Unit 2: Exercise 1

In this unit, you will practise the skills you need to understand a monologue in
an academic situation and complete short-answered and multiple-choice
questions.

Read the information about Section 4 of the IELTS Listening test. Choose two
answers for each question.

In Section 4 of the IELTS Listening test, you will hear a monologue in an academic situation.
You will hear this only once. As usual, you will have 30–45 seconds to read the questions
before listening.

1. In this part of the test, what might you hear?

 One person talking for a long time, without stopping.
 Two or more university students trying to solve a problem.
 A lecturer talking about a specific subject.
 A manager giving advice to company workers about how to do something.
2. What might you be asked to do in this part of the test?
 Listen carefully for specific information.
 Decide what your opinion is on the topic.
 Make your own notes on the information you hear.
 Complete a summary of what you hear.

Unit 2: Exercise 2
Read the information. Then match the topics in the box with the introductory
sentences from the lecture.

A lecture is made up of several main points. A good lecturer will always introduce a new
main point. This makes it easier for the listener to understand what the lecture is about. The
lecturer doesn’t usually give important details in these introductory sentences, but listen
carefully, because they will help you to understand the general topic of the section.

Early forms of transport How New Zealand was affected by the introduction of trains
The future of steam trains The use of trains for personal transport What the trains
 transported

1. Before the railways were built, transport could be slow and unreliable.
__________________________________________
2. But once the railways were built, everything changed: farmers could send their milk
by train. ________________________________________
3. Another thing we should think about is the impact that the development of the railways
had on the New Zealand landscape. _________________________________________
4. Now, one interesting difference between the railway in New Zealand and railways in other
countries is that New Zealand trains have always been used to carry more goods than
people. _______________________________________________
5. Many railway lines are no longer used, which is a great shame in my opinion, although the
government is still deciding whether it is possible to create a new network in the city centre,
for electric trains, of course. ______________________________________

Unit 2: Exercise 3
Read the information. Then listen and choose if the statements are True or
False.

After you know what to listen for, be careful! The speaker may mention several things which
might be correct, but there is only one correct answer. For example, for Question 1, you need
to listen for a place where goods can be transported. Even though the speaker mentions more
than one type of place, you need to choose the one that relates to the question.

1 Today we’ll be looking at the history and development of railways in

New Zealand. Let’s start by thinking about what a difference they made to
people’s lives – the people who were living in New Zealand in the 1800s.
Before the railways were built, transport could be slow and unreliable –
goods were often transported by sea for the first part of their journey, and
then up or down a river to their destination. Using the road to transport
heavy goods would have been impossible – there was too much mud and
too many stones.

2 But once the railways were built – everything changed. Farmers could
send their milk by train. Wood and coal could get to the factory faster. And
the railway also meant that meat could get to the shops much more quickly,
and I’m sure that customers were happy to buy it fresh.

1. Before railways were built, people transported goods by road.

o True
o False
2. Railways were used to transport products such as milk, wood and coal.
 o True
o False

Unit 2: Exercise 4
In this unit, you will hear one speaker talking about a topic related to transport.
This is a common topic in IELTS so it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with
key vocabulary related to transport.

Match the words in the box with the correct definitions.

Commute construct goods impact petrol stream transport

unreliable

1. not able to be trusted or believed: ___________________

2. to build something or put together different parts to form something whole:
_____________________
3. an effect that something has, especially something new, on a situation or person:
_____________________
4. the hot gas that is produced when water boils: ________________________
5. to take goods or people from one place to another: _______________________
6. items for sale or possessions that can be moved: _______________________
7. a liquid used as fuel for cars or other forms of transport: ______________________
8. to make the same journey regularly between work and home: ___________________

Unit 2: Exercise 5
Read the five extracts from Section 4 of an IELTS Listening test
quickly. Then decide what type of information should replace the gap (…) in
each extract.

Match the types of information in the box with the extracts. There are more
types than you need.

a place where goods can be transported a type of product a type of transport

something that is more expensive something that people build something you eat
somewhere people visit

1. Before railways were built, people transported goods by sea and on a …

____________________________________
2. Railways were used to transport products such as milk, wood, coal and …
______________________________________
 3. In the 1900s, as railways were built, trees were cut down, and lots of … were built
next to the lines. ______________________________________
4. Because the price of … has gone up, trains are becoming more popular with
passengers. _______________________________________
5. Working steam trains can be seen at the …
______________________________________

Unit 2: Exercise 6
Listen and complete the notes.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

 Remember what type of information you need to listen for.

 The speaker may mention several of these types, but only one is correct.
 Complete each gap with a word that the speaker uses.
 Make sure your spelling is correct, and that you have only used one word in each gap.

Today we’ll be looking at the history and development of railways in New

Zealand. Let’s start by thinking about what a difference they made to
people’s lives – the people who were living in New Zealand in the 1800s.
Before the railways were built, transport could be slow and unreliable –
goods were often transported by sea for the first part of their journey, and
then up or down a river to their destination. Using the road to transport
heavy goods would have been impossible – there was too much mud and
too many stones.

But once the railways were built, everything changed: farmers could send
their milk by train. Wood and coal could get to the factory faster. And the
railway also meant that meat could get to the shops much more quickly,
and I’m sure that customers were happy to buy it fresh.

Another thing we should think about is the impact that the development of
the railways had on the New Zealand landscape. During the 1900s, many
forests were cut down so that railways could be built, and next to the
railway lines, it was then necessary to construct many towns. They were
created for the thousands and thousands of people who worked on the
railways, and their families.

Now, one interesting difference between the railway in New Zealand and
railways in other countries is that New Zealand trains have always been
used to carry more goods than people. In other countries, passengers use
trains to travel from city to city, or to commute to work, but this didn’t use
to happen so much in New Zealand. However, nowadays it is becoming
 more and more expensive to buy petrol, so a greater number of people are
choosing to buy a train ticket instead.

Many railway lines are no longer used, which is a great shame in my

opinion, although the government is still deciding whether it is possible to
create a new network in the city centre, for electric trains, of course. If you
want to see some steam trains in action, I suggest you go to the museum. I
think it’s on the first Sunday of every month that the old steam engines are
started up and you can go for rides up and down the line.

1. Before railways were built, people transported goods by sea and on a

________________ .
2. Railways were used to transport products such as milk, wood, coal and
__________________ .
3. In the 1900s, as railways were built, trees were cut down, and lots of
______________ were built next to the lines.
4. Because the price of _________________ has gone up, trains are becoming more
popular with passengers.
5. Working steam trains can be seen at the __________________.

Unit 2: Exercise 7
In the next exercise you are going to listen to the next part of the talk.

Read the information. Then match the categories with the things which could be
included in those categories.

A category is a way of describing a group of things. For example, weather is a category.

Rain, sun, snow, etc. can be categorised as types of weather. Often, a lecture will be divided
into sections – each section talking about a different category.

mountains and dense bush diggers, carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics iron, wood
economy, capital snow and fog arguments, unhappy councils, department

1. finance
2. type of land
3. material
4. workers
5. government
6. weather conditions
7. disagreements
Unit 2: Exercise 8
Read the information. Then listen and complete the sentences with the words
the speaker uses.

Notice how the speaker discusses each railway line in order. The speaker always introduces
each one, as a new topic, which helps the listener follow the talk.

1. _______________ ever railway lines to be built was the

Christchurch to Ferrymead line. It eventually opened in 1863,
and was only seven kilometres long.
2. At about the same time, ______________ was starting. This
was the Invercargill to Makarewa line.
3. Local government __________________ to build a line
between Napier and Gisborne. They were making plans for this
in the mid-1920s.
4. _______________ ambitious project of all was the North
Island line – a distance of 680 kilometres in total.
5. __________________ line to construct was the Raurimu line.
You have to feel sorry for the workmen who were employed on
this line.

Unit 2: Exercise 9
Listen and decide which problem each of the following railway lines had.

Choose five problems and write the correct letters, A–G, next to the railway
lines 1–5.

 Look quickly at the names of the five railway lines (1–5). The speaker will mention
these in order. (The place names may look difficult to pronounce, but you will be able
to recognise them when the speaker says them!)
 The speaker will talk about each railway line separately. Listen for key words in the
talk which match the categories in the list of problems (finance, type of land, material,
workers, etc.).
 Choose one problem for each railway line before the speaker moves on.
Of course, it wasn’t easy to build the railways. And sometimes, each
railway faced its own particular kind of problem. One of the first ever
railway lines to be built was the Christchurch to Ferrymead line. It
eventually opened in 1863, and was only seven kilometres long. However,
you need to remember that the population of New Zealand was relatively
low at the time, and even though the public were very keen for it to be
built, it was hard to find enough people to do it. To build a railway, you
need diggers, carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics – and there weren’t many
of those in that area. So the project took longer than planned. At about the
same time, another project was starting. This was the Invercargill to
Makarewa line. Here, instead of using tracks made of iron, the local
government decided to use wood. This turned out to be a bad idea: when it
rained, the trains couldn’t move. And in the summer, in dry weather,
sometimes the hot sparks from the engines would set the track on fire.
Local government also wanted to build a line between Napier and
Gisborne. They were making plans for this in the mid-1920s. However, the
economy of the country took a downward turn until the mid-1930s, and it
was only then that they had the capital to start work on the line. Probably
the most ambitious project of all was the North Island line – a distance of
680 kilometres in total. It would connect the capital, Wellington, to New
Zealand’s most populated city, Auckland. Although most people supported
the project, progress was very slow. The main reason for this was the fact
that engineers had to find a way through mountains and dense bush. All in
all, it took 23 years to complete. Another difficult line to construct was the
Raurimu line. You have to feel sorry for the workmen who were employed
on this line. Every day they had to face snow, and often fog – it was
continuous. It was a tough job and they worked extremely hard for their
money. Anyway, let’s look at …

Problems

A a lack of finance

B the type of land

C unsuitable material

D a lack of workers

E lack of government interest

F terrible weather conditions

G disagreements between planners

Railway line

1. Christchurch to Ferrymead _______

2. Invercargill to Makarewa ______
3. Napier to Gisborne _______
4. North Island ______
5. Raurimu ______

Unit 2: Exercise 10
Think about what you have learnt in this unit.

Are the statements True or False? Choose the correct answers.

1. In Section 4 of the IELTS Listening test, you will hear one person talking, in an
academic context.

o True
o False

2. If it is a lecture, it won’t be clearly organised.

o True
o False

3. The lecturer will introduce what he or she wants to talk about.

o True
o False

4. An IELTS question might focus on types of a certain thing, and the speaker will give
examples of this type of thing.

o True
o False