# History of weather forecasting: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 2, Listening Part 4

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 2, 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 | dances | Many ancient civilizations developed rites such as dances, ... in order to make the weather gods look kindly on them. |
| 32 | survival | Observing the skies and drawing the correct conclusions from these observations was really important. ... their survival depended on it. |
| 33 | clouds | Based on their observations of clouds and other phenomena. |
| 34 | festivals | which divided the year into 24 festivals. |
| 35 | comets | He also described celestial phenomena such as haloes ... and bright stars - and comets. |
| 36 | sky | "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning" |
| 37 | instruments | but in the 15th century, scientists began to see the need for instruments. |
| 38 | thermometer | the Italian scientist and inventor Galileo developed the world's first thermometer. |
| 39 | storms | It was Franklin who discovered that storms generally travel from west to east. |
| 40 | telegraph | the invention of the telegraph made it possible for these records to be collated. |

## Why these answers are right

**31. dances.** The notes say cultures invented something, along with other ceremonies, to make the weather gods friendly. The lecturer says ancient civilizations developed rites such as dances so the gods would look kindly on them. Rites match ceremonies, so dances fills the gap in its plural form.

**32. survival.** This line says people had to observe and interpret the sky to ensure something. The speaker explains that watching the skies and drawing correct conclusions mattered so much that their survival depended on it. The noun survival is what that careful observation protected.

**33. clouds.** The gap asks which weather phenomena the Babylonians used when they began forecasting around 650 BC. The lecturer says their first short-range forecasts were based on observations of clouds and other phenomena. Clouds is the example named, and it fits the plural phrase such as.

The why and the trap for questions 34 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/history-of-weather-forecasting/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 4.

**Announcer:** You will hear a lecture about the history of weather forecasting.

**Announcer:** First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

**Announcer:** Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

**Speaker:** In this series of lectures about the history of weather forecasting, I'll start by examining its early history.

**Speaker:** That'll be the subject of today's talk.

**Speaker:** OK, so we'll start by going back thousands of years.

**Speaker:** Most ancient cultures had weather gods, and weather catastrophes such as floods, played an important role in many creation myths.

**Speaker:** Generally, weather was attributed to the whims of the gods, as the wide range of weather gods in various cultures shows.

**Speaker:** For instance, there's the Egyptian sun god Ra, and Thor, the Norse god of thunder and lightning.

**Speaker:** Many ancient civilizations developed rites such as dances,

**Speaker:** in order to make the weather gods look kindly on them.

**Speaker:** But the weather was of daily importance.

**Speaker:** Observing the skies and drawing the correct conclusions from these observations was really important.

**Speaker:** In fact, their survival depended on it.

**Speaker:** It isn't known when people first started to observe the skies, but at around 650 BC, the Babylonians produced the first short range weather forecasts.

**Speaker:** Based on their observations of clouds and other phenomena.

**Speaker:** The Chinese also recognized weather patterns, and by 300 BC, astronomers had developed a calendar, which divided the year into 24 festivals.

**Speaker:** Each associated with a different weather phenomenon.

**Speaker:** The ancient Greeks were the first to develop a more scientific approach to explaining the weather.

**Speaker:** The work of the philosopher and scientist Aristotle in the fourth century BC is especially noteworthy.

**Speaker:** As his ideas held sway for nearly 2,000 years.

**Speaker:** In 340 BC, he wrote a book in which he attempted to account for the formation of rain, clouds, wind, and storms.

**Speaker:** He also described celestial phenomena such as haloes - that is, bright circles of light around the sun, the moon, and bright stars - and comets.

**Speaker:** Many of his observations were surprisingly accurate.

**Speaker:** For example, he believed that heat could cause water to evaporate.

**Speaker:** But he also jumped to quite a few wrong conclusions, such as that winds are breathed out by the earth.

**Speaker:** Errors like this were rectified from the Renaissance onwards.

**Speaker:** For nearly 2,000 years, Aristotle's work was accepted as the chief authority on weather theory.

**Speaker:** Alongside this, though, in the Middle Ages, weather observations were passed on in the form of proverbs, such as "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning".

**Speaker:** Many of these are based on very good observations, and are accurate, as contemporary meteorologists have discovered.

**Speaker:** For centuries, any attempt to forecast the weather could only be based on personal observations, but in the 15th century, scientists began to see the need for instruments. Until then, the only ones available were weather vanes to determine the wind direction.

**Speaker:** And early versions of rain gauges.

**Speaker:** One of the first invented in the 15th century was a hygrometer, which measured humidity.

**Speaker:** This was one of many inventions that contributed to the development of weather forecasting.

**Speaker:** In 1592, the Italian scientist and inventor Galileo developed the world's first thermometer.

**Speaker:** His student Torricelli later invented the barometer.

**Speaker:** Which allowed people to measure atmospheric pressure.

**Speaker:** In 1648, the French philosopher Pascal proved that pressure decreases with altitude.

**Speaker:** This discovery was verified by English astronomer Halley in 1686.

**Speaker:** And Halley was also the first person to map trade winds.

**Speaker:** This increasing ability to measure factors related to weather helped scientists to understand the atmosphere and its processes better, and they started collecting weather observation data systematically.

**Speaker:** In the 18th century, the scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin carried out work on electricity and lightning in particular, but he was also very interested in weather.

**Speaker:** And studied it throughout most of his life.

**Speaker:** It was Franklin who discovered that storms generally travel from west to east.

**Speaker:** In addition to new meteorological instruments, other developments contributed to our understanding of the atmosphere.

**Speaker:** People in different locations began to keep records.

**Speaker:** And in the mid 19th century, the invention of the telegraph made it possible for these records to be collated.

**Speaker:** This led by the end of the 19th century to the first weather services.

**Speaker:** It was not until the early 20th century that mathematics and physics became part of meteorology, and we'll continue from that point next week.

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

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

[Practice History of weather forecasting](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/history-of-weather-forecasting)