M2. TOEIC Listening Part 1 and 2 [PDF]

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Chapter3



Test-taking Strategies for Part I ''PHOTOGRAPHS''



The first part of the test consists of 15 photographs showing people, animals, objects or places. On the CD, you will hear a speaker read four statements describing each photograph. You may feel tempted to choose several of them but only one is a correct description of what you can see in the photograph. Study the following tips. They will help you increase your ability to select the right response.



3.1 Scan the photographs Each photograph will be introduced by an announcer. For example, you will hear: "Number one. Look at the picture marked number one in your test book." While listening to this short introduction, try to scan the photograph quickly. This will allow you to: identify its context notice some important details choose one of the four statements To make this observation phase more effective, always ask yourself these WH-questions about each picture:



•



What?



•



Who?



•



Where?



•



Why?



What is the main subject? (e.g. a meeting, a concert, etc.)



WHAT?~



What can I see? (e.g. a table, a crowd, etc.) What's happening? What's the action? (e.g. a man is making a phone call, a woman is cleaning a room, a child is crossing a street, etc.)



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Children, men, women Their relationship with the other people WHO (are the people)?



Their attitude, expression (happy, surprised ... ) Their gestures Their position (sitting, standing, lying)



Their occupation



In the street, a building, a park



WHERE(was the photographtaken)? In public transport. ..



To explain a point to a group



WHY (is the action taking place)? To clean a room ...



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3.2 Choose nothing but the best statement The choice of a statement must be based on elements that you can actually see in the photograph and not only on assumptions. Some test takers tend to choose a false statement because their judgement is based on a misinterpretation of the photographs. Although you may have to make assumptions, always keep in mind that what you are expected to do in this part of the test is "choose the statement that best describes what you see in the picture".



Example 1 Look at this photograph.



Now read the following statements. Some of them are correct. Others give details that are not clearly visible in the photograph and must therefore be considered as incorrect.



They are watching a movie.



incorrect



They are standing in line.



correct



They are boarding a train.



incorrect



A woman is paying for an item.



incorrect



They are fiJling out some forms.



incorrect



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They are going through customs inspection.



incorrect



The building is only one story high.



incorrect



The sales assistants are helping the customers.



incorrect



They are waiting.



correct



They are not facing one another.



correct



3.3 Listen to the statements completely In this part of the test as well as in Part Il (Question-Response), all the statements are read by a speaker but not printed in your test book. Therefore, it is important to listen to every single detail very carefully and completely before making a decision. Keep in mind that you are expected to choose nothing but the statement that "best" matches the picture. Only one statement is true. Although some of them might be partly true, they cannot be considered as correct.



Example 2 Look at this photograph.



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Now read the following statements. Only one of them is correct. Others give details that are not clearly visible in the photograph and must therefore be considered as incorrect. The escalator is out of order.



incorrect



Nobody is going up to the next level.



incorrect



Some people are standing on the escalators.



correct



A person is standing in the elevator.



incorrect



A person is sitting on the escalator.



incorrect



3.4 Prepositions A preposition is a word that Jinks nouns, pronouns, verbs or phrases to other words in a sentence. I.t usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence. lt is an important element because it adds information and its use can affect the meaning of a sentence.



Example 3 Look at this photograph.



Now study the following statements describing the photograph. Note that in each case the use of a different preposition changes the meaning of the sentence. • • •



The truck is parked in front of other vehicles. The truck is parked behind other vehicles. Boxes are stacked out of the truck.



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•



Boxes are stacked in the truck.



3.5 Homonyms and similar-soundingwords Homonyms, that is words which are pronounced the same though they have different spelling and meaning (e.g. sight and site) and words with very similar pronunciation (e.g. than and then) are common sources of confusion for some examinees. Here are a few examples. The phonetic transcription in brackets will help you learn to differentiate these words.



Example4



f)



The driver is looking at the car's tires. The driver tires me. ['taigz)



['tahn]



He's studying for a test. [test] It doesn't taste good. [teist] The man is giving a present to the woman. ['pre znt] The men present a product to the woman. [pri 'zent] There isn't enough air in the room. (£gr] His hair isn't long enough. [hsa'] There are a lot of people on the train. [trein] A lot of people left because of the rain. [rein] They're shaking hands. ['Jei kin] He's checking their hand luggage. ['tJe kin] They are on the same line. [lain] They are on the same lane. [lein] They are leaving the boat. ['Ii: viq] They are living on a boat. ['Ii vin] He fell off a tree. [fel] He felt free. [felt]



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EXERCISES



Exercise 1



Write a few sentences describing what you can see in the picture above. What can you see in the picture?



Where was the picture taken?



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Exercise 2 Look at this photograph.



Now read the following statements. Only one of them describes the photograph correctly. Try to find it. They are watching a show. There is a car park in the background. Some people are going up the stairs. A woman is holding on to the railing. Two women are seated on a bench.



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Chapter4



Test-taking Strategies for Part II ''QUESTION-RESPONSE''



The second part of the test consists of 30 questions or statements followed by three responses. Only one of the responses is correct. The questions and responses are recorded but not printed in the test booklet. Study the following tips. They will help you increase your ability to select the right response.



j



4.1 Question words



J



The questions asked in this part are of two types (''closed" or "open"). Being able to identify them can help you find the right response more easily.



Open questions Open questions are asked to elicit specific kinds of information (about time, place, possession, reason ... ). Question words arc used in such questions. They are usually placed at the very beginning of the question. Therefore, it is essential to listen to the first word of each question very carefully. Here is a list of the main question words:



QUESTION WORDS WHAT



PURPOSE Asking for information



about something.



WHICH



Asking for information about a specific number of things.



WHERE



Asking about a place or position.



WHEN WHO/WHOM WHOSE



Asking about the time when something happened or will happen. Asking about people. Asking about possession.



WHY



Asking for a reason.



HOW



Asking about the way something is done.



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Example 1



,:)



Listen to the following questions and responses. When did you buy your car?



(A) (B)



(C) Who do you want to invite?



(A)



(B) ( C) How did you go to work this morning?



Where did you spend the weekend?



In Mexico. It was very cheap. Next Saturday. To the restaurant.



My colleaKues.



( A)



Two hours late.



(B)



I took the bus.



(C)



25 cents.



(A) ( B)



A lot of money.



(C)



.w.ha1 did you send them?



Last year.



(A) ( B) (C)



We went to the seaside. Two days . A postcard.



I sent it by e-mail. I sent them yesterday.



Closed questions Closed questions do not begin with a question word. They demand a yes/no, right/wrong or true/false answer. You usually find them in Part Il of the test, but rarely in Parts TTT and V.



Example2



,:)



Listen to the following question and responses. Can you speak Japanese?



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(A) (B) ( C)



She speaks too much. No, l can't. 1 've never been there.



4.2 Inferences Although identifying question words is a good idea, it does not always help to select the appropriate answer. Quite often, test writers try to confuse candidates by not directly stating the information needed to answer a question. Therefore, you may need to make inferences (i.e. draw conclusions) from the information provided in the recording. Now look at the following questions and responses.



Example 3



,;)



What time does the train leave? From the city center. (B) I must call the station to find out. (C) It's scheduled for platform 2A. (A)



The question is a request for information about time. Although choice (B) does not contain a~y, it is the best response. ln this example, the speaker does not know the answer to the question but has decided to call the train station to get it.



Example4



ti Why hasn't the performance begun yet? ( A) ( B)



(C)



In a few minutes. At the concert ha! I. l think there are technical problems.



Due to the use of "why" in the question, you might expect the right answer to contain the words because ( of) or owing to. Although choice (C) does not contain any of these words, it is the correct response as it gives the answer to the question "Why?".



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4.3 Similar-sounding words Test writers also try to confuse candidates by using similar-sounding words in the question and in the answers, or by repeating words from the question in the suggested responses.



Examples



ti



In each of the following examples, the words underlined sound the same (or are pronounced similarly) but their meanings are radically different. Have you ever played bridge?



Incorrect Correct



The lilil.Ybegins at 9:00. No. It's the first time.



Where did you go shopping?



Incorrect Correct



I often wear this dress. I went to the supermarket.



Do you want me to~



Incorrect Correct



It's the same~No, thanks. I'll do it myself.



Incorrect Correct



l' II send it I.aw:. The new accountant.



this report?



Who sent you this ~?



Test takers should also pay close attention to the following question words that may seem to sound alike, but have different meanings. •



Who and How



•



Where and When



•



What and Why



Example6



ti



Where did you buy this bag?



(A)



(B) (C)



When did you buy this bag?



(A) (B) (CJ



In Osaka. Last summer. 20 dollars. In Osaka. Last summer. 20 dollars.



In some cases, the right answer may not be a similar-sounding word but a synonym (i.e. a word which sounds differently, is spelt differently but means the same as another word or expression).



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Now look at the following example:



Example7



ti



What kind of plant is it?



(A) (B (C)



She's watering the plant. It's a car factory. That's ver kind of ou.



In this example, plant and factory are synonyms: they are spelt and pronounced differently but mean the same.



EXERCISES



Exercise 1 Write as many open or closed questions as you can to match the following responses.



Jn 2003.



2 No, thanks. I've already had one.



3 At the Continental



Hotel.



4 Only 2 weeks.



5 Not very good. It rained all day.



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6



No, it wasn't. I had already been there twice.



7 Because of the heavy traffic.



8 It's Howard's.



Exercise 2 Form 9 questions by using one element from each column. A



c



When



B didn't you attend



at the station?



You're



is on Saturday,



something to drink?



Can I



the Eiffel Tower,



isn't it?



Who's



going to pick you up



the Spanish class this morning?



The footbal I game



to go to the beach



isn't it?



Why



I get you



Maria's brother born?



That's



was



with us?



Would you like



not going to



your stapler?



Shall



borrow



tell him, are you?



Write the 9 questions on the lines below. Make sure they match the given answers. 1.



My husband.



2.



In .1975.



3.



I woke up too late.



4.



A cup of coffee, please.



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5.



No, it's on Tuesday.



6.



Sorry, but I have to go downtown.



7.



I'm afraid I'll have to.



8.



I've already lent it to Barbara.



9.



That's right.



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