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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