Listening Comprehension
Listening Comprehension tests whether you can extract explicit detail, follow sequence, identify purpose and attitude, and infer meaning from short spoken texts. Expect announcements, dialogues, and monologues with multiple-choice questions. The task is not to translate every word; it is to match the speaker’s meaning to a paraphrase.
Core rules
- Read the question stem before the audio starts; underline the wh-word and the key noun.
- Expect paraphrase: “not cheap” → “expensive”; “I’d rather not” → “reluctance”.
- Track speaker turns: the second speaker often corrects or qualifies the first.
- Note numbers, times, names, and places only when the question asks; do not transcribe.
- Separate literal detail from inference. If the question asks “What does the woman imply?”, the answer is not stated verbatim.
Worked example
You hear: “I booked the 8:15 train, but the clerk said it was cancelled, so I took the 9:40 instead.” Question: Why will the speaker travel later? A) The 8:15 was full. B) The 8:15 was cancelled. C) The clerk made a mistake. Reasoning: “cancelled” is stated directly; “full” and “mistake” are not supported. Answer B.
Traps
- Choosing an option because it repeats a word from the audio.
- Missing negation: “not until Friday” is not “on Friday”.
- Hearing one detail and ignoring the main point.
- Confusing similar numbers: 13/30, 8:15/9:40.