Listening Skills 8, 11 & 13: Inference, Predicting Answers & Distractor Recognition
8. Inference — what must be true
Inference answers are never stated word-for-word; they are the short step beyond the words. The speaker says the library closes at six and the student groans about her evening shift — you can infer her problem. Rule: a correct inference is one small step; if your answer needs two assumptions, it is a distractor wearing a costume.
11. Predicting answers — decide before you look
For main-idea and purpose questions especially, cover the options and answer in your own words first. Options are written to sound attractive; your own phrasing is armor. Prediction takes two seconds and quietly deletes most traps.
13. Distractor recognition — the four classic traps
Wrong answers are engineered, not random: (1) WORD-MATCH — repeats a striking word from the audio with a different meaning; (2) TRUE-BUT-NOT-ASKED — a real detail answering a different question; (3) OPPOSITE — flips a contrast ('increase' for 'decrease'); (4) NEVER-SAID — plausible in the real world, absent from the audio. When two options both sound right, ask which one the AUDIO supports, line by line.