A student presents a project on tardigrades, near-microscopic animals also called water bears and moss piglets. The talk covers their names and body, where they live, how they survive drying out (cryptobiosis), what they eat and their conservation status.
One ten-gap note block, strictly in order, under the headings in the notes: names (31), physical appearance (32-35), habitat (36), cryptobiosis (37-38), feeding (39) and conservation status (40). The talk has no pause, so the headings are your checkpoints.
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, and several gaps sit next to a word the notes already give you (round, blood, claws), so the answer is the other half of a pair. Check singular and plural against the grammar of each note before the talk starts.
Question 31
Answer: moveWhen the student explains the nicknames, right after their size
Why are tardigrades called 'bears'?
'water' because that's where they live best, and 'bear' because of the way they move.
Question says → You hear
water 'bears' (due to how they'bear' because of the way they move
Why: 'Because of the way they move' becomes 'due to how they ...'. The gap needs a verb: move.
The trap: 'Live' is the reason for 'water', not 'bear'. 'Look' is the reason for the other name, moss piglet.
Question 32
Answer: shortThe start of the Physical appearance section
Besides round, what is their body like?
They have a body which is short and also rounded - a bit like a barrel
Question says → You hear
a ..., round bodya body which is short and also rounded
Why: The note keeps 'round' and needs the other adjective before it: short.
The trap: 'Barrel' is a comparison and a noun, so it doesn't fit before 'round body'. 'Four segments' comes next, but that's a different detail.
Question 33
Answer: discRight after the legs and claws are described
Also accepted: discs
What do some species have instead of claws?
some species don't have any claws; what they have are discs, and these work by means of suction. They enable the tardigrade to cling on to surfaces or to grip its prey.
Question says → You hear
claws or ... for grippingdon't have any claws; what they have are discs … to grip its prey
Why: Some species have discs instead of claws, and these let them grip. The key gives disc.
The trap: Suction is how the discs work, not what they are. It doesn't fit 'claws or ...' as an alternative body part.
Question 34
Answer: oxygenWhen the student says they have no lungs
What does the body fluid carry along with blood?
Within the body, there are no lungs, or any organs for breathing at all. Instead, oxygen and also blood are transported in a fluid that fills the cavity of the body.
Question says → You hear
absence of respiratory organsno lungs, or any organs for breathing at all
a liquid that carries both ... and bloodoxygen and also blood are transported in a fluid
Why: 'A fluid' becomes 'a liquid', 'transported' becomes 'carries', and 'and also blood' tells you the gap is the first item: oxygen.
The trap: Lungs is the nearby noun, but it's what they don't have. Blood is already printed.
Question 35
Answer: tubeStill under Physical appearance, after the body fluid. Note: the transcript stored for this test stops after Q34, so no evidence quote is shown for 35-40.
What shape is a tardigrade's mouth?
Our transcript of this recording is incomplete here, so there's no quote. Replay the end of the recording to hear the answer for yourself.
Why: The answer is tube. The note says the mouth is 'shaped like a ...', so you need a singular noun after 'a'.
The trap: Stylets is printed already: it's the name of the teeth, not the shape of the mouth.
Question 36
Answer: temperaturesIn the Habitat section, after where they're often found
What can tardigrades survive at very low or high levels of?
Our transcript of this recording is incomplete here, so there's no quote. Replay the end of the recording to hear the answer for yourself.
Why: The answer is temperatures. 'Very low or high' needs something that's measured on a scale, and the key takes the plural.
The trap: Pressure also goes high and low, but the key is temperatures. Keep the plural s.
Question 37
Answer: proteinIn the Cryptobiosis section, after the 'tun' and the slower metabolism
What kind of substance protects their DNA during cryptobiosis?
Our transcript of this recording is incomplete here, so there's no quote. Replay the end of the recording to hear the answer for yourself.
Why: The answer is protein. The note says 'a type of ...' ensures their DNA isn't damaged, so the gap is the category of substance.
The trap: Metabolism is in the line before and it's about energy, not about protecting DNA.
Question 38
Answer: spaceThe end of the Cryptobiosis section, when research is mentioned
Where are researchers testing how long tardigrades can survive?
Our transcript of this recording is incomplete here, so there's no quote. Replay the end of the recording to hear the answer for yourself.
Why: The answer is space. The note asks where they can stay alive, and research is checking how many days they last there.
The trap: The gap follows 'in', so it needs a place. Don't add 'outer'; one word only.
Question 39
Answer: seaweedIn the Feeding section
Besides moss, what do they get liquids from?
Our transcript of this recording is incomplete here, so there's no quote. Replay the end of the recording to hear the answer for yourself.
Why: The answer is seaweed. The note gives moss as one source of the liquids they consume and asks for the other.
The trap: They may also eat other tardigrades, but that's the next line of the notes, not this gap.
Question 40
Answer: endangeredThe final heading, Conservation status
What are tardigrades not considered to be?
Our transcript of this recording is incomplete here, so there's no quote. Replay the end of the recording to hear the answer for yourself.
Why: The answer is endangered. Conservation status is about how much risk a species faces, and the note says tardigrades aren't in that category.
The trap: The note is negative ('not considered to be'), so write the word as is: endangered, not 'safe'.
The body is 'short and also rounded'. The note already has round, so the gap is the other adjective: short. Barrel is a comparison, not the description.
The note already prints blood, so the gap is what the fluid carries with it: oxygen. This comes straight after 'no lungs', which is the clue.
Words from this recording worth keeping
microscopic(Introduction)
so small you need a microscope to see it
coined(Introduction)
invented a new word or name
traits(Physical appearance)
features or characteristics
segments(Physical appearance)
separate sections of a body
suction(Physical appearance)
sticking to something by removing the air
prey(Physical appearance)
an animal that is hunted and eaten
cavity(Physical appearance)
an empty space inside something
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The full Cambridge 19 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 19, 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.
