3.2 Listening Tarea 2: Short Messages & Announcements Matched to Pictures
Key Takeaways
Tarea 2 has five items: five very short messages or announcements (15–30 words) matched to five of eight pictures.
Tarea 2 messages are said face to face or over a public-address system, slowly and with clear articulation, in the public domain.
In the Modelo 0 the pictures are labelled A to I because one picture is used for the example, and the items are numbered 6 to 10.
The task tests the general idea: recognise the situation, such as a restaurant order, station directions, a theatre announcement or a hotel reception.
Each message is played, followed by 10 seconds, then repeated, and the task ends with 40 seconds to complete the answer sheet.
Understanding Tarea 2: Short Messages and Pictures
In Tarea 2 you hear five very short messages and decide which picture shows each situation. The official specifications describe the input as very short messages or announcements, 15 to 30 words each, said face to face or over a public-address system (megafonía), slowly and clearly, in the public domain. The skill tested is catching the general idea of the message.
| Exam Parameter | Tarea 2 Specification |
|---|---|
| Items | 5 (Modelo numbering 6–10) |
| Input | Five messages or announcements of 15–30 words |
| Options | Eight pictures for the five messages (nine in the Modelo 0, including the example) |
| Unused pictures | 3 |
| Repetitions | Each message is played twice |
What the Modelo 0 Shows
The example is a voice saying Silencio, por favor. El examen tiene diez preguntas, matched to the picture of that situation (letter F). The five messages then include a customer ordering a salad and a bottle of water, someone giving directions inside a station (the exit, and a taxi rank next to it), a theatre announcement that a guitar concert is about to start, a library announcement about its closing time, and a hotel receptionist handing over room keys, a passport and a credit card. Each picture shows a place or a scene, so the task is to recognise where the message is said and what is happening.
The Timing Inside the Recording (Modelo 0)
The pattern is the same as in Tarea 1: Empieza la Tarea 2 and 5 seconds; message 1 and 10 seconds; message 1 again, 2 seconds, Seleccione la imagen and 5 seconds; and so on for the five messages. The task ends with Complete ahora la Hoja de respuestas and 40 seconds.
Step 1: Identify the Situation Fast
Most messages contain two or three "anchor" words that point to one place. Learn these clusters:
| Situation | Anchor words you may hear | Typical picture |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant or café | de primero, para beber, la cuenta, una botella de agua | A table with a waiter |
| Station or airport | el tren, la vía, la salida, el andén, el vuelo, la puerta | Platform, exit sign, departure board |
| Shop or supermarket | la caja, la oferta, la planta, cerramos | Checkout or shelves |
| Hotel reception | la llave, la habitación, el pasaporte, el desayuno | Reception desk |
| Library, museum or theatre | silencio, la sala, el concierto, cerramos a las... | Rows of seats, bookshelves |
| Classroom or exam | el examen, las preguntas, la clase, el libro | Students at desks |
| Pharmacy or doctor | la pastilla, la receta, cada ocho horas | Pharmacy counter |
| Street | todo recto, a la derecha, la parada, el semáforo | Street with signs |
Once you know the place, look for the picture of that place that also matches the action: ordering versus paying, arriving versus leaving, a concert starting versus a library closing.
Step 2: Recognise A1 Message Formulas
Public-address announcements (megafonía)
- Señoras y señores, ... (Ladies and gentlemen, ...)
- Atención, por favor. (Attention, please.)
- Les recordamos que... (We remind you that...)
- ... va a empezar ya. (... is about to start.)
- El tren con destino a Toledo sale de la vía tres. (The train to Toledo leaves from platform three.)
- La tienda cierra en diez minutos. (The shop closes in ten minutes.)
Face-to-face messages
- Mire, ... / Oiga, ... (Look, ... / Excuse me, ...) used to get attention
- Aquí tiene... (Here is / Here are...)
- De primero, ... Y para beber, ... (For the first course, ... And to drink, ...)
- Allí está la salida. (The exit is over there.)
- ¿Me pone un café, por favor? (Could I have a coffee, please?)
At A1 you only need to recognise forms like mire or salgan; you do not need to produce them.
Step 3: Watch the Numbers and Times
Announcements often contain a time, a platform, a floor or a price. They rarely decide the picture on their own, but they can confirm it (a library that closes a las ocho y media de la tarde; a train at vía tres). Learn the pairs that beginners confuse:
| Spanish | Peninsular pronunciation | Often confused with |
|---|---|---|
| quince (15) | /ˈkinθe/ | cincuenta (50) |
| trece (13) | /ˈtɾeθe/ | treinta (30) |
| catorce (14) | /kaˈtoɾθe/ | cuarenta (40) |
| sesenta (60) | /seˈsenta/ | setenta (70) |
The input texts at A1 use varieties of peninsular Spanish, so you will usually hear /θ/ in quince and trece; in seseante speech the same words sound /ˈkinse/ and /ˈtɾese/.
Full Practice Set: Five Messages, Eight Pictures
Pictures: A) a swimming pool, B) a supermarket checkout, C) a train platform, D) a hotel reception, E) a classroom, F) a museum entrance, G) a pharmacy counter, H) a bus stop
- Señoras y señores, les recordamos que la piscina cierra a las ocho. Por favor, salgan del agua.
- Mire, aquí tiene la llave de la habitación doscientos cinco. El desayuno es de siete a diez.
- Atención, por favor: el tren con destino a Valencia sale de la vía cuatro.
- Tome una pastilla cada ocho horas, después de comer. Son seis euros con cincuenta.
- Buenos días, chicos. Abrid el libro en la página veinte, por favor.
Answers: 1 → A (piscina, agua); 2 → D (llave, habitación, desayuno); 3 → C (tren, vía); 4 → G (pastilla, cada ocho horas); 5 → E (chicos, libro, página). Unused: B, F and H.
Traps to notice: message 2 mentions breakfast, but the scene is a reception desk, not a restaurant; message 4 mentions a price, but the place is a pharmacy, not a supermarket checkout. Match the whole situation, not one word.
You hear: «Señoras y señores, les recordamos que la piscina cierra a las ocho. Por favor, salgan del agua.» Which picture matches this message?
A swimming pool with people in the water
A restaurant table with a waiter
A library reading room
A train platform with a departure board
In DELE A1 Listening Tarea 2, how many pictures are left unused?
Five: more than half of the pictures are left over
None: every picture matches one of the messages
Three: there are eight pictures for the five messages
One: only the picture used for the worked example
You hear: «Mire, aquí tiene la llave de la habitación doscientos cinco. El desayuno es de siete a diez.» Where is this message said?
At a railway station, at the ticket desk
At a restaurant, while ordering breakfast
At a hotel, at the reception desk
At a museum, at the entrance
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.