Lecture on the Clifton Suspension Bridge - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

Nov 2, 2021

IELTS Listening section comprises two conversations and monologues based on academic contexts. This topic - Lecture on the Clifton Suspension Bridge is IELTS Listening part four. Candidates need to answer the following IELTS listening question types:

Table completion

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Audio Transcript:

You will hear a lecture on the Clifton suspension bridge. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 33.

This is the first of a series of lectures about historic engineering structures. Today, we’re going to be looking at the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol, which we have to visit later this term and I'd like to begin with a brief word about the bridge’s history and about bridge building in general. Now, people have been building bridges since Pre-historic times. Over the centuries, bridge design has evolved using a variety of engineering techniques. The objective has always been the same - to get to the other side. One of the most basic type of bridge is the arch and there's evidence from the Middle East, that people knew how to construct arches using stones or brick as early as 3200 BC. The Stone Arch had the advantage of being quite simple to build and it remained the main type of bridge design from Roman times until the early Seventeen hundred.

Another type of bridge with a long history is the suspension bridge where the road is suspended from cables hanging between the towers. The first suspension bridges were simple affairs made of rope and wood and the earliest recorded examples were constructed around AD 550 in China, but rope has limited strength and it only became possible to build longer bridges when iron became available. The first major iron suspension bridge in Europe completed in 1826 was the Menai strait bridge in Wales

Before you hear the rest of the lecture. You have time to look at questions 34 to 37.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 34 to 37.

Story of the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol began just three years later in 1829. At that time, the city of authorities wanted to build a bridge over the river Avon. In order to choose the best design, they organized a competition and the winner announced in 1831 was an engineer by the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Work began in the same year; it was almost immediately interrupted when riots broke out in the city. As a result, investors lost confidence and work stopped until 1836. The two supporting piers were completed by 1843 but unfortunately, money ran out and work on the bridge came to a halt for a second time. Then in 1851 all the ironwork for the bridge was sold off in order to pay back the creditors. And the project seemed to have reached an end. However, in 1860 there was a stroke of luck. When a suspension bridge in London was demolished, that bridge had chains which were almost the same as the ones designed for Clifton and these chains were available to buy. Events moved quickly after that. Money was raised and work went ahead again in 1862. The bridge was finally completed amid great celebrations two years later in 1864.

Or before you hear the rest of the lecture you have some time to look at questions 38-40.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 38 to 40.

We'll be examining some of the design features in more detail in the second half of this talk. But just as a footnote to this section, it's worth looking ahead to the future and a couple of proposals for super Bridges linking not only river banks or even countries but continents. One of these is for a bridge between Alaska and Siberia, which would be six lanes wide and 80 kilometers long. The water of the Bering Sea beneath is only about 50 meters deep. But the biggest challenge is the extreme cold of the location. This would restrict construction to five months a year and also close the road during winter.

There's a different obstacle facing a second proposal - a bridge linking Europe and Africa across The Straits of Gibraltar and that's the depth of water. Although it's only 28 kilometers across, the water is as deep as 1500 meters. In places with such deep water, the bridge may not be able to support its own weight. So, engineers are considering using Bridge structures, which have never been attempted before. The third seaway that engineers hope to cross in the near future is the Straits of Messina between the island of Sicily and Mainland, Italy. Unlike the other two proposals - the Massena Bridge only involves one national government and the distance is relatively short at two and a half kilometers to there's a good chance it will be built. In this case, it's just a matter of who will provide the cash. Okay. Let's take a break at this point. And then…

Section 4
Questions 31-40
Questions 31-33

Complete the following table.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer.

EARLY BRIDGES
Bridge type	Material(s) used	First examples date from	Region
arch	tone or brick	31 __________________________ B.C	Middle East
suspension	32 ________________________	A.D. 550	33 _______________________
iron suspension	iron	1826	Wales (UK)

Question 31:

Answer: 3200

Explanation: The arch bridge type is made of materials like stone or brick and is dated back to 3200 B.C.

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Question 32:

Answer: rope (and) wood

Explanation: The suspension bridge type is made of rope and wood, and is dated back to 550 A.D.

Question 33:

Answer: China

Explanation: The suspension bridge was first made in China.

Questions 34-37
Complete the notes on the timeline below.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE
1831	Design for bridge chosen by 34 ___________________________________ Work began but soon halted by political events. 1836 Work resumed.
1843	Work stopped when 35 _________________________________
1851	Ironwork sold to pay 36 _____________________________
1860	Second-hand 37 _____________________________ became available.
1862	Work resumed.
1864	Bridge completed.

Question 34:

Answer: competition

Explanation: The design of the bridge was chosen followed by a competition, and was stopped because of a riot.

Question 35:

Answer: money ran out/finished

Explanation: The second time also, the work of the suspension bridge came to a halt because the money ran out.

Question 36:

Answer: (back) (the) creditors

Explanation: In 1851, all the ironwork for the bridge was sold off in order to pay back the creditors.

Question 37:

Answer: chains

Explanation: In the year 1860, the chains that held another bridge were found when it was demolished. The chains were similar to the suspension bridge.

Questions 38-40
Complete the table.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer.

Location	Distance	Main difficulty	Effect
BRIDGE PROPOSALS
Alaska and Siberia	80km	38___________	construction time-limited
Europe and Africa	28 km	39___________	a new type of bridge structure required
Sicily and mainland Italy	40________ km	funding	-