Cambridge IELTS 16 · Listening · Test 4 · Part 4
The Extinction Of The Dodo Bird — IELTS Listening Answers
All 10 answers for The Extinction Of The Dodo Bird, Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 4 Part 4, with the transcript evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Extinction Of The Dodo Bird answer key at a glance
Questions 31–40. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this part tests
This part is tested with Note Completion (Q31–40). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 31–40: Note Completion
Strategy: Predict the word class from the note, find the paraphrase of the note's keyword in the transcript, then copy the answer exactly within the word limit.
“The sailors were carrying spices back to Europe”
A plural noun is needed for the cargo, and 'the sailors were carrying spices back to Europe'.
“However, in 1638 the Dutch arrived and set up a colony there.”
A noun follows 'set up a', and 'in 1638 the Dutch arrived and set up a colony there'.
“The best-known picture is a Dutch painting in which the bird appears to be extremely fat, but this may not be accurate – an Indian painting done at the same time shows a much thinner bird.”
An adjective is needed after 'extremely', and the painted bird 'appears to be extremely fat'.
“of these, three have disappeared, so only one example of soft tissue from the dodo survives, a dodo head.”
A body part is required, and the only surviving soft tissue is 'a dodo head'.
“but scientists now believe the bird’s strong knee joints would have made it capable of movement which was not slow, but actually quite fast.”
A noun is needed after 'capable of', and the knee joints suggested 'movement which was not slow, but actually quite fast'.
“but the scientists suggest that these were probably employed for balance while going over uneven ground.”
A noun is required after 'for', and the scientists think the feature was used 'for balance while going over uneven ground'.
“which suggested the bird’s brain was not small”
A body part follows 'the bird's', and the skull 'suggested the bird's brain was not small'.
“The researchers also found that the structure of the bird’s skull suggested that one sense which was particularly well-developed was that of smell.”
A sense is needed, and the skull showed 'one sense which was particularly well-developed was that of smell'.
“These were brought to the island deliberately, but the ships also brought another type of creature – rats, which came to land from the ships and rapidly overran the island.”
A plural animal noun is required, and the ships brought 'another type of creature - rats'.
“This meant that the forest that had once covered all the island, and that had provided a perfect home for the dodo, was cut down so that crops such as sugar could be grown.”
A habitat noun follows 'the', and 'the forest that had once covered all the island' was cut down for crops.
Learn the question types in this part
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Extinction Of The Dodo Bird listening section come from?
It is Part 4 of Cambridge IELTS 16 Listening Test 4, and it covers Questions 31–40.
What question types appear in The Extinction Of The Dodo Bird?
The part is tested with Note Completion. 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.