The new TOEIC Listening and Reading Test is paper-and-pencil
based and lasts about 2 hours.
1st part : Listening (45 minutes) – 5 to 495 points.
It contains 100 questions, divided into four parts:
Part New Test
1 Photographs - 6 questions
2 Question-Response - 25 questions
3 Short Conversations - 39 questions (13 conv., 3 questions each)
4 Short Talks - 30 questions (10 talks, 3 questions each)
6 PHOTOGRAPHS
In the first part of the TOEIC listening section, you will see photographs and then be asked to select a
sentence which best describes the pictures.
The key to doing well is to read each of the four options carefully. The three incorrect answers may
have:
- words that sounds similar but are in fact different
- the right words used inaccurately
- the right words used in a confusing manner
- answers that are only partially true
- words that refer to a context other than the one shown in the picture
- words related to, but not in the picture
The best way to approach these questions is to scan the picture completely and identify what's
happening. Ask yourself: who, what, where, why? Listen for any words that are stressed, as they
may hold a clue.
25 QUESTION - RESPONSE
In this part, you will be asked a question about almost anything and you need to choose a suitable
answer. The trick here is to watch out for:
- words that sound similar but have different meanings
- wh- questions - who what, when, where, why, what - that need logical answers
- questions with question tags
- yes / no questions which may have no direct yes / no answers
To do well, keep the question clearly in mind as you scan the possible answers. Choose the one
that makes the greatest sense. If in doubt, guess. You won't lose points!
13 SHORT CONVERSATIONS
In the third part, you will hear a short dialogue and then be asked 3 questions about what you have
heard. There can be dialogues between two to three characters. Some of the conversations have a brief
written document attached. You need to use your short-term memory well. The best strategies are to
beware of:
- similar-sounding words
- inaccurate words
- confused word order
- words that change the meaning
- negative words (hardly, not, etc.)
- words associated with time (always, never, etc.)
It will help if you can read the question, and possibly even the answers, before you hear the dialogue.
Check all the options and don't choose too quickly. Try and picture the speakers and where they are.
10 SHORT TALKS
In the fourth part of the listening section, you will hear a monologue and then be asked 3 questions
about it. The same precautions should be exercised as in the earlier sections, but you will need to
concentrate more carefully to remember the details. Pay close attention to the context. Try to read the
questions beforehand if you have time, and listen to the entire talk before choosing an answer. Use
your time wisely or else guess at an answer.
2nd part : Reading (1h15 minutes) - 5 to 495 points.
It contains 100 questions, divided into three parts:
Part New Test
1 Incomplete Sentences - 30 questions
2 Text Completion - 16 questions
3 Reading Comprehension - 54 questions (15 texts)
INCOMPLETE SENTENCES
To do well in this part, you should know the various parts of speech and how they are used to form a
grammatically correct sentence. In particular, you must be careful of:
- Two-part phrasal verbs
- Incorrect use of prepositions
- Incorrectly placed adjectives / adverbs
- Incorrect word forms
- Incorrect grammatical tense
- Incorrect transition word such as however, furthermore, etc.
Many choices may seem close until you try them out, so to save time, try to identify the grammatical
function of the word in the blank.
TEXT COMPLETION
The strategies used here are similar. The difference is that because the blanks you must fill in are part
of longer pieces of writing (it can be some full sentences!), such as letters, you need to keep not only
the grammatical aspect in mind but also the context and tone of the entire piece of writing.
READING COMPREHENSION
As in all reading comprehension exercises, a variety of skills are required to deduce the right answer.
These include skimming, scanning, paraphrasing, and understanding vocabulary in context. You must
be able to identify synonyms and implied information. A clue is that the order of the questions
follows the order to the information in the reading passage. This should save time when scanning
for specific details. Lastly, you might prefer reading the questions before skimming the passage,
to give you a better idea of what's to come. All along the test you will notice that the texts are quite
short at the beginning (with 2 to 4 questions each) and then, become longer. At the end, you will have
questions regrouping 2 to 3 texts, accompanied with 5 questions.
SUMARY
