Multiple choice and matching: hearing the distractors
Why the first option you hear is often wrong.
15 minutes · A free lesson from Listening
In multiple-choice questions, you will often hear all three options mentioned. Only one answers the question. The others are distractors — something the speaker considered, rejected, or said about something else.
Question: The visitor centre is heated by A wood, B a heat pump, C solar panels.
Recording: "We were hoping to heat the building with wood from the park, but that turned out to be too expensive, so we use a heat pump instead. All our electricity comes from solar panels."
All three options are mentioned. B is the answer: wood was only a plan, and the solar panels produce electricity, not heat.
Listen for words that change a meaning: but, however, actually, instead, in the end, we were going to…
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: You hear all three options mentioned. What does that tell you?
- Nothing yet: two of them are probably distractors
- All three are correct
- The first one mentioned is the answer
Show the answer
A: Nothing yet: two of them are probably distractors — Only one option answers the question. The others were planned, rejected, or about something else.
Quick check: Which words often signal that a meaning is about to change?
- and, also, too
- the, a, an
- but, however, instead, in the end
Show the answer
C: but, however, instead, in the end — Listen for but, however, actually, instead, in the end and we were going to….
Quick check: In a matching task, is every option used?
- Yes, every option is used
- Not always: some options are never used
- Yes, in the order you hear them
Show the answer
B: Not always: some options are never used — Read the options first and underline the key idea in each. Some are there only to distract you.
Marked as soon as you finish — free with an account.Practise now