Listening Comprehension Main Ideas

Respuesta correcta: A) The city is building a protected bike lane downtown.

• A) The city is building a protected bike lane downtown.Correct: the opening sentence states the topic itself, and the rest of the report only adds detail to it.
• B) The report lasts two minutes.The length of the report is a detail about the broadcast, not about what the report is saying.
• C) Rush hour traffic downtown has grown.Growing traffic is only one supporting fact, so it narrows the report down to a single point.
• D) The lane will need repairs in five years.Future repairs are a detail that fits inside the bigger news about the new lane.

Respuesta correcta: C) The main reason is that

• A) Interestingly enoughInterestingly adds colour to an aside; it introduces something extra, not the central message.
• B) On the other handOn the other hand marks a contrast with an earlier point, so it signals a second idea instead.
• C) The main reason is thatCorrect: this phrase is an explicit signpost that tells the listener the core of the talk begins here.
• D) By the wayBy the way marks an aside or a change of subject, so it moves away from the main point.

Respuesta correcta: B) Traffic in San Jose grows because more people drive instead of taking the bus.

• A) The lecture lasts fifty minutes, so take notes carefully.This is an instruction about the class, so it belongs to the situation, not to the subject.
• B) Traffic in San Jose grows because more people drive instead of taking the bus.Correct: it names the general subject and its reason, so every later detail in the talk supports it.
• C) Some drivers leave the car at home on Tuesdays.One group habit on one weekday is a single example, so it supports the topic without stating it.
• D) The blue chart on the screen shows data from 2019.Saying which chart appears describes the visuals, not the message the lecture delivers.

Respuesta correcta: D) Tell listeners where and when to get their tickets.

• A) Explain the full plot of the play for its audience.A plot summary belongs to a review; this short spot gives no details about the story.
• B) Report how many people attended last night.Attendance figures report the past, while a promotion is about what listeners can still do.
• C) Compare ticket prices with another theatre in San Jose.No rival theatre appears in the spot, so no comparison of prices is ever made.
• D) Tell listeners where and when to get their tickets.Correct: the mention of the door and the show times are the facts a listener needs in order to act.

Respuesta correcta: A) Playa Grande protects sea turtles by limiting lights and nesting zones.

• A) Playa Grande protects sea turtles by limiting lights and nesting zones.Correct: it keeps the topic and its one purpose, dropping the numbers and logistics that only supported it.
• B) The talk was on Thursday in room four with about sixty students.The day, the room and the head count are details about the talk, not about its message.
• C) One ranger counted forty nests in July and thirty in August.Nest counts are the evidence inside the talk, so they support the summary instead of being it.
• D) Students asked two questions about plastic waste at the end.Audience questions and one example of waste are side moments, not the central claim.

Respuesta correcta: B) It gives one timetable detail, not the main argument of the talk.

• A) It uses the past tense instead of the present simple.Tense is not the problem; the sentence is grammatically fine and the fault lies in the content.
• B) It gives one timetable detail, not the main argument of the talk.Correct: a summary must carry the central claim, and a single timetable fact cannot stand for the talk.
• C) It repeats the name of the bus company too many times.The company name appears only once, so repetition is not what weakens this summary.
• D) It is too long for the space allowed on the exam form.The summary is short, so length is not the problem here; choosing the right idea is.

Respuesta correcta: D) Problem, cause, solution

• A) Problem, solution, causeThis reaches the answer before giving the reason, so the listener meets the solution too early.
• B) Cause, solution, problemA cause cannot be explained before the problem that produced it, so this order runs backwards.
• C) Solution, problem, causeStarting with the solution and ending with the problem inverts the natural build of a talk.
• D) Problem, cause, solutionCorrect: expository talks usually state the problem, then its cause, and only then the solution.

Respuesta correcta: A) The team must improve its fitness and focus at the end of games.

• A) The team must improve its fitness and focus at the end of games.Correct: the complaint points to late match weakness, so the implied message is what must change.
• B) The team lost every match in the tournament.The remark never claims that every match was lost, so this summary overstates what was said.
• C) The coach wants a larger field for the final match.The size of the field is never mentioned, so that conclusion is invented rather than implied.
• D) Training starts earlier than the team expected.No training schedule comes up in the remark, so this idea has no support in what was said.

Respuesta correcta: C) She is politely doubtful and not fully convinced.

• A) She fully supports the law and expects large results.Hedges like might possibly rule out the full confidence and the big results this option claims.
• B) She is angry and ready to ignore the law.Nothing in the hedging shows anger, which would need sharper and more loaded wording.
• C) She is politely doubtful and not fully convinced.Correct: well and I suppose are hedges that signal polite doubt rather than open support.
• D) She has not understood the reporter's question.Her answer is clearly on the topic, so the hesitation comes from her opinion, not confusion.

Respuesta correcta: B) The guests explain why bicycles matter, then disagree on who should pay for new lanes.

• A) Both guests asked for more bike lanes in San Jose.This keeps only the shared request and drops the disagreement, which is a main part of the interview.
• B) The guests explain why bicycles matter, then disagree on who should pay for new lanes.Correct: it gives the shared topic and the central clash, so it covers what the interview is about.
• C) The host asked about the price of bicycle helmets downtown.A single question about helmets is a minor moment and says nothing about the overall content.
• D) The interview was recorded on a windy afternoon downtown.Recording conditions sit outside the content of the interview and cannot be its main idea.

Respuesta correcta: C) The real problem of the project is something other than cost.

• A) Cost is the real problem of the project.The opening denies exactly that link, so this summary reverses the speaker's contrast.
• B) Nothing in the talk is connected with cost.Cost is mentioned and then set aside, so a summary that drops it loses the point of the contrast.
• C) The real problem of the project is something other than cost.Correct: not cost tells the listener the speaker is replacing one idea with a different one.
• D) Cost is the only problem the project has.This contradicts the claim that the problem is not cost, which rules cost out instead of confirming it.

Respuesta correcta: A) Now, the second part of the story...

• A) Now, the second part of the story...Correct: the second part is an explicit signpost that a new main section of the show has begun.
• B) You know, it was really something.This is a personal reaction to what was already said, so it comments instead of opening a section.
• C) Kind of a big deal, honestly.An informal comment about size carries no signal about a move to another part of the talk.
• D) I mean, basically, whatever.Fillers like I mean and basically hide the speaker's place in the talk rather than showing it.

Respuesta correcta: D) It states the general point that the whole report supports.

• A) It repeats the exact numbers the reporter read out twice.Figures are details; a main idea answer has to hold for the whole report, not for one number.
• B) It gives the reporter's opinion about the people he quotes.The reporter's own view is a side comment, while the main idea is what the report supports.
• C) It lists every place and date mentioned in the report.A list of places and dates describes the content in detail but never says what it is about.
• D) It states the general point that the whole report supports.Correct: a main idea answer covers the whole piece and can be proved with evidence from several parts.

Respuesta correcta: B) By naming what the talk said about water use and what followed from it.

• A) By adding more opinion about why water matters to her.Personal opinion adds a voice the talk never used and still leaves the content vague.
• B) By naming what the talk said about water use and what followed from it.Correct: a main idea names the specific subject and its consequence, not only the general truth.
• C) By dropping every detail she heard in the recording.Summaries still need content; removing all the detail leaves nothing for a reader to understand.
• D) By copying the first sentence the speaker said.Copying the opening works only when that sentence states the topic, which here it does not.

Respuesta correcta: C) A new road will replace the old bridge over the Rio Torres.

• A) A resident says the dust is hard to avoid.The dust complaint is one resident's view, so it cannot stand as the headline for the whole item.
• B) Bus drivers want the old route kept for a year.The drivers' request is a side detail, while the road itself is what the bulletin is mainly about.
• C) A new road will replace the old bridge over the Rio Torres.Correct: it names the single event the report explains, and the rest of the item supports it.
• D) The project begins after the heavy rains in November.The start date is a scheduling detail that fits inside the bigger story about the new road.

Respuesta correcta: D) The main argument, because the other two parts serve it.

• A) The closing response, because it comes last.Coming last does not make a part central; a response usually reacts to the argument already made.
• B) The opening history, because it comes first.The history sets the scene, so it frames the debate without carrying its central point.
• C) The longest section, because it takes more time.Length measures time, not importance, so the longest section is not automatically the main one.
• D) The main argument, because the other two parts serve it.Correct: the opening sets up the argument and the closing answers it, so the argument is central.

Respuesta correcta: B) The library opens its shelves with four hundred books.

• A) Local reading habits need a real push.This line generalises the whole item, so it works as the main idea the show supports.
• B) The library opens its shelves with four hundred books.Correct: a number of books is one concrete fact inside the item, not the message behind the report.
• C) Students can use free internet inside the building.Free internet is a real service in the item, but it is only one point among several details.
• D) The programme finishes at ten o'clock tonight.The end time belongs to the broadcast schedule, not to the content the show is about.

Respuesta correcta: C) The guest's, because only the guest argued for it.

• A) The reporter's, because he asked the question.Asking a question does not mean holding a view; the reporter is asking, not claiming.
• B) Nobody's, because the claim appears twice.How often a claim is repeated says nothing about which voice it belongs to in the recording.
• C) The guest's, because only the guest argued for it.Correct: the reporter frames the talk with questions while the guest carries the opinion.
• D) The listener's, because the speaker sounds persuasive.Tone shows the speaker's manner, not the listener's opinion, so this attribution has no basis.

Respuesta correcta: A) How schools reduce the waste they produce.

• A) How schools reduce the waste they produce.Correct: the opening names the topic, and the whole episode goes on to explain that one subject.
• B) The schools failed to manage their rubbish.Failure would need words like failed or could not, which the introduction never uses.
• C) The podcast will interview three waste companies.The number three modifies schools, not companies, so no interview with businesses is promised.
• D) Waste rose in Cartago during the last school term.A rise in waste is one point inside the episode, not something the introduction announces.

Respuesta correcta: D) The report explained why food waste rose and what cities can do about it.

• A) The speaker argued that farms should stop using plastic bags.Naming only farms and plastic bags leaves out the wider problem and the response the report covers.
• B) The talk closed with a joke about coffee prices in Tarrazu.A closing joke is a feature of the delivery, not the substance a reader who missed it needs.
• C) The report repeated three statistics about crop yields last year.Repeated figures are the support the report rests on, so they cannot replace the point itself.
• D) The report explained why food waste rose and what cities can do about it.Correct: it names both the problem and the response, so an absent reader still gets the whole story.