There are four questions in this quiz. You may take notes, and you may use your notes to help prepare your responses. Record your responses. Each response will earn a score of 1, 2, 3, or 4, with 4 the highest score. Add the four scores to obtain your total score.
Time – approximately 15 minutes
At the bottom of the page you will find the audio transcripts. At the real TOEFL iBT test, you do not have access to the transcripts. We’re including them here so you can learn from them, but you should look at them after you complete the tasks.
Question 1
In this question, you will read a short passage about a campus situation, listen to a conversation, and then speak in response to a question about what you have read and heard. After you hear the question, you have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
Read the following announcement from a university newspaper.
Reading Time – 45 seconds
First, set your timer to count down from 45 seconds. Next, click here and read the text.
NOTICE OF FREE CAREER WORKSHOP
Taylor University invites all students and prospective students to take part in a free career workshop and resource fair, on Saturday, February 10. The purpose of the daylong event is to provide resources to students who want to pursue careers in business, health services, or community development. Dr. Janis Morris, past president of the university, will give the opening address. The resource fair will provide information on employment in the region and educational programs at the university. Employers and career counselors will answer questions.
Now close the passage and listen to the recording. When you hear the question, begin preparing your response.
Get your timer ready!
Click to see Question 1.
The man expresses his opinion about the career workshop. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.
Response Time: 60 seconds
Question 2
In this question, you will read a short passage about a campus situation, listen to a conversation, and then speak in response to a question about what you have read and heard. After you hear the question, you have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
Read the following information from a textbook.
Reading Time – 50 seconds
First, set your timer to count down from 50 seconds. Next, click here and read the text.
RECIPROCITY
Reciprocity is an interchange between parties in which both sides benefit equally. Reciprocity is based on sharing and balance. To share is to bond. Sharing establishes a reciprocal relationship that is not easily denied. People give in order to receive. When both parties expect reciprocity, each is more likely to be satisfied than if one side felt entitled to receive without giving. We enter into reciprocal relationships almost every time we interact with others. When we buy something, we expect it to be a balanced exchange, in which we give and receive equal value. Reciprocity contributes to our sense of fairness.
Now close the passage and listen to the recording. When you hear the question, begin preparing your response.
Get your timer ready!
Click to see Question 2.
Use the examples from the lecture to explain the concept of reciprocity.
Response Time: 60 seconds
Question 3
In this question, you will listen to a conversation. You will then be asked to talk about the information in the conversation and to give your opinion about the ideas presented. After you hear the question, you have 20 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
Get your timer ready!
Click to see Question 3.
Briefly summarize the problem the students are discussing. Then state which solution you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Response Time: 60 seconds
Question 4
In this question, you will listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked to summarize important information from the lecture. After you hear the question, you have 20 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
Get your timer ready!
Click to see Question 4.
Using points and examples from the talk, describe the uses of gestures and facial expressions in human communication.
Response Time: 60 seconds Do not look at the transcripts until after you finish the tasks.
Transcript for Question 1
Now listen to two students as they discuss the career workshop.
M: Are you going to the career workshop on Saturday? W: Um. I don’t know. I don’t think so. I have a lot of studying to do this weekend.
M: You should go. It’s supposed to be really good. W: Oh, yeah? How?
M: My professor recommended it. He owns a small business downtown, and he’ll be there. He says that talking to the business people who’ll be there is one of the best ways to find out what’s happening.
W: But my major isn’t business; it’s nursing.
M: Oh. But you should go anyway. There’ll be a lot of people to talk to, people in health services. You should talk to people working in the field to find out more about what it’s like. Some of them are graduates of this university.
W: But I have a test on Monday. I really need to study all day.
M: Study on Sunday instead. This is more important. The university has only one of these workshops each year. You shouldn’t miss it. It’s a good way to start looking for a job after graduation.
W: Hmm. Maybe you’re right.
The man expresses his opinion about the career workshop. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.
Transcript for Question 2
Now listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.
All social contracts involve the concept of reciprocity, even those in our daily lives. For example, reciprocity is a key feature of friendship. Strong, intimate friendships are always reciprocal.
Sharing is important. In fact, an essential ingredient in the shift from acquaintance to friendship is the willingness of each person to share his or her feelings. The sharing of emotions establishes a personal, reciprocal relationship. Reciprocal friendship is the most intimate form of friendship, with long– term bonds of affection and mutual feelings of trust. Such friends seek each other out because they desire and enjoy each other’s company.
Reciprocal friendships are balanced. If we receive more than we give, or give more than we receive, we’re likely to be less satisfied with a friendship. And when a friendship changes from being reciprocal to being less so, we’re generally less satisfied, less emotionally supported by the friendship. This is because the friendship is out of balance. It’s one–sided because one person puts more into it than the other does. Of course, with our most intimate friends, we don’t always “keep score” of who owes whom a favor. With our very close friends, reciprocity is spread out over time.
Use the examples from the lecture to explain the concept of reciprocity.
Transcript for Question 3
Listen to a conversation between two students.
W: This weekend is going to be crazy! I have two midterm exams on Monday, and I should study all weekend, but my parents are coming to visit. They’ll want to spend time with me and want me show them around town. I look forward to seeing them, but I don’t know when I’ll have the time to study for my exams!
M: Why don’t you join our biology group tonight? There are three of us so far. We’re reviewing for the midterm, starting at six o’clock.
W: Tonight? Uh … I’d have to get the night off from work.
M: Well, if you can make it, then please come. We meet at Mark’s house at six o’clock.
W: Uh … Okay, but I’ll have to talk to my boss.
M: Another thing you could do is just explain to your parents that you have to study for examinations. I’m sure they’ll understand. You don’t have to spend the entire weekend with them. Just give them a list of places to go during the afternoon and then spend the evening with them.
W: Hmm. I could at least try that. I’ve got to do something to get ready for exams.
Briefly summarize the problem the students are discussing. Then state which solution you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Transcript for Question 4
Now listen to part of a talk in a communications class.
Communicating with other human beings relies heavily on what is called body language—all the nonverbal signals that people send to each other. Humans have more than one hundred separate gestures and facial expressions. This makes us the biggest communicators in the animal world, even without our spoken language.
Body language communicates a great deal about how people perceive a social situation. When strangers first meet in a social situation, such as a meeting or a party, they often will lift their eyebrows to communicate friendly feelings. Also, they may make some hand or arm gesture, such as a salute or a handshake, to signal involvement.
The human face is extremely expressive. Eye movement, for example, has an important role in regulating the rhythm of conversation. In Western society, eye contact is usually held between people about one third of the time they are talking together. The closer and more friendly they are, the more often they look at each other. Often a speaker will signal his intention to speak by looking away from the other person and then continuing to look away while speaking. The listener signals his interest and attention by looking at the speaker and nodding his head slightly.
Most important is the smile, the very human gesture that recognizes the other person as a fellow social being. Even though a lot of body language varies in meaning across cultures, the meaning of the smile is the same in every culture. The smile has a tremendous power to generate friendly feelings. The smile is first seen in human babies as early as four or five weeks old, and a baby can be made to smile by any smiling human face, or even by any stimulus that resembles a face, such as a simple drawing.
Using points and examples from the talk, describe the uses of gestures and facial expressions in human communication.