The hunt for sunken settlements and ancient shipwrecks: listening answers and explanations
A lecturer introduces marine archaeology through the example of Atlit-Yam, a prehistoric village now under the Mediterranean. The talk then explains how new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are changing the search for sunken settlements and Roman shipwrecks.
Ten gaps in order. Atlit-Yam (31-32) comes first, then the older AUVs (33-34), then the latest AUVs: the Marzamemi test (35), the underwater internet (36-37), and the planned research in the Gulf of Baratti (38-40). Place names are your signposts.
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, so no 'the' and no compound phrases. Many gaps sit in lists (buildings, tools and human remains; light and acoustic waves; olive oil and wine), and the note already prints the other items, so you need the missing one. Watch adjective gaps too: 'expensive and ...', '... supplies'.
Question 31
Answer: springWhen the lecturer describes an impressive monument in the village
What was the semicircle of large stones around?
standing in a semicircle around a spring, that might have been used for ceremonial purposes
Question says → You hear
a semicircle of large stones round astanding in a semicircle around a spring
Why: 'Around a spring' matches 'round a', and a spring here is a source of fresh water.
The trap: Wells are mentioned earlier, as the village's fresh water, and the courtyard is what houses were built around. Neither is in the semicircle.
Question 32
Answer: toolsWhen Atlit-Yam is called 'a treasure trove'
Besides structures and human remains, what has been researched?
Research on the buildings, tools and the human remains has revealed how the bustling village once functioned
Question says → You hear
structures, ... and human remainsthe buildings, tools and the human remains
Why: The list has three items. Buildings is paraphrased as 'structures' and human remains is printed, so the middle one, tools, is the gap.
The trap: Diseases come at the end of the sentence, but they're what the research revealed, not what was studied.
Question 33
Answer: mapsWhen the lecturer explains what 'autonomous' means
What do the oil industry's AUVs make?
Autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, are used in the oil industry, for instance, to create maps of the seabed before rigs and pipelines are installed.
Question says → You hear
used in the oil industry, e.g. to makeused in the oil industry, for instance, to create maps
Why: 'Create' is 'make', 'for instance' is 'e.g.', and the thing made is maps.
The trap: Rigs and pipelines are what gets installed afterwards, not what the AUVs make.
Question 34
Answer: heavyWhen the lecturer says 'Until relatively recently'
Besides being expensive, what was the problem with older AUVs?
Until relatively recently they were very expensive, and so heavy that they had to be launched from a large vessel with a winch.
Question says → You hear
they were expensive andthey were very expensive, and so heavy
Why: 'Expensive and' is printed, so the gap is the second adjective: heavy.
The trap: Large describes the vessel they were launched from, not the AUVs. The note needs a problem with the vehicle itself.
Question 35
Answer: marbleWhen the lecturer describes the 2015 trial off Sicily
What were the architectural elements on the Roman ships made of?
which sank in the sixth century AD while ferrying prefabricated marble elements for the construction of an early church
Question says → You hear
architectural elements made ofprefabricated marble elements for the construction of an early church
Why: The ships carried marble elements for a church, and the other ships carried 'columns of the same material'. The material is marble.
The trap: Columns is the other word for the elements, but the note asks what they were made of. Church is what they were for.
Question 36
Answer: lightAfter wifi is said not to work in water
What is used for short-distance communication underwater?
For short distances, AUVs can share data using light
Question says → You hear
is used for short distance communicationFor short distances, AUVs can share data using light
Why: Light is for short distances, and acoustic waves (printed) for long ones.
The trap: Electromagnetic waves are mentioned first, but they're what wifi on land uses and only travel a few centimetres in water.
Question 37
Answer: cameraWhen the lecturer explains how AUVs share seabed scans
Also accepted: cameras
What does the second AUV have that is better?
it can share the coordinates of the object - that is, its position - with a nearby AUV that carries superior cameras
Question says → You hear
another AUV that has bettera nearby AUV that carries superior cameras
Why: 'Superior' is 'better', and 'carries' is 'has'. Camera or cameras are both accepted.
The trap: Coordinates is what gets sent, not what's better. Satellite comes just before, but that's how data reaches the research team.
Question 38
Answer: medicalWhen the lecturer mentions the ship found in 1974
What kind of supplies was the Roman ship at Baratti carrying?
When it sank, it was carrying medical goods, in wooden or tin receptacles.
Question says → You hear
one carrying ... suppliesit was carrying medical goods
Why: 'Goods' becomes 'supplies', so the gap needs the adjective that goes before it: medical.
The trap: Wooden and tin describe the containers, not the supplies. Treatments is a noun said a moment later and doesn't fit before 'supplies'.
Question 39
Answer: eyesRight after the cargo is said to give insight into old treatments
What may the tablets have been used to clean?
including tablets that are thought to have been dissolved to form a cleansing liquid for the eyes
Question says → You hear
tablets may have been used for cleaning thetablets that are thought to have been dissolved to form a cleansing liquid for the eyes
Why: 'Cleansing liquid for the eyes' becomes 'cleaning the eyes'. Plural, as in the recording.
The trap: Liquid is the thing the tablets became, not what was cleaned.
Question 40
Answer: wineWhen the lecturer describes other Roman ships that went down nearby
Besides olive oil, what did the other ships' containers hold?
Some were used for transporting cargoes of olive oil, and others held wine.
Question says → You hear
containers of olive oil orcargoes of olive oil, and others held wine
Why: Olive oil is printed, so the gap is the other cargo: wine.
The trap: Terracotta is what the pots were made of, and silt is what buried the ships. Neither was carried in the containers.
The ship carried 'medical goods', and the note changes goods to supplies, so it needs the adjective: medical. Medicine or medicines is the natural guess, but it's the wrong form for '... supplies'.
AUVs 'create maps of the seabed'. The note says 'to make ...', so the answer is maps. Sensors, compasses and sonar come just after, but they're for navigating.
Words from this recording worth keeping
thriving(Atlit-Yam)
growing and doing well
ceremonial(Atlit-Yam)
used for formal or religious events
treasure trove(Atlit-Yam)
a place full of valuable things
autonomous(Traditional AUVs)
able to operate without a person controlling it
manoeuvre(Latest AUVs)
move or steer with skill
prefabricated(Tests at Marzamemi)
made in parts beforehand, ready to be put together
acoustic(Underwater internet)
to do with sound
receptacles(Gulf of Baratti)
containers
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The full Cambridge 14 Test 4 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 14, Test 4, 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.
