# Woolly Mammoths: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 2, Listening Part 3

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 14, 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 | Or we could have a diagram, it could be a timeline to show when they lived, with illustrations? ... No, let's go with your last suggestion. |
| 22 | C | they found it was 6,500 years old. ... the Mammoth bones previously found on the North American mainland were much less recent than that. |
| 23 | A | the sea level began to rise, and the island got cut off from the mainland. ... So those mammoths on the island couldn't escape. |
| 24 | A | which is a very precise time for a prehistoric extinction. |
| 25 | E | I think we need to write down all the ideas we want to include here, not just rely on memory. |
| 26 | D | I thought maybe we could get in touch with the researcher who led the team |
| 27 | A | We could ask the audience to suggest some questions about it, and then see how many of them we can answer. |
| 28 | H | it's all a bit muddled at present. ... maybe it would be better if it followed a chronological pattern. |
| 29 | G | but we need to practice it, so we're sure it won't overrun. |
| 30 | C | this is where you need to move away from the ideas of others and give your own viewpoint. |

## Why these answers are right

**21. B.** The question asks how the talk will open. Rosie rejects a cartoon clip as childish and then proposes a timeline of when mammoths lived. A drawing on the ice is floated, but the decision is to go with Rosie's last suggestion, which is the timeline, so B is right.

**22. C.** This item asks what was surprising about the tooth. Rosie says it was 6,500 years old, while mammoth bones found earlier on the mainland were much less recent. So the tooth was younger than remains from elsewhere, which matches C, not as old.

**23. A.** The animated diagram shows the area's prehistoric geography. The students explain that rising seas cut the island off from the mainland, so the mammoths there could not escape and had to stay. That describes the animals becoming isolated on the island, which is A.

The why and the trap for questions 24 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/woolly-mammoths/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 3.

**Announcer:** You will hear two environmental science students called Rosie and Martin discussing their presentation on an extinct animal called the woolly Mammoth with their tutor.

**Announcer:** First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.

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

**Tutor:** So, Rosie and Martin, let's look at what you've got for your presentation on woolly mammoths.

**Rosie:** OK, we've got a short outline here.

**Tutor:** Thanks, uh, so, it's about a research project in North America.

**Martin:** Yes, but we thought we needed something general about woolly mammoths in our introduction.

**Martin:** To establish that they were related to our modern elephant, and they lived thousands of years ago in the last ice age.

**Rosie:** Maybe we could show a video clip of a cartoon about mammoths.

**Rosie:** But that would be a bit childish. Or we could have a diagram, it could be a timeline to show when they lived, with illustrations?

**Martin:** Or we could just show a drawing of them walking in the ice?

**Martin:** No, let's go with your last suggestion.

**Tutor:** Good.

**Tutor:** Then you're describing the discovery of the mammoth tooth on St Paul's Island in Alaska.

**Tutor:** And why it was significant?

**Rosie:** Yes, the tooth was found by a man called Russell Graham.

**Rosie:** He picked it up from under a rock in a cave.

**Rosie:** He knew it was special.

**Rosie:** For a start, it was in really good condition, as if it had been just extracted from the animal's jawbone.

**Rosie:** Anyway, they found it was 6,500 years old.

**Tutor:** So why was that significant?

**Rosie:** Well, the Mammoth bones previously found on the North American mainland were much less recent than that.

**Rosie:** So this was really amazing.

**Martin:** Then we're making an animated diagram to show the geography of the area in prehistoric times.

**Martin:** So originally, St Paul's Island wasn't an island.

**Martin:** It was connected to the mainland, and mammoths and other animals like bears were able to roam around the whole area.

**Rosie:** Then the climate warmed up, and the sea level began to rise, and the island got cut off from the mainland.

**Rosie:** So those mammoths on the island couldn't escape.

**Rosie:** They had to stay on the island.

**Martin:** And in fact, the species survived there for thousands of years after they'd become extinct on the mainland.

**Tutor:** So, why do you think they died out on the mainland?

**Rosie:** No one's sure.

**Martin:** Anyway, next we'll explain how Graham and his team identified the date when the mammoths became extinct on the island.

**Martin:** They concluded that the extinction happened 5,600 years ago, which is a very precise time for a prehistoric extinction.

**Martin:** It's based on samples they took from MUD at the bottom of a lake on the island.

**Martin:** They analyzed it to find out what had fallen in over time - bits of plants, volcanic ash,

**Martin:** and even DNA from the mammoths themselves.

**Martin:** It's standard procedure, but it took nearly two years to do.

**Announcer:** Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.

**Announcer:** Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.

**Tutor:** So why don't you quickly go through the main sections of your presentation and discuss what action's needed for each part?

**Martin:** OK, so for the introduction, we're using a visual.

**Martin:** So once we've prepared that, we're done.

**Rosie:** I'm not sure.

**Rosie:** I think we need to write down all the ideas we want to include here, not just rely on memory.

**Rosie:** How we begin the presentation is so important.

**Martin:** Hmm, you're right.

**Rosie:** The discovery of the Mammoth tooth is probably the most dramatic part, but we don't have that much information.

**Rosie:** Only what we got from the online article.

**Rosie:** I thought maybe we could get in touch with the researcher who led the team, and ask him to tell us a bit more.

**Martin:** Great idea.

**Martin:** What about the section with the initial questions asked by the researchers?

**Martin:** We've got a lot on that, but we need to make it interesting.

**Rosie:** We could ask the audience to suggest some questions about it, and then see how many of them we can answer.

**Rosie:** I don't think it would take too long.

**Tutor:** Yes, that would add a bit of variety.

**Martin:** Then the section on further research carried out on the island, analyzing the MUD in the lake.

**Martin:** I wonder if we've actually got too much information here.

**Martin:** Should we cut some?

**Rosie:** I don't think so, but it's all a bit muddled at present.

**Martin:** Yes, maybe it would be better if it followed a chronological pattern.

**Rosie:** I think so.

**Rosie:** The findings and possible explanations section is just about ready, but we need to practice it, so we're sure it won't overrun.

**Martin:** I think it should be OK.

**Martin:** But yes, ha, let's make sure.

**Tutor:** Hmm. In the last section, relevance to the present day, you've got some good ideas, but this is where you need to move away from the ideas of others and give your own viewpoint.

**Martin:** OK, we'll think about that.

**Martin:** Now shall we...

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

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

[Practice Woolly Mammoths](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/woolly-mammoths)