Australian Aboriginal Rock Paintings: listening answers and explanations
A researcher talks about Australian Aboriginal rock paintings. The first half compares three painting styles, Dynamic, Yam and Modern, by how they show people, their size and what they record about the environment. The second half describes the researcher's project on the Rainbow Serpent image.
For 31-36 the features are not discussed in list order: the speaker moves between the three styles while talking about human figures, size and then the environment. The notes for 37-40 follow the Rainbow Serpent project in order: aim, the Yam period changes, and what the image symbolises.
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: Each feature belongs to one style, but the speaker often compares two styles in one sentence. Note the style name that goes with each detail: x-ray skeletons, curvy yam-like figures, Europeans without hands, miniature figures, fish and shells, vegetables.
Question 31
Answer: CWhen the speaker compares how humans are shown in each style
Which style shows the bones inside figures?
the Modern style, which is known as 'x-ray' because it actually makes a feature of the internal skeleton as well as the organs of animals and humans
Question says → You hear
figures revealing bonesmakes a feature of the internal skeleton
Why: The Modern style is called 'x-ray' because it shows the skeleton. Bones are the skeleton, so C.
The trap: The sentence starts with the Yam period, which 'didn't go as far as' this. The feature belongs to the Modern style, named after it.
Question 32
Answer: BStraight after the 'x-ray' description
Which style has rounded figures?
The Yam style of painting got its name from the fact that it featured much curvier figures that actually resemble the vegetable called a yam
Question says → You hear
rounded figuresmuch curvier figures
Why: Curvier figures that look like a yam are rounded figures, so B.
The trap: The Dynamic style used 'stick-like' figures, the opposite of rounded.
Question 33
Answer: CWhen the speaker describes the first contact with European settlers
Which style shows figures with parts missing?
Aborigines managed to convey the idea of the settlers' clothing by simply painting the Europeans without any hands
Question says → You hear
figures with parts missingpainting the Europeans without any hands
Why: The Modern paintings show Europeans with no hands, as if their hands were in their pockets. Missing hands are missing parts, so C.
The trap: Stick figures (Dynamic) might seem incomplete, but nothing is missing from them. The missing hands come from the Modern period of European contact.
Question 34
Answer: AWhen the speaker says 'Size is another characteristic'
Which style has figures smaller than life size?
The more recent images tend to be life size or even larger, but the Dynamic figures are painted in miniature.
Question says → You hear
smaller than life sizepainted in miniature
Why: 'In miniature' means very small, and it's the Dynamic figures, so A.
The trap: 'Life size' is said first, but it describes the more recent styles. 'But' brings in the Dynamic contrast.
Question 35
Answer: BWhen the speaker talks about environmental changes
Which style first shows sea creatures?
fish didn't start to appear in paintings until the Yam period along with shells and other marine images
Question says → You hear
sea creaturesshells and other marine images
Why: Fish, shells and other marine images first appear in the Yam period, so B.
The trap: The Dynamic period is mentioned first, but as a time when fish were rarely eaten. Freshwater creatures belong to the Modern period, and they aren't from the sea.
Question 36
Answer: BStraight after the sea creatures
Which style shows plants?
The paintings of the Yam tradition also suggest that, during this time, the Aborigines moved away from animals as their main food source
Question says → You hear
plantsvegetables in their diet, as these feature
Why: In the Yam period, people began eating vegetables and these feature prominently in the paintings. Vegetables are plants, so B.
The trap: B is used twice in a row, so students sometimes switch to another letter. Nothing says plants are a feature of the Dynamic or Modern styles.
Note completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 37-40
How to attack this block: The project section follows the notes closely. 'The Yam period coincided with' leads into the environmental changes, and 'Even today' leads into the last answer. Check the word limit and grammar, for example the plural in 'sea levels'.
Question 37
Answer: animalWhen the speaker introduces the Rainbow Serpent project
Also accepted: creature
What was the project trying to identify as the basis of the Rainbow Serpent?
Many believe it is a curious mixture of kangaroo, … snake and crocodile. … could locate the animal that the very first painters based their image on
Question says → You hear
the ... basis for the Rainbow Serpentthe animal that the very first painters based their image on
Why: The aim was to find the animal the first painters based the image on, so the note reads 'the animal basis'. Creature is also accepted.
The trap: Kangaroo, snake and crocodile are specific animals from other people's beliefs. The note needs the general word.
Question 38
Answer: sea levelsWhen the speaker links the Yam period to the end of the ice age
Also accepted: sea level / water levels / water level
What rose because of environmental changes?
This brought about tremendous … change in the environment, with the sea levels rising and creeping steadily inland
Question says → You hear
led to higherthe sea levels rising
Why: The sea levels rose, and 'rising' becomes 'higher'. Sea levels fits the two-word limit.
The trap: 'Inland' is right after, but it's where the sea moved, not what rose.
Question 39
Answer: huntingStraight after the sea flooding the land
Which traditional activity was most affected?
also caused great deal of disruption to traditional patterns of life, hunting in particular
Question says → You hear
traditional activities were affected, especiallydisruption to traditional patterns of life, hunting in particular
Why: 'In particular' matches 'especially', and the activity is hunting.
The trap: Fishing might seem logical with all the sea changes, but the word you hear is hunting.
Question 40
Answer: creationThe end of the talk, 'Even today'
What does the Rainbow Serpent symbolise in Aboriginal culture?
Even today, Aborigines see the Rainbow Serpent as a symbol of creation
Question says → You hear
symbolisesas a symbol of creation
Why: The Rainbow Serpent is 'a symbol of creation'. One word: creation.
The trap: 'Abundance' and 'new life forms' are around it and fit the meaning, but they explain why it means creation. Write the word you hear.
The Yam figures moved to 'a more naturalistic shape' but 'didn't go as far as the Modern style'. That sentence is about the Modern style's skeletons. The rounded figures are the Yam style's 'curvier figures'.
Kangaroo, snake and crocodile are all named, but they are what others believe the image mixes. The project's aim is to find the animal it was really based on.
Words from this recording worth keeping
symbolic(Introduction)
representing an idea rather than a real thing
categorise(Painting styles)
put into groups by type
depicted(Human figures)
shown in a picture
naturalistic(Human figures)
showing things as they really look
in miniature(Size)
on a very small scale
intrigued(The Rainbow Serpent)
made very curious
coincided with(The Yam period)
happened at the same time as
abundance(What the image symbolises)
a very large amount of something
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 8 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 8, 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.
