如果某一选项明显与对话主题不相关，那么该选项往往不是答案。
如果某一选项明显与其他三个选项内容不同，即与该题主题明显不相关的选项往往不是答案。
【例8】(新06-12- 19)
【预览选项】
19. [A] He picked up some apples in his yard.
[B] He cut some branches off the apple tree.
[C] He quarreled with his neighbor over the fence.
[D] He cleaned up all the garbage in the woman’s yard.
20. [A] Trim the apple trees in her yard.
[B] Pick up the apples that fell in her yard.
[C] Take the garbage to the curb for her.
[D] Remove the branches from her yard.
21. [A] File a lawsuit against the man.
[B] Ask the man for compensation.
[C] Have the man’s apple tree cut down.
[D] Throw garbage into the man’s yard.
22. [A] He was ready to make a concession.
[B] He was not prepared to go to court.
[C] He was not intimidated.
[D] He was a bit concerned.
【听前预测】
由各选项中的apple, tree, yard, branches, trim(修剪)等词可推知对话主题应该与苹果树枝条和院子有关，再根据选项中出现的quarreled, lawsuit(诉讼), compensation(赔偿), concession(让步), court(法庭)等词可推知对话还可能涉及到对话双方的争吵。
19题各选项中谓语动词的过去式形式表明本题应该是考查男士过去的活动。[A]、[B]、[C]均与苹果树和院子有关，只有[C]是关于fence(栅栏)，与其他三项内容差别较大，且与其他各题选项内容均不相关，故[C]为答案的可能性较小。
【听音验证】
W: Hello, Patrick, is that you?
M: Yeah, Jane, what can I do for you?
W: I was calling about the apple tree that you were trimming yesterday.
M: That was hard work!
……【答案解析】
19. What did the man do yesterday?
【解析】选[B]。由女士话中的the apple tree that you were trimming yesterday可知男士昨天给苹果树剪枝了。trim意为“修剪，修整”。
