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 Preparation: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2jvSGmpWX1UMjbc8Onae7i-R6Z8VcPbU.
Questions 18 through 22. Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
(student) Hello.
(professor) Hi, come on in . . . I'll be with you in a moment... OK, what can I do for you?
(student) I have a question about. . . some of the material from your last lecture. . . .
(professor) Ah, about which material?
(student) Something from yesterday’s lecture . . . I didn’t understand it completely . . . the part where you were talking about the space shuttle. . . .
(professor) Well, I was discussing the space shuttle during most of the lecture. What part didn’t you understand? Oh, I hope it wasn’t the whole lecture you didn’t understand.
(student) The part about how the space shuttle gets its power, about how it gets propelled into orbit.
(professor) Yes, that was a key point of the lecture; you really need to understand that part. . . . Listen, why don’t you tell me what you did understand about the propulsion system for the space shuttle, and I'll try to fill in the blanks.
(student) OK. Do you mind if I look at my notes? That’ll help. . . .
(professor) No problem.
(student) OK . . . you said that the shuttle has three sources of power. I heard you say that. . . but I didn't hear what the three sources of power are.
(professor) Which ones did you hear?
(student) Uh, I heard you talk about the main engine and the boosters.
(professor) OK, two of the sources of power are, indeed, the main engine and the booster; you've got that right. And then there are the smaller engines; that’s the power source you missed.
(student) The smaller engines.
(professor) Yes, that’s right. Now, do you understand how these sources of power work to get the space shuttle into orbit?
(student) Well, I heard you say that the main engine and the boosters work together to lift the shuttle off the ground.
(professor) That’s right. And then what happens to the boosters?
(student) Ah, the boosters separate from the shuttle and fall back to Earth.
(professor) That’s almost right. The boosters do separate from the shuttle, and they do return to Earth, but they don’t exactly fall, as in free fall.
(student) How do they get back to Earth?
(professor) They have parachutes attached to them; they parachute back to Earth.
(student) OK, now I understand that. I did hear you talking about a parachute in class, but I wasn’t sure how that fit in.
(professor) OK, so you do understand that it’s the main engines and the boosters that lift the shuttle off the ground and that the boosters separate from the shuttle and parachute back to Earth?
(student) Yes.
(professor) But, it’s the next part that I’m not sure you understand. It’s about the smaller engines.
(student) You're right. That’s the part of the process I didn’t get.
(professor) Well, after the boosters have dropped off, the main engines power the shuttle until it’s almost at orbital velocity. But then, how does the shuttle actually get into orbit? It needs more power to get into orbit.
(student) Oh, it must be the smaller engines that do that.
(professor) Good guess! When the shuttle is almost at orbital velocity, the smaller engines kick in and push the shuttle into orbit. ... Is this clear to you now'?
(student) It is. . . . This is all so much clearer now. Thanks so much for your help.
(professor) You’re quite welcome.
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Correct Answers:
18. B
19. D
20. A & C
21. To lift the shuttle off of the ground and then return to Earth: The boosters
To lift the shuttle off of the ground and then help it get close to orbital velocity: The main engine
To push the shuttle into orbit: The smaller engines
22. A
