TIPS & TRICKSDifferent Situations

  • 8 short extracts
  • 1 question each, 3 options
  • One speaker or two
  • You hear each extract twice

You hear a series of short, unconnected recordings, each in a new everyday situation. A sentence before each one tells you who is speaking and what about, and then there's a question with three options (A, B or C).

The questions go beyond facts. They check whether you can pick up a speaker's opinion, feeling or purpose, or the main point of what they say.

Read the context line

The sentence before each question sets the scene: who is talking and what about. Use it to picture the situation and guess the kind of things you're likely to hear.

Know what's being asked

Notice what the question really wants. The woman thinks... asks for her opinion; Why is he calling? asks for his purpose; How does she feel? asks for her attitude. Listen for that, not for every detail.

Same words, wrong answer

The recording often uses words from the wrong options: these are distractors. The correct option usually says the same thing in different words, so match meanings, not vocabulary.

Check whose view it is

When two people are talking, check whose opinion the question is about. If it asks what the man thinks, the woman's ideas are a trap, however convincing they sound.

Wait for the whole extract

Don't decide after the first sentence. Speakers often agree and then add a reservation, or give an opinion and then change it. The answer usually depends on the extract as a whole.

Every extract is fresh

Each recording brings a new situation and a new question. If one goes badly, let it go. Worrying about the last answer is the surest way to miss the next one.

Strategy

  1. 1Read the context line and the question before you look at the options.
  2. 2Decide what the question tests: an opinion, a feeling, a purpose, a reason or the main idea.
  3. 3Skim the three options and notice how they differ.
  4. 4Listen the first time for the general meaning and choose the closest option.
  5. 5Be suspicious of an option that simply repeats a word you've just heard.
  6. 6Confirm or change your choice when you hear the recording again.
  7. 7Answer every question, even with a guess, then turn to the next situation.
Practise Different Situations60 exams to practise. The first one is free.