Australian Aboriginal Rock Paintings - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 08 Academic Listening Test 4 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
Audio
Questions
Questions 31–36 Matching
Which painting styles have the following features?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C.
A. Dynamic
B. Yam
C. Modern
Questions 37–40 Note Completion
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Rainbow Serpent Project
Aim of project: to identify the 37 used as the basis for the Rainbow Serpent
Yam Period
- environmental changes led to higher 38
- traditional activities were affected, especially 39
Rainbow Serpent image
- similar to a sea horse
- unusual because it appeared in inland areas
- symbolises 40 in Aboriginal culture
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | C | However, they didn't go as far as the Modern style, which is known as 'x-ray' because it actually makes a feature of the internal skeleton as well as the organs of animals and humans | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the Modern style is called 'x-ray' because it shows the bones and other parts inside the body. Answer Explanation: The answer is C, which refers to the Modern style of painting. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the speaker describes the Modern style as 'x-ray' art. This style is unique because it shows the internal skeleton, which means you can see the bones and organs inside the bodies of people and animals. |
| Q32 | B | The Yam style of painting got its name from the fact that it featured much curvier figures that actually resemble the vegetable called a yam, which is similar to a sweet potato | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the Yam style uses figures that are curved and shaped like a specific vegetable, rather than being made of straight lines. Answer Explanation: The answer B means that the Yam style of painting is the one that features rounded or curvy shapes. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the speaker explains that Yam paintings moved away from thin 'stick figures' to shapes that were 'curvier.' In English, 'curvier' is a synonym for 'rounded.' The style is named after a vegetable called a yam, which has a round, curved shape like a sweet potato. |
| Q33 | C | The Modern paintings are interesting because they include paintings at the time of the first contact with European settlers. Aborigines managed to convey the idea of the settlers' clothing by simply painting the Europeans without any hands, indicating the habit of standing with their hands in their pockets | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that in the Modern style, the artists painted Europeans but did not include their hands. They did this to show that the people were standing with their hands inside their pockets. Answer Explanation: The answer is the Modern style of painting. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is Modern because the transcript describes a specific detail where certain figures in these paintings do not have all their body parts shown. It explains that when Aboriginal people painted European settlers, they left out the hands. This was done to show that the settlers had their hands hidden inside their pockets. Therefore, the Modern style includes figures with parts missing. |
| Q34 | A | Size is another characteristic. The more recent images tend to be life size or even larger, but the Dynamic figures are painted in miniature | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that while newer paintings are big, figures in the Dynamic style are miniature, which means they are small versions of things. Answer Explanation: The answer is style A, which is the Dynamic style of painting. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because the speaker explains that size is a way to tell the styles apart. While more recent paintings are big (life size or larger), the Dynamic style paintings are 'miniature,' which means they are very small. This matches the description of being 'smaller than life size.' |
| Q35 | B | In fact, fish didn't start to appear in paintings until the Yam period along with shells and other marine images | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that fish and other things from the sea, like shells, were not in paintings until the Yam era began. Answer Explanation: The answer means that paintings from the Yam period started to show animals or objects that live in the ocean. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the text specifically states that fish and other "marine images" began to be included in artwork during the Yam period. In English, the word "marine" refers to anything related to the sea or ocean. Therefore, the Yam style is the one associated with sea creatures. Earlier styles like Dynamic did not include fish because sea levels were lower then. |
| Q36 | B | The paintings of the Yam tradition also suggest that, during this time, the Aborigines moved away from animals as their main food source and began including vegetables in their diet, as these feature prominently | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that during the Yam period, vegetables (plants) started to appear very clearly in the paintings because the people were eating them. Answer Explanation: The answer is the 'Yam' style of painting. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is Yam because this style of art specifically depicts vegetables, which are types of plants. The transcript mentions that the paintings are named after a vegetable called a yam and that vegetables began to appear often in the artwork during this time as people started to eat them more. |
| Q37 | animal / creature | But we decided to study the Rainbow Serpent paintings to see if we could locate the animal that the very first painters based their image on | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says the researchers studied the paintings to try and find the specific animal that the first artists used to create the image. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to a living thing, such as a snake or a sea horse, that provided the inspiration for a drawing. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the speaker explicitly states that the goal of their research was to find the specific animal used by the original artists as the model for the Rainbow Serpent. In the context of the notes, 'identify' means the same as 'locate', and 'basis' refers to the original thing the image was 'based' on. Later in the text, the speaker also uses the word 'creature' to describe this same search. |
| Q38 | sea levels / water levels | This brought about tremendous change in the environment, with the sea levels rising and creeping steadily inland | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that environmental changes caused the water in the ocean to rise and move slowly into the land. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the height of the ocean water or sea water went up during a specific time in history. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'sea/water level(s)' because the text explains that at the end of the last ice age, the environment changed a lot, and one major change was that the sea levels became higher (they were 'rising'). |
| Q39 | hunting | This flooded many familiar land features and also caused a great deal of disruption to traditional patterns of life, hunting in particular | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that when the sea levels rose, it changed the land and stopped people from doing their normal daily activities, especially their practice of hunting animals. Answer Explanation: The answer is hunting, which means searching for and killing wild animals for food. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is hunting because the speaker mentions that rising sea levels caused a lot of trouble for the way people normally lived. When the speaker says 'disruption to traditional patterns of life', it matches the note's phrase 'traditional activities were affected'. The speaker then highlights 'hunting in particular', which matches the note's phrase 'especially'. Therefore, hunting was the specific activity most affected. |
| Q40 | creation | Even today, Aborigines see the Rainbow Serpent as a symbol of creation, which is understandable given the increase in vegetation and the new life forms that featured when the image first appeared | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that even in modern times, Aboriginal people consider the Rainbow Serpent image to represent the start of life and nature. Answer Explanation: The answer is creation. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'creation' because the speaker specifically mentions that Aboriginal people view the Rainbow Serpent as a symbol of this concept. This belief is linked to the historical time when the environment changed and many new types of plants and life began to appear. In this context, 'symbol of' matches 'symbolises' from the notes. |
Transcript
Good morning, everyone. I've been invited to talk about my research project into Australian Aboriginal rock paintings. The Australian Aborigines have recorded both real and symbolic images of their time on rock walls for many thousands of years. Throughout the long history of this tradition, new images have appeared and new painting styles have developed. And these characteristics can be used to categorise the different artistic styles. Among these are what we call the Dynamic, Yam and Modern styles of painting.
One of the most significant characteristics of the different styles is the way that humans are depicted in the paintings. The more recent paintings show people in static poses. But the first human images to dominate rock art paintings, over 8,000 years ago, were full of movement. These paintings showed people hunting and cooking food and so they were given the name 'Dynamic' to reflect this energy. It's quite amazing considering they were painted in such a simple stick-like form. In the Yam period, there was a movement away from stick figures to a more naturalistic shape. However, they didn't go as far as the Modern style, which is known as 'x-ray' because it actually makes a feature of the internal skeleton as well as the organs of animals and humans. The Yam style of painting got its name from the fact that it featured much curvier figures that actually resemble the vegetable called a yam, which is similar to a sweet potato. The Modern paintings are interesting because they include paintings at the time of the first contact with European settlers. Aborigines managed to convey the idea of the settlers' clothing by simply painting the Europeans without any hands, indicating the habit of standing with their hands in their pockets! Size is another characteristic. The more recent images tend to be life size or even larger, but the Dynamic figures are painted in miniature.
Aboriginal rock art also records the environmental changes that occurred over thousands of years. For example, we know from the Dynamic paintings that over 8,000 years ago, Aborigines would have rarely eaten fish and sea levels were much lower at this time. In fact, fish didn't start to appear in paintings until the Yam period along with shells and other marine images. The paintings of the Yam tradition also suggest that, during this time, the Aborigines moved away from animals as their main food source and began including vegetables in their diet, as these feature prominently. Freshwater creatures didn't appear in the paintings until the Modern period from 4,000 years ago.
So, these paintings have already taught us a lot. But one image that has always intrigued us is known as the 'Rainbow Serpent'. The Rainbow Serpent, which is the focus of my most recent project, gets its name from its snake or serpent-like body and it first appeared in the Yam period 4 to 6,000 years ago. Many believe it is a curious mixture of kangaroo, snake and crocodile. But we decided to study the Rainbow Serpent paintings to see if we could locate the animal that the very first painters based their image on.
The Yam period coincided with the end of the last ice age. This brought about tremendous change in the environment, with the sea levels rising and creeping steadily inland. This flooded many familiar land features and also caused a great deal of disruption to traditional patterns of life, hunting in particular. New shores were formed and totally different creatures would have washed up onto the shores. We studied 107 paintings of the Rainbow Serpent and found that the one creature that matches it most closely was the Ribboned Pipefish, which is a type of sea horse. This sea creature would have been a totally unfamiliar sight in the inland regions where the image is found and may have been the inspiration behind the early paintings.
So, at the end of the ice age there would have been enormous changes in animal and plant life. It's not surprising then, that the Aborigines linked this abundance to the new creatures they witnessed. Even today, Aborigines see the Rainbow Serpent as a symbol of creation, which is understandable given the increase in vegetation and the new life forms that featured when the image first appeared.