A Lecture on Wind Energy - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

The IELTS Listening section comprises two monologues and conversations. Candidates need to answer 40 IELTS listening questions. This topic - A lecture on wind energy is IELTS listening part Four. Candidates need to answer the following IELTS Listening question types:

• Complete the notes
• Complete the chart

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Audio Transcript

You will hear a lecture about wind energy.

Lecturer: With the rising cost of fossil fuels , there’s a great deal of interest these days in developing alternative sources of energy. Today, I’d like to talk about one of these wind power. In the past couple of decades , there’s been an upsurge of interest in using the wind as a source of energy, but the idea isn’t new at all. People have been harnessing the power of the wind for centuries, ever since ancient peoples first used sailboats . In ancient China, farmers used a rudimentary sort of windmill to pump water. Wind power was used in other parts of the ancient world, as well. In Persia, for example, farmers used wind powered mills to grind their grain. During the Middle Ages in the Netherlands, people went back to the ancient idea of using the power of the wind to move water. They used windmills to drain lakes, thereby creating more land for farming.

Lecturer: At present, people around the world are using the wind to generate electricity, some old methods, some new. Is this the solution to our modern energy problems? Well, as with anything, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using wind power. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons to use wind power. One of the biggest problems with using fuels such as oil and coal is pollution. Wind power, on the other hand, is clean. It causes no pollution and therefore doesn’t contribute to global warming . Another great advantage of wind power is that it’s a renewable resource . Oil and coal reserves are limited, but we'll never run out of wind. Economics is another reason to use wind power. Using the wind to generate electricity costs less, much less, than running other types of generators. In addition, since wind turbines don’t take up much land, the land around them can be used for other purposes, such as farming.

There are disadvantages, however. Even though generating electricity with wind is relatively inexpensive , the technology isn’t cheap. The initial costs of setting up wind turbines can be quite high. Another issue is reliability . Wind doesn’t blow at a constant of strength. Therefore, at times, a lot of electricity can be produced while at others there may be little or none. Wind turbines usually have to be located in rural areas where the land is open. Their distance from cities, where the most electricity is needed, is another issue. Although wind is considered to be a clean source of energy, wind turbines cause their own sort of pollution. Wind turbines are usually placed in high, open areas, where they’re easy to be seen. rural residents often feel that the beautiful local scenery is spoiled by the sight of the wind turbines. In addition, wind turbines aren’t quiet. In fact, one wind turbine can produce as much noise as a car traveling at highway speeds.

Questions 31-33.

Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Historical Uses of Wind Power

Ancient China Windmills were used to 31___________
Ancient Persia Farmers used wind power to 32_____________
The Netherlands People used windmills to33____________

Question 31.

Answer: pump water

Explanation: It stated by the lecturer that in ancient China farmers used a rudimentary sort of windmill to pump water.

Also, check:

Question 32.

Answer: grind grain

Explanation: Wind power was used to grind grains by the Ancient Persia Farmers.

Question 33.

Answer: drain lakes

Explanation: It is stated in the lecture that ‘in the Netherlands, people went back to the ancient idea of using the power of the wind to move water. They used windmills to drain lakes’. Hence the answer should be ‘drain lakes’.

Questions 34-40.

Complete the chart below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Question 34.

Answer: pollution

Explanation: It is mentioned that ‘the biggest problem with using fuels such as oil and coal is pollution’.

Question 35.

Answer: renewable resource

Explanation: Another great advantage mentioned by the lecturer is that it’s a renewable resource.

Question 36.

Answer: strength

Explanation: Another issue is that ‘Wind doesn’t blow at a constant of strength’. Therefore strength is the answer.

Question 37.

Answer: costs less

Explanation: The lecturer explicitly says that ‘Using the wind to generate electricity costs less, much less, than running other types of generators’. Therefore, the answer must be “costs less”.

Question 38.

Answer: cities

Explanation: It is stated ‘Their distance from cities, where the most electricity is needed, is another issue’. So here we need to fill cities in the blank space.

Question 39.

Answer: the scenery/local scenery

Explanation: Wind turbines are usually placed in high, open areas. ‘Rural residents often feel that the beautiful local scenery is spoiled by the sight of the wind turbines’. Therefore, the answer must be “the scenery”.

Question 40.

Answer: much noise

Explanation: As stated by the lecturer ‘one wind turbine can produce as much noise as a car traveling at highway speeds’. Thus noise is another disadvantage of wind power.