IELTS LISTENING – DESERT PLANTS S13T4

IELTS Listening DESERT PLANTS listening practice test has 10 questions belongs to the Science / Environment subject.

Lecturer: In today’s lecture, I’m going to continue our work on plants and talk about plants that live in the desert. Now, just a bit of background information first. As you know, about 1/3 of the world is covered in desert, and the sort of area they’re found in is important. Does it usually created because the area of land where they lie is located in something that’s called a _Q31 rain shadow?

🎧Attempt free listening test…

⬇️  Download free PDF

Now, this is a region that’s beneath a mountain range, and what happens is that the wind blows over the mountains towards the area. But as it does so, the air loses its moisture and becomes very dry. Because of this downwind location, rainfall often totals just a _Q32 few inches a year, or in some regions, there’s absolutely none, and you can imagine the effect of this. It means that whatever rain does fall evaporates quickly from the ground, and that makes the soil salty and also leaves behind a whole range of other _Q33 minerals as well.

Now, despite this, desserts are home to many living things, in fact, there second only to tropical rainforests in the variety of plant and animal species that live there. So how do plants grow in a place that’s so dry? Well, their specially adapted to do this? In fact, many of the fascinating features of desert plants are adaptations. These are traits that helped the plants survive in its harsh environment, and desert plants have two main adaptations. The first is that they have an ability to _Q34 collect water and to store it. Some have large root systems and amazing internal water storage systems. 

The second adaptation is that they have features that can actually reduce water loss, and these are often very special leaf designs or additions to the plant’s structure. So let’s have a look at some examples. Desert plants often look very different from any other plants. Okay, This 1st 1 is the Saguaro Cactus, which grows in North America. It looks a bit like an open hand with long fingers. This plant has a large network of roots that extend far, far away from its trunk, and these roots collect water after rain. Then the waters taken here to the green _Q35 stem. This is where all its water is kept, and it keeps the whole plant alive until the next rain comes. It’s a pretty woody plant. In fact, its skeleton is actually used in building materials, so it’s quite strong. This next plant is called the barrel cactus, named because it does look rather like a barrel. It can grow up to a meter in height, which is pretty big, and it has long yellow spines. Now this plant has an interesting adaptation because its shape allows it to _Q36 expand when it rains, hence the barrel and store water in its spongy tissue. But then it shrinks in size during dry times as it uses the stored water. So that’s a clever design.

The third cactus, often just one plant reaching upwards, has these _Q37 white hairs all over its surface. It’s called the old man cactus because of the white hairs, and these help the plant reflect the hot desert sun. So this adaptation is, Ah, water conservation aid, if you like. Another adaptation, not directly connected with water but with survival, is found on something like the prickly pear cactus. There are hundreds of these in the Mexican desert. I’m sure you’ve seen them on films and adverts. Um, Yes, so because desert plants store water in their spongy tissue, animals will eat them. So the plant has sharp _Q38 thorns specially designed to prevent the predator from being able to well get near it a tool. Our next plant is called the desert Spoon. This plant has long leaves that fan out, and they’re very succulent because they can also store water inside. However, there also usually very _Q39 tough, and this helps keep the water inside and also makes from less tasty. 

Finally, we come to the aloe plant. This is one that many people keep in their homes. It’s an attractive plant, which has leaves that look and feel rather waxy. This surface behaves in a similar way, toe a _Q40 plastic wrapper, and helps the plant to hold the water in. It’s a wonder plant, this one. Its juice has been used as a medicine for centuries, and even today you can find it in products on the pharmacist’s shelves or in creams and lotions. Okay, well, we’re going to take a closer look.

🎧Attempt free listening test…

---

Boost Your Score: Practice IELTS Online with IELTS Simulator.

8439000086
8439000087
7055710003
7055710004
IELTS Simulation 323 GMS Road, Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun, India

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS LISTENING – Food Waste S8T3

IELTS Listening Food Waste listening practice test has 10 questions belongs to the Academic lecture / monologue subject.

Anna: Hi, Robert.

Robert: Hi. Sorry, I’m late. I was just printing off some pages about food waste in Britain.

Anna: Do you want to include Britain in the presentation? I thought we were concentrating on the U. S. A.

Robert: Well, it is a global problem. So I thought we ought to provide some statistics that show that.

Anna: Fair enough. What did you find out?

Robert: Well, I was looking at a British study from 2013. It basically concluded that £12 billion _Q21 worth of food and drink was thrown away each year. All of it ending up in landfill sites over eight million tons. And that wasn’t including packaging

🎧Attempt free listening test…

⬇️ Download free PDF

Anna: An incredible amount?

Robert: Yes, and they were only looking at what households threw away. So there’s no information about restaurants and the catering industry. But one thing the study did investigate was the amount of milk and soft drinks that were wasted. And I think it was probably quite unique in that respect.

Anna: Interesting. You know, in the other European reports, I read there’s one thing they have in common when they talk about carbon dioxide emissions.

Robert: I know what you’re going to say. They never refer to the fuel that farms and factories required to _Q22 produce the food and the carbon dioxide that releases.

Anna: Exactly, we could really cut down on carbon emissions if less food was supplied in the first place. To my mind, the reports talked too much about the carbon dioxide produced by the trucks that deliver the fresh goods to the shops and take the waste away. They forget about one of the key causes of carbon dioxide.

Robert: Absolutely. If the reports are actually going to be useful to people, they need to be more comprehensive.

Anna: Who do you mean by people?

Robert: Well, the government industries, people making television programs. Have you seen any documentaries about food waste?

Anna: Not that I remember

Robert: My point exactly. These days, they all seem to be focusing on _Q23 where your meat, fruit, and vegetable air sourced from. We’re being encouraged to buy locally, not from overseas. That’s probably a good thing, but I’d still like to see something about waste.

Anna: Yes, it’s the same with magazine articles. It’s all about fat and sugar content and the kind of additive and coloring in food, but nothing about how it reaches your table and what happens after it ends up in the bin.

Robert: Well, we’ve only got 15 minutes for this presentation, so I think we’ll have to limit what we say about the consequences of food waste. What do we want to concentrate on?

Anna: Well, I know some of the other presentations are looking at food and farming methods and what they do to the environment. So I think we’ll avoid and the fact that in some countries, people can’t afford the food grown on their own farms that was covered last term.

Robert: Okay, we don’t want to repeat stuff.

Anna: What concerns me above all else is that in a recession, governments should be encouraging business to find ways to cut costs. Apparently, supermarkets in the USA lose about 11% of their fruit to waste _Q24 that’s throwing money away.

Robert: All right, we’ll focus on that problem. It should get the other’s attention anyway. Now, how do you want to begin the presentation? Let’s not start with statistics, though, because that’s what everybody does.

Anna: I agree. How about _Q25 we give the other students a set of questions to answer about what they suspect they waste every day.

Robert: I’m fine with that. Probably a better option than showing pictures of landfill sites. It will be more personalized that way.

Anna: All right, now, let’s start.

Robert: Okay, Shall we now have a look at the projects that different researchers and organizations are working on?

Anna: For me, the project I really liked was the one at Tufts University. You know where they’ve invented tiny edible patches to stick on fresh foods that show you what level of bacteria is present and so whether you can still eat it.

Robert: It’s a great idea, as it tells you if you need to hurry up and eat the food before it goes off. _Q26 The other good thing about the patches is that apparently, they’ll be cheap to manufacture.

Anna: Good. Then the other thing I thought was great was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Project.

Robert: I hadn’t seen that.

Anna: Well, they’ve developed these sensors that can detect tiny amounts of ethylene. Ethylene is the natural plant hormone in fruit that makes them turn ripe. Apparently, _Q27 the researchers think that they can attach the sensors to cardboard boxes, and then supermarkets can scan the sensors with a portable device to see how ripe the fruit inside it. That’s got to be a quicker way to check for rightness than taking each box off the shelf and opening it.

Robert: Definitely. And I thought that Lynn Path was worth mentioning to their _Q28 waste tracking technology means that caterers can see how much food is being wasted and why that’ll increase profits for them eventually.

Anna: Yes, and Did you read about 0%? They’ve produced _Q29 this smartphone application that allows restaurants to send donation alerts to food charities. The charities can then pick up the unwanted food and distribute it to people in need.

Robert: In the long run, that’ll definitely benefit poor families in the neighborhood. No kid should go to school hungry.

Anna: I agree. And I read that quite a few local governments in the U. S. A. are thinking about introducing compulsory composting in their states. So you can’t put any food waste into your rubbish bins. Just the compost bin.

Robert: Well, I guess that means a bit more work for people. I mean, they have to separate the organic and inorganic waste themselves before they take it out to the compost bin, and you know how lazy some people are. But I guess _Q30 if we all start composting and we’d be doing something positive about the problem of food, waste ourselves rather than relying on the government to sort it out. Having said that, not everyone has a garden

🎧Attempt free listening test…

 

---

Boost Your Score: Practice IELTS Online with IELTS Simulator.

8439000086
8439000087
7055710003
7055710004
IELTS Simulation 323 GMS Road, Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun, India

email: info at ieltsband7.com

 

IELTS LISTENING – Paper Production and Recycling S7T3

IELTS Listening Paper Production and Recycling listening practice test has 10 questions belongs to the Science & Environment subject.

Alan: Hi, Melanie. What did you think of the assignment that we got today? It looks interesting, doesn’t it?

Melanie: Yes, Alan. I’ve always been interested in recycling, but there’s a lot of research to do.

Alan: Yes, there are a lot of things I’m unsure of, so it’s going to be good working with you.

🎧Attempt free listening test…

⬇️ Download free PDF

Melanie: Okay. Well, why don’t we start by making a flow chart from the notes our Tutor gave us?

Alan: Yes. Um, so on one side, we could have the paper production cycle here on the left and on the other side the recycling.

Melanie: Good idea. Let’s start at the top with the production. The first step in the process is to get the raw materials.

Alan: Yes and they tend to come from _Q21 pine forests.

Melanie: Okay. And then the bark is removed from the outside of the tree and after that, the wood is chopped up. That’s the 1st 3 stages.

Alan: It sounds a bit complicated. After that. It says _Q22 water is added, and then the mixture is heated and made into pope. This will be the thick paste that is used to make paper.

Melanie: Yes, you’re right, because after that they use a machine to make the paper. And we can put that right in the center of the flow chart because it’s also where the recycled paper joins the process.

Alan: Yes, so once the paper has been produced in the machine, what happens then?

Melanie: Well, I think we should write _Q23 print as the next step because this is when newspapers, magazines, etc are produced. And we could also add that they have to be distributed to stores and people’s homes.

Alan: Right then the recycling bit starts the old papers collected and then it says it’s taken somewhere so that someone or something, can _Q24 sort it. I imagine there are different kinds of paper or things like paper clips that need to be removed.

Melanie: Yes, let’s have a step after that. Now, how did tutor say they do this? Oh, yes, it involves chemicals. So how is your chemistry?

Alan: Well, not very good, I’m afraid. But this is how they _Q25 remove ink. So this is definitely going to need a bit of research.

Melanie: Right. Uh, the last step in the recycling section is similar to the last step in the production process, with heating and pulping before the cycle begins again.

Alan: So I think going through the process is helped. Now we need to decide how we’re going to do this assignment.

Melanie: Yes. I guess what we need to do is take the processes and divide them up between us. But we could start thinking about an _Q26 introduction.

Alan: Yes. Okay, well, I can start doing that. I think I have enough to go one already.

Melanie: Good and there are a few areas where we need a lot more information. I think I’ll start with something easy. Let’s say the paper collection. I could go to the resource center to do some research.

Alan: Well, I think a better idea would be to approach someone who’s involved in the process. What about contacting the _Q27 council?

Melanie: Oh, good idea. Yes, I’ll do that instead. That bound to have some information and I know just the thing to add to our work, to make it even more interesting.

Alan: And what’s that?

Melanie: Well, in my last assignment, I added a few pictures and the feedback I got was that this wasn’t academic enough. So what might really bring it to life would be to include _Q28 some data provided we can find some.

Alan: Yes, that sounds excellent. Well, we certainly have a lot to do and not much time to do it in.

Melanie: You’re right. I think we have about five weeks. So I suggest we create a plan of work today. The end of the month is nearly three weeks away, and then we have a few days holidays.

Alan: Yes. So let’s see if we can get the _Q29 first draft done by then so we can take a short break.

Melanie: Okay, then after the break, we’ll have just over a week to complete it. I wonder if we could get someone to review our work for us a few days before the deadline so we can make some final changes. What about your friend Henry?

Alan: Well, the best person would be our _Q30 tutor. Henry’s very good, but he’s taking a whole week’s holiday and there won’t be enough time when he returns.

Melanie: Okay, then that’s fine.

🎧Attempt free listening test…

---

Learn From Experienced Teacher Best IELTS Coaching Dehradun Best IELTS in Dehradun Uttarakhand GMS Road BEST coaching in Dehradun Apply for Class Courses Today Good Results..

8439000086
8439000087
7055710003
7055710004
IELTS Simulation 323 GMS Road, Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun, India

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS LISTENING – MANHAM PORT S17T2

 

IELTS Listening MANHAM PORT listening practice test has 10 questions belongs to the Education & Training subject.

Welcome to Manham Port, where a thousand years of history are brought to life. All the family can enjoy a day out at Manham visit our copper mine, see models of the machinery it used, have your photo taken in nineteenth-century costume,

experience at first hand how people lived at different stages throughout history, and especially how children studied, worked, and played. The port of Manham is located in beautiful and peaceful countryside, on a bend in the great River Avon,

 

🎧Attempt Free Listening Test…

⬇️  Download Free PDF

and developed here _Q11 because it’s the highest navigable point of the Avon boats can go no higher up this river – and proved a handy place to load and unload cargo to and from the sea. which is over 23 miles away. A small port was already established here when, about 900 years ago, tin was discovered nearby, though it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution. _Q12 when a tremendous need for metals of au kinds developed, that Manham expanded to become one of the busiest ports in the country. And because it was already so busy, prospectors began to look for other minerals, and by the end of the nineteenth century, lead, copper, manganese, and arsenic were added to the cargos leaving Manham.

In the early days, the ores had been smelted – or processed – in the same area they were mined. But, as demand grew, the smelting process required huge factory furnaces or fires to melt the metal from the rock, and _Q13 there was not enough coal in the local area, so the rocks containing minerals had to be shipped long distances.

Sadly, in the twentieth century. the great port of Manham declined and _Q14 thousands of workers were forced to emigrate out of the area. The building at the port fell into disrepair, and the place became almost forgotten. But then, the Manham Trust _Q15 was formed to conserve the historical resources of the area. It organised scores of local volunteers to remove undergrowth to find the original outlines of the installations. 11 then brought in paid professionals to match installations with maps of the original port complex and to set about reconstructing it. Today you can see the results of this ambitious program of restoration. The intention. and we believe this will be realized before the end of the year, is to return Manham Port to the condition it reached at its peak as ‘the greatest copper port in the country.

But what can you do and see on your visit today? Here are just a few highlights. We suggest you start with the visit to the copper mine. Travel on converted mining _Q16 trains and journey into the depths of the mountain along seams once worked by hundreds of miners. Watch out, especially for the great pumping machines which rid the mine of water. But please be warned that, like all mines. ours is very _Q17 dark and closed in and we do say that children under five and also dogs should NOT be taken into the mine. The next recommended visit is to the village school. While looking round the classrooms take a special look at our display of _Q18 games. which is one of the largest in the world. And it’s recommended that you time your visit to coincide with a _Q19 guided tour. This will give you the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Near the school is the beautiful old sailing ketch called ‘The George’. You are welcome to board the boat and look round the cabins. Look out for the ship’s wheel which was missing until only five years ago when it was dredged out of the silt by a local fisherman. We have no idea how it got there but it’s been polished and proudly restored to its original place on the boat. Please take care going down the _Q20 ladders if you wish to visit the lower deck – we don’t recommend you allow young children to use them.

So we hope you have a memorable visit to Manham Port and will tell your friends all about us.

🎧Attempt Free Listening Test…

---

Boost Your Score: Practice IELTS Online with IELTS Simulator.

8439000086
8439000087
7055710003
7055710004
IELTS Simulation 323 GMS Road, Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun, India

email: info at ieltsband7.com