Eliminate answer choice A because it focuses on the test, not the man's studying habits.. Answer choice B isa trap answer; the student actually says he's good at biology.. ‘The man says
Trang 1the trade would be complete And that's the last major step: The receipts became the first real ancestor of the money we use today because they stood for value actually attached to goods somewhere else
1 According to the professor, why was trade with nonessential
goods difficult?
(A) Poor societies cannot devote resources to making nonessential goods
(B) Nonessential goods are often large and heavy to carry
(C) Different societies have different systems of value
(D) The decorations used by early societies were too simple to be valuable
2 Why did people begin relying on gold and gold specialists?
Click on 3 answers
(A) Gold had to be imported over long distances
(B) Travelers were in danger from thieves
(C) Only specialists could determine its value
(D) Gold doesn't spoil (E) Gold was difficult to transport
3 How did gold specialists indicate the value of the gold they
received?
(A) _ They recorded where it had been mined
(B) They recorded its purity and density
(C)_ They only lent out the highest-quality gold
(D) They issued receipts in different colors
Now, ask one of your friends to repeat the following part of the lecture, which is what you will hear on the actual TOEFL
MS: So if you were storing 500 ounces of gold of whatever percent purity, you'd give the receipt back, and get your 500 ounces of gold back? They kept it for you in your
own little drawer or something?
‘MP: Whoops! | guess | did make it sound that way—thanks for catching that!
4 Listen again to part of the lecture Then answer the question
What did the professor mean by this? €)
Whoops! | guess | did make it sound that way—thanks for catching that!
(A) He was not sure what the student said
(B) His statement was misleading
(C) He wanted to emphasize a different point
{D) The man’s interpretation is correct
312 | Cracking the TOEFL iBT
Trang 25 Why did the professor say the receipts issued by gold shops
were the first ancestors of money?
(A) All gold shops used the same standard format
(B) They were written on small slips of paper
(C) They represented the value of something else
(D) They were used in societies where bartering was still practiced
6 What is an ingot?
(A) A piece of gold
(B) A gold specialist's shop
(C) Areceipt
(D) Acultural object
Listening Practice Drills | 313
Trang 3Chapter 11
Listening Practice Answers and Explanations
Trang 4DRILL #1: A CONVERSATION
Here is the transcript for Drill #1 Read through it and pay attention to the structure and purpose of the talk
Male Student: I can't believe it! Professor Blake gave me a C on my biology test
Female Student: Of course he did You only answered 80 percent of the questions right
MS:
F6:
MS:
FS:
M6:
Fs:
MS:
FS:
MS:
FS:
MS:
FS:
MS:
MS:
MS:
MS:
Next time, maybe you should consider studying without the television on
But | wasn't watching it! I really was paying attention to my notes and the book and stuff; I'm just the sort of person who needs white noise in the background
in order to concentrate—I mean, I'm usually good at biology
(Oh? My sister says she’s like that
Okay, so you know what | mean? If I'm in the middle of a quiet room, every little noise is distracting It's like it's magnified | mean, amplified whatever If the radiator starts making little noises—
Boy, how old is the heating system in these old dorm rooms, anyway, huh?
Yeah, really? Or someone's having a conversation in the hall and it comes in
through the door | just start fixating on it
| get that, but is it a good idea to use the television for white noise? Don't you get distracted if something funny comes on you know, or interesting?
Sometimes, | guess But most of the time, | can focus just fine | think
Uh, all right But, you know, though, um, you can use other things to drown out noises Like, my sister—I'm not making this up—she had an old fan, and it made kind of a hum when she ran it
Those old fans do
Right? A steady sound, rhythmic not loud and it turned out that if she put iton, it was soft enough that she could think, and loud enough that the little distracting stuff in the background, like, she couldn't hear that
| just bought my fan new this year; it's the quiet kind Well, sure was, you know, just giving an example In our psychology course last year, didn't they say that tuning the radio in to static is okay too? For people who need white noise, | mean?
Static on the radio? You know the hissing sound that makes! I'll never get any work done!
›: That's if you have it at normal volume With trial and error, you might be able
to make it softer so it doesn’t annoy you but loud enough to drown out other stuff—
Uh-huh,
—like my sister's fan
| guess
: It has to be better than the television Just look at that biology score again
Don't make me, please Yeah, | mean, you may be right I'l see how it works studying without the television
316 | Cracking the TOEFL iBT
Trang 5FS: Ooh, something else | just thought of
MS: What?
FS: Well, you were talking about the radiator, and | think ! don’t remember which
class it was, but we were told that people find it harder to concentrate when they're in a warm room It helps if the temperature's a litle on the cool side
Sharpens your concentration
MS: | do get drowsy when the radiator's on full blast, but the radiators in our rooms aren't very easy to, uh, control It's not surprising after they've been used so many years, but—
FS: 'm with you there You could always try cracking the window, though Or
maybe wearing fewer layers of clothing, It might be a little uncomfortable, but
it's your grades we're talking about, after all
This conversation falls into the students discussing a problem category, a very typical pattern on the TOEFL, Our first goal with a conversation is to identify the purpose of the interaction Like the main idea, the purpose ap- pears early in the conversation In this case, the following lines reveal the purpose:
M6: | can't believe it! Professor Blake gave me a C on my biology test
FS: Of course he did You only answered 80 percent of the questions right Next
time, maybe you should consider studying without the television on
Once you identify a problem, your next goal is to try to listen for the solutions offered In many cases, one lis tener will offer a solution, only to have the other speaker reject it The listener will then advise another possible solution In this case, the listener offers the following advice:
“Next time, maybe you should consider studying without the television on."
After the speaker claims he needs the television on, the listener proposes two other solutions
“But, you know, though, um, you can use other things to drown out noises Like, my sister—
|'m not making this up—she had an old fan, and it made kind of a hum when she ran it."
“In our psychology course last year, didn't they say that tuning the radio in to static is okay
too?"
After discussing these options, the woman offers one final solution
“| don't remember which class it was, but we were told that people find it harder to
concentrate when they're in a warm room It helps if the temperature's a little on the cool
side Sharpens your concentration.”
It is also very important to pay attention to tone when listening to conversations Does the speaker accept the solutions or reject them? Was the problem solved by the end of the conversation or will it still be an issue? Paying attention to the tone will help you with POE
Look at some of the man’s responses What is his tone?
“Static on the radio? You know the hissing sound that makes! I'll never get any work done!”
“Yeah, | mean, you may be right I'll see how it works studying without the television.”
Listening Practice Answers and Explanations | 817
Trang 6“I do get drowsy when the radiators on full blast, but the radiators in our rooms aren't very easy to, uh, control.”
Te appears that the man is initially against listening to the radio co solve his problem, but he then offers to try the suggestion As for the radiator solution, he feels it might work, but he’s not sure he will be able to adjust the temperature Based on these lines, the man's tone is not extremely positive or extremely negative, but it doesn’t seem as if his problems are completely solved
Now let's see how this understanding of the purpose and the tone helps us attack the questions
1 © This question asks about the purpose of the selection As we've seen, the conversation involves solutions
to the man’s studying problems Eliminate answer choice (A) because it focuses on the test, not the man's studying habits Answer choice (B) isa trap answer; the student actually says he's good at biology
He received a low score on the test because of his studying problems Answer choice (D) is obviously incorrect The issue is the student's academic performance
2 © This isa derail question Recall chat in the beginning of the talk, the man and woman had the follow
ing exchange:
FS: .Next time, maybe you should consider studying without the television on
‘MS: But | wasn't watching it! | really was paying attention to my notes and the book and stuf; I'm just the sort of person who needs white noise in the background
in order to concentrate
However, if you missed that, you may have noticed that answers (A) and (D) are the solutions offered
by the woman, so you can eliminate them ‘The man says that the noises made by the radiator are tracting, but he doesn't use them for white noise so answer choice (B) is wrong
3 B_ For this question, we have to figure out what the woman is suggesting The following is stated:
MS: | just bought my fan new this year; it's the quiet kind FS: Well, sure 1 was, you know, just giving an example
Eliminate (A) The main purpose of the conversation is to solve a problem and the woman offered a few different solutions, so she did not misunderstand the problem Also, eliminate (D) ‘The woman offers another solution Therefore, the fan doesn't solve the problem This is a good example of how knowing the purpose and the structure can help you eliminate answers After the man says he has a quiet fan, the woman suggests using a radio instead, which makes answer choice (B) the best option
4 D Thisis another suggestion/inference question Once again, use the purpose to help you The answer should have something to do with studying and the problems the man is having Thus, eliminate answers (A) and (B) right away They have nothing to do with studying Answer choice (C) is the trap answer Although the woman suggests a number of solutions to help the man, she doesn’t suggest using noise from the out- side, However, in her discussion of the radiator, she does mention that it’s easier to study in a cool room, making choice (D) the answer,
318 | Cracking the TOEFLBT
Trang 75 B_ This final question asks for a detail from the passage There are two hints about the heating system, one
in the beginning of the talk and one toward the end The first hint is when the woman says:
“Boy, how old is the heating system in these old dorm rooms, anyway, huh?”
Later, the man states the following:
“It’s not surprising after they've been used so many years, but—"
Thus, choice (B) is best IF you missed those details, you can stil eliminate answer choice (C)—the pur- pose of the conversation is to offer solutions to a problem If there was no solution, the woman wouldn't offer any advice Answers (A) and (D) are not mentioned during the conversation
DRILL #2: A CONVERSATION
Here is a transcript of the conversation heard for these questions
Make sure ro read through the transcript below to familiarize yourself with the types of structures you will see
on the TOEFL
Narrator: Listen to a conversation at a university guidance office
Woman: Uh, excuse me—are you Dr Martin?
Man: \'m Greg Martin, and | don't think there are any other Martins in the office, but
I'm a nutritionist, not a doctor
Oh, sorry | guess | was confused, The doctor at the student health center told
me | should see you because | need an allergy test | was hoping I'd be able to
make an appointment
Sure
| would have called, but | was right here, so | figured I'd stop in and—
: No problem at all Since your file hasn't come to me from student health—
Oh, right, | mean, | just left there, so you wouldn't have it yet I'll come back
SS
SS
: Wel, no, actually, if you have a minute, I'll ust give you a general explanation of what we're going to ask you to do I can't actually give you instructions specific
to your case without looking at your file, but here's the basic idea
: Okay, can I—
Oh, sure, sure, I'm sorry, please have a seat here
Thanks | thought they tested for allergies by injecting you with things?
: Sometimes In the case of food allergies, where your symptoms aren't life- threatening, it's more helpful to check by adjusting your diet
/ Uh-huh, so what do | have to do?
As | said, i's going to depend on what your doctor's written in your file for
me, but there are two major kinds of dietary tests for food allergies One is an elimination diet We'll use that if your doctor is pretty stumped about what's causing your problem For a few weeks, you'll have to eat a bland diet—just
SS:
Listening Practice Answers and Explanations | 319
Trang 8foods that we know are safe—that's pretty certain to eliminate the offending food
W: A few weeks?
M: Well, it can take a while for the food you eat to clear out of your system We want a totally blank canvas because then what we do is, one by one, you add
in foods that a lot of people have allergies to
W: Oh, | get it, and then if my symptoms come back, we know what food must be
doing it
M: Its not always that exact, but that's the idea
W: Well, okay, but what's the other test? You said there were two
M: The other test is more of a spot test If your doctor knows from your symptoms that there are only a few foods that are likely culprits, you'll stop eating
just those foods for a week or so Then, you'll eat one of them on an empty stomach, and we'll wait to see whether your symptoms come back
W: Okay
M: But as | said, that test is really only useful if your doctor's already got a pretty good sense of what your problem might be
W: Well, it sounds like it's a lot easier to go through, so, you know, I'm hoping
M: Of course Let me look at my schedule and see whether | have a slot open on uh, Friday, maybe? Your doctor should have gotten your information to me by then
Once again, our first challenge during a conversation on the TOEFL is to identify the purpose ‘The purpose should appear within the first two to four exchanges between the speakers
In this conversation, the purpose is stated in the following lines:
W: Uh, excuse me—are you Dr Martin?
M: I'm Greg Martin, and | don't think there are any other Martins in the office, but I'ma nutritionist, not a doctor
W: Oh, sorry | guess | was confused, The doctor at the student health center told
me | should see you because | need an allergy test | was hoping I'd be able to make an appointment
‘This conversation is about what we'd call a “service encounter.” The woman needs to make an appointment with the nutritionist After identifying a conversation as a service encounter, listen for any problems the student may have encountered and any actions the professional recommends to the student ‘The first problem occurs at the following point in the conversation:
M: .I'lljust give you a general explanation of what we're going to ask you to do | can't actually give you instructions specific to your case without looking at your file, but here's the basic idea
“The first point to note is that the nut
the file Next, the nutritionist says the followi tunable to give the studene specific instructions until he looks at
320 | Cracking the TOEFL iBT
Trang 9M: As | said, it's going to depend on what your doctor's written in your file for
me, but there are two major kinds of dietary tests for food allergies One is an
elimination diet
After hearing the nutritionist introduce this possible solution, listen for the details The man continues by saying
M: Well, it can take a while for the food you eat to clear out of your system We
want a totally blank canvas because then what we do is, one by one, you add
in foods that a lot of people have allergies to
‘The second solution is described as follows:
W: Well, okay, but what's the other test? You said there were two
M: The other test is more of a spot test If your doctor knows from your symptoms that there are only a few foods that are likely culprits, you'll stop eating
just those foods for a week or so Then, you'll eat one of them on an empty stomach, and we'll wait to see whether your symptoms come back
‘That's the important information from the conversation Notice once again that all of the information is not ab- solutely essential As long as you have a basic understanding of the purpose and the structure you should be able
to answer the questions effectively
Let's go through the questions and see what answers can be eliminated
1 C The first question typically asks about the purpose Eliminate answer choice (A) because the nutritionist doesn't have any results Watch out for answer choice (B)—be suspicious of an answer choice that focuses on
4 specific detail from the passage We want an answer that covers the whole selection, not just one part of it Answer choice (D) is incorrect as well; the nutritionist recommends two tests, but the purpose of the visit is not for the woman to decide between them,
2 C ‘This is a good example of the type of specific information of which you'll need to be aware on the
‘TOEFL However, if you recognized the conversation as a service encounter, you may have been listen- ing for a problem or complication You may be able to eliminate (B) based on the structure The prob- lem was mentioned at the beginning of the conversation, while the “special diet” doesn’t show up until the end of the talk Also, if you're torn between (A) and (C), go with (C) because it’ less extreme; while answer (C) says he hasn't received the file yet, answer (A) says he cannot reach the doctor
3 C Here is another detail question Fortunately, it asks about a problem with the first method of testing Remember to listen for complications and problems during conversations because the TOEFL asks about them often In any case, you can eliminate answer choice (A) because it’s extreme Also, you may have eliminated answer choice (D) if you noticed that the nutritionist never mentions injections; only the student does
Listening Practice Answers and Explanations | 321
Trang 104, D This is yet another specific question The nutriti
introduced the second solution
M: The other test is more of a spot test If your doctor knows from your symptoms
that there are only a few foods that are likely culprits, you'll stop eating just those foods for a week or so
ist mentioned the answer to this question when he
If you missed that information, use your knowledge of the structure to help you The nutritionist de- scribes two solutions to the problem but never indicated that the student had to do both or that the two tests were related Thus, eliminate answers (A) and (C)
5 B ‘This question is an inference question Based on the conversation, what will the woman do next? Stick
to the purpose of the conversation She's there to make an appointment, so answer (B) is the most logical answer Get rid of answer choice (A) The nutritionist said earlier that he would get the file
And the woman must meet with the nutritionist before she can begin the tests, so answers (C) and (D)
cannot be correct
DRILL #3: A LECTURE
Read the following transcript of the first lecture Ask yourself how the lecture compares with reading selections wich which you've worked
Female Professor: Okay, | know from having taught this class before that the topic I'm about
to cover has the potential to get people's blood boiling, so I'd like to start off by making something clear: I'm going to discuss the physical effects of tobacco on the body This is not the place for a debate over social issues
If you all want to get into it over lunch after class is over, you're welcome to Just don't expect me to join in
‘Anyway, what we want to talk about is what happens to your body when you smoke or chew tobacco, The primary active ingredient in tobacco is one you're probably all familiar with: nicotine Nicotine is a class of chemical called an alkaloid, meaning that it's a close relative of the caffeine in coffee and the natural drugs found in some plants It generally has a stimulant effect—it gets your body systems going, makes them more active It actually makes up a very small percent of the tobacco plant—about 5 percent by mass—not much, right? Also, when you smoke tobacco, most of the nicotine burns away before you can even inhale it That means that most of the nicotine in your cigarettes never gets to your lungs It's not ingested So between those two things—the low proportion of nicotine in the tobacco plant, and the high proportion of the nicotine that's destroyed before you ingest it-you'ee not really getting a whole lot with each puff
Even so, the nicotine in cigarettes has a powerlul effect on the body for a
few reasons For one thing, while some drugs pass through the body largely
without being absorbed, nicotine inhaled into the lungs is absorbed almost
completely This is because the lungs have a lot of surface area that's usually used to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide when you breathe, All that surface area provides lots and lots of places for nicotine to pass into the
322 | Cracking the TOEFL 18T