Overview
Photographs of People
Photographs of people consist of photographs describing one person and photographs describing more than one person. In the former, the correct answer must describe the action, appearance, state or location of the person in the photograph. In the latter, the correct answer must either describe the action, general state, location of all the people or the action/appearance of each person in the photograph. Your job is to select the statement that best describes the photograph.
Example 1 Choose the statement that best describes the photograph.
(A) She is painting a picture.
(B) She is sitting on a bench.
(C) She is crossing the street.
(D) She is looking at a painting on the wall.
Photographs describing one person
For this photograph, the correct answer will be the statement that describes the action or outstanding features of the person. Statement (A) best describes the photograph, which shows a person sitting and painting. An incorrect answer might be one that employs verbs/nouns relating to the wrong action/appearance/location of the person or wrongly describes the surrounding objects. Statement (B) correctly describes the state of the person, which is sitting, but the location is wrongly described. Statements (C) and (D) are completely wrong because of the wrong action (crossing the street) and the incorrect location of the painting (on the wall).
Example 2 Choose the statement that best describes the photograph.
(A) People are looking at fish.
(B) People are fishing.
(C) People are diving.
(D) People are washing their cars.
Photographs describing more than one person
The correct answer is the statement that describes the general action, appearance, or location of the people. Statement (A) describes the general action, which is observing the fish in the tank. Statement (B) is misleading because of the verb fish. Both statements (C) and (D) are incorrect because they describe the wrong actions (diving and washing their cars).
Statement Structures
In Part 1, correct answer choices have one of the five structures below:
Structure 1 Subject + is/are + V-ing + object: The person is doing something.
- This most common structure is used to describe the action of the person in the photograph. When listening, you should identify the verb in the present continuous tense and its object.
Structure 2 Subject + is/are + V-ing + prepositional phrase of place: The person is doing something somewhere.
- You should listen to the prepositional phrase of place after the verb, as it precisely describes the location where the person is performing the action.
Structure 3 Subject + is/are + prepositional phrase of place: The person is at somewhere.
- Answer choices with the verb be followed by a prepositional phrase of place are not very common. However, you should pay attention to the prepositional phrase of place as it describes the location of the person.
Structure 4 Subject + is/are + being + past participle: The object is being acted on (by the person).
- Even though the focus of the photograph is a person, the subject of a correct answer choice may be an object used with the present continuous passive (be + being + past participle). This means that the person’s action is emphasized. You, therefore, should pay attention to the object in the photograph.
Structure 5 Subject + is/are + past participle + adverb: The person is at somewhere.
- The verb in this structure is in the passive form; however, it does not have a passive meaning. This structure has a similar meaning to Structure 3.
Example 1 A photograph of one person; the subjects of the statements refer to either the person or the objects/scenes in the photographs.
(A) Some books are stacked on the floor.
(B) The man is reading a book.
(C) All of the chairs are occupied.
(D) Some people are sitting on a bench.
The subjects in the four statements are different, which causes difficulty for you. You have to carefully observe not only the person’s action/state but also the things around and even the background. In most cases, the correct answer choice is the one which describes the action/state of the person in the photograph, so you have to listen carefully to the verb in each statement.
The correct answer choice can describe the general action/state of the group of people or it can focus on an individual. When it refers to the group, the subject can be They, The people, or Some people. When referring to an individual, the subject may be A man/woman or One man/woman. While listening, you must decide whether the subject and verb correspond to the people’s action/state or not. You also keep an eye on the objects or the scene in the photograph.
Test-Taking Strategies
- The most important element in all statements describing photographs is the verb itself. You may hear certain new verbs. You, thus, should practice listening to and learn typical verbs.
- You should also carefully observe the person’s appearance and clothes. After identifying the verbs in the statements, you must listen for
Verbs/Verb phrases expressing changes in graphics * increase * rise * remain unchanged * hit a record high * hit a record low * be steady * decrease * go down * decline * improve *See Chapter 4 of Part 3 for verbs related to Schedule/Timetable/Order Change. [Check-up 1] 1. Our sales are gradually \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. 2. The situation started to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in July. 3. Market conditions will \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ until next year. 4. The crude oil price \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ on the world market on Tuesday. 5. The undergraduate population has been gradually \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ for the last five years. Adjectives/Adverbs expressing changes in graphics * steady * slight * gradually * sharp * steep * steadily * sharply * slightly * upward * downward [Check-up 2] 1. The situation has been \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ improving since last year. 2. The number of people in the store \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ increased until 2 p.m. 3. Wholesale commodity prices moved \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ from June to August. 4. The trend in customer numbers is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. 5. The number of visitors \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ increased until early July.
[Check-up 6] 1. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ on a street. 2. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a microphone. 3. A man is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ some bushes. 4. The man is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a keyboard. 5. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ some packages. 6. They are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ some artwork in a gallery. 7. The man is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ some dishes. 8. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ some plants. 9. The man is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a cart. 10. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ the table. Verbs 3 Frequency of correct answer choices * cut * fix * adjust * drive * ride * shake * shop * wait * watch * write * seat * fill [Check-up 7] 1. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ the grass. 2. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a wheel. 3. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ some equipment. 4. He is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a vehicle. 5. Some people are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ bicycles by the water. 6. The men are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ hands. 7. The man is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ for groceries. 8. They are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in a line. 9. Some people are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a performance. 10. She is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in a notebook. 11. They are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in a row. 12. She is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ her car with fuel.
W: Hello, everyone. Please look at the graph. It shows the sales figures at our store between 2010 and 2015. Until 2013, the numbers \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, which means that there was a gradual decrease in sales. The nation’s economy experienced \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in these years. If we take a closer look, we can see that the sales figures in 2010 moved downward and remained unchanged in 2011. However, the situation gradually improved in 2013 and our sales increased accordingly. The increase continued until 2014, but there was \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in 2015. <3-4> M: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We want to welcome you on board China Airline Flight 324 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Beijing. While you get comfortable in your seats, please make sure that all carry-on baggage fits into the overhead compartments or under the seat in front of you. There will be \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ due to the severe weather. The ground crew is working to remove the snow from the runway. We expect to at 7:30. We apologize for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Once again, we thank you for choosing to fly with us today and we hope you enjoy your flight. The graph shows the weight in kilograms of some fruit sold one day in a local market. More oranges were sold \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ were sold than any other fruit. We can see that 70 kg of oranges were sold, and 60 kg of apples were sold. 30 kg each of bananas and strawberries were sold while only 10 kg of mangoes were sold. The same amount of bananas and strawberries were sold, but more oranges were sold \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. According to the graph, oranges were \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, and strawberries were \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. <7-8> M: Welcome to the training seminar. We are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ this training course. We hope that all of you will benefit from being here. This training course is designed to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ skills and competence in the IT sector. Before we get started, I’d like to tell you a few things you need to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Each session will last for 50 minutes. The presenter will speak for 30 minutes and you will have 20 minutes to respond and discuss. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, there will be a break for 10 minutes, and… there is a change in the speaking order. Nick Byron has to leave early, so he will speak before Michael Lloyd. Boarding Pass Flight AB203 Destination New York JFK To Munich Passenger Hunt / Jeremy GATE B12 ABC Airline DEPARTURE 14:25 15 DEC 2016 BOARDING ZONE A3 Boarding Pass Flight AB203 Passenger Hunt / Jeremy SEAT 26C ABC Airline DEPARTURE 14:25 7. Where is this announcement being made? (A) At a train station (B) At a travel agency (C) At an airport (D) At a sky resort 8. Which boarding gate should the passengers go to? (A) B10 (B) B12 (C) B25 (D) B27 9. How long has the flight been delayed? (A) For an hour (B) For one and a half hours (C) For two hours (D) For two and a half hours