PTE Listening Comprehension 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In PTE Academic Listening, the "Highlight Correct Summary" task requires test takers to:
- Write a summary of what they heard
- Select which written summary best matches the audio recording (Correct answer)
- Highlight words in a transcript that are different from the audio
- Fill in blanks in a transcript while listening
Correct answer: Select which written summary best matches the audio recording
In Highlight Correct Summary, test takers listen to a recording and then choose which of several written paragraph summaries best captures the main idea and key points of the audio.
Question 2: What is a key challenge specific to listening comprehension in academic English?
- Academic speakers never use contractions
- Connected speech features like linking, reduction, and elision can obscure word boundaries (Correct answer)
- All academic audio in PTE is recorded by the same speaker
- Academic listening passages are always read at a slow pace
Correct answer: Connected speech features like linking, reduction, and elision can obscure word boundaries
Connected speech features — where sounds blend, reduce, or disappear between words — are a major comprehension challenge. For example, "want to" becomes "wanna" and "did you" becomes "didja" in natural speech.
Question 3: Which PTE Listening task involves hearing a lecture excerpt and choosing one correct answer from multiple options?
- Write from Dictation
- Summarize Spoken Text
- Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer (Correct answer)
- Select Missing Word
Correct answer: Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer presents a short academic audio clip followed by a question with multiple options. Test takers select the single best answer based on what they heard.
Question 4: In PTE Academic, which listening task also contributes to your Reading score?
- Summarize Spoken Text
- Fill in the Blanks (Listening/Reading) (Correct answer)
- Write from Dictation
- Highlight Correct Summary
Correct answer: Fill in the Blanks (Listening/Reading)
The Fill in the Blanks task in the Listening section also contributes to the Reading score because test takers must read the transcript while listening and fill in missing words, integrating both skills.
Question 5: When listening to an academic lecture in PTE Academic, which strategy is most effective?
- Transcribing every word spoken
- Listening for main ideas, key terms, and the speaker's purpose while noting examples (Correct answer)
- Focusing only on the introduction and conclusion
- Ignoring the audio and relying on context
Correct answer: Listening for main ideas, key terms, and the speaker's purpose while noting examples
Effective academic listening involves identifying main ideas, key vocabulary, supporting examples, and the speaker's purpose. Trying to transcribe everything leads to missing the big picture and is ineffective in PTE Academic tasks.
Question 6: The word "infer" in the context of PTE listening means:
- To state something directly and clearly
- To deduce or conclude something not explicitly stated (Correct answer)
- To translate from one language to another
- To memorize audio passages word for word
Correct answer: To deduce or conclude something not explicitly stated
Inference involves drawing conclusions from implied information. PTE Academic Listening questions often ask what can be inferred from the recording, requiring test takers to go beyond what was literally said.
PTE Listening Comprehension 2
In PTE Academic Listening, the "Highlight Correct Summary" task requires test takers to: