These Questions 3 & 4 are extracted from the real TOEFL Speaking Section Test, including sample answers, which can be used as answer templates.
This video is in the series of NEW TOEFL iBT Preparation: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2jvSGmpWX1UosCtabaTzw6_UB8FmuDz1
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AUDIO TRANSCRIPT IN QUESTION 3
Now listen to two students as they discuss the announcement.
Woman: Did you see about those three departments being cut next year? It’s a shame.
Man: Maybe. But you know, there were only two or three professors in each of those programs, and none of them is being let go. They’re just being moved to bigger departments—you know, like, the folklore professors are going to be in anthropology. They’ll still do the same research and teach the same classes.
W: They haven’t let any professors go? I thought this was supposed to save money.
M: Well, it will. Each department has to have an administrative office, with a secretary and a budget manager. Those things add up. Moving the professors to bigger departments means a big savings on operations.
W: But it still means students have fewer options for majors.
M: You could say that, I guess. On the other hand, each of those departments only had, like, one major per year to begin with. They just weren’t very popular. I really don’t think we’re going to be losing any important scholarship just because those things aren’t full departments anymore.
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AUDIO TRANSCRIPT IN QUESTION 4
Now listen to part of a lecture on this topic given in a biology class.
Professor: People with defective heart valves need them replaced, and what’s often used is the heart valve from a pig. It’s called a “porcine valve” because of that: A pig’s valve is very similar to a person’s, and because pig valves are natural and tend to be accepted by the body, patients who receive them require little treatment after surgery...relatively, for transplant patients, I mean. Now, there are problems. For example, pig valves tend to last around ten years—not very long.
Actually, now that I’m on that topic, I might mention that porcine valves are not the only option. Alternative valves have been developed that are entirely artificial. They’re made of plastic and metal. These valves can last for decades—certainly a lot longer than pig valves. But the human body recognizes that plastic and metal are artificial. So what happens is that blood sticks to them, and blood clots form around them. These clots are dangerous because they can block the flow of blood. For that reason, patients who receive artificial valves spend the rest of their lives taking drugs that prevent blood from clotting. The drugs can be tough for the body to handle, but they’re worth it for the sake of having a functioning heart valve.
