Answers to Mole Listening Practice

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Below you will find the answers and transcript to the Multiple Choice Listening Practice about Moles.

If you haven’t completed this lesson yet, please do so before you look at the answers. Click here for the lesson: MOLES Listening Practice

Transcript and Audio

Listen again to the audio and read the transcript at the same time. It will help you to check your answers and also improve your pronunciation. The actual answers are listed below.

Transcript: Moles and Mole Hills. The earliest species of mole was found more or less 55 million years ago. Since then, they have developed into 42 species all of which are categorised as insectivores. Nowadays, most people in the UK come across moles when they discover mole hills on their lawns. It is from these mole hills that the idiom “making a mountain out of a mole hill” was formed. This is a very common idiom used by most native English speakers and means exaggerating something that is in fact quite small and trivial. Mole hills are created by the mole digging out earth to create tunnels and throwing the earth outwards into the garden which creates little mounds of earth on the surface. These mole hills do not cause the garden much damage but many people think they are unsightly. Moles can carry rabies which can cause serious illness if someone is bitten, but as most people rarely come into contact with a living mole, they are hardly considered a health risk. As people, particularly in the UK, are very proud of their gardens, the unsightly mole hills result in them laying down traps which kill the moles. Some people think moles are blind which is why they live underground in the dark. However, this is a myth. Although, it’s true that their eyes are very small and play little role in their life underground. They rely mostly on their sense of smell and hearing which they use to find food, such as worms. They are particularly sensitive to vibrations in the soil. A mole is capable of digging upward of 200 yards in a day, which considering that a mole only grows to about 15cm is a great achievement. They often use their tunnels as highways to travel from one place to another. They can run down their tunnels, go backwards and even do little somersaults all inside their tunnels. Their tunnel systems are also used to connect subterranean living chambers such as bedrooms and birthing chambers. The birthing chamber is about the size of a football and the female mole lines it with dry grass and leaves for the young. It’s easy to spot the breeding chamber because the mole hill above it is the biggest. She is the only adult mole who is responsible for taking care of the young. Moles are sweet looking creatures with massive hands, short limbs and strong claws all designed as excellent digging tools. Unfortunately, for moles, their skins used to be prized highly by British High Society for clothing which meant that many moles died for the vanity of people.

Audio

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Answers

  1. The mole hill idiom means …
    • Answer: A
    • To exaggerate mean to make something small appear bigger than it is. Such as acting like a small spot on your face, it is huge tumour.
    • Also note, IELTS listening never tests your understanding of idioms. But in this question the meaning as given so it tested only your listening.
    • This isn’t a realistic question for IELTS listening because many of you could guess the answer. This isn’t normal for IELTS listening questions. But I thought you’d all enjoy the question anyway 🙂 
  2. Most people are worried that mole hills ….
    • Answer: B
    • The recording says “mole hills don’t cause much damage”. This means option A is wrong. Just because you hear the word “damage” which is also found in the question doesn’t mean it is the answer. Don’t try to match words.
    • The recording says “many people think they are unsightly”. The word “unsightly” means ugly. 
    • The recording says “Moles can carry rabies which can cause serious illness if someone is bitten, but as most people rarely come into contact with a living mole, they are hardly considered a health risk” This means that while moles can carry disease, they aren’t actually a risk.
  3. Moles …
    • Answer: C
    • The recording says that blind moles “are a myth”. This means it is not true.
    • The recording says they eat worms. But it does not say they eat “ONLY” worms. Pay attention to the word “only”. It means they eat worms and nothing else. 
    • The answer is found here “They are particularly sensitive to vibrations in the soil. ” This means they can feel movement in the earth.
  4. Moles can dig …
    • Answer: A
    • The recording says “A mole is capable of digging upward of 200 yards in a day”. The word “upward of” means “over”.
  5. Moles give birth ….
    • Answer: B
    • The recording says “Their tunnel systems are also used to connect subterranean living chambers such as bedrooms and birthing chambers. “. 
    • This was a difficult question. The birthing chamber is where moles give birth and the recording shows it is also one of the “subterranean living chamber”. This means “underground”.
    • You could also arrive at this answer by process of elimination. This means to delete the wrong answers. They don’t give birth in a bedroom, but in a birthing chamber and definitely not in a tunnel.
  6. The birthing chamber is …
    • Answer: A
    • the recording says “The birthing chamber is about the size of a football and the female mole lines it with dry grass and leaves for the young. It’s easy to spot the breeding chamber because the mole hill above it is the biggest. She is the only adult mole who is responsible for taking care of the young.”. This shows it is not specifically larger than a football and the “she mole” (not the males) cares for the young. This provides the only answer which is 100% accurate: “the mole hill above is the biggest” which means the chamber is below the biggest mole hill.
  7. Moles are equipped with …
    • Answer: C
    • The recording showed that moles have “massive hands, short limbs and strong claws all designed as excellent digging tools. “
    • Limbs are said to be short, no mention about strength. So, answer A is wrong.
    • Claws (nails) are strong, but no mention of being curved. So, answer B is wrong.
    • The word “immense” is the same as: huge, very big, massive.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this listening test and have learned some new aspects of how to spot correct answers. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Click below:

All the best

Liz 

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Comments

  1. Chefor Roland says
    July 10, 2024 at

    Thanks very much liz . This is my second time practising this is my second time practicing IELTS listening . But i have problems in listening properly the audio

    Reply
    • Liz says
      July 10, 2024 at

      Keep trying. Pay close attention to why you get any question right or wrong. Be strategic in your preparation.

      Reply
      • Emmanuel Agyemang Opoku says
        July 12, 2024 at

        madam Liz, im concerned of the question 2 , which said most people are worried about……………

        please why wasn”t , the answer A. the reason why im saying this is that , the passage said most people rarely come across living mole so its hardly considering a health factor. The next line also said most people in the UK are very proud of their gardens ,which means , the mole hills cause damage of their gardens which makes them very worried.
        Wish to hear from you.
        Best regards,
        Emmanuel Agyemang.

        Reply
        • Liz says
          July 13, 2024 at

          The answer A is about damage to people’s gardens but the transcript says “The recording says “mole hills don’t cause much damage”. So, this isn’t a concern.
          The answer B is about moles making the garden ugly. The recording says “many people think they are unsightly”. This is the only concern in the options which is relevant.

          Reply
          • Afolasade says
            July 18, 2024 at

            Hi Ma’am!
            I share same opinion with the first speaker. I equally pick A.
            kindly notes that in the concluding part it was stated that moles are considered sweet looking creatures that implies they are not ugly.

            I think the “unsightly” was making reference to the “not so damaged garden”.

            Reply
            • Liz says
              July 19, 2024 at

              The word “unsightly” is referring to the mole hills in the garden caused by the moles.
              This sentence “These mole hills do not cause the garden much damage but many people think they are unsightly” means that the hills do not cause damage but they are ugly to look at. The word “they” in “they are unsightly” refers to the mole hills being unsightly. The word “unsightly” means they are not nice to look at (ugly).
              I always put the transcript with the answer key so that people can analyse language more carefully.

              Reply
              • Afolasade says
                July 19, 2024 at

                Thanks for the clarity. For some unknown reason I took the mole and mole hill as same subject.

                Reply
                • Liz says
                  July 19, 2024 at

                  Yes, it’s easy to make that mistake. You really need to look out for compound nouns which are nouns made of two words, sometimes two separate words. In this case, “mole hill” is actually one noun – a compound noun. Sometimes it’s worth going slowing through a sentence to identify the different elements of grammar. Anyway, it’s all good practice 🙂

  2. Mayurindi says
    July 9, 2024 at

    I wish you a speedy recovery, Ms. Liz.

    Reply
  3. Елена Леонидовна says
    June 28, 2024 at

    Dear Liz
    Thank you for your immense input into teaching English, preparation to IELTS in particular.
    Wish you soon recovery and full recuperation.

    Reply
  4. Kerolos Bebawy says
    May 27, 2024 at

    that’s awesome ,thank you very mush Liz.

    Reply
  5. Phani says
    May 1, 2024 at

    @Liz, I followed your youtube series for my earlier attempts on IETLS and was successful and Here again I am leveraging your latest free website to my help in gaining good score. May God bless you and give you good strength. You are a warrior and a Rock Star! Keep Rocking with your posts as much as you can as you gain strength as it seems that this energizes you.

    Reply
  6. Mila says
    April 22, 2024 at

    It’s my first time on your website and I’m really impressed by the amount of effort you’ve put into it! Thank you so much for this wonderful free resource <3 Love the way you go through the options explaining why a particular option is the right one and not the others

    Reply
    • Liz says
      April 22, 2024 at

      I’m glad you are enjoying the website. It’s important that people don’t just do practice, but analyse why they got a particular question right or wrong. It’s all part of the learning curve.

      Reply
  7. Poorvi says
    April 9, 2024 at

    Your videos and tips are useful for us even after 10 years. Wish you would come back and teach more.

    Reply
    • Liz says
      April 9, 2024 at

      I am planning to come back. I’ve just filmed a personal update video which I’m currently editing, and hope to release this week or next week, certainly very soon. After that, if my health remains stable, I’ll try making an new IELTS video lesson for Youtube, which I’ll also post on this website. I’m really glad you are enjoying my lessons so far 🙂

      Reply
  8. Julius says
    March 15, 2024 at

    I wish you speedy recovery Madam. Thanks a bunch for your lessons.

    Reply
  9. gaffar says
    March 13, 2024 at

    Get well soon

    Reply
  10. yesri says
    March 12, 2024 at

    Get well soon, Lovely Liz.
    God be with you.

    Reply
  11. Ebelechukwu Okechukwu says
    February 28, 2024 at

    Liz please get well soon.

    Reply
  12. Adewumi says
    February 21, 2024 at

    I hope you are well now. May God grant you sound health and everlasting recovery.

    Reply
  13. Maggie Tran says
    January 27, 2024 at

    1. a
    2. b
    3. c
    4. a
    5. c
    6. c
    7. c

    Reply
  14. Akila says
    November 18, 2023 at

    Hi thank you very much for your lesson. In the questions, answers are mentioned in simple letters but in the answer sheet you have write down in Capital letters. Is it ok?

    Reply
  15. Laleh says
    November 10, 2023 at

    Hi Liz,
    I wish you gain more strength. Best wishes for health and every things.

    Reply
  16. ABDUR RAHMAN SOJIB ,BD says
    November 4, 2023 at

    LIZ MAM,
    -you are great !

    Reply
  17. samuel says
    September 9, 2022 at

    I wish you a quick recovery, please Liz. I will be praying for you

    Reply
  18. purity psinen says
    May 4, 2022 at

    Thanks Liz for the efforts you are making.May The Lord heal you.Praying for you my Mentor

    Reply
  19. Patrick Anosike says
    May 1, 2022 at

    Hello Liz, I do sincerely hope you are getting better. you’re a wonderful resource and role model. I pray that you recover quickly and fully.
    All the best.

    Reply
  20. Sajib says
    April 30, 2022 at

    Thanks a ton dear mentor.

    Reply
  21. Kofi says
    April 29, 2022 at

    Get well soon dear

    Reply
  22. Laura Teveness says
    April 26, 2022 at

    Thank you Liz…wishing a quickest recovery…# hugs

    Reply
  23. Fatma says
    April 23, 2022 at

    Your lessons are exstremely helpful
    I am so impressed on you

    Reply
  24. Razak Musah says
    April 22, 2022 at

    I pray for your speedy recovery and more grease to your elbows

    Reply
  25. Miniver says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Your lessons are helpful

    Reply
  26. Farial Rawji says
    April 22, 2022 at

    What you are doing is truly remarkable – giving of yourself without constraints
    I have been using your lessons to teach ESL to teachers in Syria and I am so impressed by the content
    May you stay well
    Farial Rawji

    Reply
  27. Uloma says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Thank you for the answers. I wish you a very quick recovery. Best wishes

    Reply
  28. Johana says
    April 22, 2022 at

    I wish you a quick recovery. God bless you Lizz.🙏

    Reply
  29. Richy says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Get well soon Liz.🤗

    Reply
  30. Rosecollete says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Get well soon dear. I love you!

    Reply
  31. Omeje, Martha Nkechinyere says
    April 22, 2022 at

    I wish you quick recovery ma, may the good Lord lay His healing hands on you.

    Reply
  32. Jessy Dugad says
    April 22, 2022 at

    You are the best teacher. God bless you with good health and long life.

    Reply
  33. Ohakwe carmelita says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Oh so sorry about your health, wishing you quick recovery Liz

    Reply
  34. Bindu says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Good luck and get well soon. all prayers are with you

    Reply
  35. Blessing says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Please I need help. Got 3 out 4.I want to test next month. Please ma,I need all the help to get 7 in all the modules. Help me please.

    Reply
    • Liz says
      April 22, 2022 at

      Go to the RED Navigation BAR at the top of the website and open each section to learn about IELTS. It’s all free, except for my Advanced Lessons.

      Reply
  36. Hannah says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Thanks for the correction s.I had 5 in all

    Reply
  37. Hannah says
    April 22, 2022 at

    I wish you a very speedy recovery and all the best in your endeavors.We are all behind you.

    Reply
  38. Boon says
    April 22, 2022 at

    Get well soon Liz!

    Reply

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