Mass Strandings of Whales and Dolphins: listening answers and explanations
A lecturer talks to students about to start field work about mass strandings, when groups of whales and dolphins swim onto a beach and die. The talk goes through the main theories: parasites, toxins, accidents while chasing prey, human noise and group behaviour.
One lecture, one note block, strictly in order. Each theory gets its own heading, and the lecturer signposts them clearly: 'The first is', 'Another theory', 'Alternatively', 'There are also some new theories', 'A final theory'. The last answer comes from the reading recommendation.
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.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 31-40 · Note completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
plants and animalsAlso accepted: animals and plants / plants or animals / animals or plants / plants and fish / fish and plants / plants and fishes / fishes and plants
How to attack this block: Use the note headings as a map: when you hear the next signpost word, jump to that heading. Most gaps take a single noun or adjective, and the notes paraphrase the lecture, so listen for meaning, not for the exact words around the gap. Question 33 needs two things, plants and animals.
Question 31
Answer: tideRight after the definition of mass strandings, before the theories
Also accepted: tides
What can change quickly in places where strandings are common?
this type of event is a frequent occurrence in some of the locations that you'll be travelling to, where sometimes the tide goes out suddenly, confusing the animals.
Question says → You hear
Common in areasa frequent occurrence in some of the locations
can change quicklythe tide goes out suddenly
Why: 'A frequent occurrence in some of the locations' is 'common in areas', and what changes there suddenly is the tide. Tide or tides are both accepted.
The trap: It's easy to miss because it comes before the signpost 'there are many other theories', while you're still waiting for the first heading.
Question 32
Answer: hearingThe first theory, parasites, after the worm in the ears
Also accepted: ear / ears
What do parasites affect that marine animals need for navigation?
a type of worm is commonly found in the ears of dead whales. Since marine animals rely heavily on their hearing to navigate
Question says → You hear
which they depend on for navigationrely heavily on their hearing to navigate
Why: 'Rely heavily on ... to navigate' is 'depend on for navigation', and what they rely on is their hearing. Ears is also accepted.
The trap: Worm is said just before, but it's the parasite, not the thing it damages.
Question 33
Answer: plants and animalsThe second theory, 'Another theory is related to toxins'
Also accepted: animals and plants / plants or animals / animals or plants / plants and fish / fish and plants / plants and fishes / fishes and plants
Where do the toxins that whales eat come from?
Many toxins, as I'm sure you're aware, originate from plants, or animals. The whale ingests these toxins in its normal feeding behaviour
Question says → You hear
Poisons fromMany toxins … originate from plants, or animals
commonly consumed by whalesThe whale ingests these toxins in its normal feeding behaviour
Why: Toxins 'originate from plants, or animals', and the whale ingests (eats) them while feeding. You need both words for the mark, in either order.
The trap: Tuna is the Cape Cod example that comes next. It's a specific case, and the example is already printed in the notes.
Question 34
Answer: feedingThe accidental strandings theory, after David Thurston's squid example
What were most stranded animals not doing when they stranded?
examination of the animals' stomach contents reveal that most had not been feeding as they stranded.
Question says → You hear
the majority of animals were not ... when they strandedmost had not been feeding as they stranded
Why: If animals strand while chasing prey, they should have been eating. Their stomachs show most had not been feeding, which is why the theory is unlikely. Keep the -ing form after 'were not'.
The trap: 'Chasing' or 'hunting' fit the idea but aren't the word said. 'Feed' is wrong in form: 'were not feed' isn't English.
Question 35
Answer: noiseWhen the lecturer moves on to 'new theories which link strandings to humans'
Also accepted: noises
What from military tests is linked to recent strandings?
A growing concern is that loud noises in the ocean cause strandings. Noises such as those caused by military exercises
Question says → You hear
from military testscaused by military exercises
linked to some recent strandingshave been pinpointed as the cause of some strandings of late
Why: 'Military exercises' becomes 'military tests', 'of late' becomes 'recent', and the thing they cause is noise. Noise or noises are both fine.
The trap: The Bahamas example mentions 'a new submarine detection system', which is tempting, but the note asks what comes from the tests: noise.
Question 36
Answer: healthyWhen the lecturer says several factors made the 2000 stranding stand out
What was unusual about the condition of the Bahamas whales?
There were several factors that made this stranding stand out as different from previous strandings. … For one, all the stranded animals were healthy.
Question says → You hear
unusualstand out as different
were allall the stranded animals were healthy
Why: 'Stand out as different' is the note's 'unusual', and the first factor is that all the animals were healthy. The gap after 'were all' needs an adjective.
Question 37
Answer: groupStraight after 'In addition', the second factor
How else were the Bahamas whales different?
the animals were spread out along 38 kilometres of coast, whereas it's more common for the animals to be found in a group
Question says → You hear
were not in awere spread out along 38 kilometres of coast
Why: Being spread out is the opposite of being in a group, and the lecturer names the normal pattern: animals are usually found in a group. So the gap is group.
The trap: 38 kilometres is the number you hear, but 'not in a 38' makes no sense. The note needs the noun from the contrast.
Question 38
Answer: socialThe final theory, group behaviour
Which kind of whales strand most often?
the whales that are thought to be most social - the toothed whales - are the group that strand the most frequently.
Question says → You hear
More strandings in the most ... speciesthe whales that are thought to be most social … strand the most frequently
Why: The most social whales strand most frequently. The gap follows 'most', so it needs an adjective: social.
The trap: 'Toothed' is the name of that group of whales. It's the example, but 'the most toothed species' doesn't make sense.
Question 39
Answer: leaderWhen the lecturer gives the evidence that supports the group behaviour theory
In the 1994 dolphin stranding, which animal was sick?
Examination of the dead animals revealed that apart from the leader, all the others had been healthy
Question says → You hear
only the ... was illapart from the leader, all the others had been healthy
Why: If everyone except the leader was healthy, then only the leader was ill. The note reverses the sentence, so you have to think it through.
The trap: Healthy is the word you hear most, but the note asks who was ill, the one exception.
Question 40
Answer: networkThe very end, the reading recommendation
Also accepted: networks
What does Connor's book give information about?
I recommend John Connor's Marine Mammals Ashore as an excellent starting point if you're interested in finding out more about these networks
Question says → You hear
gives information about strandingfinding out more about these networks
Why: 'These networks' refers back to 'stranding networks', set up to rescue animals and collect samples. The note already has 'stranding', so write network or networks.
The trap: Rescuing or samples are what the networks do, but the book is about the networks themselves.
You need both sources of the toxins, plants and animals, for one mark. Many students write only one, or write 'tuna' from the Cape Cod example, which is already printed.
The lecturer says the whales were 'spread out along 38 kilometres of coast', and only then mentions a group. The note turns 'spread out' into 'not in a group', so the answer is group, not a number.
The lecturer says the 'most social' whales strand most often. The gap needs an adjective after 'most', so social, not 'toothed'.
Words from this recording worth keeping
field work(Introduction)
research done outside, in a real place rather than a lab
infested with(Parasites)
full of insects, worms or other pests
navigate(Parasites)
find your way from place to place
ingests(Toxins)
takes something into the body by eating it
fatal(Toxins)
causing death
pinpointed(Human activity)
identified exactly
inevitable(Group behaviour)
certain to happen and impossible to avoid
phenomenon(Further reading)
something that happens and can be observed
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Cambridge IELTS 9, 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.
