In some ways, listening to and understanding other people is the key to good communication. Being able to understand others can help us to appreciate different perspectives, give us ideas, and helps to create more mutual understanding in the world.
Although for native speakers, listening may seem like the easiest thing in the world, for those learning English as a second language, it can be a challenge to understand the “real meaning” of others in conversation and during lengthy speeches.
The IELTS Listening test is unlike other listening tests that you may have taken before. Rather than only testing your ability to hear keywords, IELTS challenges you to understand the whole of what is said, not simply identifying a few words. As such, you may find some elements of the test to be a struggle.
Nevertheless, I hope that by studying this book and improving your holistic listening skills, you will become better listeners, and consequently better communicators in real life.
I would like to thank my wonderful baby daughter, Caroline, who has taught me that there are always new ways to listen to others.
在某些方面，聆聽以及了解其他人是達成良好溝通的關鍵。了解其他人可以幫助我們欣賞不同的觀點、給予我們想法，並且在這個世界上創造更多的相互理解。
雖然對於母語人士來說，聽力貌似是世界上最簡單的事情，但是對於學習英文作為第二語言的人而言，在對話以及長篇大論的演說之中聽懂他人的「真正含意」可能是一項挑戰。
雅思聽力測驗並不像你之前考過的其他聽力測驗。比起只測驗你聽到關鍵字的能力，雅思要求你理解聽力題目的所有內容，而不是單純認出幾個字。因此，你可能會發現測驗的某些部分很困難。
然而，我希望透過研讀這本書，全面提升你的聽力技巧，讓你成為更好的聆聽者，並且在現實生活中成為更好的溝通者。
我想謝謝我美麗的女兒──愷玲，她讓我知道永遠有各種新方式聆聽（理解）他人。
James & Hanna
