The conversation stops three times
Part 1 contains a two-person conversation about a practical problem. It is divided into three recording sections. After Section 1, you answer Questions 1–3. Section 2 is followed by Questions 4–6, and Section 3 by Questions 7–8. You do not hear the entire conversation before answering all eight questions.
For every question, you hear the spoken question and read four answer choices. Questions appear one at a time and must be answered in order. The 30-second window includes hearing the question and choosing the answer. When the time ends, the test moves forward.
How well you follow a decision in motion
The first speaker usually has a problem, request, or practical constraint. The other person offers information or possible solutions. As the exchange continues, an option may turn out to be too expensive, unavailable, too late, or unsuitable for another reason. The speakers may settle on a plan only in the final section.
Questions can test the main problem, a specific fact, a speaker’s reason, an attitude heard in the voice, or the likely next action. The correct choice often paraphrases the conversation. A choice that repeats one memorable word can still describe the wrong speaker, time, or outcome.
Keep a live option list
- Name the problem.Use the introductory sentence and the opening exchange to write a five- or six-word problem line.
- Mark each constraint.Time, money, availability, rules, distance, capacity, and personal needs usually explain why an obvious solution will not work.
- Track proposals as they change.Use a question mark for a new idea, a cross when it is rejected, and a check only when the speakers accept it.
- Answer from the current section.For each question, locate the matching note and test the whole meaning of every choice.
- Reset before the next section.Carry forward the unresolved problem and live options, then put your attention back on the recording.
A Part 1 note page can be very small: problem at the top, then three numbered rows. Keep an option column on the right. When a speaker says “That could work, except…,” wait for the exception before adding a check.
Separate the temporary fix from the final plan
This is a written rehearsal, not an official recording. It shows how a decision develops across three original sections.
A tenant, Marisol, asks a building caretaker, Evan, for help because the laundry room is closed while a pipe is repaired.
Section 1 notes: laundry closed till Mon / work uniforms needed Fri / nearby laundromat closes 6 / Marisol shift ends 6:30
Section 2 notes: basement sink × building rule / caretaker can open staff washer Sat? supervisor approval needed / neighbour building machines ? residents only
Section 3 notes: supervisor approves staff washer 8–10 Sat / Evan meets at service door 7:55 / Marisol brings only uniforms / regular laundry waits Mon ✓
QuestionWhat will Marisol most likely do on Saturday morning?
- Use the sink in the building basement.
- Visit the laundromat after her shift.
- Wash her uniforms in the staff machine.
- Take all her laundry to the next building.
Evidence path: The sink is not permitted, the laundromat closes before her shift ends, and the neighbouring building is restricted to its own residents. The approved Saturday arrangement is the staff washer for her uniforms, so C is the only supported answer.
Where the decision trail gets lost
- Writing the first solution as final. The note has a check before the second speaker states a cost, rule, or scheduling problem.
- Dropping the original constraint. A later option sounds good in isolation but still fails the time, budget, or capacity requirement stated in Section 1.
- Mixing suggestion and action. “You could call them” becomes “she called them” even though the conversation never says the call happened.
- Answering from common sense. The choice would be reasonable in real life, but the recording supports a different plan.
- Carrying a question backward. After the screen advances, the learner keeps thinking about the old choice and misses the start of the next recording section.
- Leaving blanks. Incorrect choices do not lose extra points. Eliminate what you can and answer before the screen moves.
Read the marks, not just the nouns
Notes: printer down / report due noon · office shop pickup 11:45 too late × · library printer opens 9 but card expired × · coworker offers home printer + brings pages 10:30 ✓
What has the speaker decided to do?
- Collect the report from the office shop.
- Renew the library card before printing.
- Ask for a later deadline at work.
- Have a coworker print the report at home.
Reveal the answer
D. Two earlier options are crossed out. The coworker’s offer is the only plan marked as accepted and it meets the noon deadline.
Check whether your notes preserved the decision
- Could I state the practical problem and the main constraint after Section 1?
- Did I distinguish options that were suggested, rejected, still possible, and accepted?
- Did I carry important time, price, rule, and availability details into later sections?
- Could I tell which speaker gave each reason or opinion?
- Did I answer each question from the section just heard rather than waiting for later information?
- After a difficult question, was I ready when the next section began?