How to Fight With the People We Care About, Illustrated

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

B2. 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 passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article mainly about?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Ways to avoid disagreements completely
   2. How thoughtful conflict management may ease anxiety
   3. Why partners usually interpret situations identically
   4. The history of illustrated relationship journalism
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   How thoughtful conflict management may ease anxiety

   The article explains how approaching conflict thoughtfully may reduce anxiety in close relationships.

   Arguments can remain uncomfortable, but they do not have to be treated as events that people must simply dread.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “this familiar experience” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. People ending relationships suddenly
   2. People proving themselves right
   3. Difficult feelings before arguments begin
   4. Using illustrations in news features
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Difficult feelings before arguments begin

   The phrase refers to anxiety and difficulty surrounding arguments with loved ones.

   An NPR feature looks at this familiar experience through the ideas of Priya Parker, a conflict resolution facilitator.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention winning and being right?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To recommend competitive debate
   2. To contrast victory with constructive communication
   3. To show arguments are usually harmless
   4. To explain why relationships end
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To contrast victory with constructive communication

   This contrast highlights that the feature values the conflict process over victory.

   The focus is not simply on winning an argument or proving that one person is right.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about a thoughtful ending?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It guarantees complete agreement
   2. It prevents future disagreements
   3. It can provide emotional relief
   4. It proves one speaker correct
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It can provide emotional relief

   A thoughtful ending may help even when disagreement remains unresolved.

   A disagreement may not disappear immediately, but a more thoughtful ending can reduce some of the anxiety surrounding it.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Problem, approach, implications, and practical perspective
   2. Biography, timeline, statistics, and conclusion
   3. Several opposing theories followed by a judgment
   4. A personal story followed by unrelated examples
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Problem, approach, implications, and practical perspective

   It moves from emotional difficulty to Parker’s approach and its broader relationship significance.

   By explaining both the beginning and the ending of a fight, Parker’s perspective offers a practical way to think about conflict.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between disagreement and relationship failure?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Disagreement always proves failure
   2. Disagreement can exist without proving failure
   3. Disagreement guarantees stronger relationships
   4. Disagreement occurs only after failure
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Disagreement can exist without proving failure

   The article separates the existence of conflict from the health or survival of a relationship.

   The feature presents conflict as a challenge within relationships, rather than as evidence that a relationship has failed.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the purpose of the final sentence?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To introduce a new expert
   2. To summarize the story’s format and subject
   3. To criticize illustrated journalism
   4. To announce a relationship study
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To summarize the story’s format and subject

   It identifies the article’s everyday subject and its illustrative presentation.

   The NPR story uses illustration to explore this everyday relationship problem and Parker’s approach to handling it.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

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

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

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.