L.1-3 · Key listening: visual choices, notes and conversations

The A2 Key Listening paper: about 30 minutes, five parts, and every recording plays twice. Parts 1–3 test detail 细节: what you see, what you write, what you choose.

• Part 1: five short conversations, each with a picture question — three images, choose the right one.
• Part 2: a longer talk; fill five gaps in notes with a word, number, date or time.
• Part 3: a longer conversation; five 3-option questions.
• Memory hook: listening is a movie played twice 放两遍的电影. The first watch is for the story; the second is for the answers.
• The pause before each part is reading time. Use it: preview 预读 the questions, always.

Three pictures differ in one detail: three times, three objects, three places.

• Before listening, name the difference between the pictures: eight / half past / nine — the clock question. bike / bus / car — the transport question.
• ⚠ All three options are usually mentioned. The man says: "I wanted the eight o'clock train, but I missed it, so I took the nine one." All three times appear; only one is the answer. The recording is a rumour; the question is the truth.
• The answer words come reworded: the picture shows a dog, the voice says "my pet".

Write a word, number, date or time in each gap.

• The gaps are predictable: name, day, time, price, place. The notes tell you what to listen for before the voice says a word.
• ⚠ Spell the names right. Names are spelled aloud on the recording: "It's M-A-R-I-A." Write letters as they come.
• ⚠ Numbers love traps: thirteen vs thirty, 8:15 vs 8:50. The recording says the wrong one first and corrects itself. Wait for the correction; the first number is bait 诱饵.
• ⚠ One or two words per gap. Three words is a wrong answer wearing a hat.

Five questions about a longer conversation, in order.

• The questions follow the conversation order — the same map as reading Part 3.
• Listen for agreement 达成一致: the answer is what they decide, not what they first say. "Shall we meet at six?" — "Six is too early. Seven?" — "Fine, seven." → the answer is seven.
• ⚠ The first suggestion 建议 is usually not the decision. Listening exams run on changed minds.

• ⚠ Don't translate while listening. The recording doesn't wait. Train yourself to hold meaning in English: hear "the nine one" and see the clock picture, not the Chinese sentence.
• ⚠ Numbers, days and months are the free marks: drill 操练 thirteen/thirty, Monday…Sunday, January…December until they're reflexes 条件反射.
• ⚠ The second listening is for checking, not for starting. Answer on the first play, confirm on the second. Students who "wait for the second time" discover the second time is for people who already answered.
• ⚠ Never leave a gap blank. A guessed word costs nothing; an empty gap costs a mark.

Teacher-read rehearsal 排练: this page has no recording. Ask your teacher to read the text aloud twice, exactly like the exam — or read it yourself to rehearse the method. The real test is listening, not reading.

A voice says: "The museum opens at nine, but on Sundays it's half past nine. Tickets are five pounds, or three for students."

Notes: Museum — Sunday opening time: ___ · student ticket: £___

Answers: 9.30 · 3. The nine is bait; the Sunday correction is the answer. The five is bait; the student price is three.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. How many times is each recording played? — Twice. First for the story, second for the check.
2. Three pictures show clocks — name the difference before listening: eight / half past / nine.
3. "I wanted the eight o'clock train… took the nine one." — nine. The first number is bait.
4. The name is spelled aloud — write the letters as they come: M-A-R-I-A.
5. Blank gap? — Guess. An empty gap costs a mark; a guess costs nothing.