做托福听力题时，当我们看到题号6跳出来，最后跟着一个小耳机的时候，一定会不由地松一口气，这几乎意味着我们可以再重听两遍相关的内容，然后有条不紊地做出选择。然而，我们真的能像探囊取物一样轻易地拿到重听题的分数么?是否定的。那么，重听题为什么会难倒我们?下面我们来一探究竟。
首先，我们必须要意识到重听题两种不同提问方式的区别。
提问方式一：提问功能目的
why does the professor/student say this?
相对来说，这种提问方式比较常见。提问的是说话者的功能目的，换位言之，这句话在上下文中起到了什么作用?和上下文有什么样的逻辑关系?重听的内容经常会出现在文章的起承转合处。
解题技巧：关注上下文逻辑
如tpo 17 lecture 4 octopus的第6题：
重听部分是：so the octopus has the ability to mimic both the color and the texture of its environment, and it's truly amazing how well it can blend in with its surroundings. you can easily swim within a few feet of an octopus and never see it.
why does the professor say this? (you can easily swim within a few feet of an octopus and never see it)
a. to point out an error.
b. to illustrate a point.
c. to propose an explanation.
d. to correct a misunderstanding.
教授一开始先用感叹句强调了自己的观点“it's truly amazing how well it can blend in with its surroundings”, 也就是octopus和环境融合的能力非常棒。接下来就说”you can easily swim within a few feet of an octopus and never see it”, 哪怕你游到距离它近在咫尺的地方也可能看不到它。很明显，教授是在阐述自己的观点。而这道题很多同学会误选c, 认为教授是在做解释。然而，解释之说要成立的话，文章中必须出现合理的因果关系。我们不妨把两句话稍作改动。you can easily swim within a few feet of an octopus and never see it. because octopus can blend in with the surrounding perfectly. 这样一来，第二句话的功能就是在propose an explanation。
再如：tpo 5 lecture 4 folktale and fairy tale第6题：
重听部分是：
student: and fairy tales all seem to take place in a location that’s nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
professor: what’s the line-up? how do all the stories start? once upon a time, in a faraway land.
why does the professor say this? (what’s the line-up? how do all those stories start? once upon a time, in a faraway land.)
a. to support the student’s statement.
b. to ask the student to clarify her statement.
c. to find out if the students know what story the line comes from.
d. to clarify the relationship between time in space in fairy tales.
学生先给出了自己的观点：童话故事发生在一个虚构的地点，这个地点可以是你我生活的任何一个环境。接下来教授引用童话故事的开头说：对，我们想想故事的开头，很久以前在一个遥远的地方。不难看出，这和学生的观点是相吻合的，所以教授在support学生的观点，选a。
提问方式二：提问字面意思及言外之意
what does the professor/student imply when he/she says this?
what can be inferred about the professor when he/she says this?
what does the professor/student mean when he/she says this?
以上的三种问法都是在提问教授的言外之意。做题时，我们会遇到以下3个难点。
难点1：重听部分有时不涉及解题的关键信息。
解题技巧：通过回忆判断语境
如tpo 9 lecture 2 shrub in tundra第6题：
重听部分：what’s the puzzle, warmer temperature should lead to the increase of vegetation growth, right?
what does the professor imply when she says this?
a. the information she gave is important enough to be repeated.
b. climate scientists are asking the wrong questions.
c. the phenomenon she is describing is more complex than that it appears.
d. students should be able to solve the puzzle easily.
和题目相关的上下文是(what’s the puzzle, warmer temperature should lead to the increase of vegetation growth, right?) well, the connection is not so simple. 如果能回忆出这个部分，那么这道题自然迎刃而解。
难点2：出现一些俚语，习语
解题技巧：通过语气猜测准确含义
如tpo 12 conversation 1 第5题：
重听部分：student: yeah, i never know how much to include. you know…where to draw the line-
professor: tell me about it!
what does the professor mean when she says this-
a. she understands the student's problem.
b. she wants the student to explain his comment.
c. she did not hear what the student said.
d. she does not accept the student's excuse.
听到tell me about it, 很多同学会理解为“说来听听”，因此误选b选项。而通过文章的上下文：all writers struggle with that one. 然后提出了自己的建议“i think if you just cut out the …”我们不难发现老师已经理解了学生的观点，因此应该选a, 而“tell me about it”在口语中的意思就是“我懂你”。
难点3：反讽语气的陷阱
解题技巧：不自然地重读的单词或词组提示反讽
如tpo 27 lecture 4第6题：
重听部分是：apparently, what goethe was saying was that they just happened to come up with the same theory at the same time.
what does the professor/student mean when he says this?
a. many people have proposed theories about primary colors.
b. goethe discovered primary colors by accident.
c. goethe probably developed the primary color theory before reading runge’s letter.
d. goethe may have been influenced by runge’s ideas about primary colors.
对于这道题，很多同学在看到正确的一瞬间，内心是崩溃的，老师不是明明说的是“goethe和runge凑巧在同一时间提出了同样的理论”么?怎么就变成“goethe受到了runge的影响”了呢?但是在音频中我们分别能听到教授对于“coincidentally”和“happened to”这两个表达都加了重音，而恰巧两者都表示“凑巧”。我们不妨先来读一读下面这句中文“嫌疑人说他凑巧在案发时间路过了案发现场”，请大家在读的时候注意加重“凑巧”的发音。我们应该很自然能理解说话人的言外之意应该是“哪有这么巧”，以此类推，那么题目中教授应该也是通过反讽来表达“哪有这么凑巧”。所以本题的是d选项。
以上就是对于大家总以为“简单”的重听题的分析：why开头的提问方式问的是说话者的目的与逻辑，what开头的提问方式问的则是说话者的内容和话外音。多留意下上文，多留意说话人语气中的蛛丝马迹，适度怀疑，适度推理，大家一定能够避免掉进重听题的陷阱，从而减少在这种题型上的失分。