Skill 2: AVOID SIMILAR SOUNDS

TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE

(LISTENING)

Skill 2: AVOID SIMILAR SOUNDS

Often the incorrect answers in the short dialogues are answers that contain words with similar sounds but very different meanings from what you hear on the recording. You should definitely avoid these answers. .

Example

On the recording, you hear:

(man)               Why couldn’t mark come with us?

(woman)          He was searching for a new apartment.

(narrator)         What does the woman say about Mark?

In your test book or on the computer screen, you read:

A.    He was in the department office.

B.     He was looking for a place to live.

C.     He was looking on his research project.

D.    He had an appointment at church.

The key words in the last line of the dialogue are searching and apartment. In answers (C) and (D), the words research and church sound like search, so these answers are incorrect. In answers (A) and (D), the words department and appointment sound like apartment, so these answers are incorrect. The best answer is therefore answer B)

EXERCISE 2: In this exercise, Listen carefully to each short dialogue and question on the recording, and then choose the best answer to the question. You should be careful to avoid answers with similar sounds.

1	A.       She has to wait for some cash. B.       The waiter is bringing a glass of water. C.       The lawn is too dry. D.       She needs to watch out for a crash.	6	A.       Twenty pairs of shoes are on sale. B.       The show salesclerk spent twenty dollars on pears. C.       The shoes cost twenty dollars. D.       The shoes could be repaired for twenty dollars.
2	A.       The sweater’s the wrong size. B.       The man’s feet aren’t sweating. C.       The sweater makes the man seem fat. D.       The sweet girl doesn’t feel right.	7	A.      Tom tended to dislike biology lab. B.      Attendance wasn’t necessary at biology lab. C.      Tom went to biology lab. D.      There was a tendency to require biology lab.
3	A.       He has been regularly using a computer. B.       He communicates with a Boston company. C.       He regularly goes to communities around Boston. D.       He has been travelling back and forth Boston.	8	A.      The meal will be served at noon. B.      The males should be driven there by noon. C.      He’s expecting the ice to melt before noon. D.      The letters ought to be delivered at 12:00.
4	A.       He thought the lesson didn’t matter. B.       He couldn’t learn the lesson. C.       He learned a massive number of details. D.       He didn’t like most of the lesson.	9	A.      The weather will probably get worse later. B.      The newspaper headlines described a bad storm. C.      There was news about a headstrong man. D.      He has a new bed.
5	A.       Some animals started the first fire. B.       Animals are killed by forest fires. C.       In the first frost, animals die. D.       Frost can kill animals.	10	A.      If she could do the grocery shopping. B.      If she prefers cooked vegetables or salad. C.      If she could help prepare the salad. D.      If she minds shopping for vegetables.

ANSWER KEY

1.      C

2.      A

3.      D

4.      B

5.      B

6.      C

7.      C

8.      D

9.      A

10.  C

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