Free TOEFL Listening Exam Questions and Answers

Audio: 'Would you happen to know when the study group meets?' Choose the most appropriate response.

• AA. No, I would not like to meet them.
• BB. It happened last week at the library.
• CC. I think it's Thursday evenings.
• DD. Yes, I happen to be in that group.

Audio: 'I was hoping you could recommend a place to study that isn't too crowded.' Choose the most appropriate response.

• AA. Yes, I hope you can study there too.
• BB. I recommended that textbook to him already.
• CC. The third floor of the science library is quiet.
• DD. The cafeteria is open until nine tonight.

Audio: Professor (urban planning): 'Cities are planting more trees to cool their streets in summer. A shaded sidewalk can be several degrees cooler than a bare one, and that matters. But the number of trees is only part of the story. Where they are planted matters just as much. In many cities, wealthier neighborhoods have far more tree cover than poorer ones, so the people who need shade most often get the least. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Heat also affects health, energy bills, even school attendance. Planners are now mapping temperatures block by block, so that new trees go where the need is greatest.' What does the professor mean when she says, 'that's just the tip of the iceberg'?

• AA. The visible problem is a small part of a much larger one.
• BB. The problem is hidden and cannot be measured directly.
• CC. The cooling effect of trees is smaller than expected.
• DD. The problem is most serious in the coldest cities.

Audio: Man: 'The lab report is due at nine tomorrow morning. I haven't started the analysis section.' Woman: 'Do you really think you can finish it tonight? You also have that shift at the café.' Man: 'Maybe I can ask for an extension.' Why does the woman say, 'Do you really think you can finish it tonight?'

• AA. To express doubt that the man has enough time
• BB. To offer to help the man write the report
• CC. To ask the man to explain the analysis section
• DD. To suggest that the man leave work early

Audio: Woman: 'I'm going to switch to the smaller meal plan next semester.' Man: 'Really? I thought you ate in the dining hall every day.' Woman: 'I did at first. But I have a lab on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I usually miss lunch. Last month I counted, and I used only about half my meals.' Man: 'Huh. I guess I should check how many I've used.' What are the speakers mainly discussing?

• AA. Why the woman wants to change her meal plan
• BB. Which dining hall has the best lunch menu
• CC. How the woman's lab schedule can be changed
• DD. When the man should sign up for a meal plan

Audio: Professor (energy history): 'Solar cells were invented in the 1950s, and in the 1970s there was a burst of interest. Oil prices had jumped, and governments funded new research. But when prices fell again in the 1980s, that funding dried up. Solar power was put on the back burner. A few universities kept working, though, and their improvements in efficiency and cost became important twenty years later, when interest returned.' What does the professor mean when she says solar power was 'put on the back burner'?

• AA. It was blamed for the rise in oil prices.
• BB. It was given less attention for a period of time.
• CC. It was developed more slowly by private companies.
• DD. It was replaced by a cheaper kind of technology.

Audio: Professor (marine biology): 'Off the Pacific coast, kelp forests shelter hundreds of species. But kelp has an enemy, the sea urchin, which grazes on the base of the plant until it drifts away. Where sea otters are common, they eat so many urchins that the kelp stays healthy. In places where otters were hunted out, urchins multiplied and left bare rock, what ecologists call urchin barrens. When otters were reintroduced to parts of British Columbia, kelp returned within a few years, and so did the fish that hide in it.' What is the talk mainly about?

• AA. How kelp forests grow and spread in cold coastal water
• BB. Why sea urchin numbers have been shrinking along the coast
• CC. How scientists estimate the number of sea otters in the wild
• DD. How the presence of one predator affects an entire ecosystem

Audio: 'Dining Services announces that beginning Monday, the Oakridge Cafeteria will no longer serve breakfast. Students with meal plans can still get breakfast at the Union Grill, which will open an hour earlier, at seven. Lunch and dinner hours at Oakridge will not change. Thank you for your patience as work on the cafeteria kitchen continues.' What can be inferred about the Oakridge Cafeteria?

• AA. It plans to close permanently once the renovations are finished.
• BB. Its kitchen cannot currently support a full meal schedule.
• CC. It has fewer customers than the Union Grill during the morning.
• DD. It will raise its meal plan prices after the renovations end.

Audio: Man: 'Is the photography club still meeting on Thursday?' Woman: 'They moved it to Friday, since the darkroom is booked on Thursday. Four o'clock, room 112 in the arts building.' Man: 'I have class until four-fifteen.' Woman: 'That's fine. They usually spend the first twenty minutes on announcements.' Why was the club meeting moved?

• AA. Too few members can attend on Thursday.
• BB. The arts building is closed on Thursday.
• CC. The darkroom is reserved on Thursday.
• DD. The club adviser has a class on Thursday.

Audio: Professor (anthropology): 'Textbooks often say farming improved human life. Early farmers had steady food, so they must have been healthier than hunter-gatherers, right? Look at the skeletons. Studies of remains from the Near East show that early farmers were several centimeters shorter and had more dental disease. Why? Their diet depended on just a few crops, mostly grain, and a bad harvest meant hunger. Hunter-gatherers ate dozens of plants and animals. So the benefits of farming were real, but they came later, and not for everyone.' How does the professor organize the talk?

• AA. She states a common assumption and then presents evidence that complicates it.
• BB. She describes the steps in a process and then lists its final results.
• CC. She compares two scientific methods and recommends the more reliable one.
• DD. She traces the spread of farming from region to region in chronological order.