TOEIC Listening Part 2: Match the Speaker's Purpose

You hear:

“Did the vendor turn down our revised offer?”

Which response fits?

A. “Yes, they declined it because the delivery window was too short.”
B. “They lowered the conference-room volume before the call.”
C. “The revised offer includes two delivery windows.”

The answer is A. The object offer activates the “decline” sense of turn down. B uses another real sense of the same phrasal verb—reduce a setting—but it answers a different situation. C describes the offer without saying whether the vendor accepted or declined it.

That is the central listening decision in TOEIC Part 2: identify what action the speaker is asking about, then choose a response that preserves it. A distractor may contain the same phrasal verb, workplace topic, or general outcome while changing the action.

ETS calls Listening Part 2 Question–Response. This guide focuses on four compact workplace moves that can be confused in a short exchange:

• turn down: decline, or reduce a setting;
• rule out: remove an option from consideration;
• punt on a decision: leave the decision open for now;
• tee up a discussion: prepare a topic for later discussion.

These are not four ways to say “no.” Each leaves the workplace situation in a different state.

Continue with the TOEIC vocabulary practice hub or explore all six exams in the Exam English hub.

Listen for the state after the response

After hearing the prompt, ask what would be true if the response fits.

• If an offer was turned down, it was declined.
• If an option was ruled out, it is no longer being considered.
• If a team punted on a decision, no decision has been made yet.
• If someone teed up a discussion, the discussion has been prepared, not completed.

This “state afterward” test is stronger than keyword matching. It lets you reject a response that sounds related but changes what has happened.

Turn down: which sense does the object select?

Turn down has two common meanings.

Decline an offer, request, invitation, or proposal

“Did Priya accept the transfer?”
“No, she turned it down.”

The pronoun goes between the verb and particle: turned it down, not turned down it.

The phrase does not tell you that Priya was offended, ended the relationship, or will never consider another transfer. It reports only the refusal.

Reduce a control setting

“Is the music still too loud?”
“I’ve turned it down.”

Reducing a setting is not switching it off. The sound may still be playing.

The object normally makes the sense clear:

• turn down an offer: decline;
• turn down a request: refuse;
• turn down the heat: reduce;
• turn the brightness down: reduce.

In Part 2, a distractor can exploit the second sense. If the prompt asks about a proposal, a response about volume does not fit even though turn down is used correctly.

Rule out: remove an option, not merely reduce the list

Rule out means exclude a person, option, explanation, or event from consideration, or establish that it is impossible.

“Can we rule out the downtown venue?”
“Not yet—the landlord is still reviewing our dates.”

The response fits because the venue remains under consideration.

Compare narrow down:

“Have you narrowed down the venue list?”
“Yes, we have three options left.”

Narrowing reduces the field. It can leave several choices. Ruling one venue out removes that venue from the field.

Compare turn down:

“Did the committee turn down the proposal?”

This asks whether the committee refused it. In many situations, refusal also removes the proposal from current consideration. But the verbs describe different moves: turn down focuses on the response to an offer or request; rule out focuses on whether an option or possibility remains available.

Use the grammar carefully:

• rule out the west entrance;
• rule the west entrance out;
• rule it out, not rule out it;
• cannot rule out a delay.

Cannot rule out means the possibility remains. It does not mean the event will definitely happen.

Punt on a decision: defer it without deciding

To punt on a decision is an informal way to say the team postponed or deferred deciding because information, readiness, timing, or ownership was insufficient.

“Did the board choose a supplier?”
“No, they punted on the decision until the cost review is finished.”

The decision remains open. The board did not choose, reject every supplier, or hand the decision to someone else.

Keep the fixed frame:

• punt on the decision;
• punt on the question;
• punt on choosing a location.

Not:

punt the decision ✗

The phrase can be neutral or critical. Context decides:

“We punted on the decision until the safety data arrives.”

This can describe a deliberate pause.

“Leadership keeps punting on the decision.”

Keeps suggests repeated avoidance. The phrase itself does not remove responsibility. A good accountable response names the next checkpoint:

“We’ll return to it after Friday’s review.”

Because punt is informal, defer the decision or postpone the decision is safer in formal external communication.

Tee up a discussion: prepare it, do not resolve it

To tee up a discussion means prepare, introduce, or arrange a topic so people can discuss it productively later.

“Can you tee up a discussion about renewal pricing?”
“Yes, I’ll circulate the usage figures before Thursday’s meeting.”

The response names preparatory work. No discussion or decision has happened yet.

Natural patterns include:

• tee up a discussion about pricing;
• tee up the topic for Friday;
• tee this up for the leadership meeting;
• circulate a pre-read to tee up the conversation.

Compare nearby actions:

• schedule a discussion: arrange its time;
• start a discussion: begin talking;
• facilitate a discussion: guide it while it happens;
• resolve the issue: reach an outcome;
• tee up a discussion: prepare the substance or create the opening for it.

The meanings can overlap in real work. Scheduling may be part of teeing a discussion up. A deterministic listening item needs explicit evidence: a pre-read or agenda shows preparation; a final vote shows resolution.

Worked Question–Response set

1. Decline or reduce?

You hear:

“Why did Marcus turn down the promotion?”

A. “The role required relocation, which he could not manage.”
B. “The office was warm, so he reduced the thermostat.”
C. “He asked whether the title could be changed.”

Answer: A. A explains why Marcus declined. B activates the control-setting sense. C describes a question, not a refusal; it leaves open whether he eventually accepted.

2. Excluded or still possible?

You hear:

“Since the carrier is still checking Friday, have we ruled that date out?”

A. “No, the carrier is still checking whether a truck is available.”
B. “We reduced the delivery window from five days to three.”
C. “Yes, Friday is no longer under consideration.”

Answer: A. The carrier’s active check means Friday remains possible. B narrows timing but does not say whether Friday remains. C directly contradicts the stated fact that the carrier is still checking that date.

3. Deferred, rejected, or delegated?

You hear:

“The committee left the lease decision open until the inspection report arrives. How would you describe that?”

A. “They punted on the decision until the inspection report arrives.”
B. “They rejected the lease and closed the matter.”
C. “They authorized Facilities to sign the lease today.”

Answer: A. The prompt states that the choice remains open. B is a negative final decision. C delegates execution after a positive decision. Both contradict the supplied state.

4. Prepared or completed?

You hear:

“How did Elena tee up tomorrow’s discussion about support hours?”

A. “She sent the complaint data and added the topic to tomorrow’s agenda.”
B. “She’ll facilitate the conversation once it starts.”
C. “The group plans to vote after the discussion.”

Answer: A. The data and agenda are concrete preparation. B describes Elena’s future role during the conversation. C describes the group’s planned action afterward. Neither answers how she prepared the discussion.

Indirect answers can be the most precise

A response does not need to repeat the target expression.

“Did the client turn down the proposal?”
“They accepted the scope but asked us to revise the price.”

This response implies the proposal was not simply declined. It supplies a more precise status.

“Can we rule out a network issue?”
“The infrastructure team is still testing that possibility.”

Still testing means the possibility remains.

“Are we punting on the hiring decision?”
“Only until the final interview on Tuesday.”

The response confirms a temporary deferral and supplies its endpoint.

“Could you tee up the budget discussion?”
“I’ll send the forecast and the three options this afternoon.”

The response names preparation rather than promising an outcome.

Common traps

A real second sense

The wrong response may use turn down naturally but attach it to volume instead of an offer.

A nearby process stage

Preparing, starting, facilitating, and resolving a discussion all concern the same meeting. Only one matches tee up.

A changed decision state

Deferral leaves a choice open. Rejection and approval close it. Delegation changes who acts.

A weaker operation

Narrowing a list is not the same as ruling one option out. Ask whether the option remains.

An implication treated as certainty

“We cannot rule out a delay” means a delay remains possible. It does not predict that the delay will occur.

Topic overlap

A response about the venue, lease, or meeting may still fail to answer whether it was excluded, deferred, or prepared.

A compact method for Part 2

1. Catch the verb plus its object

The object selects the sense: turn down an offer versus turn the volume down.

2. Translate the move into plain language

• turn down the offer → decline it;
• rule out Friday → remove Friday from consideration;
• punt on the choice → decide later;
• tee up the discussion → prepare it.

3. Check the state afterward

Is the option gone or still open? Has a decision been made? Has the discussion happened?

4. Prefer evidence over repeated wording

“I’ll circulate the figures” can answer a request to tee up a discussion better than a response that merely repeats “discussion.”

Quick check

Choose the response that fits.

1. “Did they turn down the catering quote?”
   A. “They declined it because the minimum order was too high.”
   B. “They lowered the music during lunch.”

2. “Can we rule out the smaller warehouse?”
   A. “Not until we receive its inspection report.”
   B. “We now have two warehouses on the shortlist.”

3. “Did the team punt on the software decision?”
   A. “Yes, they’ll decide after the security test.”
   B. “Yes, they approved the first system today.”

4. “Who will tee up the discussion with Operations?”
   A. “Nora will send the incident timeline before the meeting.”
   B. “Nora resolved the issue after the final vote.”

Answers: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A. Each correct response preserves the requested action and the resulting state.

Practice set

Write one natural response to each prompt without repeating it word for word.

1. “Why did the candidate turn down the offer?” Give a reason for declining, not for reducing a setting.
2. “Have we ruled out renewing the current contract?” Make clear whether renewal remains under consideration.
3. “Are we going to punt on the location decision?” If yes, name the information and the next checkpoint.
4. “Can you tee up a discussion about weekend staffing?” Name one concrete preparation step.

Possible responses:

1. “The start date conflicted with a commitment she had already made.”
2. “No, renewal is still one of the two options Legal is reviewing.”
3. “Yes, but only until we receive both cost estimates on Wednesday.”
4. “I’ll circulate the demand data and put the alternatives on Friday’s agenda.”

The aim is not to memorize these answers. It is to hear what the prompt does and preserve that action in the response.

Sources

• About the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test

Related

• TOEIC Part 7: email near-words that change the meaning
• TOEIC Questions 8–10: use provided information
• TOEIC Writing: respond to a written request
• Push back vs decline
• Circle back vs touch base

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