# Environmental Noise at a Planned Housing Estate: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 4, Listening Part 4

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 4, Listening Part 4. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 31 | 7.30 pm and 5.30 am | the traffic is somewhat reduced between 7:30 pm and 5:30 am |
| 32 | housewives | so the people most affected by the noise will be I expect housewives. |
| 33 | Sunday | the traffic is certainly reduced on Saturdays to a large extent. ... And even more so on Sundays. |
| 34 | about $25,000 | The modifications I'm about to outline will add about $25,000 to the price of a newly built house. |
| 35 | C | the normal noise threshold for private housing is 55 decibels. ... At this site, the levels have been recorded as high as 67 decibels. |
| 36 | C | All ceilings will require double thickness plasterboard to be used in the construction. |
| 37 | A | mechanical ventilation will have to be installed in the exterior walls. |
| 38 | C | Air conditioning units could also be fitted in the ceilings of such houses |
| 39 | D | The gap must be at least 7 cm. ... 8 millimeters on the outside, and 6 on the inside pane. |
| 40 | C | Living areas will have to be designed at the back of the houses, away from the highway. ... Those rooms constructed at the front of the houses should be garages, laundries, kitchens, bathrooms, and dining rooms. |

## Why these answers are right

**31. 7.30 pm and 5.30 am.** The question asks when highway traffic is at its lightest. Paula says the only noise after dark comes from the highway and "the traffic is somewhat reduced between 7:30 pm and 5:30 am", so the answer is 7.30 pm to 5.30 am, two numbers within the limit.

**32. housewives.** You need the group who will notice the noise most. Paula expects that "the people most affected by the noise will be I expect housewives", because students and workers come home in the evening after the traffic has eased, so the answer is housewives.

**33. Sunday.** The question asks which day has the least traffic. Paula says traffic is much lower on Saturdays "And even more so on Sundays"; the phrase "even more so" means the reduction is greatest on Sunday, so Sunday is the answer.

The why and the trap for questions 34 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/environmental-noise-at-a-planned-housing-estate/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 4.

**Announcer:** You will hear a talk given by a university lecturer about the impact of environmental noise on a proposed building site.

**Announcer:** Before you hear the talk, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 35. Now listen carefully to the first part of the talk, and answer questions 31 to 35.

**Paula Bundell:** Good afternoon.

**Paula Bundell:** I'm Paula Bundell, and I am giving you the lectures on environmental noise this term.

**Paula Bundell:** Today, we're going to look into the effects of noise on a planned housing estate.

**Paula Bundell:** In a particularly difficult part of the new Manchester Park area.

**Paula Bundell:** This site is not as bad as some I have researched in the past.

**Paula Bundell:** The Blacktown Airport is closed from 6 pm to 7 am.

**Paula Bundell:** And this is a great advantage to the site.

**Paula Bundell:** The only noise after dark is from the highway, and the traffic is somewhat reduced between 7:30 pm and 5:30 am so the people most affected by the noise will be I expect housewives.

**Paula Bundell:** By the time most of the students and workers have arrived back home in the evening during the week.

**Paula Bundell:** The noise will have abated to a fairly large extent.

**Paula Bundell:** The weekends are still a problem of course, but the traffic is certainly reduced on Saturdays to a large extent.

**Paula Bundell:** And even more so on Sundays.

**Paula Bundell:** Of course, modifications to houses will be necessary at a site like this, and they come at a significant cost to the developer and home buyer.

**Paula Bundell:** The modifications I'm about to outline will add about $25,000 to the price of a newly built house.

**Paula Bundell:** That will still mean a cheaper house than in a less noisy and more desirable area.

**Paula Bundell:** A bit of background would not go astray.

**Paula Bundell:** I understand that you are all familiar with the proposed development site at Manchester Park.

**Paula Bundell:** It's a particularly difficult one in terms of noise, with the highway along the eastern perimeter, and the Blacktown airport not 3 km away to the north.

**Paula Bundell:** Of course, those nearest the highway will be the worst hit, with heavy traffic noise as well as the noise from the light planes overhead.

**Paula Bundell:** As you all know, the normal noise threshold for private housing is 55 decibels.

**Paula Bundell:** At this site, the levels have been recorded as high as 67 decibels.

**Announcer:** Before the talk continues, you have some time to look at questions 36 to 40.

**Announcer:** Now as the talk continues, answer questions 36 to 40.

**Paula Bundell:** The construction of the houses has to be somewhat modified from houses in most areas.

**Paula Bundell:** In the houses on the highway, and in the noisiest areas of this site, there will be a need for specialized double glazing.

**Paula Bundell:** And special acoustic seals will have to be fitted to the doors.

**Paula Bundell:** All exterior doors in this especially noisy pocket will have to be solid core wood doors with hinges.

**Paula Bundell:** Every house built on this site, uh, not just those adjacent to the highway or nearest to the airport, will require high density insulation materials in the roof.

**Paula Bundell:** Not only will all the roofs need insulating, the exterior walls will be required to be double brick.

**Paula Bundell:** All ceilings will require double thickness plasterboard to be used in the construction.

**Paula Bundell:** In the noisiest areas, mechanical ventilation will have to be installed in the exterior walls.

**Paula Bundell:** In those areas with sealed windows, it will be necessary to fit fans with absorbers to cut out the noise in those particular houses.

**Paula Bundell:** Air conditioning units could also be fitted in the ceilings of such houses, but this is substantially more expensive than fans, and may not be needed on this site.

**Paula Bundell:** Uh. Coming back now to the double glazing I mentioned before.

**Paula Bundell:** Uh. Specialized double glazing requires a larger air gap between the inner and outer glass than normal double glazing.

**Paula Bundell:** The gap must be at least 7 cm.

**Paula Bundell:** The thickness of the glass is also a factor, 8 millimeters on the outside, and 6 on the inside pane.

**Paula Bundell:** It's essential that the glass be thicker on the outside than on the inside, and that the gap between the panes of glass be a minimum of 7 cm.

**Paula Bundell:** Obviously, the noise factor will have to be taken into consideration with the layout of the houses.

**Paula Bundell:** Living areas will have to be designed at the back of the houses, away from the highway.

**Paula Bundell:** Bedrooms and living rooms will have to be built towards the back, and for those houses closest to the highway, two layers of plasterboard will be needed for the interior bedroom walls.

**Paula Bundell:** Those rooms constructed at the front of the houses should be garages, laundries, kitchens, bathrooms, and dining rooms.

**Paula Bundell:** I have come to the conclusion that this development should go ahead.

**Paula Bundell:** But with various acoustic modifications, according to the position of the block in relation to the highway and intersection.

**Announcer:** That is the end of Section 4.

**Announcer:** You will now have half a minute to check your answers.

[Practice Environmental Noise at a Planned Housing Estate](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/environmental-noise-at-a-planned-housing-estate)