EXERCISE 22: CLASS CLARIFICATIONS – Professor/Students

In some talks in the Listening Section on the Paper-Based TOEFL, you will be asked to recall
information exchanged between professors and students in announcements and explanations that
might be heard at the beginning or end of a college class. Choose the best answer.

Talk One Talk Two

1. What is the purpose of the announcement? 1. What is the main topic of the talk?
a. To give an overview of the course a. The difference between plagiarism and
b. To explain how to prepare for the test legitimate writing strategies
c. To cover the material from the textbooks b. The penalties for plagiarism
d. To assist students with their lab c. The use of quotations in term papers
assignments d. The requirement for a term paper on
2. On the test, how much will the multiple-choice plagiarism
questions count? 2. What is plagiarizing?
a. Ten percent a. Using your own ideas
b. Twenty-five percent b. Quoting someone’s exact words and
c. Forty percent citing the source
d. Fifty percent c. Enclosing someone’s exact words in
3. For what percentage of the total grade will the quotation marks
test count? d. Copying ideas without citing the source
a. Ten percent 3. What are two legitimate writing strategies?
b. Twenty-five percent a. Paraphrasing and plagiarizing
c. Forty percent b. Quoting and plagiarizing
d. Fifty percent c. Paraphrasing and quoting
4. What does the speaker say about math d. Copying and paraphrasing
problems? 4. What will happen to a student who
a. The students should not review their notes. plagiarizes on the term paper?
b. There won’t be any math problems on the test. a. He will receive a lower grade.
c. There will be fifty math problems on the test. b. He will be asked to repeat the course.
d. The math formulas will not be necessary for c. He will be asked to rewrite the paper.
the test. d. He will fail the course
5. In which class would this announcement occur? 5. Who is the speaker?
a. An English class a. A writer
b. A history class b. A student
c. A chemistry class c. A librarian
d. A foreign language class d. A teacher

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 EXERCISE 23: CLASS CLARIFICATIONS – Professors/Students

In some talks in the Listening Section on the Internet-Based TOEFL, you will be asked to recall
information exchanged between professors and students in announcements and explanations that
might be heard at the beginning or end of a college class. The clarifications will include natural pauses,
and will be at a normal rate for a conversation between native speakers. Choose the best answer.

Talk One

1. What is the main purpose of this talk?

a. To discuss incomplete grades
b. To arrange for makeup exams
c. To explain course policies and procedures
d. To give an overview of the course content
2. What is the speaker’s policy for late assignments?
a. He will allow the students one day after the due date before marking them down.
b. He will not accept late assignments.
c. He will subtract one letter from the grade for each day that the paper is late.
d. He will excuse students who are ill.
3. What is the professor’s attendance policy?
a. He calls the roll before every session.
b. He does not take attendance in class.
c. He has each student check in after class.
d. He uses seating chart to take attendance.
4. What is the procedure for a student to receive a grade of incomplete?
a. The student must submit a request form explaining why the incomplete is necessary.
b. The student must call the speaker to explain.
c. The student must arrange for the incomplete within one week of the final exam.
d. The student must register to take the course again.
5. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
Why does the professor say this: “Remember that attendance is 10 percent … sorry … 15
percent of the grade …”
a. He is acknowledging that his policy is unpopular.
b. He is announcing a change in policy.
c. He correcting an error that he made.
d. He is reminding students to attend.
6. What can we infer about the speaker?
a. He is not very organized.
b. He does not like his students.
c. He does not mind if his students call him at home.
d. He does not give many exams.

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Talk Two

1. What is the purpose of the talk?

a. The professor is announcing the grades for the group project.
b. The students are asking questions about the group project.
c. The professor is explaining how he will grade the group project.
d. The students are protesting their grades on the group project.
2. How will the written report be graded?
a. Each individual will receive a separate grade.
b. The same grade will be given to every member of the group.
c. The professor will give three grades for the report.
d. Three grades will be averaged for the evaluation of the report.
3. How will the final grade be calculated for each student?
a. The professor will average the grades of each member of the group.
b. Two group grades and one individual grade will be averaged.
c. The self-evaluation for each member of the group will be averaged.
d. The grades of all three groups will be averaged.
4. How will the professor know what each individual has contributed?
a. He will supervise each student closely.
b. He will rely on each individual to report.
c. The group will verify a report by each member.
d. The group leader will report each member’s work.
5. Listen again to part of the talk. Then answer the question.
Why does the professor ask this: “How do you divide the work?”
a. He wants to know how the students are approaching the project.
b. He does not understand what the students are doing.
c. He asks a question in order to provide an answer for the students.
d. He disapproves of the way that the students organized the work.
6. Why does the professor most probably use such a complicated grading system?
a. He is trying to be fair.
b. He has used it before.
c. He does not like to evaluate.
d. He can explain it easily.

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 EXERCISE 24: GENERAL TALKS – Professor
In some talks in the Listening Section on the Paper-Based TOEFL, you will be asked to
understand content similar to that of general interest topics that might be heard on a radio program.
Choose the best answer.

Talk One Talk Two

1. What is the main topic of this talk? 1. What kind of music is associated with
a. The American eagle as a symbol on Stephen Foster?
coins. a. Sentimental tunes
b. The history of gold coins in the United b. Plantation songs
States c. Hymns for churches
c. The United States Mint d. Serious society music
d. The value to collectors of gold coins 2. Which piece was the most successful song
2. What was the value of the original gold written by an American?
eagle? a. “Open Thy Lattice, Love.”
a. $20.00 c. $5.00 b. “Oh, Susanna.”
b. $10.00 d. $2.50 c. “Old Folks at Home”
3. What was the value of silver to gold in d. “Beautiful Dreamer”
1792? 3. Why did Stephen Foster withhold his name
a. Fifteen to one from the cover to some of his sheet music?
b. Fifteen and a quarter to one a. He was too young to publish music at
c. Fifteen and three quarters to one that time.
d. Fifteen to three b. His name was not yet very well known.
4. What happened after the law of 1834? c. He knew that some songs would not be
a. The Great Depression occurred. approved by high society.
b. The size of gold coins was reduced. d. He reserved his name for his most
c. All gold coins were turned in to the popular music.
government. 4. What best describes Stephen Foster’s most
d. The collecting of gold was severely popular songs?
reduced. a. Easy to remember.
5. What are the restrictions on collecting gold b. Written for the piano.
coins today? c. Appropriate for society events
a. Gold coins may be imported without d. Very serious
restrictions. 5. What do we know about Stephen Foster?
b. Gold coins may be collected but not a. He wrote many songs during his career.
exported. b. Only a few of his songs were popular.
c. There are few restrictions on the c. He was not successful in his lifetime.
collection of gold coins. d. He wrote most of his music for children
d. Only certain kinds of gold coins may be
purchased and sold.

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 EXERCISE 25: CONTENT LECTURES – Professor
In some talks in the Listening Section on the Paper-Based TOEFL, you will be asked to
understand academic content similar to that of short lectures that might be heard in a college
classroom. Choose the best answer for multiple-choice questions.

Talk One Talk Two

1. What is the main subject of this lecture? 1. What is the main focus of this talk?
a. Heredity a. The Knickerbocker School
b. Environment b. The character of Natty Bumppo
c. Birth order c. The Leatherstocking Tales
d. Motivation d. Writers for the New York Evening
2. What should the students know before they Post
hear this lecture? 2. What are the Leatherstocking Tales?
a. Birth order may influence personality a. Stories by Washington Irving
b. Heredity and environment play a role in b. Five novels about frontier life
the development of the personality c. Serials in the New York Evening Post
c. There is research on birth order at the d. Poems by the Knickerbocker group
University of Texas at Arlington 3. What kind of character is Natty
d. Firstborn children and only children Bumppo?
have similar personalities a. A frontier hero
3. Which one of the people would probably be b. An inept settler on the frontier
the most comfortable interacting with a c. The son of an Indian chief
member of the opposite sex? d. The last member of his tribe
a. A man with younger sisters 4. Who was one of the most important
b. A man with older sisters members of the Knickerbocker School?
c. A woman with younger sisters a. Rip Van Winkle
d. A woman with older sisters b. Washington Irving
4. What personality trait will firstborn children c. Forrest Mohican
probably exhibit? d. Diedrich Knickerbocker
a. Likable c. sociable 5. Which of the following best describes
b. Ambitious d. talkative James Fenimore Cooper?
5. According to the research, what might be a. Author, the Leatherstocking Tales
the dominant personality trait of the b. Author, “The Legend of Sleepy
youngest child? Hollow”.
a. Charming c. motivated c. Editor, the New York Evening Post
b. Shy d. happy d. Professor, the Knickerbocker School

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 EXERCISE 26: CONTENT LECTURES – Professor
In some talks in the Listening Section on the Internet-Based TOEFL, you will be asked to
understand academic content similar to that of short lectures that might be heard in a college
classroom. The lectures will include natural pauses, and will be at a normal rate for a talk by a native
speaker. Choose the best answer for multiple-choice questions, follow the directions on screen.

Talk One

1. What is the main topic of this lecture?

a. Popcorn
b. Radiometric dating
c. Carbon-14
d. Geological formations
2. What is the definition of a half-life?
a. The average time it takes for half of a group to decay
b. Half the time it takes for a group to decay
c. Half an hour for an individual nucleus to decay
d. Half of the carbon present in a living organism
3. Why does the professor mention popcorn?
a. Because it was an example in the textbook
b. Because he is using popcorn in a laboratory demonstration
c. Because popcorn is a good analogy for half-lives
d. Because popcorn is a carbon-based life form
4. What do we know about carbon-14?
a. It is the only accurate isotope for radiometric dating
b. It represents most of the carbon in living things
c. It has a half-life of almost 50 billion years
d. It is used to estimate the age of carbon-based life forms
5. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
Why does the professor ask this question: “So what about rocks that are millions or even billions
of years old?”
a. He is preparing to suggest an answer to the question that he has just asked
b. He is trying to encourage the students to answer a difficult question
c. He is expressing doubt about the concept that he has been discussing
d. He is probing to see whether the students have understood the lecture so far
6. Which of the following would NOT be dated using carbon-14?
a. A fossilized shellfish
b. An animal skull
c. A dead tree
d. A giant crystal

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Talk Two

1. What is this lecture mainly about?

a. Ancient cities
b. Three types of cities
c. City planning
d. Urban sprawl
2. What feature of ancient cities appears throughout most of the world?
a. Walls and fortifications
b. A central marketplace
c. Plazas and parks
d. A pattern of square blocks
3. When were symmetrical streets with circular patterns introduced?
a. During Roman colonization
b. During Renaissance
c. During the Industrial Revolution
d. During the Modern Era
4. What was the problem for city planners during the Industrial Revolution? Click on the 2 best
answers.
a. Housing for immigrants from the countryside
b. Inadequate sanitation services for the population
c. Reconstruction of cities devastated by war
d. The growth of sprawling suburban areas
5. Listen again to a part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
Why did the professor say this; “ … I advise you to refer to the tree types of cities in your book?”
a. She wants the students to spend more time reading their books
b. She did not have time to talk about the concept in depth
c. She is going to read some important information to the students
d. She wants the students to prepare for the next class
6. Classify each of these cities by matching them with their type.
a. Singapore i. decentralized
b. Mexico City ii. centralized
c. Los Angeles iii. Densely populated

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 EXERCISE 27: INTERACTIVE LECTURES – Professor/Students
In some talks in the Listening Section on the Paper-Based TOEFL, you will be asked to
understand academic content similar to that of short lectures that might be heard in a college
classroom. Both the professor and the students will be contributing to the class. Choose the best
answer.

Talk One d. At a party

1. What do the speakers mainly discuss? Talk Two

a. Admissions standards at the University of
Michigan 1. What do the speakers mainly discuss?
b. The use of standardized tests for college a. Making friends in a foreign country
admissions b. Spanish and French
c. The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign c. Foreign TV, radio, and other media
Language) d. Learning a foreign language
d. Evaluation without standardized tests 2. Why does Professor Baker begin the
2. What is Paul’s opinion about the TOEFL and the discussion by calling on Betty?
Michigan Test? a. Because she is not a shy person
a. He believes that the tests are good. b. Because she studied languages in high
b. He believes that the required test scores school
are too low c. Because she knows several languages
c. He believes that they are more important d. Because she agrees with him
than academic preparation 3. What helped Betty most in learning
d. He believes that the tests should not be Spanish?
used a. The language laboratory
3. What does Sally say about the admission b. Travel in other countries
officers? c. Studying in high school
a. They don’t always use the TOEFL and the d. Going to movies and watching TV
Michigan Test scores correctly 4. What is Professor Baker’s opinion?
b. They look at transcripts instead of scores a. He believes that it is a good idea to do
c. They should insists on a rigid cut-off score all of the things that Betty and Bill
d. They are looking for an appropriate suggested
alternative b. He agrees with Betty’s idea for learning
4. How does the professor handle the languages
disagreement? c. He believes that going to class is the
a. He agrees with Sally best way to learn
b. He restates both opinions d. He believes that it is ideal to live in a
c. He asks the class to vote country where the language is spoken
d. He disagrees with both students 5. How can we best describe Professor Baker?
5. Where did this discussion most probably take a. He is not very knowledgeable
place? b. He is respectful of his students
a. In a college classroom c. He has a very formal manner in class
b. At the Office of International Services d. He has traveled extensively
c. In the cafeteria

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