B1 Preliminary Listening: How to Solve Part 2 Multiple Choice 🎧
Welcome, my lovely students! 💙 In this lesson, we are going to train Part 2 of the Cambridge B1 Preliminary Listening paper. This part is about listening to short conversations and choosing the correct answer: A, B or C.
Official exam overview
| Exam | Level | Listening parts | Approx. duration | Audio repetition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Preliminary | B1 | 4 parts | Approximately 35 minutes, including 6 minutes to transfer answers | Each piece is heard twice |
Important exam instructions
- You must answer all the questions.
- While listening, you write your answers on the question paper.
- At the end, you have 6 minutes to copy your answers onto the separate answer sheet.
- You must use a pencil on the answer sheet.
- Each question carries one mark.
Teacher tip 💡: In Part 2, the answer is often about meaning, opinion or agreement. Do not choose an option just because you hear one familiar word.
What does Cambridge really test in B1 Listening Part 2?
In Part 2, Cambridge tests whether you can understand short conversations and identify the correct meaning. You may need to understand opinions, feelings, reasons, agreement or a speaker’s final decision. 🎯
Opinion
What does the speaker think?
Feeling
How does the speaker feel?
Agreement
Do the speakers think the same thing?
Distractors
Some wrong answers are mentioned but are not correct.
B1 Preliminary Listening: the 4 parts
| Part | Task type | Questions | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Multiple choice with pictures | 1–7 | Specific information in everyday situations |
| Part 2 | Multiple choice | 8–13 | Opinion, feeling, agreement, reason and final meaning |
| Part 3 | Gap fill | 14–19 | Listening for specific words, numbers, dates or short phrases |
| Part 4 | Multiple choice | 20–25 | Detailed understanding in an interview |
In this lesson, we are focusing on Part 2: six questions, each with three options: A, B or C.
Before, During and After Listening 🧠
In B1 Part 2, the conversations are short, but the answer is not always the first thing you hear. Your mission is to understand the speaker’s final meaning.
Before listening
- Read the question carefully.
- Underline the key words in A, B and C.
- Check what the question asks: opinion, feeling, reason or agreement.
- Think of simple synonyms.
First listening
- Listen for the general situation.
- Mark the answer you think is correct.
- Do not panic if you are not sure.
- Do not choose only because one word appears.
Second listening
- Confirm your answer.
- Check if an option was a distractor.
- Listen for words like “but”, “actually” or “in the end”.
- Correct your answer if the meaning changes.
Mini example
Question: What does the girl say about the new clothes shop?
You are not only listening for “clothes” or “shop”. You are listening for her opinion: are the staff helpful, are the clothes fashionable, or are the prices reduced?
The Keyword Trap: hearing a word is not enough
In B1 Part 2, Cambridge may mention words from more than one option. The correct answer is the option that matches the full meaning, not just one word.
Example
Option A: The staff are helpful.
Audio-style sentence: “The staff were polite, but they didn’t know much about the clothes. The best thing is that everything is cheaper this week.”
Correct meaning: The answer is about reduced prices, not helpful staff.
How the trap works
| What students hear | What they choose too quickly | What they should check |
|---|---|---|
| “The staff were polite...” | The staff are helpful. | Does the speaker actually say they helped? |
| “The website has concert tickets...” | It is easy to buy tickets. | Is buying tickets easy, or is that the problem? |
| “The prize was not very expensive...” | She is upset about the value. | How does she feel overall? |
Teacher tip 💡: Wait for the complete idea. The answer often comes after but, however, actually or the best thing is...
The options and the audio may not use the same words
In B1 Part 2, the correct answer is often expressed with different words. You need to recognise the same idea when it is said in a simpler or more natural way.
| Option says | Audio may say | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| The staff are helpful | They gave me good advice / they helped me choose | Positive opinion about workers |
| Prices are reduced | There’s a sale / things are cheaper this week | Discounts |
| Information was up to date | The news was recent / they need to add new details | Current information |
| Excited | Really pleased / very happy / thrilled | Positive feeling |
| Too untidy | Leaves things everywhere / never cleans up | Messy behaviour |
| Missing key players | The best players were not there / important players were absent | The team was weaker |
| Get fitter | Improve my fitness / be in better shape | Physical condition |
Before listening, simplify each option. For example, “Prices are reduced” means: things are cheaper now. That makes the answer easier to recognise. 🌟
B1 Listening Part 2 Strategy: Multiple Choice
In the official sample paper, Part 2 includes questions about a new clothes shop, a pop band’s website, an art competition, a flatmate, a football match and a tennis match. For each question, you choose the correct answer: A, B or C.
Official Part 2 task focus
- Questions: 8–13.
- Task type: multiple choice.
- Options: A, B or C.
- Topics: shops, websites, competitions, flatmates and sports.
- Skill: understanding opinion, feeling, agreement, reason and final meaning.
Step-by-step strategy
| Step | What to do | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the question first. | It tells you what to listen for: opinion, feeling, agreement or request. |
| 2 | Underline the key difference between A, B and C. | The options may be similar, so you need to separate them clearly. |
| 3 | Predict simple synonyms. | Cambridge may say the same idea in different words. |
| 4 | Listen for the whole meaning. | One word is not enough to choose correctly. |
| 5 | Pay attention to contrast words. | The real answer often comes after “but”, “actually” or “in the end”. |
| 6 | Eliminate wrong answers. | Even if you are unsure, elimination improves your chances. |
| 7 | Use the second listening to confirm. | The second listening is your opportunity to check the final meaning. |
Teacher tip 💡: Your mental formula for Part 2 is: question focus + option difference + final meaning.
Common mistakes Spanish speakers make in B1 Part 2
In B1 Part 2, many students understand the topic but lose marks because they choose too quickly. Let’s avoid the most common traps. 💪
| Mistake | Why it happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing repeated words | You hear a word from an option and choose it. | Wait for the full meaning. |
| Translating everything into Spanish | Your brain becomes too slow. | Listen for the answer idea, not every word. |
| Missing contrast words | You stop listening after the first idea. | Pay attention after “but”, “actually” and “in the end”. |
| Confusing feelings | Words like excited, upset and disappointed sound similar in context. | Ask: is the speaker positive, negative or neutral? |
| Not reading the question carefully | You only read A, B and C. | Read what the question asks before reading options. |
| Panicking after one difficult question | You keep thinking about the previous answer. | Leave it and continue. You will hear it again. |
Useful vocabulary for B1 Listening Part 2
The official Part 2 includes everyday topics: shopping, websites, competitions, flatmates and sport. This vocabulary will help you recognise the correct answer faster.
| Category | Useful words and phrases | What it may help you identify | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping | staff, helpful, latest fashions, sale, reduced prices | Opinions about a clothes shop | The shop may be good because prices are lower. |
| Websites | up to date, tickets, messages, information, website | What needs to improve on a website | The information may be old or incomplete. |
| Feelings | excited, upset, disappointed, pleased, proud | How a speaker feels | “Pleased” means happy or satisfied. |
| Flatmates | untidy, talk too much, loud music, clean up, annoying | Problems with a person at home | The flatmate may leave things everywhere. |
| Football | lost, confident, key players, training, team | Why a team lost | The team may have lost because important players were absent. |
| Tennis | get fitter, practise, competitions, enter, match | What one speaker wants another person to do | The boy may want more practice or better fitness. |
Teacher tip 💡: B1 Listening uses everyday language. Learn common phrases like on sale, up to date, too loud, key players and get fitter.
How to train B1 Listening Part 2 every day
Part 2 improves when you train short conversations carefully. You do not need to understand every word. You need to understand the speaker’s opinion, feeling or final decision.
Daily 15-minute routine
- Listen to one short conversation without subtitles.
- Write the main topic in one sentence.
- Listen again and write three keywords.
- Decide the speaker’s feeling or opinion.
- Check the transcript and highlight contrast words.
- Repeat two useful sentences out loud.
Final Part 2 checklist
Before the audio starts
- Read the question.
- Underline key words in A, B and C.
- Think of simple synonyms.
- Notice what the question asks.
While listening
- Listen for complete meaning.
- Do not choose only repeated words.
- Notice contrast words.
- Mark possible answers quickly.
After listening
- Use the second listening to confirm.
- Eliminate wrong answers.
- Check the speaker’s final meaning.
- Transfer answers carefully.
Practise with Intellego 🎧
You can also train this skill with Intellego: listen, type what you hear and get instant correction. It is perfect for building real listening accuracy, and you can find the free version here:
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B1 Listening Part 2 - Exam Practice (Questions 8-10)
Question 8 - 13
For each question, choose the correct answer.What does the girl say about it?
Question 9
They think the site would be better if
Question 10
How does she feel about it?
Question 11
The girl thinks that her flatmate
Question 12
They agree that their team lost because
Question 13
The boy wants the girl to