Sometimes the answer to a question about a dialog is not directly stated in the dialog. How can you answer this type of question? You must be able to make an inference about the dialog. Inference means drawing conclusion from the context and available information. In other words, information in the dialog will indirectly provide you with the answer to the question.
This type of question can be phrased in two ways:
Some inference questions involve overstatement, or exaggeration.
F: Are you interested in selling your car?
M: Sure–if someone has a million dollars!
Because of the exaggeration, we can infer that the man doesn’t want to sell his car at all.
∇ Sample Items
You will hear:
M1: Can I take this bus to the art museum?
F1: No, this bus goes north to Bank Street. You want a bus that goes the opposite way.
M2: What can be inferred from this conversation?
You will read:
(A) The man needs to take a southbound bus.
(B) There is no bus to the museum.
(C) It takes a long time to get to the museum by bus.
(D) The art museum is on Bank Street.
The answer is (A). From the information in the dialog it can be inferred that (A) is correct because the first bus is going north, but the man must take a bus going in the opposite direction to get to the art museum. Choice (B) is incorrect; it is possible to get to the museum by bus. There is no information about (C). Choice (D) can’t be true because Bank Street is where the first bus is going.