The Underground House: listening answers and explanations
In an architecture lecture, the speaker starts on contemporary experimental housing with a house built mostly underground in an old quarry. They describe the owners, the site, the design, its energy-saving features, and its environmental cost.
Questions 31-32 come first, about the owners and the site. Then the notes follow the lecture in three blocks, in order: design (33-34), special features (35-38) and environmental issues (39-40). 'Now, what is of interest to us' and 'It's true that' are the signposts between blocks.
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: Both questions come in the first minute. The lecturer mentions details from every option (rural life, professionals, stone, the landscape), so check each against what is actually said about them.
Question 31
Answer: BNear the start, when the lecturer describes who built the house
What does the lecturer say about the owners?
the owners - both professionals but not architects - wanted to be closely involved, so they decided to manage the project themselves. Their chief aim was to create somewhere that was as environmentally-friendly as possible.
Question says → You hear
interested in environmental issuesTheir chief aim was to create somewhere that was as environmentally-friendly as possible
Why: If their chief aim was an environmentally-friendly house, they were clearly interested in environmental issues, B.
The trap: C twists 'both professionals but not architects': far from hiring a project manager, they managed the project themselves. A is the opposite of 'they'd both grown up in a rural area'.
Question 32
Answer: AStraight after 'So the first thing they did was to look for a site'
What does the lecturer say about the site?
And they found a disused stone quarry in a beautiful area. The price was relatively low
Question says → You hear
The land was quite cheapThe price was relatively low
Why: 'Relatively low' price is quite cheap land, A.
The trap: B uses 'stone', but the quarry was disused and 'wasn't productive any longer', so no stone was being taken out. C is wrong because the quarry was 'an ugly blot on the landscape'.
Note completion (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 33-40
How to attack this block: Most gaps are nouns, and the notes paraphrase the lecture ('two layers' for 'a double layer', 'produce more than it needs' for 'a surplus'). Follow the three headings, and listen for 'In addition', 'As well as that' and 'And then there's' to move from one special feature to the next.
Question 33
Answer: glassIn the design, after the north, east and west sides set in the earth
What was the south-facing side made of?
only the sloping, south-facing side was exposed to light. That was made of a double layer of very strong glass.
Question says → You hear
two layers ofa double layer of very strong glass
Why: 'A double layer' is 'two layers', and the material is glass.
The trap: 'Very strong' is between the two, but the note needs the material, a noun: glass.
Question 34
Answer: insulationStraight after the photovoltaic tiles
What did the foam improve?
And the walls had a layer of foam around them too, to increase the insulation.
Question says → You hear
used to improve theto increase the insulation
Why: 'Increase' becomes 'improve', and what the foam improves is insulation.
The trap: Energy is mentioned just before (tiles store energy from the sun), but that's the tiles, not the foam.
Question 35
Answer: windowsThe first special feature, when sunlight floods in
What, besides mirrors, spreads the light inside?
Sunlight floods in through the glass wall, and to maximise it there are lots of mirrors and windows inside the house.
Question says → You hear
To increase the lightto maximise it
many internal mirrors andlots of mirrors and windows inside the house
Why: 'Inside the house' is 'internal', and after mirrors come windows. Plural, to match mirrors.
The trap: 'Glass wall' is said just before, but that's the outside wall the light comes through, not inside.
Question 36
Answer: electricityAfter 'In addition, the special tiles on the outside'
What might the house produce too much of in future?
it's possible that in future the house may even generate an electricity surplus, and that the owners will be able to sell some to the national grid.
Question says → You hear
produce more ... than it needsgenerate an electricity surplus
Why: A surplus is more than you need, and what it generates is electricity.
The trap: Energy is a near-synonym used in the same sentence about the tiles, but the surplus is electricity.
Question 37
Answer: floorAfter 'As well as that', on recycled materials
Also accepted: floors
Which part of the house used recycled wood?
wherever possible, recycled materials have been used. For example, the floors are made of reclaimed wood.
Question says → You hear
Recycled woodreclaimed wood
Why: 'Reclaimed wood' is recycled wood, and it was used for the floors. Floor or floors are accepted.
The trap: Furniture is said next, but the owners didn't buy any new furniture; they kept what they had. It wasn't made from the wood.
Question 38
Answer: wasteAfter the furniture, 'And then there's the system'
What does the organic system process?
And then there's the system for dealing with the waste produced in the house. This is dealt with organically
Question says → You hear
The system for processing domestic ... is organicthe system for dealing with the waste produced in the house. This is dealt with organically
Why: 'Dealing with' becomes 'processing', 'produced in the house' is 'domestic', and the thing is waste.
The trap: Reed beds are how the waste is purified, not what is processed.
Question 39
Answer: concreteWhen the lecturer admits 'It's true that' the construction was harmful
What material harmed the environment during building?
the actual construction of the house was harmful to the environment, mainly because they had to use massive amounts of concrete
Question says → You hear
large quantities ofmassive amounts of concrete
Why: 'Massive amounts' is 'large quantities', and the material is concrete.
The trap: Carbon dioxide is said straight after, but that's what concrete releases, not a construction material.
Question 40
Answer: 15 yearsAfter 70 tons of carbon dioxide, when the lecturer says 'However'
Also accepted: fifteen years
How long will it take the house to pay its environmental debt?
In total, the house construction has released 70 tons of carbon dioxide into the air. … it's been calculated that this will only take fifteen years
Question says → You hear
will have paid its 'environmental debt' withinit's been calculated that this will only take fifteen years
Why: The lecturer says the initial debt will be cleared, which is 'paid' in the notes, and that this will only take fifteen years. The note needs a time after 'within', so write 15 years or fifteen years.
The trap: 70 tons is the number said just before. It's the amount of carbon dioxide, not the time.
C is a trap built from 'both professionals': the owners managed the project themselves. A is the opposite of what's said: they grew up in a rural area. Their chief aim was to be environmentally friendly, so B.
The note says 'produce more ... than it needs'. The lecturer says it may 'generate an electricity surplus'. A surplus is more than you need, and what it might produce is electricity.
70 tons of carbon dioxide is the striking number, but the question is about time. The debt will be cleared in fifteen years. Write 15 years, with the word.
Words from this recording worth keeping
contemporary(Introduction)
modern, of the present time
disused(The site)
no longer used
blot on the landscape(The site)
something ugly that spoils a view
insulation(Design)
material that stops heat escaping
surplus(Special features)
an amount more than you need
reclaimed(Special features)
saved from old buildings to be used again
purified(Special features)
made clean
national grid(Special features)
the network that carries electricity across a country
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The full Cambridge 9 Test 3 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 9, Test 3, 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.
