大學英語四級考試中聽力短對話的話題基本是衣、食、住、行等日常生活中常見的話題或與學校生活相關的話題。例如:2006年12月四級考試中的聽力短對話出現了圣誕節禮物、喜愛的食物、買歌劇門票以及會說幾種語言等話題。聽力短對話雖然短小,但是不應忽視,如果掌握方法,這部分得高分還是很容易的。要答好這部分題目,首先要區分說話者的性別,其次是弄清說話者的觀點,最后再排除干擾項,得出答案。下面我們首先來看看聽力短對話的常考題型和提問方式,再根據它們的特點分析一下短對話的解題技巧。
　　一、短對話的題型大體上分為以下五類:1. 時間類:這類題目經常以when來提問。
　　例如:W: Your library books are due on December 13th. If you have not finished using them by then, you may renew them once.
　　M: Thank you very much. I only need them for a few days.
　　Q: When must the man return his books to the library?
　　2. 地點及場所類:經常以where提問,比如問對話發生的地點。這類題在聽力對話題中比較簡單,考生只需掌握表示地點及方位的介詞短語,抓住其中的關鍵場景特點,就能辨認出對話發生的場所。當你聽到boarding一詞的時候,應該馬上聯想到機場。
　　例如:M: I need to cash this check?
　　W: Will you step right over to the teller’s window, please?
　　Q: Where is the conversation most probably taking place?
　　3. 數字類:一般來說需要進行簡單的換算,這類題目比較簡單,是聽力中的拿分題。
　　例如:W: Do you live in a college dormitory?
　　M: Yes, I do. It’s a six-man suite, but at the moment only four of us live there.
　　Q: How many people share the suite now?
　　4. 人物關系及身份類:此類對話提供一個情節,能反映所涉及人的關系或身份。人物關系及身份類題型幾乎每次考試都會出現,我們可以通過抓關鍵的特征詞來判斷。四級聽力中常見的人物關系及身份有teacher and student, librarian and student, shop assistant and customer, doctor and patient, waiter (waitress) and customer。
　　5. 活動類:這一類談話內容可涉及上課、娛樂、工作、日常生活等各種情況。
　　例如:M: Professor Smith asked me to go to his office after class. So it’s impossible for me to make it to the bar at ten.
　　W: Then it seems that we’ll have to meet an hour later at the library.
　　Q: What will the man do first after class?
　　二、短對話的提問方式通常包括以下六種:
　　1. 問"是什么、要什么"等。例如:
　　What is the man’s answer? What does the woman want for lunch?
　　What kind of books does the man want to borrow?
　　2. 問"做什么"。例如:
　　What will the man do first after class? What does the woman tell the man to do first?
　　What will happen if John fails the exam?
　　What does the woman want the man to do?What would the woman most probably do?
　　3. 問"什么含義"。例如:
　　What does the woman mean?
　　What does the man mean (imply)?
　　What does the woman’s answer suggest?
　　4. 問"從對話中能獲得什么信息或結論"。例如:
　　What do we learn from the conversation?
　　What do we learn about John from the conversation?
　　What do we learn about the taxi driver?
　　5. 問"對某人或某事有什么看法"。例如:
　　What does the man think of Miss Brown?
　　What does the woman think of the plan?
　　6. 問"對話可能是在什么場所發生的"。例如:
　　Where does this conversation most probably take place?
　　Where does this conversation most likely occur?
　　Where are the man and the woman?
　　總之,短對話的提問方式通常是特殊疑問句。除了以上這些提問方式,通常還有提問時間、提問人物關系及身份、提問數字等。無論是哪種提問方式,都是和聽力的對話內容和題目類型相對應的,只要我們把握了對話的重要考試&大信息就可以快速正確地選出答案。
　　三、短對話的四個解題技巧:
　　1. 可以利用錄音正式開始之前的幾分鐘——播放考試說明的時間,快速瀏覽選項,對所談論的話題和相關的信息有個大概的了解。比如看到下面的選項:
　　A) At the airport.
　　B) In a restaurant.
　　C) In a booking office.
　　D) At the hotel reception.
　　我們就可以推斷這個題目很可能問的是對話發生的地點,屬于地點類題型。所以我們在聽的時候就要特別注意談話的環境和對話中出現的關于場所的詞語。在平時的學習中應掌握一些常用的句型。比如向他人提出建議或請求時,往往采用委婉的方式來表達。
　　表示建議的常用句型:If I were you, I’ll ...Why don’t you ...? How about ...? Maybe you’d better ...Perhaps we can ...
　　表示請求的常用句型:I wonder if you ...Would / Could you tell me ...?I’ll appreciate it if you ...
　　2. 另外我們可以邊聽邊做速記,當遇到一時難以判斷的題時,可以等聽力結束后再回過頭來仔細推敲,避免在某一題上花太多時間。遇到內容較復雜的談話時,記在不同選項旁的關鍵詞可以幫助我們很快找到正確答案。比如在解答有關數字類的題目時,速記就顯得尤為重要。
　　3. 在把握細節的基礎上,我們要全面掌握整體意思,排除貌合神考試&大離的選項。在所提供的四個選項中,有三個是干擾項,干擾項的設計通常是提供一個讀音與對話中某一詞組十分相似的選項或提供一個在對話中出現過的詞,以達到干擾效果。例如:
　　M: Registration always takes so long.
　　W: What bothers me is all the people who cut in line.
　　Q: What bothers the woman?
　　A) Registration.
　　B) When the line breaks.
　　C) How long the line is.
　　D) People who don’t wait their turn.
　　其中,B)、C)兩項都出現了"line"一詞,這是在對話中出現過的,許多考生可能被誤導選B),而實際上讓女士厭煩的是"people who cut in line",因此選項D)"People who don’t wait their turn"才是正確的。
　　4. 最后需要指出的很重要的一點是:做聽力題時,要注意談話的環境,重點聽主要信息和目的,不要試圖聽清每一個詞。聽力測試的設題目的是考查我們對于對話主要內容的全面把握,而不是像聽寫一樣,去聽清每一個詞。　　
　　Try out
　　1. W: Carol made up for the time she missed by working overtime.
　　M: That’s why I saw her working the weekend shift.
　　Q: What did Carol do?
　　A) Missed her friends. B) Worked over the weekend.
　　C) Made up a story. D) Timed her job.
　　2. W: How about Mike? Have you seen him after the big earthquake?
　　M: Yes, he is physically sound, but he won’t talk to anybody and he is very afraid of the night.
　　Q: What do we learn about Mike?
　　A) He is healthy.
　　B) He doesn’t like sound.
　　C) He lacks sleep.
　　D) He has psychological problems.
　　3. W: Donna’s birthday is around the corner. What should I give her as a present?
　　M: Well, she’s interested in fashion and you know nothing about fashion. So, you could just cook a dinner for her. That is much easier for you.
　　Q: What does the man imply?
　　A) The woman is very ignorant.
　　B) Donna is a shallow girl.
　　C) Cooking is more interesting than fashion.
　　D) The woman is good at cooking.　
　　答案&解析
　　1. B)。此題中的選項C)"Made up a story."即是利用對話中出現過的詞組迷惑考生的,而從Man的談話中,我們知道Carol worked "the weekend shift",即"worked over the weekend"。故選B)。
　　2. D)。原文中說到Mike身體很好,但是不和別人說話而且很害怕夜晚,可考試&大見他的心理由于地震產生了一些問題。故選D)。
　　3. D)。原文中Man說"That is much easier for you."that是指"cook a dinner for her",可見,Man的意思是說Woman更擅長做飯。故選D)。