IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Section 1 - Questions 1-10

Questions 1-5
Complete the form below

Write ​NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER​ for each answer.

Library Square history:

·​ ​Planning started 60 years ago
·​ ​Fundraising for construction lasted ​1.​ ____________.
·​ ​The largest private donation covered ​2.​ ______________ of all construction costs
·​ ​Construction finished ​3.​ _____________

Accessible Facilities:
·​ ​Main Library
·​ ​Bookstore
·​ ​Roberts Library of State History and Art
·​ ​State Historical Museum
·​ ​4.​ _____________ Theatre
·​ ​Davis Restaurant and Café

Activities:​
·​ ​Stage performances
·​ ​Browse children’s books collection
·​ ​Create art
·​ ​Have fun at the ​5.​ _____________ of the Davis Restaurant and Café

1. adf

2. asdf

3. adfs

4. Ads
5. ads

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
Questions 6-10
Label the map below.

Write the correct letter,​ A-G​, for questions ​6-10​.

6. Main Library _________

7. Research Wing _________
8. Davis Restaurant and Café _________
9. Bookstore at Library Square _________
10. Ron Robinson Theatre __________

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
Section 2 - Questions 11 - 20

Questions 11 - 15
Match the correct letter​ A-D​ to statements ​11-15 ​below.

You can use any letter more than once.

A. South Pacific island of Tonga

B. Horseshoe Bend in Arizona
C. Alaska
D. Mesa Arch in Utah

According to Erin, which of the following places:

11. is where four different native American tribes live?

12. is wonderful to visit at sunrise?
13. is likely photographed thousands of times every week?
14. has bears that can be photographed?
15. is a place where it’s possible to swim with humpback whales?

Questions 16 - 20
Complete the sentences ​16-20​ below.

Write ​NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER​ for each answer.

16. There are some special places in Uluru which are ………………………. and cannot
be photographed.

17. It is not a surprise to discover that ………………………….. make for more inspiring
photos.

18. Letting others see parts of the speaker’s story and perspective online helps her to
remember that she’s ………………….. .

19. It is not necessary for the phone and ………………………..to be out all of the time.

20. The rock at the Mesa Arch glows orange, and in the background are the lovely
………………. .

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Section 3 - Questions 21-30

Questions 21 - 26
Answer the questions ​21-26​.

Write ​NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER​ for each answer.

21. Apart from climate change, what is the biggest global issue to face our generation in
the next thirty years?

22. By how much will agricultural output need to increase to provide food for the growing
population?

23. What is the fraction of food wasted that is wasted in the world?

24. Approximately how many people become ill every year from eating poor quality food?

25. Which recent food production innovation is being used in North America, Asia and
the Middle East?

26. What is the name of one of the types of artificial lighting that indoor vertical farms use
to replace natural sunlight?

Questions 27 - 30
For Questions ​27-30​ complete the table below.

Write ​NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER​ for each answer.

Advantage Disadvantage Solution

Vegetables can be produced Highly ​29.​………………... LEDs with higher-efficiency

all year.
The quality of the produce will
be consistent and predictable
in output.
Resource use will be
reduced, ​27.​……………….. in
particular.
Only a small variety of
vegetables can be
produced.
High costs of production.
Lasers optimized to
encourage plant growth.
Sunlight directed by
Fiber-optic cables reduces the
need for artificial lighting.
Robotics used to replace
manual labour.

Less fertilizer will be required. Indoor vertical farms to be

built in urban areas to shorten
the
There is no need to use
30.​…………………………….
28.​………………………...

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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
Large quantities of food can
be produced.
Section 4 - Questions 31-40

Questions 31 - 36
Complete the summary below.

Write ​NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER​ for each answer.

Although it is not possible to know where the litter came from, it is possible to know where
31. ​…………………………. Red plastic products include Haitian butter containers in various
shapes and sizes, and ​32. ​……………………..... Ironically a lot of the items of rubbish are
containers for beauty and cleaning products, for example this ​33. ​…………………... from
South Korea and this bleach ​34.​ ……………………. and this toilet cleaner from Norway. Lots
of the items are common household items like toothbrushes, kitchen utensils and toys. There
is also evidence that some places are ​35.​ ………………………. which releases
cancer-causing pollution into the air. When I am asked about ​36.​ ……………………….. item I
have found, I always say this prosthetic leg, and this blue bottle top where a hermit crab was
living.

Questions 37 - 40
For questions ​37-40​ choose the correct option ​A, B or C​.

37.​ Purple plastic items are:

A. very common.
B. very rare.
C. worth a lot of money.

38.​ The purpose of the art work is:

A. to highlight the issue.
B. to produce beautiful sculptures.
C. to make money.

39.​ Great Pacific Garbage Patch is:

A. much bigger than Texas.
B. the same size as Texas.
C. slightly smaller than Texas.

40.​ What does the artist do with the plastic?

A. puts it in a landfills site.
B. recycles it.
C. keeps it for future projects.

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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Answers

1. 2 (two) years
2. 25% (percent)
3. May 1971
4. Ron Robinson
5. (indoor) playground
6. F
7. E
8. B
9. G
10. D
11. D
12. D
13. D
14. C
15. A
16. culturally sensitive
17. presence and connection
18. not alone
19. (the) camera
20. layers of blue
21. food and agriculture
22. 70 percent (70%)
23. one third (⅓)
24. 600 million (6000,000,000)
25. controlled environment agriculture
26. LEDs
27. water
28. chemical pesticides
29. energy-intense
30. agricultural supply chain
31. something was made
32. Jamaican water bottles
33. shampoo
34. from Costa Rica
35. burning plastic trash
36. the most interesting
37. B
38. A
39. A
40. C

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Section 1 Transcript

(Source: IELTS Advantage)

Guide​: Hello, and welcome to Library Square. You’re a bit later than I expected. Did you
have any trouble getting here?

Visitor​: Just a bit. My husband gave me some rather poor directions, but I managed to get
some help at a local gas station. My kids were quite anxious to get here, so I’m happy to say
it wasn’t too difficult.

Guide​: Well, I’m glad you eventually found us. There’s a lot to do and see here, and I think
you’re going to find our library complex very interesting.

Visitor​: I’m ready to get started. Where should we begin?

Guide​: As you can see, there are quite a few buildings in the square, but before I tell you all
about them, I should give you some background information about our facilities.

Visitor​: That would be great.

Guide​: To begin, I should inform you that planning for Library Square began over 60 years
ago, as it had become very clear that the old state library facilities were no longer adequate.
The old main building was less than half the size of our current one, so there simply wasn’t
enough space to accommodate all of its resources comfortably, and no possibility for further
expansion. You see, the old building was actually not in the best condition, and to renovate
and expand it was going to be disruptive and far too expensive.

Visitor​: I see.

Guide​: The planning of Library Square just took over 5 years and was paid for entirely with
state funding. However, it then took another 2 years to raise enough money to pay for
construction costs, as the state simply couldn’t afford to pay all of them on its own. As a
result, the state asked for private donations from citizens and hosted several fund-raising
events.

Visitor​: What percentage of the costs were covered by private donations?

Guide​: In the end, slightly under 50%. Our biggest donation came from a very prominent
businessman who was born and raised nearby, but now actually lives in another state. He
was very generous. His donation alone paid for 25% of all construction costs.

Visitor​: Wow!

Guide​: I know. Without his donation, fund-raising would have taken far longer. Anyway, after
enough funds were raised, construction began and was finally completed in May of 1971. It

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
took just over 3 years to construct all that you’ll be seeing here today. Of course, changes
have been made over the years, but these have not been significant.

Visitor​: So, what will I be seeing today?

Guide​: You’ll have access to all of our facilities except one, which is the Research Wing.
Those that you will have access to include the Main Library, our bookstore, the Roberts
Library of State History and Art, the State Historical Museum, and the Ron Robinson
Theatre.

Visitor​: Sounds like this could be a long day. I’ll need to eat at some point. Can you
recommend a place nearby?

Guide​: Ah, sorry, I forgot to mention that we also have a restaurant and café on the grounds.
I’ll tell you where it is in a moment.

Visitor​: Excellent. Are there any activities I might find interesting?

Guide​: Certainly. On every weekday, there are two stage performances at the Ron
Robinson Theatre. The first is at 10 AM, so you’re probably too late to see that one.
However, the second performance is at 2 PM, and your kids will really enjoy it. These
performances are actually more for children than adults, and will teach them a lot about their
state’s history.

Visitor​: Perfect. Anything else?

Guide​: Sure. Aside from that, in the Main Library there is a large children’s wing with the
largest collection of children’s books in the entire country, and an area where they can use
various arts materials and create whatever they want. Oh, and when they get hungry, and
they will, take them over to the Davis Restaurant and Café. The grilled cheese sandwiches
are fantastic, and there’s an indoor playground for them, so even if it rains, they can have
some fun running around and playing.

Visitor​: Great.

Guide​: So now that you know exactly what you can do, let me give you this map and explain
some of its features to you. The entire complex covers two quite large city blocks, so to save
time, you’ll need to know exactly where everything is.

Visitor​: Great, thanks. I do enjoy a bit of exercise, but it’s quite hot today.

Guide​: Exactly. To begin, we’re currently in the parking lot, facing west. Just across Rock
Street from us you can see the Main Library. That’s where you’ll find almost all of our
resources and collections, including our collection of children’s books and an area where
they can create art. All of that is accessible to you. However, the building that is connected
behind it is the Research Wing, which is not. That’s where professional scientists and
researchers get to work in peace and quiet.

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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
Visitor​: I see.

Guide​: Now, just to the north of the Main Library is the Davis Restaurant and Cafe which I
mentioned earlier. Behind it, you’ll find the State Historical Museum. I think both you and
your children will find the exhibits there quite interesting.

Visitor​: Definitely, thanks.

Guide​: Aside from that, just to the north of us, and also along Rock Street, you can see the
Roberts Library of State History and Art. The collections inside it are quite valuable, but I’m
not sure your children will appreciate as much as you might. Feel free to take a look.

Visitor​: If we have time, we certainly will.

Guide​: Just behind us, in the triangular building along River Market Avenue, you’ll find the
Bookstore at Library Square. Inside, you can shop for souvenirs and many interesting
children’s books as well as literature about our state’s history. And just to the north of the
bookstore, on the corner of the same street and President Clinton Avenue, is the Ron
Robinson Theatre. That’s where your children can watch a play about the history of our
state.

Visitor​: You said the second performance is at 2 PM?

Guide​: That’s right. Make sure to get there a bit early so you can all get seated together.
The afternoon performances are generally the busiest.

Visitor​: Good advice. Anything else?

Guide​: No, that pretty well covers everything. If you need any additional help, there’s an
Information Desk inside the Main Library where our employees can answer your questions.

Visitor​: Great. Thanks so much for all your help.

Guide​. It’s been my pleasure. I hope you and your kids have a wonderful day.

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Section 2 Transcript

(Source:Erin Sullivan - TED Salon: Brightline Initiative -

Does photographing a moment steal the experience from you?)

What is the most beautiful place you have ever been? And when you were there, did you
take a picture of it? Here's a place that tops that list for me. This is Mesa Arch in
Canyonlands National Park in Utah at sunrise. It's the traditional homeland of the Pueblo,
Ute, Paiute and Navajo people, and when you are there, it is absolutely stunning. The
sunrise illuminates the bottom of the arch orange, and then behind it you see the buttes and
clouds and cliffs.

But what you might not see from my photo here is the 30 people behind me who were also
taking photos. And these are just the committed people, the sunrise people, right? So when
you think about that, there must be hundreds if not thousands of photos of Mesa Arch taken
every week.

I've been sharing my photography on Instagram for years, and it started to become really
interesting and funny, even, just how many similar photos of the same places I started to see
online. And I was participating in it.

So this made me wonder: Why are we taking photos in the first place? Sometimes, I visit a
popular landmark -- this one is Horseshoe Bend in Arizona -- and I see all the people with
their phones and cameras out who snap a photo, just to turn and get back in the car or walk
back to the trailhead. And sometimes it seems like we are missing the point of going to this
place to experience it for ourselves or to see it with our own eyes.

When I'm behind the camera, I notice the smallest details: the layers of light in the mountains
as the light fades at the end of the day; the shapes that nature so expertly makes, abstract
and yet completely perfect. I could go on and on here musing about the intricacies of this
planet and the way that it makes me feel.

Photographing the beauty and complexity of this world for me is like making a portrait of
someone that I love. And when I make a photograph, I have to think about what I want it to
say. I have to ask myself what I want it to feel like. When you're communicating through an
image, every creative choice matters. Sometimes, I plan to share my images, and other
times, I take them just for myself.

I currently host a video series on the future of the outdoors, and for one of the episodes we
wanted to explore the relationship between photography and outdoor spaces. I learned
about the research of Kristin Diehl and her colleagues at USC, who studied photo-taking's
effect on enjoyment levels. They found that when we're behind the camera, when we're the
ones taking the picture, we enjoy our experiences more, not less. But it wasn't true all the
time. If the person took the photo solely with the intention of sharing it, there was no increase
in enjoyment, because they didn't do it for themselves. So this points to an important

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
distinction: photography can enhance your experience if it's done intentionally. The intention
piece is what matters.

As a photographer, I've really had to check myself on this. When does it help me to have my
camera out, and when do I just need to put it away? On a trip to Alaska, I had the
opportunity to photograph Alaskan brown bears. I was on a boat with four other
photographers, and we were all having our minds blown at the same time in such close
proximity to these animals. It's an emotional experience. Being eye to eye with these bears
gave me a feeling of connection that transcends words, and having my camera with me in
this case enhanced that. We were all creating independently but also all completely in the
moment, both with nature and with each other. I so clearly remember capturing the water
droplets and the motion as the bears swam and the cute cubs following their mothers. That
group and I will have that experience together and these images to look back on time and
time again, and photography is what enabled us to share this in the first place.

Other times, I choose to leave the camera behind, and I think that choice ultimately improves
both my experience and my work. I recently flew to the South Pacific island of Tonga to swim
with humpback whales. I noticed myself feeling pressure and a certain obligation to take the
camera with me, when sometimes I just wanted the pure experience itself. And the
experience is seriously amazing. You're talking about being in the water with a curious baby
animal the size of a station wagon while you are surrounded by particles that float around
you like glitter, and the mom swims gracefully below you. There were times, obviously, when
I did take my camera with me, and those were really amazing to capture as well. But the
setup is pretty big. It's like this big box. This is what it looks like. And so this is between me
and the whales, and at times that feels like a block between you and reality. Is there a
difference when it's just your phone? Last year, I went to Uluru in Central Australia, which is
this massive rock that towers over the desert. This is sacred land to Anangu, who are the
Aboriginal people from this area and the traditional owners of the land. There are particular
spots in Uluru that you cannot photograph professionally, because they are culturally
sensitive, equivalent to sacred scripture to Anangu. So because of this, most of my
photographs are from either far away, like this one, or from specific angles in the park. You
could say that some of the most interesting and beautiful visuals in Uluru are located in
these sensitive areas, but the request not to photograph them is an explicit and direct
invitation to learn more about the land, its importance and its people. Isn't that what we
should be doing anyway?

So my visit to Uluru quickly became not about me but about connecting with the place.
Ironically and unsurprisingly, I have found that presence and connection also happens to
make for more compelling images.

We can probably all point to social media as being a good place to share the images from
our travels and from our lives. We not only share pieces of the world that we have seen but
also parts of our day-to-day experiences. And if we're applying intentionality to the photos we
take, then hopefully we're sharing intentionally too. For me, allowing people to see pieces of
my story and my perspective online has reminded me that I'm not alone. It's helped me build
support and community to do the same for others.

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
of difficulty of a real IELTS test.
 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
Let me be clear: I am not trying to discourage you from taking photos. Even if thousands of
people have been to whatever exact location and taken whatever exact photo, I encourage
you to get out and create too. The world needs every voice and perspective, and yours is

included. But what I'm trying to show you is that the phone or camera doesn't have to stay
out all the time. What I'm trying to encourage you to do is to put it away, just for a moment --
a moment for you.

So let's go back to Mesa Arch, the way that the rock glows orange and the lovely layers of
blue in the background. What if the next time you were somewhere amazing, you couldn't
bring your camera or phone? What if you were not allowed to take any pictures at all? Would
it feel like a limitation? Or would it feel like a relief?

So what can we do? Well, the next time you feel the impulse to take out your camera or
phone, or, in my case, once you realize you have already pulled it out --

First: stop. Pause. Take a deep breath. Look around. What do you notice? Are you
experiencing this moment with someone else? Remember that this moment only comes
once. Photography can be part of a beautiful experience. Just don't let it be a block between
you and reality. Be intentional, and don't lose a beautiful, irreplaceable memory, because
you were too focused on getting the shot.

Thank you.

Note: This is not a real IELTS test. This practice test is to give you an opportunity to practise
implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
of difficulty of a real IELTS test.
 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Section 3 Transcript

(Source: Stuart Oda - TED Salon: Brightline Initiative

Are indoor vertical farms the future of agriculture?)

So if you live on planet Earth and you're one of seven billion people that eats food every day,
I need you to pay attention, because over the next three decades, we will need to address
one of the most critical global challenges of our generation. And I'm not talking about climate
change. I'm talking about food and agriculture. In 2050, our global population is projected to
reach 9.8 billion, with 68 percent of us living in urban city centers. In order to feed this
massive population, we will need to increase our agricultural output by 70 percent over
current levels. Just to put this number into perspective, we will need to grow more food in the
next 35 to 40 years than the previous 10,000 years combined. Put simply, not only is our
global population becoming bigger, but it's also getting denser, and we will need to grow
significantly more food using significantly less land and resources.

Complicating our current efforts to address these major demographic shifts are the
challenges facing the agricultural industry today. Globally, one third of all the food that we
produce is wasted, acquitting to 1.6 billion tons of food that spoiled on the way to the market
or expired in our refrigerators or were simply thrown out by supermarkets and restaurants at
the end of the day. Every single year, up to 600 million people will get sick eating
contaminated food, highlighting the challenge that we have of maintaining global food safety.
And, maybe unsurprisingly, the agricultural industry is the single largest consumer of fresh
water, accounting for 70 percent of global usage.

Now, you'll be relieved to know that the agricultural industry and that the global movement by
universities, companies and NGOs is putting together comprehensive research and
developing novel technology to address all of these issues. And many have been doing it for
decades. But one of the more recent innovations in food production being deployed in
industrial parks in North America, in the urban city centers of Asia, and even in the arid
deserts of the Middle East is controlled environment agriculture.

Controlled environment agriculture is actually just a fancy way of saying weather- or

climate-proof farming, and many of these farms grow food three-dimensionally in vertical
racks, as opposed to the two dimensions of conventional farms. And so this type of food
production is also referred to as indoor vertical farming.

I've been involved in the indoor vertical farming space for the past five and a half years,
developing technology to make this type of food production more efficient and affordable.
This picture was taken outside of a decommissioned shipping container that we converted
into an indoor farm and then launched into the heart and the heat of Dubai.

Indoor vertical farming is a relatively recent phenomena, commercially speaking, and the
reason for this is that consumers care more about food safety and where their food comes

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implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
of difficulty of a real IELTS test.
 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
from, and also, the necessary technology to make this possible is more readily available and
lower cost, and the overall cost of food production globally is actually increasing, making this
type of food production more competitive.

So, if you want to build an indoor vertical farm, you will need to replace some of the
conventional elements of farming with artificial substitutes, starting with sunlight. In indoor
vertical farms, natural sunlight is replaced with artificial lighting like LEDs. While there are
many different types of LEDs being used, the one that we decided to install here is called
"full spectrum LEDs," which was optimized for the type of vegetables that we were growing.
Also, in order to maximize production for a given space, indoor vertical farms also utilize and
install racking systems to grow vegetables vertically, and some of the biggest facilities stack
their production 14 to 16 floors high.

Now most of these farms are hydroponic or aeroponic systems, which means that instead of
using soil, they use a substitute material like polyurethane sponges, biodegradable peat
moss and even use inorganic materials like perlite and clay pellets. Another unique aspects
about these farms is that they use a precise nutrient formula that is circulated and recycled
throughout the facility, and this is pumped directly to the vegetables' root zone to promote
plant growth. And lastly, these farms use a sophisticated monitoring and automation system
to significantly increase productivity, efficiency and consistency, and these tools also provide
the added benefit of producing food that is more traceable and safe.

Some of the obvious benefits of growing food in this way is that you have year-round
vegetable production, you have consistent quality and you have predictable output. Some of
the other major benefits include significant resource use efficiencies, particularly water. For
every kilogram of vegetables grown in this way, hundreds of liters of water is conserved
compared to conventional farming methods. And with the water savings come similar
savings in the use of fertilizer. One of the highest-yielding farms grows over 350 times more
food per square meter than a conventional farm. And weatherproofing means complete
control of incoming contaminants and pests, completely eliminating the need for the use of
chemical pesticides. And not to be mistaken, these farms can produce enormous amounts of
food, with one of the biggest facilities producing 30,000 heads of vegetables a day.

However, as with any new technology or innovation, there are some drawbacks. As you
would imagine, growing food in this way can be incredibly energy-intensive. Also, these
farms can only produce a small variety of vegetables commercially and the overall cost of
the production still is quite high.

And in order to address these issues, some of the biggest and most sophisticated farms are
making significant investments, starting with energy efficiency. In order to reduce the high
energy usage, there are efforts to develop higher-efficiency LEDs, to develop lasers
optimized for plant growth and using even fiber-optic cables like these to channel sunlight
directly into an indoor vertical farm during the day to reduce the need for artificial lighting.

Also, to reduce the labor costs associated with hiring a more sophisticated, more urban and
also more high-skilled labor force, robotics in automation is used extensively in large-scale
facilities. And you can never really be too resource-efficient. Building indoor vertical farms in
and around urban city centers can help to shorten the agricultural supply chain and also help

Note: This is not a real IELTS test. This practice test is to give you an opportunity to practise
implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
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 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
to maintain the nutritional content in vegetables. Also, there are food deserts in many
countries that have little to no access to nutritious vegetables, and as this industry matures,
it will become possible to provide more equitable access to high-quality, highly nutritious
vegetables in even the most underprivileged of communities.

Note: This is not a real IELTS test. This practice test is to give you an opportunity to practise
implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
of difficulty of a real IELTS test.
 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E

Section 4 Transcript

(Source: Alejandro Durán - We the Future

How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans)

This is Sian Ka'an. Just south of Tulum on Mexico's Caribbean coast, it's a federally
protected reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most biodiverse regions
on the planet. But when I first visited in 2010, I was horrified and completely confused as to
why the beach was covered in trash. I soon realized that it was floating in from all over the
world.

I've since returned, after that first journey, several times a year to visit Sian Ka'an, to the
country of my birth, to work with this trash. And so far, we've documented garbage from 58
different countries and territories on six continents, all washing ashore in this paradise in
Mexico.

Although I can never know where a product was dropped, I can, at times, based on the label,
know where something was made. In red, you see all of the countries represented by their
trash in Sian Ka'an. Such as these Haitian butter containers in all shapes and sizes,
Jamaican water bottles. Not surprisingly, a lot of the stuff is from neighboring Caribbean
countries, but the stuff is from everywhere. Here's a sampling of international water bottles.
And one of the ironies is that a lot of what I'm finding are products for cleaning and
beautification, such as this item from the United States, which is actually made to protect
your plastic, shampoo from South Korea, bleach from Costa Rica and a Norwegian toilet
cleaner. And it's items that are all very familiar to us, or at least I hope you're familiar with
these toothbrushes. Kitchen utensils. Toys. I'm also finding evidence of burning plastic trash,
which releases cancer-causing fumes into the air.

People ask what's the most interesting item that I've found, and that's by far this prosthetic
leg. And in the background, if you can see that blue little bottle cap, at the time that I found it,
it was actually the home to this little hermit crab. This guy is so cute.

And it's these fascinating objects, but also horrifying objects, each with their own history, that
I use to make my ephemeral, environmental artworks.

And it all started with this image in February of 2010, when I first visited Sian Ka'an. I noticed
that blue was the most prevalent color among the plastic. Purple is actually the most rare
color. It's kind of like gold to me. But blue is the most prevalent, and so I gathered some of
the blues and made this little arrangement in front of the blue sky and blue Caribbean
waters. And when I took a photograph and looked at the test shot, it was like a lightning bolt
hit me in that moment, and I knew I was going to have to come back to create a whole series
of installations on location and photograph them.

Note: This is not a real IELTS test. This practice test is to give you an opportunity to practise
implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
of difficulty of a real IELTS test.
 IELTS Advantage Practice Listening Test E
So this turned out to be a sketch for a work that I completed three years later. I had no idea
that almost 10 years later, almost a decade later, I'd still be working on it. But the problem
persists.

So I'm going to show you some of the images from the series that I called "Washed Up:
Transforming a Trashed Landscape." Please keep in mind that I do not paint the garbage.
I'm collecting it and organizing it by color on the same beaches where I find it.

This is my precious trash pile as seen in 2015 after putting on a first edition of the "Museo de
la Basura," or "Museum of Garbage." It's fully my intention to care for this garbage, to exalt it,
put it on a pedestal and to curate it.

We have all seen devastating images of animals dying with plastic in their bellies. And it's so
important for us to really see those and to take those in. But it's by making aesthetic -- some
might say beautiful -- arrangements out of the world's waste, that I'm trying to hook the
viewer to draw in those that might be numb to the horrors of the world and give them a
different way to understand what's happening.

Some have described the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as an island twice the size of Texas,
but I've been told that it's hard to see because it's more like a smog. So through my artwork,
I attempt to depict the reality of what's happening with our environment and to make the
invisible visible.

My key question at first, after starting the project, was, "What do I do with the garbage when
I'm done?" I was told by some that it could be damaged goods after traveling across the
ocean and being exposed to the elements, that it could become degraded and potentially
ruin a batch of recycling. The landfill was not a happy resting place, either. And then finally, it
dawned on me, after all of the effort by me and all of the people who have helped me collect
and organize and clean this trash, that I should keep it. And so that's the plan, to use it and
to reuse it endlessly to make more artwork and to engage communities in environmental
art-making.

Note: This is not a real IELTS test. This practice test is to give you an opportunity to practise
implementing the strategies from the course. It does not reflect the scores, timing or level
of difficulty of a real IELTS test.