A Conversation Between Two Students About a Tutorial Topic IELTS Listening Answers

Dec 7, 2022

A Conversation Between Two Students About a Tutorial Topic IELTS Listening Answers is a topic of IELTS section three. Candidates need to answer 40 IELTS listening questions. The IELTS Listening section helps candidates to improve their listening skills. The question types are: Choose the correct answer, Complete the notes, and Multiple choice. IELTS Listening Practice test papers will help candidates prepare for the IELTS Examination.

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Topic: Conversation Between Two Students About a Tutorial Topic

Audio Transcript

In this section, you will hear a conversation between two students, Fiona and Martin talking about a tutorial topic. First look at questions 21 to 24.

Now listen and answer questions 21 to 24.

Fiona: Hi there, Martin. How are you going with your Australian studies tutorial paper?

Martin: Oh good. I've finished it, actually.

Fiona: Lucky you. What did you do it on ? I'm still trying to find an interesting topic.

Martin: Well, after some consideration, I decided to look at the history of banana growing in Australia.

Fiona: Banana growing?

Martin: Yeah, Banana growing.

Fiona: Fascinating, I'm sure.

Martin: Well, it's not as boring as you’d think and I wanted to tie it into the work I've been doing on primary industries and the economy. Anyway, I bet there are a few things you didn’t know about bananas.

Fiona: Such as

Martin: Such as the fact that bananas were among the first plants ever to be domesticated.

Fiona: Oh, really?

Martin: Yeah, an extremely nourishing food.

Fiona: I suppose you're going to tell me the whole history of banana growing now. Aren’t you?

Martin: Well, it would be a good practice run for my tutorial next week. I’ll do the same for you sometime.

Fiona: Okay! Fire away. So where were these bananas first domesticated?

Martin: According to my research the cavendish banana, which is a type of banana and the first type to be cultivated here, actually originated in China, but they had a fairly roundabout route before they got to Australia.

Fiona: I mean, I didn't go straight from China to Australia.

Martin: No, they didn’t. It seems that in 1826 bananas were taken from South China to England.

Fiona: I suppose they'd have made a welcome addition to the English diet.

Martin: Yes, I’m sure. Well, apparently there was an English duke who was particularly fond of bananas and he used to cultivate them in his hot house which is where you have to grow them in England, of course because of the cool climate and they became quite popular in the UK. So he was the one responsible for cultivating the cavendish banana, which was then introduced into Australia.

Fiona: I see and we've been growing them ever since?

Martin: Yeah.

Now look at questions 25 to 32.

As the conversation continues, complete Martin’s notes.

Fiona: Are they hard to grow?

Martin: Well, yes and no. To grow them in your garden, no, not really. But to grow them commercially you need to know what you're doing. You see, you only get one bunch of bananas per tree and it can take up to three years for a tree to bear fruit if you don’t do anything special to it. But this period is greatly reduced with modern drying methods particularly in plantations where you have perfect tropical conditions.

Fiona: Right. So what are you looking at one year, two year?

Martin: No, no. Around 15 months in good conditions for a tree to produce a bunch of bananas. And once you've got your bunch, you cut the bunch and the plant out.

Fiona: So how do the trees reproduce then?

Martin: Well, Bananas are normally grown from suckers which spring up around the parent plant, usually just above the plant. They tend to like to grow uphill or at least that's the common wisdom.

Fiona: Well, that's why banana plantations are usually on hillsides. Is it?

Martin: Yeah, they grow best like that.

Fiona: That's interesting!

Martin: If you plant them in rich soil and give them plenty of water at the beginning of summer, then they should be well advanced by the beginning of winter when growth usually stops. But in a country like England, they had to grow. Well, you can grow them in a hot house.

Fiona: But in Australia, it's not difficult.

Martin: Well, though even here the growers put plastic bags around the bunches to protect them and keep them warm. If you got to the banana growing districts, you'll see all these banana trees with plastic bags on them.

Fiona: So, how do I stop the bananas going bad before they reach the shop?

Martin: Well, the banana bunches are picked well before the fruits are ripe. Once you cut the bunch, the bananas stop growing but they do continue to ripen. The interesting thing is that once one banana ripens, it gives off a gas which then helps all the others to ripen. So they pretty much all ripen, within a few hours of each other.

Fiona: Amazing. So, do we export lots of bananas overseas, to Europe and Asia for instance?

Martin: Well, oddly enough, no. I believe New Zealand takes a small proportion of the crop, but otherwise they’re mostly grown for the domestic market, which is surprising when you think about it, because we grow an enormous number of bananas here.

.Fiona: Well, thank you for all that information. I'm sure the tutorial paper will go really well. You certainly seem to have done your research on the subject.

Martin: Let’s hope so.

That is the end of Section 3.

Questions 21-24.

Choose the correct answer A-D and write them next to 21-24 on your answer sheet.

At first, Fiona thinks that Martin’s tutorial topic is

inappropriate
dull
interesting
fascinating

Answer: B
Explanation: We can see the conversation between Martin and Fiona. At first, Fionna sarcastically said fascinating. However, Martin understood her tone and answered that ‘Well, it's not as boring as you’d think’. Since it was said sarcastically, it should be the opposite of fascinating. From the options, ‘dull’ is the correct choice.

According to Martin, the banana

has only recently been cultivated
is economical to grow
is good for your health
is his favourite food

Answer: C
Explanation: Martin in the conversation said that banana is an extremely nourishing food. Nourishing means something good for our health. From this, we can confer that the answer must be c because nourishing food and good for health have similar meanings.

Fiona listens to Martin because she

wants to know more about bananas
has nothing else to do today
is interested in the economy of Australia
wants to help Martin

Answer: D
Explanation: Fiona wanted to help Martin with the tutorial paper. We can comprehend from the conversation that Fionna wants to help Martin which is why she listens to his study for the tutorial paper. Thus the correct answer will be D.

According to Martin, bananas were introduced into Australia from

India
England
China
Africa

Answer: B
Explanation: Martin clearly states in the conversation that it seems bananas were taken from South China to England in 1826. Hence, England would be the correct choice.

Questions 25-30.

Complete Martin’s notes Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Commercially grown banana plant:

Each banana tree produces 25 ____________ of bananas.

On modern plantations in tropical conditions, a tree can bear fruit after 26 ____________

Banana trees prefer to grow 27 ____________ and they require rich soil and

28 ____________ The fruit is often protected by 29 ____________

Ripe bananas emit a gas which helps other 30____________

Question 25.

Answer: one bunch
Explanation: Martin states in the conversation that you only get one bunch of bananas per tree. The questions ask about the production of each banana tree. Hence, the correct choice would be one bunch.

Question 26.

Answer: 15 months
Explanation: Fiona asks that it takes one to two years for the bananas to grow. Martin replies that it takes around 15 months in good conditions for a tree to produce a bunch of bananas. Thus the answer must be 15 months.

Question 27.

Answer: uphill//on hillsides
Explanation: On asking how the trees reproduce, Martin said they are grown from suckers that spring up around the parent plant. He also adds that they tend to like to grow uphill or at least that's common wisdom. So the answer is uphill.

Question 28.

Answer: lots of/plenty of water
Explanation: Martin says that the trees should be planted in rich soil and needs plenty of water in summer. Hence, plenty of water is the correct answer.

Question 29.

Answer: plastic bags
Explanation: Martin stated that bananas are put in plastic bags to keep them safe and warm. According to this, the answer must be plastic bags.

Question 30.

Answer: bananas/ones (to) ripen
Explanation: According to Martin ‘The interesting thing is that once one banana ripens, it gives off a gas which then helps all the others to ripen’. Therefore the answer should be bananas/ones (to) ripen.

Questions 31 and 32.

Circle the TWO correct boxes.

Map

Question 31.

Answer: C
Explanation: In the conversation, Martin says that ‘I believe New Zealand takes a small proportion of the crop,’. This makes New Zealand the first correct choice.

Question 32.

Answer: D
Explanation: The conversation starts with Fiona asking about the Australian studies tutorial paper. As stated by Martin ‘otherwise they’re mostly grown for the domestic market’. The word domestic here means Australia. So the second correct answer is D.

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