TOEFL Practice Test
Table of Contents
Section 1: Listening....................................................................... 3
Listening: Part A......................................................................... 3
Listening: Part B......................................................................... 7
Section 2: Structure ..................................................................... 15
Section 3: Reading....................................................................... 18
Answer Key................................................................................. 30
Section 1: Listening
The Listening section of the test measures the ability to understand conversatio ns and
talks in English. Answer all the questions on the basis o f what is stated or imp lied by the
speaker s you hear. Do not take notes.
Listening: Part A
In this part you will see sho rt co nversations between two people. Cho ose the best answer
to each question. Answer the questio ns on the basis of what is stated or implied by the
speakers.
1. Woman: Pardon me. Do you know what time that this store opens?
Man: I do not, but I believe that it is written o n the door.
Narrator: What does the man imply that the woman should do ?
a. Look on the door
b. Open the door
c. Ask someone else
d. Come back later
2. Wo man: I am going to buy Johnny a toy train for his birthday.
Man: Are you sure he’d like one?
Narrator: What does the man imply?
a. Johnny loves to y trains
b. Johnny already has too many toy trains
c. Johnny said he wants a toy train
d. Johnny may prefer so mething else
3. Man: I need some shampoo for my hair.
Wo man: All of the shampo o is in the back o f the store on the third shelf.
Narrator: What will the man probably do ?
a. Walk out of the store
b. Buy the shampoo
c. Come back later
d. Go to another store
4. Man: Are you go ing to go to the University o f Texas to get your Doctorate?
Wo man: I do n’t think so.
Man: Why, have you been accepted to any other schools?
Wo man: Yes, I have received news of acceptance fro m LSU, University of
Tennessee, and Harvard.
Narrator: What are the speakers d iscussing ?
a. The University of Texas
b. Schools with Doctorate programs
c. Where the woman will go to school
d. Who can get accepted to the most schools
5. Man: I ’m really tired on studying for economics every weekend.
Wo man: I hear you.
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. She has excellent hearing
b. She has hear d the man talk about this frequently
c. She understands his po int of view
d. She needs to have her ears checked
6. Man: We are going to get ice cream. Wo uld you like to come with us?
Wo man: I am waiting for a package to be delivered.
Narrator: What does the wo man imp ly?
a. She does not eat ice cr eam
b. She has no money
c. She does not like packages
d. She will not be going
7. Wo man: Are you go ing to go to the ball game?
Man: You bet!
Narrator: What does the man mean?
a. He will p lace a wager on the ball game
b. He will definitely go to the ball game
c. He likes to gamble
d. He does not like ball games
8. Man: That’s a nice car.
Wo man: I got it almost four years ago.
Man. It lo oks brand new.
Wo ma n: Yes, it ’s i n go od shape .
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. The woman need s a new car
b. She likes to exercise
c. She has a new car
d. The car is in go od condition
9. Man: Did you get you movie passes?
Wo man: I spoke to yo ur secretary about it, and she took care of it fo r me.
Narrator: What does the man mean?
a. The secretary was responsib le for getting the mo vie passes
b. The are no mo vie passes
c. He has the movie passes
d. The movie passes are in the mail
10. Man: How do you like living in America?
Woman: I am used to it know.
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. She has always liked living in America
b. She hates living in America
c. She is accustomed to liv ing in Amer ica
d. She would rather live in Amer ica
11. Woman: Marie sure likes shopping.
Man: I f only she liked doing homework as well!
Narrator: What does the man imply about Marie?
a. She is ver y likeable
b. She does not put much effort into her homework
c. She goes to the mall everyday
d. She has a lo t of homework
12. Man: I thought I was suppo sed to perform the experiment in Roo m 45.
Woman: No. Ticket 45 is in Room 54.
Narrator: What will the man probably do ?
a. Go to Room 54
b. Go to Room 45
c. Buy a ticket
d. Go home
13. Man: Did you know that Tracey and Bo b are back from their honeymo on to Las
Vegas?
Wo ma n: So the y d id get marrie d afte r al l.
Narrator: What had the woman assumed about Tracey and Bob?
a. They were still in Las Vegas
b. They would not get marr ied
c. They had a spectacular wedd ing
d. They hate Las Vegas
14. Man: Do you usually take a nap?
Wo man: I do no w and then.
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. She occasionally takes a nap
b. She always takes a nap
c. She never takes a nap
d. She used to take a nap
15. Man: Can yo u believe it? I got an A o n my Finance exam
Wo man: Way to go!
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. She is asking where to go
b. She wants him to leave her alone
c. She is congratulating him
d. She think s he is a liar
16. Man: How did the job interview go?
Wo man: I could not have been mo re pleased.
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. The interview went very well
b. The woman did not like the interview
c. The interview was cancelled
d. The interview went terrible
17. Man: Do you mind if I turn o n some music for a while?
Wo man: No, I don’t mind.
Narrator: What does the wo man mean?
a. Music will no t bother her
b. She hates listening to music
c. She wants to think harder
d. She does not have any mu sic
Listening: Part B
In this part you will see several longer conversations and talks. Yo u should answer each
questio n o n the basis of what is stated or implied by the speakers in the co nversatio n o r
talks.
Narrator: Listen to a lecture by a bio logy instructor.
Many people think of go rillas as dangerous killers. One reason for this is that
televisio n and movies o ften show these animals this way. But gor illas ar e really gentle
animals.
The gorilla is a vegetarian. It lives in the African rain fo rests where it finds the
fruits and p lants it needs to survive. A large, wild gorilla might eat over 40 pounds o f
leaves and fruit in one day.
Unfor tunately, these peaceful creatures are in danger o f becoming extinct. Each
year, large areas of the rain fo rests are being cut down. Because there is less and less
food from these forests, the nu mber o f wild go rillas is becoming smaller and smaller.
18. The passage describes gorillas as being:
a. Dangerous killers
b. Carnivores
c. TV and mo vie stars
d. Gentle animals
19. Accord ing to the passage, why are go rillas in danger?
a. Because peo ple keep hunting them.
b. Because they eat too much.
c. Because forests get too much rain.
d. Because their food supply is being destroyed.
20. If so mething is beco ming extinct, it is:
a. Becoming lively.
b. Dying out.
c. Growing wild.
d. Getting sick.
Narrator: Listen to the co nver sation between two graduate students.
Wo man: What did yo u think abo ut the assig nment we were suppo sed to comp lete for our
statistics class?
Man: I haven’t do ne mine yet. Is it difficu lt?
Woman: Kind of. It was full of problems.
Man: Derivative problems?
Wo man: Not really, More a review o f the whole semester.
Man: Oh.
Woman: It was time consuming.
Man: Really?
Wo man. Yes. I started it at abo ut lunch time and didn’t finish it until supper.
Man: I ’m surpr ised at that.
Wo man: I was too, I did no t expect our pro fessor would give us so much.
Man: He usually doesn’t.
Woman: I know. That is why I was surprised.
Man: Well, I do have some free time this afternoon. Do you know when it is due?
Wo ma n: T omorrow.
Man: Well, I better get moving.
21. What was on the assignment?
a. Derivative problems
b. A review of the who le semester
c. What was fo r lunch
d. A surprise
22. What did the students find surpr ising ?
a. The length o f the assignment
b. The problems
c. Lunch
d. The professor
23. What did the woman start at lunchtime?
a. The assig nment
b. Derivative problems
c. Eating
d. A surprise
24. What will the man probably do next?
a. Eat supper
b. Move out
c. Complete the assignment
d. Ask the woman to supper
Narrator: Listen to part of a conversatio n between a student and a clerk in a college
bookstore.
Man: I need to bu y an basic Eng lish textbook.
Wo man: Okay. What is the cour se number?
Man: You mean there is more than one
Woman: Sure. We offer Poetry, Writing, and Literature.
Man. If I take Poetry will we write sonnets?
Wo man: Not r eally. The Poetry class is very basic rhyming.
Man: Great. That is what I wanted to hear. How much is that one?
Wo man: It’s twenty-nine dollar s, plus a ten-do llar notebook fee.
Man: Wait a minute, can’t I just use my own notebook.
Wo man: Most students prefer the special poetry noteboo k, so we made it a requirement.
Man: Okay. I’ll take one Poetry book and notebook. Do you take credit cards?
Wo man: Yes, but you do n’t have to pay now. Just fill out this form and we will bill you.
Man: Sounds great.
25. What kind o f Eng lish textbook does the man decide to buy?
a. Writing
b. Literature
c. Poetry
d. Sonnets
26. How much does the Po etry book co st?
a. Twenty-nine do llars
b. Ten-dollars do llars
c. Thirty-nine dollars
d. Twenty- eight dollar s
27. Why do the students pur chase a po etry notebook?
a. Because they like poetry
b. They are out of paper
c. It is required
d. It makes them feel special
28. How will the man pay for the textbook?
a. With a check
b. With cash
c. With a credit card
d. With an exchange
29. What will the man probably do ?
a. Pay now
b. Pay with a bill
c. Go to another store
d. Buy another textbook
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a wetlands ecology class. The professor is talking
about sanderlings.
Urbanizatio n and coastal development has dramatically reduced the beach habitat
available for foraging sho rebirds wo rldwide. This study tested the general hypo thesis that
recreational u se of shorebird foraging areas adversely affects the fo raging behavior o f
sanderlings Calidris alba. Observations conducted on two central Califor nia beaches fro m
January thr ough May and September through December of 1999 showed that number and
activity of people significantly reduced the amount of time sanderlings spent foraging.
Although the sample size was low, the most significant negative factor was the presence
of free running dogs on the beach. The exper imentally determined minimal approach
distance d id no t var y signif icantly with the type of human activities tested. Based on
these results, policy reco mmendatio ns for minimizing the impact of human beach
activities on foraging sho rebirds include: ( 1) people maintain a minimum distance of 30
m fro m areas where shorebirds concentrate and (2) strict enfor cement of leash laws
passing humans on an average of one every 15 min with 96% of those sander lings
responding to humans at a distance of 30 m or less (Fig. 1). Sanderlings responded to
human activity by either running (42%) or flying (58%). Within the 1-min sampling time,
the disturbed sander ling generally moved o nce (58%), with 42% moving more than once
due to human disturbance.
30. What hypothesis d id this study test?
a. People maintain a min imum distance from where shorebirds congregate.
b. Recreational use of shorebird forag ing areas co nversely affects the foraging
behavio r of sanderlings.
c. Recreational u se of shorebird foraging areas ad versely affects the forag ing
behavio r of sanderlings.
d. Recreational u se of shorebird foraging areas ad versely affects the forag ing
behavio r of sanderlings. 42% of shorebirds move due to human d isturbance.
31. What percent o f responding sanderling s were disturbed by passing humans at a
distance o f 10 meters or less?
a. More than 70 percent
b. More than 80 percent
c. Less than 60 percent
d. Less than 0 percent
32. What are so me enviro nmentally sound results to co me from this study?
a. Enforcement of leash laws would be effective.
b. Obser ve Calidris Alba daily.
c. People should maintain a minimum distance of 30 meters from shorebirds.
d. Coastal development has dramatically reduced the beach.
33. This experiment determined that the most significant negative factor to reduce the
amount of time that sanderlings spent foraging was:
a. Humans passing once every 15 minutes.
b. Humans disturbing the sand
c. Sanderlings running or flying
d. Fr ee running dogs
Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a graduate assistant in the
marketing department.
Man: May I help you?
Wo man: Hello , My name is Rebecca Smith and I have an appo intment Monday at ten
o’clo ck with Dr. Cudd.
Man: Yes, ten on Mo nday. I see it here o n his planner.
Wo man: Well, I was wondering if it would be possible to move my appointment until
later in the afternoon on Monday.
Man: I ’m sorr y, but Dr . Cudd is tied up in meetings all afternoon.
Woman: Oh.
Man: There is an appointment earlier that mo rning, if that would help you. Or yo u could
see him Tuesday afterno on at two .
Woman. No thanks. I’ll just rearrange my schedule.
34. Why did the woman go to the marketing department?
a. To change her appointment time
b. To schedu le her appointment
c. To cancel her appo intment
d. To rearrange her class schedu le
35. What does the man say abo ut Dr. Cudd?
a. He will be out of town Monday
b. He will be reschedu ling all Monday appo intments for Tuesday
c. He is busy Monday after no on
d. He is available Monday afternoon
36. What did the graduate assistant offer?
a. To give her an appointment Monday after no on
b. To give her an appointment Tuesday at two, or earlier Monday
c. To cancel her appo intment
d. To give her an appointment next week
37. What did the woman decide to do?
a. Make a new appointment
b. Keep the original appo intment
c. Go to the meeting with Dr. Cudd
d. Go to another department
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a macro econo mics class. The professo r will be
taking about the indicators business cycle.
Because the business cycle is related to aggregate economic activity, a popular
indicator of the business cycle in the U.S. is the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. The
financial med ia generally considers two co nsecutive quarters of negative GDP growth to
indicate a recession. Used as such, the GDP is a quick and simple indicator of economic
co ntractions. Ho wever , the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) weighs
GDP relatively low as a primar y business cycle indicato r because GDP is subject to
frequent revisio n and it is r eported o nly on a quarter ly basis ( the business cycle is tracked
on a mo nthly basis). The NBER relies primarily o n indicators such as the fo llowing:
employment •
personal inco me •
industr ial production •
Add itio nally, indicators such as manu facturing and trade sales are used as
measur es o f econo mic activity.
38. What is the main topic of this lecture?
a. Gross Domestic Product
b. Indicators of the bu siness cycle
c. Natio nal Bureau of Eco no mic Research
d. Employment
39. Which of the fo llowing is used as a quick and simple indicator o f economic
co ntractions?
a. Gross Domestic Product
b. Emp lo yment
c. Personal Income
d. Industrial Production
40. What is used to ind icate a recession?
a. two co nsecutive quarters of negative growth
b. two co nsecutive quarters of positive gro wth
c. four nonconsecutive quarters o f negative growth
d. four nonconsecutive quarters o f po sitive growth
41. What is an ind icator that the NBER relies upon? Please choose two answers.
a. growth
b. emp loyment
c. product movement
d. personal inco me
Narrator: Listen to part of a conversation between a student and her professor.
Emily: Thank you for letting me speak with you to day, Dr . Miller. I wo uld like to talk
with you abo ut my semester average.
Dr. Miller: I see.
Emily: Well to be honest with you, I was upset when I saw my grade. I thought that it
would have been better.
Dr. Miller: Why is that?
Emily: I got an A on my midterm project.
Dr. Miller: I remember ho w good yours was.
Emily: I received an A on my final exam, but I still received a B in your class.
Dr. Miller: Your grades were ver y go od according to my grade book.
Emily: Can you explain why I received a B instead of an A?
Dr. Miller: Twenty percent of you grade was based on yo ur participation in the class
discussio ns. Even though yo u always did well on yo u assignments, yo u never added your
opinio ns or vo lu nteered in class.
Emily: But I tried, I am just shy.
Dr. Miller: I am sorr y Emily the syllabus states that everyone mu st participate in o rder to
receive there fu ll grade for the class.
42. What event prompted this discussion?
a. Emily’s semester average
b. Emily’s midterm project
c. Emily’s final exam
d. Emily’s particip atio n
43. Where is the conversation most likely o ccurr ing ?
a. Grocery store
b. Dr. Miller’s office
c. Emily’s office
d. Swimming pool
44. What is the grade that Emily received on her final exam?
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
45. Why did Emily receive that grade in the co urse?
a. Dr. Miller did not like her
b. She was late to class
c. She never did her assignments
d. She did not participate in the class discussio ns