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C2 Proficiency listening multiple choice practice

C2Listening & Speaking40 questionsUpdated

The C2 Proficiency listening multiple-choice tasks ask about attitude, opinion, purpose and implication far more often than about facts. The correct option paraphrases what the speaker meant; the distractors quote what the speaker said. Recognising that pattern is most of the skill.

What this task tests

  • Attitude and stance: whether a speaker approves, doubts, resents or is resigned.
  • Implication: what follows from what a speaker says without being stated.
  • Purpose: why the speaker is saying this at this point in the conversation.
  • Paraphrase recognition under time pressure, with no chance to reread.
  • Resisting word-match distractors that repeat the recording verbatim.
  • Tracking changes of mind, concession and self-correction mid-turn.
  • Hearing agreement that is only partial, and disagreement that is polite.
  • Following two or three speakers who interrupt and overlap.
  • Using the question stem to predict what to listen for.
  • Keeping pace after a missed answer instead of losing the next one too.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Read the stems in the pause, not the options

    The stems tell you what each extract is about and what kind of answer is wanted: an opinion, a reason, a feeling. Reading four options for each question takes longer than the pause allows and primes you to word-match.

  2. Step 2:

    Underline the question word

    How does she feel, why does he mention, what does she suggest: these demand different answers from the same thirty seconds of audio. Candidates who miss the question word answer a question that was not asked.

  3. Step 3:

    Listen for the second half of the turn

    At C2 the answer is very often after a concession. Speakers say what they are expected to say, then turn: it was well organised, but that was never really the issue. The answer is on the far side of the but.

  4. Step 4:

    Treat verbatim repetition with suspicion

    If an option uses the speaker’s exact words, check it twice. Correct options are paraphrases; distractors are built from words you definitely heard, which is why they feel right.

  5. Step 5:

    Decide on the first listening, confirm on the second

    Mark your answer immediately and use the repeat to test it rather than to start again. Candidates who leave everything to the second listening run out of processing time.

  6. Step 6:

    Let a missed answer go

    One item lost is one mark; one item you are still thinking about during the next extract can cost three. Guess, mark it, and look at the next stem.

  7. Step 7:

    Predict the paraphrase

    If the stem asks why a speaker gave up a project, sketch two or three plausible reasons before the audio starts. You are then matching what you hear against expectations rather than processing it cold.

  8. Step 8:

    Trust attitude cues in the voice

    Irony, weariness and enthusiasm are audible. Where two options are factually possible, the tone of the delivery usually decides, and at C2 it is meant to.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisChoosing the option that repeats a phrase you clearly heard.

    ThisChoosing the option that restates the speaker’s point in different words.

    Verbatim overlap is the standard distractor design. What you heard is deliberately in the wrong option.

  • Not thisAnswering from the first half of a speaker’s turn.

    ThisWaiting for the concession or the turn that usually follows.

    C2 speakers routinely set up an expected view and then qualify or reject it. The answer lives after the but, though, or in fact.

  • Not thisReading 'she sounds reluctant' as 'she refuses'.

    ThisDistinguishing reluctance from refusal.

    Attitude options are graded: enthusiastic, willing, reluctant, opposed. Choosing a neighbouring degree is the commonest way to lose an attitude item.

  • Not thisTreating a speaker’s report of another view as their own.

    ThisListening for the framing: people keep telling me that ..., the official line is that ...

    Reported views appear precisely so that candidates will attribute them wrongly.

  • Not thisAbandoning the paper after missing one answer.

    ThisGuessing and moving to the next stem immediately.

    Listening is the only paper where lost time cannot be recovered. One dropped item becomes three.

  • Not thisWriting nothing because you are not sure.

    ThisMarking your best option every time.

    There is no penalty for a wrong answer and a blank is a guaranteed zero on a four-option item.

Language this task keeps reusing

in hindsight
looking back, with knowledge one did not have at the time
have mixed feelings about
be partly positive and partly negative
be in two minds
be unable to decide
grudgingly
doing something while making one’s reluctance clear
resigned to
having accepted something unwelcome as unavoidable
take something with a pinch of salt
treat it sceptically
be won over
be persuaded after initial doubt
have reservations about
have specific doubts, while not opposing outright
come round to
gradually accept an idea you resisted
downplay
make something sound less important than it is
be under no illusions
be fully aware of the difficulties
for want of a better word
hedging a term the speaker is not satisfied with
if anything
signals that the opposite of the expectation is mildly true
to be fair
introduces a concession in favour of the other side
not that I am complaining
disclaims the complaint the speaker has just made
in fairness to
acknowledging a point in someone’s favour

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: 'It was beautifully organised. Which was never the problem.' Her attitude to the event is

2Complete the sentence.

In, I should have asked for the figures before agreeing.
A speaker says: 'People keep telling me the market has recovered. My invoices say otherwise.' The speaker

4Complete the sentence.

I have mixedabout the move, if I am honest.
Decide whether each statement about the listening multiple-choice task is true.
  • The correct option usually paraphrases rather than quotes the recording.
  • You hear each extract twice.
  • A blank answer can score if the reasoning was close.
3 to go

6Complete the sentence.

She agreed, though somewhat, to chair the second meeting.
Which option is most likely to be a distractor?

8Complete the sentence.

I wasover by the second proposal, having dismissed the first.

9A question stem reads: 'What does the speaker imply about her former colleague?' What should you listen for?

10Complete the sentence.

She has seriousabout the timetable, though she supports the plan.

Keep going

30 more questions on this page

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Frequently asked questions

Do I hear the recordings twice?

Yes, every part of the Listening paper is heard twice. Use the first listening to answer and the second to check, rather than treating the first as a warm-up.

Should I write on the question paper?

Yes. Underline the question word in each stem and mark your answers on the paper as you go. There is time at the end to transfer answers to the answer sheet.

How do I improve at attitude questions?

Listen to interviews and, after each answer, write down one word for the speaker’s attitude and one phrase that justified it. The justification habit is what stops you guessing from tone alone.

Is it harder because the speakers talk quickly?

Speed is rarely the real problem at C2; density is. The speakers say complex things with concession and irony, and that takes processing rather than ears. Practise with unscripted discussion rather than with faster recordings.

What if I lose my place entirely?

Jump to the next stem and wait for its subject to appear. Trying to catch up on the item you lost is what turns one missed answer into a missed section.