Elephant translocation: listening answers and explanations
A student presentation about moving groups of elephants from an overcrowded national park in Malawi to a new reserve. The speaker explains why there were too many elephants, how the move was carried out step by step, and how the new park and local people benefited.
One ten-gap note block, strictly in order. 'This led to a number of problems' gives 31, 'So how did this translocation process work in practice?' starts 32-37, and 'a huge success, and not just for the elephants' starts 38-40. Several gaps sit next to a detail already printed in the notes.
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: A lecture-style talk with clear signposts. Many notes already give you half of a pair (tusks and ..., poachers and ..., legal or commercial), so listen for the word that comes with it. Every answer is a noun, and two of them need a plural.
Question 31
Answer: fencesAfter 'Firstly, there was more competition for food'
What did the extra elephants damage in the park?
Elephants were routinely knocking down fences around the park, which then had to be repaired at a significant cost.
Question says → You hear
damage to ... in the parkknocking down fences around the park
Why: 'Knocking down' fences is damage, and the fences had to be repaired. Write the plural: fences.
The trap: Food and hunger are the first problem, already printed in the note above. The gap is the second problem.
Question 32
Answer: familyStart of 'So how did this translocation process work in practice?'
What did the elephants in each group have in common?
Elephants were moved in groups of between eight and twenty, all belonging to one family.
Question says → You hear
from the sameall belonging to one family
Why: 'All belonging to one family' becomes 'from the same family'. Relationships matter to elephants, which is why they moved together.
The trap: Group is already in the note, and the numbers eight and twenty come just before. The gap is the word after 'same', so family.
Question 33
Answer: helicoptersStraight after the point about moving the family together
What did the team use to steer the elephants to the plain?
A team of vets and park rangers flew over the park in helicopters and targeted a group which were rounded up and directed to a designated open plain.
Question says → You hear
made use of ... to help guideflew over the park in helicopters … directed to
Why: The vets and rangers flew in helicopters and directed the group to the open plain. The note's 'guide' matches 'directed'. Plural: helicopters.
The trap: Darts come next, but they were used to immobilise the elephants, not to guide them.
Question 34
Answer: stressWhen the vets start using darts
Why did the darting have to be done fast?
This also had to be done as quickly as possible so as to minimise the stress caused.
Question says → You hear
completed quickly to reduceas quickly as possible so as to minimise
Why: 'Minimise' matches 'reduce', so the gap is the stress.
The trap: The tranquiliser dose is discussed just before, but that's about choosing the amount for different-sized elephants, not why speed mattered.
Question 35
Answer: sides'To avoid the risk of suffocation'
How were the elephants positioned to protect their lungs?
none of the elephants were lying on their chests because their lungs could be crushed in this position. So all the elephants had to be placed on their sides.
Question says → You hear
turned on theirplaced on their sides
Why: Lying on the chest could crush the lungs, so they were put on their sides. Plural, because elephants have two.
The trap: Chests is said first, with 'lungs' right after it, so it feels like the answer. It's the dangerous position, not the safe one.
Question 36
Answer: breathingWhile the elephants waited for the vets' checks
What had to be watched all the time?
It was very important to keep an eye on their breathing - if there were fewer than six breaths per minute
Question says → You hear
monitored constantlykeep an eye on their breathing
Why: 'Keep an eye on' is the paraphrase for 'monitor'. The note has 'elephants' ... ', so the gap needs a noun: breathing.
The trap: Breaths is also said, but the thing monitored is their breathing. Lungs is from the point before.
Question 37
Answer: feetAfter the collars are fitted to the matriarchs
What else was measured besides the tusks?
Measurements were taken of each elephant's tusks … and also of their feet.
Question says → You hear
size of their tusks andtusks … and also of their feet
Why: Tusks are already in the note, and 'and also of their feet' adds the second measurement.
The trap: There's a long aside about poachers between the two words, so it's easy to stop listening after tusks. Collars come just before, but those are the tracking devices.
Question 38
Answer: employment'a huge success, and not just for the elephants'
What kind of opportunities improved for local people?
Employment prospects have improved enormously. contributing to rising living standards for the whole community.
Question says → You hear
... opportunitiesEmployment prospects
Why: 'Prospects' and 'opportunities' are synonyms, so the gap is employment.
The trap: Living standards come right after, but they are the result of better employment, and they don't fit before 'opportunities'.
Question 39
Answer: weaponsWhen she says poaching is no longer an issue
What, besides poachers, is there less of now?
many of them volunteered to give up their weapons, as they were no longer of any use to them.
Question says → You hear
reduction in the number of poachers andgive up their weapons
Why: Former poachers gave up their weapons, so there are fewer of them. Plural: weapons.
The trap: Income is mentioned just before, but poachers found more income, which is an increase, not a reduction.
Question 40
Answer: tourismNear the end, after the conservation model other parks can copy
What has grown as a contributor to GDP?
All this has been a big draw for tourism, which contributes five times more than the illegal wildlife trade to GDP
Question says → You hear
contributor to GDPcontributes five times more … to GDP
Why: Tourism contributes five times more than the illegal wildlife trade, and the elephants are drawing it in. That's the increase.
The trap: The illegal wildlife trade is also linked to GDP in the same sentence, but only as the smaller comparison.
Chests is said first, as the dangerous position. The note asks how elephants were turned to avoid lung damage, so the answer is the safe position: sides.
'Employment prospects' turns into 'employment opportunities'. People who write 'living standards' or 'jobs' miss that the note already gives you 'opportunities'.
GDP comes with two things: tourism and the illegal wildlife trade. Tourism is the one that contributes more, and the note says 'an increase in'.
Words from this recording worth keeping
overpopulation(Reasons for overpopulation)
too many animals for the area to support
poachers(Reasons for overpopulation)
people who illegally hunt animals
restocked(Reasons for overpopulation)
supplied with animals again
immobilise(The translocation process)
stop something from moving
tranquiliser(The translocation process)
a drug that makes an animal calm or sleepy
suffocation(The translocation process)
dying or suffering from being unable to breathe
matriarch(The translocation process)
the female who leads a family group
replicated(Advantages of translocation)
copied in another place
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The full Cambridge 18 Test 1 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 18, 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.
