Agricultural programme in Mozambique: listening answers and explanations
A student presents a case study of a programme that helped farming communities in Chicualacuala, a dry district of Mozambique near the Limpopo River. She explains how it was set up, who provided what, how it developed with new ideas from local people, and what lessons it teaches.
One note block in three sections, all in order. 'How the programme was organised' runs from irrigation to the fence posts (31-35). 'Once the programme had been set up, its development was monitored' starts the further developments (36-39). 'So what lessons can be learned' leads into the last gap (40).
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 compress long sentences, so listen for the key noun inside each one. Watch the two lists in 33-35: what the programme provided and what the farmers provided. The speaker uses 'the programme provided' and 'the labour was all provided by local people' to switch between them.
Question 31
Answer: irrigationWhen she says how the programme would support agriculture in the dry region
What was the programme's main priority for securing water?
the programme focused primarily on making use of existing water resources from the Limpopo River by setting up systems of irrigation, which would provide a dependable water supply
Question says → You hear
the main priorityfocused primarily
ensure the supply of waterprovide a dependable water supply
Why: 'Focused primarily' is 'main priority', and irrigation is how they ensured a dependable water supply. The gap starts the sentence, so a capital I is fine.
The trap: Water resources and the Limpopo River come first, but the note already says 'supply of water'. The method is irrigation.
Question 32
Answer: womenWhen she lists what the farmers' associations did
Who did most of the work in the farmers' associations?
it was notable that in general, women formed the majority of the workforce
Question says → You hear
Most of the workthe majority of the workforce
Why: 'The majority of the workforce' becomes 'most of the work ... was done by'. The answer is women.
The trap: Farmers is the word in the note, so people repeat it. The notable point is who those workers mostly were.
Question 33
Answer: wireWhen she explains the fenced areas that keep animals off the crops
Also accepted: wires
What did the programme supply for the fences?
The community was responsible for creating these fences, but the programme provided the necessary wire for making them.
Question says → You hear
The programme provided … for the fencesthe programme provided the necessary wire for making them
Why: The programme gave the wire, while the community built the fences. Wire and wires are both accepted.
The trap: The community made the fences, so don't put that work in the programme list. The posts also come later, but the farmers supplied those.
Question 34
Answer: seedWhen the fenced land is dug for vegetables and cereals
Also accepted: seeds
What did the programme supply for growing suitable crops?
so that vegetables and cereals appropriate to the climate could be grown, and the programme provided the necessary seeds for this
Question says → You hear
for suitable cropsvegetables and cereals appropriate to the climate
Why: 'Appropriate to the climate' matches 'suitable', and the programme provided the seeds. Seed and seeds are both accepted.
The trap: Vegetables and cereals are the crops themselves, not what was provided for them. Pumps come next, but they're already in the notes.
Question 35
Answer: postsWhen she says 'However, the labour was all provided by local people'
Besides labour, what did the farmers provide for the fences?
the labour was all provided by local people, and they also provided and put up the posts that supported the fences around the fields
Question says → You hear
The farmers providedthe labour was all provided by local people
Why: Local people provided the labour and also the posts that held the fences up. The note already has labour, so the gap is posts.
The trap: Fences is the nearby noun, but the note says 'for the fences', so you need what was used for them.
Question 36
Answer: transportWhen she says getting produce to market was sometimes a problem
What was missing that made selling the produce hard?
getting the produce to places where it could be marketed was sometimes a problem, as the farmers did not have access to transport
Question says → You hear
due to lack ofdid not have access to transport
Why: 'Did not have access to' means a lack of, and what they lacked was transport.
The trap: Spoiled vegetables are the result of the problem, not its cause. The note asks what was lacking.
Question 37
Answer: preservationWhen the problem is discussed with the farmers' associations
What kind of food method were farmers trained in?
it was decided that in order to prevent food from being spoiled, the farmers needed to learn techniques for its preservation
Question says → You hear
Training was therefore provided in methodsthe farmers needed to learn techniques
Why: 'Learn techniques' is 'training in methods', and the techniques were for preservation of food.
The trap: 'Spoiled' is repeated and sounds important, but it's the problem. Words like storage or drying are reasonable guesses but are never said.
Question 38
Answer: fishWhen she mentions an initiative that 'had not been originally planned'
Also accepted: fishes
What did farmers keep in the tanks they dug?
farmers started to dig holes for tanks in the fenced-off areas and to fill these with water and use them for breeding fish
Question says → You hear
Farmers made special placesstarted to dig holes for tanks
Why: The tanks are the special places, and they were used for breeding fish. Fish and fishes are both accepted.
The trap: Water is what filled the tanks, and protein is why fish matter. Neither is what was kept there.
Question 39
Answer: beesWhen she says 'After a time, another suggestion was made by local people'
What did local people later suggest keeping?
They decided to try setting up colonies of bees, which would provide honey both for their own consumption and to sell.
Question says → You hear
Local people later suggested keepinganother suggestion was made by local people … colonies of bees
Why: Setting up colonies of bees is keeping bees. Write the plural.
The trap: Honey is the product, but you can't keep honey in this sense. The note needs the animals.
Question 40
Answer: designIn the lessons section, after the improvements in food security
Which phase especially needs enough time?
it's important to set realistic timelines for each phase of the programme, especially for its design
Question says → You hear
Enough time must be allowedset realistic timelines
particularlyespecially
Why: 'Realistic timelines' means allowing enough time, and 'especially for its design' gives the phase.
The trap: Development and production are said nearby, but the phase named is the design, where early mistakes are hard to correct.
You hear 'spoiled' twice and 'prevent food from being spoiled', so people write spoiling or storage. The gap after 'methods of food' needs the noun she uses: preservation.
Labour is mentioned in the same sentence, but it's already printed in the notes. The second thing farmers provided was the posts that held up the fences.
Tanks, water and protein all appear around the answer. The note asks what was kept in the special places, and that's fish.
Words from this recording worth keeping
arid(Background)
very dry, with little rain
sustainable(Background)
able to continue long term without harming resources
irrigation(How it was organised)
supplying land with water through channels or pipes
livestock breeding(How it was organised)
raising farm animals to produce young
cultivated(How it was organised)
prepared and used for growing crops
spoiled(Further developments)
gone bad and no longer fit to eat
initiative(Further developments)
a new plan or action to deal with something
food security(Lessons learned)
reliable access to enough food
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The full Cambridge 15 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 15, Test 2, 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.
