I have written up a couple of examples from Section 4 (Quick Response) from the 2018 N5 Listening sample test.

The tricky format of these quick response questions, もんだい 4, can be confusing. The language itself though can be straightforward.

The bad news is that the questions and the answers are all on the audio. There are no pictures or words to give you a clue.

The conversation could be in a きょうしつ (classroom), a ゆうびんきょく (post office), or even a くつしたのみせ (sock shop)

The good news is there are only 3 answers to choose from. Even if you are not certain which one sounds right, you may be clearer on which 2 sound wrong.

I recommend listening to the sample questions, and even reading the audio scripts if you have time. You can listen to the audio here.

Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Official Practice Workbook | JLPT Japanese-Language Proficiency Test

The first 2 questions below are from the 2018 sample test. I have copied and added comments.

The M refers to a Male character, and F refers to a Female character. The switch in male and female voices makes it a little easier to distinguish who is talking.   

One of the characters commonly asks a question, the other one answers.

 

Question 1

Ｆ ： リーさん、リーさんは いつ日本(にほん)に 来(き)ましたか。

Ｍ ： １．去年(きょねん)です。

         ２．5 時間(じかん)です。

         ３．3 か月(げつ)です。

In the above example, F is asking いつ (when) リーさん came to Japan.

Note that it is 来(き)ました (came) to Japan, not 行(い)きました　(went), because the exams are written from a Japanese perspective. Just imagine you are sitting the exam in Tokyo.

When you have figured out the question, you then just need to choose which answer makes most sense from きょねん (last year),  ごじかん(5 hours) or さんかげつ (3 months).

The correct answer of course must be a time in the past, so it is きょねん。

Answer 3 would have been acceptable if it was  3か月(げつ)まえ  (3 months ago),　or　三月(さんがつ)に (in March).　

 

Question 2

 

Ｍ ： 昼(ひる)ご飯(はん)はもう食(た)べましたか。

Ｆ ： １．そうしましょう。

         ２． 食堂(しょくどう)ですよ。

         ３．いえ、今(いま)からです。

The Male character is asking if the woman has already eaten 昼(ひる)ご飯(はん) (lunch).

Answer Number 1 is そうしましょう (Let’s do that). It doesn’t directly answer the question. It would be an appropriate answer if the Male character had made an invitation such as  昼(ひる)ご飯(はん)を食(た)べましょうか。(Shall we eat lunch?)

Answer Number 2 is 食堂(しょくどう)ですよ (the canteen)。Again, it doesn’t answer the question. It would be appropriate if the question was 昼(ひる)ご飯(はん)はどこで食べましたか　(Where did you eat lunch?).

Answer 3, いえ、今(いま)からです。(No, from now / I will shortly) is the correct answer.

As with all questions in the exam, understanding every word isn’t the most important thing.

Listen out for key words such as どこ(Where?), だれ(Who?) or いつ (When?) to help gauge the most suitable answer.