Multiple Choice Tips

What to do

In this part of the Listening exam, you listen to an interview and answer multiple questions about it.

You will hear the audio twice.

Eliminate answers that are clearly wrong. Often it’s possible to eliminate 2 of the 3 choices, so you can get the answer even if you don’t know the meaning of a certain word.

Cambridge use distractors in this section. Be suspicious of ‘exact match’ phrases.

If one of the answers uses the word ‘abundant’ and speaker use the word ‘abundant’, it’s probably not the answer.

Strategy

1. Read the questions to get an idea of the topic.
2. You hear the answers in the order of the questions. The first answer comes at the start of the recording and the last answer is at the end.
3. The first time you listen, underline keywords and mark possible answers.
4. Listen to find the answer to the question, then choose the option (A, B or C) which is closest.
5. The words in the options will be different from the words you hear.
6. Most questions will be about people’s ideas, opinions, feelings, etc.