IELTS Academic
Listening Part 4: A short history of maps (lecture)
Part 4 · Multiple choice · Note completion. Read the questions first, then play the recording. The transcript appears after you submit.
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This morning I want to trace how maps have changed — not just in accuracy but in purpose.
Many early maps were not intended mainly for navigation. They often combined geography with religious beliefs, placing a holy city at the centre and decorating the edges with imaginary creatures.
The arrival of printing in Europe in the fifteenth century was a turning point. Maps became cheaper and more widely available, so errors could be compared and corrected across many copies.
Later, national mapping agencies carried out systematic surveys, often for military reasons, measuring the land with great precision.
Today, satellite data means digital maps can be updated almost continuously. But this raises a new question: who decides what appears on the map? Digital maps are owned by companies, and what they show — or leave out — can influence where people go and which businesses they find.
History of maps
Early maps often showed (1) ___ beliefs as well as places.
Printing made maps cheaper and more (2) ___.
Satellite data allows maps to be updated (3) ___.
1.Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
2.Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.
3.Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
4.Why did national agencies often survey land?
5.What concern about digital maps does the lecturer raise?
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