A Monologue On Sleepy Lizard - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

IELTS Listening section comprises four sections. There are four recordings based on academic and general contexts. This IELTS listening sample Moving to Banford City is Section 1 of Cambridge 13 test 3. IELTS listening practice papers contain numerous types of questions that candidates can practice from. The question type includes:

• One word answer

Transcript for IELTS Listening Practice Test

Section 4

In section four you will hear part of a biology lecture about an animal called the sleepy lizard

Last week we started looking at reptiles including crocodiles and snakes today. I'd like us to have a look at another reptile the lizard and in particular at some studies that have been done on a particular type of lizard whose Latin name is Tahlequah rugosa. This is commonly known as the sleepy lizard because it's quite slow in its movements and spends quite a lot of its time dozing under rocks or lying in the Sun. I'll start with a general description of sleepy lizards that live in Western and South Australia where they're quite common, unlike European lizards which are mostly small green, and fast-moving. Sleepy lizards are brown but what's particularly distinctive about them is the color of their tongue which is dark blue. In contrast with the lining of their mouth which is bright pink and they're much bigger than most European lizards. They have quite a varied diet including insects and even small animals but they mostly eat plants of varying kinds. Even though they're quite large and powerful with strong jaws that can crush beetles and snail shells. They still have quite a few predators large birds like cassowaries were one of the main ones in the past. But nowadays they're more likely to be caught and killed by snakes. Actually another threat to their survival isn't a predator at all but is man-made. Quite a large number of sleepy lizards are killed by cars when they're trying to cross highways. One study carried out by Michael freak at Flinders University investigated the methods of navigation of these lizards though they move slowly they can travel quite long distances and he found that even if they were taken some distance away from their home territory they could usually find their way back home as long as they could see the sky. They didn't need any other landmarks on the ground. Observations of these lizards in the wild have also revealed that their mating habits are quite unusual, unlike most animals. It seems that they're relatively monogamous returning to the same partner year after year and the male and female also stay together for a long time. Both before and after the birth of their young it's quite interesting to think about the possible reasons for this it could be that it's to do with protecting their young you'd expect them to have a much better chance of survival. If they have both parents around but in fact, observers have noted that once the babies have hatched out of their eggs they have hardly any contact with their parents so there's not really any evidence to support that idea.

Another suggestion is based on the observation that male lizards in monogamous relationships tend to be bigger and stronger than other males. So maybe the male lizards stay around so they can give the female lizards protection from other males. But again we're not really sure. Finally, I'd like to mention another study that involved collecting data by tracking the lizards. I have actually been involved in this myself. So we caught some lizards in the wild and we developed a tiny GPS system that would allow us to track them and we fixed this onto their tails. Then we set the lizards free again and we were able to track them for 12 days and gather data not just about their location but even about how many steps they took.

During this period one surprising thing we discovered from this is that there were far fewer meetings between lizards than we expected. It seems that they were actually trying to avoid one another so why would that be. Well again we have no clear evidence but one hypothesis is that male lizards can cause quite serious injuries to one another so maybe this avoidance is a way of preventing this is of self-preservation if you like but we need to collect a lot more data before we can be sure of any of this.

Questions 31 – 40

Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

Description

• They are common in Western and South Australia
• They are brown, but recognizable by their blue 31…………….
• They are relatively large
• Their diet consists mainly of 32…………….
• Their main predators are large birds and 33………………

Navigation study

• One study found that lizards can use the 34………………. to help them navigate

Observations in the wild

• Observations show that these lizards keep the same 35……………… for several years

What people want

Possible reasons:

To improve the survival of their young

• (but little 36……………… has been noted between parents and children)
• to provide 37………………. for female lizards

Tracking study

• A study was carried out using GPS systems attached to the 38……………… of the lizards
• This provided information on the lizards’ location and even the number of 39………………

Taken

• It appeared that the lizards were trying to avoid one another
• This may be in order to reduce chances of 40………………..

Question 31.

Answer: Tongue

Explanation: the sleepy lizard is recognizable by its blue tongue, which differentiates it from the brown color

Also, check:

Question 32.

Answer: plants

Explanation: These lizards generally feed on plants, with some insects and small animals

Question 33.

Answer: snakes

Explanation: Despite their own big size, large birds in the past and nowadays snakes threaten them

Question 34.

Answer: sky

Explanation: A study conducted by Michael Freak revealed that they travel long distances and use the sky as a landmark.

Question 35.

Answer: partners

Explanation: These lizards seem to be very monogamous, and tend to stick with the same partners throughout their life

Question 36.

Answer: Contact

Explanation: It has been noticed by observers that once the babies come out of the eggs, they have very little contact with their parents

Question 37.

Answer: protection

Explanation: Male lizards are stronger than other lizards, so they tend to protect the female lizards.

Question 38.

Answer: tail

Explanation: the GPS system was kept on the tail of the lizard to track its movements

Question 39.

Answer: steps

Explanation: The important aspect of this study was that the gps system was successful in revealing important data as distance and number of steps covered by the lizard

Question 40.

Answer: injuries

Explanation: Lizards avoid each other to avoid injuring each other