# A Guide to a New Public Aquarium: answers and explanations

Testmigo Practice Test 4, Listening Part 2

Source: Written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 11 | B, D | We've done it by depth instead |
| 12 | B, D | we pump ours straight in from the bay |
| 13 | A, E | try to come on a weekday afternoon |
| 14 | A, E | please leave the car at home |
| 15 | C | as long as one of our staff is beside you |
| 16 | H | he's the one who gives birth |
| 17 | E | use the microscope at the far end to look at the polyps close up |
| 18 | F | the rays and sharks swim right over your head |
| 19 | D | through the glass you can watch our team raising them |
| 20 | B | a patch under each eye that glows |

## Why these answers are right

**11. B, D.** Kirsten contrasts most aquariums, which arrange tanks by region, with hers: we've done it by depth instead, starting at the shoreline and going deeper. That layout is option B. The second mark is D, the seawater pumped in from the bay.

**12. B, D.** The second difference is the water itself. Rather than mixing artificial seawater like most places, the aquarium pumps it straight in from the bay and filters it, so option D is correct alongside B, in either order.

**13. A, E.** Kirsten tells listeners to try to come on a weekday afternoon, because school groups arrive in the mornings and weekends are always busy. After midday from Monday to Friday paraphrases a weekday afternoon, so that is option A. The other piece of advice, E, is about leaving the car at home.

The why and the trap for questions 14 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/a-guide-to-a-new-public-aquarium/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Part 2. You will hear the visitor services manager of a new public aquarium talking about it on a local radio programme.

**Announcer:** First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.

**Announcer:** Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

**Kirsten:** Thanks for having me. I'm Kirsten Rawlings, visitor services manager at the new Kellsmouth Harbour Aquarium, which opens a week on Saturday.

**Kirsten:** People ask why the city needs another one, after years of the little aquarium on the pier. Well, our main aim is to show people what lives in the water right on their doorstep.

**Kirsten:** So, what's different? Most aquariums arrange their tanks by region, so there's a room for the Pacific, a room for the Amazon, and so on.

**Kirsten:** We've done it by depth instead. You start at the shoreline and go deeper as you walk through, until you end up in a room that's almost completely dark.

**Kirsten:** The other thing that sets us apart is the water. Rather than mixing artificial seawater, like most places do, we pump ours straight in from the bay and filter it.

**Kirsten:** So the animals in nearly all our tanks live in the same water, at the same temperature, as they would just outside.

**Kirsten:** Now, we do have a touch pool, and kids love it, but honestly, almost every aquarium has one these days, so I wouldn't call it unusual.

**Kirsten:** There was also talk of free entry for anyone living in Kellsmouth. The council looked at it, but went for a cheaper annual pass for residents instead.

**Kirsten:** Right, practical things. Lots of people have rung to ask whether they need to book. You don't. Just turn up and buy a ticket at the door.

**Kirsten:** But I'd say, try to come on a weekday afternoon. Mornings are when the school groups come in, and weekends are always busy.

**Kirsten:** You won't need a whole day here, either. Most people find two hours is plenty.

**Kirsten:** Parking is the one thing we're short of. There are only twenty spaces, sorry, twenty-two, and they're kept for disabled visitors.

**Kirsten:** So please leave the car at home and come on the ferry or the number six bus. Both stop right outside.

**Kirsten:** Oh, and someone asked if it's cold in the deep zone. It's a little cooler, but there's no need to bring a jumper.

**Announcer:** Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.

**Announcer:** Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

**Kirsten:** So let me take you through the zones, in the order you'll see them.

**Kirsten:** First is the rock pool zone, which recreates the shore at low tide. That's where the touch pool is, and you can gently touch the sea stars and anemones, as long as one of our staff is beside you.

**Kirsten:** Then you step down into the seagrass meadow. Seagrass looks like seaweed, but it's actually a flowering plant, and seahorses love hiding in it.

**Kirsten:** With seahorses, it's the male who carries the eggs, in a pouch on his front, and he's the one who gives birth.

**Kirsten:** We've got several males in there, so keep an eye out for babies.

**Kirsten:** Next is the coral room, the one place we don't use water from the bay, because reef corals need much warmer water than ours.

**Kirsten:** People often think coral is a plant, or even a rock, but it's an animal, made up of thousands of tiny creatures called polyps.

**Kirsten:** Please don't touch anything in that room. Instead, use the microscope at the far end to look at the polyps close up.

**Kirsten:** After that comes the ocean tunnel. It's our biggest tank, and the rays and sharks swim right over your head as you walk through.

**Kirsten:** Everyone asks if they can watch the sharks being fed. I'm afraid not. Our divers feed them first thing, before the doors open.

**Kirsten:** The jellyfish gallery is next. Jellyfish have no brain, and their bodies are mostly water.

**Kirsten:** What I love there is the big window at the back, looking into our nursery.

**Kirsten:** Young moon jellyfish bud off from tiny polyps that cling to rocks, and through the glass you can watch our team raising them until they're big enough for the gallery.

**Kirsten:** Finally, the deep zone. In the ocean there's hardly any sunlight below about two hundred metres, so we've kept this room very dark.

**Kirsten:** Give your eyes a minute and you'll see our flashlight fish. They've got a patch under each eye that glows, because it's full of bacteria that make light.

**Kirsten:** We'd also planned a virtual-reality submarine ride down there, but that won't be ready until next summer.

**Kirsten:** So that's the aquarium. We hope to see you there soon.

**Announcer:** That is the end of Part 2. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers.

[Practice A Guide to a New Public Aquarium](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/a-guide-to-a-new-public-aquarium)