Managing Multiple Choice Questions

A. local people.
B the City Council.
C the SWRDC.
AUDIO TRACK EXCERPT:
The city council conducted an extensive consultation exercise last year to figure out how to develop the local area, but as many of you may know, these initiatives' ideas came from you, the public. And they’ve been realized using money from the SWRDC.
The audio mentions both the city council and the SWRDC. However, if we look more carefully, we can see that the correct answer is actually A, the local people (the public).
TIP: You need to be very aware that these distracting words, or distractors, will probably appear in most IELTS Listening Multiple-Choice questions. DON’T assume that the first option that you hear is the correct answer. Think carefully about the meaning of what the speaker is saying, and be prepared for the speaker to change their mind. Listen out for words like ‘but’ and ‘however’; these types of linking words indicate that the answer may not be quite so straightforward.
PROBLEM: No time to read the questions!
The IELTS Listening test gives you time to read after each section. However, IELTS students' common complaint is that they don’t have enough time to read the questions properly before the audio begins. Some of the options given can be very long and wordy, and students cannot understand the full meaning of each option in time.
TIP
IELTS gives you some time to check over your answers after each section. If you feel confident with your answers, you may skip ahead to the next section to give yourself more time to read the next questions.
If you find that you are still low on time, you may want to focus on the question only. Make notes on your test paper about what you hear. Later, in the transfer time, you can check these notes and then locate the correct answer.

PROBLEM: Losing track

Another common problem that students face in IELTS Listening Multiple Choice is losing pace and not ‘keeping up’ with the audio. This often happens when you miss an answer. For example, if you miss the answer to question number 2, you might not realize that the speaker has actually started addressing question number 3.
TIP
Remember to underline the keywords in all of the questions before you start listening, and be prepared to move on when you hear any words connected to the next question. Thinking about the current question and the next one will mean that you won’t fall behind with the audio.
PROBLEM: Low level of comprehension
For some students, the problem lies with comprehension. Perhaps you feel that the speaker is rapid in their speech, or perhaps you’re just not used to listening for such an intense? Period of time.

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TIP
Try listening to the audio without looking at the questions. If you feel that you are unable to follow the speakers' ideas, you probably need to spend some extra time just building up your general comprehension skills. Try downloading some podcasts from i-tunes or google play, and stick to subjects you are interested in to maintain your motivation. Watching English TV shows and films can be useful, but remember that you won’t have the help of a visual in the real test, so you must get some audio-only practice too.

IELTS Listening: multiple choice difficulties

Multiple-choice questions in the listening test are always difficult. I can think of four reasons for this:
1. There's a lot of information in the question choices, so there's a lot to think about while you're listening.
2. Some of the choices might be similar.
3. All of the choices might be mentioned in some way.
4. Synonyms or paraphrasing may be used instead of the words that you see in the choices.
5. Distractors

Watch out for distractors

We already know that all the answers in the list will probably be included in the text, so you must listen carefully to identify the correct ones. Particularly listen out for distractors as the examiners love to try and trick you into picking the wrong answers.
The way they do this is to give you an answer and then take it away again.
Here are some sentences containing distractors. I’ve highlighted the relevant words.

I always recommend taking a packed lunch, but the spa provides complimentary refreshments for your visit, so you won’t need to.

The coach will be returning to the hotel at 5.30 p.m. No, sorry, we’ve changed it to 6 o’clock to avoid the worst of the rush hour traffic.
I don’t usually advise taking any money as everything is included. However, they have a home pamper kit promotion on at the moment, so you might like to treat yourself.
A distractor is a word or a phrase that changes or corrects the original piece of information given. There will almost certainly be some in the recording, so beware.