The Industrial Revolution in Britain: listening answers and explanations
A student presents research on how the Industrial Revolution changed ordinary lives in Britain and gave rise to consumerism. She looks at three areas of change, manufacturing, transport and retailing, and how each one made people buy more.
One note block, in order. Two gaps come in the introduction (31-32). Then the speaker names each area as she reaches it: 'First let's look at manufacturing' (33-35), 'there were new technologies in transport' (36-37), and 'The third main area ... was retailing' (38-40).
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 three headings in the notes match the speaker's signposts, so use them to keep your place. Most gaps need a general noun (power, machines, lighting) after the speaker has given specific examples (steam engines, coal, fabrics), so don't grab the first concrete word you hear.
Question 31
Answer: wealthIn the introduction, when she talks about the 19th century
What did possessions start to be used to measure?
it was in the 19th century that the quantity and quality of people's possessions was used as an indication of the wealth of the country
Question says → You hear
used to measure Britain'sused as an indication of the wealth of the country
Why: 'An indication of' becomes 'used to measure', and 'the country' becomes 'Britain's'. The answer is wealth.
The trap: Quantity and quality are the two nouns before it, but they describe the possessions, not what's being measured.
Question 32
Answer: technologyWhen she defines the era of the Industrial Revolution
Besides production, what changed lives?
when improvements in how goods were made as well as in technology triggered massive social changes
Question says → You hear
Developments in production of goods and inimprovements in how goods were made as well as in technology
Why: 'Improvements' matches 'developments', 'how goods were made' is production, and the second area is technology.
The trap: Social changes is what they caused, not a second area of development.
Question 33
Answer: powerRight after 'First let's look at manufacturing'
What new things made the Industrial Revolution possible?
the Industrial Revolution couldn't have taken place at all if it weren't for these new sources of power
Question says → You hear
would not have happened withoutcouldn't have taken place at all if it weren't for
Why: 'Couldn't have taken place ... if it weren't for' is 'would not have happened without'. 'New types of power' matches 'new sources of power'.
The trap: Steam engines and coal are the examples just before. Watermills and windmills are the old types they replaced.
Question 34
Answer: textileWhen she moves on from the new sources of power
Also accepted: textiles
What was the leading industry?
The most advanced industry for much of the 19th century was textiles. This meant that fashionable fabrics, and lace and ribbons were made available to everyone.
Question says → You hear
The leading industryThe most advanced industry
became widely availablewere made available to everyone
Why: 'Most advanced' is 'leading', and the industry was textiles. Textile and textiles are both accepted.
The trap: Fabrics, lace and ribbons are its products, which the note puts in brackets. They aren't the industry.
Question 35
Answer: machinesWhen she contrasts the industry with small home workshops
What new things made factories necessary?
But enormous new machines were now being created that could produce the goods faster and on a larger scale, and these required a lot more space. So large factories were built
Question says → You hear
made factories necessarythese required a lot more space. So large factories were built
Why: The machines needed a lot more space, so factories were built. 'New machines' fills the gap exactly.
The trap: Workshops were what the factories replaced. The note asks what caused the factories, not what came before them.
Question 36
Answer: newspapersWhen she says what the railways carried
What did people get more access to that showed them what they could buy?
significantly, they included newspapers, which meant that thousands of people were not only more knowledgeable … but could also read about what was available in the shops
Question says → You hear
made people more aware of what they could buycould also read about what was available in the shops
Why: Railways carried newspapers, so people could read about what the shops had. Use the plural, newspapers.
The trap: Coal, iron and clothes are also carried, but they don't tell people anything. 'Significantly' marks the important one.
Question 37
Answer: localAt the end of the transport section
What kind of goods were people no longer limited to?
goods could now be sold all over the country, instead of just in the local market
Question says → You hear
not limited to buyinginstead of just in the local market
Why: 'Instead of just' means no longer limited to. The gap is before 'goods', so it needs an adjective: local.
The trap: Market is the noun after local, but 'buying market goods' isn't what she said. The note needs the describing word.
Question 38
Answer: lightingWhen she talks about the department stores and how they attracted customers
What made goods inside stores easier to see?
improved lighting inside greatly increased the visibility of the goods for sale
Question says → You hear
more visible … inside stores because of betterimproved lighting inside greatly increased the visibility
Why: 'Improved' is 'better', 'inside' is in both, and 'increased the visibility' is 'more visible'. The answer is lighting.
The trap: Light alone is close but not what she says. Write the noun you hear, lighting.
Question 39
Answer: windowsRight after the lighting, when she says 'from outside'
What was bigger, making goods visible from outside?
Another development that made goods more visible from outside resulted from the use of plate glass, which made it possible for windows to be much larger than previously.
Question says → You hear
because ... were biggerwindows to be much larger than previously
Why: Plate glass allowed much larger windows. 'Much larger' is 'bigger', and the note needs a plural noun: windows.
The trap: Plate glass is the cause and comes first, but the note asks what was bigger. Glass wasn't bigger, the windows were.
Question 40
Answer: advertisingWhen she says 'New ways of promoting goods were introduced, too'
What kind of persuasive activity became much more common?
Previously, the focus had been on informing potential customers about the availability of goods; now there was an explosion in advertising trying to persuade people to go shopping.
Question says → You hear
became much more commonthere was an explosion in advertising
persuasivetrying to persuade people
Why: 'An explosion in' means a big increase, and the advertising tried to persuade people. So advertising.
The trap: Informing customers is the old focus, said first. The change was to persuasive advertising.
Steam engines and coal come first and they're vivid. But the note asks for the 'new types of ...', and the speaker sums them up as 'these new sources of power'.
Workshops, homes and factories all come up. The thing that made factories necessary was the enormous new machines, which needed much more space.
Words from this recording worth keeping
consumerism(Introduction)
a way of life focused on buying goods
triggered(Introduction)
caused something to start
migrated(Manufacturing)
moved to live somewhere else
fell out of use(Transport)
stopped being used
distribution(Transport)
the moving of goods to where they are sold
flocked(Retailing)
went somewhere in large numbers
entrepreneurs(Retailing)
people who start new businesses
necessities(Conclusion)
things you can't live without
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The full Cambridge 15 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 15, 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.
