A Monologue About An Animal Living In South American Rain Forest - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

The IELTS Listening section contains four sections and a total of forty questions. The IELTS listening section tests a candidate’s ability to listen to different types of audio and question types. This topic is section Four of IELTS listening and contains ten questions. The best way to prepare for IELTS listening is practicing from IELTS listening practice papers. This section contains the following question types:

• Choose the correct
• Complete the notes

Audio Transcript

Welcome to Magic Animal Time. Today I’d like to give you an introduction to a magic animal called sloth. Native to Central and South American rain forest, the sloth is the slowest animal on the earth. It needs 12 seconds to finish one step even slower than a tortoise. Algae grows on its brown furry back because its inactive lifestyle. Even the fur of sloths is adapted to their lifestyle. Sloths usually hang upside down so their stiff, wiry fur grows differently from the coats of most mammals. Horses’ hair, for example, grows from the back, so rain water will run off. Below this tough top layer, a densed downy layer of hair provides additional protection from pesky insects.

The greenish cast of the sloth’s shaggy fur is caused by symbiotic algae that grow in grooves running along the length of each of the mammal’s outer hairs. The sloth hosts the algae, and the algae return the favour by providing nutrition that the sloth either ingests by licking its fur or absorbs through its skin. The grayish green colour makes the sloth look just like a clump of dry leaves hanging from a branch – the perfect jungle camouflage. And the longer a sloth lives, the greener it gets.

Sloths have a short and flat, head, a snout that is short in length, big round eyes, long tree-tree-climbing legs, a stubby tail and small ears and though some have called them ugly, they have the cutest face that looks like they are always smiling just like koala in Australia .

Sloths spend most of the day sleeping. Curling up in a tree notch or hanging from a branch with all four legs closed together, their heads tuck between their front, legs. People seldom see them much move even when they are awake. Only at feeding time, sloths move slowly and carefully , hand over and through the treetops , searching for leaves, fruits, and twigs. They even mate and give birth while suspended from their long, curved daws. Sometimes a sloth will die hanging upside down from a tree limb and remain so after death, until they decompose or are forcibly removed.

Why do sloths have such an unusual lifestyle ? It’s the strategy they evolved to survive as tree-dwelling plant eaters in a place with many predators.

Most domestic herbivores, such as cattle, horse, and sheep, graze all day long. Because they feed on nutrient poor vegetation, they must eat almost constantly. Sloths are also classified as herbivores, and their diets are also low in nutrition; but rather than munching all day long, they have become masters at conserving energy.

As any athlete knows, maintaining muscle requires large quantities of food energy, far more than a sloth’s vegetarian diet can provide. Sloths are relatively inactive and usually spend most of their day hanging upside down, so they can get by with half as much muscle mass as similar sized mammals . Hence, they don’t, need to eat too much. In addition, because of heavy muscle sloths weigh far less than other mammals. This makes it possible for them to climb on thin branches high in the tropical forest canopy, where they can more easily find food and avoid heftier predators .

Keeping a high body temperature also takes energy. Sloths fall this need by maintaining a lower average body temperature than other mammals. Dogs, cats, horses, sheep, and cows all have average body temperatures between about 100 and 103°F, but a sloth’s average body temperature is about 93°F.

Equally important, a sloth’s body temperature fluctuates with the surrounding temperature. Like snakes and frogs which are “cold-blooded” creatures, a sloth’s body temperature is highest on warm, sunny days and lowest at night and on rainy days. Sometimes a sloth takes a sunbath in the morning to warm up. Then, during the hottest time of the day, it hides in the shade so it won’t overheat. During a 24-hour period, a sloth’s body temperature may vary as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. If the body temperature of a person, a cat, or a dog varies just 5°F, it can be life threatening.

Because sloths have difficulty moving over land, they spend most of their time in the trees. They can get just about everything they need high above the forest floor – even water, which comes from eating juicy leaves and licking up drops of morning dew. Short bursts of feeding followed by long periods of inactivity make sloths less vulnerable to large raptors such as harpy eagles and other carnivores such as ocelots. As long as sloths remain perfectly quiet and still, they’re nearly impossible to detect.

At feeding time, a sloth reaches out, grabs an overhead branch with its flexible feet, and tugs until the food is within reach of its long tongue. After pulling the vegetation into its mouth, the sloth clips the leaves with its hard, tough lips and slowly grinds them with large, peg-like teeth. A sloth digests its food just as it does everything else – very slowly. People usually digest, their food in about a day, but sloths can take about a month to finish the process. As soon as a sloth swallows a mouthful of pulverized plants, the bacteria in its stomach and intestines begin breaking down the food. It takes many hours for the bacteria to digest the tough plant material that makes up a sloth’s diet. Only then can the sloth absorb the nutrients it needs to five and grow.

So do you have a new understanding about the slow but not lazy animal? Next week we will talk about…

Questions 31 and 32

Choose the correct letter A, B, or C and write answers next to 31-32 on your answer sheet.

31. Which of the following animals is the slowest?

1. koala
2. sloth
3. tortoise

Answer: B

Explanation: It is mentioned in the lecture that “sloth is the slowest animal on the earth.” Therefore it is quite clear that the answer must be B.

Also, check:

32. What do algae reward sloth?

1. skin
2. protection
3. nutrition

Answer: C

Explanation: It mentioned throughout the lecture that “The sloth hosts the algae, and the algae return the favor by providing nutrition” therefore the answer must be C.

Questions 33-38

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

THE LIVES OF SLOTH

Sloth has a short snout, big round eyes, a 33___________________ tail, and small ears. The favorite activity of sloth is to 34_____________ on trees. Sloth is also classified as 35__________ just like horses and cattle. Average body temperature of sloth is 36____________ Fahrenheit. 37_____________ will affect sloth’s body temperature. Sloths get everything on tree, even 38_________________ which comes from juicy leaves and morning dew.

Question 33.

Answer: stubby

Explanation: Here the characteristics of sloths are being discussed. As stated in the lecture “....big round eyes, long tree-tree-climbing legs, a stubby tail” therefore ‘stubby’ is the answer here.

Question 34.

Answer: sleep

Explanation: As mentioned in the lecture “the sloth spends most of the day sleeping” so the answer here must be sleep.

Question 35.

Answer: herbivores

Explanation: The lecturer states that sloths are also classified as herbivores, this means that the answer should be ‘herbivores’.

Question 36.

Answer: 93 (degrees)

Explanation: Following the conversation, it clearly states that the sloth’s average body temperature is about 93°F. Hence the answer is ‘93’.

Question 37.

Answer: Surrounding temperature

Explanation: The lecturer states that “a sloth’s body temperature fluctuates with the surrounding temperature.” Thus here the answer should be ‘surrounding temperature’.

Question 38.

Answer: water

Explanation: According to the lecturer, Sloths get water coming from eating juicy leaves and licking up morning dew drops. It is clear that the answer is ‘water’.

Questions 39 and 40

Answer the questions below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Question 39. How long does sloth digest its food?

Answer: a month

Explanation: As stated by the lecturer “ sloths can take about a month to finish the process.” It is clear that sloths take about a month to digest food.

Question 40. What substance can help to resolve food in the sloth’s stomach?

Answer: bacteria

Explanation: It is mentioned in the lecture “the bacteria in the sloth’s stomach and intestines break down the food.” Thus the answer is ‘bacteria’.