APTIS Listening Skills 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A speaker in an APTIS clip says, 'The proposal was shelved.' What happened to the proposal?
- It was accepted and implemented
- It was put aside and not acted upon (Correct answer)
- It was sent for further review
- It was publicly announced
Correct answer: It was put aside and not acted upon
'Shelved' means a plan or proposal was set aside and is no longer being actively pursued.
Question 2: When listening to an APTIS audio where a narrator describes a graph, which words best signal an upward trend?
- Plummeted, dropped, fell sharply
- Remained stable, held steady, leveled off
- Surged, climbed, rose significantly (Correct answer)
- Fluctuated, varied, oscillated
Correct answer: Surged, climbed, rose significantly
Words like 'surged,' 'climbed,' and 'rose significantly' all describe an increase or upward trend in data.
Question 3: In a recorded conversation, one speaker says 'That's easier said than done.' They are expressing that:
- The task is simple and quick
- Something sounds straightforward but is actually difficult (Correct answer)
- They agree and will complete the task immediately
- The instructions were unclear
Correct answer: Something sounds straightforward but is actually difficult
The idiom 'easier said than done' means something is harder to accomplish in practice than it sounds in theory.
Question 4: An APTIS listening clip features a public announcement at a train station. The key information a listener needs to identify is most likely:
- The personal opinions of the announcer
- Platform changes, delays, or departures (Correct answer)
- The history of the train company
- General weather conditions outside
Correct answer: Platform changes, delays, or departures
Station announcements typically convey critical travel information such as platform changes, delays, and departure times.
Question 5: You listen to a discussion where someone says 'We need to think outside the box on this one.' What are they suggesting?
- A stricter adherence to current rules
- A creative or unconventional approach to solving a problem (Correct answer)
- Moving the project to a different team
- Reviewing previous solutions from a manual
Correct answer: A creative or unconventional approach to solving a problem
'Think outside the box' is a well-known idiom meaning to approach a problem creatively rather than using conventional methods.
Question 6: In an APTIS task, you hear two people disagree. One says 'With respect, I don't think that's accurate.' The phrase 'with respect' here functions as:
- A sincere compliment before full agreement
- A polite softener before delivering a disagreement (Correct answer)
- A formal way to end the conversation
- An expression of confusion
Correct answer: A polite softener before delivering a disagreement
'With respect' is a polite discourse marker used to soften a disagreement and maintain a courteous tone.
Question 7: An APTIS audio clip includes background noise such as typing and phone ringing, set in an office. What is the primary purpose of these sound cues?
- To distract the listener intentionally as a test of concentration
- To provide context clues about the setting of the conversation (Correct answer)
- To replace verbal descriptions of the location
- To indicate the emotional state of the speakers
Correct answer: To provide context clues about the setting of the conversation
Ambient sounds like typing and phones help the listener infer the environment, providing important contextual information about the scene.
APTIS Listening Skills 5
A speaker in an APTIS clip says, 'The proposal was shelved.' What happened to the proposal?