IELTS 10 Listen 1, Sec. 4

IELTS 10 test 1, Listening section 4 - The Spirit Bear

In your preview time read through the notes, rephrase the statements as questions, and underline keywords.

THE SPIRIT BEAR

General facts

• It is a white bear belonging to the black bear family.

31 Its colour comes from an uncommon .......... (What is its white colour due to?)

32 Local people believe that it has unusual .......... (What do local people believe about it?)

33 They protect the bear from .......... (What do the local people protect the bear from?)

Habitat

• The bear’s relationship with the forest is complex.

34 Tree roots stop .......... along salmon streams. (What do the tree roots stop?)

• The bears’ feeding habits provide nutrients for forest vegetation.

35 It is currently found on a small number of .......... (Where is the bear currently found?)

Threats

36 Habitat is being lost due to deforestation and construction of .......... by logging companies. (What do logging companies construct that causes loss of the bear’s habitat?)

37 Unrestricted .......... is affecting the salmon supply. (What unrestricted thing/activity is affecting salmon supply?)

38 The bears’ existence is also threatened by their low rate of .......... (Low rate of what is threatening the bear’s existence?)

Going forward

• Interested parties are working together.

39 Logging companies must improve their .......... of logging. (What must logging companies improve?)

40 Maintenance and .......... of the spirit bears’ territory is needed. (What is needed for the bear’s territory)

Of course, you won’t have time to write the questions, but you should think them. It will help you identify key words. It will also help you predict the missing words. For example, 36, 37, 38, and 39 are quite guessable in my opinion.

ANSWERS & ANALYSIS

General facts

• It is a white bear belonging to the black bear family.

Today we continue our series on ecology and conservation with a look at a particularly endangered member of the black bear family.

31. Its colour comes from an uncommon gene.

One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat, which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few.

You should be listening for information about what the bear’s white colour is due to. The words “which is the result of” provide the cue. Then, as long as you are familiar with the word ‘gene’, the answer is easy.

32. Local people believe that it has unusual power.

Local people have named it ‘the spirit bear'. And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power.

The words. ‘local people’ alert you to the fact that the answer to Q.32 is coming. To get the answer, you need to know that ‘legends’ tend to be beliefs rather than established facts, and ‘these communities’ refers to the local people. The expression ‘brings with it’ means that one thing necessarily occurs together with another thing. In this case, where there is ‘snowy fur’ there is also ‘special power’. In other words, white bears have unusual power.

33. They protect the bear from strangers.

Because of this, it has always been highly regarded by them - so much that they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else. It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.

Fortunately, the word ‘protect’ rather than a synonym is mentioned, which makes the question easier. But the word ‘from’ is not mentioned, so a little inference is needed to understand that ‘strangers’ are what the local people protect the bear from by not speaking of seeing the bear.

Habitat

• The bear’s relationship with the forest is complex.

The white bear’s habitat is quite interesting. The bear’s strong relationship with the old- growth rainforest is a complex one. The white bear relies on the huge centuries-old trees in the forest in many ways.

34. Tree roots stop erosion along salmon streams.

For example, the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams. Keeping these banks intact is important because these streams are home to salmon, which are the bear’s main food source.

To ‘prevent’ something means to stop it, so if you have asked yourself, ‘what do tree roots stop?’ the answer is relatively easy as long as you are familiar with the word ‘erosion’. If you’re not familiar, it’s much harder, because you would have to correctly spell a word that you don’t know.

• The bears’ feeding habits provide nutrients for forest vegetation.

In return, the bear’s feeding habits nurture the forest. As the bears eat the salmon, they discard the skin and bones in great amounts on the forest floor, which provide vital nutrients. These produce lush vegetation that sustains thousands of other types of life forms, from birds to insects and more.

35. It is currently found on a small number of islands.

Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands. There is great concern for their survival since it is estimated that less than two hundred of these white bears remain. The best way to protect them is to make every effort to preserve the delicate balance of their forest environment - in other words, their ecosystem.

Asking yourself where the bear is currently found makes the question relatively easy.

Threats

36. Habitat is being lost due to deforestation and construction of roads by logging companies.

The greatest threat to the bear’s existence is the loss of its habitat. Over many years, logging companies have stripped the land by cutting down a large number of trees. In addition, they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds, and many hibernation sites have also been lost.

The words ‘loss of habitat’ should alert you to the fact that the answer is coming. You should recognize that the next sentence talks about deforestation, and then the words ‘in addition’ mean that the second reason is about to be given. Knowing that ‘build’ is a synonym of ‘construct’ allows you to identify ‘roads’ as the correct answer.

37. Unrestricted fishing is affecting the salmon supply.

The logging of the trees along the streams has damaged the places where the bears fish. To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment.

The ‘number of salmon’ is the salmon supply. (‘Salmon’ is a countable noun whose singular and plural forms are the same). It is declining, or being affected, due to the absence of a legal limit on fishing. In other words, fishing in these streams is unrestricted.

38. The bears’ existence is also threatened by their low rate of reproduction.

All these influences have a negative impact on the spirit bear’s very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low.

If you guessed ‘birth’ for this one, you would be close but not correct. Their existence has ‘been made fragile’ (i.e., threatened, or in danger of collapsing) because of low reproduction. Strictly speaking, ‘reproduction’ and ‘rate of reproduction’ do not mean the same thing, but ‘rate of reproduction’ is what the speaker means.

Going forward

• Interested parties are working together.

And so, what's the situation going forward? Community organizations, environmental groups and the British Columbia government are now working together on the problem.

39. Logging companies must improve their method of logging.

The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method, which is a positive step. However, these measures alone may not be sufficient to ensure a healthy population of the spirit bear in the future.

Here, the synonym for ‘must’ is the government ‘requiring’ the logging companies to do something. To ‘adopt a better method of logging’ means to ‘improve their logging method’. This a relatively easy question.

40. Maintenance and expansion of the spirit bears’ territory is needed.

Other steps also need to be taken. While it is important to maintain the spirit bear’s habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion. The move is justified as it will also create space for other bears that are losing their homes ...

The slightly difficult part of this question is recognizing that the bears’ habitat here means their territory. However, the fact that it is something that must be ‘maintained’ provides a useful clue. ‘Also’ alerts us to the other thing that is needed: expansion.