Hey everyone, Grant here from Kōjō Communication Academy 👋
By the time you reach Part D of the Versant Speaking & Listening Test, things start to feel more like real-life English. You'll hear a short story — maybe about someone solving a small problem, learning a lesson, or fixing a mistake — and then you'll answer a few questions about it.
This section checks whether you can listen carefully, follow a short narrative, and explain what happened clearly in your own words.
It's not just about remembering facts — it's about understanding meaning and sequence.
Let's look at how to train your ears, think logically, and answer Part D questions confidently.
🧠 1. What Part D Really Tests
You'll listen to a short passage (usually 20 – 25 seconds long) and then answer three questions about it.
Part D measures your ability to:
- 🎧 Understand the main idea — what the story is about
- 🔍 Catch key details — who, where, when, and why
- 🧩 Follow sequence and cause–effect — what happened first, next, and last
- 💬 Respond clearly — one complete sentence that directly answers each question
Kōjō tip: Treat this section like you're summarising a short story to a friend. You don't need fancy words — just accuracy, logic, and clear delivery.
📖 2. Example Passage
Here's one Versant-style example:
Passage:
David was rushing to leave for work when he realized he couldn't find his car keys.
He searched everywhere in his apartment but couldn't find them.
Then he remembered gardening the previous evening.
He went outside and finally found the keys in the flowerbed.
He learned to be more careful with them in the future.
1️⃣ What was David looking for?
✅ He was looking for his car keys.
2️⃣ Where did he find them?
✅ He found them in the flowerbed.
3️⃣ What did he learn from this experience?
✅ He learned to be more careful with his keys.
Kōjō tip:
Think of each Part D passage as a mini-story with four stages:
- 1️⃣ A situation or problem appears
- 2️⃣ The person takes action
- 3️⃣ Something changes or is resolved
- 4️⃣ There's a final result or lesson
If you can follow these stages, you'll understand the whole passage — even if you miss one or two words.
🔎 3. Common Passage Types & What to Listen For
| Type | Examples | Focus On |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 Everyday Life & Relationships | Forgetting an appointment, running late, misunderstanding a friend | Who did what, how they felt, how it ended |
| 💼 Work & Practical Life | A delayed meeting, technical issue, customer complaint | The problem, the solution, the result |
| 🔧 Mistakes & Lessons Learned | Losing a wallet, buying the wrong item, missing a train | The mistake, how they fixed it, what they learned |
Essential skills:
- ✔️ Catch the main event quickly
- ✔️ Track sequence — first, then, after that, finally
- ✔️ Identify cause and effect — because, so, as a result
- ✔️ Infer meaning — sometimes the answer is implied, not said directly
🗝️ 4. Grammar & Vocabulary Focus
Most passages are written at the A2 – B2 CEFR level, using everyday words and natural phrasing.
You'll hear a mix of simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Common patterns:
- Simple past: "Mark forgot his keys."
- Cause & effect: "Because the projector wasn't working, he called IT."
- Sequence connectors: "After Sarah decorated the park, her friends arrived."
- Relative clauses: "The colleague who helped Mark was from IT."
Vocabulary themes:
- 🎂 Personal life – birthday, surprise, invitation, guest
- 💼 Work life – presentation, colleague, schedule, IT department
- 🔧 Problems – lost, broken, delayed, fixed, realized
Kōjō tip: Match your grammar to the passage. If the question is in past tense ("What happened?"), answer in past tense ("It happened yesterday."). That small detail shows clear listening and grammar awareness.
✍️ 5. Note-Taking — A Smart Listening Strategy
Officially, the Versant test says note-taking isn't required.
But personally, I always encourage my learners to take short English notes while practising — and even during the real test if possible.
Why?
Because in business, school, and real communication, you take notes to avoid mistakes. It helps you organise ideas, remember details, and practise English writing at the same time.
Kōjō tip:
Write short, clear notes — not full sentences.
Example:
📝 David – car keys – searched – garden – found – lesson: careful next time.
These few keywords can help you recall answers quickly and accurately.
💪 6. Tips for Excelling
- ⭐Catch the main idea first. Don't get stuck on details before knowing what the story is about.
- ⭐Listen for sequence words — first, then, after that, finally.
- ⭐Picture the story — visualising helps memory.
- ⭐Use full sentences — "He called the IT department." not just "IT department."
- ⭐Match the question's tense and grammar.
- ⭐Stay confident — answer even if unsure. A clear, partial answer is better than silence.
Kōjō tip: Don't aim for perfection — aim for understanding and clarity. The goal is communication, not memorisation.
🧩 7. Self-Study Ideas
- 📱 Use Versant Pro Trainer — practise Part D sets regularly to build listening stamina.
- 🎙️ Listen to your recordings on the review page — compare with model answers and refine clarity.
- 🎧 Listen to short English stories or news clips — summarise each in 2 – 3 sentences.
- 🗒️ Ask yourself who / what / where / why after listening to anything in English.
- 🗣️ Shadow short passages — imitate rhythm and intonation to improve fluency.
🌟 8. Final Thoughts
Part D is one of the best sections for improving your real-world listening and reasoning.
It's not about speed or memorisation — it's about understanding the story and responding clearly.
So remember:
- ✅ Listen for meaning
- ✅ Track the sequence
- ✅ Answer in one clear sentence
Keep practising with Versant Pro Trainer, and you'll soon find yourself following stories easily, remembering details naturally, and speaking with clarity and confidence.
Stay consistent, stay curious — and keep training your listening muscles 🧠💪
Ready to Start Practising?
Try Versant Pro Trainer and get AI-powered feedback on your speaking
Start Free TrialGrant Prentice
Founder, Kōjō Communication Academy
Grant is a native English speaker from the UK with over 20 years of experience in business English training and Versant test preparation. He has helped thousands of professionals improve their communication skills and achieve their career goals.
📖 日本語版
Japanese Translation
こんにちは！Kōjō Communication Academy の Grant です👋
Versant Speaking & Listening Test の Part D では、実際の英語にかなり近いリスニング力が試されます。
短いストーリーを聞き、そこに出てくる「出来事」や「問題の解決」、「学んだこと」について質問に答えます。
このパートでは、ただ聞いた内容を覚えるだけでなく、ストーリーの流れ（順番）と意味を理解して、自分の言葉で説明できるかがポイントです。
🧠 1. Part D で試される力
音声（20～25 秒程度）を聞いたあと、3 つの質問に英語で答えます。
主に次の力が評価されます：
- 🎧 ストーリーの主な内容を理解できるか
- 🔍 登場人物・場所・理由などの細かい情報を正確に聞き取れるか
- 🧩 出来事の順序や因果関係を追えるか
- 💬 1 文で明確に答えられるか
Kōjō tip：友達に「どんな話だった？」と説明する気持ちで答えましょう。難しい単語よりも、正確さと自然な流れが大切です。
📖 2. サンプルパッセージ
Passage:
David was rushing to leave for work when he realized he couldn't find his car keys.
He searched everywhere in his apartment but couldn't find them.
Then he remembered gardening the previous evening.
He went outside and finally found the keys in the flowerbed.
He learned to be more careful with them in the future.
1️⃣ What was David looking for?
✅ He was looking for his car keys.
2️⃣ Where did he find them?
✅ He found them in the flowerbed.
3️⃣ What did he learn from this experience?
✅ He learned to be more careful with his keys.
Kōjō tip：
Part D のストーリーは次の 4 ステップで構成されています：
- 1️⃣ 状況や問題が起こる
- 2️⃣ 登場人物が行動を取る
- 3️⃣ 問題が解決する、または変化が起きる
- 4️⃣ 最後に結果や教訓がある
この流れを意識して聞けば、少し聞き逃しても全体の意味をつかむことができます。
🔎 3. よく出るストーリーのタイプと注目点
| タイプ | 例 | 聞き取るポイント |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 日常生活・人間関係 | 約束を忘れる、遅刻する、友達との誤解 | 誰が何をしたか・どう感じたか・どう終わったか |
| 💼 仕事・実用的な場面 | 会議の遅れ、機器トラブル、クレーム対応 | 問題・対処・結果 |
| 🔧 失敗と学び | 財布をなくす、違う物を買う、電車に乗り遅れる | どんな失敗・どう解決・何を学んだか |
重要スキル：
- ✔️ メインの出来事を早くつかむ
- ✔️ 順序語（first, then, after that, finally）に注目
- ✔️ because / so / as a result で因果関係を聞き取る
- ✔️ 直接言われていない内容も文脈から推測する
🗝️ 4. 文法と語彙のポイント
Part D の文章は A2 ～ B2 レベルで、日常的な語彙と自然な表現が使われます。
よく出る文法パターン：
- 過去形 例： Mark forgot his keys.
- 原因・結果 例： Because the projector wasn't working, he called IT.
- 順序 例： After Sarah decorated the park, her friends arrived.
- 関係代名詞 例： The colleague who helped Mark was from IT.
語彙テーマ：
- 🎂 プライベート — birthday, surprise, invitation, guest
- 💼 仕事 — presentation, colleague, schedule, IT department
- 🔧 問題解決 — lost, broken, delayed, fixed, realized
Kōjō tip：質問が過去形なら、答えも過去形で。時制を合わせることで「聞き取れている」ことが伝わります。
✍️ 5. ノートテイキング（メモ取り）のすすめ
Versant 公式ではメモは不要とされていますが、私は練習時も本番も英語で短いメモを取ることをおすすめします。
理由：
実際のビジネスや学校でも、相手の話を聞きながらメモを取りますよね。それによって情報の聞き漏れを防ぎ、考えを整理し、同時に英語の書く力も鍛えられます。
Kōjō tip：
文ではなくキーワードを短く書きましょう。
例：
📝 David – car keys – searched – garden – found – lesson: careful next time
こうしたメモがあるだけで、答えを思い出しやすくなります。
💪 6. 高得点のためのコツ
- ⭐まずはストーリー全体の主旨をつかむ
- ⭐順序語に注意して流れを追う
- ⭐頭の中で映像化して記憶に残す
- ⭐答えは完全な英文で言う（単語だけは避ける）
- ⭐質問と同じ時制で答える
- ⭐自信を持って答える（完全でなくてもOK）
Kōjō tip：完璧よりも「理解して伝えること」を目指しましょう。
🧩 7. 自習のアイデア
- 📱 Versant Pro Trainer で Part D を定期的に練習
- 🎙️ 録音を聞き返し、模範解答と比較して改善
- 🎧 短い英語ニュースやストーリーを2～3 文で要約
- 🗒️ 聞いた内容を who / what / where / why で確認
- 🗣️ シャドーイングでリズムとイントネーションを鍛える
🌟 8. まとめ
Part D は「実際の英語リスニング力」を伸ばすのに最適なパートです。
スピードや暗記ではなく、ストーリーの流れを理解して的確に答える力を磨きましょう。
覚えておくポイント：
- ✅ 意味をつかむ
- ✅ 流れを追う
- ✅ 1 文で明確に答える
継続的に練習を重ねれば、英語のストーリーが自然に理解でき、スムーズに答えられるようになります。
焦らず、好奇心を持って、耳と頭を英語モードに鍛えていきましょう🧠💪
Grant Prentice
Kōjō Communication Academy 創設者
イギリス出身のネイティブスピーカー。ビジネス英語研修と Versant 対策で20年以上の経験を持ち、何千人もの専門家がコミュニケーションスキルを向上させ、キャリア目標を達成するのを支援してきました。
🌏 This article is also available in English
Read English version →