Archaeological Research - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Collins Practice Tests For IELTS 2 Academic Listening Test 1 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
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Questions
Questions 31–33 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Questions 34–37 Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
- Bones provide a dietary 34 of the things people ate.
- Different ratios of carbon and sulphur are found in organisms depending on whether they come from the land or 35.
- Archaeologists analysed modern and 36 food sources for chemical elements.
- The settlers ate wild creatures as well as 37.
Questions 38–39 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-D.
Questions 40–40 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | C | through a careful analysis of the ancient bones of our ancestors, we can tell a great deal about their diet and the way they lived | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that by checking old bones carefully, we can learn a lot about what people ate and their way of life. Answer Explanation: The answer means that looking at old bones can help us understand how people lived in the past. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the speaker explains that old bones contain information about a person's life. By checking these bones, experts can find out what people ate and how they lived. The phrases 'diet' and 'way they lived' are used to describe a person's lifestyle. |
| Q32 | A | This allowed them to settle in an area where no humans had previously lived and that had limited natural resources | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the settlers moved to a place where no human beings had lived before their arrival. Answer Explanation: The answer means that people did not live on the island of Vanuatu before a certain time in history. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker explains that the Lapita people were the first to live on the island. The text specifically says they moved to a place where there were no humans before them. This matches the idea that the island was not always inhabited, or lived in. |
| Q33 | C | Archaeologists have been keen to discover to what extent these settlers and their domestic animals relied on the resources they'd brought with them compared to the native plants and animals they found on the island | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that researchers were very interested in finding out how much the new people and their animals survived on the items they carried to the island versus the items already living there. Answer Explanation: The answer means researchers wanted to find out how much of the settlers' food came from what they brought with them compared to what they found on the island. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the lecturer explains that researchers wanted to see how much the people and their animals used (relied on) the food and animals they brought from their old home instead of the natural food found on the island. The transcript uses the word 'extent' to talk about 'how much' they used these resources. |
| Q34 | signature | As these chemical elements are ultimately deposited in our bones, the amounts, or ratios, of each one can provide a sort of 'dietary signature' | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that when we eat, chemicals go into our bones. The special balance of these chemicals acts like a 'signature' or a sign that shows what was eaten. Answer Explanation: The answer means a unique mark or pattern. In this story, it is a chemical pattern left in bones that shows what kind of food a person ate. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the lecturer explains that chemicals from the food we eat stay in our bones. By measuring the amounts, or ratios, of these chemical elements, researchers can find a 'dietary signature' that tells them about the ancient people's diet. |
| Q35 | water | Carbon ratios, for example, differ between land and water organisms, as do sulphur ratios, the values of which are much higher in aquatic organisms compared to land-based organisms | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the levels of carbon and sulphur are not the same in things that live on land versus things that live in water. For example, aquatic (water) animals have much higher sulphur levels than land-based animals. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the location where a plant or animal lived—either on the ground or in the sea—affects the chemical patterns found in their remains. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is based on the section of the talk where the lecturer explains how different chemical elements help identify what ancient people ate. The speaker mentions that both carbon and sulphur ratios help tell the difference between 'land and water organisms.' This comparison is used to track whether food sources came from the earth or from a lake or ocean (aquatic sources). |
| Q36 | ancient | As well as examining the settlers' bones, scientists carried out a comprehensive analysis of the chemical elements found in the settlers' likely food sources. This included modern and ancient plants and animals | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that scientists studied the food settlers probably ate. They tested both current (modern) plants and animals and those from the very distant past (ancient). Answer Explanation: The answer 'ancient' describes things that are very old and exist from a historical time period thousands of years ago. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is confirmed because the lecturer states that researchers looked at the chemicals in the foods the early settlers probably ate. They checked both 'modern' (new) and 'ancient' (very old) plants and animals to understand what was available back then. |
| Q37 | domestic land animals / domestic animals | but early on they appear to have relied as much on a mixture of fish, marine turtles and fruit bats, as well as their own domestic land animals | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that in their early days on the island, the people ate a combination of wild animals (fish, turtles, and bats) and their own farm animals. Answer Explanation: The answer means animals that are kept by humans on a farm or at home, rather than animals that live in the wild. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the transcript describes the different types of food the early settlers ate. It mentions they consumed wild creatures like fish, marine turtles, and fruit bats. However, it also mentions that they ate the animals they brought with them and raised on the land, which are referred to as 'domestic land animals'. |
| Q38 | — | — | |
| Q39 | B / C | This difference in food consumption may support the hypothesis that Lapita societies were ranked in some way, or it may suggest dietary differences associated with the work people were involved in | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the range of foods people ate could mean that their community had people with different social levels (ranks) or that food was related to the work people did. Answer Explanation: The answer means that what people ate might have depended on their importance in the group or the type of work they did. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B and C because the chemical study found that men and women ate different amounts of meat. The speaker explains that this could be because some people were more important than others (ranking) or because people ate different foods based on their jobs (tasks). |
| Q40 | C | Additionally, the archaeologists analysed ancient pig and chicken bones and found that carbon levels in the settlers' domestic animals indicated that they were eating a diet mainly of plants. However, their nitrogen levels indicate that they may also have roamed freely, eating foods such as insects. This would have allowed the Lapita people to keep food resources that were in short supply for themselves, rather than feeding them to their domestic animals | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that because the bones showed the animals lived on wild plants and insects, the settlers were able to save their own scarce food for themselves instead of using it to feed the pigs and chickens. Answer Explanation: The answer means that pigs and chickens likely did not eat the small amount of food that the settlers had for themselves. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the analysis of animal bones showed that pigs and chickens ate plants and insects on their own. By letting the animals walk around freely to find their own food, the settlers could keep their limited food for people instead of using it to feed the animals. In the text, 'in short supply' matches the idea of 'limited food supplies' in the question. |
Transcript
Lecturer: Many thanks for inviting me along today to talk to you about the results of some very interesting recent archaeological research.
The saying 'you are what you eat' is often applied to present day dietary advice. Certainly, our bodies will show evidence of whether we eat healthily or live on fast food and take-aways. This can be particularly useful in archaeological research; through a careful analysis of the ancient bones of our ancestors, we can tell a great deal about their diet and the way they lived.
I'd like to talk to you today about some research into the early settlers of some remote tropical islands in the Pacific. When these people travelled to these new lands 3,000 years ago, they had to bring along all the resources they needed for survival, including food, plants and animals from their original homes.
One such group were the Lapita people, who were early settlers of Remote Oceania - several islands in the Pacific. When the Lapita set sail for the island Vanuatu, they brought with them domestic animals and crop plants. This allowed them to settle in an area where no humans had previously lived and that had limited natural resources. Archaeologists have been keen to discover to what extent these settlers and their domestic animals relied on the resources they'd brought with them compared to the native plants and animals they found on the island.
In order to try and understand the diet and lives of the Lapita people, archaeologists analysed the chemical composition of the bones of 50 adults excavated from the Lapita cemetery on Efate Island, Vanuatu. Depending on what we eat, we consume varying amounts of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. As these chemical elements are ultimately deposited in our bones, the amounts, or ratios, of each one can provide a sort of 'dietary signature'. For instance, plants incorporate nitrogen into their tissues, and as animals eat plants and other animals, nitrogen builds up in their own system. The presence of different ratios of chemical elements may show whether a human or an animal ate plants, animals or both. Carbon and sulphur ratios offer another clue to diet. Carbon ratios, for example, differ between land and water organisms, as do sulphur ratios, the values of which are much higher in aquatic organisms compared to land-based organisms. As well as examining the settlers' bones, scientists carried out a comprehensive analysis of the chemical elements found in the settlers' likely food sources. This included modern and ancient plants and animals. They found that early Lapita inhabitants of Vanuatu may have searched for food rather than relying entirely on food they had grown themselves during the early stages of colonisation. In the longer term, they probably did grow and consume food from the resources they'd brought with them, but early on they appear to have relied as much on a mixture of fish, marine turtles and fruit bats, as well as their own domestic land animals.
The archaeologists believe that this analysis of diet may also provide clues to the culture of the settlers. For one thing, males had much higher nitrogen levels compared to females, which indicates greater access to meat. This difference in food consumption may support the hypothesis that Lapita societies were ranked in some way, or it may suggest dietary differences associated with the work people were involved in.
Additionally, the archaeologists analysed ancient pig and chicken bones and found that carbon levels in the settlers' domestic animals indicated that they were eating a diet mainly of plants. However, their nitrogen levels indicate that they may also have roamed freely, eating foods such as insects. This would have allowed the Lapita people to keep food resources that were in short supply for themselves, rather than feeding them to their domestic animals.