11. The idea for the two new developments in the city came from LOCAL PEOPLE (A).

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The speaker says: “As many of you may know, the idea for these initiatives came from you, the public, in the extensive consultation exercise which the City Council conducted last year. And they have been realised using money from the SWRDC – the South West Regional Development Commission.”

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Notice that, even though it is the correct answer, the words ‘local people’ are not mentioned, while the words incorrect answers, ‘City Council’ and ‘SWRDC’ are mentioned. This is quite common in IELTS listening tests. To get the right answer for this question, you need to understand that even though ‘initiatives’ and ‘developments’ are not synonyms, in this case they refer to the same things. Likewise for ‘you, the public’ and ‘local people’.

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The words “the idea for  . . . came from  . . .” are an important cue, as they occur in both the question and the recording.

 

12. What is unusual about Brackenside pool? ITS METHOD OF WATER TREATMENT (C)

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The speaker says: “with up-to-the-minute features such as a recycling system – the only one of its kind in the world – which enables seawater to be used in the pool”.

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Again, what makes this hard is the fact that ‘recycling system’, which enables seawater to be used in the pool, is not mentioned among the options. But you need a certain amount of common sense to know that that this recycling system is a method of water treatment. The fact that it is “the only one of its kind in the world” tells us that it is unusual, and therefore the right answer.

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The architectural style is not unusual. On the contrary, we are told that it “fits in so well with many of the other buildings in the area”. Although the speaker tells us that the pool is heated, there is no mention that the heating system is unusual.

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13. Local newspapers have raised worries about THE SIZE OF THE FACILITIES (C).

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This one is difficult because there are no cues to let you know that the answer is coming. The speaker just begins the next point by saying “Now, there has been quite a bit of discussion in the local press about whether there would be enough room for the number of visitors we’re hoping to attract.”

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‘Local press’ is of course synonymous with ‘local newspapers’. More difficult, however, is equating ‘quite a bit of discussion’ with ‘raised worries’ and equating ‘room’ with ‘size’. The key then, like many IELTS listening test questions, lies in understanding the meaning of sentences rather than listening for individual words.

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14. What decision has not yet been made about the pool? WHOSE STATUE WILL BE AT THE DOOR (A).

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The speaker says: “There’ll also be a competition for the public to decide on the sculpture we plan to have at the entrance: you will decide which famous historical figure from the city we should have”.

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From this we can imagine that on the opening day the public will have an opportunity to choose (by voting, probably) which famous historical person will have their statue placed at the entrance of the pool. This is the overall meaning you need to comprehend in order to answer the question.

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There are several keywords to help you. The first is ‘decide’, which is mentioned twice. Understanding the tense (future) is helpful because it tells us that the decision has not yet been made. Another keyword is ‘sculpture’, since a statue is a kind of sculpture. A third keyword is ‘figure’, which can sometimes mean ‘person’ (e.g., public figure, well-known figure, or as in this case, a famous historical figure).

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By now, you know that getting the right answers on IELTS listening tests often involves recognizing when different words are used to refer to the same thing. For questions 15 to 20, a very useful strategy is to use the time you have before listening to this part for writing down some synonyms for the words on the list of features. For example:

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• ancient fort: castle, fortress,

• waterways: rivers, canals

• ice and snow: glacier, ski slopes

• jewels: gems, precious stones

• local animals: birds, fauna

• mountains: hills, peaks

• music and film: entertainment, songs

• space travel: spaceship, rocket

• volcano: eruptions, lava

 

Many of these words are in fact mentioned by the speaker, which makes your task easier.

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15. Asia: LOCAL ANIMALS (E)

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Easy question. The speaker says: “For example, there is a section on Asia, and this is represented by rides and equipment in the shape of snakes, orangutans, tigers and so on – fauna native to the forests of the region.”

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16. Antarctica: MOUNTAINS (F)

Another easy question. The word ‘mountains’ is explicitly mentioned.

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“Moving south to the Antarctic – we couldn’t run to an ice rink I’m afraid but opted instead for climbing blocks in the shape of mountains  – I thought they could have had slides for the glaciers but the designers did want to avoid being too literal!”

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The only hard part is avoiding the more predictable answer of ‘ice and snow’ (C). The word ‘but’ twice alerts us to the fact that these design options were considered but not adopted.

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17. South America: JEWELS (D)

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A fairly easy and predictable synonym for jewels is mentioned here.

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“Then on to South America – and here the theme is El Dorado – games replicating the search for mines full of precious stones.”

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18. North America: SPACE TRAVEL (H)

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Cinema and jazz are mentioned, but this is just another ‘red herring’ (i.e., a piece of information which is intended to be misleading ). Again, the word ‘but’ alerts us that this is not the right answer. The words ‘rocket’ and ‘space station’, however, make it easy.

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“And then moving up to North America, here there was considerable debate, I know the contribution of cinema and jazz was considered but the designers finally opted for rockets and the International Space Station.”

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19. Europe: ANCIENT FORTS (A)

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Easy question if you predicted ‘castle’ as a synonym for ancient fort. It’s still quite easy even if you didn’t try to predict what you would hear.

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“Eastwards to Europe then, and perhaps the most traditional choice of all the areas: medieval castles and other fortifications.”

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20. Africa: WATERWAYS (B)

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Like the previous question, it’s quite easy. ‘River’ and ‘waterway’ are synonymous and both common words.

 

“Then last, but not least, moving south to Africa and a whole set of wonderful mosaics to represent the great rivers of this fascinating and varied continent.”