Seed germination experiment: listening answers and explanations
Two students, Emma and Jack, plan an experiment on seed germination: how seed size and planting method affect growth. They discuss why Jack chose the topic, check what to ask their tutor, compare two pieces of reading, and then walk through the steps of the experiment.
Questions 21-25 cover the choice of topic and the reading, in order. Emma's 'shall we have a look at the procedure for our experiment?' is the signal for the flow-chart, and its five gaps come in the order of the steps they describe. Both students give answers, so listen to who agrees with whom.
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: In each question the wrong options are said out loud and then dismissed, often by the other speaker. Wait for the end of each exchange: the first idea mentioned is usually a distractor.
Question 21
Answer: ARight after Emma says she knows he hopes to work in plant science
Why does Jack want to study seed germination?
optional module on seed structure and function in the third year … so I thought it … be useful for that
Question says → You hear
a module on a related topic later onoptional module on seed structure and function in the third year
Why: Jack says the experiment could be useful for an optional third-year module on seeds that he might take. 'Third year' is the 'later on' in A.
The trap: B: he does want a career in plant science, but he says everything they study feeds into that, so it's not the reason for this topic. C: if he takes the module, he won't have to do a dissertation at all.
Question 22
Answer: CWhen Emma says they'd need to allow time for the seeds to come up
What do they agree is the main advantage of this experiment?
That should be fine if we start now. A lot of the other possible experiments need quite a bit … So that'd make it a good one to choose.
Question says → You hear
completed in the time availableThat should be fine if we start now
Why: Jack says the timing works if they start now, while other experiments take longer. Emma agrees that this makes it a good one to choose. That's C.
The trap: B: Emma mentions equipment and the laboratory, but then says equipment is 'not really an issue' because they have plenty. It isn't the advantage.
Question 23
Answer: BWhen Jack says they need to have a word with the tutor
What will they check with their tutor?
But we need to be sure we're the only ones doing it. … it'd be a bit boring if everyone was doing it.
Question says → You hear
whether anyone else has chosen this topicwe need to be sure we're the only ones doing it
Why: The thing they're not sure of, and need to check, is whether anyone else is doing the same experiment. Emma agrees it would be boring if everyone did it. That's B.
The trap: A: Jack is 'sure our aim's OK', so there's nothing to check. C: they argue about whether the assignment is worth ten or five percent, but they both know it counts towards the final mark.
Question 24
Answer: CWhen Jack asks if Emma read the book on seed germination
Why do they both find the book by Graves disappointing?
It would be for this experiment, though … lots about the theory, which I … Yes, I'd been hoping for something more practical.
Question says → You hear
its focus is very theoreticallots about the theory … I'd been hoping for something more practical
Why: Emma found it full of theory and hard to follow, and Jack agrees he wanted something more practical. Both of them point to C.
The trap: A: the book does include recent findings on genetically-modified seeds, which Emma found interesting. B: Emma says it wasn't relevant for her last experiment, but it would be for this one.
Question 25
Answer: BWhen Jack says 'I read an article about seed germination by Lee Hall'
What does Jack say about Lee Hall's article?
comparing the times of the fires and the proportion of seeds that germinated was done in a lot of detail - very impressive
Question says → You hear
analysis of seed germination statisticscomparing the times of the fires and the proportion of seeds that germinated
is thoroughdone in a lot of detail
Why: Jack praises the detailed analysis of the figures comparing fires and germination. 'In a lot of detail' matches 'thorough', so B.
The trap: A: the clear diagrams Emma remembers were in another article, Jack says. C: the article is about seeds that germinate after fires, but Jack says he already knew a bit about that, so it wasn't a surprise.
Flow-chart completion (A-H)
Questions 26-30
How to attack this block: The box has eight words for five gaps. Each gap is a noun, and the recording often uses a verb or a different noun for it: 'how much it weighs' for weight, 'how deep' for depths, 'how tall' for height. Turn what you hear into the noun in the box.
Question 26
Answer: GWhen Jack starts the procedure with 'the first thing we have to do is find our seeds'
Apart from size, how should the seeds differ?
And obviously they mustn't all be the same size. … sorts do we need? About four different ones?
Question says → You hear
seeds of differentsorts do we need? About four different ones
Why: They need about four different sorts of vegetable seed. 'Sorts' is the paraphrase for types, G.
The trap: Sizes is already in the flow-chart, so don't spend time on it. 'Vegetable' is the kind of seed, not one of the options.
Question 27
Answer: CStraight after they agree on four kinds of seed
What do they measure and record for each seed, besides its size?
for each seed we need to find out how much it weighs, and also measure its dimensions
Question says → You hear
Measure and record the ... and sizehow much it weighs, and also measure its dimensions
Why: 'How much it weighs' turns into the noun weight, C. 'Dimensions' is the size, which is already printed.
The trap: Height (E) sounds like a measurement, but it belongs at the end when the plants have grown. Here they're measuring the seeds.
Question 28
Answer: HWhen Emma says the measuring will be time-consuming
What do they need to decide on before planting?
we also need to decide how deep we're going to plant the seeds - right on the surface, a few millimetres down, or several centimetres
Question says → You hear
Decide on the ... to be useddecide how deep we're going to plant the seeds
Why: Emma lists three possible planting depths. 'How deep' becomes the noun depths, H.
The trap: Soil (B) seems natural when you plant something, but it's never discussed.
Question 29
Answer: AWhen Jack asks if they can plant several seeds in the same pot
What must be different for each seed?
we can plant several seeds … the same plant pot? … No, I think we need a different one for each seed
Question says → You hear
Use a different ... for each seedwe need a different one for each seed
Why: 'One' refers back to the plant pot, so each seed gets its own pot. A pot is a container, A.
The trap: Colour (F): Jack says they can use different coloured labels. That's the labelling, which the flow-chart covers after the gap.
Question 30
Answer: EAfter Jack says germination will take about three weeks
What will they record about each plant after about three weeks?
Then we see if our plants have come up, and write … how tall they've
Question says → You hear
record the plant'show tall they've
Why: 'Write down how tall they've grown' means recording the height, E.
The trap: Condition (D) sounds possible after 'see if our plants have come up', but they only note whether the plants have grown and how tall.
Jack does want to work in plant science, and he mentions a dissertation, so B and C both sound right. But the career is something everything feeds into, and the dissertation is what he'd avoid. The reason for this topic is the optional third-year module.
Jack says 'I'm sure our aim's OK', which sounds like something to check. It isn't: he's sure about it. What they need to check is that nobody else is doing the same experiment.
Colour (F) is a trap: they plan to use different coloured labels. The thing that has to be different for each seed is the plant pot, which matches container.
Words from this recording worth keeping
germination(Choosing the topic)
when a seed starts to grow
optional module(Choosing the topic)
a course unit students can choose to take
dissertation(Choosing the topic)
a long piece of writing based on your own research
ambitious(Checking with the tutor)
aiming to achieve a lot
genetically-modified(Reading list)
with genes changed by scientists
dimensions(Procedure)
the measurements of length, width and height
time-consuming(Procedure)
taking a lot of time
come up(Procedure)
of a plant: appear above the soil
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The full Cambridge 13 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 13, Test 1, Listening Part 3. 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.
