Making A Steam Pit - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 Academic Listening Test 1 · Part 2 · Questions 11–20
Audio
Questions
Questions 11–16 Flow Chart Completion
Complete the flow chart below.
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G.
A air B ash C earth
D grass E sticks F stones
G water
Making a steam pit
Dig a pit.
⬇
Arrange a row of 11 over the pit.
⬇
Place 12 on top.
⬇
Light the wood and let it burn out.
⬇
Remove 13
⬇
Insert a stick.
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Cover the pit with 14
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Place wrapped food on top, and cover it with 15
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Remove the stick and put 16 into the hole.
Questions 17–18 Two Choices
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO characteristics apply to the bamboo oven?
Questions 19–20 Two Choices
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO pieces of advice does the speaker give about eating wild fungi?
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q11 | E | Your sticks have to be a bit wider than the pit because you have to put a line of them along the top from one end of the pit to the other | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the sticks need to be longer than the width of the hole. This allows you to place them in a straight line over the top of the hole. Answer Explanation: The answer E means that you should use thin, dry pieces of wood, which are called 'sticks'. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is E because the trainer instructions describe placing a wood row across the hole. The trainer uses the word 'line' as a synonym for 'row' and identifies the material as 'sticks'. These sticks must be wider than the 'pit' (which is another word for the hole) so that they can sit across the top of it. |
| Q12 | F | Before setting light to these you take some large stones and arrange them on top | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that before you start the fire, you should take some big rocks and put them on top of the wood. Answer Explanation: The answer is stones. These are hard pieces of rock that you find outside on the ground. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is stones because the trainer describes the order of steps for building a steam pit. After putting sticks over the hole, the next step is to put large rocks on top of them before starting the fire. The speaker uses the word 'stones' and says to 'arrange them on top.' |
| Q13 | B | At this point brush away any pieces of hot ash from the stones | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that once the wood has burned out, you should clean the 'hot ash' off the stones. This confirms that ash is the material being removed at this stage. Answer Explanation: The answer is ash, which is the powdery gray material left after wood burns. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is ash because, in the transcript, the trainer explains the steps for making a steam pit. After the wooden sticks burn and the stones fall inside, the next step mentioned is to brush away—or remove—any hot ash from the stones before continuing. This step matches the 'Remove' instruction in the flow chart. |
| Q14 | D | After that you cover the whole pit with a thick layer of grass and then you can put your food on it wrapped in more pieces of grass like parcels | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that after you put a stick in the pit, you should use a lot of grass to cover the hole completely. Answer Explanation: The answer is grass, which is a plant used to cover the cooking hole before the food is put inside. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is grass because the trainer describes the steps for making a steam pit in a specific order. After placing a stick into the center of the pit between the stones, the speaker says the next step is to cover the entire hole with a 'thick layer of grass.' This layer acts as a surface to hold the food. |
| Q15 | C | Finally cover the whole thing with earth | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the very last thing you put over the food and the pit is earth. Answer Explanation: The answer is earth, which refers to the soil or dirt from the ground used in the final step of covering the steam pit. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'earth' because, in the process of making a steam pit, the trainer explains that after placing the food (wrapped in grass) inside, you must cover the entire area with earth. This is done to seal the pit so that no heat or steam escapes, allowing the food to cook slowly. Keywords like 'cover' and 'whole thing' signal that 'earth' is the layer that goes on top of the food. |
| Q16 | G | Then all you have to do is take the stick out and pour a bit of water into the opening that it leaves | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains the final step of the process: removing the stick and pouring water into the empty space or hole that remains. Answer Explanation: The answer is water, which is option G. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is water because the trainer explains that after removing the stick from the center of the pit, you need to pour water into the hole left behind. This creates the steam necessary to cook the food slowly. The word 'opening' in the transcript is a synonym for 'hole' used in the question. |
| Q17 | — | — | |
| Q18 | B / E | You pour enough water in the top to fill the bottom section and then light a fire underneath that section to heat the water. Then you put your food inside the top section and the steam coming up the bamboo through the holes you made cooks it | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that you put water in the bottom part of the bamboo and place a fire under it. Then, the hot steam rises through the hollow bamboo to cook the food located in the upper part. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies two main features of the bamboo oven: the fire is placed under the bottom part of the bamboo pipe, and it uses steam to cook the food. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B and E. The speaker explains the process for using a bamboo oven. According to the transcript, you light a fire underneath the bottom section of the bamboo to heat up the water inside. Then, the steam created from that boiling water moves up through holes to cook the food placed in the top section. |
| Q19 | — | — | |
| Q20 | A / D | But be aware that any amount of cooking won't make poisonous varieties any safer to eat some fungi that are poisonous are very similar in appearance to certain edible varieties. They can easily be mistaken for each other |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that cooking does not fix poisonous mushrooms and mentions that dangerous mushrooms often look like safe ones. Answer Explanation: The answer means that cooking a poisonous mushroom does not make it safe to eat, and some mushrooms that are safe to eat look almost exactly like the dangerous ones. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A and D because the speaker warns that heat from cooking cannot remove the poison from dangerous wild mushrooms. Additionally, the speaker explains that some toxic mushrooms look very similar to ones that are safe (edible), which means people can easily confuse them. |
Transcript
The following is the transcription for the provided audio file:
**Narrator:** Test 1, Section 2. You will hear a trainer giving a talk to people who want to learn outdoor survival skills. First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.
*(Silence while questions are reviewed)*
**Narrator:** Now listen and answer questions 11 to 16.
**Trainer:** Good morning everyone, and welcome to our outdoor survival program. As you know, this week you'll be learning some of the basic information and skills you need to look after yourself independently in the outdoors. These first two days we'll be based here in the classroom and then we'll be taking a camping trip to put into practice some of the things you've learned.
I'm going to start off with the topic of food. And to start with, I'll describe just two methods which we'll be putting into practice at our camp and which make use of natural resources: the steam pit and the bamboo pot. I've got two posters here to make things clearer and I'll start with the steam pit here.
To make this you'll need some dry sticks, some grass, some loose earth and some stones. And for this week only, some matches.
The first thing you do is to dig a shallow pit in the place you've chosen to do your cooking. Let's say about 25 centimeters deep and 30 centimeters wide. Your sticks have to be a bit wider than the pit because you have to put a line of them along the top from one end of the pit to the other. Before setting light to these you take some large stones and arrange them on top. Then you start the fire and wait till the wooden platform burns through and the stones fall into the pit.
At this point brush away any pieces of hot ash from the stones. You can use a handful of grass and then take another stick and push it down into the center of the pit between the stones. After that you cover the whole pit with a thick layer of grass and then you can put your food on it wrapped in more pieces of grass like parcels. Finally cover the whole thing with earth. You have to pad it firmly to seal the pit. Then all you have to do is take the stick out and pour a bit of water into the opening that it leaves. It should take about four hours for your food to cook as it cooks slowly in the steam that's created inside the pit.
**Narrator:** Now you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20.
*(Silence while questions are reviewed)*
**Narrator:** Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.
**Trainer:** So, simple but effective. The other method you're going to practice this week is the bamboo oven. Now the steam pit is ideal in certain conditions because the heat is below ground level. For example, if there's a strong wind and you're afraid a fire might spread. But when it's safe to have an open fire, you can use the bamboo oven method.
You get a length of bamboo which as you probably know is hollow and consists of a number of individual sections with a wall in between. You use a sharp stick to make a hole in each of the dividing walls apart from the end one. Then you lean the bamboo over a fire with the top propped up by a forked stick and the bottom sitting on the ground.
You pour enough water in the top to fill the bottom section and then light a fire underneath that section to heat the water. Then you put your food inside the top section and the steam coming up the bamboo through the holes you made cooks it.
I'm going to move on now to food itself and talk about some of the wild plants you might cook. I'm going to begin with fungi. That's mushrooms and toadstools. I'm sure you'll be aware that some of these are edible and they're delicious, but some of them are highly poisonous.
Now whether they're poisonous or not, all fungi that you find in the wild should be cooked before eating because that helps to destroy any compounds in them that might be mildly toxic. But be aware that any amount of cooking won't make poisonous varieties any safer to eat. Unless you can definitely identify a fungus, you should never eat it. It's not worth the risk and you need to be really sure because some fungi that are poisonous are very similar in appearance to certain edible varieties. They can easily be mistaken for each other.
So, having said all that, fungi are delicious when they're freshly picked and although they are only moderately nutritious, they do contain minerals which the body needs. I'll move on now to leafy plants which are generally...
**Narrator:** That is the end of section 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.