Australian Honey Bees - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 08 Academic Listening Test 2 · Part 3 · Questions 21–30
Audio
Questions
Questions 21–24 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Questions 25–30 Summary Completion
Complete the summary below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Looking for Asian honey bees
Birds called Rainbow Bee Eaters eat only 25 , and cough up small bits of skeleton and other products in a pellet.
Researchers go to the locations the bee eaters like to use for 26 . They collect the pellets and take them to a 27 for analysis.
Here 28 is used to soften them, and the researchers look for the 29 of Asian bees in the pellets.
The benefit of this research is that the result is more 30 than searching for live Asian bees.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q21 | A | We discovered a few of them in Queensland once and eradicated them | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that a small number of these bees were found in Queensland before and then they were removed. Answer Explanation: The answer is Queensland. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker mentions that they found these bees in Queensland one time. He uses the word 'discovered' to mean they found them there. He says they are currently checking other states, but Queensland is the only place mentioned where they were actually seen in the past. |
| Q22 | B | Well, in fact, they look almost the same, but they are infested with mites – microscopic creatures which live on them, and which can seriously damage our own home-grown bees, or could even wipe them out | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that these bees look like local bees, but they carry very small bugs called mites. These mites live on the Asian bees and are dangerous to local Australian bees. Answer Explanation: The answer B means that Asian honey bees have tiny, harmful bugs living on their bodies. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the biologist explains that Asian honey bees are 'infested with mites.' In science, 'infested' means being filled with pests, and 'mites' are described here as 'microscopic creatures' that live on the bees. These tiny creatures that live on or inside another animal to get food are called parasites. While the transcript says these mites can harm native bees, it does not say the Asian bees 'attack' them directly or 'damage crops.' |
| Q23 | C | In fact, Australia exports native Queen bees to a large number of countries because of this | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that Australia sends its own local Queen bees to many other parts of the world. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Australian bees are sold to people in other countries. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is confirmed by Grant when he talks about the high quality of Australian honey. He mentions that because Australian bees are of such high quality, the country 'exports' them. To export means to send and sell goods to another country, which matches the idea of selling to customers abroad. Choice B is wrong because it describes European bees, not Australian ones. |
| Q24 | A | but if Asian bees got in there could be other consequences. We could lose a lot of money because you might not be aware, but it's estimated that native bees' pollination of flower and vegetable crops is worth 1.2 billion dollars a year | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the speaker believes the arrival of these bees would cause a loss of money because native bees are very important for the value of crops and the farming industry. Answer Explanation: The answer means that if Asian bees come to Australia, the country would lose a large amount of money. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because Grant explains that the arrival of Asian honey bees could harm the native bee population. Since native bees provide a service (pollination) worth 1.2 billion dollars to the farming industry, losing them would lead to a major financial loss for the country. This loss of money relates directly to the country's economy. |
| Q25 | insects | The Bee Eater doesn't care what it eats, as long as they're insects | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the bird eats any kind of insect. Answer Explanation: The answer tells us that the Rainbow Bee Eater birds eat only bugs. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'insects' because Grant describes the food that the Rainbow Bee Eater bird consumes. He mentions that the bird does not care exactly what it catches as long as the creature is an insect. Keywords to note are 'eats' and 'insects'. |
| Q26 | feeding / eating | In the field we track down the Bee Eaters and find their favourite feeding spots, you know, the places where the birds usually feed | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the researchers search for and find the specific areas that the birds like to use for eating. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to the activity of 'feeding' or 'eating', which is when the birds consume their food. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by Grant's explanation of how they find the pellets. He mentions that the researchers look for 'favourite feeding spots', which he defines as the locations where the birds typically go to eat. This matches the summary sentence asking for the purpose of the locations the birds use. |
| Q27 | laboratory | We collect them up and take them back to the laboratory to examine the contents | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the scientists gather the pellets and bring them to a laboratory so they can look at the pieces inside. Answer Explanation: The answer 'laboratory' means a special room or building where scientists do tests and study things. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'laboratory' because Grant Freeman explains that after finding the bird pellets in the wild, they bring them to this specific place to look at what they contain. The transcript uses the phrase 'take them back to the laboratory' to show where the analysis happens. |
| Q28 | water | The pellets are really hard, especially if they have been out in the sun for a few days so, first of all, we treat them by adding water to moisten them and make them softer | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the bird pellets are very hard, so the first step scientists take is to add water to make them wet and soft. Answer Explanation: The answer is water, which is the liquid researchers use to make the hard bird waste soft. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is water because Grant describes how they study the pellets (small balls of bird waste). He says that because the pellets are often hard from sitting in the sun, they use water to moisten them. This makes it possible to pull the pellets apart and look for bee parts inside. Keywords like 'soften' and 'moisten' link the action specifically to the use of water. |
| Q29 | wings | Everything's all scrunched up but we're looking for wings so we just pull them all out and straighten them. Then we identify them to see if we can find any Asian bee wings | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that when researchers study the bird waste, they specifically look for and fix the wings they find inside to check if any of them belong to Asian bees. Answer Explanation: The answer is wings, which are the parts of an insect or bird that allow it to fly. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is wings because Grant describes the process of looking through the bird pellets under a microscope. He explains that even though the insects are broken into pieces, the researchers specifically search for and pull out the wings to see if they belong to the Asian honey bee. This identifies if the bees are in Australia. |
| Q30 | reliable / accurate | So far our research shows that Asian bees have not entered Australia in any number – it's a good result and much more reliable than trying to find live ones as evidence of introduced insects | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the method of checking bird waste is a very good way to get data, and it is more dependable (reliable) than the difficult task of trying to see or catch living bees. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the results of searching for bee parts in bird waste are more trustworthy or dependable than looking for live bees. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by Grant's statement at the end of the talk. He mentions that finding bee wings in bird waste provides a result that is 'much more reliable' than the alternative method of searching for live insects. In this context, 'reliable' means that the information gathered can be trusted to be correct. 'Accurate' is a synonym that also fits the meaning of having a result that is right or precise. |
Transcript
PROFESSOR: Good morning everyone. In today's seminar, Grant Freeman, a biologist who specialises in identifying insects, and who works for the Australian Quarantine Service, has come to talk to us about his current research work. Right, well, over to you, Grant.
GRANT: Good morning, everyone. I'm sure that you know that the quarantine service regulates all food brought into Australia. Well, obviously they want to protect Australia from diseases that might come in with imported goods, but they also want to prevent insect pests from being introduced into the country, and that's where I have a part to play. Anyway, my current research involves trying to find a particular type of bee, the Asian Honey Bee, and finding out whether there are any of them around in various states of Australia. We discovered a few of them in Queensland once and eradicated them. Now, we're pretty keen to make sure that there aren't any more getting in, particularly to New South Wales and other states.
STUDENT 1: What's wrong with Asian Honey Bees? Are they so different from Australian bees?
GRANT: Well, in fact, they look almost the same, but they are infested with mites – microscopic creatures which live on them, and which can seriously damage our own home-grown bees, or could even wipe them out.
PROFESSOR: Well, what would happen if Australian bees died out?
GRANT: Well, the honey from Australian bees is of excellent quality, much better than the stuff the Asian bees produce. In fact, Australia exports native Queen bees to a large number of countries because of this. When the European Honey Bee was first discovered out in the bush, we found they made really unpleasant honey and they were also too big to pollinate many of our native flowers here in Australia.
STUDENT 2: That must have had a devastating effect on the natural flora. Did you lose any species?
GRANT: No, we managed to get them under control before that happened but if Asian bees got in there could be other consequences. We could lose a lot of money because you might not be aware, but it's estimated that native bees' pollination of flower and vegetable crops is worth 1.2 billion dollars a year. So in a way they're the farmers' friend. Oh, and another thing is, if you're stung by an Asian Honey Bee, it can produce an allergic reaction in some people; so they're much more dangerous than native bees.
PROFESSOR: How will you know if Asian bees have entered Australia?
GRANT: We're looking at the diet of the bird called the Rainbow Bee Eater. The Bee Eater doesn't care what it eats, as long as they're insects. But the interesting thing about this bird is that we are able to analyse exactly what it eats and that's really helpful if we're looking for introduced insects.
PROFESSOR: How come?
GRANT: Because insects have their skeletons outside their bodies, so the Bee Eaters digest the meat from the inside. Then they bring up all the indigestible bits of skeleton and, of course, the wings in a pellet – a small ball of waste material which they cough up.
PROFESSOR: That sounds a bit unpleasant. So, how do you go about it?
GRANT: In the field we track down the Bee Eaters and find their favourite feeding spots, you know, the places where the birds usually feed. It's here that we can find the pellets. We collect them up and take them back to the laboratory to examine the contents.
PROFESSOR: How do you do that?
GRANT: The pellets are really hard, especially if they have been out in the sun for a few days so, first of all, we treat them by adding water to moisten them and make them softer. Then we pull them apart under the microscope. Everything's all scrunched up but we're looking for wings so we just pull them all out and straighten them. Then we identify them to see if we can find any Asian bee wings.
PROFESSOR: And how many have you found?
GRANT: So far our research shows that Asian bees have not entered Australia in any number – it's a good result and much more reliable than trying to find live ones as evidence of introduced insects.
PROFESSOR: Well, that's fascinating! Thank you, Grant, for those insights. I hope that you might inspire some of our students here to conduct some similar experiments.