Ascolto: the date that gets replaced mid-dialogue
During Ascolto (Prova n. 1, dialogue 3) the candidate hears the recording twice, with 60 seconds between playings. The dialogue is between an anagrafe clerk and a woman. The candidate's notes read: «Rossi - da Bologna - nuova casa 15 marzo - appuntamento martedì 12, ore 9:30 - marca da bollo 16 euro». Question 4 of the booklet asks «Quando deve presentarsi la signora?» with options: A) martedì 12 alle 9:30; B) giovedì 14 alle 9:30; C) lunedì 11 alle 16:00. In the audio the clerk says «Martedì 12 non ho posto... guardi, le faccio giovedì 14, sempre alle 9:30». The candidate wrote down both dates and also failed to catch the exact amount of the marca da bollo, which question 5 asks about.
1. Which option should the candidate mark for question 4, and what is the correct reasoning?
Read the worked answer
B) giovedì 14 alle 9:30.
The reasoning is not 'which date did I hear?' but 'which date survives the whole exchange?'. The dialogue contains a data esca: martedì 12 is introduced and then explicitly cancelled by «non ho posto», which is immediately followed by the replacement «le faccio giovedì 14». Option A is built precisely on the cancelled date, so a candidate who transcribes the first date and stops listening marks the trap.
Two habits to take away:
- When you hear a date, a time or a price, keep listening for two or three seconds: B1 dialogues very often add a correction or a limitation («non... ma», «invece», «purtroppo»).
- The phrase «sempre alle 9:30» confirms that only the day changed, not the time - so option C, which changes the time, is wrong even without the date problem.
2. The candidate missed the amount of the marca da bollo. What should they do at the second playing, and what must they not do?
Read the worked answer
Do: use the 60-second pause to read the stem of question 5 and underline the keyword «marca da bollo», so at the second playing attention is already in the right place. Listen for the number as it follows that phrase, and write digits, not words.
Do not: fill the gap from real-world knowledge. The candidate may know that a marca da bollo is often €16, but the audio is the only source of truth in Ascolto; an option that matches the candidate's personal experience rather than the recording is a classic distractor.
If the number is still unclear, eliminate options that contradict information already certain (for example an option that gives a different day or a different office) and mark the remaining one. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a reasoned guess always beats a blank.