Cambridge IELTS 2 · Listening · Test 3 · Part 4
Lack of Rainfall in Australia — IELTS Listening Answers
All 8 answers for Lack of Rainfall in Australia, Cambridge IELTS 2 Listening Test 3 Part 4, with the transcript evidence and an explanation for each.
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Lack of Rainfall in Australia answer key at a glance
Questions 34–43. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this part tests
This part is tested with One Choice (Q34–40). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 34–40: One Choice
Strategy: Read the question stem and predict the answer before looking at the options. Wrong options often repeat words from the audio while the correct one paraphrases them.
“As I have said, Australia is a dry continent, second only to Antarctica in its lack of rainfall”
C: Australia is 'second only to Antarctica in its lack of rainfall', so it is exceptionally dry.
“It is estimated that approximately 87% of Australia's rainfall is lost through evaporation, compared with just over 60% in Europe and Africa and 48% in North America”
B: '87% of Australia's rainfall is lost through evaporation', far above Europe and Africa's 60%.
“In many parts of Australia standing water, that is dams, puddles and so forth, dry up rapidly and some rainfall barely penetrates the soil. The reason for this is that the moisture is absorbed by thirsty plants”
C: rain barely penetrates the soil because 'the moisture is absorbed by thirsty plants', not because of dams.
“Some parts of Australia are dry because rainwater seeps quickly through sandy soils and into the rock below”
B: water 'seeps quickly through sandy soils and into the rock below', so sandy soil is the cause.
“However, most inland farmers do rely on this water for watering their animals and, where possible, to a lesser extent for irrigation”
B: inland farmers 'rely on this water for watering their animals', with irrigation only to a lesser extent.
“Water from these underground reservoirs bubbles to the surface as springs in some parts of the country, and these rare sources of permanent water were vital to early explorers of inland Australia, and to other pioneers last century, who used the springs for survival”
C: the springs 'were vital to early explorers of inland Australia... who used the springs for survival'.
“Remarkably, underground water sources in Australia supply about 18% of total water consumption”
A: underground sources 'supply about 18% of total water consumption', a surprisingly large share.
Learn the question types in this part
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Lack of Rainfall in Australia listening section come from?
It is Part 4 of Cambridge IELTS 2 Listening Test 3, and it covers Questions 34–43.
What question types appear in Lack of Rainfall in Australia?
The part is tested with One Choice. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.