TOEFL iBT Preparation Course: The Listening section
Untimed topic quiz: 19 questions on The Listening section, with an explanation after each answer. Questions and answers are shuffled every time.
Topic quiz 3: The Listening section
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Question 1 of 19
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Answer: C. Once
ETS's test specifications say Listening recordings are played once, so listen carefully the first time.
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Question 2 of 19
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Answer: A. Yes, you can take notes while you listen
ETS says you can take notes while listening to help you answer the questions.
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Question 3 of 19
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Answer: C. Four
After an academic talk of about 100–250 words, you answer four questions. After a conversation, you answer two.
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Question 4 of 19
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Answer: B. North American, U.K., New Zealand and Australian
ETS says recordings include North American, U.K., New Zealand and Australian English.
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Question 5 of 19
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Answer: A. It's on the second floor of the Student Center.
The speaker asks where an office is, so the best reply gives a place.
Transcript
Student: Excuse me, do you know where the financial aid office is?
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Question 6 of 19
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Answer: D. Sure, I can finish it by then.
The professor makes a request about a deadline. The best reply agrees to the new deadline.
Transcript
Professor: Could you hand in your lab report by Friday instead of Monday?
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Question 7 of 19
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Answer: B. Yes, she moved it to next Wednesday.
The classmate asks for news about the exam. Only this reply gives information about the exam.
Transcript
Classmate: I missed class yesterday. Did the professor say anything about the exam?
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Question 8 of 19
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Answer: D. I'd love to, but I have to finish this essay first.
This is an invitation. A polite reply accepts or declines; here the speaker declines for now and gives a reason.
Transcript
Roommate: Do you want to grab dinner at the dining hall now?
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Question 9 of 19
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Answer: A. Oh, then I'll copy the pages I need here.
The librarian says the book cannot be taken out. The best reply accepts the rule and finds a way to use the book inside the library.
Transcript
Librarian: I'm sorry, but this book can't leave the library.
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Question 10 of 19
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Answer: C. His job makes it hard to keep up with chemistry
The student says he works twenty hours a week and cannot keep up with the lab reports.
Transcript
Student: Hi, Ms. Ortiz. I'm thinking about dropping my chemistry class. I'm working twenty hours a week now, and I can't keep up with the lab reports.
Advisor: I see. Before you drop it, have you thought about switching to the evening lab section? It meets on Tuesdays, so you might be able to fit it around your job.
Student: Oh, I didn't know there was an evening section. My shifts are mostly on weekends and Thursdays.
Advisor: Then Tuesday evenings could work. The deadline to switch sections is this Friday, so fill out the change form at the registrar's office soon.
Student: Great. I'll go there this afternoon. -
Question 11 of 19
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Answer: C. Ask to switch to the evening lab section
The advisor tells him to fill out the change form at the registrar's office, and he says he will go there this afternoon.
Transcript
Student: Hi, Ms. Ortiz. I'm thinking about dropping my chemistry class. I'm working twenty hours a week now, and I can't keep up with the lab reports.
Advisor: I see. Before you drop it, have you thought about switching to the evening lab section? It meets on Tuesdays, so you might be able to fit it around your job.
Student: Oh, I didn't know there was an evening section. My shifts are mostly on weekends and Thursdays.
Advisor: Then Tuesday evenings could work. The deadline to switch sections is this Friday, so fill out the change form at the registrar's office soon.
Student: Great. I'll go there this afternoon. -
Question 12 of 19
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Answer: D. He promised to help his brother move
Leo says he promised to help his brother move into a new apartment.
Transcript
Maya: Are you coming to the study group for the history exam tonight?
Leo: I was planning to, but I just remembered I promised to help my brother move into his new apartment.
Maya: That's too bad. We're going over the essay questions Professor Hale gave us.
Leo: Hmm. Could you send me your notes afterward? I'd really appreciate it.
Maya: Sure, but only if you share your notes from the lecture I missed last week.
Leo: Deal. -
Question 13 of 19
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Answer: C. She will send her notes if Leo shares his notes with her
"Sure, but only if..." means she agrees on one condition: Leo must share his notes from the lecture she missed.
Transcript
Maya: Are you coming to the study group for the history exam tonight?
Leo: I was planning to, but I just remembered I promised to help my brother move into his new apartment.
Maya: That's too bad. We're going over the essay questions Professor Hale gave us.
Leo: Hmm. Could you send me your notes afterward? I'd really appreciate it.
Maya: Sure, but only if you share your notes from the lecture I missed last week.
Leo: Deal. -
Question 14 of 19
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Answer: A. A ventilation fan is broken
The speaker says the session is moving "because of a broken ventilation fan".
Transcript
Announcer: Attention, students in Biology 101. Tomorrow's lab session will not be held in Room 214. Because of a broken ventilation fan, we are moving to Room 120 in the Morris Building. The start time is the same, 2 p.m. Please wear closed-toe shoes, and remember that you need your lab notebook to get credit for the session.
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Question 15 of 19
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Answer: D. Their lab notebook
The announcement says students need their lab notebook to get credit.
Transcript
Announcer: Attention, students in Biology 101. Tomorrow's lab session will not be held in Room 214. Because of a broken ventilation fan, we are moving to Room 120 in the Morris Building. The start time is the same, 2 p.m. Please wear closed-toe shoes, and remember that you need your lab notebook to get credit for the session.
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Question 16 of 19
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Answer: D. How some animals survive winter by slowing their bodies down
The professor explains hibernation and torpor as ways animals survive winter without eating.
Transcript
Professor: Today I want to talk about how some animals survive the winter without eating. You've probably heard of hibernation. When an animal hibernates, its body temperature drops and its heart beats much more slowly. This saves a lot of energy. A ground squirrel, for example, may breathe only a few times a minute. But here's something surprising. Hibernating animals don't stay in that state the whole winter. Every week or two, many of them warm up for a short time, often less than a day, and then cool down again. Scientists aren't completely sure why. One idea is that the animals need these breaks so their immune systems can work properly. Now, bears are a bit different. A bear's body temperature drops only a few degrees, so some scientists prefer to call its winter sleep torpor rather than true hibernation. Even so, a bear can go months without eating or drinking, living on the fat it stored in the fall.
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Question 17 of 19
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Answer: C. Many animals warm up for a short time and then cool down
The professor says many hibernating animals warm up for a short time, often less than a day, then cool down again.
Transcript
Professor: Today I want to talk about how some animals survive the winter without eating. You've probably heard of hibernation. When an animal hibernates, its body temperature drops and its heart beats much more slowly. This saves a lot of energy. A ground squirrel, for example, may breathe only a few times a minute. But here's something surprising. Hibernating animals don't stay in that state the whole winter. Every week or two, many of them warm up for a short time, often less than a day, and then cool down again. Scientists aren't completely sure why. One idea is that the animals need these breaks so their immune systems can work properly. Now, bears are a bit different. A bear's body temperature drops only a few degrees, so some scientists prefer to call its winter sleep torpor rather than true hibernation. Even so, a bear can go months without eating or drinking, living on the fat it stored in the fall.
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Question 18 of 19
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Answer: C. To show how much a hibernating animal's body slows down
The squirrel breathing only a few times a minute is an example of how slow the body becomes in hibernation.
Transcript
Professor: Today I want to talk about how some animals survive the winter without eating. You've probably heard of hibernation. When an animal hibernates, its body temperature drops and its heart beats much more slowly. This saves a lot of energy. A ground squirrel, for example, may breathe only a few times a minute. But here's something surprising. Hibernating animals don't stay in that state the whole winter. Every week or two, many of them warm up for a short time, often less than a day, and then cool down again. Scientists aren't completely sure why. One idea is that the animals need these breaks so their immune systems can work properly. Now, bears are a bit different. A bear's body temperature drops only a few degrees, so some scientists prefer to call its winter sleep torpor rather than true hibernation. Even so, a bear can go months without eating or drinking, living on the fat it stored in the fall.
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Question 19 of 19
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Answer: D. Their temperature drops only a little, so some call it torpor
A bear's temperature drops only a few degrees, so some scientists call its winter sleep torpor rather than true hibernation.
Transcript
Professor: Today I want to talk about how some animals survive the winter without eating. You've probably heard of hibernation. When an animal hibernates, its body temperature drops and its heart beats much more slowly. This saves a lot of energy. A ground squirrel, for example, may breathe only a few times a minute. But here's something surprising. Hibernating animals don't stay in that state the whole winter. Every week or two, many of them warm up for a short time, often less than a day, and then cool down again. Scientists aren't completely sure why. One idea is that the animals need these breaks so their immune systems can work properly. Now, bears are a bit different. A bear's body temperature drops only a few degrees, so some scientists prefer to call its winter sleep torpor rather than true hibernation. Even so, a bear can go months without eating or drinking, living on the fat it stored in the fall.
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