Cakap English Club

Lesson 13. Listening Skill 1

Inference
Questions
Lesson Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

• Recognize what is inference and how to make inferences.
• Recognize the inference question type in TOEFL ITP Listening section.
• Examine tips and tricks to answer inference questions.
• Demonstrate skills in answering inference questions accurately.

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 2

Overview

Inference Questions
This type of question asks you to indicate what is indicated by
a speaker in the recording, rather than what is explicitly stated.
This means you can’t rely solely on the words of the recording
to answer but must rather reflect on the implications of what is
being said. These listening questions require you make your
own conclusion and use some critical thinking.

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 3

Inferences

How to Make Inference?

Tips 1: Analyze the modifier
Modifiers are words or phrases that provide additional information or describe other elements in a
sentence (for example: adjectives and adverbs). When making inferences, pay attention to the
modifiers used in the text as they can give you clues about the relationships between different
elements. For example:
Statement: This is the best TOEFL course.
Inference: There are other TOEFL courses of a poorer quality.

Tips 2: Understand the condition

In many situations, inferences can be made by considering the conditions or circumstances presented
in the text. Understanding the condition or context helps you make logical deductions about what
might happen or what is likely to be true based on the given information. For example:
Statement: Organizational psychology had its origins in the early 20th century.
Inference: Organizational psychology did not exist before the early 20th century.

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 4

Let’s Practice

Statement: The book has received rave reviews from critics.

1
Inference:

Statement: She owned most of the buildings.

2
Inference:

Statement: It’s one of the largest museum in the world.

3
Inference:

Statement: The indoor location allows farmers to create controlled environments.

4
Inference:

Statement: Margaret Fuller also came to prominence as a leading transcendentalist

5 and advocate for women’s equality.
Inference:
Try to make your own inferences
from all of these statements!

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 5

Question Types and Example
Inference questions usually appear in all parts of listening section (dialog, extended
conversation, and lectures). The question will look very similar to one of these examples:

Dialog / Extended Conversation Lectures

What does the man/woman imply? What does the professor imply?
What does the man/woman mean? What can be inferred from this lecture ?
What can be inferred from the What conclusion can be drawn from the
man's/woman's comment? lecture?
What does the man/woman suggest?

Some inference questions involve overstatement, or exaggeration. For example:

Female: Are you interested in selling your car?
Male: Sure – if someone has a million dollars!
Because of the exaggeration, we can infer that the man doesn’t want to sell his car at all.

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 6

Tips & Tricks

Sometimes, the question will replay a sentence from the recording

for you; other times, you will need to rely on your notes and
memory to answer the question. Unfortunately, your notes may not IMPORTANT
always be much help, since you can’t take notes on information that That last point is the
isn’t there. So, when you’re answering inference questions, keep most important one.
these pointers in mind. The information is in
the recording — never
draw from your own
• Pay attention to the second speaker (in conversation). thoughts or
• As you’re listening, pay attention to the speaker’s tone. experiences if they’re
• The correct answer will probably use some keywords not found in not also spoken about
the recording. in the recording.
• The implication is very similar to what’s directly said. You do not
need to make a large logical jump.

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 7

Sample Question

You will hear:

Man: That’s a great bike! You will read:
Where’d you get it? (A) The bicycle is too big for her.
Woman: You know that (B) She bought the bicycle at a good price.
sporting goods store on (C) She did not know about the store on Harrison Street.
(D) She has not used her bike all summer.
Harrison Street–they’ve
been running tremendous
sales all summer!

(narrator) What does the

EXPLANATION
woman imply? The answer is B because the woman's response suggests that she bought
the bike at a good price. She mentions the sporting goods store on
Harrison Street and their tremendous sales all summer, implying that she
took advantage of those sales to purchase the bike. Therefore, the woman
implies that she bought the bicycle at a good price. The answer is not A
Listening 1.1 because there is no indication about the size of the bike. The answer is not
Dialog Sample Question C because the woman explicitly mentions knowing about the store on
Harrison Street. The answer is not D because the dialogue does not
provide any information about the woman's bike usage.

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 8

Sample Question

You will hear:

Thank you for choosing to spend a day with us here at Prairie Animal Park. Before you set off to see the animals, let me
explain a little bit about the park. Prairie Animal Park is a nonprofit organization and gets no government money. The money
from your admission ticket goes entirely to caring for the park and its animals. Most of the people who work here are
volunteers.
The park covers 2,400 [two thousand four hundred] acres. It was created by a group of people interested in restoring some of
the Illinois prairie to its original condition. All the animals here were once native to the area. It surprises many folks to learn
that buffalo, bald eagles, bears, and even mountain lions once called Illinois home – because you don’t see them in the wild
anymore.
The animals here are kept in areas closely resembling their natural setting. You’ll notice in front of us, the large, open field
with the stream. Although I don’t see any there at the moment, that’s where the buffalo roam. The herd is probably grazing at
the far end right now. Beyond the stream there’s a large, wooded area with fenced-in trails for you to walk along. As you
walk, you may see families of foxes, deer, and even bears. But remember, this isn’t a zoo with caged animals, these animals
are doing what they do in the wild…searching for food, hiding, playing, whatever, so you may have to look long and hard to get
a good view of them.

What does the speaker imply about seeing the animals?

You will read:

Listening 1.2
Lectures Sample Question
Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions
(A) Not all the animals may be visible.
(B) Certain animals can only be seen in the winter.
(C) Visitors should not get too close to the animals’ cages.
(D) Only a few people at a time can view the animals.
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Explanation
What does the speaker imply about seeing the animals?
(A) Not all the animals may be visible.
(B) Certain animals can only be seen in the winter.
(C) Visitors should not get too close to the animals’ cages.
(D) Only a few people at a time can view the animals.

EXPLANATION
The answer is A. The speaker implies this because they mention that the animals are not kept in cages and
are free to roam and behave as they would in the wild. The speaker specifically states: “But remember, this
isn’t a zoo with caged animals, these animals are doing what they do in the wild…searching for food, hiding,
playing, whatever, so you may have to look long and hard to get a good view of them." This indicates that
the animals are not always easily visible and that visitors may need to search or wait patiently to get a
good view of them. Therefore, the speaker implies that not all the animals may be visible at any given
moment in the park.
The answer is not B because there is no mention of certain animals being visible only in the winter. The
answer is not C because the speaker states that the animals are not in cages, so visitors don't need to
worry about getting too close to them. The answer is not D because the speaker does not mention any
restrictions on the number of people viewing the animals at a time.
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Exercise
Listening 1.3
Dialog
1 (A) She lost the man’s calculator.
(B) She will lend the man her calculator.
(C) The calculator may be under the man’s book.
(D) The man will not have time to find the
calculator.
(A) Work in the astronomy department
2 (B) Add another course next spring
(C) Find a job for the summer
(D) Take an astronomy course in the summer.
(A) He should work at home.
3 (B) He can use the lab on the weekend.
(C) He will have to repeat the experiment next
week.
(D) He forgot to return the key to security.
Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions
4 (A) He and his parents plan to visit Japan.
(B) He recently returned from Japan.
(C) His sweatshirt came from Japan.
(D) The weather can be very cold in some parts of
Japan.
(A) She will go to the restaurant with the man.
5 (B) She will meet the man and his friends later in
the evening.
(C) She has already had dinner.
(D) She will not change her original plans.
(A) He will register for the conference.
6 (B) He has nearly completed all his research.
(C) He is not teaching any classes today.
(D) He went to the wrong Web site.
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Exercise

Listening 1.4
Extended Conversation

(A) It’ll replace the one she lost.

(B) She’ll need extra pages for visas.
(C) She thinks it’s expensive.
(D) She needs it quickly.

Listening 1.5
Lectures
(A) Their customers like that the products are not
touched by others.
(B) They get more returned items than traditional
stores do.
(C) Their descriptions ought to help shoppers imagine
how items feel.
(D) Their photographs are often ineffective.
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Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions
References

• Bruce Rogers. The Complete Guide to TOEFL Test. 2011. Sherrise Roehr.
• ETS. TOEFL ITP Practice Tests: Volume 1 (2020).
• ETS. TOEFL ITP Practice Tests: Level 1, Volume 3 (2020).
• https://global-exam.com/blog/en/toefl-listening-tips/
• TOEFL Inference Questions: A Complete Guide (https://youtu.be/b2Xsn4K_JG4)

Cakap English Club. Listening Skill 1 – Inference Questions 13

 Terima kasih
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谢谢 Xièxiè
ありがとうございまし
Arigatōgozaimashita

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