Shadowing Practice: IELTS listening actual test Part 4: Impact of cars (answer+ transcript) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
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You will hear a lecture on the influence of the car on urban development.
91 sentences
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1
You will hear a lecture on the influence of the car on urban development.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
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Thank you.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
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Good morning everyone.
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Today, in this second lecture of the series, we turn our attention to transportation.
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In particular, we're going to take a look at the way the motor car influenced urban development in Australia
8
and changed our lifestyle from the 1940s to the end of the 1990s.
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The car is so common nowadays that we all take it for granted, and we barely think about the major effect it has had on our society.
10
But let's go back for a while to the late 1940s.
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Although they had been around since the start of the 20th century, only one person in eight owned a car in Australia's major cities at that time.
12
Nearly 60% of journeys were still made by various means of public transport, and only 15% by car,
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which is clearly very few compared to statistics now.
14
Buses were very crowded in the days before extensive car use, and they were also considered to be uncomfortable,
15
despite providing a cheap option that most people could afford.
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Remember this wasn't long after the Second World War.
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People were tired of living without things, of making do, and to them, cars represented freedom.
18
But even for the wealthy few who did have vehicles, it wasn't easy to run a car at this time.
19
As well as the expense of buying a car, spare parts were difficult to get, as many were imported.
20
Another problem for car owners was that fuel was still rationed and car taxes were very high.
21
Strong public feeling on issues like these from various pressure groups
22
resulted in a change of government in Australia after the general election in 1949, which undoubtedly shaped the future of our nation.
23
In the 1960s, cheaper, more reliable cars became available, and this coincided with the rapid expansion of the suburbs.
24
The car enabled these to grow in all directions, far beyond the train lines laid down in the 19th century.
25
For the previous 150 years, the city centre had been a prestigious area, but the addition of cars made the main streets congested.
26
This wasn't the only problem.
27
Now they were polluted as well.
28
Since these streets were usually straight, they tempted motorists to speed.
29
So the layout of newer streets was affected by this change towards private transport.
30
In the newer areas, roads were no longer built straight.
31
Instead, they had curves that were specially designed to force drivers to slow down.
32
This meant they were longer, but this was not a problem because people rarely walked anymore.
33
By the 1970s, the type of roads being built changed, with more lanes in each direction.
34
There were more commuters, because now there was faster access to the city where they worked.
35
By this time, the motor car was affecting many different areas of life.
36
It even, surprisingly, affected relationships.
37
Before this, meeting anyone who lived beyond walking or cycling distance was impractical, if not impossible.
38
The car brought people together.
39
What other effects did the car have?
40
The increase in car use changed the way we advertise.
41
Previously, advertisements had been designed to attract slow-moving pedestrians, so they were located at eye level and designed on a human scale.
42
By the late 1970s, massive advertisements were designed to attract the notice of the passing motorist.
43
In the 1980s and 90s, even the location of shops began to change.
44
We built shopping malls out in the suburbs, which meant that old town centres did far less business.
45
Next, we saw the development of drive-in shopping centres, theatres and even restaurants, which now ensure we get out of our cars as little as possible.
46
Now, I'd like to turn your attention to a few statistics related to car ownership over the same period.
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That is the end of part four.
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You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.
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Thank you.
50
Good morning everyone.
51
Today, in this second lecture of the series, we turn our attention to transportation.
52
In particular, we're going to take a look at the way the motor car influenced urban development in Australia
53
and changed our lifestyle from the 1940s to the end of the 1990s.
54
The car is so common nowadays that we all take it for granted, and we barely think about the major effect it has had on our society.
55
But let's go back for a while to the late 1940s.
56
Although they had been around since the start of the 20th century, only one person in eight owned a car in Australia's major cities at that time.
57
Nearly 60% of journeys were still made by various means of public transport, and only 15% by car,
58
which is clearly very few compared to statistics now.
59
Buses were very crowded in the days before extensive car use, and they were also considered to be uncomfortable,
60
despite providing a cheap option that most people could afford.
61
Remember this wasn't long after the Second World War.
62
People were tired of living without things, of making do, and to them, cars represented freedom.
63
But even for the wealthy few who did have vehicles, it wasn't easy to run a car at this time.
64
As well as the expense of buying a car, spare parts were difficult to get, as many were imported.
65
Another problem for car owners was that fuel was still rationed and car taxes were very high.
66
Strong public feeling on issues like these from various pressure groups
67
resulted in a change of government in Australia after the general election in 1949, which undoubtedly shaped the future of our nation.
68
In the 1960s, cheaper, more reliable cars became available, and this coincided with the rapid expansion of the suburbs.
69
The car enabled these to grow in all directions, far beyond the train lines laid down in the 19th century.
70
For the previous 150 years, the city centre had been a prestigious area, but the addition of cars made the main streets congested.
71
This wasn't the only problem.
72
Now they were polluted as well.
73
Since these streets were usually straight, they tempted motorists to speed.
74
So the layout of newer streets was affected by this change towards private transport.
75
In the newer areas, roads were no longer built straight.
76
Instead, they had curves that were specially designed to force drivers to slow down.
77
This meant they were longer, but this was not a problem because people rarely walked anymore.
78
By the 1970s, the type of roads being built changed, with more lanes in each direction.
79
There were more commuters, because now there was faster access to the city where they worked.
80
By this time, the motor car was affecting many different areas of life.
81
It even, surprisingly, affected relationships.
82
Before this, meeting anyone who lived beyond walking or cycling distance was impractical, if not impossible.
83
The car brought people together.
84
What other effects did the car have?
85
The increase in car use changed the way we advertise.
86
Previously, advertisements had been designed to attract slow-moving pedestrians, so they were located at eye level and designed on a human scale.
87
By the late 1970s, massive advertisements were designed to attract the notice of the passing motorist.
88
In the 1980s and 90s, even the location of shops began to change.
89
We built shopping malls out in the suburbs, which meant that old town centres did far less business.
90
Next, we saw the development of drive-in shopping centres, theatres and even restaurants, which now ensure we get out of our cars as little as possible.
91
Now, I'd like to turn your attention to a few statistics related to car ownership over the same period.
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About This Lesson
You're practicing English with "IELTS listening actual test Part 4: Impact of cars (answer+ transcript)" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.
Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.