VSTEP 3-5 LISTENING PART 3
A. THEORY
1. Introduction
- VSTEP 3-5 part 3 includes three long talks or lectures as they are all academic genres; each
talk or lecture is followed by 5 questions with 4 options for each question. Therefore, there are
15 questions in total of this part.
- In general, the same types of questions are seen in this part, including DETAIL (+), DETAIL
(-), INFERENCE and OVERVIEW.
- There are sometimes VOCABULARY questions, which aim to ask for both your understanding
of the words and how they are used in specific contexts.
- There are questions of different levels, in which some (and a few) questions may reach C2
level.
2. Strategies
Generally, part 3 has the same strategies as part 2 which suggests you to get yourself ready
before the recording is played. Always:
- underline keywords in all questions and options;
- predict the content of the recording;
- classify the questions;
- be careful with similar options;
- prioritize the questions
The only new thing is that this part is expected to be rather lengthy with much information not
needed for your VSTEP 3-5 answers. Therefore, you are always expected to STAY FOCUSED
all the way.
Take note while you are listening if you wish to.
3. Steps to do
As the same question types are employed in this part, the same way to do is applied:
- DETAIL (+): correct answer is exactly the same or synonymous with that in the recording;
- DETAIL (-): choose 1/4 or eliminate 3/4 options that you may hear in the recording;
- INFERENCE: draw the most logical answer based on what is stated in the recording, NOT the
one that you can hear clearly there;
- OVERVIEW: always leave it until last minute, after you have had the general understanding of
the recording; choose the one that can cover all details of the recording but may NOT use the
same words as those in the recording.
- VOCABULARY: can be considered DETAIL (+), which requires you to follow the passage
and understand the information surrounding that vocabulary in order to guess its meaning. For
many times, the familiar meaning of the word is not what is expected to be the correct choice.
Now, let’s start with an example.
Questions 21-25:
Question 21: What was in pattern books?
A. Advice about landscaping C. Photographs of the homes of famous people
B. Hints about saving to buy a house D. Plans for houses
Question 22: According to the speaker, why were pattern books so popular?
A. There was a shortage of architects.
B. They included plans for elaborate houses.
C. Builders could not work without one.
D. They were relatively inexpensive.
Question 23: According to the speaker, who uses pattern books today?
A. People who restore old houses C. People who design new houses
B. People who sell houses D. People who want to buy a house
Question 24: What will happen next?
A. Print a pattern book C. Look through some reprints
B. Pass some house models D. Talk to some historians
Question 25: What course would this talk be most appropriate for?
A. Nineteenth- century American painting C. Introduction to economics
B. American architectural history D. Eighteenth- century American society
B. PRACTICE
Part 3: Questions 21-35
Questions 21-25:
Question 21: What is the main idea of the talk?
A. There are differences between pyramids and ziggurats.
B. Egypt and Mesopotamia had great cultures.
C. The pharaohs were important in ancient Egypt.
D. People in ancient cultures practiced religion.
Question 22: What does the teacher imply about ziggurats?
A. They took many years to build.
B. They look much nicer than the pyramids.
C. They were built in both Mesopotamia and Egypt.
D. They are less well known than pyramids.
Question 23: How is a ziggurat different from a pyramid?
A. It is much larger than most pyramids.
B. It has a stepped look as it goes up.
C. It is made of different types of stone.
D. It has various types of artwork on it.
Question 24: Why does the teacher talk about the pharaohs?
A. To describe their role in Egyptian society
B. To note that they built the pyramids
C. To compare them with Mesopotamian rulers
D. To claim that many were bad rulers
Question 25: What is the teacher going to do next?
A. Make a question C. Show some pyramid pictures
B. Answer a question D. Show some theories
Questions 26-30:
Question 26: What is the teacher mainly talking about?
A. The antlers that deer can grow C. The characteristics of white-tailed deer
B. How deer take care of their babies D. What his opinion of deer is
Question 27: What is probably true about the teacher?
A. He recently made a visit to Australia. C. He lives in an area with many deer.
B. He enjoys going deer hunting. D. He spends a lot of time outdoors.
Question 28: What does the teacher imply when he says this: ‘That’s H-A-R-T, not H-E-A-R-
T’?
A. He is making an important point about deer.
B. Some students tend to misspell the word.
C. The word he is spelling is a common one.
D. He wants the students to listen carefully.
Question 29: What does the teacher say about antlers?
A. Both male and female deer grow them. C. Deer sometimes use them as weapons.
B. They fall off the deer each year. D. They get larger as the deer ages.
Question 30: What does a fawn look like when it is born?
A. It is completely white. C. It has some white spots.
B. It only has a white tail. D. It has no white anywhere on its body.
Questions 31-35:
Question 31: What is the main topic of the talk?
A. The desire of many Texans to be independent
B. The war between Texas and Mexico
C. Some famous Texans at the Alamo
D. The battle that happened at the Alamo
Question 32: What does the teacher imply about the Mexicans?
A. They lost a war that they easily could have won.
B. They were right to be upset with the Texans.
C. Their leader, Santa Anna, was not effective.
D. They never should have sent an army to Texas.
Question 33: Why does the teacher mention James Bowie and Davy Crockett?
A. To give a brief biography of each man
B. To name two famous men at the Alamo
C. To compare their leadership with Santa Anna’s
D. To claim that they were the Texans’ leaders
Question 34: What is meant by ‘split apart’ by the speaker?
A. divided B. separated C. merged D. got away
Question 35: In what class can the lecture be heard?
A. American history B. Mexican history C. World history D. World wars
C. EXAM FOCUS
Test 1
Part 3: Questions 21-35
Questions 21-25:
Question 21: What is the purpose of the lecture?
A. To provide some facts about the dingo C. To compare the dingo with the dog
B. To prove that the dingo is a unique animal D. To note the dingo’s eating habits
Question 22: What does the teacher suggest about the dingo?
A. It is a relatively small mammal. C. It can run faster than most humans.
B. It is not native to Australia. D. It lacks the ability to swim.
Question 23: According to the teacher, what is true about the dingo?
A. It can weigh up to twenty kilograms. C. It is active at night and sleeps in the day.
B. It reproduces once every few years. D. It hunts other animals and eats them.
Question 24: How is the dingo similar to wolf?
A. It hunts animals bigger than it. C. It mates frequently.
B. It has short fur. D. It travels in packs.
Question 25: What does the speaker mean by ‘packs’?
A. A very big group B. A small group C. A dozen D. A couple
Questions 26-30:
Question 26: What is the teacher mainly discussing?
A. The solar system B. The sun C. The planets D. The galaxy
Question 27: Why does the teacher talk about the outer planets?
A. To compare them with the inner planets C. To note their quick rotations
B. To focus on their compositions D. To stress how far from the sun they are
Question 28: What is another name for the inner planets?
A. The Venusians B. The Jovians C. The terrestrial planets D. The gas giants
Question 29: According to the teacher, which planet has the most moons?
A. Jupiter B. Saturn C. Uranus D. Neptune
Question 30: What can be inferred about Saturn?
A. It is nearly as large as Jupiter. C. It has a core that is rocky.
B. It is considered a gas giant. D. It orbits the sun in fewer than ten years.
Questions 31-35:
Question 31: What is the main topic of the talk?
A. The most well-known deserts C. The world’s largest deserts
B. Hot and cold deserts D. The classification of deserts
Question 32: What does the speaker mean when saying ‘That’s right, isn’t it?’
A. It’s something everybody agrees on . C. She understands the point here.
B. People can tell her what a desert is. D. She wants to check listeners’ understanding.
Question 33: According to the teacher, what kind of desert is the Gobi Desert?
A. A hot desert B. A cold desert C. An extremely arid desert D. An arid desert
Question 34: What does the teacher imply about the Atacama Desert?
A. The weather there is hotter than in the Sahara Desert.
B. Most people consider it to be a semi-arid desert.
C. The desert is one of the driest places on the Earth.
D. It is the only desert located in South America.
Question 35: In what class can this lecture be heard?
A. Geography B. Geology C. Biology D. Nature sciences
Test 2
Part 3: Questions 21-35
Questions 21-25:
Question 21: What is the speaker mainly talking about?
A. Huckleberry Finn’s friendship with a slave named Jim
B. The background of Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
C. The Mississippi River’s influence on The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
D. The characters in Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
Question 22: According to the teacher, what is special about The Adventure of Huckleberry
Finn?
A. It was published in 1885. C. It was written by Mark Twain.
B. It uses vernacular language. D. It was written after slavery ended.
Question 23: Why does the teacher talk about the Mississippi River?
A. To explain where they book takes place
B. To show how the boys get into trouble
C. To help students understand why Huck runs away
D. To prove that travelling on the river is an adventure
Question 24: What does the speaker want the students to think about as they read?
A. Why Mark Twain wrote this book
B. What Huckleberry Finn’s overall goal is
C. Why Huckleberry Finn becomes friends with Jim
D. How Mark Twain deals with slavery and racism
Question 25: In what class can this talk be heard?
A. American traditional literature C. American modern novels
B. American first writers D. Geography
Questions 26-30:
Question 26: What is the main topic of the talk?
A. Places where squirrels live
B. How squirrels survive in winter
C. Surprising information about common squirrels
D. Why squirrels are related to chipmunks and woodchucks
Question 27: What false belief about squirrels does the teacher correct?
A. That they live in trees C. That they are very closely related to mice
B. That they are great climbers D. That they are unique creatures which eat seeds
Question 28: What can be inferred from the talk about squirrels?
A. They usually live in suburban streets.
B. They are closely related to mice and rats.
C. They compete with rabbits to eat green leaves.
D. They are willing to eat unusual foods to survive.
Question 29: According to the teacher, why are squirrels great climbers?
A. They are very fast. C. They have strong legs and claws.
B. They have useful thumbs. D. They have 4 or 5 toes on each foot.
Question 30: In what class can this lecture be heard?
A. Biology B. Physics C. History D. Animal society
Questions 31-35:
Question 31: What is the teacher mainly discussing?
A. The life of John Wilkes Booth C. The assassination of President Lincoln
B. The end of the Civil War D. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant
Question 32: According to the teacher, where was President Lincoln when he was shot?
A. in the White House B. On the street C. In the theater D. On a battlefield
Question 33: Why does the teacher talk about John Wilkes Booth?
A. To give a physical description of the man
B. To describe his role in President Lincoln’s death
C. To argue that he did not act alone in killing President Lincoln
D. To focus on the major events in his life
Question 34: What does the teacher imply about President Lincoln?
A. He was the greatest of all American presidents.
B. He could have lives if he had gotten medical attention.
C. He had met John Wilkes Booth once in the past.
D. He did not die immediately after being shot.
Question 35: What will the teacher probably do next?
A. Show a short film to the students C. Continue giving his lesson to the students
B. Ask the students for their opinions D. Have a student read a passage out loud
