Listening Comprehension
What this domain tests
Listening Comprehension on the Yamanashi entrance English exam checks whether you can follow short dialogues and monologues at natural speed and answer written questions about detail, number, place, reason, and speaker attitude. Most formats play the audio twice, so the skill is not only listening but reading the question and options during the pause before the audio begins.
Core rules and concepts
- Predict before you hear: from the question, decide whether you need a time, a price, a place, a reason, or a feeling, and listen for that type of word.
- Write shorthand, not sentences:
10 min late,2F,→ bus. - Track discourse markers: but, actually, instead, so, because. A correction after actually normally replaces what was said first.
- Expect paraphrase. The audio says "It's a bit steep"; the correct option says "expensive". Matching exact words is a warning sign, not a guarantee.
Worked example
Question: Why will the girl be late? Options: (A) She missed the bus. (B) She is waiting for a friend. (C) She has a club meeting. Audio: "I'm sorry, I'll be about ten minutes late. The bus left just before I got to the stop, so I'm waiting for the next one." Reasoning: "I'll be late" marks where the answer sits. "The bus left just before I got to the stop" gives the cause, and "so I'm waiting for the next one" is only the result. Option B is a near-miss because she is waiting, but for a bus, not a friend. Answer: A.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an option because you heard one of its words, without checking the meaning.
- Missing a mid-sentence correction after actually or no, wait.
- Confusing similar sounds: thirteen/thirty, can/can't, walk/work, light/right.
- Answering from general knowledge or common sense instead of from what was said.