Unit 19. Introduction to International English Language Tests

TOEFL

Since 1963, the TOEFL has been used by scholarship selection committees of governments, universities, and agencies such as Fulbright, the Agency for International Development, AMIDEAST, and Latin American Scholarship Programs as a standard measure of the English proficiency of their candidates. Some professional licensing and certification agencies also use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency. The admissions committees of more than 4500 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and many other countries worldwide require foreign applicants to submit TOEFL scores along with transcripts and recommendations in order to be considered for admission.

The Listening section tests your ability to understand spoken English that is typical of interactions and academic speech on college campuses. During the test, you will respond to conver­sations and lectures. There are long and short formats for the listening section. On the long format that lasts 90 minutes you will respond to three conversations and six lectures. After each listening passage, you will answer 5-6 questions about it. Only two conversations and four lectures will be graded. The other conversation and lectures are part of an experimental section for future tests. Because you will not know which conversations and lectures will be graded, you must try to do your best on all of them. On the short format, lasting 60 minutes, you will respond to two conversations and four lectures. After each listening passage, you will answer 5-6 questions about it.

You will hear each conversation or lecture one time. You may take notes while you listen, but notes are not graded. You may use your notes to answer the questions.

Choose the best answer for multiple-choice questions. Follow the directions on the page or on the screen for computer-assisted questions. Click on Nextand OKto go to the next question. You cannot return to previous questions. You have 20-30 minutes to answer all of the ques­tions. A clock on the screen will show you how much time you have to complete your answers for the section. The clock does not count the time you are listening to the conversations and lectures.

Listening 1. “Professor’s Office”

1. Why does the man go to see his professor?

A. To take a makeup test for a class that he missed

B. To explain why he has been absent from class

C. To turn in an extra credit project to the professor

D. To ask the professor how to bring up his grade

2. Why did Ernie get a low grade on the last test?

A. He does not understand the material.

B. He is not a very good student.

C. He did not have time to finish it.

D. He was in a hurry to leave the class.

3. What do we know about the test?

A. There were 100 questions on it.

B. It was worth 25 percent of the final grade.

C. The test was an extra credit assignment.

D. The questions were very difficult.

4. Why does the professor say this: ²

A. Because she doesn't understand what the man wants her to do

B. Because she has finished the discussion about the man's problem

C. Because she wants the man to be more specific about his plan

D. Because she does not want to do what the man suggests

5. What can be inferred about the professor?

A. She tries to be fair to all of her students.

B. She is not very flexible about her policies.

C. She does not have very many students.

D. She is not sure what she wants to do.

Listening 2. "Anthropology Class"

6. Which of the following is the main topic of the lecture?

A. A progressive view of agriculture

B. The conditions for the development of agriculture

C. A comparison of hunter-gatherers and farmers

D. The negative effects of agriculture on early farmers

7. What are two key characteristics of hunter-gatherers mentioned in the lecture?

Click on 2 answer choices.

A. They were taller than farmers.

B. They ate less well than farmers.

C. They lived longer than farmers.

D. They were less physically fit than farmers.

8. Why does the professor say this: ²

A. To emphasize the point that he has just made

B. To indicate that another point will be made

C. To demonstrate that the point is his opinion

D. To regain the students' attention for the next point

9. How does the professor organize his lecture?

A. He contrasts older theories of agriculture with newer ones.

B. He makes an argument for the revisionist view of agriculture.

C. He defines revisionism by giving examples of early farmers.

D. He provides a chronological account of early farmers.

10. Which of the following statements best summarizes the position of the revisionists?

A. The agricultural revolution affected all human activity.

B. The development of agriculture had a positive influence on nutrition.

C. Agriculture contributed to the health risks for early farmers.

D. Agricultural people had to move from place to place to plant crops.

11. In the lecture, the professor describes the relationship between health and agriculture. Indicate whether each of the following is true or false. Click in the correct box for each phrase.

Listening 3. “Business Class”

12. What is the lecture mainly about?

A. Commercials on television

B. Marketing brand-name products

C. A book by Rob Frankel

D. Selling Aunt Ruby's chicken

13. Why does the professor say this: ²

A. To emphasize the importance of commercials

B. To correct something that he said earlier

C. To identify the time limits for most commercials

D. To relate new information to a previous example

14. According to the professor, why do consumers develop brand loyalty?

A. They have a relationship with the personality that the product projects.

B. They are able to recognize the brand easily when they see it.

C. They tend to make decisions based on recommendations by friends.

D. They find a product that they like and continue to buy it.

15. How does the professor emphasize his point about branding?

A. He uses Aunt Ruby's chicken as an example.

B. He defines it by contrasting it with related concepts.

C. He refers to a book that he has written.

D. He shows a familiar commercial in class.

16. Why does the professor mention laundry detergent?

A. To give an example of price wars

B. To show that consumers buy different brands

C. To name an industry that introduces new brands

D. To explain the concept of brand loyalty

17. According to the professor, what would be a good way to sell a product?

A. Design a good logo to present the product to the public

B. Hire a celebrity that customers like and relate to

C. Make it easy for consumers to recognize the packaging

D. Increase the customer service for the product

Listening 4. “Students on Campus”

18. What is the purpose of this conversation?

A. The man wants to borrow the woman's lab notes.

B. The woman is helping the man to write a report.

C. The man asks the woman to study for their test with him.

D. The woman and the man are performing an experiment.

19. What is the study about?

A. Reaction times for drivers drinking alcohol in comparison with those of nondrinkers

B. The effects of drinking beer as compared with those of drinking gin and tonic

C. The time that it takes to stop a car going 35 miles per hour when the brakes are applied

D. The problems of riding bicycles on college campuses that have 35 mile-per-hour speed limits

20. According to the man, why is it important to mention that the subjects were randomly selected?

A. The random selection explains why the results were so general.

B. This information allows another researcher to repeat the experiment.

C. The lab assistant included it in the example that the students received.

D. Randomly selected subjects assure researchers of an accurate outcome.

21. Why does the woman say this: ²

A. She is not sure about her observation.

B. She is insulting the man with this comment.

C. She is certain the man agrees with her.

D. She is asking for the man's opinion.

22. Which section includes the conclusions?

A. Discussion

B. Results

C. Chart

D. Introduction

IELTS

IELTS stands for International English Language Training System. It is designed to assess the language ability of candidates who are non-native English speakers and wish to study in Canada, Great Britain or Australia, who want to increase their chances of admission to an international university or who are professionals, looking to work overseas.

Listening Module

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1624