The TOEFL Listening Section:

This section measures your ability to understand conversations and lectures in an

academic setting in English.

You will first listen to a passage and then answer questions about it. You may
listen to each passage only once. You are allowed to take notes while you listen.

You will be asked about the main idea and supporting details from each passage.
Sometimes, you will be asked to infer meaning and purpose. These answers are
usually not explicitly stated in the passage but must be answered based on your
own ideas in regard to the speaker’s attitude, tone, and the context in which he
or she is speaking.

Most questions are worth one point each. If a question is worth more than
one point, it will be indicated in the directions.

Answer each question in sequential order. You will not be allowed to skip or go
back to questions during the actual TOEFL iBT exam.

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 Passage #1

Directions: Now listen to a conversation between a student and an advisor.

NOTE TO STUDENT: Do NOT look at the questions on the next page until after you listen. Get a pen and
a piece of paper and get ready to take notes.

Listen to a conversation between a student and an advisor

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 Now, answer the questions.

1. Why does the student want to meet with the advisor?

a. She needs a job or she will lose her scholarship

b. She wants to pay off her student loans
c. She wants to sign up for the work-study program
d. She needs money in case she loses her scholarship

2. Listen again to part of the conversation. Why does Mr. Sanders say this?

a. Since the student is smart, she will have no problem finding a job
b. The work-study program is only for advanced students
c. The student is making a good decision by thinking about her future
d. The student will easily be able to find a job on campus because she has good
grades

3. Why does the student want to work twenty hours a week?

a. She has enough free time to work this long

b. So that she does not go into debt
c. She has to work twenty hours a week if she is in the work-study program
d. So she can make more money to pay back her loans

4. Why does Mr. Sanders mention the student’s current scholarship?

a. To remind the student that it is important to maintain good grades

b. To distinguish between a scholarship and a loan
c. To remind the student that she will not have a scholarship next year
d. To emphasize that the student should work as many hours as possible

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 5. What does Mr. Sanders decide to do to help the student?

a. He is going to let the student work ten hours a week

b. He tells the student to discuss the job further with the job center
c. He will give the student permission to work twenty hours a week
d. He will give the job center the student’s work-study form

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 Passage #2

Directions: Now listen to part of a talk in an astronomy class.

NOTE TO STUDENT: Do NOT look at the questions on the next page until after you listen. Get a pen and
a piece of paper and get ready to take notes.

Listen to part of a talk in an astronomy class

***Vocabulary is sometimes provided in written form when it may be unfamiliar

to the student, but essential for understanding the lecture.

gravitational theory

Uranus

Neptune

heliocentric

geocentric

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 Now, answer the questions.

1. What is the lecture mainly about?

a. The importance of the discovery of Neptune

b. The geocentric versus the heliocentric view of Earth
c. How ancient astronomers viewed our solar system
d. What happened after Neptune was discovered

2. Why was Copernicus’ heliocentric idea not accepted until hundreds of years
later?

a. Copernicus could not explain why the planets revolved around the sun
b. Copernicus’s original research was inaccurate
c. Because there was more scientific evidence to support the geocentric theory
d. Because the geocentric view of Earth just made more sense

3. Why was the discovery of Neptune so important?

a. Because it confirmed that planets revolve around the sun

b. Because it added further evidence to support the gravitational theory
c. Because it confirmed that Uranus does revolve around the sun
d. Because it led to major scientific advances in the field of astronomy

4. How does the professor organize the lecture?

a. She changes the subject halfway through to start talking about Neptune
b. She introduces the topic then provides two examples
c. She compares and contrasts two types of theories
d. She introduces a problem then provides a solution

5. What is the geocentric view of Earth?

a. Earth and other planets revolve around the sun

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 b. Earth is the only habitable planet in the solar system
c. Earth is the center of the solar system and other planets revolve around it
d. The planets move around each other in circular orbits

6. What is the professor’s opinion on the discovery of Neptune?

a. It was an extremely important discovery for the field of astronomy

b. It was inevitable that an astronomer would eventually find it
c. It was only helpful to a certain extent because later discoveries were more
important
d. It was helpful because it answered some questions but also created some
problems

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 Passage #3

Directions: Now listen to a conversation between a student and a teacher’s assistant.

NOTE TO STUDENT: Do NOT look at the questions on the next page until after you listen. Get a pen and
a piece of paper and get ready to take notes.

Listen to a conversation between a student and professor

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 Now, answer the questions.

1. What is the lecture mainly about?

a. Sources of historical information on ancient Greece

b. Literary pieces that describe the daily activities of ancient Greeks
c. What life was like for the ancient Greeks
d. How to conduct historical research on an ancient society

2. How does the professor organize the lecture?

a. He discusses the pros and cons of literary sources of ancient Greek history
b. He introduces the topic then provides examples of each concept
c. He compares and contrasts sources of historical information
d. He lists several reasons why ancient Greek history is important

3. Why are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, not ideal sources for learning about
ancient Greeks?

a. They are too difficult to interpret

b. They are mostly fictitious
c. They only account for life in a few cities
d. They do not reflect a particular time and place in history

4. What does the professor say are some problems with literary sources of
ancient Greek history? Select two.

a. These works are penned by people who think highly of their own culture
b. There are no books that talk about women or slaves
c. They only represent the point of view of wealthy men
d. They have too many elaborate stories that are not historical accounts

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 5. Why does the professor discuss papyri?

a. To prove that the ancient Greeks were mostly literate

b. To illustrate that not all of ancient Greek history was told orally
c. To provide another example of archeological evidence
d. To describe how organized the ancient Greeks were

6. What is the professor’s attitude towards studying ancient history?

a. He finds it to be too complex for students to understand

b. He enjoys pointing out missing gaps and what historians misinterpreted
c. He personally thinks it is confusing and complicated
d. He likes feeling like a detective and trying to figure out what happened

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 Passage #4

Directions: Now listen to part of a talk in a world history class.

NOTE TO STUDENT: Do NOT look at the questions on the next page until after you listen. Get a pen and
a piece of paper and get ready to take notes.

Listen to part of a talk in a world history class

***Vocabulary is sometimes provided in written form when it may be unfamiliar

to the student, but essential for understanding the lecture.

The Iliad

The Odyssey

Herodotus

Histories

papyri

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 1. What is the lecture mainly about?

a. Sources of historical information on ancient Greece

b. Literary pieces that describe the daily activities of ancient Greeks
c. What life was like for the ancient Greeks
d. How to conduct historical research on an ancient society

2. How does the professor organize the lecture?

a. He discusses the pros and cons of literary sources of ancient Greek history
b. He introduces the topic then provides examples of each concept
c. He compares and contrasts sources of historical information
d. He lists several reasons why ancient Greek history is important

3. Why are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, not ideal sources for learning about
ancient Greeks?

a. They are too difficult to interpret

b. They are mostly fictitious
c. They only account for life in a few cities
d. They do not reflect a particular time and place in history

4. What does the professor say are some problems with literary sources of
ancient Greek history? Select two.

a. These works are penned by people who think highly of their own culture
b. There are no books that talk about women or slaves
c. They only represent the point of view of wealthy men
d. They have too many elaborate stories that are not historical accounts

5. Why does the professor discuss papyri?

a. To prove that the ancient Greeks were mostly literate

b. To illustrate that not all of ancient Greek history was told orally
c. To provide another example of archeological evidence

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 d. To describe how organized the ancient Greeks were

6. What is the professor’s attitude towards studying ancient history?

a. He finds it to be too complex for students to understand

b. He enjoys pointing out missing gaps and what historians misinterpreted
c. He personally thinks it is confusing and complicated
d. He likes feeling like a detective and trying to figure out what happened

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 Passage #5

Directions: Now listen to part of a talk in an astronomy class.

NOTE TO STUDENT:

Do NOT look at the questions on the next page until after you listen. Get a pen and a
piece of paper and get ready to take notes.

Listen to part of a talk in an astronomy class

***Vocabulary is sometimes provided in written form when it may be unfamiliar

to the student, but essential for understanding the lecture.

astrobiology

amino acids

sugars

proteins

photosynthesis
ozone

Directions: Now, answer the questions.

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com

 1. What is the lecture mainly about?

a. The process of photosynthesis

b. Figuring out how life on Earth began
c. Research currently being done on the origins of life
d. The sequence of steps that led to the creation of life

2. What is the professor’s attitude towards the topic?

a. She is excited about the topic and the work being done in this field
b. She is tired of the topic because she has given this lecture many times
c. She finds this topic interesting but slightly outdated
d. She is concerned that the students may not understand the topic because it is
complex

3. How does the professor organize the lecture?

a. She presents what is known and not known about the creation of life on Earth
b. She compares and contrasts current research to older findings in the field
c. She lists a series of events that occurred early in Earth’s history
d. She introduces the topic from a previous lecture and then provides several
supporting examples

4. What had to happen first for life to appear on Earth?

a. Photosynthesis had to occur

b. The ozone layer had to be created
c. Extraterrestrial amino acids and sugars had to come from space
d. The most basic life forms needed an increased level of sunlight

5. Why does the professor say this?

a. To illustrate that photosynthesis was the most valuable discovery by biologists

b. To show that the origin of life is not the most important thing to study in biology

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 c. To describe the process of photosynthesis
d. To emphasize that the role of photosynthesis was essential to life on Earth

6. What does an astrobiologist do?

a. Studies the biology of the stars

b. Tries to figure out the building blocks of life on Earth and in space
c. Conducts research in the fields of biology and geology
d. Studies extraterrestrial proteins and sugars

Calle 52 No. 18 – 41 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: +57 (1) 510 54 42 www.int-english.com