TOEFL iBT – Exam 1 – Listening

TOEFL iBT – Exam 1 – Listening Practice Test

PART 1

REMEMBER! In an actual TOEFL iBT exam, you will hear each conversation or lecture only one time, and after that, the questions will be displayed. You may take notes to help you answer the test questions. Your notes will not be scored.
 

 

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

Page 1 of 5

1 Why did Freya primarily go to see Professor Dubois?

A. To discuss how to manage stress.

B. To seek advice about a presentation.

C. To clarify the deadline for an assignment.

D. To understand the scope of social media.

Page 2 of 5

2 What aspect of social media’s role in business is Freya most interested in?

A. The speed at which it can effect change.

B. Its ability to target specific customers.

C. The fact that anyone can write posts.

D. Its relationship with certain age groups.

Page 3 of 5

3 Why does Freya mention TikTok during her conversation with Professor Dubois?

A. To discuss its role in marketing and brand building.

B. To illustrate its influence on politics and public opinion.

C. To highlight the impact of social media on mental health.

D. To show the prevalence of fake news and misinformation.

Page 4 of 5

4 In Professor Dubois’s opinion, what is the most important aspect of Freya’s presentation?

A. How much background knowledge Freya demonstrates .

B. How thorough the research behind it is.

C. How good the draft submitted on the 14th is.

D. How engaging the topic is for the audience.

Page 5 of 5

5 Why does the student say this in response to the professor?

A. To disagree with what the professor has just said.

B. To agree with what the professor has just said.

C. To stress her lack of knowledge in the matter.

D. To complain about the number of assignments students have.

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The TOEFL iBT Listening section

Summary

The TOEFL iBT Listening section includes:

• Audios: 2 conversations and 3 lectures
• Length: About 3 minutes for each conversation and 3-5 minutes for each lecture.
• Questions: 5 questions for each conversation and 6 questions for each lecture.
• Time: About 36 minutes to complete this section

Important details

• The audios are campus conversations and academic lectures, so both use language you would hear in a university setting.
• You will listen to each conversation and lecture only once before you can see the questions.
• You can take notes while you listen to help you answer the questions later.

Reading scores

Each of the four sections of the TOEFL iBT –Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing– is scored on a scale of 0-30, totaling 120 points. The proficiency levels for listening are:

• Advanced: 22-30
• High-Intermediate: 17-21
• Low-Intermediate: 9-16
• Below Low-Intermediate: 0-8

Scores provide personalized feedback and performance insights. Test takers receive instant scoring for the reading and listening sections, which means they can see their results immediately after completing these parts of the exam. There are no passing or failing scores; institutions set their own requirements. For more details, visit the TOEFL score understanding page.

Question types

Each conversation or lecture has a variety of questions, which may include:

1. Gist-Content (Main Idea)
2. Gist-Purpose – Primary Purpose
3. Detail
4. Function
5. Attitude
6. Organisation (lecture structure)
7. Connecting content
8. Inference

1. Gist-Content

Gist-content questions ask about the main topic or idea of the conversation or lecture. When the question appears, you will have four options; click the one that best sums up the main idea. Occasionally, where there are two main ideas in a lecture or conversation, you may be asked to choose two out of four options.

Gist-content or gist-purpose questions always come first, and there will be either a gist-content question or a gist-purpose question, but not both.

Gist-content questions usually have this sort of phrasing:

• What is … mainly about?
• What is/are … mainly discussing?
• What’s the main topic of the lecture/discussion?
• What is/are the main idea/s of the lecture?

2. Gist-Purpose

Gist-Purpose questions ask about why the conversation is taking place or why the lecturer is giving a talk.  You will be shown a question with four options; click the one that best sums up the primary purpose. Occasionally, where there are two main purposes for a conversation or lecture, so you may be asked to choose two out of four options.

Note that sometimes the main idea and the purpose can overlap.

Gist-purpose questions usually have this sort of phrasing:

• Why does the student visit … ?
• Why does the professor…?

3. Detail

Detail questions are about specific facts or ideas in the listening. They are often what questions. The idea will always be explicitly stated and will be about something important, so a minor detail will NOT be a correct answer.

Some examples of detail questions could be:

• What does the professor/lecturer say about…?
• According to the speaker, what is the key to…?
• According to the lecture, what is an example of…?
• Which of the following is an example/indicator of…?
• According to… how…?

4. Function

Function questions focus on understanding the purpose behind a speaker’s statement. They ask you about the real meaning behind a phrase or sentence, why a speaker says something or what they imply by their statement. They are not asking for directly or literally stated information but rather require you to infer the speaker’s intention.

Typical phrasing for this type of question is:

• What does the professor/student mean when he says…?
• Why does the professor/student say…?

5. Attitude

Attitude questions are designed to determine the speaker’s attitude or their feelings, opinions, or perspective on a particular topic. These questions may require you to understand the tone, mood, or emotional state of the speaker based on how they express their ideas.

You will identify this type of questions because they include phrases like:

• What is the speaker’s attitude towards…?
• What attitude does the professor/student express when he/she says…?
• What does the professor/student think about…?
• How does … feel about…?

6. Organisation

Organisation questions only ask about lectures, and they test your ability to understand how a lecture is structured. They frequently focus on examples and ask why something is mentioned or discussed.

Organization questions often include phrases such as:

• Why does the professor mention…?
• Why does the professor discuss…?
• The professor referst to … in order to…?

7. Connecting content

Connecting content questions look at the logical relationships between different parts of a conversation, or lecture.  You may have to identify steps in a process, identify cause and effect, put things into categories, or make a prediction based on what you’ve heard.

There are two question types:

• Choose one or more correct answers in a multiple choice question
• Drag choices into a table or chart

8. Inference

Inference questions are about what the conversation or lecture implies, or what we can guess from it.

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