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 information from a college course catalog.
Reading Time – 45 seconds
First, set your timer to count down from 45 seconds. Next, click here and read the text.
BASIC COLLEGE WRITING
The objective of this course is to write effective college essays that integrate assigned readings, class discussions, and the writer’s knowledge and experience. Students will produce a total of six essays. Each week, students will have two hours of lecture and discussion, two hours in a writing workshop, and one hour in a peer feedback group. In the feedback group, students will read and respond to each other’s writing. The course will help students prepare for future study and/or careers in writing, humanities, literature, and teaching.
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 peer feedback group. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.
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.
COHORTS
Social scientists use the term “cohort” to describe a group of individuals who were born around the same time, usually within a span of five to ten years. Members of the same cohort move through history together. They share certain historical and cultural influences because they experience major events at the same age. The life experiences of one cohort will be different from those of another, even a cohort that is just a few years older or younger. This is because the timing of historical events interacts with developmental issues, producing unique patterns of influence for each cohort.
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.
Explain the concept of cohort and how the examples given by the professor illustrate the concept.
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.
The speakers discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem. Briefly describe the problem. Then state which solution you prefer and explain why.
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.
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Click to see Question 4.
Using points and details from the lecture, explain what the pyramid chart and the wheel chart reveal about a company.
Response Time: 60 seconds Do not look at the transcripts until after you finish the tasks.
Transcript for Question 1
Now listen to a student and a professor as they discuss the writing course.
M: Professor Olson, I’ll be in your writing course next session, and I … uh … I was wondering if I could skip the peer feedback group and just come to the lecture and writing workshop.
W: Oh?
M: It’s like this…I…uh…you see, I was in a student writing group before, but it didn’t help at all with my writing. The other students were not good writers, so it was a waste of time. I can’t learn from other students if they don’t know how to write.
W: Learning how to write with other students, responding to the writing of others, expressing yourself in a small group—these are important steps in the learning process.
M: But I can learn better from a teacher because a teacher has more education and experience. The other students don’t know how to teach writing. Isn’t that the teacher’s job?
W: I promise that you’ll learn from the teacher, but you’ll also learn more than you think from your peers.
The man expresses his opinion about the peer feedback group. 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 sociology class.
If we look at times of major social change, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s, we can see how variations in experience affected different cohorts. Everyone who was alive during that period was affected in some way by economic conditions, but because these circumstances hit each cohort at a different age, the effects were different for each.
For example, one study showed that people who were young children during the 1930s showed more long–term effects than did people who were teenagers at the time. The younger cohort spent a greater portion of their childhood under conditions of economic hardship, and that affected their family life and their educational opportunities. The negative effects of the Depression on the children’s personalities could still be seen in adulthood.
In contrast, people who were teenagers during the Depression didn’t show negative effects later in life. In fact, some of them showed more independence and initiative. Many teenagers had to work to help their families, and this early responsibility had a positive influence on their development. So, you can see how two cohorts that were close in age experienced the same circumstances differently because they were different ages at the time. Explain the concept of cohort and how the examples given by the professor illustrate the concept.
Transcript for Question 3
Listen to a conversation between a student and a university officer.
W: How much does it cost for a permit to park my car on campus?
M: A parking permit is $45 for the quarter. But I’m required to tell you that a parking permit does not guarantee a parking space on campus.
W: What? It takes me an hour to drive here, and I have to park my car somewhere.
M: We know it’s a problem. Our parking lots just aren’t big enough for all the students we have this year. That’s why I’m required to warn you about the situation.
W: What am I supposed to do? I have to drive to school.
M: One thing you can do, if possible, is register for classes that meet in the afternoon. The parking lots are usually full in the morning, but less full in the afternoon.
W: Okay.
M: Another thing you can do is park in our park–and– ride lot on Western Avenue, a mile from here. Your parking permit is good there, and you can usually find a parking space. You catch a free shuttle bus to campus from there. They run every 20 minutes.
W: Okay, thanks. I appreciate your advice.
The speakers discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem. Briefly describe the problem. Then state which solution you prefer and explain why.
Transcript for Question 4
Listen to part of a lecture in a business management class.
No matter what size a business is, its organizational chart shows who is in charge of what, and who reports to whom. Organizational charts direct the flow of information so people can communicate in an orderly way.
Many companies have an organizational chart in the shape of a pyramid. In the pyramid chart, the labor force is on the bottom, supporting the whole structure. In the middle are the various layers of management, one on top of the other, all the way up to the chief executive officer at the top. The pyramid structure defines a formal chain of command. Information flows up the chain, and orders flow down. The pyramid is logical and orderly. Everyone knows his or her place in the hierarchy. However, with the pyramid, decision–making can take a long time because everything has to work its way up and down the chain of command.
Other companies have an organizational chart that looks more like a bicycle wheel. The wheel chart reveals a more integrated organization. Management is the hub, and all the departments are the spokes giving the wheel its shape. The labor force is the rim. Information flows around the rim in both directions, and up and down the spokes. The wheel chart implies a policy of open communication throughout the organization. This means that any staff member can go anywhere in the company to ask questions and get answers.
Using points and details from the lecture, explain what the pyramid chart and the wheel chart reveal about a company.