Part 4 notes: a lecture on how seed banks work
You can follow a lecture through a set of notes and catch the one word each gap needs.
In Listening Part 4 you hear one person give a talk or lecture on an academic subject. Nobody interrupts or asks questions, so the ideas come one after another.
The lecture here is about seed banks, which store seeds for the future. The questions are notes with gaps, and the headings in the notes follow the talk section by section.
Warm-up
Same meaning, fewer words
Here is one sentence from the lecture you are about to hear. The notes say the same thing in fewer words.
Read thisMany seed banks also send a copy of each collection to a second seed bank, often in another country, in case the first building is damaged.
Which line of notes says the same thing?
How it works
Complete the notes below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Seed banks
What they hold
•mostly food crops, often old local varieties
•old varieties may resist a 31 that has not appeared yet
•a copy of each collection is kept at a second site
Preparing a new collection
•cleaning is mostly done by 32
•an 33 of a sample shows empty or damaged seeds
•seeds stay in the drying room for about a 34
•ice would damage the 35 of a wet seed
Storage
•sealed in glass 36 so the seeds can be seen
•cold room kept at minus 37 degrees
Testing
•every ten years, count how many sample seeds 38
•if too few, plants grown in a 39 to give fresh seed
Seeds that cannot be dried (e.g. avocado, mango)
•the 40 is taken out and frozen in liquid nitrogen
The notes follow the talk from top to bottom, one heading at a time.
The method
- 1Use the headings to keep your place
The headings follow the sections of the talk. When the speaker moves on, with words like Once they're dry or Now, this method doesn't work for every plant, move down to the next heading.
- 2Decide what each gap needs
Look at the words around it before the talk starts. An before a gap means a noun that starts with a vowel sound. Minus before a gap means a number.
- 3Listen for the meaning
The notes say what the speaker says in fewer, different words. The answer is usually a word you hear, but the words around it change.
- 4Wait when two ideas come up
Lecturers often mention a common guess or another option first, then correct it with but or in fact. The answer usually comes after the correction.
- 5Check spelling, grammar and the limit
The word must fit the note: singular or plural, noun or verb. A wrong spelling loses the mark, and so does going over the word limit.
Question 31: why keep old varieties
Try Question 31 before you watch me do it. Play the clip once, as in the test.
Clip 1: why seed banks exist
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Old varieties may resist a that has not appeared yet.
Write no more than 1 word.
Watch me do one
Question 31 reads old varieties may resist a ______ that has not appeared yet. After a I need a singular noun, and it has to be something a plant can resist.
The lecturer says an old variety might cope better with drought. Drought is a noun, and plants do resist it, so I keep it in mind.
Then comes But more often the reason is disease. The but tells me the first idea is being set aside.
The next sentence matches my note. The talk's hasn't even appeared yet is my has not appeared yet, and it comes straight after disease.
Drought fails that test, because droughts have happened many times before. I write disease, and check the spelling.
Practice with Elita6 questions
One question to answer before you listen, then the rest of the lecture, a clip at a time. Play each clip once.
Before the recording
Look at Question 33 in the notes before you listen.
Read thisan ______ of a sample shows empty or damaged seeds
What does the word "an" tell you about the answer?
Questions 32 and 33: cleaning
Play the next part of the lecture once and fill both gaps.
Clip 2: cleaning a new collection
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Cleaning is mostly done by . An of a sample shows empty or damaged seeds.
Write no more than 1 word in each gap.
Questions 34 and 35: drying
Play the clip once. A temperature and a wrong guess come before the answer to 34, so wait for the end of the idea.
Clip 3: drying the seeds
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Seeds stay in the drying room for about a . Ice would damage the of a wet seed.
Write no more than 1 word in each gap.
Questions 36 and 37: storage
Play the clip once. You will hear two kinds of container and two temperatures.
Clip 4: sealing and freezing
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Seeds are sealed in glass so they can be seen. The cold room is kept at minus degrees.
Write no more than 1 word in each gap.
Questions 38 and 39: testing
Play the clip once. The lecturer explains one word as he goes, so listen for the explanation too.
Clip 5: testing and renewing
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Every ten years, staff count how many sample seeds . If too few, plants are grown in a to give fresh seed.
Write no more than 1 word in each gap.
Question 40: seeds that cannot be dried
The last clip. Two methods are described, and only one matches the note.
Clip 6: seeds that die when dried
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
The is taken out and frozen in liquid nitrogen.
Write no more than 1 word.
Words to keep
One type of a crop plant, with its own features. Farmers have stopped growing many old varieties of rice.
The ability not to be harmed by something. An old variety may carry resistance to a new disease.
A small amount taken from a larger one, for testing. A sample of each collection is tested every ten years.
Closed so that nothing can get in or out. The dried seeds are sealed in glass jars.
Start to grow, as a seed does. Half of the sample seeds germinated within ten days.
The tiny part of a seed that grows into a new plant. Some seed banks freeze only the embryo.
Before you go
Use the headings in the notes to follow the talk, and move down when the speaker moves on.
Before the talk starts, decide what each gap needs from the words around it.
Expect the notes to put the speaker's ideas in different words, and listen for the meaning.
When a speaker mentions a guess or another option, wait for but or in fact. The answer usually follows.
Next: Next, Speaking Part 2: a two-minute talk about somewhere in nature you like to go.