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B2 First listening multiple choice: Part 4 practice

B2Listening & Speaking40 questionsUpdated

Part 4 of B2 First Listening is a long interview with multiple-choice questions, and it is the part that rewards preparation most. The speaker will mention every option at some point, so the task is to hear which one the question actually asks about. These forty items train the listening habits that decide it.

What this task tests

  • Following an extended interview without losing the thread.
  • Understanding opinion and attitude, not just facts.
  • Recognising paraphrase, since the correct option rarely repeats the speaker’s words.
  • Spotting distractors: ideas the speaker mentions but rejects, or attributes to someone else.
  • Hearing correction markers such as actually, in fact and to be honest.
  • Separating what the speaker used to think from what they think now.
  • Reading the question stem closely, because it names whose opinion is wanted.
  • Using the pause before the recording to read ahead.
  • Holding an answer lightly on the first hearing and confirming it on the second.
  • Answering every question, since there is no penalty for a wrong choice.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Read the stems first, then the options

    In the time before the recording, read all the question stems. They tell you the order of the topics, which gives you a map of the interview before it starts.

  2. Step 2:

    Underline the focus word in each stem

    Words like ‘surprised’, ‘first’, ‘now’ and ‘regret’ decide the answer. The options often differ only in which of these they satisfy.

  3. Step 3:

    Predict what the answer will sound like

    For a question about a change of mind, expect ‘at first ... but now’. Predicting the shape means you recognise the answer as it passes instead of afterwards.

  4. Step 4:

    Listen for the topic, not for the words

    Options repeat the speaker’s vocabulary deliberately. Hearing the word ‘money’ does not mean the cost option is right.

  5. Step 5:

    Treat mentioned-but-rejected as a trap

    ‘People assume it was the money, but honestly it was the hours’ mentions both. The word after ‘but’ carries the answer.

  6. Step 6:

    Notice who is speaking about whom

    A stem often asks what the interviewee thinks. If the interviewer offers an opinion and the guest disagrees, the guest’s version is the answer.

  7. Step 7:

    Mark two options if you are torn, and move on

    Staying with one question loses you the next two. Mark both and use the second hearing to choose, because the recording will not wait.

  8. Step 8:

    Use the second hearing for confirmation only

    Do not start again from scratch. Check the ones you marked, leave the ones you were sure of, and listen specifically for the phrase you predicted.

  9. Step 9:

    Keep your eyes one question ahead

    As soon as you answer, move your eyes to the next stem. Candidates who keep reading the question they have finished miss the start of the next answer.

  10. Step 10:

    Guess before the recording ends

    Never leave a blank. If both hearings have gone, choose the option closest to what the speaker actually seemed to feel, and commit.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisChoosing the option that uses the same words as the recording.

    ThisChoosing the option that expresses the speaker's meaning in different words.

    Word matching is exactly what the distractors are built on. The correct option is usually a paraphrase.

  • Not thisAnswering with something the speaker mentioned and then rejected.

    ThisWaiting for the correction marker and taking what follows it.

    ‘Everyone thinks ... but in fact ...’ is the standard shape of a trap. The first half is the distractor.

  • Not thisTaking the interviewer's suggestion as the answer.

    ThisTaking the interviewee's response as the answer when the stem asks what they think.

    The stem names whose opinion is wanted. Interviewers often propose a view precisely so the guest can correct it.

  • Not thisGiving the speaker's past opinion when the question asks about now.

    ThisListening past the ‘at first’ section for the present view.

    Long interviews are full of then-and-now contrasts, and the time reference in the stem is what makes one option right.

  • Not thisRereading a question you have already answered.

    ThisMoving your eyes to the next stem immediately.

    The recording continues whatever you do. Falling one question behind usually costs two answers, not one.

  • Not thisLeaving a question blank because you did not catch it.

    ThisGuessing from the general attitude of the speaker.

    There is no penalty for a wrong answer, and an informed guess on a three-option question is considerably better than nothing.

Language this task keeps reusing

to be honest
signals a frank, often corrective, opinion
actually
introduces a correction of what was just said
in fact
introduces the real situation
mind you
adds a qualification to what was said
having said that
introduces a contrasting point
what struck me was
introduces the thing that most impressed the speaker
looking back
introduces a present view of a past event
at the time
refers to the speaker's opinion in the past
I would not say
polite disagreement or qualification
it is not that ... it is more that
corrects a likely assumption
the main thing was
identifies the most important factor
as it turned out
introduces an unexpected result
put off
discouraged from doing something
take to something
start to like it quickly

Practice: listening 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.

A speaker says: ‘Everyone assumes I left for the money, but honestly it was the hours.’ Why did the speaker leave?

2Complete with one adjective.

The phrase ‘to be’ often introduces a correction of what people assume.
A speaker says: ‘At the time I thought it was a disaster. Looking back, it was the best thing that happened.’ What does the speaker think now?

4Complete with one noun.

Words such as ‘actually’ and ‘in’ signal that a correction is coming.
The stem asks what the interviewee thinks. The interviewer says the job sounds glamorous and the guest laughs and describes the paperwork. What is the answer based on?
Decide whether each statement about listening multiple choice is true or false.
  • You hear the recording twice.
  • The correct option is usually a paraphrase rather than the speaker's own words.
  • An option that repeats a word from the recording is likely to be correct.
3 to go

7Complete with one word.

‘Having said’ introduces a point that contrasts with what was just said.
A speaker says: ‘It is not that the course was too hard; it is more that it was too long.’ What was the problem?

9Complete with one plural noun.

Use the pause before the recording to read the question.

10Describe what you do in the pause before Part 4 begins.

Keep going

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Frequently asked questions

How many times do I hear each recording?

Twice. Use the first hearing to answer and the second to confirm, rather than treating the second as a fresh start.

Do the questions follow the order of the recording?

Yes, in this part. If you are sure you have heard question five, then question four has already gone and you should guess it and move on.

Should I write on the question paper while I listen?

Yes. Mark uncertain questions with a dot and note a word that caught your attention. You transfer answers at the end, so the question paper is working space.

What if I do not know a word the speaker uses?

Keep listening. Meaning at this level is carried by whole sentences, and the next clause usually restates or explains the one you missed.

Is accent a problem?

Recordings use a range of accents, so practise with several. Listening to interviews rather than to scripted material is the most useful preparation for this part.

How can I practise this part without practice tests?

Take any long interview, pause after each answer and ask yourself what the speaker actually meant rather than what they said. That is the skill the distractors target.