# The History and Growth of Bananas in Australia: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 1, Test 2, Listening Part 3

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 1, Test 2, Listening Part 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 21 | B | (sarcastically) Fascinating, I'm sure. ... Not as boring as you'd think. |
| 22 | C | they're an extremely nourishing food. |
| 23 | D | It'll be a good practice run for my tutorial next week. ... OK. Fire away. |
| 24 | B | in 1826 bananas were taken from South China to England. ... which was then introduced into Australia. |
| 25 | one bunch | you only get one bunch of bananas per tree |
| 26 | 15 months | around 15 months in good conditions for a tree to produce a bunch of bananas. |
| 27 | uphill | They tend to like to grow uphill ... that's why banana plantations are usually on hillsides |
| 28 | lots of water | If you plant them in rich soil and give them plenty of water at the beginning of summer |
| 29 | plastic bags | the growers put plastic bags around the bunches to protect them and keep them warm. |
| 30 | bananas ripen | it gives off a gas which then helps all the others to ripen. |
| 31 | C, D | Well, oddly enough, no. ... I believe New Zealand takes a small proportion of the crop |
| 32 | C, D | they're mostly grown for the domestic market |

## Why these answers are right

**21. B.** Fiona's first reaction is "Fascinating, I'm sure," but she says it sarcastically, and Martin replies that the topic is not as boring as she would think. So she finds it dull (B); "fascinating" is her literal word, not her meaning.

**22. C.** Martin says bananas were among the first plants ever domesticated and that they are an extremely nourishing food. "Nourishing" means good for your health, so C is correct; A is wrong because early domestication means bananas have been grown for a very long time.

**23. D.** Fiona agrees to hear the whole history right after Martin says it will be a good practice run for his tutorial next week. She lets him rehearse in order to help him, not out of interest in bananas, so D fits; her earlier sarcasm rules out A.

The why and the trap for questions 24 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-history-and-growth-of-bananas-in-australia/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 3, in this section, you will hear a conversation between two students, Fiona and Martin, talking about a tutorial topic.

**Announcer:** First look at questions 21 to 24.

**Announcer:** Now listen and answer questions 21 to 24.

**Fiona:** Hi there, Martin.

**Fiona:** How are you going with your Australian studies tutorial paper?

**Martin:** Oh, good.

**Martin:** I've finished it actually.

**Fiona:** Lucky you.

**Fiona:** What did you do it on?

**Fiona:** I'm still trying to find an interesting topic.

**Martin:** Well, after some consideration, I decided to look at the history of banana growing in Australia.

**Fiona:** (surprised) Banana growing!

**Martin:** Yes, banana growing.

**Fiona:** (sarcastically) Fascinating, I'm sure.

**Martin:** Well...

**Martin:** Not as boring as you'd think. And I wanted to tie it in to the work I've been doing on primary industries and the economy.

**Martin:** Anyway, I bet there are a few things you didn't know about bananas!

**Fiona:** Such as?

**Martin:** Such as the fact that bananas were among the first plants ever to be domesticated.

**Fiona:** Oh, really?

**Martin:** Yes, they're an extremely nourishing food.

**Fiona:** I suppose you're going to tell me the whole history of banana growing now, aren't you?

**Martin:** Well...

**Martin:** It'll be a good practice run for my tutorial next week.

**Martin:** I'll do the same for you sometime.

**Fiona:** OK. Fire away.

**Fiona:** So where were these bananas first domesticated?

**Martin:** According to my research, the Cavendish banana, which is a type of banana, and the first type to be cultivated here, actually originated in China, but they had a fairly roundabout route before they got to Australia.

**Fiona:** You mean they didn't go straight from China to Australia?

**Martin:** No, they didn't.

**Martin:** It seems that in 1826 bananas were taken from South China to England.

**Fiona:** I suppose they would have made a welcome addition to the English diet.

**Martin:** Yes, I'm sure.

**Martin:** Well, apparently there was an English Duke who was particularly fond of bananas,

**Martin:** and he used to cultivate them in his hothouse, which is where you have to grow them in England, of course, because of the cool climate,

**Martin:** and they became quite popular in the UK.

**Martin:** So, he was the one responsible for cultivating the Cavendish banana, which was then introduced into Australia.

**Fiona:** I see, and we've been growing them ever since.

**Martin:** Yes.

**Announcer:** Now look at questions 25 to 32.

**Announcer:** As the conversation continues, complete Martin's notes.

**Fiona:** Are they hard to grow?

**Martin:** Well, yes and no.

**Martin:** To grow them in your garden, no, not really, but to grow them commercially, you need to know what you're doing.

**Martin:** You see, you only get one bunch of bananas per tree, and it can take up to 3 years for a tree to bear fruit, if you don't do anything special to it.

**Martin:** But this period is greatly reduced with modern growing methods.

**Martin:** Particularly in plantations where you have perfect tropical conditions.

**Fiona:** Right.

**Fiona:** So what are you looking at?

**Fiona:** One year, two years?

**Martin:** No, no, around 15 months in good conditions for a tree to produce a bunch of bananas.

**Martin:** And once you've got your bunch, you cut the bunch and the plant down.

**Fiona:** So how do the trees reproduce then?

**Martin:** Well bananas are normally grown from suckers which spring up around the parent plant, usually just above the plant.

**Martin:** They tend to like to grow uphill, at least, that's the common wisdom.

**Fiona:** So, that's why banana plantations are usually on hillsides, is it?

**Martin:** Yeah, they grow best like that.

**Fiona:** That's interesting.

**Martin:** If you plant them in rich soil and give them plenty of water at the beginning of summer, then they should be well advanced by the beginning of winter, when growth virtually stops.

**Martin:** But in a country like England, they're hard to grow,

**Martin:** although you can grow them in a hothouse.

**Fiona:** But in Australia, it's not difficult?

**Martin:** No, though, even here, the growers put plastic bags around the bunches to protect them and keep them warm.

**Martin:** If you go up to the banana growing districts, you'll see all these banana trees with plastic bags on them.

**Fiona:** But how do they stop the bananas going bad before they reach the shops?

**Martin:** Well, the banana bunches are picked well before the fruit is ripe.

**Martin:** Once you cut the bunch, the bananas stop growing, but they do continue to ripen.

**Martin:** The interesting thing is that once one banana ripens, it gives off a gas which then helps all the others to ripen.

**Martin:** So they pretty much all ripen within a few hours of each other.

**Fiona:** Amazing.

**Fiona:** So do we export lots of bananas overseas to Europe and Asia for instance?

**Martin:** Well, oddly enough, no.

**Martin:** I believe New Zealand takes a small proportion of the crop, but otherwise they're mostly grown for the domestic market, which is surprising when you think about it, because we grow an enormous number of bananas each year.

**Fiona:** Yes, well, thank you for all that information.

**Fiona:** I'm sure the tutorial paper will go really well.

**Fiona:** You certainly seem to have done your research on the subject.

**Martin:** Let's hope so.

**Announcer:** That is the end of section 3.

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

[Practice The History and Growth of Bananas in Australia](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-history-and-growth-of-bananas-in-australia)