Urban Development And Human Geography Discussion - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 20 Academic Listening Test 2 · Part 3 · Questions 21–30
Audio
Questions
Questions 21–25 Matching
What is Rosie and Colin’s opinion about each of the following aspects of human geography?
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to Questions
Urban Development and Human Geography Discussion
Opinion
A The information given about this was too vague.
B This may not be relevant to their course.
C This will involve only a small number of statistics.
D It will be easy to find facts about this.
E The facts about this may not be reliable.
F No useful research has been done on this.
G The information provided about this was interesting.
Questions 26–30 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q21 | D | Yeah, but quite straightforward to find on the internet | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows Colin saying it is easy to find information online, so he thinks researching population will not take much time or effort. Answer Explanation: The answer is D, which means Rosie and Colin think it will be easy to find facts about population. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is D because when they talked about population, Colin mentioned that it is quite straightforward to find information on the internet. This means they believe gathering facts about population will not be difficult. |
| Q22 | G | Yes, fascinating, wasn’t it | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows Colin and Rosie talking about a health topic in relation to geography. Colin found it fascinating to learn about how health and geography connect, especially from a lecture they had. Answer Explanation: The answer is G, which means they found the information about health and geography interesting. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is G because Colin liked the information they discussed about health and geography from their lecture. They talked about how a physician used street plans to find the source of a cholera epidemic in the past. This shows that they found the connection between health and geography to be interesting. |
| Q23 | B | I thought that had been taken off the syllabus for this year | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Rosie is saying she believes the topic may not be included in their course this year. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Rosie and Colin think this topic might not be important for their class. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because Rosie mentions that she is not sure if the economy topic is still part of their course syllabus, and she suggests it might be best to avoid it. This shows they think it might not be relevant. |
| Q24 | A | I didn't get much out of that. It was all so general and the lecturer didn't give any useful examples | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that Rosie did not learn much from the lecture because it was too general, and the teacher did not give good examples. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Rosie and Colin think the information about culture was not detailed and clear enough. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'A' because Rosie expressed that the lecture about culture was too general and did not provide useful examples. This means they found the information given about culture to be vague and not very helpful. |
| Q25 | E | The trouble is, Dr Lee was saying, that you have to be careful with some of the figures relating to poverty. They're sometimes deliberately manipulated | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that because some numbers about poverty are changed on purpose, you need to be careful when looking at them. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Rosie and Colin think the facts about poverty might not be trustworthy. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is E because Rosie mentions that some figures about poverty are sometimes altered for political reasons. This means the information may be changed, making it not reliable or accurate. |
| Q26 | C | Yes, but where I come from, that’s linked to another more serious issue, which is that a lot of people don’t have jobs. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that Rosie likes living in a city, but there are problems. A big problem is that many people do not have jobs, and this problem is getting worse. Answer Explanation: The answer says that the main problem in Rosie's city is unemployment, which means many people do not have jobs. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C, unemployment, because Rosie mentions that in her city, many people don't have jobs and that this problem is getting worse. She links issues like theft to the fact that people lack employment, indicating that unemployment is a significant concern in her area. |
| Q27 | A | But the outskirts are ideal for buildings that need a lot of space, like for conferences. They’ve opened a couple of big ones. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the areas outside the city are good for buildings that need a lot of space, such as conference centers. There have been a few big conference centers opened there. Answer Explanation: The answer is A, which means that both students are pleased about the new conference centers that have been built on the outskirts of their cities. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because in the discussion, Colin mentions that the outskirts are suitable for large buildings, and he specifically states that they have opened 'a couple of big ones' for conferences. This shows that both Rosie and Colin are happy about the new conference centers. |
| Q28 | A | Hmm, that can't be cheap. And I bet it's often not budgeted for | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that making old industrial sites safe can cost a lot of money and that people might not plan for these costs. Answer Explanation: The answer means that changing old industrial areas can have costs that people do not expect. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'A' because Colin and Rosie talk about how developing old industrial sites can be expensive. They mention that these sites often have dangerous materials that need to be cleaned up, and this cleaning process is not cheap. This implies that there can be unexpected costs involved in the development. |
| Q29 | B | It was designed to be a green city, wasn't it? That might be a good example of a city which set out to depend entirely on renewable energy | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that Masdar City was planned to be a green city, meaning it wants to be good for the environment. It is also mentioned that the city wants to use energy that comes from sources that can be renewed, like wind or solar power. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Masdar City is an example of a place that tries to use energy in a way that is good for the environment. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'Sustainable energy use' because in the transcript, Rosie and Colin discuss how Masdar City was designed to depend entirely on renewable energy. This shows that the city is trying to use energy in a way that does not harm the environment, which is the definition of sustainable energy. |
| Q30 | C | I'm not sure how far they've got with it | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says Colin doesn't know how much has been completed with the ecotown project, which shows he is uncertain about its current status. Answer Explanation: The answer is C, which means Colin is not sure about how much of the ecotown called Greenhill Abbotts has been actually built. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because Colin mentions that he is not sure how far they've got with the ecotown Greenhill Abbotts. This means he does not know how much has been built so far, showing his uncertainty about the current state of the project. |
Transcript
ROSIE Colin, I’m really struggling to think of a topic for our human geography assignment.
COLIN Me too, Rosie. I’ll tell you what, let’s think about the different aspects of human geography and see if we can narrow the topic down a bit to help us decide.
ROSIE OK. So one aspect is population. That would be all about population density and migration and so on. Lots of facts and statistics. Maybe a bit boring?
COLIN Yeah, but quite straightforward to find on the internet.
ROSIE Suppose so. How about health? I’d never thought about the links between that and geography until Professor Lee gave us that lecture on cholera. How in the 19th century, a physician used street plans and plans of water supplies to find the source of a cholera epidemic.
COLIN Yes, fascinating, wasn’t it? Or we could do something more general like economies
ROSIE So how financial and commercial factors are linked to the physical environment
COLIN Yeah
ROSIE I thought that had been taken off the syllabus for this year
COLIN Has it?
ROSIE I'm not sure but it might be best to avoid it
COLIN OK. Maybe we could do something on culture. We had that lecture about culture and geography last week.
ROSIE I didn’t get much out of that. It was all so general and the lecturer didn’t give any useful examples.
COLIN Yeah, I hardly took any notes. It didn’t seem worth it.
ROSIE Me neither.
COLIN We could focus on poverty. That’s something that’s a global problem.
ROSIE The trouble is, Dr Lee was saying, that you have to be careful with some of the figures relating to poverty. They’re sometimes deliberately manipulated.
COLIN You mean the information gets changed for political reasons?
ROSIE That sort of thing, yes.
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ROSIE So what are we going to do our assignment on? I’ll tell you what. One of the possibilities we have discussed is urbanisation and now over half the world population lives in cities. That really important
COLIN OK good idea Rosie Let do that
ROSIE I love living in a big city but of course there are problems
COLIN Things like theft and robbery?
ROSIE Yes, but where I come from, that’s linked to another more serious issue, which is that a lot of people don’t have jobs. That’s getting worse and worse. And we also still have quite a lot of people who are homeless, though that’s not quite so bad as it was.
COLIN It would be nice to talk about some positive developments, like some of the new developments on the outskirts of cities.
ROSIE Yeah, they’ve opened some massive new shopping centres outside my city.
COLIN Yeah, the same with mine, but it means a lot of the shops in the city centre are closing down. But the outskirts are ideal for buildings that need a lot of space, like for conferences. They’ve opened a couple of big ones.
ROSIE Yes, we’ve got some too. It’d be nicer to have more facilities for things like football too, but that’s not happening where I live.
COLIN Same in my area.
ROSIE We could include something about developing disused industrial sites. It seems like a good idea because you’re not doing any harm to the natural environment.
COLIN Yeah, but aren’t the buildings architecturally significant?
ROSIE Not really. And what people forget is that they often used quite dangerous materials, chemicals and things, which haven’t been properly cleared away, so the whole site has to be made safe.
COLIN Hmm, that can’t be cheap. And I bet it’s often not budgeted for.
ROSIE You’re right.
COLIN Have you read about Masdar City?
ROSIE In Abu Dhabi? Yes. It was designed to be a green city, wasn’t it? That might be a good example of a city which set out to depend entirely on renewable energy.
COLIN Yes. We should say something about that. It was designed to be totally pedestrianised too wasn’t it with the transport underground
ROSIE Yes and they had big plans for recycling to reduce waste to the lowest possible level But let’s stick to talking about power sources.
COLIN Then there’s that ecotown in England, Greenhill Abbotts. It set out to conform to the usual principles, sustainability and so on. A lot of people were against it at first. They said the plans were unrealistic. I’m not sure how far they’ve got with it. I’ll check.
ROSIE Right. So it looks as if we have a sort of plan.