What does Ryan need to do before he can use the laser cutter?
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 10–12 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: understand the main points and important details of spoken stories and informational passages, about everyday life and school subjects.
Listen to the conversation. Then answer the question.
At the Library
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Ryan: Alicia, you use the laser cutter at the Eastside branch library, right? I want to make a wooden sign for my mom's birthday.
Alicia: Yeah, but you can't just walk in and use it. Everyone has to take a safety class first. It's about an hour, on Saturday mornings at ten.
Ryan: Do I have to pay for it?
Alicia: No, the class is free. But you have to sign up on the library website, because they only take eight people. And bring your library card. They scan it to show you finished the class, and after that you can reserve the machine for up to two hours at a time.
Ryan: Her birthday is on the twentieth. I'd better sign up tonight.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What does Ryan need to do before he can use the laser cutter?
- Pay a fee for the safety class at the library
- Reserve the machine for two hours with Alicia
- Get a new library card on the library website
- Sign up for and pass a free safety classCorrect answer
Why “Sign up for and pass a free safety class” is correct
This tests listening for a requirement in an everyday conversation. Alicia says everyone 'has to take a safety class first', that it is free, and that people sign up online. The wrong choices reuse details from the conversation, such as the card, the website and the two hours, in the wrong way.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Pay a fee for the safety class at the library — Ryan asks about paying, and Alicia says the class is free.
- Reserve the machine for two hours with Alicia — Reserving the machine comes after the class, and nothing says Alicia will go with him.
- Get a new library card on the library website — He needs to bring his library card, but nothing says he needs a new one; the website is for signing up for the class.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.