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 2015.
Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
Professor
Hey, Ellen. How are you doing?
Student
Oh, pretty good, thanks. How are you?
Professor
OK.
Student
Did you, um, have a chance to look at my grad school application . . . you know, the
statement of purpose I wrote.
Professor
Well, yeah. In fact, here it is. I just read it.
Student
Oh, great! What did you think?
Professor
Basically, it’s good. What you might actually do is take some of these different points
here, and actually break them out into separate paragraphs. So, um, one: your purpose
for applying for graduate study; uh, why do you want to go to graduate school,
and an area of specialty; and, uh, why you want to do the area you’re specifying; um,
and what you want to do with your degree once you get it.
Student
OK.
Professor
So those are . . . they’re pretty clear on those four points they want.
Student
Right.
Professor
So, you might just break them out into uh . . . you know, separate paragraphs and expand
on each point some. But really what’s critical with these is that, um, you’ve gotta
let yourself come through. See, you gotta let them see you in these statements. Expand
some more on what’s happened in your own life and what shows your . . . your
motivation and interest in this area—in geology. Let ‘em see what really, what . . .
what captures your imagination about this field.
Student
OK. So make it a little more . . . personal? That’s OK?
Professor
That’s fine. They look for that stuff. You don’t wanna go overboard . . .
Student
Right.
Professor
. . . but it’s critical that . . . that somebody sees what your passion is—your personal
motivation for doing this.
Student
OK.
Professor
And that’s gotta come out in here. Um, and let’s see, uh, you might also give a little,
uh—since this is your only chance to do it, you might give a little more explanation
about your unique undergraduate background. So, you know, how you went through,
you know, the music program; what you got from that; why you decided to change. I
mean, it’s kind of unusual to go from music to geology, right?
Student
Yeah. I was . . . I was afraid that, you know, maybe the personal type stuff wouldn’t be
what they wanted but . . .
Professor
No, in fact it’s . . . um, give an example: I . . . I had a friend, when I was an undergrad,
um, went to medical school. And he put on his med school application—and he could
actually tell if somebody actually read it ‘cause, um, he had asthma and the reason
that he wanted to go to med school was he said he wanted to do sports medicine
because he, you know, he had this real interest. He was an athlete too, and . . . and
wanted to help athletes who had this physical problem. And he could always tell if
somebody actually read his letter because they would always ask him about that.
Student
. . . Mmm . . . so something unique.
Professor
Yeah. So see, you know, that’s what’s good and and I think for you probably, you
know, your music background’s the most unique thing that you’ve got in your record.
Student
Right.
Professor
. . . Mmm . . . so you see, you gotta make yourself stand out from a coupla hundred
applications. Does that help any?
Student
Yeah, it does. It gives me some good ideas.
Professor
And . . . what you might also do too is, you know, uh, you might get a friend to proof it
or something at some point.
Student
Oh, sure . . . sure.
Professor
Also, think about presentation—how the application looks. In a way you’re actually
showing some other skills here, like organization. A lot of stuff that’s . . . that they’re
not . . . they’re not formally asking for, they’re looking at. So your presentation format,
your grammar, all that stuff, they’re looking at in your materials at the same time.
Student
Right. OK.
Correct Answers:
1. B
2. A,C
3. D
4. B
5. C