Photographs of people consist of photographs describing one person and photographs
describing more than one person. In the former, the correct answer must describe the
action, appearance, state, or location of the person in the photograph. In the latter, the
correct answer must describe the action, general state, or location of the people in the
photograph, or the action, appearance of each person. You have to select the statement
that best describes the photograph.

Statement Structures
In Part 1, correct answer choices may have one of the five structures below:
Structure 1 Subject + is/are + V-ing + object: The person is doing something.
- This most common structure is used to describe the action of the person in the
photograph When listening, you should identify the verb in the present
continuous tense and its object.
Structure 2 Subject + is/are + V-ing + prepositional phrase of place: The
person is doing something somewhere.
- You should listen to the prepositional phrase of place after the verb, as it
precisely describes the location where the person is performing the action.
Structure 3 Subject + is/are + prepositional phrase of place: The person is at
somewhere.
- Answer choices with the verb be followed by a prepositional phrase of place are
not very common. However, you should pay attention to the prepositional phrase
of place, as it -describes the location of the person.
Structure 4 Subject + is/are + being + past participle: The object is being acted
on (by the person).
- Even though the focus of the photograph is a person, the subject of a correct
answer choice may be an object used with the present continuous passive (be +
being + past participle). This means that the person’s action is emphasized. You,
therefore, should pay attention to the object acted on.
Structure 5 Subject + is/are + past participle + adverb: The person is doing
something somewhere.
- The verb in this structure is in the passive form; however, it does not have a
passive meaning. This structure has a similar meaning to Structure 2.

Test-Taking Strategies
1. The correct answer choice should describe the person’s outstanding action,
appearance, state, or location.

2. The most important element in all statements describing photographs is the verb
itself. You may hear certain new verbs. You, thus, should practice listening to and learn
typical verbs.
3. You should also carefully observe the person’s appearance and clothes. After
identifying the verbs in the statements, you must listen to the remaining details.
Sometimes, the correct statement describes the clothes he/she is wearing or the
accessories he/she is bringing.
4. You must distinguish between “action” and “state”. Take the verbs wear and put on
as examples: wear is used to describe the “state" of having clothes on, while put on
refers to the "action” of getting dressed.
5. Sometimes, the name of an object is not specifically stated but a general term is used
instead. For example, the person in the photograph is playing the guitar or piano; the
correct answer choice may use a musical instrument - the general term of guitar and
piano. You should familiarize yourself with some other general terms such as tools,
equipment, vehicles, fruits, etc.
6. You should not interpret. Just carefully look at the photograph and decide which of
the statements best describes what you can see in the photograph.
7. You must also observe the things around the person. Sometimes, the main focus of
the photograph is the person, but the correct answer choice may concentrate on the
objects or scenes.
8. In the actual test, all the photographs are in black and white. Therefore, nearly all of
the statements which mention colors will be incorrect answers.
9. You must observe the general action/state of the people in the photograph. Listen to
not only the verbs but also the prepositional phrases of place.
10. Sometimes, you must also pay attention to the appearance or action of an
outstanding individual in the group.
11. The correct answer choice generally describes what the people in the photograph
are doing together, or what a focused person in the photograph is doing.
12. you must make sure that the subject and verb in the answer choice best describe
what you can see in the photograph.
13. You must be very cautious because incorrect answers may sometimes be those that
mention the most outstanding object in the photograph.