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TOEFL_Question06_Part01

The document presents various lectures from different classes discussing concepts such as innovation, exotic species, biological clocks, and tools. It explains the differences between intentional and accidental innovations, the negative impact of exotic species like Acacia plants and salt grass on ecosystems, and how flying squirrels' activity cycles are influenced by external factors rather than their biological clock. Additionally, it outlines two definitions of tools, distinguishing between those that require no modification and those that are specifically altered for a task.

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8 views4 pages

TOEFL_Question06_Part01

The document presents various lectures from different classes discussing concepts such as innovation, exotic species, biological clocks, and tools. It explains the differences between intentional and accidental innovations, the negative impact of exotic species like Acacia plants and salt grass on ecosystems, and how flying squirrels' activity cycles are influenced by external factors rather than their biological clock. Additionally, it outlines two definitions of tools, distinguishing between those that require no modification and those that are specifically altered for a task.

Uploaded by

angelapalmares1985
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TOEFL – Question 06 – Part 01

SAMPLE 01

Listen to a lecture in a business class:

Okay, so innovation is an act of making improvements by introducing something new. This is a


very important topic in the study of business because this change could be considered to be a
major driver in the economy. It could increase the value or the succession of many innovations
that can help the growth of the whole economy. Innovations that are intended to make
someone or something better are called intentional innovations. One example of intentional
innovation is the bifocal glasses Benjamin Franklin, as we all know, invented this glasses in
1784. As he was getting older he had difficulty seeing both near and far sights and for clear
vision he had had to switch both glasses and, well, I guess this had really bothered him, that’s
why he devised a way to have both types of lenses fit into one frame. The farsighted lenses
were placed on the top and the nearsighted lenses were placed at the bottom. This was an
innovation to be exact an intentional innovation; however, innovations can’t always be
planned well there are surprising numbers of inventions that are associated with unintended
actions, that is, an innovation can happen by accident and is called an accidental innovation.
Most of you guys enjoy ice cream sodas and sundays. You might be surprised why I mentioned
ice cream sodas. Ice cream sodas are a good example of accidental innovation. One day, in
1871, Otto Bauer was working at a restaurant and a scoop of ice cream just fell in a glass of
flavored soda water. He tasted it, thought it was the most delicious tasting combination of ice
cream and soda. After that, he began to serve ice cream in the soda. This was an accidental
beginning of a new invention and was the innovation that helped his business and the society.

Using points and examples from the lecture, explain two different types of innovation. Please
begin speaking after the beep.

Sample Answer:
The professor gives two examples of innovation. An intentional innovation takes place when a
person creates an invention in order to make an improvement. Bifocal glasses are example of
an intentional innovation, which Benjamin Franklin made because of the difficulty in switching
glasses for clear vision. Ice cream soda was an example of accidental innovation, which means
an item was invented accidentally to bring improvement to human life. While Bao was
working, ice cream fell in the soda and accidentally he found out that it was the best
combination, so he started to sell ice cream soda, which brought him success.

SAMPLE 02

Now listen to a lecture in a biology class:


So let’s talk about the exotic species and the ecological connections they have to the
environment. As the name says, exotic species are the organisms that have been accidentally
or intentionally transported to a new location. There are a lot of controversies about exotic
species, but mostly, these species are introduced and damage the ecosystem. Let’s look at the
Acacia plants. They were first planted for certain reasons, for example shipbuilding,
agricultural purposes and cabinet work.
Acacia plants were popular because of their supply and durability. What I mean is that the
Acacia plant has been known to reach 40 feet within 10 years and it even shoot up eight or ten
feet in a single season, so this allowed people not to worry about running out of Acacia plants.
There was no doubt that the more they cut it down, the faster it grew, but also nobody new
this was bringing death to other species. This quick growing species got too tall and began to
create shade. Then, the other plants gradually got less chance to expose themselves to the
Sun. The others started to die because they were excluded from the sunlight. The other
example is the Western European slat grass. Salt grass has a root system that grows deeply
when it is watered. That is why it is easily found near the water. The deeper the wedding, the
deeper and healthier the roots grow. This brought fast production along the coastline. The
roots of salt grasses are crucial because the other plants have to withstand drought stress
caused by losing water. This species cause death to the other plants living nearby. As the salt
grass absorb the water, the others had to die because of dehydration.

The professor describes introduced species. Explain how Acacia plants and salt grass affected
the environment. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Sample Answer:
The professor shows two negative effects the introduced species have brought. The first
example is acacia plants. The acacia plant was first imported because it was well known for its
durability and fast growth, but when it was planted, it started to grow so rapidly that it soon
obscured the sky. This made the other plants die due to the lack of sunlight as the acacia
blocked the whole sky. Another example is salt grasses. The feature of a salt grass is that it
needs moisture to grow, so people planted it along the coastline, but the problem was the
other plants. Because the salt grass absorbed all the water, this caused other plants to die
because of dehydration.

SAMPLE 03

Now listen to part of a lecture in a biology class:

Today we are going to discuss a question about whether an organism is controlled by the
biological clock or by other external factors. In order to answer this question, researchers have
conducted an experiment with flying squirrels. Flying squirrels normally have 24-hour cycles.
To discover whether they are affected by the biological clock or external factors, the
researchers placed these squirrels in dark surroundings for seven days to see if they still had
24-hour cycles regardless of their environment. Although the squirrels were very active in the
dark, it turned out that when they were kept in darkness simulating night for a long duration of
time, they only had 23 and a half hour cycles, which means that their cycle was thirty minutes
faster. Then, these flying squirrels were placed back to their original environment with
sunlight. After being kept in the dark for a long time, and then seeing the light, the squirrels
returned to their original cycle. This demonstrates a case in which an organism is controlled by
external factors, not by the biological clock.

Using points and examples from the lecture, explain how flying squirrels are affected by the
biological clock. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Sample Answer:
In the lecture, the professor explains about whether animals are controlled by a biological
clock or by external factors. The professor uses flying squirrels as an example. He says that
researchers conducted an experiment on the cycles of these squirrels. Normally, flying
squirrels have 24-hour cycles and to test whether the cycles are controlled by the biological
clock or external factors, the researchers place the squirrels in darkness for a few days.
Although these squirrels were active in the dark, the researchers found out that they’ve only
had 23 and ½ hour cycles, which was thirty minutes faster than usual, but when they were
returned to their normal surrounding with natural light, their cycles went back to 24 hours.
This helped the researchers conclude that animals are indeed controlled by external factors.

SAMPLE 04

Now listen to a lecture in an architecture class:

So let’s talk about tools. What is a tool? Many people think a tool is a piece of equipment that
is intended to accomplish a physical task, but this is a somewhat narrower definition of tools.
The broad definition of a tool is anything that provides a mechanical advantage. For example,
an elephant feels its back is itchy, so he looks around to find something to scratch his back. At
that moment, he finds a stick to scratch his back. In this case, the elephant doesn’t make a
change with the stick, but the stick is used as a tool to scratch his back. In other words, no
transformation took place when using the stick as a tool, but under the narrower definition of
tools, transformation occurs for a specific purpose. Let’s imagine that we have to dig up
ground to make a big hole. Everyone could guess the process would be faster and easier if we
made a pointed end, so if we sharpen a stick to make a hole; a stick’s formation has been
changed for some specific purpose under the narrower definition.

Using points and examples from the lecture, explain the two definitions of tools presented by
the professor. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Sample Answer:
The professor gives examples of tools. Under the broad definition, tools can include anything
that is used without a change in its form. For example, when an elephant uses a stick to
scratch his back, the stick is used as a tool under the broad definition. On the other hand,
under the narrower definition, the device is modified for a specific use. For example, in order
to make a hole, we need a tool, and, of course, a pointed end makes digging a hole faster and
easier. Thinking of this, we will intentionally transform the stick

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