Practice these TOEFL iBT listening tests to help you score high in the TOEFL Listening Section. Check the correct answers and audio transcripts below. This video is in the series of NEW TOEFL iBT Tests https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2jvSGmpWX1UMjbc8Onae7i-R6Z8VcPbU.
Questions 7 through 12. Listen as an instructor leads a discussion of some material from a geography class.
(instructor) Today we’re going to be reviewing some information about the Great Lakes, and we’re going to see that traditional beliefs about the Great Lakes do not reflect scientific reality. First of all, can you identify the Great Lakes on this map? Hannah?
(Hannah) Lake Superior is the largest and northernmost of the five Great Lakes. The two smaller lakes to the south-east of the other lakes are Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The two lakes in the middle are Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
(instructor) All right. Now I’m going to ask a question that sounds like an easy question but really isn’t. This deceptively easy question is, which of the Great Lakes is the largest? Jack?
(Jack) It seems like an easy question because, on the map, you can clearly see that Lake Superior is the largest, and any almanac of world information lists Lake Superior as the worlds largest freshwater lake.
But I know Lake Superior really isn't the answer you want.
(instructor) And do you know why Lake Superior isn’t the answer I was looking for to the question about which Great Lake is the largest?
(Jack) Yes, I think so. I believe I read that scientists who have studied the interactions of the lakes have found that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron actually interact as one lake.
(instructor) That’s exactly right. . . . So, in reality, which of the Great Lakes is the largest?
(Jack) In reality, Lakes Michigan and Huron together are one lake. You could say that Lake Michigan-Huron is the largest of the Great Lakes and the world’s largest freshwater lake.
(instructor) OK. Now, let’s go over the arguments for considering Lake Huron and Lake Michigan one lake rather than two. Pat?
(Pat) Well, first of all, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are at the same elevation, and they are connected by the Mackinac Strait, which is also at the same elevation. If they were two distinct lakes, they might be divided by a stream or a river. However, the Mackinac Strait is not a stream or a river. Instead, it is a body of water that is 3 to 5 miles wide, wider than most lakes.
(instructor) That’s right. So what does this mean?
(Pat) Mackinac Strait is not a river that separates two lakes; instead, it could be argued that there is one giant lake, Michigan-Huron, and this one giant lake narrows at the spot known as Mackinac Strait.
(instructor) Not bad at all, Pat. I couldn’t have done better. Now let’s see if some of the rest of you can match that. What about you, Hannah? What about the flow of water between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron?
(Hannah) The flow of water between the two lakes can reverse. Whenever there’s an imbalance in the water levels in the two lakes, the water levels can equalize rapidly, in either direction.
(instructor) Very good, Hannah. And what does this mean?
(Hannah) It means that if the water level becomes higher in Lake Huron, water will flow from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan, and if the water level becomes higher in Lake Michigan, water will flow from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron.
(instructor) So the flow of water between the two lakes can move in either direction, from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan or from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron, and the water levels in Huron and Michigan will always equalize. What conclusion can be drawn from this information? Pat?
(Pat) This means that the two lakes, Michigan and Huron, are, in reality, acting like one lake instead of two.
(instructor) Exactly. You seem to have a good understanding of this material. I’ll see you at the next session.
Correct Answers:
7. A
8. D
9. B
10. C
11. Their elevation is the same. YES
The flow of water between them can go back and forth. YES
They are each individually larger than Lake Superior. NO
They are each 3 to 5 miles wide. NO
12. A
