ESOL Listening Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher says: 'Please submit your assignment by end of day Friday.' What does 'end of day' most likely mean?
- Before noon on Friday
- Before midnight on Friday (Correct answer)
- First thing Friday morning
- Anytime next week
Correct answer: Before midnight on Friday
'End of day' typically means by close of business, generally interpreted as 11:59 PM or sometimes 5:00 PM on that date.
Question 2: Which listening strategy helps you understand the main idea of a spoken passage even when you miss a few words?
- Listening for every single word carefully
- Using context clues and overall meaning (Correct answer)
- Asking the speaker to repeat everything
- Writing down all unfamiliar words
Correct answer: Using context clues and overall meaning
Using context clues allows listeners to infer meaning from surrounding words and overall message without needing every word.
Question 3: You hear: 'Could you give me a hand with these boxes?' What is the speaker asking?
- To touch the boxes with your hand
- To count the boxes
- To help carry the boxes (Correct answer)
- To hand over the boxes slowly
Correct answer: To help carry the boxes
'Give me a hand' is an idiomatic expression meaning 'help me.'
Question 4: A radio announcer speaks quickly. Which technique best helps an ESOL listener keep up?
- Trying to translate every word into your native language
- Focusing on key nouns and verbs to get the gist (Correct answer)
- Stopping the radio to look up unknown words
- Ignoring the broadcast entirely
Correct answer: Focusing on key nouns and verbs to get the gist
Focusing on key content words (nouns, verbs) lets listeners grasp meaning even at fast speaking rates.
Question 5: What does a rising intonation at the end of a sentence typically signal in American English?
- A statement of fact
- A question or uncertainty (Correct answer)
- An angry command
- The end of a conversation
Correct answer: A question or uncertainty
Rising intonation at the end usually indicates a yes/no question or that the speaker is unsure.
Question 6: You hear a conversation and notice the speaker pauses and says 'um' and 'uh' frequently. What does this usually mean?
- The speaker is being rude
- The speaker is thinking or choosing words (Correct answer)
- The speaker finished their point
- The speaker is fluent and confident
Correct answer: The speaker is thinking or choosing words
Fillers like 'um' and 'uh' are natural hesitation sounds that signal the speaker is thinking.
Question 7: In a listening test, you hear: 'The store is closed on Sundays and holidays.' A question asks when the store is open. What should you infer?
- The store is never open
- The store is open every day except Sundays and holidays (Correct answer)
- The store is only open on Sundays
- The store has no set schedule
Correct answer: The store is open every day except Sundays and holidays
If the store is closed on Sundays and holidays, it is open on all other days.
ESOL Listening Skills 2
A teacher says: 'Please submit your assignment by end of day Friday.' What does 'end of day' most likely mean?