The spirit bear listening test page below gives you Section 4 of Cambridge IELTS 10 Listening Test 1 in full: the official answer key for Questions 31–40, playable audio, an explanation for every question with the exact transcript line that proves it, and the complete recording script. The recording is an uninterrupted lecture on the white-coated spirit bear of British Columbia, its rainforest habitat and the threats to its survival, tested through ten ONE WORD ONLY note completion gaps.

The lecture paraphrases heavily: habitat stands in for home, the loggers are the companies that cut the trees, and each gap takes exactly one word. Follow the note completion strategy to stay with the speaker across the ten one-word gaps, then check every mark on the complete Cambridge IELTS 10 Listening Test 1 answers page covering all four sections.

Listening Audio — Section 4

Play the recording once, without pausing, and answer Questions 31–40 before you check the key. In the real exam you hear each section exactly once.

Questions 31–40

Questions 31–40

Complete the notes below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

• THE SPIRIT BEAR
• General facts
• It is a white bear belonging to the black bear family.
• Its colour comes from an uncommon 31 ………… .
• Local people believe that it has unusual 32 ………… .
• They protect the bear from 33 ………… .
• Habitat
• The bear’s relationship with the forest is complex.
• Tree roots stop 34 ………… along salmon streams.
• The bears’ feeding habits provide nutrients for forest vegetation.
• It is currently found on a small number of 35 ………… .
• Threats
• Habitat is being lost due to deforestation and construction of 36 ………… by logging companies.
• Unrestricted 37 ………… is affecting the salmon supply.
• The bears’ existence is also threatened by their low rate of 38 ………… .
• Going forward
• Interested parties are working together.
• Logging companies must improve their 39 ………… of logging.
• Maintenance and 40 ………… . of the spirit bears’ territory is needed.

The Spirit Bear Listening Answers

Questions and Answers

The Spirit Bear Answer Explanations

31. gene — one bear in ten is born white, “which is the result of a special gene”. The white coat is only the visible sign; the cause underneath it is the gene.

32. power — local legend gives the fur meaning: “its snowy fur brings with it a special power”. Protection is what the people give the bear, so the gift the fur carries is the power.

33. strangers — the communities stay silent to shield the animal: “they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else”, protecting it “when strangers visit the area”. Locals are the ones keeping the secret, so the outsiders are the strangers.

34. erosion — the old trees hold the riverbanks with “extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil”. Salmon and nutrients belong to later links in the relationship, so what the roots stop is the erosion.

35. islands — the bear’s home is narrow in geography: it lives “off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands”. The coast and the province frame the gap, so the exact locations are the islands.

36. roads — logging damaged more than the forest, because companies “have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds”. Lost trees and hibernation sites are separate harms, so the constructions are the roads.

37. fishing — the salmon decline has a legal cause: “there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment”. Logging damaged the places where the bears fish, but the falling fish numbers come from unregulated fishing.

38. reproduction — the population is fragile at birth as well, since “reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low”. Habitat loss explains the external threats, so the biological weakness is the low reproduction.

39. method — the government’s positive step is regulatory: logging companies must “adopt a better logging method”. Cooperation and expansion come later in the lecture, so the required change is the method.

40. expansion — the final recommendation goes beyond preservation: “there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion”, which will “create space for other bears that are losing their homes”. Maintenance alone is judged insufficient, so the extra emphasis is expansion.

Listening Transcript — Section 4

Today we continue our series on ecology and conservation with a look at a particularly endangered member of the black bear family. One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat, which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few. Local people have named it ‘the spirit bear’. And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power. Because of this, it has always been highly regarded by them – so much that they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else. It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.

The white bear’s habitat is quite interesting. The bear’s strong relationship with the old-growth rainforest is a complex one. The white bear relies on the huge centuries-old trees in the forest in many ways. For example, the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams. Keeping these banks intact is important because these streams are home to salmon, which are the bear’s main food source. In return, the bear’s feeding habits nurture the forest. As the bears eat the salmon, they discard the skin and bones in great amounts on the forest floor, which provide vital nutrients. These produce lush vegetation that sustains thousands of other types of life forms, from birds to insects and more.

Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands. There is great concern for their survival since it is estimated that less than two hundred of these white bears remain. The best way to protect them is to make every effort to preserve the delicate balance of their forest environment – in other words, their ecosystem.

———————

The greatest threat to the bear’s existence is the loss of its habitat. Over many years, logging companies have stripped the land by cutting down a large number of trees. In addition, they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds, and many hibernation sites have also been lost. The logging of the trees along the streams has damaged the places where the bears fish. To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment.

all these influences have a negative impact on the spirit bear’s very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low.

And so, what’s the situation going forward? Community organizations, environmental groups and the British Columbia government are now working together on the problem. The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method, which is a positive step. However, these measures alone may not be sufficient to ensure a healthy population of the spirit bear in the future.

Other steps also need to be taken. While it is important to maintain the spirit bear’s habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion. The move is justified as it will also create space for other bears that are losing their homes …

Key Vocabulary and Spelling

Study Tips

Section 4 is a monologue of several minutes with no pause and no second speaker, so the lecture’s structure is your only map: legend and origins, then habitat, then threats, then solutions. The Band 8 listening strategy shows how to hold your place across ten consecutive gaps without falling a question behind.

Every question allows ONE WORD ONLY, so Question 35 must be islands in the plural exactly as spoken, and no article or preposition may creep into any answer. The note completion strategy covers keeping a one-word answer intact while the lecture moves on.

Expect paraphrase rather than repetition between the notes and the script: habitat stands in for home, the logging companies are the people who cut the trees, and the better practice arrives as a government requirement. When a synonym cluster forms around one noun, that noun is normally the answer the note is waiting for.

Practice More Listening Tests

Mark the ten answers strictly, read the explanation for every miss, and total the whole paper on the full Cambridge IELTS 10 Listening Test 1 answers page, which holds the keys, explanations and transcripts for all four sections. The free IELTS listening practice course from Simply IELTS strengthens the monologue skills this lecture tests: holding your place through ten gaps and catching paraphrased ideas. Then try this interactive listening test: maple syrup ielts listening test with answer for another nature lecture, and replay Section 1, the Self-Drive Tours in the USA listening test to rebuild the paper from the start.