Dealing With The Problems Of Urbanisation And City Growth - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Practice Test Plus 2 Academic Listening Test 4 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
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Questions
Questions 31–33 Note Completion
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
The World Health Organisation says a healthy city must
- have a 31 environment.
- meet the 32 of all its inhabitants.
- provide easily accessible health services.
- encourage ordinary people to take part in 33
Questions 34–40 Table Completion
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
| Place / Project | Aim | Method | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka
Community Contracts System |
to upgrade squatter settlements | the 34 constructed infrastructure, e.g. drains, paths |
|
| Mali
cooperative |
to improve sanitation in city |
|
|
| Egypt
(Mokattam) 38 |
to support disadvantaged women | women provided with the 39 and equipment for sewing and weaving |
|
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | clean and safe / clean safe / safe and clean / safe clean | The WHO says, that amongst other things, a healthy city must provide a clean environment which is also safe – it mustn't be dirty, or dangerous for its inhabitants | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that a healthy city needs to give people a clean and safe environment, meaning it should not be dirty or put the people who live there in danger. Answer Explanation: The answer means that for a city to be called healthy, the place where people live must be both clean (not dirty) and safe (not dangerous). Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is based on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) rules for a healthy city. In the transcript, the speaker explicitly states that a city must offer an environment that is clean and safe. This means the area should not be dirty or cause harm to the people living there. |
| Q32 | basic needs | As well as that, the WHO says a healthy city has got to be able to satisfy its inhabitants' basic needs – that's all its inhabitants, not just the rich ones or the ones with jobs. Everyone who lives there | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that a healthy city must give all its people the most important things they need to live, not only the wealthy people or people who have jobs. Answer Explanation: The answer "basic needs" refers to the essential things every person requires to survive and live a simple life, such as food, water, and shelter. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "basic needs" because the speaker lists the World Health Organisation's (WHO) requirements for a city to be considered healthy. In the transcript, the speaker says a city must satisfy these requirements for every single person living there, regardless of how much money they have. The word "satisfy" used in the talk has the same meaning as the word "meet" used in the notes. |
| Q33 | local government | The final point's to do with local government – the WHO says this is something that the whole community should be involved in, not just a few powerful politicians or businessmen | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that instead of having only a few powerful leaders in charge, everyone living in the city should participate in the local political process. Answer Explanation: The answer 'local government' refers to the group of people who manage and make decisions for a specific town or city. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'local government' because the speaker lists it as the final requirement for a healthy city. According to the transcript, the World Health Organisation (WHO) believes that the 'whole community'—meaning ordinary people—should be 'involved' or take part in how their city is run, rather than leaving those decisions only to politicians or businessmen. |
| Q34 | residents | So, a programme was set in place to construct this infrastructure, but what was different about it was that the residents did this – the people who actually lived there, not people from outside | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the building project (infrastructure) was finished by the residents, which means the people living in that neighborhood, rather than workers from a different place. Answer Explanation: The answer "residents" refers to the people who live in a particular area or neighborhood. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "residents" because the speaker explains how the builders for the Sri Lankan project were chosen. Instead of bringing in a construction company from somewhere else, the project used the local people who actually lived in the squatter settlements to build things like drains and paths (infrastructure). In the transcript, the word "residents" describes these local people who did the work. |
| Q35 | economic | And this meant that not only did the people end up with improved housing and infrastructure, but also because they had contracts with the community, it improved their chances from an economic point of view | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the building project gave local people better homes and a better way to make money because they were given the work contracts to do the project themselves. Answer Explanation: The answer "economic" describes things that are about money, business, and having jobs. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "economic" because the speaker explains that the building project in Sri Lanka helped people in two ways. First, it gave them better homes and infrastructure. Second, since the residents themselves were the ones doing the work under contract, it helped them financially. The speaker uses the phrase "improved their chances from an economic point of view," which means the same thing as providing "economic opportunities." |
| Q36 | secondary school | in this case, the cooperative involved students who had graduated from secondary school in getting a system going | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the group of people running the garbage system were students who had finished their studies at a secondary school. Answer Explanation: The answer "secondary school" refers to the level of education completed by the students who helped manage the garbage collection system. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by the part of the talk about the project in Mali. The speaker explains that a cooperative was formed to fix sanitation issues. To get the garbage collection system started, the cooperative used students who had finished their secondary school education. This directly matches the table's description of graduates who were involved in the method of organizing garbage collection. |
| Q37 | films | As well as that, the cooperative set up a campaign to educate the public about the importance of good sanitation, through showing films and setting up discussion groups among the local people, especially women and adolescents | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the group in Mali organized a program to teach people about keeping their environment clean. They did this by showing movies (films) and having group talks (discussion groups) to help people learn. Answer Explanation: The answer 'films' refers to educational movies or videos used to share important information with the public. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'films' because the speaker describes a public education campaign in Mali aimed at improving sanitation. The speaker explicitly mentions that this campaign taught the public by 'showing films' and also by 'setting up discussion groups'. Since the table already lists 'discussion groups' as one method used in the campaign, 'films' is the missing word that completes the pair of educational tools described in the transcript. |
| Q38 | Women's Centre / Womens Centre / Women's Center / Womens Center | OK, the third project was in Egypt, just outside the capital, Cairo, which is a city that's grown very rapidly in the last few decades. This project was based in a Women's Centre in a poor area called Mokattam | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the project in Egypt was held at a "Women's Centre" in a place called Mokattam. Answer Explanation: The answer "Women's Centre" is the name of the place or organization where the project in Egypt was located. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "Women's Centre" because the speaker introduces the third project in Egypt and specifically says it was located in a Women's Centre in an area called Mokattam. This center provided support and skills to poor women, which matches the table's goal of supporting disadvantaged women. |
| Q39 | skills | At the Women's Centre, they were shown how to sew and how to weave, and once they'd learned these skills they were given the equipment – a sewing machine or a loom – so that they could make things to sell, and have a chance of earning their own living | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the women were taught how to make clothes and fabric. Once they gained these specific abilities, or skills, they received tools like sewing machines so they could earn money. Answer Explanation: The answer "skills" refers to the new abilities or things that the women learned to do, such as sewing and weaving. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by the text about the project in Egypt. The transcript mentions that women at the Women's Centre were taught how to sew and weave. After they learned these "skills," they were given the machines (equipment) they needed to do the work. Therefore, the method used to help them involved providing both these new abilities and the necessary tools. |
| Q40 | status | And this project has meant that these young women have greater status in the community, but as well as that, they can enjoy a better quality of life | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the work done at the Women's Centre helped these young women get more respect from others and have a better life. Answer Explanation: The answer "status" means the social position, level, or amount of respect a person has within their community. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "status" because the transcript explains the positive results of the project in Egypt. It specifically mentions that the young women gained "greater status" in their community. In the table, "rise in the" acts as a synonym for "greater", leading to the completion of the phrase "rise in the status". |
Transcript
Well, Adam's just been talking about some of the problems that have resulted from the rapid growth of cities in the last hundred years – things like housing, sanitation, crime, and so on. For my presentation, I'd like to look at some examples of what cities are doing to try to solve some of these problems.
As part of its healthy city programme, the World Health Organisation – the WHO – has come up with a set of criteria for a healthy city. The WHO says, that amongst other things, a healthy city must provide a clean environment which is also safe – it mustn't be dirty, or dangerous for its inhabitants. As well as that, the WHO says a healthy city has got to be able to satisfy its inhabitants' basic needs – that's all its inhabitants, not just the rich ones or the ones with jobs. Everyone who lives there. A third thing ... a third criterion, is that it's got to have health services which can be used by all the inhabitants, and which they can access easily. The final point's to do with local government – the WHO says this is something that the whole community should be involved in, not just a few powerful politicians or businessmen. So, a healthy city's not just a matter of avoiding illness, that sort of 'healthiness', it's the way that the whole city works together for the benefit of its population.
OK. So what I'd like to do now is to look at some projects in different cities around the world where cities have tried to meet these criteria – to make their cities 'healthy' ones.
Right, the first project I'm going to discuss took place in Sri Lanka, and this project was called the 'Community Contracts System'. Its aim was to improve the places where the poorest section of the population lived – the squatter settlements. Basically, the problem was lack of infrastructure – things like drains, paths, wells for water and so on. So, a programme was set in place to construct this infrastructure, but what was different about it was that the residents did this – the people who actually lived there, not people from outside. And this meant that not only did the people end up with improved housing and infrastructure, but also because they had contracts with the community, it improved their chances from an economic point of view. So that's a way the lives of people in one urban environment were improved.
The next project I'd like to discuss took place in the capital city of Mali, in West Africa. This project involved setting up a cooperative to try to solve the problems of sanitation in the old central quarters of the city. One of the main problems was a lack of a system for garbage collection, which meant that there were a lot of insects, and this was causing disease. And again it's interesting to look at who was involved in dealing with this problem – in this case, the cooperative involved students who had graduated from secondary school in getting a system going. As well as that, the cooperative set up a campaign to educate the public about the importance of good sanitation, through showing films and setting up discussion groups among the local people, especially women and adolescents. And the outcome was an increased environmental awareness which led to changes in household behaviour as well as improved living conditions.
OK, the third project was in Egypt, just outside the capital, Cairo, which is a city that's grown very rapidly in the last few decades. This project was based in a Women's Centre in a poor area called Mokattam. The aim of the project was to support girls ... young women from the area from poor families, so these were women who had no education – they'd never been to school, so they were totally illiterate, and they had no chance of getting jobs. At the Women's Centre, they were shown how to sew and how to weave, and once they'd learned these skills they were given the equipment – a sewing machine or a loom – so that they could make things to sell, and have a chance of earning their own living. And this project has meant that these young women have greater status in the community, but as well as that, they can enjoy a better quality of life. So I don't think the problem is that cities are bad. This world and its cities have the resources to provide for the population that lives there. What it takes is a stronger will and a better distribution of resources.