Attached to this post is the MP3 file that accompanies the following IELTS Listening Section 4 questions. Try the exercise and post your answers. Please share any strategies you use that you feel could benefit others. I'll share the answers, a video tutorial and full transcript tomorrow.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
The aurora borealis occurs as a result of (31) ____________________ on the Sun’s surface.
Without its (32) ____________________, the Earth would be susceptible to damage from geomagnetic storms.
The aurora borealis is one of nature’s great spectacles. Better known as the Northern Lights, this natural phenomenon is generally visible only in the most northerly locations. It’s southern cousin, the aurora australis is likewise only visible in the southern stretches of latitude. Much more than just lights, the aurora borealis is a beautiful, complex and sometimes dangerous interaction of powerful forces.
The dance of lights we see on Earth is, surprisingly, the byproduct of an extremely violent and explosive set of events a hundred million miles away. The surface of the sun is an eruptive environment. Solar flares explode on a regular basis. These solar flares release large amounts of energy producing a geomagnetic storm. This storm hurdles towards other bodies in the solar system, including the Earth with spectacular results.
Although visually stunning, the aurora borealis has the potential to significantly disrupt human activities. Its large release of electromagnetic energy makes communication satellites that circle the Earth extremely vulnerable to damage. Fortunately for us, the Earth has a trick up its sleeve that protects us from all but the most severe geomagnetic storms. The Earth’s magnetic field draws the electromagnetic forces to the northern and southern poles in the same way a dipole magnet will draw metal shavings to each of its ends. Once there, the upper limits of the Earth’s atmosphere begins to ionize due to electromagnetic forces from the Sun’s geomagnetic storm. It’s this violent ionization that produces the colours visible in the northern sky.
So, the next time you look at the aurora consider for a moment the forces that are at play to create such a stunning visual.
