TOEFL Listening Practice Skill 1-3 (Longman TOEFL PBT)

Task 2

Now, you will analyze the social functions of the captions, by identifying the focus, the context, and the relationship with their respective headlines.

To do this, you need to answer the following questions:

1.      What/Who is the highlight of each caption?

2.      How is the picture contextualized?.

3.      How does the caption relate to the headlines?

Caption 1 has been analyzed for you as an example. Study the example carefully, and then analyze all the other captions.

Question 1:

1.      What/Who is the highlight of each caption?

The bolded words “winning duo” helps you to know who or what your attention needs to be focused on. The picture shows Kevin and Marcus holding their trophies with happy smiles. This is what the picture highlights: Kevin and Marcus, winning the All England title again.

The Highlight: Kevin and Marcus, winning the All England title.

Caption 1

badminton Persistent Kevin, Marcus claim 2nd All England title

(The Jakarta Post, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, p. 1)

Winning duo: Indonesia’s Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (left) and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon pose on the podium with their tophies after beating Denmark’s Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen during the men’s doubles final at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, on Sunday.

Question 2:

1.      How is the picture contextualized?

A picture can be contextualized by explicit statements of the circumstances surrounding the the event.

The Context of the picture The circumstances surrounding the event: -          on the podium -          with their tophies -          after beating Denmark’s Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen -          during the men’s doubles final at the All England Open Badminton Championships -          in Birmingham, England, -          on Sunday

Question 3:

2.      How does the caption relate to the headlines?

The Relation to the Headline The headline is “Persistent Kevin, Marcus claim 2nd All England title”. The word ‘winning’ in the caption is closely associated with the word ‘persistent’; ‘duo’ refers to Kevin and Marcus.