IELTS Listening · Sentence Completion

The Marine Chronometer

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  • 7 questions
  • Section 4 style
  • About 6 minutes
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Section 4 recording

The Marine Chronometer

You will hear a university lecturer giving a talk on the development of the marine chronometer.

One speaker · British English · 3:18

In the real test you hear each recording once. Read the questions first, then play it through without pausing.

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Questions 1–7

Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Word limit: NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER

  1. 1Early navigators struggled because they lacked an accurate method to calculate their .

    Question 1 is free to try, no login needed.
  2. 2Robert Vane believed the problem could be solved by using a reliable instead of astronomical charts.

  3. 3To avoid using oil, Vane manufactured internal clock parts from a dense wood called .

  4. 4The balance spring was crafted from to prevent temperature changes from affecting the clock.

  5. 5During its first ocean trial in 1736, the test ship survived a fierce .

  6. 6The evaluation board dismissed Vane's initial success as a .

  7. 7Vane's fourth prototype was so compact that it resembled a large .

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