)
small and not easy to notice
contaminated(Research on birds)
made dirty or poisonous
migratory(Implications for humans)
moving to different places at different seasons
acquisition(Implications for humans)
the process of learning or gaining something
emissions(Implications for humans)
gases or substances released into the air
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 12 Test 7 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 12, Test 7, 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.
