Three People Injured in Shooting at Des Moines Post Office

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which city does the narration identify as Iowa’s capital?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Cedar Rapids
   2. Des Moines
   3. Iowa City
   4. Davenport
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Des Moines

   The narration states the city’s role directly.

   Des Moines is the capital of Iowa.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Where did police say the two people were shot?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Outside the building
   2. On a nearby street
   3. Inside the post office
   4. At a hospital
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Inside the post office

   The narration places both people inside the post office.

   Authorities said two people were shot inside the post office.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording say postal employees do at the workplace?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. They handle mail
   2. They treat injured people
   3. They investigate crimes
   4. They take visitors into custody
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   They handle mail

   It describes the employees’ work with mail.

   The incident took place at a large public workplace where postal employees handle mail and members of the public may visit to send or collect it.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording say about the injured people’s conditions?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Their conditions were described fully
   2. Their names and conditions were confirmed
   3. More detail about their conditions was not available
   4. They were all taken into custody
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   More detail about their conditions was not available

   The report says no more detail about their conditions was available.

   The public information available does not describe the injured people’s conditions in more detail.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording report about events after the worker was taken into custody?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Police gave a full account of what followed
   2. The report did not give a further account
   3. The worker returned to the post office
   4. The injured people were identified afterward
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The report did not give a further account

   The report provides no further account of what happened afterward.

   The custody of the worker outside the building was reported by police; no further account of what happened afterward was provided.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.