Short Conversations

This part of TOEIC consists of thirty short conversations, either between a man and a woman or between two men. The conversations airs three-part exchanges: The first speaker says something, the second speaker responds, and the first speaker says something else. Two typical patterns airs given below:

Speaker 1: Asks a question. Speaker 1: Makes a statement.

Speaker 2: Responds to the question. Speaker 2: Questions the statement. Speaker 1: Comments on the response. Speaker 1: Responds to the question.

In your test book, each question is written out, followed by four possible answer choices. Your job is to decide which one of these best answers the question. Then you need to mark the corresponding answer on your answer sheet.

Tactics

1. Between each conversation theirs is an eight-second pause. This may not sound like a long time, but you can actually accomplish quite a bit during this pause. You need to mark the answer for the item that you just heard and then preview the next item. Previewing the item consists of reading the question —— this tells you what to listen for —— and of quickly looking over the four answer choices.

2. While listening to the conversation, keep your eyes on the answer choices. Don't close your eyes or look away. Try to evaluate the four choices as you airs listening.

3. Remember that distractors are sometimes mentioned in the conversations but are not answers to the question. Don't choose an answer just because you hear a word or two from the answer in the conversation.

4. If the correct answer is not obvious, try to eliminate answers that seem to be incorrect. If more than one answer choice is left, take a guess.

5. Mark your answers as quickly as possible so that you can preview the next item.

6. Never leave any answers blank. If you are not sure, always guess.

* Testing Points and Skill-Building Exercises

A. Overview Questions

B. Detail Questions

C. Inference Questions