There are six 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 six scores to obtain your total score.
Time – approximately 20 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 be asked to talk about a familiar topic. After you hear the question, you will have 15 seconds to prepare your response and 45 seconds to speak.
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What is the best gift you have ever received? Describe this gift and explain its importance to you. Include details and examples in your explanation.
Response Time: 45 seconds
Question 2
In this question, you will be asked to give your opinion about a familiar topic. After you hear the question, you will have 15 seconds to prepare your response and 45 seconds to speak.
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Some students like to study for a long period of hours at a time. Others divide their study time into many shorter sessions. Which method do you think is better for studying and why? Include details and examples in your explanation.
Response Time: 45 seconds
Question 3
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 the dean’s office.
Reading Time – 45 seconds
First, set your timer to count down from 45 seconds. Next, click here and read the text.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
A variety of scholarship programs at Middleton College enable deserving students to attend college and lessen their financial burden. Most scholarships are available only for full–time students. Scholarships are generally awarded to prospective students who have excelled in their previous studies or made distinguished contributions in their community or other work. A separate application is required for each scholarship applied for. Scholarship applications are due in the Financial Aid Office by May 1 for the academic year beginning the following September.
Now close the passage and listen to the recording. When you hear the question, begin preparing your response.
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The man expresses his opinion on applying for scholarships. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.
Response Time: 60 seconds
Question 4
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.
THE CONVOY
The term “convoy” describes the network of social relationships that everyone carries forward through life. The convoy provides valuable social support because it forms a protective layer of family and friends who help a person manage the challenges of life. The members of one’s convoy are the individuals with whom one has close and intimate relationships. The convoy does not remain static as it moves through time. Rather, membership changes over the years. New members are added, and members are lost, but the core members of the convoy tend to remain constant over long periods.
Now close the passage and listen to the recording. When you hear the question, begin preparing your response.
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Explain the convoy and how the examples given by the professor illustrate the concept.
Response Time: 60 seconds
Question 5
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.
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Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which solution you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Response Time: 60 seconds
Question 6
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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Using points and examples from the lecture, explain how various abiotic factors in ecosystems affect plants and animals.
Response Time: 60 seconds Do not look at the transcripts until after you finish the tasks.
Transcript for Question 3
Now listen to two students as they discuss scholarships.
M: So… are you applying for any scholarships? W: Oh, I don’t know.
M: You should! You’ve got what it takes to get a scholarship.
W: I don’t know… my grades aren’t that great.
M: But it’s not just grades that matter. You have leadership skills. You’ve done all that volunteer work at the senior center, setting up activities for the old folks. That’s exactly the sort of thing that impresses the scholarship committee.
W: The senior center is just something I like to do. I enjoy the people there.
M: If I were you, I’d apply for every scholarship available. And in the application, describe your volunteer work with the elderly. That’s exactly the sort of “distinguished contribution to your community” that can help you.
W: Do you think so?
M: Trust me. You deserve a scholarship, and I think you have a good chance of getting one. You should definitely apply. Even if you don’t get one this year, it’s good experience to fill out an application. It makes you think about your own accomplishments, and it’s good practice for job hunting later.
W: Maybe you’re right. Thanks for the suggestion.
The man expresses his opinion on applying for scholarships. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.
Transcript for Question 4
Now listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.
The people most likely to be part of our convoy are parents and siblings, spouse or partner, and friends. Even pets can be important members.
Over the years, our convoy changes in size and makeup. Friends are gained or lost, we lose our parents to death, and we gain or lose partners through marriage or divorce. However, most of us have some members who stay with us for most of our life.
In our late teens and twenties, we start building our convoy. Friends are probably the biggest percentage of our convoy at this time. Later, in our thirties, our convoy is still there, but we may not spend as much energy on expanding it. Some of our friends go off in different directions. We lose touch.
In middle age, we still add or lose friends, but we seem to focus more on maintaining the relationships with core members—our spouse, close friends and family. After we retire from working, our convoy shrinks in size, but it’s very important to us. Spouses and partners remain central. Close friends and siblings increase in importance. In old age, our convoy shrinks again, as spouses and friends die. This makes the remaining members, including friends and pets, much more important to us.
Explain the convoy and how the examples given by the professor illustrate the concept.
Transcript for Question 5
Listen to a conversation between two graduate student teaching assistants.
M: Hi, Molly. How are you?
W: I was afraid you’d ask. Things couldn’t be much worse. Dr. Carter just gave me over forty student papers to grade, and she wants them all done by the end of the week! And I have to write a research paper for genetics, plus I have a big test coming up in another class. I don’t see how I can get it all done. If I grade all these papers, I’ll never have time for my own coursework.
M: Wow. Why don’t you ask Dr. Carter for more time to grade the papers?
W: I could, I suppose, but she really needs them done because the students want them back.
M: Dr. Carter doesn’t realize how overworked we are unless we tell her. It might help to mention it.
W: She expects a lot from us. Ugh. I’ve got way too many things to do.
M: Well, here’s something else you could do. You could set a strict time limit for grading the papers. Since they need to be done by the end of the week, I’d do that first, before all of your other work, but set a time limit for each paper—oh, I don’t know, say 15 minutes apiece—and then don’t spend any more time than that on any paper. That’s the only way you’ll get them all done.
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which solution you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Transcript for Question 6
Listen to part of a lecture in an ecology class. The professor is discussing abiotic factors in ecosystems.
Ecosystems are made up of both living and nonliving components. The nonliving—or abiotic—components of ecosystems include physical factors such as sunlight, rainfall, temperature, and wind.
The abiotic factor of sunlight provides the energy that drives ecosystems. Almost all forms of life get their energy from sunlight. Plants use sunlight to manufacture their food. Sunlight is important to the development and behavior of many plants and animals that are sensitive to the relative lengths of day and night. The amount of daylight is a signal for seasonal events, such as the flowering of plants and the migration of birds.
Rainfall and temperature are abiotic factors that affect habitats and food supplies in several ways. Climate greatly influences the plant community, which then determines the availability of food, nest sites, and shelter for animals. Air temperature is an important factor because of its effect on biological processes. Air temperature affects the ability of organisms to regulate their body temperature. Not all plants and animals can maintain an active metabolism at very low or very high temperatures.
The abiotic factor of wind increases the effects of air temperature—what we call the wind chill factor, the combined effect of wind speed and air temperature. Wind chill increases heat loss in organisms. Wind also causes water loss in organisms by increasing the rate of evaporation in animals and the rate of transpiration in plants.
Using points and examples from the lecture, explain how various abiotic factors in ecosystems affect plants and animals.