英语听力考试技巧

Identifying Numbers

Numbers appear very often in every kind of listening material. The ability to catch the exact numbers spoken in English is an important but difficult skill for a Chinese learner. A good way is to practice over and over again the pronunciation of the numbers, particularly the different ways to say thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, etc. It also helps to practice writing down the numbers you hear quickly in numerical forms, without translating them into Chinese.

Listening “Between the Lines”

People do not always say directly what they mean. Very often, we have to listen “between the lines”. The English language offers many ways for people to imply, rather than directly state, their meaning. To find out what a speaker really means, we can rely on such things as the context, the meaning of an idiom, and the intonation used. For example, if someone says “I have an essay to write” in answer to an invitation to go somewhere, we can infer from the context that he cannot accept the invitation. And if someone says “Andrew passed with flying colors” in reply to an inquiry about how Andrew did on a test, we can infer from the meaning of the idiom “to pass with flying colors” that Andrew did very well on the test. Often, intonation

also helps to reveal the real meaning of a message. For example, “He is very clever” said with an ironic tone means just the opposite.

Listening for Important Details

Besides understanding the main idea of a listening text, we often find it necessary to grasp the important details as well. What counts as important details depends on the kind of information we want. Generally speaking, if we are listening to the narration of an event, we need to sharpen our ears not only for what happened, but also when and where, how and why it happened. In listening to a weather report, on the other hand, the important details we should watch out for are the current weather conditions, temperature, and weather outlook. Listening for Signal Words

The ability to identify signal words can help us follow the thread of the speaker’s thought. People often use signal words or phrases like “but”, “yet”, “on the contrary”, “however”, “because”, “therefore” and “as a result” to add a comment that contrasts with what has just been said or to signal what they are about to say is the result or cause of their previous remarks. Similarly, words and phrases like “for example”, “most importantly”, “first”, “second”, “finally” and “then” usually

signal that the speaker is going to provide an illustration or emphasize a certain point or discuss several aspects of a certain topic. So we should pay attention to signal words in listening as they will prepare us for what is going to be said.

Identifying the Relationship Between the Speakers in a Conversation

Identifying the relationship between the speakers in a conversation is an important skill in listening comprehension. Although sometimes the conversation itself does not contain words that say exactly what the relationship is, we can rely on contextual clues to find it out. Such clues include the degree of intimacy (e.g., how intimately the speakers address each other, what endearments are used), the degree of politeness (strangers tend to be more polite towards each other than friends or family members), and the particular situation (at a doctor’s consulting room, at a shop, etc.).

Identifying the Major Events in a Conversation

The ability to identify the major event of a conversation is an important aspect of training in listening comprehension. Here we are concerned with what the speakers are doing. Are they engaged in small talk to promote friendship, or discussing something serious to bring about an action? Questions like the