Chapters

Test-taking Strategies
for Part III
"SHORT CONVERSATIONS
AND SHORT TALKS"

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The third part of the test consists of 15 short talks (announcements, reports, advertisements,
speeches) or conversations (between two speakers). In your test booklet, you will see a
question and four possible responses for each conversation or talk. You will be expected to
choose the best response from the four choices.

Study the following tips. They will help you increase your ability to select the right
response.

5.1 Read the question first

Each short conversation or talk provides you with a lot of details to analyze within a few
seconds in order to select the right answer. The best time-saving strategy is probably to try
to read each question before you hear the conversation or talk. If time allows, try to read the
four possible responses as well. Doing so will enable you to:

get a general idea of the topic and context of the dialog or talk
identify the type of information you should be reading for

If you follow this strategy, you should have enough time to mark your answer on the
answer sheet as soon as the speaker(s) finish(es) speaking and then read the next question
and possible answers.

Example 1

When will the next meetini take place?

When you read this question, you can easily guess that:
the speakers will mention a meeting
the answer will be a time reference in the future or a phrase referring directly or
indirectly to the specific moment when the event is due to take place

With this information, you can then listen to the conversation and try to identify clues as to
when the meeting will be held.

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Now listen to the dialog f)
Man: Are there any new messages for me?
Woman: Yes. Ms Simmons called three times this morning. She said that the
Committee meeting is set for Thursday at 5:00pm.
Man: Oh no. I already have another appointment on that day.

In your test book, you will find the following question and responses:

When will the next meeting take place?

(A) This morning.

(B) On Tuesday.
(C) At 3:00pm.
(D) At 5:00pm.

As you listen to the conversation, you might identify a number of words and expressions
that will help you to eliminate choices (A), (B), and (C).

This morning • It is the period during which Ms Simmons called. It does not
give any information about the meeting.

• In this sentence, this morning refers to a time period in the past

whereas the meeting is supposed to take place in the future.

Three times • Three is the number of times Ms Simmons called this morning,
not the time scheduled for the meeting.

At 5:00pm • The meeting is scheduled for 5:00pm (i.e. in the afternoon).

Set for Thursday • Thursday is the day when the meeting will eventually take
place. There is no mention of a Tuesday in the conversation.
• Some students tend to mix up Tuesday and Thursday as they
are very close in spelling.

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 5.2 Listen to the questions completely

Although it is a good idea to read the question before you hear the talk or conversation, do
not try to answer it until you hear the entire recording. There may be important details in
the first words of the talk or at the very end.

Now consider the example below. Pay close attention to the position of the details you need
to answer the questions.

Example 2

"For a decade, Onyx Corp .• the Dutch cable operator( ... ) its partnership in
China for 6 months( ... ) has provided digital television and internet access
to 5 million households worldwide."

• Where does the company operate?

(A) Internationally.
(8) In Europe.
(C) In Germany.
(D) In the USA.

Choice (A) is the correct answer. The company operates worldwide, i.e. aJJ over the world
or internationally.

• How long has it been in business?

(A) 6 months.
( B) JO years.
(C) 10 weeks.
(D) 5 years.

Choice (B) is the correct answer to this question. The company has been in business for a
decade, i.e. a period of IO years.
 5.3 Try to picture the scene

As you listen to the conversation or talk, try to imagine its setting and who is speaking by
asking yourself three essential questions:

• What?

• Who?

• Where?

What is the context? (a business appointment, an informal event

etc.)

WHAT?< What is/are the speaker(s) doing? (Giving/exchanging information,

checking/confirming details etc.)

Men, women

Occupation/status: professional, student,

tourist, etc.

WHO is/are the speaker(s)? Relationship between the two

speakers/between the speaker and the person
listening: husband/wife, customer/shop
assistant, employee/employer, etc.)

General atmosphere: friendly/professional,

formal/informal, etc.

Tone of the voice(s): satisfied, dissatisfied,

surprised, etc.

<
In the street, in a building, etc.

WHERE is/are the speaker(s)?

In a car, in public transport, on a plane ...

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Example3 f)
Listen to the following announcement.

Good afternoon. Welcome to Aqua World Park. My name is Samantha and this
video presentation will last about thirty minutes during which we will show
you exclusive pictures of some of the best known aquatic species including
whales, dolphins and sharks. For those of you who are interested in wildlife
and bird watching, join Scott Farley outside the main building at 7:20 for the
Exploration Tour.

In your test book, you will find the following question and responses:

What can be seen during the Explorationtour?

(A) Birds.
(B) Whales.
(C) A video presentation.
(D) Sharks.

Visualizing the setting of a conversation or talk in sequence can help you memorize more
details about the talk. In this example, you can visualize the foJJowing elements:
• a water park
• a speaker introducing a 30-minute video presentation
• pictures showing aquatic species (whales, dolphins, sharks)
• an outdoor exploration tour (wildlife and bird watching) at
7:20

It is then easy to understand that choice (A) birds is the right answer to the question "What
can be seen during the Exploration Tour?"

5.4 Repeated words

Some of the words used in the conversations or talks are often repeated in the questions and
the four statements.
Being able to identify them can be very helpful ... but also misleading in some cases.

Consider the following example.

Example4 f)
Listen to the following conversation.
 Man: I'm David Evans. I have an appointment with Ms Marquez.
Woman: Ms Marquez is in a meeting right now but she'll be with you in a
minute. Would you like to take a seat?
Man: No, thanks. I've been sitting on a plane for the last four hours. I
need to stretch my legs.

In your test book, you will find the following question and responses:

What does the woman want Mr Evans to do?

(A) Go to a meeting.
(B) Sit down.
(C) Take a plane.
(D) Wait for four hours.

Choice (A) repeats the word meeting from the conversation but it refers to the meeting that
Ms Marquez is currently attending. It does not imply that the woman in the conversation
wants the man to go to this meeting.

Though choice (B) does not repeat exactly the same words as in the conversation, it is the
correct answer. The woman invites the man to sit down (or take a seat) and wait for Ms
Marquez.

In the conversation, the man refers to the fact that he spent.four hours sitting on a plane. In
choice (C), the word plane is repeated but the woman does not want Mr Evans to take a
plane.

In choice (D), the phrase four hours is repeated from the conversation but it refers to the
time the man spent on the plane, not the time the woman would like him to wait.

5.5 Inferences

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 .

.Example S ti
Listen to the following conversation.

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 Woman 1: Excuse me, why is our flight delayed?
Woman 2: There's a problem with the food refrigeration system.
Woman 1: l hope it will be fixed soon.

In your test book, you will find the following question and responses:

Where does the conversation take place?

(A) At an airport.
(B) On a train.
(C) At a department store.
(D) In an office.

In this conversation, the question is a request for information about a place. Although the
word airport (choice A) is not specifically used in the dialog, it is the best response. The
nounflight helps us to work out that the conversation takes place at an airport.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1

Listen to the announcement. i)

Then, match the questions with the appropriate responses.

A. A swimmer.
1. Who is probably speaking? B. When she was fourteen.
c. Her childhood.
2. Where does this talk take place? D. An interviewer.
E. rn Saint-Petersburg.
3. Who is Ms Vassileva? F. A writer.
G. At the age of sixteen.
4. What is the book about? H. In Australia.
I. Her career.
S. When did she win her first medal? J. In New York.
K. Two years ago.
Example2 f)
Listen to the conversation. Then answer the questions.

Pay close attention to repeated words, similar-sounding words and homonyms.

1. How long does it take to go downtown? 2. How much is the fare?

(A) Eight minutes. (A) About eighteen dollars.

(B) Ten minutes. (B) About eight dollars.
(C) Half an hour. (C) About ten dollars.
(D) An hour. (0) About thirty dollars.

3. What does the woman want to know? 4. Who is the woman probably speaking to?

(A) The time. (A) A policeman.

(B) The fare. (B) A taxi driver.
(C) How far the museum is. (C) An art dealer.
(D) How to go downtown. (D) A street musician.

5. Where does she want to go? 6. What is said in this conversation?

(A) To the Museum. (A) The Museum is located downtown.

(B) To the baker's. (B) The Museum is near the baker's.
(C) To a trade fair. (C) The Museum is too far.
(D) To work. (D) The man is not fair.

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