The eucalyptus tree in Australia: listening answers and explanations
A lecturer explains why the eucalyptus, or gum tree, matters in Australia and why so many are dying early. She covers two diseases, Mundulla Yellows and Bell-miner Associated Die-back, then William Jackson's theory about how often bushfires happen and what grows afterwards.
One note block, in order. 'First I'm going to talk about why it's important' gives you 31-32. 'So what are the reasons for this?' starts the diseases (33-34). 'One possibility is that it's to do with the huge bushfires' moves you to Jackson's theory (35-40), which goes from high-frequency fires to mid-frequency to low-frequency.
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 articles or adjectives. The bushfire section is the tricky stretch: the notes split it into high, mid and low frequency, but the speaker says 'very frequent', 'rather less frequent' and 'reduced frequency', so map each one before you listen.
Question 31
Answer: shelterThe first reason the tree is important
Besides food, what does the tree give other species?
it gives shelter to creatures like birds and bats, and these and other species also depend on it for food
Question says → You hear
it provides ... and foodit gives shelter … also depend on it for food
Why: 'Gives' matches 'provides', and shelter comes just before food, the same order as the note.
The trap: Nectar is mentioned next, but it's a kind of food, and the note already has food.
Question 32
Answer: oilWhen she says the tree is useful to humans too
What do the leaves give us that goes into a disinfectant?
we can kill germs with a disinfectant made from oil extracted from eucalyptus leaves
Question says → You hear
its leaves provideoil extracted from eucalyptus leaves
Why: The disinfectant is made from oil taken from the leaves. 'Extracted from' becomes 'leaves provide'.
The trap: Germs is the word nearest 'disinfectant', but germs are what it kills, not what it's made from.
Question 33
Answer: roadsWhen she reveals the cause of Mundulla Yellows found in 2004
What was the lime being used to build?
the cause of the problem was lime, or calcium hydroxide to give it its proper chemical name, which was being used in the construction of roads
Question says → You hear
used for makingbeing used in the construction of roads
Why: 'Used in the construction of roads' is 'used for making roads'. Write the plural you hear.
The trap: Construction fits the meaning but not the note: 'lime used for making construction' doesn't work. The chemical name is also there to distract you.
Question 34
Answer: insectsWhen she says 'What happens is that ...' in the Bell-miner section
What feeds on the eucalyptus leaves in Bell-miner disease?
What happens is that insects settle on the leaves and eat their way round them, destroying them as they go
Question says → You hear
feed on eucalyptus leaveseat their way round them
Why: Insects settle on the leaves and eat round them, then produce the sugary solution. The note's next line, 'they secrete', confirms it's the insects.
The trap: The bell-miner birds dominate this section, but they eat the sugar solution, not the leaves. They're already in the next line of the notes.
Question 35
Answer: grassWhen she explains William Jackson's theory
Also accepted: grasses
What grows after very frequent bushfires?
If there are very frequent bushfires in a region, this encourages grass to grow afterwards
Question says → You hear
high-frequency bushfiresvery frequent bushfires
Why: 'Very frequent' is the high-frequency case, and it encourages grass. Grass and grasses are both accepted.
The trap: Eucalyptus forests come in the next clause, but for less frequent fires. That's the next line of the notes.
Question 36
Answer: waterWhen she asks 'Why do fairly frequent bushfires actually support the growth of eucalyptus?'
What do mid-frequency fires leave more of for the trees?
the fire stops the growth of other species which would consume water needed by eucalyptus trees
Question says → You hear
make more ... available to the treesstops the growth of other species which would consume water
Why: Fire removes the competing plants that would use up water, so more water is left for the eucalyptus.
The trap: The note turns the logic round. If you wait for a sentence about something being 'available', you'll miss it.
Question 37
Answer: soilStraight after 'And there's another reason'
What do the fires keep in good condition for the trees?
they harm the eucalyptus in another way, by affecting the composition of the soil, and removing nutrients from it
Question says → You hear
maintain the quality of theaffecting the composition of the soil
Why: Without fires, other plants damage the soil's composition. Fires stop that, so they maintain the quality of the soil.
The trap: Nutrients is in the same sentence and sounds right, but they're removed 'from it', meaning from the soil. The soil is the thing whose quality is kept.
Question 38
Answer: dryWhen she says fires have been strictly controlled since Europeans arrived
What kind of rainforest grows when fires are rare?
this reduced frequency of bushfires to low levels has led to what's known as 'dry rainforest', which seems an odd name
Question says → You hear
low-frequency bushfiresreduced frequency of bushfires to low levels
Why: 'Low levels' matches low-frequency, and the result is called 'dry rainforest'.
The trap: Tropical and wet are said straight after, as the usual idea of a rainforest. This one is the odd-sounding dry kind.
Question 39
Answer: simpleWhen she asks 'what's special about this type of rainforest?'
What sort of ecosystem is dry rainforest?
unlike tropical rainforest which is a rich ecosystem, this type of ecosystem is usually a simple one
Question says → You hear
a ... ecosystemthis type of ecosystem is usually a simple one
Why: The contrast is clear: tropical is rich, this type is simple. It has dense vegetation but not much variety.
The trap: Rich comes first, but it describes tropical rainforest. Thick and dense describe the vegetation, not the ecosystem.
Question 40
Answer: nestThe end of the lecture, when she mentions shade
Also accepted: nests
What does the bell-miner build in dry rainforest?
one species that does find it ideal is the bell-miner bird, which builds its nests in the undergrowth there
Question says → You hear
an ideal environmentdoes find it ideal
Why: The forest suits the bell-miner because it builds its nests in the undergrowth. Nest and nests are both accepted.
The trap: Shade and undergrowth are nearby nouns, but the note needs what the environment is ideal for: the bird's nests.
Nutrients and soil arrive in the same breath. The note says 'maintain the quality of the ...', and it's the soil whose composition is protected. Nutrients are what get removed from it.
The answer is in a clause about other species that 'would consume water'. You have to turn that round: stopping them leaves more water for the eucalyptus.
Lime, calcium hydroxide and construction all come before the answer. The gap after 'making' needs the thing that was built: roads, plural, as you hear it.
Words from this recording worth keeping
biodiversity(Importance)
the variety of living things in an area
extracted(Importance)
taken out by a special process
prematurely(Reasons for decline)
earlier than normal or expected
secrete(Bell-miner Associated Die-back)
produce and release a liquid
flourish(Bell-miner Associated Die-back)
grow or develop very well
proliferate(Bushfires)
increase quickly in number
composition(Bushfires)
what something is made up of
indigenous(Bushfires)
originally living in a place
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Cambridge IELTS 15, Test 1, 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.
