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Pick TwoActivity

A2 Key listening: picture multiple choice practice

A2Listening & Speaking40 questionsUpdated

In the A2 Key picture multiple choice task you hear a short conversation and choose one of three pictures. All three pictures are mentioned in the recording; only one is the answer. This page shows you how to use the pause before the recording and how to listen for the decision rather than the first thing you recognise.

What this task tests

  • Understanding short everyday conversations at natural speed.
  • Holding three possible answers in your head while you listen.
  • Hearing the final decision, which often comes after a change of mind.
  • Understanding the question word: what, where, which, how many.
  • Recognising everyday nouns: clothes, food, transport, furniture, weather.
  • Using the second listening to confirm rather than to start again.
  • Not choosing a picture just because you heard its word.
  • Staying calm when one question goes wrong and the next one starts.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Read the question first

    ‘What did Anna buy?’ tells you to listen for a thing and for the past. Half the work is knowing what you are listening for.

  2. Step 2:

    Name the three pictures in your head

    In the pause, say the three words to yourself: bag, coat, hat. When one of them comes up you will recognise it instantly.

  3. Step 3:

    Expect all three to be mentioned

    Hearing a word is not the answer. The answer is the one the speakers choose, buy, agree on or arrive at.

  4. Step 4:

    Listen for the decision words

    In the end, we decided, let’s take, I’ll have. These phrases usually sit immediately before the answer.

  5. Step 5:

    Beware the change of mind

    ‘I’ll have the soup… actually, no, the salad.’ The answer is whatever comes after the correction.

  6. Step 6:

    Mark a guess on the first listening

    Never leave a question empty going into the second play. A pencil mark gives you something to confirm or change.

  7. Step 7:

    Use the second listening for the questions you are unsure about

    Do not re-listen to everything. Put your attention on the two or three you marked with a dot.

  8. Step 8:

    Let a lost question go

    If you miss one, look forward to the next question immediately. Chasing an answer that has already gone costs you the following one too.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisChoosing the picture of the bus because the word ‘bus’ was in the recording.

    ThisChoosing the bike, because that is what they finally took.

    All three options are mentioned by design. Word-spotting is exactly what this task is built to punish.

  • Not thisAnswering from the first half of the conversation.

    ThisWaiting for the end.

    Decisions are usually made in the last few lines, and early information is often what they decided against.

  • Not thisLeaving a question blank after the first listening.

    ThisMarking your best guess in pencil.

    On the second listening you only have time to check a few questions, and a blank gives you nothing to check.

  • Not thisStill thinking about question three while question four is playing.

    ThisMoving on at once.

    One lost question becomes two. The recording does not wait for you.

  • Not thisIgnoring the question word and listening for anything familiar.

    ThisListening for the specific thing the question asks about.

    ‘Where’ and ‘what’ questions have different answers in the same conversation, and only one is being asked for.

  • Not thisChanging a correct answer on the second listening because of a word heard late.

    ThisChanging an answer only when you have a clear reason.

    Second-listening panic turns right answers into wrong ones more often than the reverse.

Language this task keeps reusing

in the end
finally, after some discussion
actually
used to correct what was just said
I’ll have
used to order or choose something
let’s take
a suggestion to choose something
instead of
in place of
we decided
introduces the final choice
change my mind
decide something different from before
prefer
like one thing more than another
sold out
there are none left to buy
book
arrange a seat, table or ticket
on foot
walking
give a lift
take someone somewhere in your car

Practice: picture multiple choice

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

1Complete the sentence.

You hear all three pictures mentioned, so the answer is the one the speakers.
You hear: ‘Shall we take the bus? — It’s raining. Let’s get a taxi.’ How do they travel?

3Complete the sentence.

The phrase ‘in the’ often comes just before the answer.
You hear: ‘I’ll have the chicken… actually, no, the fish, please.’ What does she order?

5Complete the sentence.

Before the recording starts, say the three picture words to.
Decide if each statement about this task is true.
  • All three pictures are usually mentioned in the recording.
  • The first thing mentioned is normally the answer.
  • Each recording is played twice.
3 to go
You hear: ‘The concert on Friday is sold out, so we got tickets for Sunday.’ When is the concert they will go to?

8Complete the sentence.

If you miss a question, lookto the next one immediately.

9Explain in one or two sentences what you do in the pause before each recording.

You hear: ‘We wanted to go to the beach, but it was too cold, so we visited the museum.’ Where did they go?

Keep going

30 more questions on this page

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Note

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Frequently asked questions

Is the recording really played twice?

Yes. Use the first play to answer everything and the second to check the questions you marked, not to listen from the beginning again.

What if the speakers talk too fast?

You do not need every word. Listen for the question’s key idea — a place, a time, an object — and for the decision at the end.

Should I close my eyes to concentrate?

No. Keep your eyes on the three pictures so you can match what you hear straight away.

How can I practise this at home?

Listen to any short dialogue twice: the first time answer a question you wrote beforehand, the second time check it. Listening without a question first trains nothing.

What if I hear two possible answers?

Wait for the end. One of them is almost always rejected, and the phrase that rejects it — but, actually, no, instead — is the clue.