2.3 People, Settings & Choosing Between Four Pictures
Key Takeaways
A prompt such as 'The tallest man is wearing a cap' contains two claims, and both must be true in the same picture.
Superlatives (the tallest), comparatives (taller), and appearance words (long hair, glasses, uniform) pick out one person in a group.
The four pictures usually differ by person, action, object, place or position, or a detail such as number or clothing.
Before each prompt, note what the pictures share and what changes; that tells you which word to listen for.
Do not mark the test book; if you miss part of the prompt, mentally eliminate pictures that contradict any word you heard and guess.
2.3 People, Settings & Choosing Between Four Pictures
Quick Answer: Many Four Pictures prompts pick out one person by appearance and then say something about that person, as in the ETS sample "The tallest man is wearing a cap." Both parts must be true in the same picture. The four pictures usually differ in one of five ways: the person, the action, the object, the place or position, or a detail such as number or clothing. Before the prompt plays, find what is different across the pictures, then listen for the words that decide it.
Picking Out One Person
When a picture shows several people, the prompt must say which person it means. ETS's sample prompt "The tallest man is wearing a cap" does this with a superlative. The prompt contains two claims:
- There is a man who is the tallest in the picture.
- That man is wearing a cap.
One picture might show the tallest man without a cap; another might show a shorter man with a cap. Only the picture where the tallest man has a cap on is correct. Always check both claims against the same picture.
Appearance and position vocabulary
| Category | Words to know |
|---|---|
| Height and size | tall, short, big, small |
| Hair | long, short, curly, straight, dark, blond |
| Clothes and items | cap, hat, glasses, jacket, coat, scarf, uniform, boots, backpack, headphones |
| Position in the picture | on the left, on the right, in the middle, in front, at the back |
| Actions that identify someone | the man holding an umbrella, the woman with a suitcase, the boy on the bicycle |
Comparatives and superlatives
Descriptions often compare people or things:
- Short adjectives: tall → taller → the tallest; big → bigger → the biggest; heavy → heavier → the heaviest
- Longer adjectives: expensive → more expensive → the most expensive
- Irregular forms: good → better → the best; bad → worse → the worst
The ending -est and the word the are short and unstressed in speech. The tallest man and a tall man sound similar at normal speed, but they point to different pictures when several men are present.
Jobs, Clothing and Settings
Uniforms, tools and places help you name what a person is doing before you hear anything:
| Person | What you might see | Actions you might hear |
|---|---|---|
| Cashier | cash register, receipt, shopping bags | scanning items, giving change |
| Cook | apron, pan, stove, knife | cutting vegetables, stirring soup |
| Server | tray, menu, table | serving food, pouring water |
| Doctor or nurse | white coat, clipboard | talking with a patient, checking a chart |
| Construction worker | hard hat, safety vest, ladder | carrying boards, climbing a ladder |
| Office worker | desk, computer, papers | typing, reading a document, talking on the phone |
Common settings include a kitchen, an office, a classroom, a store, a restaurant, a park, a bus stop, a train station and a street. If the prompt names a place (in a kitchen, at a bus stop), check it just like any other word.
The wrong-person picture
When two people appear, a picture may show the right action done by the wrong person. If you hear "The man is serving coffee", a picture where the woman hands coffee to the man does not match, even though coffee is being served. Track who is doing the action.
Five Ways the Pictures Differ
Because the prompt must be true in only one picture, the other three break it somewhere. Expect one or more of these contrasts:
- Person: a man or a woman, one person or a group, the tallest or the shortest.
- Action: putting on vs. wearing, cutting vs. washing.
- Object: a cup vs. a bottle, a map vs. a poster.
- Place or position: on vs. under, in a kitchen vs. in a garden.
- Detail: number (two vs. three), clothing (with a cap vs. without), condition (open vs. closed).
A Four-Step Routine for Each Item
- Preview. As soon as a new set of pictures appears, look at all four and note what they have in common.
- Find the difference. Name in English what changes: the action, the position, the person or the number. This tells you which word to wait for.
- Listen for the deciding words. Catch the subject, the verb and any position or description words.
- Check and move on. Choose the picture where every word is true, mark it on the answer sheet and look at the next set of pictures.
The ETS handbook does not print the length of the pause between Part 1 items, so do not wait. If you miss part of the prompt, cross out pictures in your mind that contradict any word you did hear, then guess. There is no penalty for wrong answers, and the test book must not be marked.
Worked Example
You see: Four pictures of three men waiting at a bus stop.
(A) The shortest man wears a cap; the tallest man has no hat.
(B) The tallest man, standing in the middle, wears a cap.
(C) The tallest man is holding a cap in his hand.
(D) Nobody wears a cap; the tallest man wears glasses.
You hear: "The tallest man is wearing a cap."
- (A) A cap is worn, but by the wrong man.
- (B) matches. The tallest man has a cap on his head.
- (C) Holding a cap is not wearing it.
- (D) There is no cap, and glasses are a different item.
This item combines two skills from this chapter: the superlative picks out one person, and wearing (a state) must be separated from holding.
Four pictures show people in a library. You hear: "The woman with long hair is reading." Which picture matches?
A woman with short hair reading while a woman with long hair talks on the phone
A woman with long hair reading a book
A woman with long hair writing in a notebook
A man with long hair reading a newspaper
A new set of four pictures appears before the prompt plays. What is the most useful thing to do?
Close your eyes and wait for the audio
Write short notes about each picture in the test book
Read ahead to the Part 2 responses
Notice what the pictures share and what changes, so you know which word to listen for
You hear: "The man is serving coffee." Which picture matches?
A man handing a cup of coffee to a woman
A woman handing a cup of coffee to a man
A man drinking coffee alone at a table
A woman making coffee at a machine
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.