CBT TOEFL Listening Section Insights

• Listening Section Composition
  
  
• Listening Section Type insights
  
  
• Listening Section Topic Insights

Listening Section Composition:

Here we summarize the composition of the listening section of the CBT TOEFL test as likely encountered today. This is the section that has changed most significantly in recent years and may change more drastically in coming years because of the development of computer technology. There are two parts within the listening section.

• Listening Part A: short conversations

  There are either 11 or 17 short conversations, of which mostly have a man and a woman speaking. In this part, the picture you see provides no useful information, serving only as a distracter; Therefore, avoid concentrating on this image.

• Listening Part B: longer conversations, discussions, and lectures

  You are given either 20 or 33 questions, meaning about 5 to 7 conversations, discussions and lectures: The speakers talk at natural speed, and the average length of each piece is 2 minutes.

  Please note that, unlike with the short conversations, the pictures in Part B are of importance in understanding and answering questions about the lecture.

  ETS is making only rare use of its complicated non-multiple choice questions, but there may be some use of Matching/Ordering and Click on Diagram questions.

Listening Section Type Insights

Most items in Part A make use of indirect answers, false questions, voice inflection, sound alike traps and phrasal verb expressions. They test your ability to understand and find out hidden meaning or implication.

On the other hand, most questions and answers in Part B are directly based on listening content. They test your ability to catch the main ideas as well as remember details after hearing a longer talk.

1. What the first person says usually does not contain the answer to the question, but what the second person says is the real key to the answer. Thus, pay more attention to the second person. For example,
   
   
   Female: Why are you leaving so early? The movie doesn’t start till seven.
   Male: I don’t want to be at the traffic there. It’s a nightmare on the expressway during rush hour.
   Question: What does the man mean?
   
   ♦ He wants to go early to avoid a traffic jam.
   ο He wants to leave the theater before the movie is over.
   ο He doesn't know the way to the theater.
   ο He doesn't usually get up at 7:00.
   
   
2. Listening for intonation is very important. A rising tone often indicates a question or disagreement, and a falling tone often indicated agreement. For example,
   
   
   Female: Isn’t it great about Ruth’s community service award?
   Male: She deserved it.
   Question:What does the man mean?
   
   ♦ Ruth earned the award.
   ο Ruth helped plan the award ceremony.
   ο Ruth should work more for the community.
   ο Ruth served as chairperson of the committee.
   
   
   Female: It’s a tradition. Every New Year’s Day my sister and I go skating on the lake.
   Male: Has it been cold enough this winter? Or will you go indoors?
   Question:What does the man imply?
   
   ο It's been too cold to go skating this winter.
   ο The woman can go indoors if she gets cold.
   ♦ The lake may not have frozen.
   ο He also likes to skate in the winter.
   
   
3. Pay attention to contrary conjunctions, like, but, however, etc. The content after 'but' is usually to suggest a contrary or negative way in light of the first clause, which is the vital part of the talk. For example,
   
   
   Female: Gee, Tom, I hear that you are working as a house painter this summer. It's got to be awfully hot working up there on a ladder in the blazing sun all day.
   Male: Well it's hard work, but I get to be outdoors and the pay is decent.
   Question:What does the man imply?
   
   ο He makes more money than the woman.
   ♦ He's satisfied with his job.
   ο He had trouble finding a job.
   ο He doesn't like working outdoors.
   
   
4. The first person uses one kind of interrogative sentences (yes-no questions). The answer of the second person is either yes or no. We review lots of the real test items and find out that more than 90% cases are with no-answer. Thus, if you totally have no idea about what the second person says, the good guess is to choose an answer that is opposed to the first person's opinion. For example,
   
   
   Female Professor, have you graded my term paper yet?
   Male To tell you the truth, I’ve been tied up in committee meetings all week.
   Question: What can be inferred about the paper?
   
   ο The committee is discussing it.
   ο It received a low grade.
   ♦ It hasn't been graded.
   ο The woman hasn't submitted it.
   
   
5. Understand subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is quite simply a form of the verb when a person stops dealing with real things about which we can argue and starts dealing with uncertainties such as wishes, commands and unreal circumstances. The central point is unreal. For example,
   
   
   Male: I really enjoyed that TV special about whales last night. Did you get home in time to see it?
   Female: Well, yes. But I wish I could’ve stayed awake long enough to see the whole thing.
   Questions: What does the woman mean?
   
   ♦ She fell asleep before the program ended.
   ο She especially enjoyed the end of the program.
   ο She missed the beginning of the program.
   ο She wishes she had gone to sleep earlier.
   
   
6. Handle implication and inference. If the question is "What does the man/woman imply?" or "What can be inferred from the conversation?" and you don't understand the conversation at all, one good guess is to eliminate choices that contain something you heard. For example,
   
   
   Male: I just found out I can’t renew my lease for the next school year.
   Female: Well, don’t worry. There should be plenty of apartments freeing up after graduation.
   Question: What does the woman imply?
   
   ♦ (A) The man will easily find a place to live.
   ο (B) Apartments will be less expensive next year before.
   ο (C) The man should move graduation.
   ο (D) Her lease ends after graduation.
   
   
   For a better guess (if it is the only option), you can eliminate choice B because you clearly heard the word 'apartments' in the conversation, and choice C as well as choice D because you also heard the word 'graduation'. The only remaining is choice A.
   
   
7. Understand commonly used idioms/phrases. For example 'I could not feel better' means 'I am feeling perfect', etc.
   
   
8. For part B, you need to get the main idea and also pay attention to details, like, name, place, time, etc.

Listening Section Topic Insights

TOEFL listening conversations, discussions, and lectures could happen anywhere, but almost all of them surround a central point - student's life. It definitely helps you to improve your English ability as well as your test scores if you are getting familiar with those topics: culture background, common knowledge, real-world language, frequently used words, etc. We give you a list of topics that frequently occur in real TOEFL tests.

1. Campus life; It covers a wide range of topics, like:
   • Daily life:
     
     • Clothing (fashion, coat, pants, T-short, socket, jacket, suit, shirt, shoes, tailor, etc.);
     • Shopping (various stuffs, store, mall, supermarket, department store, grocery store, drugstore, purchase, for sale, on sale, down payment, trade in, bargain, deal, price, expansive, discount, 20 percent off, etc.);
     • Dining (restaurant, cafeteria, fast food, food court, café, snack bar, tip, bill, payment, drinking, cooking, on diet, food, rare, medium, well-done, overdone, burnt, go Dutch, split the bill, chef, etc.);
     • Phone call (White Pages, Yellow Pages, long distance, operator, collect call, bill, get though, connected, disconnected, cut off, busy signal, etc.);
     • Health (sick, symptom - toothache, stomachache, hurt, sore, sprain, indigestion, headache, broken, allergy, cough, pain, wound, cold, feverish; doctor's office, clinic, health center, hospital, health service, medical center, doctor, dentist, surgeon, physician, dermatologist, orthopedic, nurse, medical, prescription, pill, insurance, etc.);
     • Housing (house, apartment, rent, deposit, termination, notice, bill, utilities, roommate, dorm supervisor/superintendent, custodian, janitor, ...);
     • Money (budget, expense, fund, check, credit card, cash, borrow, loan, lend, fee, buck, cost, can't afford, broken, a hole in my pocket, ...);
     • Time (watch, clock, busy, relax, different time expression, on time, on the dot, on the nail, sharp, ...);
     • Haircut (hairdressing, barbershop, barber, hairdresser, beauty shop, various cut or beauty related actions ...);
     • Car (driving, parking, pick-up, give a lift, traffic, repair, maintenance, car insurance, gas station, license, car dealer, mechanic, fare, tire, garage, wheel, ...);
     • Vacation and travel (travel agency, airport, bus, cab, taxi, hotel, motel, train, book or reserve, passport, visa, trip, tour, ...);
     • Using something (copy machine, camera, washing machine, dryer, machine, refrigerator, microwave, oven, air-condition, hardware, ...);
     • Places (asking location, cap, police, locker room, gym, apartment, library, classroom, ...);
     • Reading (newspaper, journal, text book, ...);
     • Mail (email, fax, fax machine, post office, stamps, postage, postal rate, ...);
     • Exercise: gym, gymnasium, fitness center, physical condition, keep fit/in share, ...);
     • Photo (picture, photograph, camera, album, film, develop film, ...);
     • Weather (sunny, clear, cloudy, fair, overcast, humidity, wet, damp, dry, moist, temperature, hot, cold, air-conditioner, heating, ...);
     • Social: club, student group, committee, organization, association, ...;
     • Borrow or lend something;
     • banking, romance, meeting, pet, politics, lost and found, etc.

     Banking, for example, if you know all the following related issues, you should have no problem to understand a banking related conversation.

     • People: customer, personal banker, bank officer, bank manager, teller or cashier.
     • Location: bank branch, office (for personal banker, or bank officer, or bank manager), counter (for teller), ATM (banking machine), telephone banking, Internet banking.
     • Activities: open an account, check balance, deposit or withdraw money, apply mortgage or loan, change currency, pay bills, get money order or certified check, cash a check, etc.
     • Terms: check, check book, money order, debit (bank) card, credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express,...), cash, saving account, check account, bill, charge, banking fee, etc.

   • Entertainment:
     • Sports: football, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, rock climbing, cycling, volleyball, swimming, ...,
     • Movie: drama, horror, documentary, animation, action, romantic, ...;
     • TV: channel, schedule, news remote control, digital channel, picture in picture, ...;
     • Leisure: picnic, barbecue, exhibition, aquarium, chess, poker, bridge, party, theatre, concert, music, skating, etc.
2. Academic Activities:
   • Administration Activities:
     • Registration: tuition, advisor, fill a form, course sheet, signature, full, closed, sign up, curriculum, enrollment, ...;
     • Student office: international student office, international advisor, information bulletin, ...;
   • Study Activities:
     • Notes: take notes, write down, jot down, put it on paper, handwriting, make out, illegible, lend notes or borrow notes, ...;
     • Examination: midterm, final, exam, test, quiz, pop quiz, open-book, take home, written test, oral test, score, grade, mark, ...;
     • Courses: elective, selective, optional , introductory, basic, advanced, required, prerequisite, drop off, credit, transfer, ...;
     • Library: librarian, library card, borrow, return, fine, time expired, make a photocopy, ...;
     • Classroom: presentation, paper, discussion, participation, textbook, homework, assignment, ...;
   • Academic topics: These topics occur in almost all lectures and sometimes in discussions. The coverage is so wide that nobody can really know all of them. Increasing your knowledge base will definitely help you. They could be:

     algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, arithmetic, anthropology, archaeology, biology, ecology, geology, meteorology, psychology, sociology, zoology, botany, physiology, acoustics, aesthetics, economics, electronics, politics, physics, optics, linguistics, mechanics, pedagogics, statistics, astronomy, journalism, magnetism, anatomy, ...

3. Working Experience:
   • Occupations: electrician, plumber, carpenter, bricklayer, mechanic (technician), maintenance (crew/person), repairman, surgeon, dentist, psychologist, physician, nurse, dietitian/dietician, vet, dermatologist, pharmacist, accountant, statistician, teller, cashier, waitress, waiter, engineer, part-time/summer job, ...;
   • Job hunting (check the paper, Internet, ...), job search, interview, resume, cover letter, position, apply for, reference, ...;
   • School job: co-op, research assistant, teaching assistant, graduate assistant, ...;
   • Job topic: part-time, full-time, placement service, flexible, schedule, salary, base payment, tip, tax, ...;
4. Feelings:
   • In good mood: high-spirited, delighted, cheerful, in the seventh heaven, on cloud nine;
   • In bad mood: out of spirit, low-spirited, disappointment, depressed, worried, blues, upset, ...;
   • Tense: can't stand/sit/be still, on pins and needles, like a cat on hot bricks, on edge, get cold feet, ...;
   • Embarrassed, afraid of public speaking, ...;
   • Dozy, drowsy, can't see straight, can't keep my eyes open, doze off, my eyes seem to blur, ...;
   • Furious, down, panic, ...;
   • Absent-minded, go in one ear and out of the other, ...;
   • Keep to oneself, outgoing, open-minded, sociable, easygoing, ...;
   • Slip my mind, forget to do, ...;

EnglishMaster covers all topics you may encounter in real CBT. What you really need right now is: Download EnglishMaster and then Practice!!! Practice!!! Practice!!!