Science roundup highlights T. rex footprints, solar “superflares,” and reading’s reported brain benefits

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the report discuss before turning to solar activity?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The benefits of reading
   2. The history of astronomy
   3. The discovery of dinosaur footprints
   4. The publication schedule
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The discovery of dinosaur footprints

   The report first presents paleontologists’ discovery of dinosaur footprints.

   The report begins with paleontologists’ discovery of fossilized T. rex footprints.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the term “superflares” signal?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A recurring reading technique
   2. An unusually intense solar event
   3. A newly discovered dinosaur species
   4. A statistical method for brain research
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   An unusually intense solar event

   The label indicates an unusually intense form of solar activity.

   The term signals an unusually intense form of solar activity, although the source package does not provide further details about the events, their frequency, or their possible effects.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the roundup include solar phenomena?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. They explain how fossils form.
   2. They connect reading with astronomy.
   3. They broaden the scientific range under discussion.
   4. They provide the report’s only measurements.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   They broaden the scientific range under discussion.

   Their inclusion expands the report from earthly history to stellar behavior.

   Their inclusion broadens the report’s scope from the history of life on Earth to the behavior of a star that remains central to the planet’s environment.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the source summary fail to specify about reading?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Whether reading exists as a human activity
   2. Which benefits, measurements, and causal claims were involved
   3. Whether the report was published by NPR
   4. Whether the Sun affects Earth’s environment
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Which benefits, measurements, and causal claims were involved

   It omits the benefits discussed, their measurement, and causal interpretation.

   NPR identifies potential brain benefits associated with reading, but the available source summary does not specify which benefits were discussed, how they were measured, or whether the findings establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the stated result of combining the three stories?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. They establish one unified scientific theory.
   2. They illustrate the range of science-news coverage.
   3. They prove reading benefits the brain.
   4. They identify one shared research location.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   They illustrate the range of science-news coverage.

   Together, they exemplify the breadth of weekly science-news programming.

   Taken together, the three items illustrate the range of a weekly science-news program.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the package explicitly lack regarding the coverage?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A discussion of fossils
   2. A mention of solar activity
   3. A location, named researcher, and numerical result
   4. A publication date
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A location, named researcher, and numerical result

   The recording expressly notes the absence of location, researcher, and numerical details.

   The package does not identify a single location, named researcher, or numerical result for the coverage.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   When was the roundup published?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. September 17, 2025
   2. September 18, 2026
   3. September 17, 2026
   4. October 17, 2026
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   September 17, 2026

   The final paragraph gives the roundup’s publication date directly.

   NPR presented these topics in its Short Wave science-news roundup published September 17, 2026.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording say links the three topics for readers?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A single laboratory’s research program
   2. A shared geographical location
   3. A common numerical finding
   4. The variety of scientific questions involved
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The variety of scientific questions involved

   Their link is the diversity of questions science can investigate.

   For readers, the common thread is not a shared discovery but the variety of questions that science can investigate—from the tracks of a giant dinosaur to the behavior of the Sun and the cognitive significance of reading.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.