Listening comprehension
LAST WEEK, we looked at the skill of listening and I gave a preview to the listening comprehension examination. This week, we will look at an actual listening comprehension passage and questions. Your multiple-choice paper will look something like this:
SECTION A
Items 1-7 Instructions: You will hear an extract. It will be read twice. Listen carefully before answering the questions based on the extract.
EXTRACT:
Cracked concrete blocks that soar skywards between elegant, single-storey houses. Peeling art deco treasures squashed against brand new, smoked-glass shopping centres. Beautifully restored colonial mansions cheek by jowl with collapsing buildings whose ornate balconies hang on by mossy threads. Havana is a city of architectural ironies and paradoxes of harmony and dissonance.
The city’s eventful history can be read in its eclectic streets, from its beginnings as a humble settlement on the western shore of the great bay to 20th-century suburban sprawl.
Nowadays, Havana has a special poignancy, as the years have taken their toll on its architectural riches. The beautiful but battered buildings have been shaped by the elements and the lives of the habaneros who have lived out their history side by side with their glorious architectural heritage.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. What is the MAIN idea in the extract? (A) Havana has had an eventful history which is reflected in its contrasting and varied architecture.
(B) Havana is by far the most beautiful city when compared to other architectural heritage.
(C) Havana faced natural disaster and its buildings are now collapsing and being held by mossy threads.
(D) Havana is a humble settlement on the western shore of the great bay.
2. What details support the main idea of the extract? I. “battered buildings” II. “cracked concrete blocks” III. “peeling art deco” (A) I and II only (B) I and III only (C) II and III only (D) I, II and III 3. Which of the following BEST expresses the purpose of the extract?
(A) To describe how beautiful the country of Havana is.
(B) To show how the buildings have been destroyed by natural disaster.
(C) To compare Havana with other great cities. (D) To show how Havana’s history is reflected in its architecture. 4. What is the literary device used in “The beautiful but battered buildings”? (A) Alliteration (B) Hyperbole (C) Personification (D) Simile
5. Which of the following literary devices are used in the extract? I. Personification II. Pun III. Metaphor (A) I and II only (B) I and III only (C) II and III only (D) I, II and III 6. Which of the following BEST captures the writer’s method of discourse? (A) Narration of an event. (B) Description of a scene. (C) Provision of information. (D) Presentation of an argument.
7. Which of the following comments BEST shows the phrase “peeling art deco treasures squashed against brand new, smoked-glass shopping centres? (A) It provides information to the readers. (B) It visually captures the scene of Havana and the historical effects on its architecture. (C) It compares Havana to other cities. (D) It narrates the story of Havana.
Please note that questions regarding the main idea, the main purpose and literary devices are staple items. Ensure that you mentally prepare for those. Answers: 1. A2. D 3. D 4. A 5. C 6. B 7. B Next week, we will look at some more multiple-choice items. Keep studying!