Full Part 4, solved live | IELTS Listening

Now let's do the hardest part together. Below is an original Part 4 lecture, written for this lesson, with ten note-completion questions. I'll walk you through what to notice before the audio, and how each answer appears in the talk. For your video, read the lecture aloud yourself at a steady lecture speed.

The questions

Complete the notes. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

How honeybees communicate

Background

1. Bees share the location of __________ with other bees.
1. Karl von Frisch won a __________ Prize for this research in 1973.

The round dance

1. Used when the food is __________ the hive.

The waggle dance

1. The angle of the dance shows direction compared to the __________.
1. The length of the waggle shows the __________ to the food.
1. Other bees also learn the type of flower from its __________ on the dancer.

Modern research

1. Scientists have tracked bees using small __________ tags.
1. Bees give a "stop signal" when a food source is __________.

Threats

1. Some pesticides may damage bees' __________.
1. Air __________ can hide the smell of flowers.

My thinking before the audio

ONE WORD ONLY. Very strict.
There are four headings. They'll be my checkpoints.
31: a noun. Bees look for... food? flowers?
32: a type of prize. Famous scientist, so probably Nobel.
33: after "is" and before "the hive". A position word, like near or close. But close to is two words, so maybe near.
34: a noun. Direction compared to something big. Sun?
35: a noun. Length shows... distance?
36: a noun. How does a bee carry information about a flower? Smell? Scent?
37: an adjective or noun before "tags". Some kind of technology.
38: an adjective. Why would bees stop? Dangerous?
39: a noun. Something inside a bee that pesticides damage.
40: a noun after "air". Pollution.

The recording

"Good morning. Today we're looking at one of the most remarkable communication systems in nature: the dance language of honeybees.

Let's start with some background. When a worker bee finds a good source of food, she returns to the hive and shares its location with her sisters. This behaviour was studied in detail by the Austrian scientist Karl von Frisch, whose work earned him a Nobel Prize in 1973.

Von Frisch described two main dances. The first is the round dance. The bee simply runs in small circles. This tells the others that food is near the hive, but it doesn't give a precise direction.

The second, and far more interesting, is the waggle dance. Here, the bee runs in a straight line while shaking her body from side to side, then circles back and repeats. The angle of that straight line, compared to straight up on the honeycomb, matches the angle between the food and the sun. And the length of the waggle run tells the other bees the distance. A longer waggle means the food is further away. Interestingly, the other bees also pick up the scent of the flowers from the dancer's body, so they know what they're looking for.

Moving on to modern research. In recent years, scientists have tracked individual bees using tiny radar tags attached to their backs. These studies confirmed that new bees really do fly in the direction the dance describes. Researchers have also discovered a so-called stop signal. If a bee has been attacked at a food source, she can interrupt dancers to discourage others from going there. In other words, bees warn each other when a food source is dangerous.

Finally, let's consider some threats. There is growing evidence that certain pesticides may damage bees' memory, making it harder for them to learn and repeat routes. And air pollution, particularly from traffic, can break down flower scents, making flowers harder to find."

The answers, with my thinking

food. "A good source of food". Easy, but notice the paraphrase: share the location became "shares its location".
Nobel. Note the spelling: N-O-B-E-L.
near. "Food is near the hive". Close would need close to, which breaks the limit.
sun. "The angle between the food and the sun." "Straight up on the honeycomb" was a distractor.
distance. "The length of the waggle run tells... the distance."
scent. "Pick up the scent of the flowers." Not smell, because you must use the speaker's word.
radar. "Tiny radar tags". Tiny is a size, not a type of tag, so radar fits the meaning best.
dangerous. "When a food source is dangerous." Notice the speaker explained it first ("attacked"), then gave the answer word.
memory. "Damage bees' memory."
pollution. "Air pollution." Air is already printed.

What made this hard

The headings told us when each section started. "Moving on to modern research" and "Finally" were key signposts (L29).
Some answers needed you to reject a near match, like close or smell.
Two answers came within one long paragraph (34 and 35).

Honest note

Scoring 6 or 7 here is a solid result for most students. If you got 9 or 10, you're ready for band 8 level Part 4.

Your task today

Ask a friend to read the lecture at normal speed, or record yourself reading it and play it back a few days later. Then do the questions without looking at the text.