# How Octopuses Change Colour

IELTS Academic Listening - 10 questions - 8 minutes - Summary completion, Diagram labelling

Source: Written by Testmigo.

## The recording

6 minutes of audio. Practice it with the player on the page; the transcript is on the answers page.

## Questions

### Questions 31-36: Summary completion

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

Colour change in cephalopods
Cephalopods change colour chiefly to hide, but they also use it to communicate: a striking display may be directed at a possible **(31)** _____, while a sudden flash can scare off an attacker. Their colour can alter in under a second because, unlike the colour cells of fish, their chromatophores do not rely on **(32)** _____ and are linked straight to the brain. This ability is costly: one study calculated that the fully active system needs almost as much energy as the whole animal consumes at **(33)** _____. A further puzzle is that most cephalopods appear to have only one visual **(34)** _____, which should leave them unable to tell colours apart. Cuttlefish placed on a **(35)** _____ of blue and yellow squares of equal brightness did not respond to it as a pattern. Skin removed from one octopus species still reacted to light, and did so fastest when the light was **(36)** _____.

### Questions 37-40: Diagram labelling

Label the diagram below. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

37. A movable lump on the outer surface

38. Stores the colour in each pigment organ

39. Shorten to pull the centre open

40. Reflective layers inside each iridophore

[Practice online with a timer and instant marking](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/how-octopuses-change-colour) - [Answers and explanations](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/how-octopuses-change-colour/answers)