IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Questions – Tips with Examples

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“Tackling IELTS Listening multiple choice questions can become easy with the right strategies, like listening for details, handling similar options, recognizing paraphrasing, and avoiding distractors. Look at the tips and examples to aid your practice.“

IELTS Listening multiple-choice questions, which are usually given in Part 2, 3 & 4 of the test, can be challenging for the IELTS candidates if they are prepared for it. These questions in IELTS Listening examine your ability to understand details, grasp the main idea, and identify specific information from the audio.

In order to master them, it is essential to take IELTS Listening practice tests on a regular basis. So, we will discuss the types of IELTS Listening multiple-choice questions with examples and follow it with strategies to solve these questions and a practice test.

Types of IELTS Listening Multiple-Choice Questions

There are two major types of IELTS Listening multiple-choice questions. The first type has the question statement with mostly 3 and rarely 4 options. Among these, you have to choose the one correct option. And the second type has multiple options along with the question statement and you have to choose the correct answers, the number of which is given in the question. Let’s have a look at the examples of the two IELTS Listening multiple-choice question types usually found in the IELTS Listening actual test below.

IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Question types

Other than these common types, the multiple choice questions can be in the form of sentence completion and options in the forms of images or small diagrams. Though these questions might seem easy, they aren’t. You should focus on the audio and the questions completely to avoid making mistakes. Learning certain tips will improve your ability to listen and identify the correct answer.

Tips to Solve IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Questions

Now let us explore the IELTS Listening tips on how to master the IELTS Listening multiple choice questions.

1 You will hear all the options that are given to you in the question. You would have to listen to the audio and interpret the answer from what is asked in the question.

Paragraph:

The first commercial LEDs were used in laboratory equipment and electronic test equipment and later on they were made for household electrical appliances, such as TVs, telephones, and radios. However, it is important to note that the light was used as indicators as they were not bright enough to light up a room, for example. But interior lighting became possible after the invention of high-power white-light LED. The high-power LED replaced fluorescent and incandescent lights.

Question:

What were the first commercial LEDs used for at the beginning?

  1. Laboratory Equipment
  2. TVs and Telephones
  3. Interior lighting

From the above, you can see that all the options that are given in the question are mentioned in the passage. So, you have to listen keenly to identify the answer. The answer to the above question lies in the first line of the paragraph, ‘The first commercial LEDs were used in laboratory equipment.’

2 Sometimes, the answer options might be of the same kind to confuse you. For instance, it might all be in the form of dates (15 November, 17 November or 18 November). You would have to read the question and listen keenly to the audio to choose the correct answer.

Conversation:

B: There are some tickets left for the last evening train. It leaves at 11.34pm.

A: How much are they?

B: It is an open-return. That’s £120.

A: Oh no, it’s far too expensive. Are there tickets left for the tomorrow morning train?

B: That’s £27 for a return ticket.

A: Excellent. I’d like two return tickets, please.

B: That’s £54 altogether.

Questions:

What is the cost of one return ticket in the morning train?

  1. £54
  2. £27
  3. £120.

As you can see, the audio has a lot of similar data, but the question asks for only one specific data. Thus, you should listen keenly to pick out the specific information out of the same kind of data given.

3 The words used in the question might not be the exact words that you hear in the audio recording. So, you’d have to pay attention to synonyms & common words in IELTS Listening and how the words are paraphrased.

Paragraph:

Our experimental procedure involved handing out a questionnaire to students at a university campus. Although they were randomly chosen, we managed to interview 50 first-year students, 50 second year ones and 50 final year students. The first question was related to stress over a period of time. In other words, we asked the students which time of the academic year is considered to be the most stressful.

Question:

How were the children selected for the interview?

  1. They were arbitrarily selected
  2. They were hand-picked by the professors
  3. They were chosen in a particular pattern.

The word ‘selected’ in the question isn’t found in the paragraph, which is the audio script. So, before the audio is played, you should read and pay attention to the questions, so that you can listen to synonyms in the audio. Also, for the answer options, you won’t be provided with the exact words. The paragraph above states that the students were randomly chosen, but the answer options do not have these words. Instead, it has, ‘arbitrarily selected’, which is similar in meaning to randomly chosen. Thus, you should be able to identify the synonyms in the question and for that you have to improve your IELTS Vocabulary.

4 The information provided in the audio recording might not be in the same order as the options given, so in order to answer the questions correctly, you should have read the questions beforehand to be aware of what is being asked.

Paragraph:

Let us move on to the Entrance Hall. Unlike the Octagon Hall, this room is square-shaped. You can see panels of serpents and dragons on a green pale wall and these pieces of wooden furniture resemble pollarded oak. We are now going to the Long Gallery and this corridor is named after the 16th century house galleries where paintings were displayed. It is furnished with bamboo-pattern cabinets and oriental jars. We now move on to the Banqueting Room. As you can see, there is a long dining table and thirty-six satinwood chairs. It is set for the dessert course. In 1816-17, the menu was comprised of sixty dishes which had been carefully prepared by the French chef Marie Antoine Carême to the Prince Regent and his guests.

Question:

The long corridor is named after the __________.

  1. oriental jars and bamboo-pattern cabinets
  2. Prince Regent
  3. 16th century house galleries

5 There would be a lot of IELTS Listening distractors in the audio recording. There would be a lot of same kind of information. Sometimes, the speaker might give us any information and then change it which might be the correct answer. So, do not rush and write down the answer as soon as you hear it.

Conversation:

B: What times are you open?

A: The library is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, term-time only. On Saturdays, we open at 9am and close at 2pm. Sorry, 3pm.

Question:

What time does the Library close on Saturdays?

  1. 2 pm
  2. 3 pm
  3. 5 pm

Pay attention to every detail, you might think you’ve got the right answer, but it might change later on. Listen to words like ‘but’, ‘however’ or ‘sorry’ to understand that the answer might change. Watch out for answers that are given and then taken away by the speakers.

If you think an answer is right, put a tick next to it in the question paper, but keep listening to it to make sure it’s right.

Practice Test for IELTS Listening Multiple-Choice Questions

Now it is time to take a test and check how the above IELTS exam preparation tips for listening can come in handy during the actual test.

Questions:

1 What time was it in Tokyo, when Yuki telephoned Mrs. Grey?

A 3:00 PM

B 3:00 AM

C 7 o’clock in the morning

D 7 o’clock at night

2 What time was it in London, when Yuki telephoned Mrs. Grey?

A 3:00 PM

B 3:00 AM

C 7 o’clock in the morning

D 7 o’clock at night

3 Who told Yuki about the right time to call English people?

A Maths teacher

B Science teacher

C Homestay officer

D English teacher

4 What do people usually eat in London?

A Sushi

B Fish and chips

C Both A & B

D None of the above

5 What do people usually eat in Tokyo?

A Sushi

B Fish and chips

C Both A & B

D None of the above

Transcript:

Mrs.Grey: No, it’s perfect. I’ve just got back from taking the dogs for a walk and put the kettle on, for a cup of tea. What time is it where you are Yuki? Yuki: It is 3 o’clock in the morning. Mrs. Grey.

Mrs. Grey: Oh dear! you waited up all this time to call me?

Yuki: It is 7 p.m. in London, I think.

Mrs.Grey: Exactly!

Yuki: My English teacher told me this is a good time to call English people. They have just had their dinner and then watch television or go to the pub.

Mrs.Grey: Ha Ha.Well Fred, that’s my husband. He’s working a bit late tonight. So we’ll go out for dinner when he gets back. Probably in an hour or so. Now you’ve called, and will have to have Japanese food to celebrate.

Yuki: Oh, you’re too kind Mrs. Grey. So, I should go out for a fish and chips. Yes?

Mrs.Grey: So lovely! us eating sushi in London and you eating fish and chips in Tokyo. I don’t know what Richard and Ann will have?

Answers:

  1. B
  2. D
  3. D
  4. B
  5. A

Explanation

For the first question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Mrs.Grey: No, it’s perfect. I’ve just got back from taking the dogs for a walk and put the kettle on, for a cup of tea. What time is it where you are Yuki?

Yuki: It is 3 o’clock in the morning. Mrs. Grey.

So the answer is 3 o’clock in the morning which is 3:00 AM . So “B” is the right answer

For the second question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Yuki: It is 7 p.m. in London, I think.

Mrs.Grey: Exactly!

So the answer is 7 p.m. So “D” which is 7 o’clock at night is the right answer.

For the third question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Yuki: My English teacher told me this is a good time to call English people. They have just had their dinner and then watch television or go to the pub.

So the answer is English teacher which is “D”

For the fourth and fifth question, it is clear from the conversation which goes thus :

Mrs.Grey: Ha Ha.Well Fred, that’s my husband. He’s working a bit late tonight. So we’ll go out for dinner when he gets back. Probably in an hour or so. Now you’ve called, and will have to have Japanese food to celebrate.

Yuki: Oh, you’re too kind Mrs. Grey. So, I should go out for a fish and chips. Yes?

Mrs.Grey: So lovely! us eating sushi in London and you eating fish and chips in Tokyo. I don’t know what Richard and Ann will have?

So it is clear that Mrs. Grey will have Japanese food “Sushi in London and Yuki will have English food “ Fish & chips” in Tokyo

So the answer for the fourth question is “Fish and chips” which is “B” and the answer for the fifth question is “Sushi” which is “A”.

Here are the 10 examples for the IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Questions:

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