PTE Listening Comprehension 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In PTE Academic, which listening task specifically tests your ability to identify words that differ between audio and written text?
- Highlight Correct Summary
- Select Missing Word
- Highlight Incorrect Words (Correct answer)
- Fill in the Blanks
Correct answer: Highlight Incorrect Words
Highlight Incorrect Words presents a transcript on screen while an audio plays. Test takers click on words in the text that differ from what is spoken. It tests the ability to match spoken and written language simultaneously.
Question 2: What does "gist" mean in the context of listening comprehension?
- A specific factual detail in the audio
- The main point or general meaning of what was said (Correct answer)
- A technical term used by the speaker
- A summary written after listening
Correct answer: The main point or general meaning of what was said
The "gist" is the main idea or general essence of a spoken passage. Listening for gist (global understanding) is distinct from listening for detail (specific information) and is assessed in PTE Highlight Correct Summary tasks.
Question 3: In academic listening, "discourse markers" help listeners by:
- Providing exact statistics and data
- Signaling the structure and direction of the speaker's argument (Correct answer)
- Identifying the speaker's nationality
- Indicating when the audio is about to end
Correct answer: Signaling the structure and direction of the speaker's argument
Discourse markers (e.g., "firstly," "in contrast," "to summarize," "however") signal the structure of spoken argument — introducing new points, showing contrast, or indicating conclusions. Recognizing them aids comprehension of academic lectures.
Question 4: In PTE Academic Write from Dictation, what is penalized?
- Only spelling errors
- Only omitted words
- Both spelling errors and omitted or added words reduce the score (Correct answer)
- No penalties; only correct words gain points
Correct answer: Both spelling errors and omitted or added words reduce the score
Write from Dictation scores one point per correctly spelled word in the correct position. Misspelled, omitted, or extra words all reduce the score. Accurate spelling and complete capture of all words are both essential.
Question 5: Which of the following would be considered a signal phrase indicating the main point in a spoken lecture?
- "...for instance..."
- "The key takeaway from this is..." (Correct answer)
- "...such as..."
- "...approximately..."
Correct answer: "The key takeaway from this is..."
"The key takeaway from this is..." is a signal phrase that explicitly introduces the main point. Recognizing signal phrases helps in Summarize Spoken Text and Highlight Correct Summary tasks where identifying the central idea is critical.
Question 6: What is "selective attention" as a listening strategy relevant to PTE Academic?
- Listening to only the first and last sentence of each audio
- Focusing attention on the most important information while filtering out less relevant details (Correct answer)
- Ignoring any technical vocabulary during listening
- Paying equal attention to every word spoken
Correct answer: Focusing attention on the most important information while filtering out less relevant details
Selective attention means directing focus toward key information (main ideas, numbers, names, cause-effect relationships) while not getting distracted by peripheral details. This strategy is especially important for PTE Multiple Choice and Summarize Spoken Text tasks.
PTE Listening Comprehension 3
In PTE Academic, which listening task specifically tests your ability to identify words that differ between audio and written text?