Below are the answers to the practice listening lesson about Superbugs. If you haven’t completed that lesson yet, please do so before looking at the answers. To do the lesson, click here: Superbug Listening Practice Lesson
Transcript
By listening to the transcript you can check your answers and also improve your pronunciation. The recording is given below.
Transcript: When we think of animal species that are exceptionally strong, we usually think of large animals such as the elephant or rhino. These are formidable mammals that from their size are clearly so much stronger that we are. However, when it comes to strength in relation to size, we need to look at insects and in particular ants and beetles.
The leafcutter ant can carry over 20 times its own body weight in its jaws, which are known as mandibles. When they come across a leaf that is too heavy for them to carry, they cut the leaf into more manageable fragments. If we compare this to human strength it is similar to a human being lifting a truck with their teeth.
Ants are interesting for many reasons. They had already emerged about 90 million years ago at the time of the dinosaurs. Much later on, their numbers seem to grow as they developed into organised societies or as we know them, colonies. They now represent about 15% of this planet’s biomass.
However, the dung beetle is even more remarkable for its strength in relation to body weight. The dung beetle can pull weights which are in excess of 1,000 times their own body weight. If we translate this into human strength. It is like one person pulling six double-decker buses.
Unlike many insect or animal species, the dung beetle inhabits a range of habitats and can be found in most places on the planet. Their communication techniques mainly seem to focus on acoustic vibration. They are also great recyclers and play an important part in processing waste. For example, it is said that in parts of Texas, dung beetles are responsible for burying 80% of cattle excrement.
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Answers
- ELEPHANT RHINO
- 20 TIMES
- DINOSAURS
- COLONIES
- 15%
- 6 DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES
- (ACOUSTIC) VIBRATION
- 80%
- FORMIDABLE
- FRAGMENTS
- TRUCK
- ACOUSTIC
- EXCREMENT
………………….
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hi Liz hope you’re doing great thanks for everything you teach which is quite helpful
i had a question to ask
should we use capital letters for the starts of the words for listening?
It isn’t important to use capital letters unless the recording specifically says. If you are taking the paper based test, using all capital letters is useful because handwriting can be unclear. But for the computer based test, it isn’t an issue.
Hi Liz. The question clearly asks to give answers in no more than 2 words but the answer ‘6 double-decker buses’ contradicts it. What do you say about this?
The instructions do not say “No more than two words”. The instructions say “No more than two words and/or a number”. You must read the instructions very carefully. This means you can have two words and a number. “6 double-decker buses” = two words and a number.
This is the reason I created these lessons. To help you gain more awareness of the IELTS tests so that you don’t lose marks in your real test.
Thanks so much Liz, you have been the source of my inspiration,you made IELTS easy for better understanding, remain blessed
I’m so glad you are benefiting from my lessons 🙂
Thank you so very much Liz for your generous effort and selfless sacrifices may God Almighty bless and reward you .
Hi Liz.^^
I am trying to find the reading band scores page but couldn’t.
I clicked the page followed by IELTS Reading : Information (FAQ) question number seven.
The page is not found….Help me Liz.^^
Thank you
On the main reading page (https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-reading-lessons-information-and-tips/), you’ll see a link to band scores. Click on the band score link.
Hi Liz,
I took an IELTS test yesterday (GT) and I made a very silly mistake. I am still in great shock.
In reading section on the answer sheet, I missed one answer and that led to almost next 20 questions out of order on the answer sheet.
Now 20 questions are out of order(1 ahead). I realised this at the last miny and couldn’t change anything. I told the examiner and he attached note with my answer sheet about this.
Do you think examiners will cater for this ? Can i do any thing here ? Or else I will have to retake the exam.
Urgent help needed 😣. Thanks a lot
If there is a note with the paper, then it should be ok. You could also have written a note on the answer sheet as well. But it should be fine. Try not to worry and wait for your results. Good luck!
Hello Liz,
I’m praying and hoping for you to recover fast and bounce back better than ever! Your health issues are concerning me.
I posted a query in the comment section of this piece of article yesterday; however, it either got deleted or didn’t get approved by the moderator. I don’t know. The same thing happened with me once in the past. Could you please tell me how can I ask it? Would it be possible to email you regarding the same?! I couldn’t find any email address on this website.
Warm regards
Dr. S. K. N.
Unfortunately, due to the high volume of messages, I am unable to answer most comments.
Thank you so much Liz for your selfless teachings.
You’re welcome 🙂
1.rhino
2.20
3.dung beetles
4.colonies
5.15%
6.vibration
7.80%
Thank you ma for your immense assistance. I always enjoy reading things on your website
You’re welcome 🙂