Woolly mammoths on St Paul's Island: listening answers and explanations
Two students, Rosie and Martin, talk to their tutor about their presentation on a research project into woolly mammoths on St Paul's Island in Alaska. They describe the content first, then go through each section to decide what still needs doing.
Questions 21-24 follow the content of the talk in order: introduction, the tooth, the animated diagram, the extinction date. The tutor's request to 'go through the main sections' starts 25-30, and the six sections come in the order listed.
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 students throw out several ideas before settling, so wait for the decision. In 21 the choice is made by reference ('your last suggestion'), so keep track of the order of ideas. For the facts, listen for comparison words: 'much less recent', 'very precise'.
Question 21
Answer: BAt the start, when they talk about the general introduction
How will they start the presentation?
Or we could have a diagram, it could be a timeline to show when they lived, with illustrations? … No, let's go with your last suggestion.
Question says → You hear
a timeline showing when woolly mammoths liveda timeline to show when they lived
Why: Rosie suggests a video and then a timeline. Martin floats a drawing, rejects it himself and goes with Rosie's last suggestion, which is the timeline.
The trap: C: Rosie rejects the video herself as 'a bit childish'. A: the drawing of mammoths in the ice is Martin's idea, but he drops it straight away with 'No'.
Question 22
Answer: CWhen the tutor asks why the tooth's age was significant
What was surprising about the tooth?
Anyway, they found it was 6,500 years old. … the mammoth bones previously found on the North American … were much less recent than that. So this was really amazing.
Question says → You hear
not as old as mammoth remains from elsewheremuch less recent than that
Why: The tooth is 6,500 years old, and the mammoth bones found before on the mainland were 'much less recent', meaning much older. So the tooth was younger than other remains, which made it 'really amazing'.
The trap: A: the tooth looked 'as if it had been just extracted from the animal's jawbone'. That describes its good condition; it wasn't in the jawbone. B: no new species is mentioned.
Question 23
Answer: AWhen Martin introduces the animated diagram of the area's geography
What will the animated diagram show about the mammoths?
the island got cut off from the mainland. So those mammoths on the island couldn't escape: they had to stay on the island.
Question says → You hear
became isolated on the islandthe island got cut off from the mainland … couldn't escape
Why: The diagram shows the land link disappearing as the sea rose, so the mammoths were cut off. Cut off and couldn't escape mean isolated.
The trap: C: bears are mentioned, but they roamed 'the whole area' before it became an island. B is the opposite of what happened: the mammoths couldn't leave.
Question 24
Answer: AWhen Martin explains how the team dated the extinction
What does Martin find unusual about the extinction date?
They concluded that the extinction happened 5.600 years ago, which is a very precise time for a prehistoric extinction.
Question says → You hear
how exact it isa very precise time for a prehistoric extinction
Why: 'Very precise' is 'exact', and he says it's unusual for something prehistoric.
The trap: C: he does explain how the date was established, from mud samples, but calls it 'standard procedure', so the method isn't unusual. B: he doesn't comment on the date being early.
Matching (A-H)
Questions 25-30
How to attack this block: Eight actions, six sections, so two letters are spare. The section names are your signposts. Several ideas are raised and rejected, like cutting information or relying on the visual alone, so wait for the final agreement, which can come from the tutor.
Question 25
Answer: EFirst section, when Martin says once the visual is ready they're done
What will they do about the introduction?
I think we need to write down all the ideas we want to include here, not just rely on memory. … You're right.
Question says → You hear
make detailed noteswrite down all the ideas we want to include here
Why: Writing down all their ideas instead of relying on memory means making detailed notes. Martin agrees: E.
The trap: B, reduce visual input, links to the visual Martin mentions, but no one suggests using less of it. They're keeping the timeline.
Question 26
Answer: DWhen Rosie calls it 'probably the most dramatic part'
What will they do about the discovery of the tooth?
I thought maybe we could get in touch with the researcher who led the team and ask him to tell us a bit more.
Question says → You hear
contact one of the researchersget in touch with the researcher who led the team
Why: 'Get in touch with' is 'contact', and the leader of the team is one of the researchers: D. Martin says 'Great idea'.
The trap: F, find information online, is close, but the online article is where their current information came from. They want more from the researcher himself.
Question 27
Answer: AWhen Martin says they have a lot on it but need to make it interesting
What will they do about the initial questions section?
We could ask the audience to suggest some questions about it and then see how many of them we can answer.
Question says → You hear
make it more interactiveask the audience to suggest some questions
Why: Getting the audience to suggest questions makes the talk interactive: A. The tutor approves ('add a bit of variety').
The trap: G, check timing, is suggested by 'I don't think it would take too long', but that's a passing comment, not the action.
Question 28
Answer: HWhen Martin wonders if they have too much information on the lake mud
What will they do about the further research section?
I don't think so, but it's all a bit muddled at present. … Yes, maybe it would be better if it followed a chronological pattern.
Question says → You hear
organise the content more clearlya bit muddled … followed a chronological pattern
Why: The content is muddled, and putting it in chronological order organises it more clearly: H.
The trap: Martin's first idea is to cut some information, but Rosie says 'I don't think so'. The problem is the order, not the amount, so nothing is reduced.
Question 29
Answer: GWhen Rosie says this section is just about ready
What will they do about the findings and explanations?
we need to practise it so we're sure it won't overrun
Question says → You hear
check timingso we're sure it won't overrun
Why: To overrun is to go over the time allowed, so practising to make sure it doesn't is checking the timing: G.
The trap: 'Just about ready' might make you think nothing is needed. Martin thinks it should be OK, but agrees to make sure.
Question 30
Answer: CThe last section, and it's the tutor who gives the advice
What will they do about relevance to the present day?
you've got some good ideas but this is where you need to move away from the ideas of others
Question says → You hear
add personal opinionsmove away from the ideas of others
Why: The tutor tells them to stop relying on other people's ideas and give their own point of view. That's adding personal opinions: C. Martin agrees to think about it.
The trap: The answer comes from the tutor, not the students, so it's easy to miss if you're only following Rosie and Martin. 'You've got some good ideas' doesn't mean nothing needs changing.
Three ideas: a video, a timeline, a drawing. Martin then says 'let's go with your last suggestion'. His drawing was the last idea overall, but 'your last suggestion' means Rosie's last one: the timeline.
'Much less recent' is a tricky way of saying 'much older'. The mainland bones are older, so the tooth is not as old as remains from elsewhere: C. The jawbone in A is only a comparison ('as if').
Martin says the visual is enough and they're done, which pulls you towards something about visuals. Rosie disagrees: they need to write down all their ideas. That's detailed notes, E.
Words from this recording worth keeping
extracted(Discovery of the tooth)
taken out, often with effort
significant(Discovery of the tooth)
important and meaningful
roam(Geography of the island)
move around freely over a wide area
extinct(Extinction)
no longer existing anywhere
prehistoric(Extinction)
from the time before written history
muddled(Further research section)
confused and badly organised
chronological(Further research section)
in the order in which things happened
overrun(Findings section)
go on longer than the time allowed
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The full Cambridge 14 Test 2 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 2, 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.
