Take notes on meaning, then test each option against the recording. Do not select an answer simply because it repeats a word you heard.
Current scoring
Academic and Core include Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers in Listening. Correct choices earn one point and incorrect choices deduct one point, with a minimum of zero for the item. Pearson Academic Listening format Pearson Core Listening format
Pearson’s Academic guidance recommends using the short period before audio to read the question, then noting main points and details instead of trying to select while listening.
Use a compact note frame
Write the topic, then mark claims with +, -, cause, result or example. Pay attention to correction language such as “initially... but later...” because distractors may preserve the abandoned first idea.
Original exercise
Question: What does the speaker say about flexible bus stops?
Hidden audio script: Ask another person or a text-to-speech tool to read this once while you keep the script hidden and take notes.
A rural bus trial allowed passengers to request stops within a small zone rather than using only fixed locations. Older residents reported that shorter walks made the service easier to use. Journey times increased slightly when several requests occurred, but the operator reduced delays by grouping nearby bookings. The trial did not increase the number of buses; it changed how existing vehicles served the route.
Options:
A. They reduced walking distance for some passengers.
B. They always shortened total journey time.
C. Nearby requests could be grouped to limit delays.
D. The trial added more buses to the route.
E. Only older residents were allowed to request stops.
Correct answers: A and C. B reverses the slight increase in journey time. D contradicts the final sentence. E changes a reported benefit into an eligibility rule.
Decide with evidence
For each selected option, point to a note or remembered proposition that supports the complete statement. Be cautious with absolutes such as always, only and all. Do not follow a fixed rule about how many answers to choose.
Convert each option into a claim test
After the audio, reduce each option to subject, action and qualifier. Option E becomes: only older residents / were allowed / to request stops. The recording supports “older residents / reported / easier access”, which is a benefit report, not an eligibility rule. One matching group does not validate the complete claim.
Select only options supported as complete claims. A familiar name or repeated keyword does not prove the rest of an option. Negative marking makes this full-claim check valuable.
Compare selection rules with PTE Reading Multiple Answers, then browse Listening Multiple Answers practice.
