IELTS Listening: Tardigrades｜IELTS with Fiona: a comprehensive guide to IELTS

Hi there, I'm Fiona from IELTS with Fiona and the Members Academy.

In the previous podcast, we talked about the topic of lifespan, living a long time, longevity.

And it was based on a text called The Secret of Staying Young.

And the text was a study about a specific kind of ant.

An insect which can live a long time, longer than usual and longer than most other animals.

So this topic is quite common in IELTS.

And today we're going to look at a listening version.

It's very similar.

It's research.

It's a passage four, so it's research based on an animal called a tardigrade that's the title which is a microscopic animal.

Now don't worry when you see a word you don't know like tardigrade.

My husband has a degree in zoology and he had never heard of this animal.

The text will explain everything for you and indeed the speaker describes the tardigrade, their appearance habitats diet, and the speaker also explains their extreme survival abilities.

Now, like most part four listening texts, the answers are gap fill, one word only.

And we're looking at questions 31 to 40.

Now the first bullet point, number 31, is asking us why they are called tardigrades, or water bears is another name for them.

And they are called water bears due to how they something.

So we're looking for a verb, something that they do that gave them the name water bears.

And it says they are sometimes called water bears.

Water because that's where they thrive best.

And bear because of the way they move.

So move is the answer.

Very simple, not a problem.

So that was the introduction.

Now there are five headings and each heading has a bullet point.

So it talks about the physical appearance, the habitat where they live this word cryptobiosis, which they will explain feeding and finally, the conservation status.

So let's start with the physical appearance, how they look.

If you Google them, you'll see they have a very strange physical appearance.

The first gap talks about its body.

It has a something round body.

The speaker says generally speaking the different species share similar physical traits.

They have a body which is short and also rounded, a bit like a barrel.

So the answer is kind of hidden in there.

They have a body which is short and also rounded.

So the gap, remember, was a something round body.

So the only other adjective there is short.

They have a short round body.

Next, we're looking at number 33.

It has claws.

So think about a cat has claws, sharp claws or something else.

For gripping.

So there's tough vocabulary there, I think.

So you're listening for a noun, probably plural, because from the grammar of the gap fill it says clause or something for gripping.

We're listening for what it uses to grip.

It says each segment has a pair of legs. at the end of which are between four and eight sharp claws.

I should say that some species don't have any claws.

What they have are discs.

They enable the tardigrade to cling to surfaces or to grip its prey.

So again, the answer is hidden among quite a lot of information there.

First, the speaker said they don't have claws.

What they have are discs.

And that is the answer, discs.

D-I-S-C-S.

Again, you might not know this word claws or discs or grip.

So listen for the signal.

And that signal is emphasis.

What they have are discs.

That emphasis leads you to the answers.

I've got lots and lots of examples of that on my website.

Next again, you really have to hold this information in your head, because it's hidden among lots of descriptions.

There's a bullet point which says absence of respiratory organs.

Respiratory organs are what you use to breathe, and it doesn't have any.

There's an absence of respiratory organs, and that part comes here within the body.

There are no lungs or any organs for breathing at all.

Now, the gap is this their body is filled with a liquid that carries both something and blood.

So a little bit of general knowledge here.

If they can't breathe, then how can they survive?

How can they get what they need to survive?

They need blood and something else.

So think carefully about what they need and then listen for it.

It says, remember that it says they have no lungs or organs for breathing.

Instead, oxygen and blood are transported in a fluid that fills the cavity of the body.

So oxygen and blood.

Remember in the gap it said that the liquid carries both something and blood.

So that something is oxygen.

O-X-Y-G-E-N.

The last bullet point for this part about the physical appearance is about the mouth.

It says the mouth is shaped like a something with teeth called stylets.

Forget that end bit, we want the mouth is shaped like something.

It says.

As far as the tardigrade's head is concerned, the best way I can describe this is that it looks rather strange, a bit squashed even.

The tardigrade's mouth is a kind of tube that can open outwards to reveal something teeth like structures known as stylets.

So the tardigrade's mouth is a kind of tube.

T?

U b?

E.

That is the answer 435.

Let's move on to the next heading.

That's all about the habitat where it lives.

The first bullet point says it's often found at the bottom of a lake or on plants.

And we're looking for the next bullet point saying it can exist in very low or high something.

Again, think about plants, background knowledge that you have about animals that exist in either very low or high something.

What is that?

Usually so the speaker says so.

Where are tardigrades found?

The speaker asks that question, and that tells you that they have moved on to this section.

Well, They live in every part of the world in a variety of habitats, most commonly on the bed of a lake or on many kinds of plants, or in very wet environments.

There's been some interesting research which has found that tardigrades are capable of surviving radiation and very high pressure.

And they are also able to withstand temperatures as low as minus 200 degrees or highs of more than 148 degrees, which is incredibly hot.

So you probably guessed high or low temperatures.

That's plural.

That's the answer.

There was a little trick, I think, because it said they could survive very high pressure.

But we wanted something which was very high or very low.

And they gave those examples of temperatures minus 200 or more than 148.

Temperature. is a word on my most commonly mispronounced words list.

And that's why they test it here.

You've got to get the pronunciation right in order to hear it and then to spell it.

So because it exists in other languages, you know, we tend to mispronounce it.

So temperature is just three syllables.

And how do you spell it?

T-E-M-P-E-R like temper then A-T-U-R-E-S.

It's quite a tricky spelling I think.

Next is the concept called cryptobiosis and this is how they survive.

There are four bullet points.

The first two says in dry conditions they roll into a ball and they stay alive with a much lower metabolism than usual.

We had metabolism in the previous reading text about how they burn energy.

So what we're looking for for 37 is a type of something ensures their DNA is not damaged.

Again, DNA, try to become familiar with it.

It's always abbreviated like that, DNA.

But in fast speech, it'll sound like DNA rather than DNA.

So the speaker says while in this state of cryptobiosis, tardigrades produce a protein protects their DNA again, tardigrades produce a protein that protects their DNA.

Remember the gap?

A type of something ensures their DNA is not damaged.

And you can see the synonyms here a protein that protects their DNA.

So protein is the answer, but how do you spell it?

Again, lots of tricky spellings here.

I think p r o t e i n e i?

N and the last gap fill here.

Research is underway to find out how many days they can stay alive in something.

So in is an important preposition here.

You might think in water, in ice or something like that.

So let's see what it says.

There was a report that in 1948, a 120-year-old tardigrade was revived.

But this experiment has never been repeated.

There are currently several tests Taking place in space to determine how long tardigrades might be able to survive there.

Survive there refers back to space.

Space is the answer.

How long can they stay alive in space?

Tricky, I think, because again, It's a reference word.

They're looking at how they might be able to survive there.

And there refers back to what they already mentioned, which was space.

Next, what do they eat?

Feeding.

We're looking for liquids, those found in moss or something else.

I think this is another spelling test for you.

What does it say?

In terms of their diet they consume liquids in order to survive.

Although they have teeth they don't use these for chewing.

They suck the juices from moss or extract fluid from seaweed.

So moss or Seaweed is the answer, but just check the spelling.

C-S-E-A, weed, W-E-E-D, and it's one word only.

I think maybe that's the trick.

Seaweed is one word only.

Finally, their conservation status.

Now, all of your background knowledge will help you here.

As soon as you hear conservation, you think about the animals that may be in danger of extinction and things like that.

So the gap fill is this.

They are not considered to be something.

We're looking for, I guess, an adjective.

The speaker says, finally, I'd like to mention the conservation status of tardigrades.

It will probably come as no surprise to you that tardigrades have not been evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are not on any endangered list.

Some researchers have described them as thriving.

So, a lot of information there.

You're just looking for that adjective.

They are not considered to be, and the answer is endangered.

They are not on any endangered list.

This is on my Keyword list comes up so many times in IELTS this idea of conservation, extinction and so on.

If you know those words, you'll find this so much easier.

I do have the full lesson and the full listening and the reading and everything in a lesson on my website which is called Time and Ageing.

And I've also added this listening to the listening course, if you've got that, and the vocabulary course, if you've got that.

Otherwise, you can just find the free version very easily online if you just want the listening.

Some useful vocabulary.

We've been through the ones about conservation, endangered, extinction.

There's also habitat where the animals live.

There's metabolism we had and species.

And finally, the word thriving is a useful one, meaning growing well and surviving successfully.

So that is the listening all about tardigrades.

It goes very well with this topic of ageing, staying fit.

Living a long time.

So if you're a teacher, it would be good to do this with the other reading about the ants.

And then there's some speaking practice I've got for you on the website, which is all about the topic of growing old and elderly people.

And we see that a lot in writing task two.

Do let me know if you've got any requests. for topics.

Thank you very much for listening and I'll see you again next time.

Bye-bye.

[雅思聽力備考：緩步動物（Tardigrade）的生存奧秘與解題技巧]-[IELTS Listening: Tardigrades]

📋 Summary

雅思聽力測驗：緩步動物（Tardigrade）的深度解析

一、緩步動物的基本特徵（Physical Appearance）

二、棲息地與極端環境適應力（Habitat and Survival）

三、隱生現象（Cryptobiosis）與生存機制

四、飲食習慣與保育狀態（Feeding and Conservation）

五、給雅思考生的建議

🎯Key Sentences

📝Key Phrases

📖 Transcript

[雅思聽力備考：緩步動物（Tardigrade）的生存奧秘與解題技巧]-[IELTS Listening: Tardigrades]

📋 Summary

雅思聽力測驗：緩步動物（Tardigrade）的深度解析

一、 緩步動物的基本特徵（Physical Appearance）

二、 棲息地與極端環境適應力（Habitat and Survival）

三、 隱生現象（Cryptobiosis）與生存機制

四、 飲食習慣與保育狀態（Feeding and Conservation）

五、 給雅思考生的建議

用 ListenLeap 深度學習

🎯Key Sentences

📝Key Phrases

📖 Transcript

ListenLeap 带你學習真實語境

一、緩步動物的基本特徵（Physical Appearance）

二、棲息地與極端環境適應力（Habitat and Survival）

三、隱生現象（Cryptobiosis）與生存機制

四、飲食習慣與保育狀態（Feeding and Conservation）

五、給雅思考生的建議