“Three Out of Four” on the TOEIC: How the Test Says Numbers Another Way

Welcome to Win in 5 Minutes English. I'm Jason. Survey results, sales figures, budgets. At work, we talk about numbers all the time. And here's the thing: the TOEIC often says the same number in a different way. You'll see this a lot in the conversation part of the test, where you listen to two or three people talk and then answer three questions. That's Part 3.

Let's start with Olivia's first line: "We heard from about two hundred clients." Heard from means they got answers from those clients. On the test, that could become "about two hundred people responded," or "the company received around two hundred responses." And notice the word about. About, around, roughly: they all tell you the number isn't exact.

Then the big one: "Three out of four said they're happy with our service." Three out of four is seventy-five percent. So a question here might be, "What does the woman say about the survey?" And the answer probably won't say "three out of four." It might say "most clients are satisfied," or "the majority." Same number, different words.

Next, the bad news: "Almost half said our response time is too slow." Almost half means a little less than fifty percent, or just under half. So "nearly fifty percent" works. But be careful: "most clients" or "more than half" would be wrong. Almost is a small word, and it can change the answer.

Then: "about a third would like to get updates by text message." A third means one out of three. On the test, you might hear "one in three clients," or "roughly thirty-three percent."

And last, James asks: "Can you put it on a couple of slides?" A couple of often means two, or just a few. And putting something on slides usually means making a short presentation. So if the question is, "What does the man ask the woman to do?" the answer could be "prepare a short presentation."

So here's the trap. Wrong answers like to reuse the numbers you heard, but connect them to the wrong thing. Something like "Three out of four clients complained about response time" uses a real number from the conversation, but it's the wrong fact. So always ask yourself: what is this number about?

And here's today's big lesson: on the TOEIC, the same number often comes back in different words. Listen for the number, and listen for what it's about.

Now, let's play that conversation one more time. This time, for every number you hear, think of another way the test could say it.

Notice something? Olivia never said a single percent. But you could say each of these that way. Three out of four is seventy-five percent. Almost half is nearly fifty percent. And about a third is roughly thirty-three percent. Today's phrases: heard from, three out of four, almost half, about a third, and a couple of slides. Here's one to try today: when you share a number at work, try a fraction. Something like, "About a third of the team is out this week." Want to try a TOEIC question about this survey? You'll find it on today's page, along with "Say it another way." Check the link below.

Remember, five minutes a day is all you need to win at work, win the TOEIC, and win over your colleagues. And if someone hands you a survey today, maybe fill it out. Somebody's counting. Until next time!