Listening: Paraphrase, Distractors, and Detail
What is tested
MET listening includes short conversations and longer talks or interviews, tested through multiple-choice questions and occasionally note completion. You need gist (what is the conversation mainly about), specific detail (times, prices, names, places), speaker purpose and attitude (persuading, complaining, apologizing), and inference (what is implied but not stated).
The core skill: hearing paraphrase
The correct answer almost never repeats the words you hear. If the audio says "it's not exactly cheap," the answer option says "the price is high." If a speaker says "I'd rather not," the option reads "the speaker declines." Options that reuse the audio's exact vocabulary are usually traps built from a nearby distractor.
Traps to watch
- The corrected statement: "The train leaves at nine - sorry, nine thirty." Only the final version counts.
- Negatives and softeners: hardly, rarely, not necessarily, I'm not sure I'd say that.
- Numbers and dates that are mentioned but then rejected.
- Two options that are both true, where only one answers the question asked.
Rule of thumb
Before the audio plays, read the options and underline how they differ from each other - that difference is what you listen for. Answer in your own words first, then find the matching option. Never leave a blank; a reasoned guess costs nothing.
Worked example. You hear: "The exhibition was supposed to open in March, but we've had to push it back to May." Option A says March, option B says May, option C says cancelled. "Supposed to" signals the plan changed, so B is correct; A is the planted distractor.